The first floor of the Stone Record building housed the main display area, and after Guan Yingying and Wang Zhuo stated their business, a sales assistant led the pair toward the back courtyard.

This was a courtyard spanning nearly two hundred square meters. All around its perimeter were numerous types of unidentifiable lathes and machinery. In the center stood several rows of double-stacked shelves, each over a meter high, laden with stones, stones, and more stones...

Of course, these were no ordinary rocks. They were rough jadeite materials, the unopened boulders, any one of which might conceal a piece of exquisite jade, perhaps not enough to make one a millionaire overnight, but certainly sufficient for a comfortable windfall.

Since this was Wang Zhuo and Guan Yingying’s first foray into jade gambling, a sales assistant enthusiastically attended to them, offering lessons on the finer points of jadeite.

After listening for a while, Guan Yingying grew eager and walked over to the shelves to examine the rough stones herself.

Wang Zhuo, however, was more concerned with which type of jadeite fetched the highest price. He noticed two middle-aged craftsmen working at a cutting machine—what the trade called "stone revealing" ()—so he drifted over to observe the process closely.

Stone revealing was delicate work. One method was known as "window cutting" (), where a small patch was sliced open on the rough stone’s surface. If a good quality piece of jadeite was revealed, it was called a "cut win" (). At that point, they could sell it immediately for a profit or continue cutting.

The other method involved completely breaking down the rough stone to expose the jadeite’s true form, thereby concluding the gamble. This method, however, couldn't be done haphazardly; how well or poorly the stone was cut would drastically affect the jadeite's final worth.

While the two revealers were busy positioning a rough stone, Wang Zhuo took the initiative and used his clairvoyance. To his slight disappointment, the jadeite rough had a very high density, making it difficult to discern the colors inside; it was like looking through a thin veil of mist.

This particular stone was the size of a sea bowl, its skin a brownish-yellow. Wang Zhuo could see mostly white, chalky material throughout, with only faint traces of pale green occasionally showing. Only in the very core was there a small patch of deeper green, which also seemed to have a slight color shift, leaving Wang Zhuo uncertain.

Stone revealing was an inherently thrilling endeavor, captured by the saying, "One cut poverty, one cut wealth" ()—a stark portrait of the reality of the cut. Several people gathered near the cutting machine besides Wang Zhuo—men and women alike—all waiting to see the result of this particular rough stone.

Once the cutting angle was calculated and the stone secured, the machine roared to life. One cut was made, then the machine stopped for observation, then the angle was reset, another cut, another pause.

After five consecutive cuts, the exposed material was still chalky white, and the occasional trace of green was too pale to hold any value. The onlookers shook their heads repeatedly, concluding this stone was likely doomed.

Wang Zhuo watched intently. By the time the two revealers repositioned the rough stone, he already knew this next cut would expose that small patch of green.

Sparks flew, and after a final burst of noise, another section of the rough was sliced away, finally revealing a patch of green about the size of a fingernail.

"It's a win! We hit it!"

"Green showed up; looks like we’ll make money this time."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, and the two revealers also showed smiles of relief. They quickly stopped the machine and moved the stone to a workbench for a closer look.

Rinsing it with half a bottle of mineral water washed away the dust on the green surface, revealing the color underneath. One spectator exclaimed happily, "It's Yellow Poplar Green (), and it looks like it might be Icy Glutinous texture ()."

One of the revealers took a high-intensity flashlight and shone it onto the green area to get a clearer view of the interior. After examining it for a while, he nodded and smiled, "Icy Glutinous, no cracks. It’s just a bit small."

The crowd began discussing again. Wang Zhuo listened, vaguely understanding that Icy Glutinous was slightly better than standard Glutinous texture, and Yellow Poplar Green was a relatively high-grade color for jadeite. No cracks meant the jadeite was free of fissures, which was a critical factor influencing the final value.

The two craftsmen continued the revealing process, this time switching to a handheld angle grinder. With every cut, they rinsed the surface with water and immediately checked it with the flashlight, determined not to accidentally slice away any of the green material.

Twenty minutes later, the revealing process concluded. The Yellow Poplar Green was completely exposed; it was irregularly shaped, about the size of an egg, awaiting future design and carving.

