325: Chapter 325 Old Stories

Shen Yan smiled and replied to Lao Sheng, "Don't misunderstand, I didn't pick that stone; my girlfriend did. Her luck has always been very good."

Hearing this, Lao Sheng immediately looked at Liu Hui with envy.

"I envy people with good luck like you the most. We have to buy dozens of stones to cut out a piece of jade, but you can strike it rich buying just one or two."

"Sigh, I wonder if I can buy a good stone this time..."

As he spoke, his eyes darted around, and a plan formed in his mind.

"Hey! How about we look at stones together later? If you think there's a good stone that you can't afford to buy, you can tell me, and I'll buy it!"

Shen Yan, Liu Hui: "..."

What nonsense was this person speaking?

If they really found a good stone, they would definitely buy it themselves; they wouldn't just hand it over.

Thinking this, Shen Yan said to Lao Sheng, "Stop dreaming. If my girlfriend really wants a stone, I will definitely buy it for her."

Lao Sheng snorted.

"Stop bragging here. Do you know how expensive high-quality stones are?"

Shen Yan curved his lips and asked, "How expensive?"

Lao Sheng held up two fingers. "At least two million to start—a house in a third-tier city!"

As soon as the words fell, Shen Yan let out a sneer.

A mere two million? His current assets had countless more zeros than that.

He shook his head and said to Lao Sheng, "Instead of worrying about whether we can afford it, you should worry about whether you will pick the wrong stone."

Lao Sheng was very confident in his judgment. He patted his chest and told the two in front of him, "I'm telling you, my eye for stones is really good. The stones I take a liking to rarely fail to yield jade."

Hearing this, Shen Yan couldn't help but become curious about this person's profession.

"You understand the stone gambling market so well. Are you a stone seller?"

Lao Sheng scratched his head and replied, "You can say I sell stones, or you can say I buy stones. In short, I like to be self-sufficient in production and sales."

Self-sufficient production and sales?

Could this person be a second-generation rich kid?

Shen Yan pondered this while asking the question on his mind.

"Second-generation rich kid?"

Lao Sheng first repeated it in surprise, then started laughing heartily, slapping the table.

"I'm not some rich second-generation kid; I'm just a poor boy who came from the village."

As he finished speaking,

The Shop Owner came over and served three signature meals, saying in a teasing tone, "Are you starting to boast about your history of success again?"

Hearing this, Lao Sheng made a 'tsk' sound.

"What do you mean boasting? I'm recounting my past experiences!"

Obviously, the Shop Owner was not interested in Lao Sheng recounting his past.

"Fine, fine, then talk while you eat."

With that, the Shop Owner waved his hand and returned to his chair to scroll through his phone.

As soon as the Shop Owner left, Lao Sheng immediately started recounting his history of success.

"Because my family's financial situation wasn't good back then, I dropped out after only a few years of school and started working."

"It was very chaotic outside at that time, full of scammers. I was tricked by someone into working illegal labor in a factory."

"Although the money they gave me each month was very little, I still managed to save some. After saving up, I stole my ID card and ran away."

"Originally, I planned to find a legitimate job, but before I could find one, I stumbled into the stone gambling market."

"Back then, there were still many opportunities to find bargains in this market, and I was one of those bargain hunters."

At this point, the Shop Owner's face was filled with longing.

It was clear he wished he could return to that time.

"So, you cut out high-quality jade through bargain hunting?"

The Shop Owner nodded.

"That's right, pretty much. My luck was very good back then, and my intuition was extremely accurate. Almost every stone I passed on would yield jade when cut."

"You have no idea how rich I was at that time. No matter where I went or what I wanted to do, I didn't need to look at the price. In short, that period was my most glorious time."

Liu Hui: "You said that period was your most glorious time, which means you fell on hard times later. Why? What caused your downfall?"

Hearing the question, the Shop Owner forced a bleak smile.

To be honest, he didn't really want to recall that period, but he knew avoidance was useless. He took a deep breath and said to Liu Hui and Shen Yan:

"I was too young and impetuous back then. I didn't understand the concept of luck conservation, nor did I know the meaning of restraint."

"Because I could cut jade from anything I bought back then, I naturally started to believe I was the chosen one, and I naturally attracted the jealousy of many people."

"Those who envied me banded together and set a trap for me, making me spend a huge sum of money on a stone with a major flaw."

"That was my first major setback."

"After that incident, my intuition seemed to fail. No matter what stone I bought, it wouldn't produce jade."

"My money flowed away like water from a faucet until I couldn't swipe a single cent from my card anymore. Only then did I realize I was penniless."

Seeing Lao Sheng's pained expression, Shen Yan couldn't help but ask him, "Even though you suffered greatly in stone gambling, why do you continue to stay here?"

Lao Sheng hadn't expected Shen Yan to ask him that. He paused for a long time before replying to Shen Yan, "Because I rely on stone gambling to eat..."

"Even if I went through a period of hardship later, I still managed to make a living through stone gambling."

"Forget it, I've said so much that you probably can't understand. In short, stone gambling is my fate; I can't live without it anymore."

After listening, Shen Yan let out a long sigh.

Now he finally understood why the Shop Owner had spoken like that earlier.

Too many people succeeded because of stone gambling, and they also failed because of stone gambling.

Thinking this, he stopped dwelling on that topic.

"You said you've been to stone gambling markets all over the country?"

Lao Sheng nodded and replied, "That's right. No matter which local stone gambling market it was, I've been there. I can honestly tell you that this market here is definitely the most honest stone gambling market."

"I've also been to overseas stone gambling markets, but those places are too chaotic, and the quality is uneven. Trying to find bargains there is extremely difficult."

"Compared to overseas and other places in the country, this stone gambling market is relatively more cost-effective."

Shen Yan asked again, "What about auctions? Are auctions more cost-effective than the stone gambling market?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Lao Sheng's expression immediately changed.

"Cost-effectiveness isn't really the word for it... but the stones at auctions are all of very high quality."