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<b><b> <b>Power and Wealth<b>Chapter 98 – Silver <b>AcicrCrystal!</b></b><b> </b></b></b></b>
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<b> Buy me a coffee or tip me on or .
</b>
<b> Every time BACK was shouted, the scenes in front of DongXuebing shed.
</b>
<b> The first time, Dong Xuebing saw the fat shop owner lookingdown cutting the stone. This was 60 seconds ago.
</b>
<b> The second time, Dong Xuebing saw the fat shop owner talkingto him. This was 120 seconds ago.
</b>
<b> The third time, Dong Xuebing saw the fat shop owner touchingthe crystal stone, preparing to cut it. This was 180 seconds ago.
</b>
<b> ......
</b>
<b> Dong Xuebing’s body and eyes could not keep up with thefast-changing shes and became giddy. When he came back to his senses, hissurroundings were no longer shing. He felt he had just got off a rollercoaster. His legs were wobbly and immediately grabbed onto a corner of the table.Sweat was dripping off his forehead.
</b>
<b> “Oh, are you ok?” The shop owner looked at Dong Xuebing andasked: “What’s wrong?”
</b>
<b> Dong Xuebing blinked and steadied himself. “I’m fine.Errr....... Where did I stop just now?”
</b>
<b> “Where did you stop?” The shop owner was looking at himweirdly and pointed to the few crystal stones on the floor. “You said you wantthese two purple crystal, that yellow crystal, that colorless crystal, and thatpick crystal.” The shop owner answered Dong Xuebing and lift up his calctor.“The total is 162,000 RMB. I will round it off to 160,000 RMB.”
</b>
<b> God damn! It seeded!
</b>
<b> Dong Xuebing was overjoyed and had forgotten that he wasstill gambling.
</b>
<b> The shop owner saw Dong Xuebingughing to himself and felta cold shiver up his spine. Was this person crazy? He sub-consciously took onestep back from Dong Xuebing and asked: “You are in a hurry? Do you want all 5pieces? I will cut those stones for you now?”
</b>
<b> “No, no.” Dong Xuebing returned back to his senses. “I willnot be on time even if I rush back now. You can take your time to cut thestones slowly.” Dong Xuebing said and looked at the stones on the floor. Hiseyes immediately stopped on thest stone the shop owner cut before he usedBACK. “Those 5 pieces are too expensive. I do not want them anymore. Hmmm......That piece. Yes. That piece that is slightly smaller than a football. How muchis that?”
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<b> The shop owner looked at that stone and replied: “Thatpiece? 20,000 RMB.”
</b>
<b> “20,000 RMB!?” Dong Xuebing heard the price and cursed inhis heart. Before he uses BACK, the shop owner quoted him 50,000 RMB. The shopowner should have quoted Dong Xuebing a much higher price as he was in a hurryand do not have time to bargain. “There are no small cuts on this piece. 20,000RMB is too expensive.”
</b>
<b> The shop owner shook his head. “The weight and size areworth this much.”
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<b> Dong Xuebing was in a hurry earlier and did not have time toexamine this stone. He moves closer and picks up the stone. He pointed to theleft side of the rock. “There is a crack here. It is a deep crack. The crystalson this side should be useless. The value of this crystal should be halved.”
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<b> The shop owner also knows that this stone was not worthmuch. He thought for a while. “18,000 RMB. This is the final price.”
</b>
<b> Dong Xuebing immediately passed him the money. “Start fromthe side without the crack.”
</b>
<b> The shop owner nodded and carried the stone to a corner tostart cutting. He was facing the side of the crack, and he knew the crystalsinside should not be any high-grade crystals. He picked up the stone cuttingmachine, switched it on and slowly press it against the side without the crack.
</b>
<b> 1<sup>st</sup> cut...... 2<sup>nd</sup> cut...... 3rd cut...... A smallopening was cut through the dusty surface of the stone.
</b>
<b> 5<sup>th</sup> cut...... 6<sup>th</sup> cut...... 7<sup>th</sup>cut..... The opening was cut bigger, and it formed a finger width size window.They could see the crystals inside!
</b>
<b> Dong Xuebing quickly walk over. He did not see the crystalsearlier and was nervous.
</b>
<b> The shop owner wiped the dust off the surface and looked atthe crystals. He was stunned.
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<b> The crystals were colorless and very clear. The shop ownercould also see silver-colored needle-like crystals inside through the smallopening. Some of the needles were slightly curved, and some were straight. Itwas beautiful!
</b>
<b> “This is......” The shop owner cried out in surprise: “Acicrcrystal! Silver acicr crystals!!!”
</b>
<b> Dong Xuebing pumped his fist! It’s really acicr crystal!
</b>
<b> The shop owner took out a torchlight and shine into theopening. How could a silver acicr crystal appear in this batch of low-gradecrystal stones? This young man was too lucky. He had only picked one stone andwon the top prize? Damn! I should have open a small window first beforeselling!
