Chapter 645: A Game of Gambling
As Tang Xiu strode into the shed, he saw Master Huang and the old man in Chinese tunic suit sitting on the couch and having a chat. He let out a smile and said, "Master Huang, I'm afraid that I'll have to trouble you today since I bought a lot of stones. I wonder if you can have them all done this afternoon?
Master Huang directly got up and looked at the six carts that came in behind Tang Xiu. He forced a smile and said, "Unless I work overtime it can't be done."
"It's alright. Just do your best," said Tang Xiu. "We'll continue tomorrow if you can't finish it."
Master Huang replied and then greeted the six cart pushers, telling them to move the stones to the nearby stone cutter machine. Just as the stones were being moved, his expression changed into a respectful one as he quickly welcomed Chu Yuan and Xue Yu who came inside.
"Paying respect to the Imperial Garden's Young Master. (Paying respect to the Imperial Garden's Young Master.)"
The old man in Chinese tunic suit also greeted with a respectful expression.
"Please don't be over-courteous, two Garden Elders." Chu Yuan lightly smiled. "I just happened to meet Jade Beauty and then learned that Mr. Tang has rented Senior Huang's shed, so I followed them. By the way, I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr. Tang."
"Very pleased to meet you too, Mr. Chu," said Tang Xiu lightly.
"Does Mr. Tang already know me?" Asked Chu Yuan, looking startled.
"The heir apparent of Shanghai's Imperial Garden; the owner of Imperial Effulgent Group, and the founder of the Imperial Wherewithal Venture. If I don't know such a celebrated and influential person like you, then I'm a ignorant man with very limited knowledge and scanty information, no?"
The vigilance inside Chu Yuan's heart increased several points after hearing Tang Xiu's answer. The other party knew that much details about him but he did not know anything about the other. Such a feeling was very bad to have. Though he did not like this feeling, by virtue of his extremely high intelligence, he could still reply while maintaining his composure, "Mr. Tang is kidding me. By the way, may I know what field Mr. Tang engages in?"
"I'm just a student," answered Tang Xiu.
While pointing to the stones unloaded from the carts, Chu Yuan let out a slight smile and said, "For a student to be able to afford so many stones, such a student would be very rare, no?"
"Please do not beat around the bush if you want to inquire about my identity, Mr. Chu," said Tang Xiu lightly. "You can directly ask me if you really want to know my identity since I'm so stupid that I don't feel like using my own brain."
Chu Yuan raised his brows and said, "Since Mr. Tang is a straightforward person, then I'll go straight to the point. I'm very curious about you, so I want to know Mr. Tang's background. Perhaps, we can become very good friends in the future."
"Whether we can be friends or not, I don't know about that. But your arrival here affected my purpose in coming here. This Jade Beauty who helped me push the carts became lazy since she needed to speak with you. Due to that, shouldn't you compensate me for that given your wealth and identity, Mr. Chu?"
"What exactly is the compensation Mr. Tang requests of me?" Asked Chu Yuan with a faint smile.
"Well, I'm someone who's easy to be pleased," said Tang Xiu.
Chu Yuan pondered for a moment before turning around and pointing to the two carts behind him, saying, "Since Mr. Tang likes to gamble on stones, how about I make it up to you with stones, Mr. Tang?"
After saying that, he did not wait for Tang Xiu to reply and directly spread his hand and said, "Please."
Tang Xiu was just joking when he asked for compensation. Little did he think that Chu Yuan would take it seriously. He could even see from his face that he was not joking at all since his eyes looked especially serious.
"Seeing how serious Mr. Chu is, it's better to accept deferentially than to decline courteously, no?" After saying that, Tang Xiu went straight to the first cart and released his spiritual sense. His fingers touched the seven or eight stones on top. After a short while, there was an unusual glint in his eyes as he picked up a fist-sized stone and threw it into the pile of stones belonging to him.
"I'll have to trouble you, Master Huang," said Tang Xu.
Master Huang quickly glanced at Chu Yuan and nodded with a smile, "I'll do it now."
"Please wait a bit, Elder Huang." Chu Yuan raised his hand. "Mr. Tang, since we are fated to meet here today and also have a common interest, how about we have a game of bets now?"
"What kind of bet, exactly?" Asked Tang Xiu.
