To Wang Guan's invitation, An Shenghyan's offer, neither Wang Guan nor the others saw any reason to refuse. After all, having more friends meant more opportunities, especially friends with capability; knowing a few more certainly wouldn't hurt.

As the group departed, the onlookers gradually dispersed. This was, after all, Myanmar, a place that produced jade, and even the locals had seen their fair share of fine jade; it wasn't that rare to them.

However, some publicity was inevitable. It was likely that news of someone uncovering top-grade jade here would soon spread throughout the city, adding fuel to the upcoming public auction.

While the news was spreading, Wang Guan and his companions, led by An Shenghyan, were slowly making their way into a luxurious mansion. It was clear that An Shenghyan's friend was no ordinary person. But then again, a professional jade appraiser—such a profession would likely be lucrative here, guaranteeing substantial income.

Evidently, An Shenghyan frequented the place and was completely familiar with it. After ringing the doorbell, someone opened the door, and upon seeing An Shenghyan, they let them in without question.

An Shenghyan then proceeded as if returning home, expertly guiding everyone through, bypassing the main hall, and arriving at the rear garden of the residence. Here, the space opened up dramatically into a completely Chinese-style garden layout, featuring rockeries and flowing water, with a clump of bamboo nearby, lending an air of profound serenity and elegance.

Of course, the garden scenery only held their attention for a moment before they moved on. What truly captured the group's gaze was a cutting machine set up on the lawn, beside an uncut stone.

Seeing an opportunity for excitement, everyone couldn't help but quicken their pace.

"Old Liu, when did you get a stone?"

An Shenghyan strode forward, calling out to the middle-aged man standing by the cutting machine, his eyes fixed on the stone. He scanned it left, right, up, and down, assessing whether there was jade inside.

"Someone sent it over, asked me to help with the cutting," Old Liu explained, then curiously studied Wang Guan and the others. He smiled, "Brother An, you've brought friends over, but haven't introduced them."

"They are colleagues from the mainland, here to participate in the public auction bidding," An Shenghyan chuckled, introducing everyone one by one amidst the expected rounds of pleasantries and formalities.

At this point, Wang Guan and the others learned Old Liu's background. His real name was Liu Hua'en, originally from Hong Kong, who frequently traveled to Myanmar for work and eventually settled down here. He had known An Shenghyan since childhood. Every year when An Shenghyan came to acquire rough jade stones, he stayed at Liu's house, and their relationship was so close that he could come and go as he pleased.

After the initial greetings, Liu Hua'en called for people to bring out simple tables and chairs, offered tea and pastries, and invited everyone to sit down. He then personally poured a cup of hot tea for each guest, saying with a smile, "The accommodations aren't like back home; please forgive any shortcomings."

"Not at all, not at all..." The group naturally returned the courtesy.

After a brief chat, Liu Hua'en turned to An Shenghyan with a smile. "I’m helping someone cut a stone now. What about you? Didn't you go out stone gambling? Looking at your rosy complexion, you must have had a good haul."

"Nothing major, just a piece of ice-glutinous green water," An Shenghyan pretended nonchalance, but the slight upturn of his lips betrayed his pride.

"Oh, a good piece! Not bad luck at all," Liu Hua'en offered his congratulations.

With those he considered his own, An Shenghyan adopted a different tone, emphasizing, "What luck? That was insight."

"Fine, insight it was. Then take a look at this stone—is it any good? Can it yield green?" With so many guests present, Liu Hua'en couldn't just focus on chatting with An Shenghyan. He directly brought up a topic everyone was interested in, tossing the stone into the discussion.

Instantly, everyone set down their teacups and moved closer to the stone with keen interest to observe it. This was clearly a 'gambling stone' (a rough stone whose contents are unknown). The emphasis on this was because some stones couldn't be gambled on.

For instance, mountain material (Shan Liao), which is mined directly from the jade mine, has no outer skin, allowing one to see the interior conditions directly; naturally, it doesn't qualify as a gambling stone.

Generally, the stones fit for gambling are only pebble material (Zi Liao), which are jade pebbles. The pebble material has an outer skin of varying thickness and texture, featuring shades of color and various blemishes. When the interior of the raw stone cannot be seen, people rely on these colors and markings to judge whether jade exists inside. This process is far more difficult than authenticating antiques; it requires extensive experience and a degree of luck, filled with unpredictable risks, hence the term 'stone gambling.'

As the crowd gathered around, Wang Guan also stood nearby, idly observing.

Yes, truly idly observing. When others discussed terms like lǐu (veins/cracks), liè (fissures), mǎng (rough texture), xiǎn (moss/skin marking), and even sōnghuā (flowering skin), he more or less grasped the general meaning. Cramming at the last minute was somewhat useful. These past couple of days spent reading hadn't been in vain; he knew some basic knowledge about stone gambling.

However, theory is theory. It’s not as simple as connecting it to practice; that requires a process.

