Chapter 97 – Final 3 seconds! (1/2)
The floor of this crystal shop was covered with crystal stones dust.
Dong Xuebing walked to a stack of uncut natural crystal stones and squat there. He picked up a stone, about 2 to 2.5 kg. He examines it closely. There was a small window cut at a corner. The crystal inside was colorless and clear. The quality of this crystal seems to be of a higher grade. But Dong Xuebing knew the shopowners will cut the best part of the stone to show the customers. It might show high-quality crystal from this small cut, but the crystal might not be the same for the other parts of the stone. “Boss, how much is this piece?”
The shopowner was sweeping the dust, and he looked up. “Oh, that’s 10,000 RMB.”
Dong Xuebing pointed to another purple crystal stone. That stone does not have any cuts. “How about that piece?”
“35,000 EMB.”
“That yellow crystal stone?”
“That is bigger. 40,000 RMB.”
Dong Xuebing asked the prices of the bigger stones. This way, the chances of having bigger crystals were higher. After confirming the prices, Dong Xuebing reached inside his pocket and played a ringtone before taking out his iPhone 4 to pretend to answer a call. He pretended to be speaking to someone and then hang up. “Boss, I would like to buy some crystals. But I need to rush off. If you can cut the stones faster, I will buy a few pieces at once. If not, I will go off.”
The shop owner would not give up any business. “Hurry up and pick the stones. I can cut the stones fast.”
“Fine. These two purple crystals, that yellow crystal, that colorless crystal, and that pink crystal.”
“Wait, let me calculate.” The shop owner picked up his calculator and punched in the numbers. “The total is 162,000 RMB. I will round it off to 160,000 RMB.”
Dong Xuebing took out the stacks of money from his back and pressed the countdown timer on his phone. 360 seconds.
The shop owner could tell Dong Xuebing was a novice. But he never expects Dong Xuebing to spend 160,000 RMB to gamble crystal stones. The young men nowadays were so rich. He picked up the stacks of RMB and place it into the money counting machine beside him. 10,000…… 50,000…… 100,000…… He counted twice, and the amount was right.”
There were 312 seconds left.
Dong Xuebing anxiously said. “Start cutting the stones. Don’t need to grind it bit by bit. Cut it diagonally from an angle will do.”
The shop owner was stunned. “Oh, you will damage some of the crystals inside. Are you sure?”
“Yes. Please hurry.”
There were 303 seconds left.
The shop owner had promised Dong Xuebing that he will cut the stones fast. His movements were swift as he rolled up his sleeves and kneel down beside that colorless crystal stone. He held the cutter in his hand and picked an angle before pressing the cutter against the stone!
Eeeeeee! Eeeeeee! Eeeeeee! The stonecutter cut through the outer layer of the stone!
There were 280 seconds left!
Dong Xuebing clenched his fist tightly. Please hurry up!
Eeeeeee! The screeching sounds of the cutter were loud! Suddenly the noise stopped!
The colorless crystal stone was cut open. The cut surface was smooth, but there were specks of black spots. The shop owner rubbed it with his fingers and could not remove it. “There are not dirt. It’s the impurities in the crystal. What a pity.” Having impurities in the crystals will lower the value of the stone. This stone which cost 10,000 RMB was not worthless.
Dong Xuebing cursed under his breath and immediately said: “Forget about that and cut the next stone!”
“Sure.” The shop owner turned and start to cut the yellow crystal stone.
There were 241 seconds left!
Dong Xuebing was rubbing his palms together and praying. Please, let me get a good crystal stone without impurities!
Eeeeeee! Eeeeeee! The second stone was cut open, and there were no impurities. But the yellow color was not very dark. There was only a slight tint of yellow in the crystal. It was almost like colorless crystals. This stone which cost 30,000 RMB was worth less than 10,000 RMB now!
Damn!
Dong Xuebing gritted his teeth and said: “Next one!”
There were 195 seconds left.
Eeeeeee! Eeeeeee! Eeeeeee! The third pink crystal stone was cut open!
This time, the shop owner might have chosen a wrong angle to cut. He did not cut it diagonally. He just cut out a small portion of the stone, but from that small window, they could see lots of tiny bubbles in the crystal. This piece was another worthless piece!
Dong Xuebing slapped his thighs angrily. “Next!”
He only has 141 seconds left, and there were 2 purple crystal stones left.
132 seconds…….
112 seconds…….