"You have picked up a lot of stone materials, so did I. How about taking three pieces and handing them to Master Huang to be cut? Whoever has the higher value of what comes out of the stone will win, how about it?"
Tang Xiu couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Do you really want to gamble?"
"Of course," said Chu Yuan straightforwardly. "Also, I think we should have some profits at stake in our gambling, too."
"Alright, you'll decide the stake, then," replied Tang Xiu without hesitation.
After glancing at Xue Yu, Chu Yuan said with a smile, "Alright, whoever wins will get the opportunity to invite Jade Beauty to a dinner. Jade Beauty, would you be willing to give face to the two of us?"
There was a strange expression in Xue Yu's eyes as her vision went back and forth between them. Though it never crossed her mind that Chu Yuan would propose such a stake, she was well aware what his intention was, as he was only trying to win the opportunity to have dinner with her, and at the same time, won a crossing-sword game against Tang Xiu.
"It will be my pleasure."
Despite having mediocre emotional intelligence, Tang Xiu was immediately able to tell what Chu Yuan's real intention was with his extremely high IQ, so he nodded and said, "Alright, I agree."
Without speaking more, Chu Yuan walked towards his cart. He ordered the cart pusher to unload the stones, and after observing for two minutes, he picked out three stones.
"I'll use these three pieces of stone," said Chu Yuan.
"I have a lot of stones here," said Tang Xiu with a nod. "Master Huang, you can take three pieces at random."
Master Huang stared blankly, while Chu Yuan frowned.
Taking three pieces at random? What did he mean by this? Was he looking down on him or was he that confident with all the stones he personally picked?
Chu Yuan saw Master Huang was looking at him with an inquiring look about his consent and immediately nodded to him.
After glancing at the stone pile, Master Huang then picked up three pieces of stone of nearly the same size as those selected by Chu Yuan. Then he turned to Tang Xiu and asked, "Divine Doctor Tang, how about these three pieces?"
"It's OK!" Said Tang with an indifferent smile.
Chu Yuan's expression suddenly moved. "Divine Doctor Tang" kept sounding in his mind. He instantly took out his mobile phone to read some information on it. His expression immediately turned more cautious after reading it. He suddenly felt a tinge of regret inwardly because he finally knew the identity of who Tang Xiu really was:
The Young Divine Doctor of Star City Chinese Medical Hospital; the Big Boss behind the Magnificent Tang Corporation; the offspring of the Tang Family from Beijing who had just been found half a year ago, as well as the most outstanding junior of the Tang Family. Being an expert who is proficient in the arts of music, paintings, and an unrivaled genius talent of many ages in the medical world. He has a very low-key disposition and yet had his reputation rise due to many incidents on many occasions…
Tang Xiu himself did not know that Chu Yuan had already found out information about him within this extremely short time. He looked at Master Huang who seemed hesitant and said with a smile, "Master Huang, please cut the stones belonging to Mr. Chu first! This gambling is his idea, and I also want to see his foresight too."
Master Huang nodded in response.
His stone-cutting technique was remarkable, as the first stone was quickly cut and revealed the jade material inside. After having it polished, he took out a thumb-sized jade material, and at the same time, also took a dozen seed material jades the size of a fingernail.
"Not bad!" Praised Tang Xiu, who stood at the side.
Xue Yu, who stood on the other side, did not seem surprised since she knew that Chu Yuan had the essence knowledge on jades and stones and was unusually good on stone gambling. When Chu Yuan first left the Imperial Garden, the first windfall of wealth he earned was exactly through gambling on stones.
Master Huang put down the jades taken out and continued cutting the second chunk of stone material. Sadly, though a green hue was seen inside the stone after it was cut, it was nothing but bits and pieces of stars, and its total value was not even close to the money spent to buy this stone material.
The third one.
When Master Huang cut the edge of the stone material, a wide and deep green color of jadeite was clearly visible. After he finished cutting it and wiped it clean, a fist-sized jadeite was then thoroughly taken out.
"The total value of this jadeite is at least 50 million yuan."
Not only was Master Huang well-skilled in cutting stones, he was also knowledgeable in judging the value of jades and jadeites. He couldn't help but exclaim after putting it on the tray.
There was a light smile on Chu Yuan's face after hearing Master Huang's remark since the result was to his satisfaction. Of the three chunks of stone material he picked up, only the second one was a bit unsatisfactory, whereas the other two were up to the gamble. If they were to be sold, these jade and jadeite extracted from the stone materials would be worth 60 to 70 million yuan.
