I became famous for writing ridiculous stories in ancient times

The entrance to Li's house is a place where people come and go.

A piece of jade that is full of color, intertwined with green and white, black and brown, and looks like a pine tree, is firmly fixed on a car, attracting everyone's attention.

Everyone who saw this piece of jade began to breathe quickly.

This is jade, such a big piece.

Rare in the world!

Li Lei, the eldest young master of the Li family, arrived at the door at some unknown time. He stood next to the jade, patted it with his hand, and then said to a middle-aged man who walked out of the house quickly.

"Dad, I'm back."

"This piece of jade is really big. We were careful along the way and finally got home."

He wanted to say again, 'I wasn't fooling around on the road,' but if he thought about it carefully, wouldn't it be possible for people to find out that he was eavesdropping? So he stopped talking again.

But Mr. Li Jinli was so excited that he could no longer hear clearly what he was saying.

He took three steps and two steps at a time and came to the front of the jade. After looking at it carefully, his eyes became brighter and brighter, "What a jade, what a jade!"

"This jade has no cracks or flakes, and is warm and transparent. The green is like pine, the white is like clouds, the black is soil, and the strands of brown are spiraling upward, just like an old tree!"

"It only needs a little carving to make it a masterpiece."

Master Li turned around and asked in a trembling voice: "Where did this jade come from?"

He clearly remembered that when his eldest son went out, he only gave him eight hundred taels of silver notes. At that time, he wanted to make him suffer some hardships this time. And this piece of jade cannot be obtained even if it costs ten thousand taels. The money I give to my son is far from enough.

Li Lei answered calmly, "Dad, this is the piece you left in your hometown before. When I went back this time, I thought there might be jade in it, so I broke it open."

This was the rhetoric he had thought up on the road.

Although he doesn't study much on weekdays and hasn't started practicing with his father yet, he also understands that the opportunity given by the gods is very important and must not be mentioned to a third person, even if the person in front of him is his own father.

"Yes, sir."

The old housekeeper who came back together at this time also said happily: "The young master locked himself in the room for several hours that day. When he came out, he had the big stone smashed. Unexpectedly, jade came out!"

"Big rock? That big rock from my hometown?"

Before Mr. Li could reply, a voice emerged from behind him that had lost its usual calmness and became a bit sharp, "Brother, how could you smash that big rock?"

"That's dad's favorite stone!"

"Brother, you..."

"Hey," before Li Lei could refute, Mr. Li waved his hand, patted Li Lei on the shoulder and said happily: "If you smash it, just smash it. My favorite stone is not that one, hahahaha, good smashing, smashing Good job!”

"If your elder brother didn't smash it, how would we know there was jade inside?"

He thought about it carefully and said with emotion: "At first I just thought it looked like a tree and naturally needed no carvings, so I bought it for twenty taels of silver. The man selling the stone said that he picked it up from the roadside. I think it’s weird and I’m afraid someone might like it and sell it on the street.”

"I didn't expect there to be such a big piece of jade inside!"

"What a jade, what a jade!"

"Lei'er, you did a good job hahahaha..."

This was the first time in the past two years that Li Lei was praised so much by his father, and it was in front of so many people, especially his second brother Li Cha, so he couldn't help but smile.

But Li Cha was different. He was only fifteen years old and had yet to learn to control his emotions without gaining the upper hand, so his face suddenly became distorted. Fortunately, the father and son in front were only looking at Yuhe talking and did not notice his expression.

Li Lei said: "Dad, after this jade came out, I thought you would like it, so I brought it back. When I was in my hometown, someone wanted to buy it for ten thousand taels, but I didn't sell it."

Mr. Li had a stern expression, "It didn't sell well, it didn't sell well!"

"How can such a treasure be sold casually?"

He walked around the piece of jade, stroking the short beard on his chin and said: "Well, my father has invited a master to come over these few days to carve it into shape. From now on, it will be the treasure of our family's house! "

So in the next few days, Mr. Li actually came to the door in person and invited an experienced master to carve this rare piece of jade.

And with the appearance of this jade at the door of Li's house, people in the whole city were excited.

