“Why are you stone-gambling again? Haven’t you lost enough?” Tang Hao said.
Qin Gang smiled and said, “I’m just here to take a look. I didn’t buy anything! I don’t have enough money to throw.”
Tang Hao could not help but laugh.
He knew that Qin Gang was rather well-off and liked to spend money on antiques and jade.
He had never gone to the stone-gambling store with Qin Gang before, but Qin Gang knew that Tang Hao was quite talented and had heard about his fame in those circles.
Chapter 707 - Tang Hao, Master Appraiser
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Wait there. I’m coming over right now!”
Tang Hao thought for a while and agreed to Qin Gang’s invitation. He ended the call and went to the stone-gambling store in the north of the city.
Upon entering the store, he saw a large group of people gathered there. Many of them were regular customers, and Tang Hao was familiar with them. He was a regular there anyway.
In the middle of the crowd, Tang Hao saw Qin Gang and the three Nanyangese.
Seeing him come in, the crowd was in an uproar.
They rushed over to greet Tang hao enthusiastically.
“Master Tang! You’re finally here!”
“Master Tang! Do you remember me? It’s me, Lil Chen!”
They jostled among each other to be the first to shake hands with Tang Hao. The scene was very lively.
“Hey! Make way, stop squeezing! That’s my brother-in-law. F*ck! Why are you looking at me like that? He’s really my brother-in-law!” Qin Gang shouted as he squeezed through the crowd.
“Tch!”
The people around all rolled their eyes disdainfully.
‘This Qin rookie loses every time he gambles. How could he be Master Tang’s brother-in-law?
‘What a ridiculous joke!
‘Master Tang is a legend in Province Z’s appraisal scene!
‘He could tell treasure from trash with a single glance!
‘His appraisal skills are godlike! He must have an extraordinary background!
‘Why would Master Tang’s brother-in-law be such an amateur then?
‘One thing for sure is that he is acquainted with Master Tang. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have his phone number. Brother-in-law though? That’s too much of a stretch!’
“F*ck! He’s really my brother-in-law. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him!” Qin Gang was indignant.
Tang Hao coughed lightly and said, “He really is!”
Instantly, the people around him exclaimed in surprise.
“Damn! He really is!”
“It doesn’t make sense! Isn’t he embarrassed of himself?”
They could not understand what was going on.
Qin Gang was frustrated. He leaned close to Tang Hao and whispered, “See that, Brother-in-law? They’re all looking down on me. You have to teach me some of your skills. Otherwise, you’ll be losing face too.”
Then, he draped his arm over Tang Hao’s shoulder and said ostentatiously, “He’s my brother-in-law, remember that!”
Everyone was envious.
“Damn, what a lucky guy! Master Tang is his brother-in-law!” They whispered.
Qin Gang lifted his chin proudly when he heard that.
Tang Hao rolled his eyes at him. Then, he looked at the three Nanyangese.
The leader was a slightly plump middle-aged man, wearing a flowery shirt and sunglasses and biting a cigar. His neck and arms were decked out in jewelry.
At a glance, he looked like a big tycoon!
The two people behind him were tall and burly, and they wore black clothes and sunglasses. It was obvious that they were his bodyguards.
The three of them stood there and looked over.
The tycoon sized up Tang Hao, and the corners of his lips curled upward into a mocking sneer. “You think that this kid is a master? What a joke!
“Haha! I’m dying of laughter! He’s just a kid, but you’re telling me that he’s a master appraiser? Who would believe that! All you Huaxianese are idiots!
“When it comes to stone-gambling, none of you stand a chance against Nanyang!”
He took a drag from his cigar. His expression was extremely arrogant and disdainful.
Those words immediately angered everyone.
When the plump man entered the store and picked out a fine piece of jade on his first attempt, he acted as though he was the best at stone-gambling and everyone from Huaxia was trash. That made the Huaxianese customers very unhappy.
He also did not believe in Master Tang’s talents and even ridiculed them.
“F*ck you, damn fatty! Watch your mouth!”
“How dare you look down on Master Tang? Just you wait, you’ll pay for that!”
Everyone in the crowd started to shout and curse. They were furious.
“Hah! Why is everyone so riled up? You say that this kid is a master appraiser, right? Alright, let’s make a bet! Do you dare?” The plump man sneered.
As he spoke, he looked at Tang Hao.
Tang Hao smiled indifferently. His gaze landed on the plump man’s right hand that was holding the cigar.
The plump man wore a ring on his middle finger. It was made of imperial jade and very eye-catching.
What caught his attention was that the ring was emanating a strong qi aura.
It was an Artifact!
However, upon closer inspection, those three Nanyangese were not cultivators.
“Interesting!” Tang Hao muttered. Then, he smiled and said, “Alright! I’ll take on your bet. How should we do it?”
“Ha, kid, you have guts to bet against me! Alright, let’s do it! Don’t blame me if you lose. You’re the one you made the decision!” The plump man sneered.
