novelraw Chapter 833: Over a Hundred Million
Chapter 833: Over a Hundred Million
Ling Feng pondered for a moment, and then pointed to a spot on the stone, "Cut from this side!"
"Holy shit!"
The middle-aged man exclaimed and quickly stepped forward, "Brother, I really misjudged earlier, thinking you were just some reckless rich kid. Now I realize you’re an expert, but is this really the right way to cut the stone?"
What shocked him was that Ling Feng once again broke the rules, asking the Stone-cutting Master to cut the remaining stone in half across its width!
On the cut surface, there appeared an emerald the size of a bowl, but no one knew exactly how big the jade inside was. Cutting it in half, what if it got damaged?
The best method now was to use the Stone-cutting Machine to grind the stone, which meant using the saw blade to scrape off the stone’s surface, millimeter by millimeter, to find the connection point between the jade and the stone, and then ensure the integrity of the emerald!
It was his love for emeralds that made the middle-aged man rush up to stop Ling Feng despite their mere nodding acquaintance.
But Ling Feng just smiled and said to him, "Big brother, thank you for your concern, but don’t worry, I have my reasons for doing this, and I won’t damage the emerald!"
"What reasons? You’re clearly being reckless, a terrible waste!" the middle-aged man said angrily.
Ling Feng, speechless, smiled and responded, "Even if that’s the case, it’s my business. Please step aside, big brother, and be careful not to touch anything!"
After saying that, he stepped back and simultaneously pulled the middle-aged man away.
The Stone-cutting Master saw the look in Ling Feng’s eyes and immediately pressed the switch, starting the cut from the spot he’d indicated!
"What a waste!"
The middle-aged man beat his chest and stomped his feet, his expression one of agony.
Ling Feng, unable to hold back his curiosity, asked, "What’s your esteemed surname, big brother?"
"My last name is Li! Li Huai!"
The middle-aged man shouted, not even glancing at Ling Feng, his focus entirely on the raw stone.
Wanting to look but also afraid to, he dreaded that once the stone was cut, there would be a trace of emerald on both sides, which would be very distressing to him!
Seeing him like this, Ling Feng didn’t say much more, just feeling that this man was quite interesting and could perhaps become an acquaintance.
With a loud roar, after a moment, a stone over thirty centimeters long and about the same in diameter was split open.
The Stone-cutting Master was the first to see the cut surface, he paused, then turned the stone around!
Everyone looked and gasped again!
This side, like the other, also revealed a thick, green cross-section!
As expected, within this segment of stone was a thirty-centimeter-long emerald cylinder, at least ten centimeters in diameter!
Upon seeing this, the crowd erupted once more!
"Forty million!"
"Fifty million!"
"I bid sixty million!"
The bidding voices were relentless, everyone was pushing with all their might, as though afraid Ling Feng wouldn’t hear them.
And the person who first shouted out a bid of twenty million was stunned; he turned to look at everyone else, thinking, ’You all scorned me when I made my bid, so why have you suddenly gone crazy now?’
Being a novice, he naturally didn’t understand the tricks of the trade.
Seeing green at both ends, the odds were very high that the inside was full of jade; now, it was worth taking a gamble on.
There was risk, of course, so it all depended on Ling Feng’s mood now.
If he didn’t want to take the risk, or if he was not used to such things, and got tempted by the high price of tens of millions, then whoever bought it could make a fortune.
Of course, this was based on the premise that the rough stone indeed contained jadeite and not any faults or fractures.
The bidders were gambling on their own judgement, but also betting on Ling Feng’s lack of greed and his willingness to settle when things were going well.
Unfortunately for them, after hearing a round of bids, Ling Feng just smiled and seemed not to care. He said to the Stone-cutting Master, "Continue, please clean off the stone skin for me. As for the thickness, let’s start with five centimeters!"
After hearing Feng Ling’s translation, the master nodded, re-secured the rough stone, and began the polishing work.
The crowd had already packed in layers both inside and out, with those on the outermost unable to see what was happening inside over the heads of others; they could only hear the sound of the machinery.
So many simply stood on the tables next to them, craning their necks to get a look.
The polishing process was slow, and Ling Feng’s patience was almost wearing thin.
But as he looked around at everyone, even Feng Ling and Zhang He were watching intently, he was speechless.
As the stone skin was ground away, the revealed surface grew larger and larger; the breathing of the onlookers became more and more constricted!
The volume of this huge emerald far exceeded their imaginations - it wasn’t just a simple matter of ten centimeters in diameter!
This thing was clearly spindle-shaped, narrow at both ends and thicker in the middle, with the thickest part being at least twenty centimeters in diameter!
Those who knew their stuff were already estimating how many pieces of jewelry could be made from this jadeite!
Bracelets, pendants, ring faces—the leftover trimmings could even be used for earrings and brooches; not a single piece of jadeite would be wasted!
Keep in mind that this was ice-type emerald, and every piece, no matter the size, was top-notch!
"Brother, I’m impressed!"
In the midst of boredom, Ling Feng heard someone’s voice next to his ear.
He turned around to see Li Huai staring at him, his eyes burning and filled with fervor.
Ling Feng was startled and hastily stepped aside, "Li, what’s with that look?"
"Don’t be nervous, this is my business card, how about we become friends?" Li Huai asked with a smile.
"I’m fine with making friends, but please stop looking at me so creepily, it’s frightening!" Ling Feng replied with a wry smile.
After taking the business card and seeing it was from Capital City’s Henghua Jewelry with the title of president, Ling Feng was taken aback, "My apologies, I didn’t realize Li was such an important businessman!"
"No need for formalities. With this piece of jadeite, you’re an important businessman too!" Li Huai said, smiling.
He had already estimated the value of the jadeite in his heart; after processing and crafting, the jewelry made from it could sell for at least two billion!
Of course, this process would take some time, it wasn’t something one could cash in on immediately.
To see money right away, the option was to wait for the stone-cutting to be completed and go for a public auction, where the highest bidder would prevail.
But the problem was obvious, at the scene, it was doubtful that anyone could produce that much money in one go!
Li Huai knew well that if the jadeite were auctioned, the ceiling price would be around 180 million, depending on whether there was competition at the scene.
And he had his own calculator running in his mind; now, by getting on good terms with Ling Feng and listening to the other bids, if no one called for a high enough price, he was prepared to add a bit more and win the jadeite!
The roaring of the Stone-cutting Machine stopped, but the work was not finished as there were many detail areas that needed to be handled with a smaller machine.
However, the onlooking crowd couldn’t hold back any longer and as soon as the noise stopped, the first bid rang out, "One hundred million!"
"One point two billion!"
Hearing this, Ling Feng turned to look at Zhang He and flashed a smile.