They discussed the rare piece of jade tirelessly, and also discussed the eldest young master of the Li family who could tell there was jade inside. He was said to have a sharp eye and was shrewd and capable. He was also said to be the most talented of the two brothers in the Li family, not the second young master who was well-educated, but the eldest young master who was slightly known as a playboy.

Mr. Li has a successor!

When these words reached the Li family, the second young master Li Cha immediately smashed his favorite ruler. The eldest young master Li Lei happily walked around the room several times, preparing to go out and make good use of his 'opportunity'.

The Li family started their business by selling jade.

Relying on years of experience in quarrying, our ancestors first sold strange stones, then jade, and finally, with some luck, opened a shop specializing in jade in a city at the foot of a certain jade mountain. Over the generations, the shop doubled in size, and the Li family also owned an antique shop, a jewelry shop, and several other shops.

Because it is at the foot of a certain jade mountain and backed by huge jade resources, there are not many families like the Li family in the city. Take the jade shop for example. The Li family is not the only one in the city, but there are dozens of them, and a whole street is covered with such shops.

At a glance, it is crowded and bustling.

There are locals who come here, but most of them are outsiders.

They carry gold and silver, either to buy goods or to seek wealth. Especially in summer and autumn, when jade is mined in large quantities, there is an endless flow of people.

Li Lei went to his own shop first.

As soon as he arrived, he was warmly received by the shopkeeper and the staff. However, Li Lei came here today to verify his 'opportunity', and it was not suitable to bring too many people around.

So he dismissed everyone and only took his servant Ji Xiang to wander on the first floor of the shop.

The Li family's jade shop, like many of its peers, puts large, cheap, and worthless scraps on the outside. Some of them are given by the quarry when you buy large pieces of rough stone, while others are the leftover scraps. As for the 'good things' that the old masters had seen and selected in advance, they were hidden in the rooms inside.

Only customers who can afford it will be led inside to carefully select.

Li Lei came to verify the 'opportunity', not to buy anything, so he declined the shopkeeper's offer to take a look inside and wandered around among the piles of 'bargains'.

After spinning around, Ji Xiang was already dizzy before Li Lei could figure out the reason.

"Master, what are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for a treasure, a treasure that can cut out jade." Li Lei, who stared at the stone intently, and occasionally used his hands to push the stone away, answered casually.

"Baby? Young Master, these are goods that no one wants."

Ji Xiang scratched his head, "Didn't the shopkeeper just say that the small ones range from ten to one hundred coins, the larger ones range from two hundred to eight hundred coins, and the largest ones are only one tael of silver."

"Young Master, it's not like you don't know that only foreigners who don't understand will buy these things that are left over and no one wants them. We locals won't even look at them."

"Where do these treasures come from?"

"What do you know? What you find here is the treasure..." Before he could finish speaking, Li Lei's eyes lit up because he saw the hazy fluorescent stone again.

And it’s even brighter than the one at home!

It was a stone as big as a fist, dusty and inconspicuous. He was just pressed under another big dull stone, like a little pitiful person.

Li Lei quickly called Ji Xiang over, and the two of them worked together to move the big stone away and got the bottom piece.

Jixiang looked at the dusty stone and asked doubtfully: "Master, is this the treasure you are looking for?" It doesn't look like it at all.

"That's it!"

Li Lei blew the dust off the stone and tossed it up and down.

"Come on, let's cut it open."

Ji Xiang hurriedly chased after him. As for the fact that he didn't pay for the stone, it wasn't a big deal. For a home-owned shop like this, the shopkeeper with only a few dozen dollars will not even record it in the accounts.

Jade cutting is not an easy task.

It is not unusual for small pieces to take anywhere from one to a few hours, and for larger pieces to take days, months or even years. The piece that Li Lei found in his hometown was able to be cut out so quickly only because he used his own eyes to provide precise guidance. He decided where to cut and how much to cut.

It's the same this time.

When he handed the dusty stone he picked to the other party, Li Lei directly drew a line and said to the old man holding the rope bow: "Cut from here and break it in two."

The old man responded without asking any more questions.

While waiting, Li Lei asked Jixiang to stay and watch while he wandered around.

The place where they are located is a special stone cutting place on this street, and all the stones sold are cut here. Of course, if guests can’t wait, they can take it back and do it themselves.

