Reborn back to the day I descended the mountain, Miss Ji, I will take responsibility for you!

As soon as Ye Chen entered the Green Bamboo Pavilion, he sensed that something was wrong.

Logically speaking, this should be the time when there are the most customers.

The street was teeming with people, and many shops were packed with customers.

However, the Green Bamboo Pavilion was completely empty, which was clearly due to the influence of the feng shui arrangement.

Humans are naturally inclined to seek advantage and avoid harm, and will instinctively stay away from dangerous places.

There are two tomb guardian beasts placed at the entrance, coupled with the yin energy gathered here.

Guests will instinctively feel uncomfortable when they reach the door, so they naturally won't go in.

The shop assistant was leaning on the counter, looking at his phone with a somewhat bored expression.

They didn't even notice when Ye Chen and Su Mengyao came in; it was Su Mengyao who knocked on the table.

The shop assistant then realized what was happening, paused for a moment, and then asked enthusiastically, "Miss, what would you like to buy?"

"Do you have any fine antique items here for an elderly person to use for their birthday celebration?"

Su Mengyao stated her needs directly, and the shop assistant's eyes lit up immediately.

After looking Su Mengyao up and down, he roughly estimated her net worth.

He then said, "Yes, yes, I wonder if there are any special requirements?"

"No, but I've heard that your Cuizhu Pavilion is most famous for its jade carvings. I wonder if you have anything good to offer lately?"

Upon hearing this, the shop assistant smiled slightly and said, "Then you've come to the right place, sir."

"Our boss's cooking skills are extremely famous in Wucheng."

"Perfect timing! Here's a longevity peach. I wonder if it would suit your taste? Please follow me upstairs."

As he spoke, the shop assistant called another person to stand guard at the door, while he led the way.

He led Su Mengyao and Ye Chen up to the third floor, where there were finished jade carvings.

Flowers, birds, fish, insects, plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, chrysanthemums, and Buddhist statues—the collection is truly dazzling.

Ye Chen glanced at it briefly and nodded slightly; the shop owner's skills were indeed quite good.

Each piece can be carved with a certain charm, no wonder it has created the reputation of Cuizhuxuan.

At this moment, the shop assistant led Su Mengyao and Ye Chen to a display case.

Inside the display case is a round and plump peach, carved entirely from white jade.

Beside the peach, there is also a statue of the Old Man of the South Pole.

The whole scene gives the impression that the peach is too big.

The Old Man of the South Pole, tired from carrying heavy loads, leaned against the peach to rest.

The title of the artwork is written below: "The Immortal Sends Longevity".

Both its symbolism and appearance are excellent, and of course, the price is also quite high, amounting to 1.88 million.

The waiter explained, "This is a new piece carved by our boss. I think it should meet the lady's needs."

Su Mengyao was very satisfied with the old man's birthday greeting, so she readily swiped her card.

For Su Mengyao, something worth over a million yuan was just daily pocket money, so she didn't care too much about it.

Moreover, he genuinely liked the items, and the waiter next to him was overjoyed to see Su Mengyao's straightforwardness.

After swiping her card, Su Mengyao looked at Ye Chen and asked, "So, did you find anything you like?"

Ye Chen shook his head. Although the owner's carving skills were good, he didn't plan to give away jade carvings.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Do you have any raw jade stones for sale here? I mean, Hetian white jade."

The waiter nodded and said, "Yes, we do. Does the customer want to gamble on stones or buy finished products?"

Ye Chen smiled and said, "Then take me to see the raw stones."

Upon hearing this, the waiter's face lit up with joy again, as they offered higher commissions to people like Ye Chen who gambled on stones.

"The jade gambling is on the top floor, please follow me." With that, the waiter led the two up two more floors to the fifth floor.

Once the elevator doors open, walk through a corridor, turn left, and you'll arrive at a small warehouse.

Inside, there were many raw Hetian jade stones, arranged in sections according to size and quality.

Compared to the deserted area downstairs, the rooftop was quite lively.

