"Sir, if you’re willing to part with it now, I’ll offer one million two hundred thousand," the silver-haired old man continued. With just one simple cut, the price of the rough stone had multiplied several times over. There’s a saying in stone gambling: "one cut to heaven, one cut to hell." How true that seemed now. If that last cut had revealed nothing, forget one million two hundred thousand—it probably wouldn’t even have been worth twelve thousand.

’To sell or not to sell?’ The difficult decision was now Shen Yibin’s. He stared at the window cut into the stone, momentarily at a loss. Logically speaking, this was enough money to rent the shop and pay for renovations. He had already achieved his goal for this trip. It seemed he could just take the one million two hundred thousand and walk away.

’But what if there’s something even better inside? If the next cut still shows red, will the price go up again?’ Shen Yibin asked the boss for a bottle of mineral water. He gulped down a few mouthfuls before finally calming himself. Egg’s talent hadn’t told him exactly how much good stuff was in there. ’Is it too risky to keep gambling?’

The research he did last night was full of countless myths of getting rich overnight—of people spending a few thousand or tens of thousands to cut out jade worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions. But in Shen Yibin’s view, that was just survivorship bias. For every one of these successes, who knew how many people had lost their fortunes. Stone gambling was, in the end, still gambling, and it has always been said that nine out of ten gamblers lose.

"Alright, since you like it so much, I’ll sell it to you. But would it be alright if I watch you cut it open completely?" Shen Yibin had always considered himself unlucky, so after calming down, he gave up on the idea of continuing to gamble and accepted the old man’s offer.

"Good. Let’s go to my shop. Give me your bank card number and I’ll transfer the money." With that, the old man picked up the rough stone and led Shen Yibin away, leaving behind Boss Song and a group of onlookers sighing with regret.

’I sold something worth one million two hundred thousand for just fifty thousand? Could this kid be a veteran, and I’m the rookie who got tricked?’ Boss Song watched resentfully as Shen Yibin entered the old man’s shop. His eyes shifted back and forth, his mind clearly racing.

This time, Egg wasn’t given any trouble. It swaggered into the old man’s shop behind Shen Yibin. Just a moment ago, Shen Yibin had learned the old man’s basic background. The man’s surname was Ouyang, and he was a retired professor from Yunzhong University. He had done a great deal of research on jade and had opened this shop out of passion.

This shop looked much more high-end than Boss Song’s, and the stone-cutting machine also seemed far more advanced. After transferring one million two hundred thousand to Shen Yibin, Professor Ouyang put on his glasses and began to carefully work on the rough stone. His movements were not fast, but they were exceptionally smooth, a clear sign that he was far more skilled than Boss Song. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

After more than an hour of careful work, the red jadeite within the rough stone was finally, completely extracted. However, the piece of jadeite seemed a bit smaller than Shen Yibin had expected.

"Ah, I’m getting old. My eyes have failed me again," Professor Ouyang said, taking off his glasses and shaking his head with a hint of regret. However, he didn’t seem too disappointed.

"Uh, are you saying this piece of jadeite isn’t worth one million two hundred thousand?" ’He’s not going to back out of the deal, is he?’ Shen Yibin subconsciously touched his wallet.

"Not at all. Although this piece of jadeite isn’t as large as I expected, it can still sell for at least one million five hundred thousand. If you commission a master to carve it, the price could be even higher," Professor Ouyang said, shaking his head with a smile.

"Then what are you regretting?" ’As long as he didn’t take a loss, that’s all that matters.’ Shen Yibin felt a great sense of relief. He had a good impression of Professor Ouyang; if the professor had lost money, he would have felt a little guilty himself.

"Think about it. I spent one million two hundred thousand and took such a big risk. My expected return was definitely over two million four hundred thousand. In the end, I only got a piece of jadeite worth one million five hundred thousand. It’s inevitable that I’d be a little frustrated." Actually, the financial gain was secondary; what really bothered Professor Ouyang was that his judgment had been off.

He had spent one million two hundred thousand and only made three hundred thousand, while Shen Yibin had spent a mere fifty thousand and reaped one million two hundred thousand. Moreover, Shen Yibin had timed it perfectly, not selling at the first offer of two hundred thousand but decisively passing the risk on at one million two hundred thousand. At first glance, it seemed like Shen Yibin was the veteran stone gambler.

"Making a profit is always a good thing. Besides, from the looks of it, I doubt you plan on selling this piece of jadeite, do you? You must be happy to have acquired such a fine piece of jade, right?" After all, Shen Yibin was a businessman himself, so he had some ability to read people. The fond way Professor Ouyang was handling the jade didn’t escape his notice.

"Haha, you saw right through me. My collection may not compare to those of the great masters, but it’s not small. The one thing I was missing was a significant piece of red jadeite. Today, my wish has finally been granted, and it’s all thanks to you, Mr. Shen. Why don’t we have lunch together?" Professor Ouyang said with a laugh, extending the invitation.

"Unfortunately, I can’t. My family is waiting for me to go home and cook. Perhaps we’ll meet again some other time." With an extra one million two hundred thousand in his pocket, Shen Yibin didn’t feel at ease staying out any longer. It was better to head back early.

Professor Ouyang understood, so he didn’t press the matter. Instead, he handed Shen Yibin a business card, telling him to call if he ever came across any other good items in the future, and then saw him to the door.

"Egg! We’re rich!" The moment he got back to the car, Shen Yibin couldn’t help but hug Egg tightly. This little guy was just too amazing, getting him over a million in one go. Now he wouldn’t have to worry about the money to rent from Mrs. Wang or hire a renovation crew. "Tell me, what do you want for lunch? I’ll make it for you!"

Egg was nearly suffocated by Shen Yibin’s hug. It clawed and scratched its way out of his arms, and as soon as it was free, it jumped from the passenger seat to the back seat, keeping its distance.

"Uh, sorry about that. I got a little excited... a little excited." Shen Yibin laughed awkwardly and apologized profusely to Egg. It took a lot of coaxing to improve Egg’s mood, but it still refused to sit in the front.

"Alright then, just sit tight back there. We’re heading home now." With that, Shen Yibin started the car and drove off in the direction of Baiyun Street.

Behind him, an inconspicuous car also started up and began to secretly follow them. Shen Yibin was completely unaware.

When he arrived back at his shop, the car also stopped behind him. Boss Song, wearing sunglasses, stuck his head out of the car window and surveyed the surroundings. "So he runs a pet shop. No wonder I’ve never seen him around before."

’No matter how I look at it, Shen Yibin is a total amateur. Yet this same amateur spent fifty thousand and ended up with red jadeite worth over a million. Something fishy is definitely going on here.’