Chapter 1531 Talen (1/2)

Da Mao was an expert in the trade of stone gambling. After his interaction with Li Du, he started to hold the latter in high regard. Da Mao came to the conclusion that although Li Du lay low, he was actually very capable, a lot more than himself.

Li Du's capabilities showed in a few areas. For example, when they had to mill the stones, there were a few times where he could not locate where the jade was. Li Du, on the other hand, could draw a precise line leading to the jade.

In another instance, Da Mao had been indecisive over a few stones. After Li Du saw those stones, he made up his mind to buy them. In the end, the stones were indeed valuable.

Hence, after Li Du questioned him, Da Mao started to feel doubtful. He stuttered, ”As for that, that should be it. I think it is. In any case, I think seventy or eighty percent of it would be water foam, not worth the risk.”

Li Du asked, ”How can you tell?”

Da Mao pulled out a magnifying glass and looked through it. He said, ”As you know, water foam is formed from Albite. It does not have an ounce of jade, but it has Naphtha and Asbestos. Look at this piece of stone carefully. There are none of those tell-tale signs of jade that could give one confidence.”

Zhong Da Pao and Liu Zi squeezed closer and observed the stone intently. Then, Zhong Da Pao asked, ”Liu Zi, do you see it?”

Liu Zi asked blankly, ”See what?”

”Signs of jade!”

Liu Zi said decidedly, ”Nope, there's really no sign of jade in this stone.”

Saying that, he caressed the side of the stone that was split open. He said, ”This piece feels dead. Where would it get the liveliness of jade?”

Da Mao looked at him and said, ”Don't make a mess, Master Liu. The outer layer is really jade. It's just that it's a lower quality one. What I'm saying is that if you peer through this layer of jade and look deeper, the contents have no signs of jade.”

Liu Zi started to grow awkward. He touched the back of his head and said nothing.

Da Mao said, ”It's just a little bit of feeling. This relies on intuition.”

Li Du pushed Zhong Da Pao and Liu Zi away and said, ”If you guys could tell, it would be strange. Da Mao, go on.”

Da Mao started to knock on the stone with his torchlight and said, ”Did you hear that? The sound is not clear enough. It's a little dull. However, there's some breakage in the sound, suggesting that something inside is different. There's indeed a stone of different quality inside, but it's not jade. That's because the sound of a big piece of jade will be very clear.”

Zhong Da Pao and Liu Zi swallowed their saliva and said, ”D*mn it, why can't I hear anything?”

Li Du could not hear anything different either. Being able to hear the difference would be a very superior talent. They could only conclude that Da Mao had the right genes and was born to do that job.

Da Mao used the flashlight to illuminate the stone and the cut on the side. He continued: ”I remember that the refractive index of the water foam is about 1.52, while the jadeite is 1.66. The refractive index of the water foam, therefore, is relatively low. Its brightness is not strong enough...”

Zhong Da Pao rubbed his eyes and stared at the stone. Then he said dejectedly, ”D*mn, I really cannot tell anything.”

Li Du patted Da Mao's shoulder and said, ”That's enough. Look below. This piece is indeed water foam. You are very accurate.”

On the other side, the transaction had been concluded. Old Liao had paid up and Knife passed the stone over to him.

The private market, too, provided a stone milling service. The businessmen there welcomed their customers to mill their stones. That was because the stones they had were all those that the experts had picked out carefully after evaluation. Hence, the probability of milling a good stone would be higher.

The saying 'not gambling on the stones before knowing the field' came about after the stone gamblers started to learn which fields produced good stones, when those stones would come, what exactly would come out of the stones, and what signs were there to predict it. Hence, they started to use that information in deciding which stones to purchase.

As the possibility of a good-quality stone was higher in private fields, the place received a lot of attention from customers.

There was a stone milling machine right in front of the entrance to the block. Old Liao and his men entered with the stones in their hands. Then, after sticking some red paper slips and saying some prayers, the knife master started work.

Li Du did not go out but continued to pick stones. Zhong Da Pao and Liu Zi, on the other hand, went to take a look. Da Mao shook his head. ”Why go out? There's a huge water bubble inside. Are you just going there to watch the crowd?”

Slowly, shouting rang out from outside: