NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40: Value 3 Million
"How much is it this time?"
"Right, come on, tell us already."
Although the host had not yet voiced it, everyone already had an answer in mind.
Based on the performance of Wang Ye and those judges just now, as well as the host's reaction after seeing the estimated value, the value of this rough stone should be around three hundred million.
"Contestant Wang Ye, the second rough stone, is valued at three hundred... million."
"What? Three million, how could that be?"
"Right, how could it be three million? That's impossible."
When the host announced the result, everyone in attendance was stunned.
The second rough stone of Wang Ye was actually only worth three million.
Could it be that the three judges made a mistake?
On stage, the host also felt quite embarrassed. He had thought that Wang Ye's stone would yield a surprising result. But now, it was a huge letdown.
"What exactly is going on? Explain it quickly."
"Right, explain it, how can a rough stone with a cost of several tens of millions be worth only three million?"
The audience unanimously demanded an explanation, and the helpless host had no choice but to look towards the judges.
The judges didn't know what had happened either and could only turn their gaze to the appraisers. The appraisers looked at each other and then turned their gaze to Wang Ye.
Seeing this, the host passed the microphone to Wang Ye.
Wang Ye took the microphone with a faint smile and explained, "I misjudged this stone. It was a misjudgment, so the final result is unsatisfactory."
"Liar, even if it is a misjudgment, what about the reactions of the appraisers just now?"
"Right, the reactions of the appraisers just now were clearly ones of astonishment."
The audience below the stage simply didn't believe Wang Ye's words.
But at that moment, one of the appraisers stood up and said, "What Contestant Wang Ye said is indeed the truth. All three of us judges initially thought this rough stone would be of high value, but after seeing the result, we found it was of low value, hence the surprise. But to go along with Mr. Wang Ye, we just put on an act."
"Exactly, exactly, all this was for the effect of the show," the host chimed in.
Seeing this, the judge immediately declared, "Alright, the second rough stone of contestant Wang Ye has been appraised. We shall now begin the appraisal of contestant Su Wanqing's second rough stone."
However, the people below were unwilling to let this matter rest. They always felt there must be more to it. That stone was definitely not that simple.
Yet the judges on stage did not give them any chance to question further, as Su Wanqing's second rough stone had already begun to be cut.
This time, however, the level of interest wasn't as high. Moreover, the final result of the cut was not very good. The appraised value was even lower than the first rough stone she selected.
The situation now gave Su Wanqing a significant advantage. Both contestants were left with only their final stone, and the last piece of suspense was about to be unveiled.
"Okay, we are about to start the third round of cutting. However, considering the current lead of contestant Su Wanqing, we have decided to let contestant Su Wanqing cut her third rough stone first," the host announced the judge's decision.
Such a move was naturally to retain the suspense. Otherwise, if Wang Ye's third rough stone's result was worse than Su Wanqing's first stone, then there would be no need to cut Su Wanqing's third stone.
On stage, Su Wanqing complied with the arrangement and cut open her third rough stone.
But the final result was still not very impressive. The third rough stone was even inferior in quality to the second one.
"I now declare, contestant Su Wanqing's final score is thirty million. Let's have the staff bring up a check for fifteen million in cash for contestant Su Wanqing," the host said.
After the host spoke, a staff member indeed brought up a check.
This result, for Su Wanqing, was not very satisfying.
In the final round of this easy money-making competition, she had only obtained fifteen million.
Moreover, the audience also felt that there were problems behind this development. Because all the contestants had fallen in the last round.
Even Wang Ye had selected a rough stone worth only three million. So when the Fang Family designed this stage of the competition, there was definitely intentional manipulation involved.
In the end, the amount of cash the Fang Family paid out might even be less than thirty million. Compared to the three hundred million or even more in cash rewards the audience initially anticipated, this was far too little.
"I knew the Fang Family must be up to something behind the scenes; otherwise, how could such a decision be announced?"
"Exactly, it's all for show, just to attract eyeballs. In the end, they just produced these substandard stones."
"Is this not all just a setup? I saw it coming. Just watch for the fun of it. Did you really expect them to give out a hundred million in cash to the contestants? Impossible!"
The audience below began losing interest.
But still, some chose to believe.
"I think not necessarily, contestant Wang Ye still has one rough stone unopened, right? He's the real seeded contestant."
"Right! In this game of stone gambling, luck plays a huge part. The probability of uncovering a top-quality gemstone is very low."
Amidst the crowd's discussions, Wang Ye's third rough stone had already been placed on the cutting table on the stage.
Although people sounded as if they had lost interest, they still unconsciously watched the scene on the big screen.
This last rough stone would determine the final outcome of the competition, so naturally, the level of interest was very high.
On stage, Su Wanqing watched nervously as Wang Ye cut the rough stone.
Although Su Wanqing had felt from the start that Wang Ye would ultimately be the champion of the competition, she still harbored a glimmer of hope.
After all, becoming the champion was the best way to change the Su family's situation.
Besides becoming the champion, there was another opportunity. That was to achieve a good result in the final round of the stone-gambling competition and earn more cash.
But Su Wanqing had now lost that opportunity; the fifty million in cash she hoped to get was only fifteen million in the end.
Equally tense was Wang Ye. Even with his strong composure, the attention of so many people made him slightly nervous.
Especially since Su Wanqing was also watching, this added to Wang Ye's pressure.
And in a place that Wang Ye couldn't see, Fang Feifei was also paying attention to him.
In a corner, Fang Junxiang was also secretly watching. The moment the final result was revealed would also be the time for Fang Junxiang to take action.
Under everyone's gaze, Wang Ye turned on the cutting machine.
The rapidly spinning grinding wheel gradually moved closer to the rough stone.
At that moment, time seemed to slow down. For everyone, each second felt like a minute.
With the roaring of the cutting machine, the rough stone was split in two, revealing everything to those watching.