Su Qingqing nodded, having realized that now was not the time to discuss such matters, and hence she did not ask any further.
Ouyang Jun was not optimistic about the piece of Hetian Jade material, but now that Huo Sining had bought it, it wasn’t his place to dissuade her anymore.
Moreover, he didn’t actually think that Auntie Mei selling her husband’s piece of jade material would be of any use; with a gambler for a son, no amount of money in her hands would last before being squandered away. Auntie Mei’s future was bound to be tough.
But after all, they were mere acquaintances. He wouldn’t sympathize with someone over such a trivial matter. There were too many people in the world deserving of pity, he couldn’t sympathize with all of them even if he wanted to.
"Take this stone back with you too, you paid for it, so naturally, it belongs to you."
When they returned to Alimu’s house, Ouyang Jun generously handed the stone over to Huo Sining.
Huo Sining looked at Ouyang Jun with a peculiar gaze, "I only wanted that chessboard stone plate."
"What I said is yours is yours. Such a bad piece of material, I don’t even care for it."
Ouyang Jun directly stuffed the piece of jade material into Huo Sining’s arms. He wasn’t a fool; he had seen earlier that Huo Sining was quite interested in it. Claiming to not want it was a lie—she just didn’t call out a price because he was the one who spotted the material first.
Huo Sining snorted with laughter, realizing Ouyang Jun’s displays of male pride. Her expression suddenly turned serious, she raised her eyebrows at Ouyang Jun and said sternly, "Are you sure this stone is mine? Don’t regret it later!"
"It was bought by you to begin with, why would I regret it? Aren’t you belittling me now?"
Ouyang Jun didn’t catch the underlying tone in Huo Sining’s words. He had said the item was Huo Sining’s and naturally would not go back on his word.
Besides, he hadn’t seen anything special about the stone, and even Ji Kun thought it was unlikely to yield any jade, so he wasn’t concerned.
Even if this material really turned out to be Mutton Fat Jade, it would only prove that his judgment wasn’t sharp enough. If Huo Sining could buy it, it simply meant that the stone was fated for her.
Gambling on stones was like dealing with antiques—it’s not just about sharp eyes, but also about luck.
Huo Sining laughed and said, "Well then, I will not refuse. If it really turns out to be a top-quality piece, I’ll sell it back to you. I might make a quick million or ten million out of it."
Huo Sining repeated what Mei Dekang had said before; Ouyang Jun thought she was joking and didn’t take it to heart.
However, Huo Sining was very clear in her mind that this piece of material was indeed as Mei Dekang had said. Yet, having been in the Mei family for ten years without anyone daring to cut it, it ended up being a bargain for her, an outsider.
But a gentleman does not take advantage of others. Even though Huo Sining knew that good jade could be extracted from this piece of material, she had no intention of taking something belonging to Ouyang Jun.
Moreover, there were rules within the gambling stone circle. Since Ouyang Jun saw the stone first, he had priority in purchasing it. By buying it first, she had already broken the rules, so if Ouyang Jun really wanted to buy back this piece of material in the future, Huo Sining would not refuse.
At that moment, Ouyang Jun was unaware that this piece of full gamble material that he had no faith in, which Huo Sining had bought in a swift move, would soon greatly aid him.
Because he hadn’t anticipated the Hetian Jade fair, Ouyang Jun had come away empty-handed that afternoon. Although Alimu said he would take him to see a few other villagers’ wares, Ouyang Jun was somewhat disinterested.
So, after placing Huo Sining’s jade chessboard and the piece of Hetian Jade material into the car, they decided to head back to the Yan Residence.
Upon arriving in the county, Huo Sining had Ouyang Jun help unload the Jade chessboard and the raw Hetian jade at the entrance of the logistics company, and then arranged for them to be shipped back to S City.
Although she possessed a Storage Space and could effortlessly transport these items back to S City, both items were too conspicuous. She couldn’t possibly sneak them into her Space unnoticed and had to follow the rules for shipping.
Fortunately, she was not short of money nowadays, and she could afford the few hundred yuan in shipping costs.
The Hetian Jade Fair was in just five days. Ouyang Jun hadn’t purchased the jade he wanted, so naturally, he wasn’t leaving. Huo Sining and the others certainly didn’t mind staying either, especially since they had decided to visit the Yan Residence again.
Su Qingqing had been preoccupied with the Chessboard Stone Huo Sining had brought back. As soon as she returned to Uncle Liu’s hostel, she couldn’t wait to ask about it.
Huo Sining touched her nose, somewhat helplessly, knowing that Qingqing wouldn’t rest until she told her. So, she reluctantly said, "That Chessboard Stone should be a jade-containing rock. The surface is coated with kaolin. Inside, there should be jade."
Su Qingqing looked skeptical: "Really? How do you know?"
Huo Sining laughed, "Because I saw it. The surface of that stone has a thick layer of kaolin, so the Mei Family thought it was just an ordinary rock. But when I sat down on the stone bench, I noticed the corner of the Chessboard Stone slightly revealing jade flesh. I guess after many years of wind and sun, the outer rock skin has slowly worn away, exposing the jade underneath."
Su Qingqing’s eyes widened in shock: "You saw it?!"
Huo Sining nodded: "Although it was only as big as a fingernail, I am sure that it was jade flesh."
Su Qingqing immediately gasped in surprise: "Such a large chessboard, if there’s jade inside, wouldn’t that be a colossal piece?"
Huo Sining shook her head: "That’s uncertain. We don’t know how deep the jade goes inside, and it could be just a veneer of jade. We’ll only know the actual results once we get back to S City and unravel it."
Su Qingqing didn’t doubt her words but felt excited and relieved: "It’s fortunate that the jade flesh wasn’t discovered, otherwise you wouldn’t have picked up this bargain."
Huo Sining and Bai Yishan exchanged glances, and Bai Yishan felt a wave of inevitability.
She had seen Huo Sining’s jadeite gambling skills, and when she saw Sining pouring mineral water on the Chessboard Stone, she knew what the girl was planning.
Now, seeing Huo Sining brazenly spinning tales to deceive the naive Qingqing, Bai Yishan was momentarily speechless.
In the past six months, Huo Sining had dabbled in fish farming, Qigong, and the Gambling Stone Secret Technique, deceiving quite a few people. She had now honed the ability to lie with a straight face, so dealing with Qingqing was indeed not a difficult task.
To be nearby for convenience, Ouyang Jun checked out of his original hotel and moved into the small hostel where Huo Sining and the others were staying.
Although Uncle Liu’s place lacked high-tech equipment, it made up for it with a tranquil environment. Aside from Huo Sining’s group, no other guests were staying, making it very quiet for sleeping at night.
After a day of busyness outside, everyone went to sleep soundly after dinner.
Not having purchased any good materials, Ouyang Jun was somewhat gloomy, resolved to visit other villages with Ji Kun the next day. To his surprise, early the next morning, the guide came knocking on his door.
"Mr. Ouyang, get up quickly, new goods have arrived!"