Chapter 44: Gambling on Stones
Allen realized through Maren that things like emeralds were encased in stone when mined.
Since it is hard to tell if there is any emerald inside in appearance, some people specialize in buying and selling raw emerald stones for gambling.
If there is jadeite inside, buying the raw jadeite stone at a lower price and then cutting it will instantly skyrocket the stone's value, but more often than not, it will only open up useless rocks, and the money will have been spent in vain.
The phrase 'one cut to heaven, one cut to hell' has been circulating in the gambling industry, which represents the excitement of the industry.
Many people become rich because of gambling on stones, but others become poor because of gambling on rocks.
Most of the jadeite in the world is produced in China and Burma; other countries also have jadeite mines, but the production is less abundant than there.
Allen didn't realize that Yakadi was in the business of gambling on stones.
When faced with the exasperated middle-aged man, Allen asked Maren, "How do you normally handle situations like this?"
Maren smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I haven't encountered this situation before. Although we have gambling stones, very few people come to play, so the staff isn't professional."
Allen looked at Maren breathlessly, looked at Lillian, and asked, "Sister, what would you do if you were the leader?"
Lillian looked down in thought for a moment. "I'll gift him a few stones and help him process the emeralds he mines for free. To reflect the customer's importance, I might even fire errant employees before him."
Maren looked at Lillian and hesitated, "Ms. Lillian, the processing fee can be ignored, but the raw emerald stone is precious."
"If you only give away one stone, you should be able to minimize your losses, right?" Allen's eyes swept over the raw emerald stones and inquired to Maren.
Allen saw Maren nod, walked over to the middle-aged man, and asked with a smile, "What is your name, sir?"
The middle-aged man glanced at Allen, saw the other party's dress temperament, and understood that the other party was not ordinary. His body's aura slightly converged, and he said, "My name is Maki Odysseus. Are you the head of this place?"
Allen nodded without explaining too much.
"Mr. Maki, we intend to gift you a raw stone to open jadeite and help you process it for free. Do you think it's okay?" Allen asked with a smile.
Maki suddenly gasped and laughed when he heard Allen's words. "I've been gambling on stones for almost ten years, and so far, I don't dare to say that the stone I picked will be able to open an emerald. Where did you get the courage?"
Allen still maintained his confident smile as he pointed at the pile of raw stones and laughed, "If the raw stones I picked don't produce emeralds, then you can pick ten of these stones for free!"
Maki froze when she heard Allen's words while Maren shrieked.
"Mr. Allen, you can't do this!" Maren came over and tried to stop Allen.
Allen waved his hand. "It's okay. You can tell Jerome that I'll take the damage."
"Allen! You're crazy!" Lillian said anxiously as she came over and pulled Allen along.
Instead, Allen patted Lillian's hand and said soothingly, "Trust my sister."
Allen picked a palm-sized piece of raw stone from the pile and held it in his hand, saying to Maki, "Mr. Maki, I’m Allen Lee, the second-largest shareholder of Yakadi Jewelry Company. You can trust every word I say."
Maki glanced at Maren, who was hurrying to call Jerome, and a smile played at the corner of his mouth.
"Well, I hope you're a man of integrity, Mr. Allen." Maki reached forward, signaling that he could cut the stone.
Allen watched the machine cutting the stone pause momentarily as he looked at Maren and asked, "How do you cut a raw stone."
Maki laughed mockingly, "Does a jewelry company the size of your Yakadi even know how to cut stones?"
Maren sighed helplessly as he took the raw emerald stone in Allen's hand and put it on the stone-cutting machine.
"Mr. Allen, it's better if I do it. Cutting the raw stone requires professional techniques. The first step is to slowly cut along the outermost part until the emerald is cut out, using a polishing technique to remove the stone chips around it." Maren finished and started to operate the machine.
Maren tried his best to make cutting the raw stone a little slower. He had already finished calling Jerome, who was on his way. He was going to stall for time. As long as Jerome arrives, he can surely stop Allen's behavior.
"Allen, do you know how to gamble on stones?" Lillian asked Allen with some concern.
Allen shook his head. He didn't know how to gamble on stones. He had just scanned those emerald raw stones with penetrating eyes; some had green air clusters. He had just picked the stone with the most intense green color.
On the other hand, Jerome learned that Allen wanted to gamble on stones and immediately rose with curiosity. He knew that Allen was very good at gambling, but gambling on rocks was not quite the same as other gambling. As for the bet between Allen and Maki, he didn't give it a second thought.
It's just a few rocks, a loss Jerome can afford.
When Jerome arrived at the jewelry company, he opened the door and heard Maren yell in surprise.
"My God, it's emerald! It's emerald! And it's imperial green!"