"Miss, the rough stone you've picked is just construction material, there's definitely nothing in it. If you're interested in gambling on stones, I've studied it a bit, maybe I could help you out."
At that moment, a young man around twenty-five or twenty-six years old approached Mu Zi.
He was fiddling with a string of Buddha Beads in his hand, sporting an eye-catching emerald ring on his finger, and wore an exceptionally good-quality jade bracelet on his wrist. He exuded an air of arrogance, clearly a product of either a governmental or a wealthy family.
The man looked at Mu Zi with a smile brimming on his face, while he blatantly ignored Ding Fan.
"I just want to buy this construction material, is it any of your business?" Mu Zi shot back at the man beside her, clearly annoyed.
She seldom got the chance to go shopping with Ding Fan, and now they had encountered such an irritating fellow.
What they called "construction material" was rough stone with no jade in it, worth pretty much the same as a brick, a term people in the trade referred to as "construction material."
Instead of leaving, the man who was rebuked by Mu Zi still wore an incessantly smiling face.
"I see the man you're with doesn't look like he has much money. This rough stone, if you're buying it, would be at least eight thousand yuan... If it were me who lost the gamble it wouldn't matter, but if your friend lost, I'm afraid it would certainly be upsetting, right?"
How could Ding Fan not hear the underlying meaning in the man's words? The man wasn't trying to dissuade Mu Zi from making the purchase; he was basically showing off his wealth.
Mu Zi just curled her lips after hearing what the man said.
To such a second-generation heir with an overwhelming sense of superiority, she had no good feelings. Showing off with daddy's money, trying to pick up girls—if it weren't for their fathers, these heirs would be nothing but trash.
Mock Ding Fan for not having money?
If Ding Fan hadn't always kept a low profile, Mu Zi really wanted to tell this man that Ding Fan could earn billions with a flick of his wrist!
Let alone this second-generation heir, even his father might not be able to take out that much money.
"Miss, there aren't many on Antique Street who don't know who I, Yun Yuan, the eldest son of the Yun family, am. Whether you want to gamble on stones or buy antiques, I can help..."
Yun Yuan was clinging to Mu Zi as persistently as plasters.
Mu Zi's eyes shifted, and the mischievous thoughts inside her surged up. "I really would like to go with you, but what about my boyfriend? He would get jealous..."
Upon hearing Mu Zi's words, Ding Fan's face was lined with black streaks, wondering which act this little fairy was about to play now.
Yun Yuan, interpreting Mu Zi's behavior as interest, figured she was just concerned about her boyfriend standing nearby.
Without hesitation, Yun Yuan took out a wad of cash from his breast pocket. Judging by its thickness, it appeared to be around ten thousand yuan.
"Miss Mu Zi and I have really hit it off. Here's some money—why don't you go somewhere to have fun for a bit?" ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝘯𝘦𝘵
When Mu Zi saw Yun Yuan taking out ten thousand yuan for Ding Fan, she couldn't help but reveal an excited smile on her face.
This heir's head must have been kicked by a donkey. Giving Ding Fan ten thousand yuan was nothing short of an insult. Mu Zi was now anticipating how Ding Fan would step on this heir's face in return.
Ding Fan remained silent.
At that moment, Yun Yuan wasn't paying attention to Ding Fan. When he stole a glance at Mu Zi's excited expression, he didn't think in any other direction and believed that she must have been stunned by his lavish spending.
Mu Zi was naturally a great beauty, with her pure and exquisite Alchemy, slender and tall stature, skin white as jade, and her teeth as bright as her lips...
Young Master Yun was heartstruck at his first sight of Mu Zi. In Xingcheng, no woman he took a liking to could ever escape. Yun Yuan was confident that, with his skills, he could get Mu Zi into bed that very night...
"What, not enough?" Yun Yuan then took out another wad of cash from his pocket.
Yun Yuan's display of wealth was purely for Mu Zi's eyes. Women's favorite time with a man wasn't when the man worked hard in bed; it was when he pulled out money from his pocket.
So right now, Yun Yuan was going all out to show off the most attractive side of himself to Mu Zi.
The more Yun Yuan behaved this way, the more Mu Zi was looking forward to it. She was eager to see how Ding Fan would explode and deal with this oblivious heir.
Mu Zi loved the thought of Ding Fan getting jealous and fighting over her with someone else, at least that's what she imagined.
Mu Zi felt an intense thrill!
Just as Mu Zi was expecting Ding Fan to kick over Yun Yuan with a single kick, Ding Fan spoke out indifferently.
"Is that all the money you have?"
Ding Fan's tone was disdainful, contemptuous.
Yun Yuan was taken aback; the money he had taken out must have been about twenty thousand. Could it be that this was still not enough for the other party?
