Even though she already knew the outcome, Gu Shengsheng remained silent.
There was no particular reason, other than she was broke.
She decided to lay low and wait for an opportunity to snag a bargain.
It was at this moment that Qin Shou, who was desperate to redeem himself, could no longer hold back.
He was dying to avenge his earlier humiliation and build a name for himself.
But he knew he lacked the skill, so he had no choice but to bring out his grandfather.
So, he shot Gu Shengsheng a glare and stepped forward provocatively. "My grandpa is Qin Guocheng! He's a titan in the world of jadeite gambling."
"If I tell him his grandson is here, he'll definitely come."
Soon, seeing everyone excitedly discussing his grandfather, Qin Shou began to feel proud.
He made a call. "Grandpa, it's Qin Shou! Come over to the jadeite market. I've run into a little..."
Before he could finish, the BEEP of the disconnected call sounded.
He was instantly embarrassed and cleared his throat. "There's a good stone here, Grandpa. I sent you a picture on WeChat."
"You have to come take a look. This stone is worth it."
Sure enough, after seeing the picture, the old man arrived within ten minutes, standing there panting. "Where's the raw stone?"
He didn't hear a word of Qin Shou's pleasantries, only wishing this disgraceful, incompetent brat would get lost.
After finding the raw stones, Qin Guocheng stood motionless before them.
The surrounding crowd was buzzing with excitement. This was Qin Guocheng!
A legend in the world of jadeite gambling. He had been in the business for over forty years and had made tens of millions from it.
He won most of the time. In his youth, he had created countless legends, and now he was a grandmaster-level expert.
Everyone was thrilled. If he said something was jadeite, it usually was!
"With Mr. Qin here, our jadeite gambling scene is about to see a golden age!"
"I wonder how many miracles will be created today."
"I only got into jadeite gambling because of Mr. Qin's influence."
Some of the merchants present were so moved they started crying, which was a bit of an exaggeration.
Watching this scene, Gu Shengsheng felt a bit awkward and cringed for them.
Mr. Qin first examined the three stones carefully, spending the longest time on the third one.
Everyone knew that this type of stone rarely yielded jadeite and was mostly 'false green.' But Mr. Qin was staring right at it.
'Did Mr. Qin get it wrong?'
After deliberating for half an hour, Mr. Qin finally spoke. "The third stone is quite deceptive. Looking simply at this type of 'pine flower' spotting, nothing has ever been cut from it."
"If you all were gambling, and you followed my advice, I would choose the second stone. The first one would be my next choice. The third one is just trash."
"Only someone with a screw loose, whose head isn't on straight, and is a bit of a moron would be willing to choose the third one."
"..." Gu Shengsheng stepped forward and said seriously, "Then I guess I'm the one who doesn't believe in convention. I choose the third stone."
Qin Guocheng laughed out loud. "Young lady, you should get a few more years of experience before buying raw jade. Otherwise, you'll end up losing your shirt."
"Don't say an old man like me didn't warn you. People like you who know nothing and just come in to muddy the waters are only good for one thing: losing money."
Qin Shou looked at Gu Shengsheng smugly. "Grandpa, she's just a little lucky, that's all. She was cussing me out earlier, saying I was incompetent."
Qin Guocheng looked at his grandson in confusion and said strangely, "And you are competent?"
"Grandpa!" His voice grew a little louder, as if his confidence had grown with it.
Qin Guocheng said earnestly, "You never were competent, just fooling around all day. Young lady, you should study appraisal properly. It's fine if you can't identify anything right now. Just don't end up like this grandson of mine, idle and useless."
Qin Shou coughed. "Grandpa, we're in public. Wait until we get home to lecture me. My fans are watching."
'Give me some face!'
Once Qin Guocheng started, he couldn't stop. "Wandering around during the day, roaming about at night. You're bored out of your mind. I think you need a little self-awareness. It's one thing to show off for no reason, but you're also blind as a bat."
Qin Shou cried, "Grandpa! Stop talking about me. Just appraise the stones! Let's get them cut open and see who's right!"
"That Gu Shengsheng was looking down on me just now! I have to teach her a lesson. You have to help me get my dignity back."
Qin Guocheng couldn't even be bothered to respond. He looked at Qin Shou, opened his mouth, then closed it, looking like he wanted to curse him to death.
Gu Shengsheng said, "Grandpa, I'm betting on the third one. So what if it has 'pine flower' spots? Cutting stones is all about luck anyway. Right now, I feel like this one has it, so I'll take the gamble."
"Life isn't always about looking before you leap."
Qin Guocheng actually admired the young lady's straightforward nature.
Then he said, "I won't stick up for this brat. If I win with the second stone, there's no fun in bullying a little girl like you. How about this: if you win, you'll be my master. If I win, I'll be your master."
The wager seemed like a game, but in reality, Qin Guocheng was just saying it casually, like he was teasing a child.
At his age, how could he possibly accept someone else as his master?
In any case, the little girl was bound to lose. He'd get a new apprentice for free who could serve him tea and water. Plus, she was quite pretty; he could even play matchmaker and introduce her to a relative.
As he was thinking this, the word "Deal" came from Gu Shengsheng's lips. The stonecutter then got back to work.
The stonecutter was certainly busy today; his cutting machine was practically smoking.
Plenty of onlookers had gathered, originally treating it as a joke. But once the expert, Qin Guocheng, arrived, a number of professionals crowded around as well.
His grandson was nothing special, but Qin Guocheng was very famous in this area.
So, everyone was thinking of coming over to network with him afterward. Some were even jealous that Gu Shengsheng might end up with a master after all this was over.
After all, many people wanted to become his apprentice but had no way in.
Initially, no one thought there was any suspense. How could a grandmaster-level expert possibly lose?
Even the drowsy stonecutter wasn't paying attention when he cut it open. The second stone was actually 'false green'!
Heavens! How could a stone with this kind of rind be worthless? But no matter how unbelievable it was, it was a dud.
In contrast, the third stone, the one Gu Shengsheng had chosen, miraculously revealed a full-green waxy-variety jadeite.
It was only because the cutter was experienced and had the foresight to be extra careful that he didn't ruin the material.
Looking at the result, the onlookers rubbed their eyes. The audiences, both online and offline, fell silent.
Everyone was suddenly speechless.
Just how skilled was this Gu Shengsheng? It was her first day, her very first day appraising, and she had already stumped an expert.
Someone like that... her skill was... frightening.
During that half-second of silence, the Emotion Value on Gu Shengsheng's attribute panel skyrocketed, climbing past 900.
Gu Shengsheng was thrilled. 'If it keeps climbing,' she thought, 'I can get another new attribute panel reward.' But to her surprise, the number stopped, unmoving, at 999.
Gu Shengsheng: '...Of course it would get stuck on a number like that.'
Well, there were only so many people in the audience. Leveling up was still quite difficult.
Qin Shou frantically shook his grandfather. "Grandpa, you really are old and useless! It's too late now! Both of us, grandfather and grandson, have been defeated by her. Oh, the heavens!"