Er Gou, life in the countryside is so carefree!

"presumptuous!"

Master Ma suddenly opened his cloudy eyes, and two beams of light shot towards Chen Ergou:

"Where did this brat come from, daring to spout such nonsense! When I was playing with stones, you were still wearing open-crotch pants!"

Zhao Tai seized the opportunity and immediately jumped out to provoke them:

"Chen Ergou, aren't you so arrogant? You look down on Master Ma, don't you? Fine! If you're a man, make a bet with me! We'll cut the stone right here and now, one round to decide the winner! Do you dare?"

"What are we betting on?" Chen Ergou raised an eyebrow.

"Let's bet that we each choose a stone and cut it open on the spot! Whoever cuts out the most valuable jadeite wins!" Zhao Tai's eyes gleamed with a crazed light.

"The stakes... I think your one million is too meager. Here's the deal: if I win, you have to kneel down in public, kowtow three times to me, call me 'Grandpa' three times, and then get out of this county and never set foot here again! And Zhou Caixia, your Luyuan Company has to be transferred to me free of charge!"

"And what if you lose?" Chen Ergou asked back.

"I lose? Hahaha! With Master Ma here, how could I lose?" Zhao Tai laughed arrogantly. "If I lose, I'll kowtow to you! I'll even give you five million in cash!"

"Zhao Tai! Don't go too far!" Zhou Caixia was anxious. This gamble was too big; it involved not only Chen Ergou's dignity but also her company. Although she believed in Chen Ergou's medical skills and farming abilities, this was gambling on jade—a completely different field!

"Ergou, don't agree to him! This is a reverse psychology tactic!" Zhou Caixia held Chen Ergou's hand tightly.

Chen Ergou gently patted the back of her hand, giving her a reassuring look.

"Five million is too little." Chen Ergou looked at Zhao Tai and shook his head. "If you're going to play, play big. Ten million! Plus, from now on, whenever you see me or Sister Zhou, you'll have to kneel and kowtow three times and nine times! Do you dare?"

"Ten million?!"

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

This is an absolute gamble!

Zhao Tai was also taken aback by Chen Ergou's imposing manner, but after glancing at Master Ma beside him, who looked arrogant, he immediately felt more confident.

"Fine! Ten million it is! I'll take the bet!" Zhao Tai roared. "Everyone here will be a witness! Anyone who goes back on their word is a coward!"

"Let's start choosing stones!"

With a command given, the gambling game officially began.

Master Ma didn't hesitate. He took out his powerful flashlight and magnifying glass, put his hands behind his back, and walked into the raw stone area like a general inspecting troops.

He examined each stone very carefully, shining a light on it to observe its appearance, feeling its surface, and listening to its sound.

Zhao Tai followed behind him, his face full of flattery and expectation.

In contrast, Chen Ergou seemed much more casual.

He strolled around the pile of rocks with his hands in his pockets, as if he were buying cabbages at a market, without even taking a flashlight.

"Does this kid even know anything?"

"Looks like a greenhorn, not even brought basic tools, just asking to be killed."

"Sigh, President Zhou has really been screwed over by this pretty boy this time."

People around him pointed and whispered, and no one had any faith in Chen Ergou.

About half an hour later, Master Ma stopped in front of a rock that was about the size of a basketball.

The surface of this stone is yellow salt sand skin, with a distinct green python-like band wrapped around it. A small window has been cut open, revealing bright green jadeite inside. The texture and clarity look excellent, at least of the icy type.

This is tonight's "top bidder"! The bid was 2.8 million!

"That's it!" Master Ma put away his flashlight and patted the stone with a confident expression.

"This piece of jade is exceptionally well-preserved, with a python-like vein winding around it, indicating significant color development! Once cut open, we can extract at least two full-green jade bracelets, worth no less than ten million! Young Master Zhao, acquiring it is a sure win!"

Zhao Tai was overjoyed and immediately waved his hand: "Great! I'll take this one! Swipe my card!"

He looked at Chen Ergou provocatively: "Kid, I've made my choice. What about yours? Are you still wandering around aimlessly?"

At this moment, Chen Ergou was squatting in the innermost corner of the exhibition area.

There was a pile of unwanted "scraps" and "waste" there.

These stones either have a poor outer skin or too many cracks, so they are priced very low, only a few thousand yuan each, and nobody even glances at them.

Chen Ergou's hand was pressed on a dark stone that looked like a big gourd and was covered with moss.

To the average person, this stone is just a worthless rock to step on, not even worthy of being considered a gambling stone.

However, in Chen Ergou's "Qi Observation Technique" vision, the inside of this black stone was emitting a dazzling, almost tangible purple light!

The purple light was so dense that it couldn't be dispersed, just like an emperor descending, exuding unparalleled nobility!

"I'll take this one." Chen Ergou stood up, dusted off his hands, and pointed to the black stone on the ground.

"What?"

Not only Zhao Tai, but even the onlookers were stunned.

"Hahahaha!" Zhao Tai laughed so hard he almost cried. "Chen Ergou, have you lost your mind? This is just a stepping stone! You know you're going to lose, so you're just throwing caution to the wind and trying to save me some money?"

Master Ma scoffed, not even bothering to glance at it: "Black jade, loose skin, no python pattern, no pine flower pattern, this is just a piece of brick-like material. Young man, if you don't know anything, don't embarrass yourself."

Zhou Caixia panicked and ran over to Chen Ergou, saying, "Ergou, this one won't do! It looks too ugly. How about we get another one? That one over there..."

"No need to change, this is it." Chen Ergou was unusually firm, and even shouted to the staff member in charge of guarding the stones, "How much?"

The staff were somewhat embarrassed: "Um... this piece is leftover scrap from before. The boss said the clearance price is three thousand yuan."

"Three thousand?" Chen Ergou pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket, his spare change, and slapped it into the staff member's hand. "Keep the change, this stone is mine."

A piece of scrap worth three thousand yuan versus a bid of two million eight hundred thousand yuan.

To everyone else, this was no longer a gamble, but a complete farce.

"Fine! Fine! Since you're courting death, let's settle this on the stone-cutting machine!" Zhao Tai waved his hand. "Take him up! Cut him open right here! I want everyone to see how this country bumpkin kowtows to me!"

The two stones were loaded onto the stone-cutting machine.

The huge grinding wheel began to spin, emitting a harsh grinding sound.

Everyone's heart was in their throat, except for Chen Ergou.

He remained calm, hands in his pockets, as if he were cutting a large watermelon instead of a stone that would determine the fate of millions.

"Cut mine first!" Zhao Tai shouted impatiently.