</b>
<b> Maybe it was because of the sounds from the shop, twopassers-by walked in.
</b>
<b> “Silver acicr crystal? It is from stone gambling? Let metake a look!” One middle-aged man took the torchlight from the shop owner andexamine the crystal.
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<b> The other middle-aged man looked at Dong Xuebing and asked:“You are lucky. How much did you spend?”
</b>
<b> Dong Xuebing smiled: “18,000 RMB.”
</b>
<b> “Hahaha, you should be able to make arge sum from this.”
</b>
<b> That middle-aged man finished examing the crystal and noddedto his friend. He turned to Dong Xuebing and asked. “Are you selling thiscrystal?”
</b>
<b> Dong Xuebing replied. “It depends on how much you areoffering..”
</b>
<b> “Hmmm...... how about 80,000 RMB?”
</b>
<b> Dong Xuebing shook his head.
</b>
<b> “90,000 RMB?”
</b>
<b> Dong Xuebing shook his head again.
</b>
<b> That man smiled. “90,000 RMB is my highest offer. You shouldconsider my offer. This stone is not fully opened. There might be a risk. Look,there is a deep crack on the other side. If the crack extended into thecrystal, then part of it will be useless. It cannot be used to carve out bigornaments. It can only be made into a small Guanyin statue.”
</b>
<b> Dong Xuebing only smile at him and turn to the shop owner.“Boss, continue to cut the stone open. This time, start from the cracked part.”
</b>
<b> The shop owner did not move. “Young man, I suggest you sellit. If this crack is too deep, then this stone will not be worth so high.90,000 RMB is really a good offer.”
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<b> Dong Xuebing had seen the shop owner cut open this stonefrom the cracked part before he used BACK. Although he did not see whether ifthere were acicr crystals, but thee surface was clear, and there were noimpurities. This was why he had no hesitations. “Just cut it.”
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<b> The shop owner did not persuade him anymore. He picked upthe stone cutting machine and start to cut the outeryer bit by bit.
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<b> Eeeeee! Eeeee!
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<b> It was only the first cut, and everyone in the shop wereshocked. Part of the crack was cut away!
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<b> The shop owner paused for a while and proceeded to makeanother cut. Another part of the 3 mm deep crack was cut away!
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<b> The shop owner made the 3<sup>rd</sup> cut! 4<sup>th</sup>cut!
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<b> The crack was gone entirely, and the colorless, clearcrystal inside was exposed!
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<b> The crack did not extend into the crystal! It was only onthe outyer of the stone!
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<b> The two middle-aged men looked at each other and took a deepbreath. Without the crack, the crystal in the stone will be huge. A smallGuanyin Statue? No. This crystal can be made into a 20 cm diameter crystalball!
</b>
<b> The shop owner looked at Dong Xuebing and felt this youngman was lucky beyond words. “My shop will buy this piece from you. Name aprice!”
</b>
<b> The middle-aged man immediately interrupts. “Young man, Iwill give you a reasonable price. Don’t sell it to others. Come, let’s go outand discuss the price.”
</b>
<b> An acicr crystal ball was rare even at auctions. The shopowner really wanted this crystal. “How about 200,000 RMB?”
</b>
<b> Dong Xuebing’s eyes brighten up but did not say anything.
</b>
<b> The middle-aged man frowned and said: “210,000 RMB!”
</b>
<b> The shop owner gritted his teeth. “220,000 RMB!”
</b>
<b> The middle-aged man said without thinking. “230,000 RMB!”
</b>
<b> This time, the shop owner kept quiet and shook his headdisappointedly.
</b>
<b> “If this is not for my collection, I will also make surehigh offer.” The middle-aged man said to Dong Xuebing. “Are you willing to sellfor 230,000 RMB?”
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<b> Dong Xuebing hesitated for a moment and then smiled andshook his hand. “Deal.”
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<b> The middle-aged manughed. “Ok. I do not have so much cashwith me. Can I pay you with a cheque?”
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<b> Dong Xuebing does not know how to use a cheque. Furthermore,he can’t tell the difference between a real or fake cheque. He hesitated for awhile and said: “Let’s go to the bank together.”
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<b> The man could tell Dong Xuebing was worried and nodded. “Ok.You can give me the crystal after the cheque is banked in. Let’s go.”
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<b> There was an ICBC bank near Panjiayuan.
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<b> After the cheque was banked into Dong Xuebing’s ount and hechecked the bnce, Dong Xuebing gave the crystal to that man. Those two menleft. But Dong Xuebing remained in the bank and banked in all his cash in hisbag into his ount. After that, he checked his statement. His total savingswas 440,000 RMB! He took a deep breath. Words can’t express his feelings!
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<b> The most important thing was the discovery of a new way touse BACK!
</b>
<b> If he umtes his power every day, and only use it incritical moments, he will be able to store a long time!
</b>
<b> Promotions? Making money? Getting married?
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<b> All these dreams should not be too far.
</b>
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