Chapter 60: Betrayed!

The old man traced the outer edge of the stone wall and once again sliced off a thin layer of stone.

With this cut, the surface still yielded nothing but a heap of white quartzite waste.

“What’s going on?”

Everyone frowned. The original stone, once the size of a fist, had now been whittled down layer by layer until only a piece the size of a ping-pong ball remained.

By this point, aside from that very first cut, none of the other surfaces had revealed the slightest hint of green.

“Could it be only the size of a fingernail? Maybe you could barely make a bead from it,” the bald, plump man said with a face full of disappointment, signaling for the old man to continue cutting.

The onlookers, however, were no longer content; their gazes shifted sharply toward the stall owner.

“This yield rate is way too low!” someone shouted hoarsely.

“You must be kidding, Ma Dongshan! Selling a stone the size of a fist for no less than fifty thousand, and after two cuts, people are left without even their underwear!” another chimed in.

“That’s right! The young man wasn’t wrong—a piece this small isn’t even worth a couple thousand.”

“Might as well throw money into the river!”

As the heckling grew, more people joined the fray, following suit with their accusations.

“Exactly, this batch is obviously problematic. No wonder someone smashed your stall!”

“It’s fine, as long as there’s something inside!” The stall owner, Ma Dongshan, wiped the sweat from his brow and tried to reassure everyone.

“Besides, stone gambling is all about luck! If he’s unlucky, how is that my fault?”

“At worst, I’ll reimburse him at the original price later.”

“As if this is just about the price!” The crowd, sharp-eyed and clear-headed, paid no heed to his excuses.

The overwhelming pressure left Ma Dongshan sweating profusely, unable to utter a word in defense.

Damn it, he thought, miscalculated this time.

He couldn’t admit that this batch of raw stones had been imported cheaply, with a notoriously low yield rate.

Selling each stone for fifty thousand, he could pocket forty-five thousand pure profit.

It was always a shady business, and he’d planned to sell out and disappear before long. But Ye Tian’s wager had been too tempting to resist.

Luckily, though little had been found inside the stones, at least he could settle the bet.

Let them curse all they like—he’d gotten his money, and if need be, he’d just find a new place to sell in the future.

Ignoring the verbal onslaught, Ma Dongshan consoled himself.

“Enough. Just slice it straight down the middle!” the bald man finally said, unable to stand it any longer.

He had no hope left for this stone; better to make a clean cut and get it over with.

As expected, when the cutting machine finally stopped, the ping-pong ball-sized stone split in two, revealing its cross-section.

Not a trace of green.

Everyone gasped.

So the only green in the entire stone had come from that very first slice—a mere sliver of “green skin” scraped from the surface, thinner than a cicada’s wing and as fragile as dust.

The crowd fell utterly silent.

Some people, bursting with emotion, could only manage a single word: “Damn.”

This wasn’t just bad luck—it was outright swindling.

“Master, just cut the last one straight through the middle!” the fat man said, unable to bear it any longer, hefting the largest stone—worth one hundred and thirty thousand—over to the table without hesitation.

The cutting machine shrieked, and before long, the basketball-sized stone was split in two.

“Don’t bother looking; it’s all waste,” the old master said, spreading his hands decisively.

The huge cross-section revealed nothing but shattered quartz sand.

Without a word, the fat man grabbed Ma Dongshan by the collar and shouted in anger, “What do you have to say for yourself now?”

“I’ll pay you back if I have to…” Ma Dongshan struggled to back away, but was immediately surrounded by the crowd, leaving no room for escape.

“Trying to run, are you?”

Several burly men rushed up, each grabbing an arm to pin him in place.

“Pay up!”

Outnumbered and outmatched, Ma Dongshan had no choice but to obediently pull out his phone and, in front of everyone, transfer all two hundred sixty thousand back to the fat man.

“Damn it, what a loss!” he muttered under his breath, aching at the thought.

He glared venomously at Ye Tian and Jiang Cheng; if not for those two brats, he might have made a tidy million today and gone home to celebrate with his mistress.

“Satisfied now?”

“Very satisfied! It was worth it just for the thrill!” the fat man grinned, nodding with satisfaction before happily heading off to another stall.

“That guy never learns!” someone said with a shake of the head and a laugh.

Only then did Jiang Cheng fully realize what had happened. He quickly gave Ye Tian a thumbs up, his eyes brimming with admiration.

“Master, my dear master, you’re incredible!”

“Where were you earlier, only to show up now with hindsight?” Ye Tian quipped with a shake of his head.

As he spoke, he turned to Ma Dongshan. “Since I’ve won, you’re not about to go back on your promise, are you?”

“Take what you like, it’s yours,” Ma Dongshan replied, full of dejection. After finally making a sale, these two had come along and snatched the prize from under his nose.

“Good.”

Ye Tian couldn’t care less about his mood. Without another word, he stepped forward and picked out ten stones of varying sizes, instructing Jiang Cheng to help carry them over.

“We’ll cut them here, so we can take them back afterward.”

“Right away, Master!” Jiang Cheng replied cheerfully, doing exactly as Ye Tian said.

He was completely won over now—people like his master truly were one of a kind. He felt as if he’d struck gold.

“You want to cut too?” The old master controlling the cutting machine had been about to leave, but his eyes lit up when he saw Ye Tian approach.

Cutting stones was a paid service, after all—he had no reason to turn down easy money.

“Yes, please open up all ten of these,” Ye Tian said, placing a stone slightly larger than a billiard ball on the table.

“Looks like we’ve got a show! Don’t go yet!” someone shouted.

The crowd surged closer, faces alight with anticipation.

Because the cost of stone gambling was so high—often tens of thousands or more—most visitors to the market came just to watch, hoping to feast their eyes.

Ten stones at once—such a spectacle was too good to miss.

“But let’s be real, you only get what you pay for. These stones all came from that crooked vendor—what good could possibly come out?”

“I agree.”

The crowd buzzed with discussion, few holding out hope for Ye Tian.

As Ma Dongshan packed up his stall, he overheard the crowd and sneered.

As if anything good could come of it.

These stones were all scraps he’d picked up cheap from Burma, leftovers from the jade mines. Out of a hundred, two or three might yield low-grade jade, and that would be a stroke of luck.

He’d bet anything these two would come up empty-handed.

With a cold sneer, Ma Dongshan drifted to the edge of the crowd, eager to see what “treasures” Ye Tian thought he’d found.

The very next moment, however, a sudden outburst of excitement erupted from the crowd.

“It’s green! And a big piece, too!”