Chapter Forty-Nine: The Wager

The seven-day exhibition had finally reached its final day. As the concluding day of the event, aside from the King of Gambled Stones, there were also one hundred open-bid rough stones prepared for sale.

Perhaps because of the King of Gambled Stones, the bidding at the open-auction venue appeared noticeably deserted. Fortunately, the organizers seemed to have anticipated this long ago, and the open-bid stones for the final day were actually the lowest-quality batch among the three days. After all, everyone's minds were set on the King of Gambled Stones; if good rough stones were brought out and the final prices failed to rise, it was certainly not what these jadeite merchants wanted to see.

The open bidding concluded rather desolately after just one hour.

While everyone went to collect their purchased rough stones, many industry peers began to congratulate Liu's Jewelry. After all, everyone was bullish on this King of Gambled Stones. Although Liu's had spent twenty million, even if they took a loss, it would only be a minor one, and the fame they gained could never be bought with mere money.

"Here are your rough stones." The staff member in charge of distribution verified the identities of Yang Qi and the others before bringing out the rough stones that Shen's Jewelry had successfully bid on during the open auction.

"Ha-ha, even a flawed rough stone like this, where the jadeite inside has been completely ruined, and your Shen's still spent hundreds of thousands to buy it?" Just as Zhou Hai reached out to take the rough stone, an abrupt voice rang out.

Hearing this, Yang Qi turned his head and saw that the speaker was none other than Wu Shan.

Yang Qi had carefully observed this flawed rough stone himself. Gambling on flaws was inextricably linked to jadeite gambling; it was an integral part of the craft, and studying flaws was a mandatory course for anyone learning the trade. The so-called "flaw" was actually a fracture, which might have been penetrated by other substances, causing the entire jadeite to be ruined from the inside out, naturally rendering it worthless. Although flaws were terrifying, they were just like the jadeite itself—impossible to determine from the outside of a rough stone, which gave rise to the practice of gambling on flaws.

Although betting on flaws existed, ordinary people were generally unwilling to touch rough stones with flaws. After all, for a flawless rough stone with good appearance, there was no need to worry about destructive fractures. But with flawed rough stones, one had to judge not only the condition of the stone itself but also the extent of the damage caused by the flaw, making it much more difficult.

Only experts with great skill and the courage to take risks would be willing to try their hand at rough stones with exceptionally good appearance and relatively mild flaws. However, the flaw on Yang Qi's rough stone was quite large and its destructive power was immense, which was why—despite its otherwise excellent appearance—its reserve price was only a little over one hundred thousand. If a rough stone of this appearance had no flaws, its price would probably easily exceed one million. From this, one could see just how devastating a flaw could be, directly slashing the price of the rough stone tenfold.

"This is our Shen's affair, and it has nothing to do with you," Shen Yuxuan said with an ugly expression.

She had no idea why Yang Qi had chosen this particular rough stone. However, the price of the stone wasn't very high, and considering Yang Qi hadn't been in the jadeite gambling business for long, it was somewhat understandable. Yet, seeing it being brought up by Wu Shan to mock them, naturally, her expression turned sour.

"I thought Mr. Yang's jadeite gambling skills were extraordinary, yet he even dares to buy such a flawed rough stone. I suggest you wait and see how my Liu's Jewelry uncovers the King of Gambled Stones later," Wu Shan laughed heartily.

Regarding this flawed rough stone, most of the jadeite consultants were not optimistic. Although a few consultants wanted to take a risky gamble, their bids were not high, and it was ultimately won by Yang Qi. As Wu Shan made this remark, the people standing nearby exchanged knowing smiles.

"So, you are extremely confident about the King of Gambled Stones?" Yang Qi looked at Wu Shan and smiled involuntarily.

"Naturally," Wu Shan replied with a confident expression.

"Since that's the case, how about we make a bet?" Yang Qi suggested.

