Chapter 67: A Game of One’s Own

However, at this moment, it seemed that no one present cared about my thoughts. The stone gambling round continued.

Now, Old Leopard Chen stood in the first position. Gao Youde was second, and as the biggest winner of the previous round, I was in third place. Of course, Su Li was taking my place this time, so I could only whisper guidance to her.

Seeing that we were all ready, Lu Yier waved his hand and declared, “Let's continue now!” His voice echoed through the air, and the atmosphere in the stone gambling room grew tense once more.

Standing at the head, Old Leopard Chen spoke, “Everyone, since I’m first, let me kick things off with a good start!” With that, he strode confidently toward the stone gambling platform.

“I’ll buy some luck with this first stone—do you want to join in the game with me?”

“Buy some luck?” We exchanged glances.

Old Leopard Chen nodded. “We’re all in the jade business here, so let’s not look down on the scraps and edges. This is my first time at the front; I have no idea about the quality of this stone either. Why don’t we all play for luck together and make a bet?”

Seeing our confusion, Lu Yier explained, “To put it plainly, it’s a size bet. Old Chen means, if the stones were brought in by the small train, you’d inevitably get something worthless that nobody wants. Since he’s in first place, let’s start a separate round and bet on the size!”

Now we understood. In essence, it was traditional stone gambling—everyone relying on their own skills.

But from Old Leopard Chen’s attitude, it was a blind bet. That is, the raw stones would be wrapped in cloth, then three would be selected, and the three of us would determine their rankings by size and quality. Whoever guessed correctly would win the biggest prize.

The three raw stones would be named A, B, and C, and ranked first, second, and third. If you matched A with first, you’d win ten million; B with second, eight million; C with third, five million. But if you mismatched, say, B with first, you’d lose eight million; C with first, five million; A with second, five million; C with second, three million; A with third, two million; B with third, one million…

So each person had to work hard to find the best stone and match it to its correct rank among the three. If you matched wrong, you lost the most! If you weren’t confident in your appraisal skills, matching the second stone would result in the least loss, win or lose.

That was the rule. I had just figured it out.

Off to the side, Gao Youde sneered, “That’s Old Leopard Chen for you, always playing the old-school way. Fine, you used to beat me with this, so I’ll play your way now!”

Old Leopard Chen stood firmly before the platform. The staff had already wrapped three raw stones in the vault and set them on the table.

Old Leopard Chen made the first move. His fingers slid lightly over the cloth-wrapped stones, as if feeling their texture and weight. His hand stopped on one, and with a steely gaze, he said, “This one! I’m sure this is first-grade A!”

A staff member promptly affixed the “first-grade A” tag onto that stone. Then, Old Leopard Chen swiftly selected the second and third—B and C—and the staff tagged them accordingly.

Next came Gao Youde’s turn. He clasped his hands behind his back, striking a relaxed pose, and slowly approached the three stones. He stood before them, his eyes sharp as an eagle’s. He glanced around, seemingly studying everyone’s reactions, before fixing his gaze on the stones.

He didn’t act hastily. Instead, he patted each stone gently, as though feeling its pulse.

“Old Leopard Chen, your choice for first-grade A is interesting,” Gao Youde laughed. “But I won’t let you have your way so easily this time.”

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and seemed lost in meditation. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, his fingers swiftly gliding over the stones before stopping on a different one. His gaze was resolute, as if he could see through to the stone’s core.

“This one—I pick as second-grade B,” he said decisively.

The staff quickly tagged that stone as second-grade B. The audience below looked puzzled. How could a single stone be both first-grade A and second-grade B? Clearly, one of them must be wrong! Gao Youde then tagged the other two stones with first-grade A and third-grade C, respectively. He had chosen second-grade B first just to spite Old Leopard Chen, to make it seem as if Chen’s appraisal skills were lacking.

Then it was Su Li’s turn. She glanced at me, but I gave no particular sign. She snorted, then stepped forward.

She approached the three stones, not closing her eyes in meditation or caressing the stones like the others. She merely observed their shapes and how tightly the cloth was wrapped.

Then she looked at me.

“This time, make your own choices,” I said calmly to her.

Su Li frowned, clearly dissatisfied with my attitude. She sneered, “So, Wang Hu, you have moments when you can’t make up your mind!” Though her words were sharp, she began to carefully examine the three wrapped stones herself.

Her gaze lingered on each stone, as if making calculations.

“Since you’ve all made your choices, I won’t fall behind,” she said confidently. Her fingers drifted over the stones and finally rested on the third. “This one—I pick as first-grade A,” she declared.

The staff quickly marked it. In the blink of an eye, Su Li had placed the other two tags as well.

Now, all three stones were labeled, and the tension in the room thickened.

Lu Yier cleared his throat, signaling everyone to quiet down. “All right, let’s reveal the results,” he said, his tone tinged with anticipation.

The staff began to unwrap the first stone, exposing the jade beneath. The surface was smooth, with a faint hint of emerald green.

“This is the one Old Leopard Chen chose as first-grade A,” Lu Yier announced.

Next, the second stone was unwrapped, revealing jade with a slightly duller luster, though it still possessed a subtle sheen.

“This is the one Gao Youde chose as second-grade B,” Lu Yier said.

Finally, the third stone was unwrapped. Its surface was rough, its color dim and lifeless.

“This is the one Su Li chose as third-grade A,” Lu Yier declared.

“Now, let’s see the final results,” he continued, his gaze sweeping over the three of us.

The staff began a detailed appraisal of the three stones.

A few minutes later, the results were finally in.