Slicing the stone was the most exhilarating phase of stone gambling, the make-or-break moment that determined utter ruin or instant fortune.

For novices gambling on stones, the first step was always to entrust the job to the shop’s slicing master; Guan Yingying was no exception. She handed over her two stones and clearly stated her precise requirements for the cutting method.

At Stone Records, this service was complimentary.

Following Guan Yingying’s instructions, the two slicing masters set to work. The first stone was exactly the worthless piece Wang Zhuo had foreseen through his clairvoyance; it was utterly ruined, reduced to a pile of chips within minutes and tossed onto the adjacent scrap heap.

About a thousand Yuan vanished just like that, yet Guan Yingying’s expression remained perfectly composed. She simply offered Wang Zhuo a faint smile: “Victory and defeat are common occurrences in warfare.”

A few minutes later, the result of the second stone emerged. After the third cut, a patch of deep green, the size of a fingertip pad, appeared, drawing a sudden gasp of pleasant surprise.

Unfortunately, under the beam of the flashlight, dark spots were clearly visible woven throughout the green—a flaw more severe than even ‘floating flowers.’ A collective wave of regretful sighs swept through the onlookers.

In the end, what was revealed was an elongated, spindle-shaped jadeite measuring five centimeters. Due to the abundance of black spots, its aesthetic appeal was marred. Although jadeite was successfully extracted, it was not worth much, classifying it as a loss.

The slicing master set down his tools and offered a regretful assessment: “It might fetch four or five hundred Yuan, perhaps.”

Guan Yingying held the piece of jadeite, turning it over in her hand, her expression laced with disappointment, though she wasn't truly upset about losing the gamble money; the super-rich aren't short on cash—the participation itself was the main point.

She asked, “Master, what can be made from this piece of jadeite? I want to keep it as a memento.”

The slicing master explained, “If it had white cotton inclusions or floating flowers, we could craft delicate pieces like Guanyin, snap beans, or Ruyi pendants. For jade with dark spots, the most common carvings are the Money Toad or the Pixiu.”

Guan Yingying pondered for a moment: “Then let’s make a Pixiu.”

After some discussion, Stone Records collected a 300 Yuan crafting fee from Guan Yingying and took her contact details; she could collect the finished piece in about a week.

The other two rough stones sitting on the workbench belonged to Wang Zhuo. The slicing master asked, “Young man, which one shall we cut first?”

Wang Zhuo chuckled, “I’ll do it myself.”

Many customers preferred to handle the cutting themselves, so the slicing master nodded his approval and yielded the cutting machine.

Cutting the stone oneself held a certain fascination; however, it was significantly more difficult than playing with clay and carried some inherent risk. But Wang Zhuo was unconcerned; knowing exactly what the jade inside the rough looked like, cutting it himself would minimize any potential waste.

Seeing someone intent on cutting his own stone, a few more people gathered around to watch the spectacle.

“Master, may I borrow the angle grinder?”

Having secured the rough stone, Wang Zhuo eschewed the diamond cutting blade, opting instead to borrow an angle grinder, signaling his intention to proceed immediately.

“Young man, watch your safety!”

“Indeed, if you don’t know how to cut, perhaps let a professional handle it. If you ruin a good piece, you’ll regret it too late.”

“Brother, you should use the cutting wire. Watching you approach it like that makes me nervous.”

The onlookers offered advice freely, attempting to guide the novice stone gambler. Wang Zhuo merely smiled faintly, focusing intently on the rough stone, powering up the angle grinder, and slicing toward the precise spot he had targeted.

Jadeite, also known as hard jade, possesses a density almost as hard as rock. The blades or grinding wheels used for cutting are typically silicon carbide, and even polishing sometimes requires diamond powder.

But Wang Zhuo possessed considerable strength, and the angle grinder was powerful enough. Thus, everyone witnessed a strange sight: he stripped away several layers of the outer skin from the rough stone as easily as slicing a potato, revealing green through the small inspection window he had just created.

“It’s risen! It’s risen!”

“That’s truly green—it’s a massive gain!”

“Are those floating flowers? I hope I’m not mistaken.”

“Thin skin, thick filling—but what about the texture (Zhong)?”

Before the water had even been rinsed over it, the surrounding stone gamblers erupted, the atmosphere immediately becoming feverish. This drew even more people to crowd around to watch this successful rough stone. For a time, everyone in the courtyard—save for a few diligently stationed sales clerks—had gathered to observe the stone that had proven a winner.

One spectator quickly handed over a bottle of mineral water. Wang Zhuo thanked him, twisted off the cap, and poured it over the rough stone.

“What a pity, an old Bean-seed variety.”

“What Bean-seed? That’s clearly Waxy texture (Nuomuzhong), what are your eyes seeing?”

Two spectators actually began arguing at that moment. A tall, thin man nearby commented sarcastically, “I say it’s Ice texture (Bingzhong), maybe even Glass texture (Boli zhong). Why are you all getting so excited over someone else’s stone?”

The first two immediately turned to attack the tall, thin man. The three had arrived together and quickly descended into bickering—it seemed they enjoyed arguing for sport.

Wang Zhuo knew that Bean-seed or Waxy texture referred to the fineness of the jadeite, which directly influenced its final value. Ranked from highest to lowest value, the categories were Glass texture, Ice texture, Waxy texture, and Bean-seed texture.

A slicing master held a high-intensity flashlight, peering into the window opening for a long time before frowning, “Looks like there might be a fracture.”

