My Sexy CEO Wife

18  Chapter 18: The First Bucket of Gold

Gao Fei left the police station and went straight to Gambling Stone Street.

The entire street was filled with gambling stone shops, with all kinds of stones displayed in front of each shop, each marked with a price. The most expensive stones were priced over a million, while the cheapest ones needed only a few hundred yuan.

Generally, the larger the stone, the more expensive it was, because bigger stones had a higher chance of containing jade.

As Gao Fei walked, he scanned the stones on both sides of the street. At this moment, he had activated his Clairvoyance ability, clearly seeing the insides of the stones. In a short while, he had looked at over a hundred stones, almost all of them were duds with no jade at all. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Some stones had a very gorgeous appearance and were very attracting, seeming like they had a high chance of containing jade, but in reality… there was nothing inside, just a piece of junk! If one rashly bought them, they would definitely lose everything.

"Gambling Stone is indeed full of risks," Gao Fei remarked to himself, "Just a moment's carelessness, and you could lose it all." "Luckily, I have Clairvoyance, or else... I really wouldn't dare to enter this trade."

"Eh? This stone doesn't look bad."

Gao Fei walked briskly to a shop and picked up a stone. The stone was only as big as a child's palm, rough on the outside with lots of cracks, and looked quite ugly.

"Fancy this stone?" a middle-aged man emerged from the shop.

Gao Fei saw the price tag on the bottom of the stone, "Three thousand yuan? Isn't that too expensive!"

"Not at all, this stone is from an old pit in Myanmar, and the chances of it containing jade are very high." The middle-aged man was obviously exaggerating, a common sales strategy to talk up his goods and hike the price. To those unfamiliar with the business, there was a real chance of getting conned.

"I'll take it for five hundred yuan," Gao Fei began to bargain.

"No way, that's too low; I can't even cover my costs," the middle-aged man said, shaking his head vigorously.

"Then forget it, I don't want it." Gao Fei put the stone back from where he picked it up and pretended to walk away. This was another tactic, taking a step back to gain an advantage, keeping the initiative in his own hands.

"Hey hey hey… don't go..." the middle-aged man grabbed Gao Fei, "We can still talk about it... How about this, I'll give you a discount price, two thousand five hundred yuan..."

Gao Fei shook his head, "I can only offer you five hundred yuan."

"Raise your price a bit..."

"I can't raise it..."

After some back-and-forth bargaining, the two finally agreed on a price, and the stone was sold to Gao Fei for eight hundred yuan.

Gao Fei paid promptly, then picked up the stone he had set his sights on, "Boss, where can I cut the stone?"

"You can do it right here," the middle-aged man said with a smile, "But you need to pay a hundred yuan as a cutting fee."

"There's a fee for cutting it?"

"Of course! I can't just cut it for you for free, right? You know, cutting stones is a skillful job, very tiring... Not just my shop, but other shops charge as well... and the prices aren't cheap... If you don't believe me, you can ask around..."

"Alright, cut it for me," Gao Fei handed the stone over to the middle-aged man.

"Our rule here is... pay first, then cut the stone," the middle-aged man said with a grin.

"Here," Gao Fei handed over a hundred yuan, "You really know how to do business! Afraid I'd stiff you, huh? Do I look like that kind of person?"

"How would you like this stone to be cut?"

"Just cut it as you see fit!"

"Alright then, I'll cut it based on my experience," the middle-aged man fixed the stone onto the cutting machine, and began to grind it down slowly using a grinding wheel.

"Swoosh!"

The stone was cut open, revealing a green color inside.

"It's gone up in value!" the middle-aged man exclaimed, "Buddy, you're really lucky!"

"Thanks for the compliment," Gao Fei smiled faintly without any visible excitement because he already knew the stone had something inside, or he wouldn't have bought it.

"Buddy, stop cutting, sell me this stone," the middle-aged man said. "I'll give you five thousand yuan for it! This price is very fair!" In the Gambling Stone business, there was a rule that a stone could be sold to another before it's completely cut open, and the price would have to be negotiated between the parties.

Clearly, the middle-aged man was tempted by the green color he saw in the stone and wanted to pay to purchase it.

Gao Fei shook his head, "Keep cutting! Let's cut the stone all the way open and then talk."

"I advise you, it's better not to cut anymore." The middle-aged man feigned kindness in his advice, "If you keep cutting, it's very likely that you'll end up with false hopes. Instead of being disappointed in the end, why not sell it to me now while the situation is unclear?" The presence of green in the stone merely proved that there was jade inside, but the size and level of the jade could not yet be judged. If the cutting continued, two outcomes were possible: first, the jade inside could be large and of good color, fetching a high price; second, the jade could be tiny and of bad color, hardly worth anything.

