Chapter 209

Chapter 209: Is It Really a Treasure?!

“Him? Who is he? That old man over there? What’s his background?” That was what most of the guests present were wondering.

“You all came to this auction and you still don’t know who he is? He is Old Master Wen, the founder of the auction house, and the father of Manager Wen from just now!”

“It’s actually him!”

No wonder the crowd had not recognized Old Master Wen. A few years ago, as he grew older, the old man had withdrawn from public life. He handed most of his businesses over to his son to manage and rarely showed his face in public.

Aside from a few people who had been lucky enough to see him in his early years, the younger generation hardly even knew what he looked like.

“Hasn’t the old man stayed out of worldly affairs for many years? Why would he suddenly show up here, and…” And he was even standing in front of that big, dull gray stone.

The staff member leading Du An Rao walked her straight over, then went up to the old man with a light smile and whispered a few words in his ear.

Old Master Wen nodded, waved for her to leave, then turned and looked at Du An Rao: “You are the fated person who bought Lot 18?”

“Fated person?” Du An Rao repeated the three words under her breath and could not help smiling.

Wasn’t she exactly that? This stone had almost grown legs to chase after her.

“Yes, that is me.”

“Congratulations.” Old Master Wen took the initiative to reach out and shake her hand: “I suppose the auctioneer already told you the special terms for buying this stone. I am the one who supplied it. My surname is Wen. I only have one request. I hope you can open this stone in front of me and let me see what kind of treasure is hidden inside.”

“What? That dull gray broken rock is actually a treasure Old Master Wen once kept! If we had known… if we had known… sigh!”

Everyone knew very well what they would have done “if they had known”. If they had known, they would have spent a bit more money to win that “broken rock”.

Spending only a few million to build a connection with the old man of the Wen family, what better deal could there be?

Too bad they had eyes but failed to recognize a jade set in gold. They had actually given such a great chance away to that wild girl from out of town!

Several guests who had competed with Du An Rao for the stone regretted it so much that they almost beat their chests, cursing themselves for missing such a good opportunity.

Du An Rao did not think that far. She only raised her eyebrows and studied Old Master Wen for a while. She did not ask why, if he was so curious about what was inside the stone, he had never opened it himself.

She simply said: “Sure. I am also curious whether this stone can really produce a treasure. May I ask where I should go to find a stone cutting master?”

“We already prepared for that. Since you agree, come with us next door. There is a stone cutting master and the machines all ready over there.”

Du An Rao picked up the stone and followed Old Master Wen out at an easy pace. The other guests were still puzzled. If this stone had been kept by Old Master Wen for so many years, could there really be a treasure inside? They absolutely could not miss this show.

In an instant everyone surged after them. Some gossip loving guests even called the people who had already left and told them to come back.

The auction house arranged for a stone cutting master to help Du An Rao. He was a boss in his forties or fifties. When he saw the stone in Du An Rao’s hands, he was also shocked: “This stone…”

“How is it? Can it produce any kind of treasure?”

The boss’s mouth twitched. He answered honestly: “Based on my many years of stone cutting experience, this should just be waste. Eight or nine times out of ten it won’t show any green at all.”

As soon as he said this, the surrounding audience started whispering again. Du Tian Ci and his people also let out a sigh of relief.

So what if the owner of the stone was Old Master Wen? Waste was still waste. It could never turn into a peerless treasure.

Just like some people. A wild girl would always be a wild girl. She would never become a phoenix.

“Do you want me to cut it straight in half or…”

“No, no, no, I don’t want it cut.”

“You don’t want it cut, then…”

“I heard that sometimes you open stones by rubbing them instead. Could you help me rub this stone?”

The master craftsman almost choked: “You want me to rub this stone?”

“Yes.”

“I already told you that this stone is most likely waste, and you still want me to rub it.”

“Yes.”

“But…”

“Do as she said.” The master craftsman wanted to say more, but Old Master Wen cut him off at once.

Old Master Wen’s words were not something he could argue with. No matter how unwilling the master craftsman felt, he did not dare go against the boss’s wishes. He had no choice but to pick up his tools, choose a spot, and start opening a window on the stone.

The audience only saw the master move quickly. Dirt, chips, and gray dust flew off the surface of the stone.

The master craftsman had thought that with such a broken stone, even if he rubbed it for half a day, he might not see a bit of green. He never expected that after only a few minutes, a patch of delicate, smooth color would appear underneath.

“Huh?”

The master craftsman’s hand suddenly stopped. Old Master Wen frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice: “What is it?”

“It looks like… there is green.”

“How is that possible?!”

It was not only Du Tian Ci and his people who were shocked. Even Old Master Wen leaned forward, wanting to see clearly exactly what kind of green this stone had produced.

“This is…”

“The luster and the color… It may not be as pure and noble as those top grade jades, but it is already quite good.”

By “top grade jade”, Old Master Wen meant rare jadeite like imperial green jadeite. Hearing this, Du Tian Ci and the others finally relaxed. In their eyes, even if Du An Rao’s stone produced green, it could only be a coarse, cheap piece.

“I told you, what decent treasure could come out of such a broken stone? At most it’s just some leftover corner material, better than nothing. Look, why does the color on that side look different? Hahaha, don’t tell me that tiny patch is all the green there is?”

Du Tian Ci’s heartless mocking once again drew everyone’s gaze. Old Master Wen stared more closely and his eyes widened: “I was the one who misjudged it. This is spring color jadeite. Even if that first patch of green is not imperial green jadeite, it is still very rare.”

Du Tian Ci froze. He did not understand how Old Master Wen’s opinion had changed in just two minutes.

“What is spring color jadeite?”

“Spring color jadeite is jadeite that has both purple and green. Natural jadeite with two colors is already rare. If the quality of the water inside is even better, it can easily sell for a high price.”

Judging from the clarity and fineness of the two colors that had already been revealed, the quality of the water in this jadeite was at least ice grade or above. That meant that even if the rest of the stone could not produce any more jade, just this one piece could be made into a bangle and sold for a low seven figure price. Most of the money spent at the auction would be earned back right away.

Du An Rao was not surprised by this result at all. Du Tian Ci, however, grit his teeth and his face darkened. He hated how lucky this wild girl was. She had not only bought the development land they dreamed of, but now she had casually bought a “broken stone” and opened a treasure.

He never imagined that the master craftsman’s next words would stab him even deeper: “Chairman, I’m afraid this stone is not just spring color jadeite.”

“What?!”