After consecutively busting two stones with excellent appearance, it could only be explained by incredibly bad luck.
“This guy is beyond unlucky. Let me see the stones he cut.” Leo thought to himself as he activated his spiritual power to examine the stones cut by Keith on the ground and the cutting machine.
Quickly, Leo’s gaze focused on the fully cut gambling stone, split into three parts by Keith.
Previously, Keith had divided the stone in half and then further the larger half into two halves. As for the smaller half, he had abandoned it, assuming there would be no jadeite since jadeite usually spreads from the middle to the sides, and finding it on the edges is rare.
Under normal circumstances, if the first cut from the center reveals no trace of jadeite, it means that there is no jadeite inside the gambling stone. That’s why Keith gave up cutting the smaller half; he believed it would be a waste of effort.
However, as they say, there are always exceptions, and today Keith encountered one unexpected situation.
Leo found something unexpected in that small half-a hidden piece of jadeite!
Leo calmly withdrew his gaze, not showing any emotions.
“Hey, Leo, they’re done. Our turn. Should you go first or should I?” Nicola poked the distracted Leo.
Ignoring Nicola, Leo walked up to Keith.
“Leo, what are you doing?” Coral asked.
Approaching Keith, Leo pointed at the three scraps on the ground. “Can I buy these scraps you just cut?”
Keith was puzzled, as he had never heard of anyone buying gambling stone scraps. “Leo, are you crazy? Why buy scraps?”
Leo replied with a reasonable explanation, “I’m new to gambling stones and have never cut one before. I want to buy your scraps to practice cutting.”
Keith was a good person and casually said, “If you want to practice, you can have them for free.”
Gambling stone scraps are worth about the same as a piece of rubbish stone, so no one would bother taking them.
“That’s not right. I understand the principle of settling accounts clearly. Let’s put a price on it,” Leo said sincerely.
Keith understood the principle of settling accounts to avoid future disputes. He thought for a moment and casually named a price, “How about $8, 000 for all the scraps on the ground and the ones on the cutting machine?”
Keith didn’t want to see these two stones anymore.
Since Leo didn’t have $8, 000 in cash, he transferred the amount via Paypal, as a smartphone was sufficient for transactions in this era.
From the moment Keith received the money, those scraps belonged to Leo to do whatever he wanted.
“Leo, you’re silly. Why spend money on something you can’t cut? I can help you cut them; there’s no need to waste money,” Nicola said, not understanding Leo’s decision.
“You don’t get it, Miss Pater. Cutting stones yourself is much more satisfying,” Leo replied.
“What’s so satisfying about cutting a piece of rubbish stone?” Nicola couldn’t understand.
Leo then moved the already cut gambling stone from the machine and brought two smaller pieces from the full gambling stone on the ground.
First, Leo secured one of the pieces in place, preparing to cut it.
Cutting the raw stone wasn’t complicated. Leo followed Keith’s earlier actions, putting on safety goggles and gloves, then powering on the cutting machine. Gripping the handle, he slowly pressed it down as a slightly grating sound filled the air. The cutting blade quickly penetrated the raw stone.
“Snap!”
The raw stone was split into two pieces.
Leo calmly poured water over the cut area, revealing nothing inside. He intentionally did this because if he had immediately cut out jadeite from the purchased scrap, it would have seemed too contrived.
Placing the cut waste material on the ground, Leo secured another smaller piece and proceeded with another cut. But once again, there was nothing inside.
The spectators understood that Leo was practicing, and they lost interest in watching, slowly dispersing.
Keith and Madame K also followed the crowd’s lead and left; they still had to continue their search for gambling stones.
Leo placed the waste material from the cutting machine on the ground and then brought the larger half from the ground to the machine.
Seeing Leo seemingly playing with the stones, Nicola couldn’t stand it any longer. “Leo, if it’s fun, are you stalling and not daring to bet with me? If you don’t dare to bet, just admit defeat and stop wasting time.”
“Don’t worry; I’ll cut it once more.” Leo turned on the cutting machine.
He gestured on the stone, seeming to find the right position, and slowly pressed down the cutting blade.
A minute later, the stone was cut into a smaller piece on the right side. As water washed away the mud, Nicola seemed to notice something on the cut surface.
She quickly walked over and poured a ladle of water on it.
The mud was washed away, fully revealing the cut surface.
“Wow, this cut surface seems to have something inside…” Nicola took out her phone and used the flashlight to examine it closely.
After a careful examination, Nicola suddenly exclaimed, “It’s green!”
Her call immediately attracted the attention of others.
“The jadeite seems pretty transparent!” Nicola looked at Leo. “Leo, you’re about to have a stroke of luck.”
“Is there really jadeite?” Leo pretended to look joyful.
Nicola nodded. “Start by cutting off 0. 5 centimeters from this cut surface.”
Leo followed her instructions and cut again. After washing it with water, the alluring luster of jadeite immediately emerged.
The cut surface was smooth, resembling glass, but not colorless. There were tiny purple fibrous inclusions.
“Glass type, purple flower jadeite! Leo, your luck…” Nicola was in a daze. Finding glass type purple flower jadeite from a scrap was unheard of in the gambling stone world.
Coral had also seen everything happen and her beautiful eyes were fixed on the cut surface, showing an expression of disbelief.
This was beyond incredibly good luck; it was almost unbelievable.
“Come and see, someone just cut out glass type jadeite!” The sharp-eyed man shouted.
His call immediately brought the crowd back.
Keith and Madame K also heard it and turned to look in the direction of the cutting machine they had just used.