The small warehouse was filled with people, some of whom were selecting stones.

There was also a group of people gathered around the cutting machine, watching others cut stones.

In the world of jade gambling, there's a saying: "One cut makes you poor, one cut makes you rich; one cut is like the Book of Life and Death."

Moreover, jade gambling is actually a form of gambling in disguise.

Many people only see that others have become rich overnight by successfully gambling on stones.

But what they didn't see was how many people lost everything gambling on stones, resulting in broken families and even death.

As long as you're involved in gambling, as long as you're still at the table, you're destined to lose.

But that's human nature; people always think they'll be the lucky one, only to find themselves on a dead end by the time they realize it.

Next to the entrance of the small warehouse, there was a huge tea table, where a middle-aged man sat drinking tea.

Upon seeing Ye Chen and the others come up, he raised an eyebrow and stood up.

The waiter quickly stepped forward and said respectfully, "Boss, this customer would like to take a look at the stones."

The boss nodded and said, "Yes, you did a good job. Leave the rest to me."

The shop assistant quickly and respectfully withdrew, while the middle-aged man walked up to Ye Chen and Su Mengyao.

He glanced at the two men, then smiled and said, "Gentlemen, I am Huang San, the owner of this shop."

"Let me explain the rules here to you two. All the stones here have their own price tags."

"Guests can choose to open the window, or open it completely if they choose to open the window."

"You need to pay 50% of the price of the rough stone. If you are not satisfied with the cut window, you can choose to give up."

"If you open all the stones, you'll have to bear the profits and losses yourself. I offer free stone-opening services here."

"In addition, we can also handle the processing."

"Depending on the style requirements, a certain fee is required. Do you two have any further objections?"

Ye Chen shook his head to indicate that he had no objection, but his gaze toward Huang San was somewhat meaningful.

Su Mengyao, standing to the side, frowned. As a martial arts practitioner...

His senses were naturally more sensitive than those of ordinary people, and Su Mengyao sensed an ominous aura emanating from Huang San.

Su Mengyao couldn't say exactly what it was, and since he wasn't there to pick stones, she didn't say anything.

Seeing this, Huang San smiled and said, "Since there are no objections, please make your choice."

"Of course, I can also offer advice if needed, but there will be a 20% service fee."

Ye Chen waved his hand and said, "No need, I can do it myself."

Upon hearing this, Huang San didn't say much, but instead went back to his original tea-drinking spot and sat down.

He picked up his teacup and began to slowly sip his tea, seemingly unconcerned about everything else in the room.

Ye Chen's eyes flickered upon seeing this, but he didn't say anything more and went forward to examine the stones.

Many of the large stones have windows left from before.

Through the windows cut into these rough stones, one can see some of what's inside.

Most of them are in poor condition, and the few in good condition are priced extremely high.

If you find a narrow opening or a piece of rough, unpolished jade, you'll lose a fortune.

So most people wouldn't dare to try this, but Ye Chen could choose whatever he wanted.

After all, he had a cheat code; these raw stones that X-rays couldn't see through were completely transparent to him.

He knew exactly how much meat and water was inside.

In the past, when he was short of money, he would gamble on stones to earn some extra cash.

Later, after winning too much, he was blacklisted by the major raw stone mines there.

However, every month, those mines would regularly pay him a protection fee.

Of course, they were unwilling to give it at first, and only agreed after Ye Chen negotiated with them amicably.

Just then, a cheer suddenly erupted from the side.

Ye Chen and Su Mengyao subconsciously looked over and saw it was over there, near the cutting machine.

A basketball-sized rough stone was cut open, revealing a crystal-clear, snow-white jade interior.

Seeing the quality of the product and the joy on the owner's face, it was clear that he had made a great profit.

This naturally greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of others, and those who were originally hesitant immediately made up their minds.

They bought the stones they wanted and were ready to take a gamble.

Just then, a voice rang out behind Ye Chen and Su Mengyao.

"Mengyao, what are you doing here?"