“Let’s make it simple. Each of us will pick five stones and decide the winner in one go. Winner takes all, and the loser pays. How about that?” He said after pondering for a moment.
“It’s indeed simple!” The crowd whispered with each other.
The usual way was to compare single stones in a best-of-three or best-of-five match. It was a lot simpler to compare five stones at once.
If each of them took five stones, then it meant ten stones in total. The bigger stones were worth up to three million yuan, and even the smaller ones were a few hundred thousand.
“Sure!” Tang Hao said.
“Then it’s settled! Let’s start now!” The plump man said.
“Wait!” Tang Hao waved his hand and said.
“What? Regretting your decision already?”
“Nah. I think the stakes are too low. The loser will only lose several ten million at most! That’s child’s play!” Tang Hao grinned.
The plump man was stunned.
‘A few ten million is child’s play? How arrogant!’
After that, he burst out laughing. ‘This kid is really stupid!
‘I’m not going to lose to this kid. The more is at stake, the more I’ll win!’
“How much do you want to raise?” He shouted.
Tang Hao splayed five fingers.
“Fifty million?” The plump man was startled. How reckless!
Tang Hao shook his head.
“Five million?” The plump man sneered. Five million was nothing.
Tang Hao shook his head again.
The plump man was stunned again. If it was not five million or fifty million, then how much could it be?
“Five hundred million yuan! What do you think?” Tang Hao enunciated each word clearly.
The plump man’s jaw dropped and nearly dropped the cigar in his hand. He was dumbfounded.
The crowd fell silent. They were shocked by the figure.
‘Five… hundred… million? What an astronomical sum!’
Even Qin Gang was dumbfounded. “F*ck! How reckless!” He blurted when he came to his senses.
The plump man also came to his senses. His body trembled,
and his eyes sparkled. “Of course I’m in! I’m only worried that you don’t have that much money!”
“Don’t worry! It’s only five hundred million. I’ll do it even if it’s five billion!” Tang Hao said indifferently.
The plump man was stunned, and his eyes opened wider.
‘What a super-rich idiot!’
The crowd was in awe of Master Tang’s wealth.
“If you still don’t believe me, then let’s sign a contract!” Tang Hao said again.
“Yes! Let’s sign a contract!”
The plump man was very excited.
Chapter 708 - What A Trickster
The plump man became even more excited after the contract was signed.
‘This kid is a total idiot!’
He looked at Tang Hao with ridicule and disdain.
‘How lucky! I was only shopping to cure an itch, but I didn’t expect to meet a rich idiot.
‘I’ve made five hundred million yuan for literally nothing.’
Everyone on Tang Hao’s side was also excited.
‘Haha! This idiot dares to challenge Master Tang and think that he will win? He’ll be crying very soon! That’s five hundred million we’re talking about!
‘Speaking of which, Master Tang is a ruthless one. He doesn’t even blink when he is ripping someone off.
‘He’s even smiling sheepishly!
‘What a trickster!’
Everyone sighed inwardly.
Qin Gang patted Tang Hao’s shoulder and exclaimed, “How ruthless, Brother-in-law!”
“Nah, I’m not!” Tang Hao said seriously.
“Right, of course!” Qin Gang understood what he was trying to imply.
“Watch carefully, kid. You might learn something from me today! I’m not bragging here, but when it comes to stone-gambling, not many people are my match. I grew up in a quarry, and I’ve touched more raw jade ore than you touched stones.”
The fatty took a drag from his cigar and said arrogantly.
Then, he sneered, turned around, and started picking stones.
Tang Hao walked to the other side.
He strolled over to the shelves and swept his gaze across each piece of jade.
All he needed was a single glance.
A group of people followed behind him, observing his every move. They looked excited and eager.
“As expected of Master Tang. Look at his demeanor. He’s an expert!”
Many people were flattering him.
“This piece… and this piece…”
Tang Hao circled the store once and picked out five stones. The shop assistant helped him to place the stones on the table.
Meanwhile, the plump man had not chosen his first piece yet. He was quite shocked when he saw that.
Following which, he sneered.
‘That kid chose five pieces in just a few minutes. He must be banking on his luck!’
His attitude toward Tang Hao became even more disdainful.
He carefully studied every stone and finally chose five pieces.
“I’ll go first! Kid, open your eyes, take a good look, and be in awe of what I can do!” The plump man shouted.
The jade cutter looked at Tang Hao.
Tang Hao nodded. “Let him go first!”
“Alright!”
The jade cutter took one stone and placed it on the cutting machine. He cut open a small window and revealed a light green color.
The jade inside was clear and lustrous.
The crowd was shocked. It was clearly an ice-type jade. Even though the color was light green, it could still command a high price!
“This guy is not bad!”
The crowd whispered.
The plump man had won a high-quality piece of jade earlier, and now he got a second piece. It seemed that he had a knack for appraising stones.
“It’s no big deal!” The plump man grinned smugly.
The jade cutter continued to extract the jade from the ore. Eventually, the jade that was obtained from the ore was the size of half a soccer ball.
“Wow! What a haul!”
