"Hey, what’s the good news? You look thrilled." Back at the shop, Sun Qian had already returned. She was sitting on the sofa fiddling with an African djembe, looking like she was about to provide some musical accompaniment for Egg.

"Egg was the star of the show today!" Sylvie quickly recounted how Egg had found the jadeite earring. She had only heard about it last time when it found loose change in Shen Yibin’s room, but seeing it with her own eyes this time was a completely different experience.

"Boss, you’ll have to be careful when you sell Egg." Sun Qian seemed to have thought of something funny and covered her mouth as she chuckled. "Whatever you do, don’t sell it to a married woman. Otherwise, her husband will go through all the trouble of hiding a little stash of cash, only for Egg to dig it up before he even gets to spend it. How depressing would that be?"

Shen Yibin couldn’t help but shiver at her words. That was truly terrifying. Not only would the stash of cash be gone, but you might also be forced to kneel on ants or lightbulbs or something. It was simply too cruel.

’Hmm, for the happiness of all my fellow men, if I ever sell Egg in the future, it’ll have to be to a single woman or another guy! Huh? Why does the phrase ’sell Egg’ sound so weird to me?’

"You two can keep playing. I’m going upstairs to look some things up." Judging by Sun Qian’s energy, she clearly had no intention of going to bed soon, so he decided to let them have their fun downstairs. Shen Yibin planned to head up and do some research to see if there was a way into the world of jade gambling.

Leaning back on his bed, he opened his tablet and started searching. He had only ever read about jade gambling in web novels and had never encountered it in the real world. He ought to do some prep work, right?

According to what he found online, jade gambling was essentially gambling on jadeite. There were two types of raw jadeite stones: mountain stones and water stones. Mountain stones were mined directly from jadeite mountains. They had no outer skin, were irregularly shaped with many sharp edges and cracks, and had a coarse, loose structure. Their quality was generally poor, so they weren’t used for gambling.

Water stones, on the other hand, were jadeite gravel. A series of natural processes like weathering and transportation caused them to form a unique outer skin, turning the jadeite fragments into roughly round or oval-shaped pebbles. Because a weathered rind concealed the surface, it was impossible to see what was inside. People had to rely on their experience to infer the quality of the jadeite within, judging by the rind’s characteristics and any small "windows" cut into it.

The price of raw jadeite stones wasn’t high. Poor-quality ones could cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand per kilogram, while better ones could go for tens or even hundreds of thousands. After a gambler bought a raw stone, they would cut it open with a single slice. If they cut out jade, they’d strike it rich. If no jade appeared, or if the jade they cut was of poor quality, their entire initial investment would go down the drain.

’How is this any different from rolling dice for high-low in a gambling movie?’ This was Shen Yibin’s first impression of the business. The only difference was that jade gambling had bigger risks and higher returns.

The jadeite earring today had been stuck in a crack between bricks; there was no way to see it from above. Egg must have found it using something other than its sight. ’Based on that, taking it to try this should be fine, right?’

But where could he find a place for jade gambling? According to his online search, most of the major sources for gambling stones were located in Myanmar and the South of the Colorful Clouds region. This left Shen Yibin deeply disappointed. Those places were usually full of shady characters, and he didn’t dare risk it. What if he got ripped off?

’I wonder if there’s a place like that in Yunzhong City? These kinds of places should be near jade markets, right?’ With that in mind, Shen Yibin started searching for jade and jewelry markets in Yunzhong City. And he actually found a place—there was indeed a street in Yunzhong City specializing in the jade and jewelry business.

’I’ll take Egg to have a look tomorrow. But should I put a leash on it? It’d be bad if the little guy started grabbing things as soon as we entered someone’s shop,’ Shen Yibin mused to himself.

First, he looked up the route to the street. Then, he contacted Bai Yanni on WeChat to ask about the public safety situation there. If the security was bad, he wouldn’t dare risk it. It wouldn’t be worth it if he didn’t make any money and ended up getting extorted.

Fortunately, Bai Yanni’s reply was good news. The street’s security had always been relatively good, without too many incidents. However, she had to work tomorrow and probably couldn’t go with Shen Yibin.

’It’s always better to be cautious.’ He decided to just take Egg tomorrow and leave Hah’Er at home. Shen Yibin made up his mind, then carefully studied the street’s layout, access routes, and other details before finally going to bed.

"Egg, let’s go. I’m taking you out for a stroll." After waking up and eating breakfast, he figured the jade shops on that street should be opening. Shen Yibin pulled out his "divine chariot," opened the passenger door, and beckoned to Egg.

"Mmph!" Before Egg could react, Hah’Er scrambled in excitedly, looking as if it thought Shen Yibin was taking it out to the suburbs to play again.

"Be good. We’re going out to run some errands today, not to play. If everything goes smoothly, how about I take you out tomorrow? For today, you can stay and help watch the shop." Shen Yibin rubbed Hah’Er’s head. The desire to expand the shop was becoming more and more urgent. ’Sigh, if only it had a small bamboo grove and a few big trees, this fella probably wouldn’t feel so cooped up, right?’

"Mmph?" Hah’Er tilted its head, looking at Shen Yibin pitifully before glancing over at Egg. Its expression clearly said, ’So you’ve got someone new and are casting the old one aside?’

"No, that’s not it. I really need Egg’s help with something." After spending so much time together, Shen Yibin and Hah’Er had developed a strong rapport. He immediately understood the meaning in Hah’Er’s eyes and quickly explained. It took a great deal of effort to persuade Hah’Er to go back inside. Then, he left Baiyun Street with Egg.

Leaving Baiyun Street, he made a left, passed two intersections, then took a right. After driving for half an hour, he finally reached the entrance to the jade and jewelry street. Shen Yibin slowed down, gradually scanning the shops on both sides. The shops were just opening for the day, and employees were busy cleaning up.

’Huh, they really do have raw stones?’ Shen Yibin slammed on the brakes. He saw what looked like several raw stones displayed inside the jade shop up ahead. ’Could those be for jade gambling?’

He quickly parked the car and walked over with Egg. At the shop’s entrance, however, a young woman from the store stopped him. "I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t allow pets inside." As she spoke, she sized up Egg, probably wondering what kind of animal it was.

’You’ve got to be kidding me! I finally saw a glimmer of hope, and you’re just going to shatter it like that? If we can’t go in, how am I supposed to make use of Egg’s talent?’