Zhuo Yu Feng Yang Chapter 29
byChapter 29: Stone gambling event, undercurrents
The jade trade fair in Antique Street is scheduled for weekends, and the location is chosen at the convention and exhibition center on the outskirts of the city.After the news spread, the whole circle was excited. Not only jade dealers and collectors from all over the country, but also many novices with the mentality of picking up leaks, crowded the huge venue.
When Jiang Zhuo and Lu Jingyang arrived, the parking lot at the door was already full of cars.Lu Jingyang was carrying a backpack and his eyes were full of excitement: “I heard that a lot of good materials came from this trade fair, as well as a few rough stones flown from Myanmar. I wonder if we can get high-ice varieties.”
Jiang Zhuo’s eyes swept across the bustling crowd, and his fingertips unconsciously rubbed the system terminal in his pocket.He has little interest in gambling on stones. The purpose of this trip is very clear – to find a piece of Hetian white jade seed material with a warm texture and uniform color to use to repair the missing corners of the enamel bottle.
The venue is divided into several areas, including the woolen material area, finished product area, and processing area. The most lively one is undoubtedly the central stone gambling area.The long tables are filled with rough stones of different sizes. Some have rough shells, and some are delicate and smooth. To an outsider, they look ordinary, but to an expert, they can tell a bit about the texture of the shells and the distribution of sand grains.
“Let’s go to the wool section.” Jiang Zhuo walked inside.
Lu Jingyang followed closely behind, still mumbling: “The craft of jade inlaid porcelain pays attention to the ‘fusion of jade and porcelain’. The material should not be too hard or too soft. It is best to use seed material with a bit of natural light color, which will look good when combined with the glaze color of enamel.”
As soon as the two of them reached the woolen area, they heard a commotion.I saw a man in a floral shirt, holding up a rough stone as big as a washbasin, and boasting: “Look, everyone! This is Moxisha material from the old pit. The leather shell is covered with pine flowers, and ice seeds can be seen where the window is open! I bet it will definitely rise if you cut it open!”
People around him came over to take a look. Some were amazed, while others looked suspicious.Lu Jingyang also squeezed in curiously, frowned after taking one look, and pulled Jiang Zhuo out: “The pine flowers in this material are made artificially, and the window openings are also made of fake leather. It’s a typical ‘fairy bureau’, designed to trick novices.”
Jiang Zhuo raised his eyebrows and glanced at him: “You have good taste.”
“That’s right!” Lu Jingyang raised his chin proudly, “I have repaired many cultural relics made of jade in the research institute, and I still have some research on the texture of jade.”
The two walked slowly along the woolen material area. Jiang Zhuo’s system popped up prompts from time to time, marking the jade quality inside the original stone – [quartzite, no jade quality] [waxy type, too much cotton] [high-ice type jade, not in line with demand]… After looking at dozens of pieces, they couldn’t find the right one.
At this moment, Jiang Zhuo’s eyes fell on a rough stone in the corner.
The stone was only about the size of a fist, and its shell was dark yellow, like abandoned scraps. There were a lot of mud stains on it, and it looked out of place compared to the bright rough stones around it.
But the system prompt sounded clearly:
[Ding—Hetian white jade seed material has been detected. It has a warm texture, uniform density, and local jujube red qin. It is suitable for the jade inlaid porcelain process. There is no internal crack, and the perfection degree is 98%]
Jiang Zhuo’s heart skipped a beat, and he quietly knelt down and picked up the rough stone.
The weight of the stone is not light, and it feels very textured in the hand.He pretended to caress the leather shell casually, and out of the corner of his eye he caught a few eyes staring at him not far away.
“Boss Jiang, this stone doesn’t look good.” Lu Jingyang came over and whispered, “The skin is too rough, and the color is wrong. The skin of Hotan seeds shouldn’t look like this.”
“People cannot be judged by their appearance, and jade is the same.” Jiang Zhuo smiled faintly, turned to ask the stall owner next to him, “Boss, how do you sell this stone?”
The stall owner was a middle-aged man with an unshaven beard. He glanced at the rough stone and said casually: “This is what others picked out. If you want it, give me 5,000 yuan to take it away.”
Jiang Zhuo raised his eyebrows slightly and bargained calmly: “Three thousand, this material doesn’t look promising, I’ll buy it back and practice my skills.”
