C5 The Lad Didn't Bother Listening

Jiang Nan instantly became anxiously excited ... and, a bit apprehensively nervous. According to the Success rate; there was an emerald inside the stone he was holding. However; he had only acquired this new found, mystical ability the day before ... and; he hasn't fully understood it, or sure if he was using it correctly. True; he did manage to win himself over a dozen free bottles of black tea the other day ... still, even after adding them all up; it was a pitiful prize in comparison to finding himself an emerald. But, in order to win them; Jiang Nan was only gambling with two yuan ... where today; he'd have to fork over at least 1000 yuan. Jiang Nan momentarily wondered if the Success rate itself really is a Rate: 100%. ... But then, he decided to have faith in his new ability; and, throw caution to the wind. He enthusiastically shouted out into the stall... "Boss; I want to buy this stone!"

Jiang Nan believed the stone should do ... slightly bigger than a fist; it's probably around the one kilogram mark.

Jiang Nan was well aware of the stark realization that all of his savings added up only came to about a little under 2000 yuan; which was why he chose to make his selection from the cheapest priced raw stones in the Stone Gambling Market. They were all he'd be able to afford.

Everyone in the vicinity sharply turned their heads in the stall's direction; and, all eyes were upon Jiang Nan. They stared at him with evident bewilderment etched upon their countenances; all essentially thinking the same thing...

"That newbie just showed up, and he's already buying a stone? Impossible ... how can than be? He really has no idea what he's doing; does he?"

With his curiosity piqued ... Old Master Liu ambled over to the adjacent stall to get a closer look at the rookie's chosen stone. Immediately; the first thing he takes notice of is the dullish gray hue of the stone. That's a dead give away, as far as the old master was concerned ... this selection is a definite loss; it's impossible that there's an emerald inside.

"Ah; I knew it ... you didn't bother listening to a word I said; did you, lad? If you had; you wouldn't haven't chosen this worthless piece of junk. I'm telling you; the Stone Gambling Market is no place for an inexperienced greenhorn like yourself ... especially if you're not going to listen to the advice of us more experienced patrons." The old master 'chastised' Jiang Nan... "What was the first thing I told you you needed to look at, lad ... the coloring; look at the color of the stone. Does this stone look bright, or have even a hint of glimmer to it; huh?" He goes on...

"With just a single glance of this lackluster chunk of rock; I can safely tell you what the purity of its ore is ... and, that's zilch! It's a worthless stone, which only use would be nothing more than a paperweight. There's absolutely no way whatsoever that there's an emerald inside of it ... if there is; I'll eat this rock."

Jiang Nan just ignored the old man.

Just like Old Master Liu; nobody present thought too highly of Jiang Nan's stone. They believed that the newbie should just graciously accept the old master's advice, and forget about buying it.

Shortly ... a young, beautiful, slender-waisted miss ... attired in a red, flower-patterned, silk cheongsam ... delicately sauntered up to the stall; and, amiably smiled at Jiang Nan... "Sir; I understand you wish to purchase a stone?"

"Yeah." Jiang Nan handed the stone over to the Stone Gambling Market attendant ... who gave the stone a quick glance over.

A sudden dubious expression emerges upon her countenance; and, she asks, "Sir; are you sure this is the piece you want?" Jiang Nan responded by simply nodding.

There was a brief hesitation on her part; as she stared at Jiang Nan with incredulous eyes, before saying, "Okay ... as long as you're absolutely sure about this..." It appeared to Jiang Nan as if she was subtly trying to talk him out of purchasing that stone, for some reason; but, he decided to keep his trust in the Success rate, and carry on with the purchase.

Old Master Liu cut in, and implored. "Lad; listen to me, will you ... stop this nonsense while there's still time. It's obvious you don't know what you're doing; so, stop pretending that you do ... or else, you'll be losing your money."

But, the old master's words 'fell on deaf ears'; as Jiang Nan paid no mind to him, and watched as the attendant weighed the stone.

When done; she turned to Jiang Nan, "1,25 kilograms ... that will be 1250 yuan. How do you wish to pay; sir?"

Jiang Nan answered, "WeChat transfer; if that's alright." The attendant nodded. "That's fine."

As Jiang Nan pulled out his smartphone to pay ... Old Master Liu quickly grasped hold of Jiang Nan's wrist, and gravely stared at him; while urging... "Don't ... stop it; before it's too late. ... Hell; if you're so eager to give away 1250 yuan, I'll take it. I'll even buy you some hot pot; so, at least that way you get something out of it."