Yun Yuan wanted to blow up, but since Mu Zi was right there, he had to maintain his graceful demeanor.
Yun Yuan waved his hand towards someone behind him, and a middle-aged man who looked like an attendant handed over a briefcase.
Yun Yuan opened the briefcase in front of both Ding Fan and Mu Zi.
"Wow... that's a lot of money..." Mu Zi widened her mouth on purpose and let out a gasp of surprise.
Ding Fan didn't believe the little fairy hadn't seen so much money before; she must have been up to some mischief again...
Mu Zi's reaction was indeed gratifying to Yun Yuan, who promptly pulled out two stacks of cash from his pocket. "This should be enough for you to have fun outside..."
Ding Fan glanced at the meager amount of money.
"Your money wouldn't even buy the scraps of this stone," Ding Fan said to Yun Yuan.
Yun Yuan frowned; he was starting to lose his temper.
The money he had put forward, back and forth, was at least forty thousand. In Yun Yuan's view, the plainly dressed Ding Fan wouldn't be able to earn that much in a year.
"You sure talk big. For that stone of yours—eight thousand—my forty thousand should be more than enough... Do you think my forty thousand can't buy that stone? I hope your math wasn't taught by your P.E. teacher."
"Then let's see if your forty thousand can buy the scraps of this stone," Ding Fan said, extending his hand toward Mu Zi.
Mu Zi quickly grasped Ding Fan's intention and placed the stone directly into his hand. Ding Fan then carried the rough stone and started walking outside.
"Does your male companion have something wrong with his head?" Yun Yuan remarked from the side.
"It's your head that has problems, not his," Mu Zi retorted, and then rolled her eyes at Yun Yuan before scurrying after Ding Fan.
Yun Yuan couldn't make sense of Mu Zi's change in behavior. Just a moment ago, the innocent girl seemed interested in following him, and now she had swiftly changed her tune.
"Young Master, that idiot went to thank the stone machine!" While Yun Yuan was still lost in confused thoughts, the middle-aged lackey behind him interjected.
Yun Yuan looked toward the door and indeed, Ding Fan had already dragged the stone over to the machine.
Understanding Ding Fan's actions, Yun Yuan realized that what Ding Fan meant was his forty thousand couldn't buy the stone because it surely contained jade!
With that thought, Yun Yuan snorted.
On Antique Street, no one could guarantee that any particular stone would certainly reveal jade. Ding Fan merely glimpsed the stone twice and was convinced it contained jade.
In Yun Yuan's opinion, the other party must believe that spending eight thousand meant the stone was guaranteed to yield jade...
These country bumpkins! If it were so easy to find jade, the sellers wouldn't need to sell their stones...
At this time, Ding Fan had already paid for the rough stone. There were no more stones to be unloaded in front of him, so he handed his rock over to the stone cutting master.
There were still quite a few people around the machinery; the excitement from the jade found in a rough stone previously had not yet dissipated.
The fact that rough stones rarely reveal jade is as true as claiming that gambling on stones is as difficult as winning the lottery. There's a saying in the stone gambling industry,
"A single cut can make you poor or rich!"
"Master, please cut open my stone," Ding Fan requested.
The stone cutting master was a ruddy-faced middle-aged man who nodded, grabbed a ladle of water, and doused the stone in preparation for the cut.
"This stone doesn't look like it'll have jade..."
"Yeah, look at that, the edge of the rough stone has cracks; this isn't a good pick."
"This rough stone is just a brick; it won't yield any jade!"
Whispers broke out amongst the crowd, clearly doubting the potential of Ding Fan's rough stone.
Ding Fan didn't seem to mind. Whether there was jade or not, others might not know, but he did.
When Mu Zi was selecting the rough stones, Ding Fan had already used his Divine Sense to lock onto this particular stone; there was definitely jade inside.
"Hold on!" Just as the stone cutting master reached for the electric saw, someone shouted from the side.
Immediately, the surrounding crowd turned to look in the direction of the sound. At that moment, Yun Yuan pushed through the crowd and walked in.
"Young Master Yun..."
"Young Master Yun has arrived..."
Yun Yuan was quite well-known on Antique Street, and many people recognized him. They greeted him as he made his way through the crowd.
Yun Yuan approached Ding Fan. "I'll give you forty thousand for this stone... There won't be any jade in it..."
Saying this, he looked at Mu Zi. "Miss, I advise you to persuade your companion. Forty thousand is not a small sum; if a cut is made and it turns out worthless, that stone won't be worth a cent..."
Yun Yuan's presence there was clearly to impress Mu Zi.
However, Mu Zi wasn't buying it. "I believe in Brother Fan! Go for it, Brother Fan!"
Seeing Mu Zi's reaction, Yun Yuan's brow furrowed.