The jadeite, once cut, was not immediately put away. Instead, it was passed around among the onlookers for appreciation—apparently a unique feature of jade culture. Wang Zhuo also got his turn, following the example of others, and stepped up to examine it closely with a magnifying glass.

The audience continued their discussion, using terms Wang Zhuo didn't understand, such as "water content" (), "floating flowers" (), and "pinpoints" (). Wang Zhuo mentally noted them all, planning to research their meanings later.

"It's a profit. This rough stone is worth at least twenty thousand," commented a tall, thin elderly man.

One of the revealers nodded and smiled, "Roughly that. With good design, we can carve a significant pendant."

"Will you sell this 'bright material' ()?" asked a woman with distinct charm.

Bright material was the jadeite raw material whose value was completely revealed—the final product of jade gambling. This piece of Yellow Poplar Green was now considered bright material. Furthermore, jadeite raw material that had been polished beyond this stage was also called bright material.

The revealing craftsman smiled and replied, "You’ll have to ask the shopkeeper about that. We just cut the stones; we don't make decisions."

A short, stout man resembling a merchant nearby chuckled, "Master Zhao, how much did that piece go up? Got a bonus today, I see?"

The other craftsman, Master Zhao, nodded, "The rough cost a little over three thousand. It has indeed multiplied its value several times over."

Over ten thousand yuan profit just like that? Wang Zhuo felt a stir of excitement and decided to act. Ceasing to listen to their chatter, he turned and headed toward the shelves where the rough stones were displayed.

Each stone was marked with a serial number painted in oil-based paint. Most were completely intact, but some had been cut open, revealing their interior texture—either stony or gem-like, with the occasional hint of green.

Wang Zhuo knew that completely uncut stones were called "full gamble roughs" (); they carried the highest risk and were the cheapest. Stones with a window cut were "half-gamble roughs" (); they were often more expensive than the full gamble ones, but if the window revealed only white stone, it meant a "cut loss" () and depreciation, sometimes making it cheaper than a full gamble rough. Correspondingly, a "cut win" () meant appreciation, as was the case with the Yellow Poplar Green they had just seen.

Possessing the gift of clairvoyance, Wang Zhuo naturally aimed to maximize his returns. Thus, he bypassed the half-gamble roughs with open windows and focused oning the full gamble ones. Occasionally, he checked a few half-gamble roughs that had already 'cut a loss,' but he soon realized those stones had almost always lost badly; the best interior he saw was a piece of cottony white and pale green jadeite. Unfamiliar with the value of this type, he refrained from making an immediate purchase.

After making a circuit, Wang Zhuo finally selected two rough stones. One was about the size of two fists clenched together, with a black surface; the other was larger, with a yellowish-brown exterior. Both were full gamble roughs.

He called over a sales clerk to inquire about the price, feeling a slight hesitation: the two roughs together cost thirty-six hundred yuan, and he only had three hundred on him. Guan Yingying certainly wouldn't have that much cash either.

Seeing Wang Zhuo speaking with the young clerk, Guan Yingying immediately approached, smiling, "How is it, Wang Zhuo? Picked out a stone? Thinking of taking a gamble?"

Wang Zhuo nodded with a smile, "I've set my sights on two stones, but unfortunately, I didn't bring enough cash."

Guan Yingying waved her hand generously, "I'll cover the money. Bring the stones over to check out."

"That would be too much trouble?" Wang Zhuo offered politely.

"What's the trouble? You saved my father forty thousand yuan," Guan Yingying said. She got the serial numbers for Wang Zhuo's two chosen stones from the clerk and walked toward the counter. "I’ll go swipe my card to pay. We can cut them together in a moment!"

Wang Zhuo sighed inwardly, reflecting that earning three months' living expenses from splitting a wine cup proved that fortune truly favored the bold.

A short while later, the beautiful Miss Guan returned. She had also selected two stones for herself, both about the size of a steamed bun, one square and one round. Wang Zhuo glanced over curiously: the square one contained a small patch of deep green, but the round one showed not a speck of green—just solid white rock!