Everyone exclaimed in surprise.
The stone was only a little more than a hundred thousand yuan, but the jade could be sold for two or three million. That was a huge profit.
The plump man took the jade and caressed it. He grinned and felt very pleased with himself.
“Continue! Let’s cut the other four pieces!”
The jade cutter took the stones one by one and cut them.
Of the remaining four pieces, one was a dud. The other three were, respectively, a rare red jade, a green wax-type, and a green pattern-type. That made everyone gasp in surprise.
Picking four pieces out of five stones was an amazing feat!
“How is it? Not bad, right?”
The plump man laughed loudly, feeling extremely proud of himself.
‘The five hundred million yuan will be mine!’
Everyone frowned, feeling not as confident as before. Some of them even began to feel uneasy.
Master Tang was indeed talented, but that plump man was not bad either.
“It’s too early to celebrate!” Tang Hao smiled and said to the jade master, “Sorry for the trouble!”
The master took one of Tang Hao’s stones and placed it on the machine.
In an instant, all eyes were on the stone, and everyone held their breath.
The plump man sneered with contempt.
How would the kid win unless he was really lucky? The plump man got an ice-type and a rare red jade.
The jade cutter carefully operated the machine and opened a window. In an instant, a clear green light leaked out.
Everyone was stunned. In the next moment, their eyes widened in shock.
“Oh my god! It’s pure green!”
“Look at the luster. It’s a top-grade glass-type…”
Everyone cried out in surprise and revealed fanatical expressions.
“Quick! Cut it open! Let us take a look!” They urged the jade cutter.
As for the plump man, his jaw dropped, and he froze on the spot.
His mind went blank.
‘A pure green glass-type jade?
‘Is this a prank?’
“Impossible! This is impossible! It’s probably just the surface! Quick! Cut it open!” He roared as he stared at the stone.
The jade cutter was also quite nervous. Pure green glass-type jade was second only to imperial jade.
He operated the machine and carefully extracted the jade inside.
The crystal-clear piece of jade was the size of a basketball. It was dazzlingly beautiful.
“Wow!” Everyone exclaimed.
As for the plump man, his hand trembled, and his cigar fell to the ground. His face was full of shock.
Then, his entire body shook, and his face turned pale.
Ice-type? Red jade? They were nothing compared to the glass-type.
That one piece alone was worth more than his five pieces.
He had lost the bet!
His face twitched, and he was about to pop a vein.
That was five hundred million yuan!
Although his business was very profitable, it would take a long time to recoup the five hundred million.
His face turned ashen.
He thought that he would definitely win, but the kid was luckier than he was.
Meanwhile, the crowd cheered.
“As expected of Master Tang! He’s awesome!”
The plump man’s face twitched violently as he yelled, “Awesome? He just got f*cking lucky!”
“Nonsense! He’s not lucky, he’s talented!”
Qin Gang was the first to be indignant. He jumped out from the crowd and pointed at the plump man’s nose.
The plump man glared at Qin Gang with a sinister gaze.
“Let’s continue cutting. We’ll see if it’s just luck!” The plump man said.
The jade cutter opened another stone. It was a colorless ice-type.
The third piece was a dark green ice-type.
The plump man felt dizzy in his head, and he almost fell down.
The last two pieces were both ice-types.
Everyone cheered fanatically, while the plump man was dumbstruck.
Chapter 709 - Let’s Get Married
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“How… how is that possible?”
The plump man’s face was filled with disbelief.
That kid spent only a couple of minutes picking his stones, and he got four pieces of high-quality jade and one masterpiece. That was unbelievable!
Could it be… that the kid was really an expert?
He looked at Tang Hao. It was difficult for him to associate that young man with the identity of a master of appraisal.
“So, are you willing to admit defeat yet? Pay up!”
Qin Gang could not stop grinning.
The plump man gritted his teeth, and he glared at Qin Gang savagely.
“What? Are you not willing to admit defeat?” Qin Gang sneered. As he spoke, he waved the contract in his hand.
Tang Hao stepped forward and said, “It’s fine if you don’t want to pay. I’m interested in your ring. Give that to me, and we’ll call it even.”
Qin Gang looked at the plump man’s finger, and his eyes lit up. “Oh my, that’s imperial jade!”
The plump man seemed visibly alarmed, and he hid his right hand. “I can’t give you the ring. It’s only five hundred million yuan, right? I’ll give it to you. Do you have a Swiss bank account? I’ll transfer it to you!”
After the transfer was done, he paid the money for the stones and left resentfully.
Everyone in the stone-gambling store cheered.
“You’re too awesome, Master Tang! You’ve made Huaxia proud!”
“That’s right! Let’s see if that Nanyang guy dares to be so arrogant!”
Tang Hao frowned slightly.
He wanted the ring, but unexpectedly, that guy would rather pay five hundred million than part with it.
He was also curious about the plump man’s change in expression earlier.
It seemed that the guy knew that the ring was special.
“I’ll seek him out again tonight!”
Tang Hao made up his mind.
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