Chapter 1246: Chapter 1243: The Blind Elder
But, even when facing Gu Xu’s superior, the deputy chief of staff of the military district, General Badasang also kept a stoic deanor, indifferent and distant, strictly business, nothing like the cheerful and solicitous manner he displayed now.
Offering unneeded kindness, if not deceitful then thieving!
For this general to lower himself and smile so convivially with Huo Sining, he must be seeking sothing from his family’s lady!
Suspicion and vigilance flashed in Gu Xu’s eyes, the key question was, what could the Bada Family possibly need from his wife?
“Miss Huo, up ahead is our Bada Family’s market, the entire street belongs to our family!”
After passing through a display area, Badasang stopped at the entrance of a street and pointed at the shops along the street.
Following Badasang’s gaze, Huo Sining saw a long stretch of street that seed to have no end.
The street wasn’t particularly wide, but the shops on both sides were neatly arranged and looked quite well-established.
“Master!”
“Young Master Sang!”
As they entered the street, many people greeted Badasang along the way.
Badasang, as the heir of the Bada Family, was referred to as “Master” or “Young Master Sang” by the family mbers as a sign of closeness and respect.
Whenever Badasang heard people greet him, he would clasp his hands and bow, the hard lines on his face would soften slightly.
“I grew up in this street; back then my family had a small shop here, and my sister and I would co to this very street to sell goods after school.”
With a smile, Badasang explained to everyone, and as he said this, his eyes revealed a sense of nostalgia and regret for the bygone days.
Previously, Huo Sining felt that there was a certain cold, unapproachable aura in the general’s eyes, but seeing Badasang now, she couldn’t help but change her impression.
Every person has a tender side; the reason this general has beco the way he is today is not by choice but rather due to the turbulent circumstances of his country forcing him to arm himself.
After browsing a few shops, Huo Sining hadn’t found any jadeite that caught her interest.
Not discouraged, Huo Sining continued walking past a few more stores and suddenly noticed a particularly unique shop.
The shop was a wooden building, unlike the canopies she had seen earlier, it was arranged neatly, with all the jadeite samples placed systematically on a tiered shelf.
What’s more important is that even though it was already past six and nearing seven, the shop hadn’t turned on any lights, and Huo Sining used the dim light from nearby stores to discern the na on its signboard: “Don’t Judge Color Under the Light.”
“Don’t Judge Color Under the Light” — is this the na of the shop?
Seeing this odd na, Huo Sining showed a curious expression, thinking that whoever ca up with such a clever phrase must be an extraordinary person.
Just as Huo Sining was about to step forward, Badasang’s eye suddenly lit up, and he headed towards soone erging from the shop:
“Uncle Kun, when on earth did you return, is Mr. Hou in today?”
Badasang was visibly excited, eagerly greeting the seventy-sothing old man who had stepped out.
The old man, seeming surprised to see Badasang, quickly clasped his hands, smiling: “Just returned today; you ca at the right ti, Mr. Hou just received a batch of excellent materials.”
Badasang’s smile grew even brighter: “Great, noted. I’ve brought a special guest today to introduce to Mr. Hou.”
The elder, called Uncle Kun, looked Huo Sining up and down, then nodded, gesturing politely for her to follow:
“Alright, go ahead and take her inside.”
Although Huo Sining didn’t know what Badasang was plotting, not knowing this Mr. Hou, she could tell that Badasang’s reverence towards Mr. Hou was genuine, unlike his more pragmatic deanor towards her, which made her very curious about this Mr. Hou.
“Mr. Hou is the expert I most respect; he taught
everything I know about stone-betting. Back in the days on this street, he guided
step by step, imparting all his experiences without reservation.”
“Mr. Hou was quite renowned in stone-betting during his youth, his skills surpassed even the Jade Gambling King twenty years ago. However, due to an accident, his eyes were severely damaged, rendering him completely blind.”
Despite the sad nature of the story, Badasang showed little regret or sadness, instead, there was a hint of excitent in his words.
Noticing the suspicion and curiosity in Huo Sining’s eyes, Badasang smiled and explained as they headed inside:
“Mr. Hou’s life is legendary; you’ll understand once you et him! Though he’s blind, his expertise and skill in stone-betting are greater than any Jade Gambling King!”
Over twenty years ago, a Jade Gambling King nad Ma Changsheng was as legendary as the Gambling King Song Lifeng, with wealth, status, won, and power all within his grasp.
During the seventies and eighties, whether dostically or internationally, Jade Gambling King Ma Changsheng was famous, unparalleled in his ti, not even Huo Sining could deny his stone-betting prowess.
If Ma Changsheng were still alive today, even Huo Sining wouldn’t be assured of beating him using her Heavenly Eye as a cheat.
Yet now Badasang claims Mr. Hou’s stone-betting expertise is even higher than Ma Changsheng’s, prompting Huo Sining to suspect that Badasang’s statent might be heavily colored by personal sentints due to Mr. Hou’s significant impact on his life.
Through the back door into the rear alley of the street, Badasang led Huo Sining across a compartnt, arriving at a large warehouse in the farthest corner.
The warehouse was cluttered with thousands of jadeite rough stones.
These were genuine old pit stones, ranging from high to low grade, mostly wholly bet stones.
They appeared to be freshly unloaded from trucks, with several young n organizing them nearby.
Outside the large warehouse, on a reclining chair lay a seventy-sothing old man, his hair entirely white but with a lively deanor, though his eyes remained shut as if he were asleep.
Badasang led Huo Sining forward, the old man’s ears twitched, sitting straight up from the reclining chair, lightly tapping the armrest, his eyes still closed but with a hint of a smile on his face:
“Badasang is back?”
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