"Isn't it Mr. Tang's turn to have his stones cut, Elder Huang?"
The expression in Master Huang's eyes was a bit complicated. He looked at Tang Xiu, who looked unperturbed, and inquired, "Should I begin now, Mr. Tang?"
"Go right ahead!" Replied Tang Xiu with a smile.
Master Huang nodded and carefully looked at the chunk of football-sized stone material a few times before starting to cut it. After a few minutes, nearly half of the stone was cut and revealed a milky white colored jade.
"Mutton Fat Jade?"
Master Huang was taken aback and skillfully wiped it. After having finished with the cutting, he finally took out two pieces of nut-sized Mutton Fat Jade as well as dozens of seed jade materials.
At this time, there was a surprised expression on Xue Yu's face. Her eyes observed Tang Xiu's unperturbed face, as she suddenly had some unusual feelings growing inside her heart. She faintly felt that today's gambling would be a bit funny and interesting.
The expression on Chu Yuan's face did not change, but he secretly had a wry smile inside. He did not expect that Tang Xiu's luck would be that good to have Mutton Fat Jade taken out from his first chunk of stone. Although the value was not as good as the ones he obtained, it was only the first one, there were still two stone materials that had yet to be cut!
"Carry on!" Spoke Tang Xiu with a faint smile.
Master Huang nodded and picked up the second chunk of stone and started to cut it.
"It's red?" As Master Huang's knife went down, he saw faint red traces from the stone. When he began to clean it and started to cut around it, the bright scarlet jade material was exposed to everyone.
"It's Blood Jade, the best quality Blood Jade!" Master Huang's voice was trembling a bit. One must know that Blood Jade was very precious, and the best quality Blood Jade was a rare, treasured object that even if one had money it was difficult to buy. For instance, the jade ornament carved from Blood Jade hanging on Chu Yuan's waist, its value was excessively high.
With a surprised expression, Xue Yu looked at Tang Xiu's tranquil expression. She had never thought that the second chunk of stone materials bought by Tang Xiu turned out to contain Blood Jade, and more so that it was a Blood Jade of the best quality.
Something feels strange!
While looking at Tang Xiu's tranquil expression, there was a strange tide of mental sensation inside her heart. She knew that Tang Xiu had won even though the third stone material was uncut. Just merely this Blood Jade had outweighed the total value of the jade and jadeite obtained by Chu Yuan.
Chapter 646: Going Out for Wool and Going Home Shorn
In contrast to Xue Yu's shock and disbelief, Chu Yuan's expression was somewhat unnatural. He originally thought that victory was already at hand. Of which, first, it would prove that he had the ability to suppress Tang Xiu, and second, the dinner he invited Xue Yu to attend to would happen as expected. He was even thinking of taking her to dinner in the presidential suite of the Long's Dining Hall.
His smug, wishful thinking at this moment, however, came to nothing. The hen had flown away and the eggs in the coop were all broken. All was lost, and so was his chance to invite Xue Yu to dinner—all of which made him vexed and angry.
Compared to him, Master Huang was a bit excited. For him, in the capacity of a stone-cutting expert, being able to take out the best quality jade such as this Blood Jade was definitely an honor. Nevertheless, he was also well aware of the outcome of this gambling between Chu Yuan and Tang Xiu, which resulted in Chu Yuan's loss.
However, he still had his own principle although being someone from the Imperial Garden. After taking out the Blood Jade, he took it and placed it on the tray, and then picked up the third chunk of stone material again.
"There's no need to cut it, Elder Huang. I've lost already."
Despite feeling vexed, Chu Yuan still displayed a frank and upright attitude. He nodded to Tang Xiu and then spoke to Master Huang.
"There's no rush, Mr. Chu," said Tang Xiu with a smile. "I still must cut this stone even though we don't have a game of bet. Please continue, Master Huang."
Hesitating for a moment, Master Huang still complied with Tang Xiu's words. He spent two minutes cutting the stone with the stone-cutter machine as a green hue was then exposed to everyone present.
"This… this stone also has jade inside?"
Master Huang was shocked, and so was everyone around him as they wore disbelieving expressions. They knew that Tang Xiu's three chunks of stone were all taken from the pile of stone materials at random by Master Huang. How come each of them contained jade materials?