After looking for quite a while, Wang Guan, without cheating, felt utterly bewildered, unable to discern anything significant. At that moment, he finally understood how laymen felt when he appraised antiques—a sense of confusion mixed with helplessness.

"Young Master Jia, what do you think?"

Meanwhile, after a few quiet exchanges, Boss Yang and the others turned to Jia Qin, eager to hear his assessment.

"This is iron sand skin (tiě shā pí). The shell appears hard and finely textured. Especially looking at the xiǎn marking, this is a lying moss (wò xiǎn)," Jia Qin spoke calmly. "Therefore, this stone has high gamble potential."

The others nodded one after another, expressing their agreement. They knew that generally, if the skin was thick, the crystallization coarse, the texture rough, the structure loose, and cracks numerous, the quality of the jade inside would not be good either.

As for xuǎn (moss/skin marking), these are marks of varying sizes and shapes—dots, lines, patches, or chunks of black, grey, or light grey weathering on the stone's skin. Generally, having xiǎn suggests color might be present, but simultaneously, xiǎn can also 'eat' the color. The so-called wò xiǎn is a trace lingering on the surface, posing little threat. If it were a straight moss (zhí xiǎn), caution would be necessary, as zhí xiǎn penetrates directly into the jade's interior like a nail, damaging its quality.

"Of course, judging purely by the external appearance, I don't have much certainty. It would be ideal if we could open a window," Jia Qin was very cautious, unwilling to state anything definitively.

Not just him—even other experienced individuals lacked one hundred percent confidence that jade certainly existed inside the stone before it was cut open.

"Yes, that's right," An Shenghyan nodded. "Let's wipe a spot first and see the situation."

"Wait a moment..." Liu Hua'en gently shook his head. "The stone's owner is currently burning incense and praying at a nearby temple; we have to wait for him to arrive before starting."

"Oh."

The others didn't find this strange. When facing the unknown, people always seek solace in the divine, asking for their protection. Regardless of whether it truly helps, it provides peace of mind.

As they spoke, someone walked in. Judging by his complexion, he was undoubtedly a Burmese man. Seeing this person, everyone looked somewhat surprised—not surprised by his Burmese identity, but astonished by his gleaming bald forehead and the purplish-red monastic robe he wore; he was clearly a monk.

"A monk gambles on stones too."

In an instant, Wang Guan felt his worldview shaken.

"This man might not necessarily be a real monk."

Boss Yang, who traveled to Myanmar frequently, had some understanding of the local situation. After a momentary start, he realized and whispered, "Most monasteries in Myanmar follow Theravada Buddhism. As a male, everyone must experience monastic life at least once."

"Since monasteries are quite similar to schools, having children enter as monks allows them to receive a fairly complete education, saving a significant amount of tuition, while also cultivating character. So, many families send their young boys to the monastery, first to complete this life experience, and second for their schooling." Boss Yang explained quietly. "The time spent in monastic life can be long or short. Some people, after returning to secular life, deeply miss the monastic routine, so they often dress as monks. Of course, I suspect this person changed into a monastic robe not to reminisce about his monk career, but rather to borrow the supernatural powers of the Buddhist faith to ensure his stone cuts high."

At the same time, Liu Hua'en stepped forward and chatted with the Burmese man in Burmese, then introduced him to the group: "This is U Gaung..."

Hearing this, Wang Guan involuntarily widened his eyes slightly, then looked left and right to see if Chang'e was nearby.

Boss Yang smoothly added an explanation with a light laugh, "Don't misunderstand. Burmese people have names but no family names. U is not a surname but a form of address, similar to 'Sir.' His name is Gaung, and being prefixed with U indicates he has a certain social standing."

"I've learned something new," Wang Guan instantly understood, thanking Boss Yang for the lesson.

With everyone present, after a period of discussion, U Gaung agreed to the plan proposed by Jia Qin and the others: to first polish a small window on the stone, specifically in the area marked by the xiǎn.

Two or three minutes later—perhaps due to the stone's good quality, or perhaps U Gaung’s prayers had taken effect—after opening a window on the stone and giving it a quick rinse with clear water, everyone immediately spotted a faint green sheen emerging.

"It's a win, it's a win!"

In an instant, regardless of whether the stone belonged to them or not, everyone felt a surge of excitement, especially U Gaung, who immediately dropped to his knees facing west in reverence.

"Don't get too excited yet; let's look at the exposed area first,"

Then, several people calmed down and began to critique the stone with great interest, expressing their individual views in turn, eventually reaching a consensus: continue cutting!

Wang Guan remained on the sidelines, watching the spectacle, staying silent from beginning to end, mainly because he couldn't chime in. Yet, he couldn't help but sigh—stone gambling truly was a profound and very complex field of study.

Because during Jia Qin and the others' discussions, virtually no one could persuade the other, necessitating further polishing to reveal more clues to support their judgments.

At this moment, under everyone's expectant gaze, Liu Hua'en skillfully operated the machine, rubbing once more...