The stall owner hesitated for a moment. Seeing that no one around him was paying attention to this scrap, he waved his hand: “Okay, three thousand is just three thousand, let me handle the inventory.”
Jiang Zhuo directly scanned the QR code to pay and put the rough stone into his backpack.
The people around caught a glimpse of this scene and cast playful glances.
“Three thousand yuan to buy a piece of scrap material to practice? Is this young man perhaps out of his mind?”
“It’s just that there’s no need to open a window on this broken stone. It’s a complete waste of money!”
Jiang Zhuo ignored these comments, pulled Lu Jingyang and turned around to leave.
Lu Jingyang was a little confused: “Boss Jiang, are you sure this stone can produce Hetian jade? It looks like an ordinary stone to me.”
“We’ll find out later when we cut it open.” Jiang Zhuo’s tone was determined.
As soon as the two of them were going to the processing area, they were blocked by several men in black suits.The leader was a man with a scar face and sinister eyes. He stared at Jiang Zhuo’s backpack and said in a deep voice: “Brother, how about buying me the stone you just bought? I’ll pay five thousand yuan.”
Jiang Zhuo raised his eyebrows: “I won’t sell it.”
Scarface’s expression darkened: “Brother, don’t be so shameless. We were interested in this stone first, but we didn’t have time to take action. If you know what it looks like, hand it over quickly, otherwise don’t blame us for being rude.”
Lu Jingyang took a step forward and stood in front of Jiang Zhuo, with cold eyes: “Are you being reasonable? We bought the stone with money, why should we give it to you?”
“The truth?” Scarface sneered, reaching out to grab Jiang Zhuo’s backpack, “Here, I am the truth!”
Before his hand even touched the backpack, Jiang Zhuo grabbed his wrist.Jiang Zhuo’s strength was extremely strong, like an iron pliers, which made Scarface grimace in pain.
“Get out.” Jiang Zhuo’s voice was cold, carrying an unquestionable pressure.
Scarface was shocked and angry. Just as he was about to call someone, he heard a familiar voice coming from outside the crowd: “Scar, what are you doing here?”
Everyone followed the sound and saw Lu Chen walking slowly, followed by several bodyguards in suits.
When Scarface saw Lu Chen, his face instantly turned pale, and he struggled to break away from Jiang Zhuo’s hand: “Lu… Mr. Lu, misunderstandings are all misunderstandings!”
Lu Chen’s eyes swept across the scarred face and then landed on Jiang Zhuo. He nodded slightly and said in a calm tone but with an undeniable aura: “Boss Jiang, are you okay?”
“It’s okay.” Jiang Zhuo let go of his hand and took a few steps back with a scarred face, covering his wrist and not daring to say anything.
Lu Chen winked at the bodyguard behind him, who immediately stepped forward and controlled Scarface and his men.”This group of people is suspected of smuggling jade. My security company happened to be assisting the police in tracking them. I didn’t expect to meet them here.” Lu Chen explained, with no emotion in his tone. “I’m sorry for disturbing you.”
Jiang Zhuo nodded, his eyes falling on Scarface’s unwilling face, and he understood.It seemed that this rough stone was more complicated than he imagined.
Lu Jingyang looked at the scarred face being taken away, and patted his chest with lingering fear. Then he looked at Lu Chen and said helplessly: “Brother, luckily you came in time! Didn’t you say you have to deal with company matters today?”
“Come by and take a look.” Lu Chen’s eyes fell on Lu Jingyang, which was a little warmer. “Don’t run around, there is a mixture of good and bad in this place.” After saying that, he looked at Jiang Zhuo again and nodded slightly, “Please keep an eye on him.”
Jiang Zhuo responded: “Don’t worry.”
Lu Shenwei said no more, turned around, negotiated with the police for a few words, and left first.
Lu Jingyang looked at his back and curled his lips: “My brother is like this. He obviously cares about people, but he pretends to be cold.”
Jiang Zhuo said nothing, but glanced at the rough stones in his backpack, with a hint of deep meaning flashing in his eyes.
The two of them turned and walked towards the processing area. The sunlight shone through the glass dome of the venue, shining on them and on the seemingly ordinary rough stone.