Urban Super Medical Saint

"Aren't you going to give it a look?" Zhang Yaku asked with a smile.

"The quality isn't good; there's nothing worth looking at," Ge Dongxu responded offhandedly.

"Not good quality? It's already quite decent, it reaches the level of waxy ice type, and the color is nice too. If it's well polished, it can still fetch a good price," the stall owner said with a smile, but there was a hint of ridicule in his eyes as he looked at Ge Dongxu. People like him were the ones whose money was easiest to swindle, especially those like Ge Dongxu who pretended to know what they were talking about while being complete amateurs. At the same time, he had little respect for such people.

Always with talk of ice type, old pit glass type, and even some customers thinking they can strike it rich with jadeite of ice or glass type after buying a stone for merely tens or hundreds of yuan.

Isn't that nonsensical? Stones that make it here have already passed through many hands. Would such high-quality stones be priced at just tens or hundreds of yuan for your taking?

And that's not even the worst of it. Some people, having spent just a few hundred yuan on a bracelet, insist on inquiring whether it's of glass type, as if glass type jade were something so easily obtainable.

"This time, I'm looking for some glass type pieces," Ge Dongxu said to the stall owner with a smile, then casually started feeling the stones.

Just as I thought! The stall owner thought to himself, already labeling Ge Dongxu as one of those that pretend to be savvy without having a clue.

Seeing this, Zhang Yaku couldn't help but give a wry smile, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Ge Dongxu felt all around the stone but didn't find any good material and didn't make a move, whereas Zhang Yaku took an interest in one piece.

It was the very first one he had picked up.

For Ge Dongxu, now that ice type jadeite naturally seemed to be of much lower quality, but for Zhang Yaku, it was already quite nice. After all, these days, those who can afford high-end goods are few and far between, whereas goods of this level were easier to sell.

"That piece is average, this one's better," Ge Dongxu said casually, picking up another piece of stone he had touched earlier and speaking to Zhang Yaku.

From the part that was exposed, this piece also showed a hint of green, but the color was worse than the first piece.

But Ge Dongxu knew that if this piece was opened, it would contain at least twice the material of the other one. Not only that, the other piece, although it looked quite pretty, had a crack inside, so its price would have to be discounted.

That's the thing with 'windows' in the stone; oftentimes, sellers choose the best part to open for the buyers to see. Sometimes, it looks marvelous, but if you were to actually cut into it, there might be a crack, or it might just be a shallow layer of green, barely any material at all.

In such cases, you could only chalk it up to bad luck.

"Young man, Mr. Zhang is an expert. You, an amateur, shouldn't be giving advice to a professional," the stall owner said, somewhat unable to stand the situation any longer.

"Dongxu, let me have a look," Zhang Yaku said with a laugh, not wanting Ge Dongxu, a young man, to lose face.

Ge Dongxu then passed the stone he was holding to Zhang Yaku.

Zhang Yaku took it and looked it over carefully. He still felt the color was off and decided to buy the first piece instead. Of course, the price was much lower than initially—it was only five thousand yuan.

Seeing Zhang Yaku ignore his advice, Ge Dongxu couldn't do anything about it.

Next, the two continued to wander around the market.

After an entire day, Ge Dongxu was greatly exhausted but did not pick out any suitable stones. Zhang Yakun, on the other hand, made more purchases, buying both finished products and stones that had been 'windowed'.

Zhang Yakun, being in the business, still had a good eye for a finished product, which obviously didn't require Ge Dongxu's seal of approval. However, Ge Dongxu still discreetly helped him check the stones, to prevent him from suffering a significant loss. After all, the man had kindly shown him the way; it was only right that he returned the favor.

Therefore, during this time, Ge Dongxu offered a reminder once again, but Zhang Yakun did not listen.

Ge Dongxu would not insist, of course; it wasn't a lot of money, after all. If push came to shove, he could simply pick out a better stone for him before they parted ways.

Zhang Yakun had friends in Ruili who dealt in jade, and after dinner in the evening, he took Ge Dongxu to one of these friends' places to get the stones cut.

"No way, you were right!" After cutting a few stones open, Zhang Yakun saw that two of them were obvious losses, which coincidentally were the ones Ge Dongxu had pointed out. He couldn't help but be dumbfounded.

"I don't think the stones here are up to par. Is there a market that sells larger, higher-grade raw stones?" Ge Dongxu said with a smile before changing the subject.

He naturally couldn't tell Zhang Yakun that he could sense the quality of jade using mana.

And since the raw stones here were scattered and had already changed many hands, everything displayed outwardly was just ordinary goods. Ge Dongxu had picked through them all day and indeed had not found the stones he wanted.

Because this method of selecting jade was incredibly energy-consuming, Ge Dongxu did not wish to waste his strength again tomorrow on a fruitless effort.

"No wonder you didn't make a purchase all day; you truly are an expert. It is puzzling though; if you're an expert, how come you're not familiar with this area? Typically, merchants would hide the better-looking material, and they won't open it easily because even experts who have been in this business for decades can't guarantee that it will increase in value once cut. Often, a piece of material that looks promising turns out to be disappointing once cut open—a single crack can destroy half or even its entire value. Just like the stone you warned me about today—it looked good, and I thought I could make a couple of bracelets out of it, but a crack ruined it. I definitely took a loss on this one. So from this perspective, many pieces of material are better off unopened. Unopened, they can still fetch a high price, but once they are, it's too late. That's why, in this trade, the good-quality materials keep circulating among jade merchants. By the time they reach the final buyer, the price naturally won't be low. It's difficult to stumble upon good material so casually. Hence, good material is very expensive, and it's almost impossible to get the high-grade jadeite you want for just a few thousand or tens of thousands." Zhang Yakun looked at Ge Dongxu and said.

"So that's how it is; no wonder I didn't find any good stones today." Ge Dongxu had an epiphany and then said smilingly, "Money is not the issue; the key is to find some reliable stones, or else it's just a waste of time and effort."

"It seems you are really set on gambling on stones, but I still have to warn you: the risks are tremendous. It really can make you poor or rich in a single cut. You need to think this through," Zhang Yakun said with a somewhat serious expression upon hearing this.

"Don't worry, Brother Zhang, I know what I'm doing," Ge Dongxu assured him with a nod.@@novelbin@@

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"In that case, I'll take you to my hometown, Yingjiang, tomorrow. It is the largest distribution center for raw materials in our country and a necessary passageway for importing jadeite raw materials. The goods change hands less frequently there. Most importantly, I am familiar with Yingjiang and have a few friends who specialize in this business. They are sitting on some good material. However, I only offer introductions; I won't get involved. I want to make this clear. Otherwise, if you lose your bet and come after me, accusing me of leading you into a trap, even jumping into the Yellow River won't wash away the blame," Zhang Yakun said thoughtfully after seeing that Ge Dongxu was determined.

"Thank you, Brother Zhang; I trust your character," Ge Dongxu said.

Zhang Yakun merely smiled noncommittally, then packed up the cut jadeite, thanked his friend, and returned to the hotel with Ge Dongxu.

The next day, after breakfast, Zhang Yakun didn't immediately drive to Yingjiang, but instead made another trip to the jade market.

Once at the jade market, Zhang Yakun headed straight for Boss Wang's stall.

ps: I'm not very knowledgeable about jade, so writing this part is quite slow and strenuous for me. However, I'll do my best to make it seem authentic. If there are mistakes, I ask professionals to kindly overlook them and thank you.