Was it because Tang Xiu was lucky? Or was it that he was sure that these chunks of stone really had jade materials within?
The jade contained in the third chunk may not as good as the first and second, but it was still worth several million yuan should it be sold.
"I was careless."
Rarely did Chu Yuan lose due to his cautious personality. He usually knew what he and his opponent could offer whenever he did something, and thus had the confidence that victory would be in his hand. The outcome of this gamble snapped him back to the realization that he was psychologically disturbed. He was aware that he wouldn't have rashly proposed a gamble against Tang Xiu if Jade Beauty was not there.
After taking a deep breath, Chu Yuan slightly smiled and said, "Mr. Tang is indeed worthy as the Big Boss of the Magnificent Tang Corporation and the most outstanding member of the Tang Family. Your ability in stone gambling is truly deep and reaches the point of being superb. I'm really convinced. This Chu Yuan admits his loss."
Tang Xiu replied with an odd expression painted his face, "You too have some good means, Mr. Chu. I did not expect that you have already found my identity so clearly with such a slight effort."
"As a matter of fact, I've already learned about you long ago, Mr. Tang. It's just that we just met and I couldn't recall about you for a while," said Chu Yuan with a light smile. "If anything, it's not like I'm conceited or being smug, but there are not many people who can win me under the sky nowadays, so you do have that qualification, Mr. Tang."
Tang Xiu raised his brows and did not want to continue talking with Chu Yuan about such wasteful words. What he needed now was to cut all the stoned he had purchased. Since the other party had already learned his identity, he did not want to conceal it anymore. And now that he had already won, he might as well add some more awesome things to give a clear message to this Imperial Garden's heir apparent, that he was not someone who was easy to provoke.
"Please continue cutting the stones, Senior Huang!"
The eyes of Master Huang were filled with a somewhat strange expression as he looked at Tang Xiu. But still, he started cutting the fourth stone material with the help of the old man in Chinese tunic suit.
"There's jade material!"
"This one, too!"
"How is this possible?"
"I…"
Master Huang continued cutting stones and took out the piece of jade of the stone. After two hours, a large number of jades and jadeites were taken out from more than a dozen chunks of stone.
At this time, Chu Yuan was shaken as he could hardly believe his eyes. It was because each chunk of stone bought by Tang Xiu contained jades or jadeites. This fact shattered his cognition and knowledge of stone gambling. Other than him, the young man and woman behind him were shocked to the point that it was hard to be surprised again at this time. Never once had they ever encountered such a demonically queer scene.
A radiant light flashed in Xue Yu's beautiful eyes, as her eyes lingered on the stone chunks, jades, jadeites, and Tang Xiu. She was at the scene when Tang Xiu purchased these chunks of stone and witnessed him directly choosing these stone materials at that time and the deal he made with the owner and employees in those sheds.
It was so devilishly queer and strange!
Xue Yu found that she could not see through Tang Xiu at all. Not mentioning other aspects, just the stone gambling he had displayed was too terrifying and supernatural!
Eventually, when Master Huang was done cutting the twentieth chunk of stone, Xue Yu couldn't help but stare at Tang Xiu and ask, "How exactly did you do it, Mr. Tang?"
"Huh?" Tang Xiu knew why she asked as he replied, "I don't get what you mean."
"Even if your luck is good, it's impossible to bet with 100% accuracy like that," said Xue Yu. "Jade materials are wrapped inside the stone, and however deep the knowledge and insight a normal person has, there's no way they can bet with 100% accuracy like you. I think you should have a means to detect which stone chunk contain jade materials within."
As Xue Yu spoke, Tang Xiu realized that everyone's eyes were focused on him. He immediately grinned and smilingly said, "If I tell you my eyes have an X-ray ability to see through things, would you believe?"
Seeing through objects?
"How could it be possible?" Xue Yu shook her head.
"Since it's impossible, then why did you ask in the first place?" Tang Xiu slightly smiled. "Everyone has their own secrets, and so do you and Mr. Chu. I do have a bit of talent in stone gambling, so what is the fuss about?"
Xue Yu was silent for a few seconds, and then suddenly asked, "Can you really see through objects?"
"I myself am not sure whether I can do that, though," said Tang Xiu with a smile. "I can, however, see that you are very beautiful. You're definitely a beauty who is hard to pick. But of course, you will look more attractive if you can smile more."