There were not many people today. Li Lei was walking and stopped at a place surrounded by people. Jade is also being cut here, and it has obviously been done for a long time.

"How long has it been cut? Has the jade emerged?" Li Lei asked curiously.

The person next to him looked up at him and found that he didn't recognize him, so he replied casually: "No, this stone was cut yesterday at noon. The weight was replaced, and it took two taels to untie the jade sand, but it hasn't been cut yet." I saw the jade. I didn’t see it when I first cut it, and I didn’t see it when I cut it halfway. Now I’m almost done with it and there’s still no good news.”

"I see, it's a bit confusing."

He lowered his voice and whispered the next words so that only the two of them could hear them.

Because there is an unwritten rule on this street, that is, you cannot say frustrating words when watching others cut stones, especially before the stones are completely cut. Otherwise, if the master hears it, if the other party happens to have lost a large amount and is in a bad mood, it would not be surprising if they start a fight.

As for the 'weight', like the 'rope bow', they are both tools used to cut jade. "Jieyu sand" are stones that are stronger than jade. They are used as "knives" in Jieshi. They are used to grind the jade apart little by little. As for why Li Lei used chisels instead of these specialized tools when he was in his hometown, of course it was because they didn't bring the tools back and couldn't find them even if they tried to find them, so they had to use chisels that were more dangerous and might damage the jade.

These are the "jargon" in the jade business. As the son of a jade merchant, Li Lei understood it as soon as he heard it, and he didn't need others to explain it.

Adhering to the principle of "watching jade without speaking", he watched quietly.

Not long after, the stone was cut open.

"How is it?"

"Is there jade?"

"Is there any jade?"

The owner of the stone is a chubby young man. He has been wiping the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief since just now. He is obviously very anxious and nervous.

But his nervousness can't bring him good luck.

The master who cut the stone picked up a ladle skillfully, poured a ladle of water on the stone that was cut in half, and then wiped it left and right to clean the stone chips on it.

Then he shook his head, "No."

The cut surface of the two stones washed clean by water was a white piece. Not only was there no white jade, but there was no jade of green, black, brown or red colors.

Obviously, there was no jade inside.

Li Lei nodded secretly, and found that his eyes were not mistaken, there was indeed no jade.

At this time, the chubby young man shouted in disbelief, "No? How could there be no jade? I picked it according to the method taught by the master!"

"I would rather buy a line than a piece."

"The color of the piece is like paper, and the color of the line is dark."

"Look more, pick more, buy less..."

"How could there be no jade? I picked this stone after a month!" He rushed over excitedly, holding the two stones and trembling, "My savings, my three hundred taels, my three hundred taels of silver!"

"How could there be no jade?!!!"

"Cut it again, cut it again for me!!! !!! "

The old master saw him so excited and understood that this kind of people would not care about anything after being overwhelmed with passion, so he said in a good temper: "Okay, okay, I'll cut it right away, I'll cut it right away."

"But sir, according to our rules, a distinguished guest like you will pay the silver for the first cut, but if you want to cut it again, you have to pay the silver. Your two stones are so big that it takes a day to cut one piece, and then cut it for one tael of silver per cut. You have two pieces, so you have to pay two taels of silver."

When he heard two taels of silver, the fat young man's face suddenly twisted.

He pulled down his purse with a trembling voice, took out a few pieces of silver from it, slapped it on the table, and said viciously: "I have money, I still have money! Cut it for me, cut both pieces for me."

"I don't believe there is no jade inside!"

This crazy state scared the onlookers.

The man who had just spoken to Li Lei whispered again: "This is crazy."

"Tsk tsk tsk, he said he picked it according to the method given by the master, but the master also said 'look more, pick more, and then buy less'. There are many people who spend all their savings to buy a stone, hoping to cut out jade and become rich overnight, but end up losing everything and becoming beggars. Every year."

He shook his head after he finished speaking, "Hehe, with only three hundred taels of savings, it's too much to take out ten taels to buy stones. Whose child is this? His father should really catch him and break his legs."

This man knows a lot.

Li Lei was about to chat with him for a few more words when he heard auspicious exclamations from behind.

"Young Master, Young Master, come quickly!"

"Jade, cut out jade, the stone you picked out jade!"

"Young Master——"