Jiang Nan just smirked at the old man; then, pulled the Old Master Liu's hand from his wrist, and swiped the code presented by the attendant with his phone.

The transaction was completed ... Jiang Nan spent 1250 yuan to purchase a stone. ... Whether it was a wise purchase, or not , was still yet to be determined.

And, now that Liang Nan had officially purchased the stone; the atmosphere had immediately changed. Previously convinced that Old Master Liu was right ... and; that the stone definitely had no emerald inside ... now, everyone was curious as to see whether or not there were any precious gems hidden within it.

"Newbie; why don't you go ahead and crack that baby open, now."

"Yeah; come on ... we all want to see what's in there; newbie."

Jiang Nan didn't respond, at first; as he pondered for a moment. Then, he turned to the attendant ... who was still standing beside him ... and, inquired... "If I open it up here, now; and, there is an emerald in it ... would the Stone Gambling Market buy it from me?"

The attendant smiled. ""Of course, we will buy it from you; sir ... and, offer you a fair price for it, at that. All of our regular customers know this; feel free to ask around.

Jiang Nan immediately turned to the old man ... who was still gravely looking at the rookie; disgustedly disappointed that the youngster refused to heed his advice ... and, looked him in the eyes. Old Master Liu nodded; and, affirmed... "Yes, it's true; the Stone Gambling Market will offer you a fair price for the emerald ... I can testify to that." Then, he muttered under his breath, "Not that you'll be getting one today; seeing how there's no emerald in that worthless hunk of rock."

Another bystander interjected, "That's right; so can I. I've been coming here for years; and, seen many people sell their emeralds here. ... They even have a professional gem evaluator on site who can determine the appropriate fair market price for them."

"Alright, then; I suppose I'll cut it open here..." Jiang Nan briefly looked down at the stone in his hand, "so; how do we do this? How do I cut it open?"

"I'll take you to our cutting room. We have a professional cutting master here on site who's highly skilled; so, you won't have to worry about the emerald being destroyed during the process ... if the stone should happen to contain any. Of course; you can always take it somewhere else, if you'd like ... but, they'll surely charge a fee. We cut it free of charge here." The attendant adds; informing Jiang Nan... "Also, keep in mind; if you leave here without cutting open your stone, and it turns out that there is an emerald in it ... the Stone Gambling Market will still purchase it from you, if you want; but, you won't get as much as you would have if you open it here on site. That's because, the moment you leave the Stone Gambling Market premises with your stone; the value of any emerald later extracted from it automatically depreciates. ... Do you understand and accept these conditions?"

Jiang Nan quickly nodded; even though he really didn't fully grasp it completely. All he knew was that it seemed like having them cut the stone open on site would be less of a hassle for him ... not to mention that he can instantly get cash in hand.

"Very well, then; please, follow me to the cutting room, sir."

Jiang Nan displayed a huge smile, as he walked away following the attendant; thinking to himself that it won't be long before he's lining his pockets with a big wad of cash.

Another fellow Stone Gambling Market veteran turned to the old master, "Come on, Old Master Liu; let's follow them to the cutting room, and finish watching the show. What do you say?"

The old master let out an exasperated huff; then, tersely shook his head, as he gruffly replied... "Fine; if you really want to go waste your time, I'll keep you company, I suppose ... but, I'm still standing by my words; if there's an emerald in that worthless stone, I'll eat that rock."

They set off for the cutting room; followed by a bunch of other 'lookie-Lou's' witnessing the purchase. Soon; there was a small procession behind Jiang Nan and the attendant.

This was a common occurrence at the Stone Gambling Market.

Typically, after a sales transaction was completed; many of those present during it wanted to see if there were any emeralds in the purchased stones. Simply out of pure curiosity ... that's just human nature. Besides; by witnessing as much of the daily activities as possible ... they were hoping to possibly learn some skills and gain experience to help become successful themselves.

All to often, those who frequent the Stone Gambling Market start becoming too complacent, and start relying on their own insights; only to find themselves soon losing money, over and over again.

Before going completely bankrupt; they would need a new perspective on how to conduct raw stone purchases. They did this by observing the activities of their fellow patrons ... watching their successes and failures; gathering this information as 'knowledge'.

And, after gathering all this 'knowledge'; there was one certainty that anyone that frequents the Stone Gambling Market can agree upon ... that even though there are those who earn money there; there are way more who lose it.

When it came to the Stone Gambling Market ... that was the nature of the beast. And, whether they were on the winning end, or the losing end; it was a lifestyle that easily became addictive ... and, at that point; it made it impossible for them to stop.