A fracture meant the price would be heavily discounted. Wang Zhuo glanced at him but said nothing, picking up the angle grinder and flicking the power switch.

“He’s cutting more? That’s too bold!”

“Brother, just stop now. It’s already a good gain; if you cut further and it crashes, you’ll lose!”

“Cut it, buddy! This stone is definitely going to be a huge hit, I support you!”

The onlookers were split, but Wang Zhuo was confident. He looked toward Guan Yingying.

Guan Yingying’s face was alight with excitement. As Wang Zhuo’s companion, his success felt like her own. Seeing that Wang Zhuo seemed to be seeking her opinion, she replied without hesitation: “I support cutting it.”

Wang Zhuo nodded, raised the angle grinder, targeted the spot precisely, and began to cut.

This time, he didn't stop. Ignoring the surrounding chatter, he kept cutting the rough stone, stroke after stroke, until the entire outline of the jadeite was exposed amid the murmurs, only then halting.

At this stage, the jadeite rough was no longer called 'rough material' but 'clear material' (Mingliao); all its merits and flaws were plainly visible.

Some people envied it; others felt regret, as the piece didn't perform as spectacularly as it had in the first few cuts. Once fully exposed, only part of it was fully green; there were some floating flowers, and some rock material appeared where it shouldn't have been.

The texture and luster fell somewhere between Ice and Waxy—dubbed Ice-Waxy texture (Bing Nuo Zhong). However, there were absolutely no fractures; the slicing master had been mistaken.

“It’s a gain, yes, but somewhat regrettable.”

“It’s already excellent! That’s full green Ice-Waxy quality, and the color is quite true!”

“Hurry up and measure it—is there enough for bangles?”

The onlookers took turns viewing it, discussing it animatedly.

“Can it yield bangles?” Wang Zhuo asked a young man measuring the clear material. Whether bangles could be made significantly impacted the price, which was currently his primary concern.

The young man pursed his lips and shook his head: “Can’t get any, what a shame.”

Another person nearby, skeptical, stepped up to measure, but received the same result.

“Young man, are you selling this piece of clear material?” A sophisticated, alluring woman suddenly spoke up.

“I’m selling,” Wang Zhuo nodded. “If the price is reasonable, I’ll sell.”

Several people nearby immediately showed interest, and some even appeared eager.

Although the value of clear material was relatively transparent, everyone kept their own tally sheet; the perceived value of the same piece differed from person to person. For instance, if someone planned to carve a decorative piece from this material, their bid would be based on the value of that pendant; conversely, if someone intended to cut ring facings from this clear material, their offer would be even lower than that for a decorative carving.

The sophisticated woman said, “Name your price.”

Wang Zhuo grinned: “Starting bid at one Yuan. Highest bidder takes it.”

Wang Zhuo’s reply stunned everyone. This was clearly not what they had expected, but everyone immediately understood: although this youth didn't understand jadeite, he was sharp-witted. Anyone looking to take advantage of him would first have to contend with the rest of the crowd. In the end, the final price would be determined by free competition, allowing him to sit back and watch the tigers fight.

Guan Yingying pursed her lips in a soft laugh and gave Wang Zhuo a thumbs-up, thinking his display of Tai Chi maneuvering was superb.

“I bid thirty thousand.” The quarreling, tall, thin man threw out the opening bid.

“Thirty thousand? Are you crazy? The stone is good, but I don’t see it being worth thirty thousand!”

His companion had just exclaimed exaggeratedly when a middle-aged man with a subtle air of official authority spoke: “I bid forty thousand.”

The thin man’s companion immediately fell silent; his haggling trick proved useless in this situation.

“Forty-five thousand.” The next bidder didn't even look up, his gaze fixed intently on Wang Zhuo’s clear material.

“I bid sixty thousand!” The voluptuous woman finally couldn't hold back, immediately offering a high figure.

“Sixty-five thousand.” The official couldn’t possibly be intimidated by a commoner.

“We at Stone Records bid seventy thousand!”

The slicing master had disappeared at some point and returned with a young man dressed in a business suit; the one making the bid was this newcomer.

However, this bidding contest recognized no home-field advantage. The sophisticated woman immediately raised the price to eighty thousand, silencing the young man.

The price of eighty thousand caused many onlookers to shake their heads and drop out. The middle-aged man with official bearing seemed prepared to counter, but he was restrained by a man beside him who looked like an attendant.

And so, the bidding concluded. Someone next to the sophisticated woman immediately counted out eighty thousand in cash to Wang Zhuo. Stone Records proactively brought over a currency counter, and the transaction was successfully finalized.

The woman did not exchange much more conversation with Wang Zhuo; in her view, she had merely purchased a piece of clear material from a layman, and there would be no further connection between them.

As the crowd dispersed, Guan Yingying walked over with a bright smile and said to Wang Zhuo, “I never expected this, Wang Zhuo. A huge success on your very first stone gamble. Congratulations!”

“Just lucky,” Wang Zhuo replied with a hearty laugh, shamelessly lying.

Guan Yingying picked up the remaining rough stone and pressed it into Wang Zhuo’s hand, urging him, “Quickly, while your luck is hot, cut this one open too!”

“Right!”

Having just secured eighty thousand Yuan, Wang Zhuo was feeling exhilarated. Moreover, he knew the green area in this stone was even larger. With the success of the first stone as precedent, he had an overwhelming urge to slice open this second stone immediately!