Chapter 578: The Grand Raw Stone Showcase

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The vendor clapped his hands and carefully picked up the second raw stone to open it. “Eh? Why is it black?”

Everyone held their breath…

Suddenly, someone whispered, “Could this be black jade?”

The vendor’s hand trembled upon hearing this, thinking to himself, could they really be this lucky?

The raw stones he collected were usually from the edges of mines that had already been exploited, so finding purple jade was rare, but black jade was unheard of.

He carefully peeled away the outer layer of the stone, eventually revealing a bowl-sized piece of black jade.

“It’s really black jade! Though not top-grade, it’s still a good quality piece. Such good luck.”

“First purple jade and now black jade. I’ve never seen anyone this lucky.”

“I’ve been in this business for over a decade, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

The crowd erupted in amazement and discussion, their eyes also lingering on the pile of unopened raw stones.

Someone said, “Miss, how about selling one of those remaining raw stones to me? I’ll offer five hundred taels. What do you say?”

Others quickly joined in, “I’m also willing to pay five hundred taels.”

“I’ll offer six hundred taels, okay?”

Chu Qingzhi smiled and replied, “I don’t plan to sell these raw stones. However, the jade that we’ll extract later will be for sale. You all can have a look then.”

After witnessing two consecutive instances of valuable jade being extracted, the crowd was impressed with Chu Qingzhi and even suspected she might have the skill to discern jade. So when she refused to sell the raw stones, they came up with another idea.

“Miss, there are more raw stone stalls over there. Could you help me choose one? If it turns out to be a rare jade, you’ll get half of the profit.”

The nearby raw stone vendors immediately started cursing under their breath, annoyed that people were trying to take advantage of the situation. They thought, just because the girl is skilled doesn’t mean she should help you. Why don’t you pick one yourself? Who needs your measly few coins!

Chu Qingzhi declined the offer, as she could guarantee that the raw stones she chose contained jade. Why keep 50 percent of the profit when she can keep 100?

“I’ve already picked so many, my mind is in a blur now. I can’t discern anymore.”

Hearing Chu Qingzhi say this, the crowd tried to persuade her for a while but eventually gave up.

Someone asked, “Miss, are you selling that black jade?”

Chu Qingzhi replied, “Yes, it’ll go to the highest bidder.”

“One thousand taels!”

“Two thousand taels!”

“Two thousand one hundred taels!”

Eventually, the black jade was sold for two thousand three hundred taels, almost covering Chu Qingzhi’s costs.

The vendor wiped the sweat from his forehead, astonished by the unexpected treasures his stall had yielded.

He continued to open the third stone…

Gradually, he cracked open all twenty-something stones, each revealing jade of varying quality. The best was crystal purple jade, and the least valuable was water jade, but even that was of a decent grade.

Each stone opened elicited astonishment from the crowd. Such a perfect success rate was unprecedented in the jade world and caused a sensation in the black market, drawing even more onlookers.

Apart from the crystal purple jade, Chu Qingzhi sold the rest, totaling forty-five thousand taels, netting a profit of over forty thousand taels, leaving the crowd green with envy.

After Chu Qingzhi left with her earnings, the onlookers rushed to buy the vendor’s remaining raw stones.

It was the vendor’s best business day ever. Initially feeling a bit resentful, he was now overjoyed after earning several thousand taels.

“That girl is like the God of Wealth reincarnated!” he thought to himself, happily packing up to head home.

Yuan Hongjun looked at Chu Qingzhi and asked in admiration, “Master, how did you identify the raw stone?”

Stones containing jade would glow, with the intensity of the light correlating to the quality of the jade.

In high spirits, Chu Qingzhi explained the principles of identifying jade-containing raw stones to her disciples. She pointed out that raw stones with jade share certain common characteristics and could be identified without her special ability. After the explanation, she encouraged her disciples to practice.

While teaching her disciples, Chu Qingzhi also kept an eye on her surroundings with her divine sense, but nothing unusual had been detected so far.

Yuan Hongjun and Bao Linjiang remembered everything Chu Qingzhi taught them and approached another raw stone stall.

Seeing Chu Qingzhi and her disciples heading to buy more raw stones, the crowd quickly gathered around again.

Chu Qingzhi stood by, letting her disciples choose the stones without interference, allowing them to build their confidence.

Yuan Hongjun and Bao Linjiang selected their stones independently without interfering with each other, each choosing five raw stones.

Bao Linjiang approached Chu Qingzhi, “Master, what do you think?”

Chu Qingzhi examined the stones picked by Bao Linjiang, “Very good.”

Yuan Hongjun asked, “Master, how about mine?”

After inspecting Yuan Hongjun’s stones, Chu Qingzhi also found them to be good. “Both of your selections are similar. Let the vendor crack them open.”

The vendor, having witnessed Chu Qingzhi’s exceptional ability to discern stones, was somewhat expectant. “I’ll get the tools and start opening them for you.”

After some effort, all the stones chosen by the two disciples were opened.

The best one turned out to be a green jade worth two thousand taels, and the least valuable was a white jade worth one thousand taels, earning them six to seven thousand taels in total.

The disciples handed the money to Chu Qingzhi, “Master, this is for you.”

Chu Qingzhi pushed the banknotes back, “I’ve already earned tens of thousands. Keep it for yourselves.”

Yuan Hongjun smiled and said, “Then we’ll buy something for you.”

Chu Qingzhi replied, “Save your money; you’ll need it in the future.”

“Yes, Master.” The two disciples listened to Chu Qingzhi’s words. From then on, they developed a good habit of saving money. Hence, when the two of them were in their twenties, they were already rich.

Chu Qingzhi continued to stroll around with her disciples, picking some excellent items from various antique stalls…

Suddenly, Chu Qingzhi sensed something amiss, “The target has appeared.”

The two of them were immediately on guard.

Tang Jinghong also noticed a suspicious person entering the black market, looking around stealthily.

Of course, apprehending a criminal can’t just be based on a feeling. The main reason is that this person’s figure greatly resembles He Jing, and moreover, He Jing has a very distinct pigeon-toed gait, which is different from ordinary people.

Ren Buqing, Chu Xujin, Ge Lihua, and the other officers who were lying in ambush in the black market also noticed him.

The man was carrying a box-like object, matching the description of the suspect.

They slowly surrounded him.

Indeed, the man was He Jing. While glancing around, he entered a gambling den, stood at the entrance for a moment, then went upstairs and entered a room in the corner.

At that moment, Tang Jinghong was on the rooftop of that room, Chu Qingzhi next door, and the others were outside the gambling den, ready to act on Ren Buqing’s signal.

In the room, there were four people in cloaks, heavily disguised, and another tied up and thrown on the bed. It was He Jing’s son..

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