"What kind of bet?" Wu Shan was about to agree when Liu Xiangnan stepped in and spoke first.

"Very simple. If the jadeite un-earthed from the King of Gambled Stones ends up with a final value exceeding five million, I will compensate you according to the King's winning bid price. If the jadeite un-earthed from the rough stone in my hands exceeds one million, how about you compensate me according to the price of the King of Gambled Stones?" Yang Qi said calmly.

As soon as these words fell, everyone present was stunned. The winning bid for the King of Gambled Stones was over twenty million! Pulling out more than twenty million in cash on the spot was no small sum!

"Mr. Yang certainly calculates well—using one million to gamble for twenty million," Liu Xiangnan glanced at Yang Qi and said indifferently.

Hearing Liu Xiangnan's words, the people who had been somewhat dazed suddenly understood. There was a flaw in Yang Qi's phrasing! The first half seemed fine—if the King exceeded five million, Yang Qi would compensate twenty million. But the second half stated that if the jadeite from the stone in his hands exceeded one million, Liu Xiangnan would compensate twenty million, without mentioning what the jadeite from the King of Gambled Stones was worth! In other words, as long as the rough stone in Yang Qi's hands produced jadeite worth over one million, he would win steadily!

"What, President Liu doesn't dare?" Yang Qi provoked him intentionally.

"I actually don't dare," Liu Xiangnan replied unexpectedly with a nod.

Liu Xiangnan had led Liu's Jewelry to where it was today because, aside from his own capability, he never engaged in any unequal transactions or took blind risks. With Yang Qi trying to leverage a mere one million to win two million from him, how could he possibly agree?

"Then how do you want to bet?" Yang Qi frowned and asked in a deep voice.

"Very simple. If the final value of the jadeite un-earthed from the King of Gambled Stones is below five million, and the jadeite un-earthed from your rough stone exceeds one million, you win. If the jadeite in your hands exceeds one million while the King's value is higher, it's a draw. In any other scenario, you lose," Liu Xiangnan said calmly.

Yang Qi raised an eyebrow, looked coldly at Liu Xiangnan, and said, "Doesn't that mean even if the rough stone in my hands yields jadeite worth a million, I will at best only maintain a tie?"

"Naturally. You want to pit a rough stone worth tens of thousands against my King of Gambled Stones. If it were that easy to win, wouldn't my King of Gambled Stones be worthless?" Liu Xiangnan said with a calm expression. "Don't forget, you're the one who proposed the bet!"

Liu Xiangnan had designed this wager after careful deliberation. As long as the jadeite from the King of Gambled Stones was worth more than five million, he remained in an unbeatable position. Moreover, the chances of the King yielding jadeite worth less than five million were extremely slim—even common waxy-variety jadeite could easily exceed five million! And no matter how much confidence Yang Qi had in his own rough stone, even if it produced jadeite exceeding one million, it would at best result in a draw. No matter how one looked at it, he could not lose!

Everyone present was sharp-witted and grasped Liu Xiangnan's intention almost instantly. They couldn't help but admire his seasoned handling of matters. Even Elder Wu at the side lowered his head, knowing that had Liu Xiangnan not spoken up earlier, he might have foolishly agreed. If that had happened, the moment Yang Qi's stone produced jadeite worth over one million, their Liu family would have lost!

"Yang Qi, don't bet. Liu Xiangnan is clearly positioning himself in an unbeatable spot," Shen Yuxuan urged anxiously from the side.

"An unbeatable spot?" Yang Qi smiled inwardly in his heart. Although he had to admit that Liu Xiangnan was vastly more experienced and shrewd than him, no matter how shrewd the man was, he had no way of knowing that the King of Gambled Stones on his side was an absolute pit. Forget five million, Yang Qi doubted fifty thousand was even safe!

"I'll bet. Why wouldn't I bet?" Yang Qi looked at Liu Xiangnan and said calmly, "President Liu, I accept. You won't go back on your word, right?"