The crowd went into silence, and Tommy’s respect for Brucille was even beyond words. It was the first time he realized that Brucille was a masterly expert.
Brucille smiled, “Mr. Leung, thank you for paying for my lesson today. You’re so generous to spend 90 million just to teach me a lesson on stone trading.”
Shawn felt his anger building up in his chest. He had to make an effort to hold it back.
Brucille said, “Tommy, since you don’t have much money, let’s buy a small stone and leave. It should be fine.”
“Boss, how about selling me the stone which you padded just now? My friend needs a stone like this at the front door of his house. Maybe he can carve it into a lion or something.”
Tommy glanced at the black rock. If he put it at the entrance of Fortune Jewelry, there was no doubt that the passers-by would think that their store sold marbles instead of jewelry.
His eyebrows furrowed, “Isn’t this a little too random?”
The seller replied to Brucille with a smile, “Young man, there’s no need to say anything more. I made a lot of money just now, so take this as a gift from me.”
“I don’t like to take advantage of others. Plus, I said I would pay. Tommy, give him 100 yuan.”
Tommy had never so offhandedly bought a piece of raw stone before, and the seller was even giving it away for free. So, it was safe to say that the stone was simply worthless. The short middle-aged man was also puzzled.
The man walked over and said, “Young man, my name is Marvin. Thank you for reminding me just now. Otherwise, I’d be the one losing money. But this stone you’ve just bought is indeed a little ugly. I don’t think there will be anything good inside even if you cut it open.”
“Why don’t you come over to my place? I’ll give you a stone to pay my gratitude,” he continued.
Brucille smiled knowingly. He steadily moved the stone in the seller’s direction and said, “Boss, please cut this stone open.”
The seller scoffed, “How free do you think I am? Are you really asking me to cut a padding stone open for you?”
Tommy had seen more of Brucille’s abilities that day, so he had some expectation on the content of the stone. The anticipation Tommy felt was as though he was meeting his first love – it was satisfying.
“It’s not like I’m not going to pay you. Just open it, then you are done,” Brucille answered the seller.
The sight of the seller cutting the ugly stone attracted a lot of people to stop and watch. Those who weren’t aware of the incident earlier were under the impression that was sharpening his knife.
Brucille stepped forward, pointing at the center of the stone, and instructed, “Cut this part into half. Throw the top half away and leave the bottom.”
The seller wanted to see how Brucille would make himself a fool. So, the seller turned on the machine and started cutting into the stone. He followed the instructions of Brucille, and, as expected, he couldn’t see anything.
Then, he changed into a smaller blade, and it agitated Brucille. He raised his voice, “Stop! You can’t cut it anymore. Start polishing it gently.”
The seller had never shouted instructions like this. He was so angry that his face flushed. But when he thought of the fact that he was getting paid for it, he did as he was told.
Everyone held their breath and opened their eyes wide. The seller removed the lime off the stone with water and brought out a detailing tool. Suddenly, his eyes lit up at something within the stone.
“Jade… There’s actually something in it!” he shouted.
The crowd clamored. “F*ck, a padding stone has jade in it?”
“That’s so f*cking weird!”
Marvin could tell at a glance that it wasn’t any ordinary jade. Heart palpitating wildly, he clenched his fists, and his palms were getting clammy.
He stepped forward and grabbed Brucille’s hand, “Young man, I’ll pay you ten million for it if you sell it to me.”
Hearing the offer, Tommy almost fell to the ground. If it weren’t because he was standing very close, he would have thought that he heard it wrongly. He bought the stone for only a hundred yuan, but Marvin had actually offered a price of ten million in return.
Of course, a sharp-eyed trader had noticed the jade. And he said with a trembling voice, “Young man, you knew about it, didn’t you? T-This is the glass-type jade.”
Brucille let out a long sigh of relief. He was right. If he had gotten it wrong, he would have let Evan down.
As soon as glass-type jade was mentioned, Marvin knew that it would be impossible for him to get it for only ten million.
At this moment, a middle-aged plump man appeared from the crowd and looked at the piece in the seller’s hand. After it was cleaned, it was at least the size of a fist.
The man interrupted Brucille and Marvin’s conversation, “How about this, young man? I’ll pay you the fair price of forty million. After the piece is carved and sold at a higher price in the future, I’ll give you half of the profit. What do you think?”
Brucille answered softly, “It belongs to my friend. It’s up to him to decide.”
Tommy knew that Brucille was giving him the high hat. He would sell it even at four million, let alone forty million. As he was still in a daze, he took a few deep breaths before finally calming down.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Ruan. I’m Tommy from Fortune Jewelry. This is my best friend, Brucille.”
Tommy was so polite because the man, Dominic Ruan, was the chairman of the Dometric Group. He was good at stone trading and, most importantly, filthy rich.
Dominic nodded lightly, “I see, Tobias’ son. Alright, I’ll see it as you have accepted the offer then. I’ll have someone to pay you forty million later. Bruce, you really have a good eye. Come by my place for a drink later.”
“Sure, Mr. Ruan.”
In an instant, Tommy made forty million. But he didn’t dare to stay for too long since many people were watching him.
On the other hand, being mixed in the crowd, Shawn was depressed. He didn’t know why Brucille was so lucky to get himself a glass-type jade. After all, it was a rare piece of material.
Before Tommy left for home, their company’s accountant called and informed him that forty million had been transferred into the company’s bank account.
Tommy said calmly, “Chris, withdraw twenty million and transfer them to Brucille’s account immediately. It’s our income from today.”
Chris Wong, the accountant, couldn’t possibly make the decision on his own. When Tommy returned to the company to get the money, his father, Tobias Lu, was already waiting for him at the office.
“Dad, why are you here? Are you happy at what I’ve achieved today?”
Tobias asked in thoughtfully, “Tommy, Chris told me that the money was from Dometric Group. But, we don’t have any business deals with them.”
“Don’t you remember? I went to the stone trading market with Brucille this afternoon. And Brucille only spent a hundred yuan, but we got a piece of glass-type jade when we cut it up. Mr. Ruan of the Dometric Group found out about it, and he insisted on buying it for forty million. There was no way I could refuse.”
Tobias was an expert at stone trading. Even though he had made gains before, he had never made such a huge amount.
Knowing that Brucille was there with Tommy, Tobias spoke louder for him to hear it, “Brucille, I’m very surprised at your capabilities. But no one in the Lu family should take the money.”
“Mr. Lu, you’re treating me like a stranger. Tommy and I are good friends, and friends don’t talk so much about money. It’ll drive us apart.”
Tobias nodded his head in satisfaction and immediately got Chris to transfer twenty million to Brucille.
After taking the money, Tommy decided on a celebration that night, but Brucille wasn’t really in the mood to join him. His family relationship was in a mess, and he had to go back to reason with them.