How crazy is gambling on stones? "One knife will make you poor, one knife will make you rich, and one knife will pierce sackcloth." This is the jargon of stone gambling nowadays.
However, in ancient times, there were also people who were even crazier for gambling on stones!
That's right! It's Bian He, the number one stone gambler in Sima Qian's works!
Even having his feet chopped off could not change Bian He's heart for gambling on stones. When he cried bitterly while holding the "He's Bi", he even gambled on it with his life and fortune.
Money was nothing to Han Du, but the frustration of buying a piece of waste stone made him very uncomfortable.
"Come again!" Han Du yelled, and immediately returned to the stone seller's side with his fingers playing the piano, "This, this, this and these, wrap them all up for me."
When the stone seller saw Han Du buying food like he was buying vegetables, he immediately smiled. He had met a big customer! He quickly accepted the money and wrapped the stone for Han Du.
"Come on, knock them all!" Han Du rolled up his sleeves and put his hands on his hips, staring at the stone, muttering to himself, "I still don't believe it."
When the craftsman saw that there was a big business coming to his door, he naturally did not dare to neglect it and quickly called his assistants to join him.
Such a big movement has not been seen here for a long time. Both Ming merchants and natives gathered around curiously, wanting to see who was frantically carving rocks.
You must know that this pair of stones is not cheap. The smallest ones cost only seven or eight cents, and the larger ones cost tens or hundreds of guan. All added up, they cost thousands of guan.
"waste rock"
"What a pity Baishi is. I thought he had found a gem." Someone sighed.
"How can gems be so easy to find?" Someone sneered, "If gems are so easy to find, then why don't they open the gems themselves instead of selling the stones directly?"
"That's true" is said to others, and others don't get angry. After all, being friendly makes you rich.
"Another waste of rock"
"It's Shiraishi again"
Until all the stones turned into debris on the ground, Han Du didn't even see the shadow of the rubble.
So many stones, not even a hair on them? Even if you use the money to buy gems, you will have to buy about ten stones!
Han Du became angry and went straight to the stone seller, grabbed him by the collar and shouted, "Are you selling fake goods to deceive people?"
The stone seller was also dumbfounded. He did not expect that someone would buy all his stones in one go, and he did not expect that there was not even a gemstone in these stones.
Of course the stone sellers got some fake stones to sell there, but some of them were real stones from gem mines.
But at this time, the stone seller must insist that all his stones come from the mine.
Things got loud and the other stone sellers also looked at this side. Many people frowned. They never thought that there was someone among them.
A liar sneaked in and was caught red-handed.
"Husband, it's just a small loss of treasure." An Qing motioned to Han Du to let go, in order not to commit such a gaffe for more than a thousand people.
Han Du thought for a moment, let go of his hand, but said with reluctance, "Is this about money? He uses fake stones to deceive people, and he doesn't know how many people will be harmed by him in the future."
An Qing rolled his eyes and continued to persuade, "He is a stone seller and he doesn't know that we are coming. How could he deliberately trap us?"
"Then we can't take advantage of him like this." Han Du thought for a while and said.
"Why is it so serious?" Yao Yue stepped forward and held Han Du's arm, covering her mouth and laughing softly, "Maybe it's simply your bad luck."
Yo ho?
Han Du's anger suddenly rose again, "Do you think you are lucky? Then pick some and try them. I don't believe you can find gems."
"Just give it a try." Yao Yue raised her smooth chin slightly, not showing any fear of Han Du.
Seeing the tit-for-tat confrontation between the two, An Qing had to intervene in order to ease the atmosphere, "I'll buy some too."
Yao Yue then picked a few and bought them.
Han Du glanced at it and couldn't help laughing. He pointed and said, "Look at what you bought. What can be in such a thin piece of stone?"
"And this, how ugly does it look like it has gems?"
No matter what Han Du said, Yao Yue paid the treasure in an orderly manner and bought the stone.
"Come on, let's go and open it now. I can't wait to see your luck." Han Du urged Yao Yue with a smirk on his face.
Seeing Han Du's childish look, An Qing shook his head helplessly and motioned to Zhao Wenqing to take the stone and follow him.
The craftsman was naturally open to business, but when he saw Yao Yue looking so bright and beautiful, he couldn't help but take a second look, and his voice lowered involuntarily, "May I ask, girl, which piece should I open first?"
Yao Yue casually took out the stone piece that Han Du despised and thought could not contain gems, "That's it."
The craftsman took the stone piece with both hands, fixed it, and then began to knock it.
"Ding!"
An unusually crisp sound came out. The craftsman was surprised and immediately put down the iron drill and hammer in his hand.
"Hu~hu~"
He blew the sand and stones away with two breaths and carefully clasped them clean. A bit of red came into his eyes.
"Going viral"
Before the craftsman could say anything, a sharp-eyed person nearby saw it and immediately exclaimed.
