Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 462 - 460

Chapter 462: 460

"Isn’t it obvious? Of course, it’s this one! This is the most expensive piece of rough material in the whole place. I’ve had my eye on it for a while, but unfortunately, I don’t have enough cash!"

"To me, it just seems like a regular stone. This piece of rough material has been ignored for quite a few years. It’s possible that one person made a mistake, but I really can’t believe that the hundreds of people who frequent this gemstone gambling parlor every year could all be wrong."

"I guess most likely it is just a stone. After it’s cut open, there’s a good chance that there won’t be anything of value inside!"

"I think so too."

...

"Less talking, more watching!"

An artisan took out a rasp, carefully cleaning and smoothing the sides of Zhuge Meiyu’s stone.

The tools of this era were not as advanced as modern ones, so this process was tedious.

After the first cut, Zhuge Meiyu’s jade revealed a hint of green!

"Seeing this shade of green, it must be jade, right?"

"Yes, yes, I haven’t seen such a pure green in a long time!"

"This is definitely high-quality jade! No doubt about it!"

"This piece of jade is absolutely the best piece of jadeite that has appeared in the gemstone gambling parlor this year!"

"Miss, congratulations, you have definitely made no losses on your three thousand taels! If I knew this back then, I’d have bought it without any hesitation!"

Cut after cut, the praise from the crowd never ceased.

Zhuge Meiyu looked triumphantly at Xiao’er.

Xiao’er kept a calm smile on her face, her composure unshaken.

When all the outer layers were scraped away, the crowd erupted with gasps of surprise!

"Miss, you’ve hit the jackpot this time! Based on my many years of experience, given this jade’s color, luster, and apparent absence of flaws, it’s of the highest quality!"

"Top quality!"

"Beautiful jade!"

"Perfect, utterly perfect!"

Hearing such praises, Xiao’er’s smile brightened even more. Keep on praising! Praise the jade to the heavens! This way, she could sell it for an even higher price in the future!

Zhuge Meiyu saw Xiao’er looking so happy and assumed she was just putting on an act. Unconvinced, she thought to herself, ’Just watch, let’s see how long you can keep that smile on your face!’

The jade craftsman started grinding Xiao’er’s piece of rough material.

The first cut revealed no green.

"Hahaha, didn’t I tell you? It’s just a piece of stone!"

"Maybe the outer layer is thicker, and a single cut couldn’t reveal the inside."

"Let’s see, I’m sure it’s a stone!"

With the second cut, traces of impurities appeared.

"Didn’t I tell you, it’s a stone!"

The others shook their heads, looking at Xiao’er with a hint of sympathy.

Still, Xiao’er continued to watch quietly, her smile remaining calm.

This calmness earned her a new level of respect from the crowd.

"Miss, you handle such matters without any panic at such a young age! Impressive!"

Hearing the praises tossed at Xiao’er, Zhuge Meiyu pursed her lips: "She’s just pretending."

The jade craftsman was not affected by the crowd’s comments, carefully grinding the stone with each stroke of his rasp.

A green surface appeared!

"Eh? Was there jadeite after all?"

"Looks quite decent."

"But it cannot compare to the one before."

Some people nodded their heads in agreement, but others remained silent.

Who knows what the stone truly holds until its outer shell is entirely sheared off?

Seeing that tiny patch of green, the craftsman paused in his work. His subsequent movements were even more cautious.

The rough stone had a thick skin, making the process slower.

Yet, no one present lost their patience. Instead, the anticipation grew as they were getting closer to unveiling the real thing.

With the peel off of a small piece, people had a hunch, yet dared not ascertain.

At this moment, everyone’s heart was pounding!

Every time the jade carver struck, everyone’s hearts echoed the beat.

Some even clenched their fists tightly.

Seeing that the stone wasn’t ready yet, Shangguan Xuanyi lowered his head to ask Xiao’er, "Hungry? Shall we go eat first?"

"Sounds good." Xiao’er nodded, indeed feeling a bit hungry.

Everyone present glared at them in anger upon hearing this--they were thinking about food at such a tense moment!

How relaxed could these two people be!

Didn’t they see that everyone else was so excited, their hearts were in their mouths?!

Looking at everyone’s murderous stares, Xiao’er quickly corrected herself: "Uh, let’s wait until cutting is finished before eating! I’m not that hungry."

That’s more like it! Otherwise, how could they witness this historical moment!

Everyone’s attention returned to the stone in the jade carver’s hands.

Xiao’er was speechless.

Watching that green color grow larger and larger, many people were silently chanting a single name.

Time slipped by unnoticed. In the biting cold, the jade carver was breaking a sweat, but he didn’t have time to wipe it away.

Apart from the sound of the file against the jade, the space was silent.

Xiao’er’s stomach was secretly shouting a hunger alarm. Luckily, the sound was muffled in her belly.

She couldn’t stand it anymore and took out a pack of biscuits from her bag to chew on quietly.

The scent of the biscuits brought people back to reality, looking at Xiao’er.

Where did this girl come from! Thinking about food at such a time! Is she a ghost about to starve? Infuriating!

Even if the Emperor is not anxious, the eunuch is!

No! Spit, spit, spit... I’m not a eunuch!

Can’t you eat biscuits anymore? Do you want to stop her from living?! Reading the angry looks on people’s faces, Xiao’er quietly put the biscuits back into her bag!

She looked impatiently at the jade that was almost finished being cut: For your sake, I’ve made great sacrifices! I nearly got beaten up!

"It’s out! Out!"

"Heavens! It’s imperial green!"

"Imperial green without a single flaw!"

"Ah! I’m not seeing things, am I? It’s really imperial green?!"

"My god! So this is what raw imperial green looks like, I’ve learned something today!"

Everyone’s gaze at Xiao’er changed!

The imperial green jade, with its signature deep color, is world-famous. Worth... a fortune!

Such a huge piece! This is the rhythm of striking it rich overnight!

How much did this girl pay for this raw material?

taels!

Everyone present felt like they were bleeding! Why didn’t they buy the stone when it was so cheap?!

taels! Turning the head would make tens of thousands taels!

Everyone felt immense regret and heartache! Some even slapped themselves twice! The reason? An old man advised him to buy it, spending 100 taels might turn his thatched house into a city!

Unfortunately, he steadfastly didn’t believe, and so missed out on the opportunity to become rich.

It was so heartbreaking that they couldn’t eat or sleep!

The jade that Zhuge Meiyu carved out was also not bad, but because it was bought at a high price and imperial green was present, people felt it was not worth it anymore.

"How is this possible!" She looked disbelievingly at the imperial green she thought was a stone.

Everyone present looked at her sympathetically after hearing this.

Stone gambling is this exciting. Some people may spend 3,000 taels to buy poor quality goods, in the end, not even 30 taels wanted.

Others might spend 30 taels to buy a gem worth 30,000 taels.

In short: anything is possible!