"What?" Xue Yu's delicate body shivered, along with a gasp of astonishment. What Tang Xiu said was as though a thunderclap in her ears that blasted through her heart.
There was never a soul who had seen her appearance aside from her parents before, and she had been wearing a veil on her face all the time for as long as she could remember. According to the prophecies of her family, every woman in the family whose face was seen by a man would have her heart and life trajectory be seen beyond the façade. And eventually, she would also become the woman of that man.
This idea had been ingrained and deeply rooted inside her heart, and it made Xue Yu, who came out of the Miao Region's mountains, shocked and frightened by Tang Xiu's words.
At this moment, other than the stunned and frightened Xue Yu, Chu Yuan, who had a crush on Xue Yu, was also startled. He knew who the ancestors of Xue Yu's family belonged to. Many times did he think he would be the first man to uncover her veil and become her only man.
But… if Tang Xiu really had seen Xue Yu's true appearance, then…. it meant that he would never be able to get her even if he had the ability to overturn the heavens.
"Please don't joke about that, Mr. Tang." Chu Yuan's expression turned extremely solemn, and each and every word he spoke was spoken seriously. There was even a trace of hostility in his eyes.
Tang Xiu was utterly startled as he looked at the shocked Xue Yu and Chu Yuan's serious and hostile expression. A ridiculous thought suddenly emerged in his mind as he asked with an expression of being at a loss whether he had to cry or laugh, "You couldn't have some weird custom in your family, right, Miss Xue? Like… the man who first see your face shall take and marry you as his wife?"
"Yes!" Xue Yue's mind was in disorder. Her voice was also trembling a bit.
Tang Xiu rolled his eyes and snappily said, "What age are we in now? And yet you still retain such unreasonable custom? Just forget about it. I was just saying some nonsensical things. There's no need to take it seriously. Furthermore, I have to advise you that feelings between a man and woman are not children's play, and you must never treat marriage as a joke. You people… you had better abolish that nonsensical and unreasonable custom of yours earlier!"
Having said that, he did not want to continue paying attention to Xue Yu and Chu Yuan anymore. He turned to Master Huang and straightly said, "Please hurry and cut the stones! I don't have much time. The faster you take out the jade materials from the stones, the earlier I can go home and eat."
Xue Yu stared fixedly at Tang Xiu. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke, "Mr. Tang, since you have won the gambling house from Chu Yuan, you should have dinner with me tonight according to the bet."
Tang Xiu casually waved his hand and said, "As a matter of fact, the stake put forward by Mr. Chu was for the sake of you, I can tell. Even if we do have dinner together, I still don't have time for that since I must go home early to take care of my kids!"
Kids at home?
Xue Yu frowned and asked, "Are you married and already have children, Mr. Tang?"
"No." Tang Xiu shook his head.
"Then what do you mean by saying that you have kids at home?" Asked Xue Yu once again.
"It's my disciples. They are still small," said Tang Xiu.
A struggling expression could be seen in Xue Yu's eyes. After a long time, she slowly said, "In any case, I have nothing to do today. Since Mr. Tang has kids at home, then I'll go with you! However, I don't know if Mr. Tang would be willing to take me and have a light meal at your place."
"Jade Beauty!" Chu Yuan's face was a bit unsightly as he shouted in a heavy tone.
Xue Yu turned her head to look at him and lightly said, "Imperial Garden Young Master, don't tell me the gambling between you and Mr. Tang was nothing but a joke you made?"
"This…"
Never did Chu Yuan regret something so much. He did not want to go back on his words, but neither did he want to have the woman he liked go to another man's house for a meal.
"Boss, it's just a meal, nothing more," suddenly said the young woman behind him whispered.
Chu Yuan's body shivered, and cold sweat immediately came out of his back. He realized that he had just been affected by his feelings between men and women. He had even birthed a few evil intentions towards Tang Xiu inside.
Heart-fire Cleansing Mantra.
Chu Yuan silently meditated in his heart and no longer spoke. He even refused to look at Xue Yu and Tang Xiu again. With his identity and ability, what he feared the most was the love affairs between men and women. If he drowned himself into it, the Heart Gate he had opened with great difficulty would highly likely be closed right away, and his twenty years of effort would be wasted, turning him into an ordinary person.