One red, two blue, three yellow and four green, this is the most basic way for everyone to distinguish gems. Of course, the specific situation depends on the size, color, impurities, whether there are cracks, etc. of the gem.
But in any case, the appearance of red is the best sign, because it means that there is the greatest possibility of expensive gems appearing later!
"It's red on the first stroke, it's going to happen!" Everyone couldn't help but craned their necks to get a closer look.
Han Du was dumbfounded, what do you mean? He bought so many, but he didn't even see a touch of color after taking them. Yao Yue just took out one, and it suddenly became outstanding?
"Girl, I'm willing to buy this stone for ten cents." A Ming Dynasty merchant came up and wanted to take a gamble.
Even the stone sellers didn't like this stone. When Yao Yue bought it, it only cost 700 Wen. Now it suddenly increased by more than ten times, and everyone lamented their good luck.
Seeing someone wanting to buy, the craftsman stopped and waited quietly for them to discuss.
"No, keep driving." Yao Yue refused directly.
Haishang also understood and slightly cupped his hands and took a few steps back. The stone was just a little red. No one knew whether it was big or small and of good quality. His limit was to be able to produce ten sticks.
That is to say, he has a special preference for rubies, which is why he took the risk to pay such a high price.
The craftsman leaned a little to the left, and with the second blow of the hammer, he only knocked out a trace of white ash.
"No!"
"It's a pity. It's broken. If I had just sold it to that person, I would have made a profit. Now I can only smash it in my hand."
The craftsman looked at the stone again and confirmed that there was indeed no red color. He looked up regretfully and looked at Yao Yue.
Yao Yue raised her head slightly and signaled, "Continue."
The craftsman was instructed, and this time he leaned a little to the right and knocked lightly.
"Hiss~ I'm red again!"
"No, is this gem on the right and not on the left?"
"If that's the case, maybe it's really going to happen!"
Haishang's eyelids also jumped, but he did not move. Even if red appeared at two points, it could only guarantee that he would not lose money if he bought ten coins.
As for whether we can make money, we still have to see if other places can also become successful.
The craftsman looked at Yao Yue again.
This time, Yao Yue did not let the craftsman do what he wanted. She pointed her hand and ordered, "Continue to the right."
The craftsman obeyed and continued to knock on the right side.
"It's popular again!" The crowd watching was excited.
"Continue to the right." Yao Yue said firmly.
The craftsman obeyed and continued knocking.
"It's red again, it's red again" the people around stood up
They all roared in unison.
What followed was a scene that amazed everyone repeatedly. In the end, the craftsman slowly polished the gem out, and people really saw its true face.
This top-quality ruby is about the size of a man's thumb. It is as red as blood and is crystal clear without any impurities.
Held up by the craftsmen in the sun, it exudes dazzling brilliance!
"Congratulations, madam, congratulations, madam! You may not be able to find such a top-quality gem in a year. I didn't expect that it was discovered by madam." Li Yuan quickly took the gem and presented it to Yao Yue with both hands.
At this time, even the maritime merchant who just wanted to buy the stone had to step back regretfully because he knew that even if the other party wanted to sell it now, he couldn't afford it.
Just seeing such a top-quality gem passing by him, the merchant felt as if he had lost tens of thousands of gems.
If he had been bolder and offered a higher price just now, maybe this gem would be his now.
Of course Yao Yue will not sell it. This is a gem she picked out with her own hands. It is of great significance to her.
Tens of thousands of guan is nothing to Yao Yue, but she still happily accepted it.
"Everything is open."
Naturally, there were no top-quality gems like rubies, but three blue, two yellow and five gems were also revealed.
Even if you leave out the rubies, you will have made hundreds of times the profit. If you add the rubies, you will really be rich in one fell swoop.
In fact, even the stones purchased in Anqing yielded some gems, which was considered a small profit.
But the more this happened, the more Han Du doubted his life.
"I still don't believe it." After gritting his teeth, Han Du came to another stall owner and moved his hand in front of him.
"Wrap these up for me."
The craftsman carefully opened all the stones in Han Du, but after receiving them, there was still no trace of the gems, and even the smallest green could not be opened.
Han Du's face was livid, he grabbed a handful of stone foam in his hand, threw it to the ground, and stepped on it with two feet.
"Come on, let's go back."
As soon as Han Du and others left, a swarm of people immediately surrounded the stall owner where Yao Yue and An Qing were buying stones.
The two stall owners also saw the gems they had dug out of their own stones, and they were filled with regret. If they had known they could get gems out, why would they have sold them? Wouldn't it be nice to get them out by yourself?
One of them, in particular, missed an opportunity to become rich for three generations.
But when he saw the fat sheep suddenly appearing in front of him, the stall owner suddenly burst into laughter. With these people around, he didn't have to worry about making up for some losses.