"I trust my own judgement," Gao Fei said with determination, "Keep cutting!"

"You... why won't you listen to advice..." The middle-aged man frowned, "I'll give you five thousand for it. You've already made more than four thousand. Don't be too greedy. It's better to quit while you're ahead, otherwise you might end up with a loss..."

"I've made up my mind, keep cutting," Gao Fei said, interrupting the middle-aged man with a wave of his hand.

"I hope you won't regret it." The middle-aged man sighed and then continued operating the stone-cutting machine.

"Swish!"

With one cut, the green color inside the stone became even clearer.

After spending well over half an hour, the stone was finally completely cut open, revealing a piece of jade the size of a thumb in front of Gao Fei.

"Your luck... is really good," the middle-aged man remarked as he picked up the jade to examine it. "It's a pity... there are impurities. Still, it can sell for a nice price..." He looked up at Gao Fei, "Sell this piece of jade to me, I'll give you... thirty thousand."

"Thirty thousand?" Gao Fei was tempted. Gambling Stone really was a lucrative industry; in less than an hour, he had made over twenty thousand, which was much better than working a regular job.

"I'll offer fifty thousand!" A woman's voice sounded from behind, "To purchase this jade!"

"Hmm?" Gao Fei turned to look and saw a woman standing at the entrance of the shop, an extremely beautiful woman with long hair over her shoulders, a melon-seed face, delicate eyebrows, and a pair of lively big eyes. She wore a white shirt and light blue casual pants, exuding a very capable appearance.

"Hey... I say! How can you snatch my deal like that!" The middle-aged man looked at the long-haired woman discontentedly, "Don't you have any respect for the rules?"

"Rules?" The long-haired woman chuckled lightly, "This jade is worth at least fifty thousand, and yet you offer thirty thousand. Isn't that clearly trying to swindle someone?"

"You..." The middle-aged man was about to speak but got interrupted by the long-haired woman.

"If this jade is meticulously carved, it will definitely become more valuable." The long-haired woman looked intently at Gao Fei, "Sell this jade to me. I'll give you fifty thousand. This price is absolutely fair!"

15:07

"Having no respect for the rules... really no respect for the rules..." The middle-aged man was so angry that his face turned green, seeing the deal slipping out of his hands, especially irritated by the interference.

Gao Fei nodded, "Done, it's yours." Getting more money was certainly good. This experience made Gao Fei realize that his understanding of the value of jade was limited, and he was easily susceptible to deception. It seemed he needed to properly study the knowledge of jade in the future.

"Tell me your bank account number, and I'll transfer the money to you right away." The long-haired woman pulled out a large-screen smartphone from her pocket. With advanced technology, transferring money through mobile phones was very convenient.

"My account number is..." Gao Fei told the long-haired woman his bank account details.

The long-haired woman tapped her phone a few times and nodded, "Done, I've already transferred it. Check to see."

At this point, Gao Fei had received a message from the bank; his account balance had indeed increased by fifty thousand. He nodded, "The money has been transferred. The jade is yours!" Gao Fei snatched the jade from the middle-aged man's hand and handed it to the long-haired woman.

"I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave," said the long-haired woman as she carefully put away the jade and then turned to leave.

Watching the long-haired woman's departing figure, Gao Fei nodded to himself, acknowledging her beauty. An outright beauty with the looks and grace, and a well-proportioned figure that was close to perfect; if he could win over a woman like that to be his wife, life would be blissful indeed.

"Brother... take a look... why not pick out a few more stones?" The middle-aged man came over with a smile, "Your luck today is great! You definitely should seize it!"

Gao Fei glanced at the middle-aged man indifferently, "What's the most important thing in doing business? It's honesty! Without honesty, a business is doomed to fail sooner or later." After saying this, Gao Fei walked away with big strides, resolved not to have dealings with someone who would be unprincipled out of greed.

"Hey, don't go..." The middle-aged man called out a few times, but Gao Fei simply ignored him, thinking to himself, "Damn it! It's all because of that wretched woman! She's ruined my good fortune! You better not fall into my hands, or I'll make sure you regret it!" An excellent deal had been spoiled by a stranger, and the middle-aged man was fuming with rage.

"What's the use of honesty? Can honesty be eaten like food? Can it be spent like money?" The middle-aged man vented furiously, "In today's business, it's all about cunning. Whoever is more cunning prospers! Without clever maneuvres, you can only wait to catch the northwest wind!"

...

Gao Fei was in high spirits, downright thrilled!

In under an hour, he had made close to fifty thousand, almost a year's total income for a wage earner.

No wonder so many people gambled on stones; the speed of making money was simply too fast!