Listening to the continuous urging around her, Wendy Lynch finally understood why her future self had chosen to keep cutting. After all, it was just as the crowd was saying. With only a thumb-sized window opened, this stone was already worth hundreds of thousands. If it was solid Imperial Green inside, selling it for a few million would be an absolute breeze.
The price difference between the two outcomes was more than tenfold. Furthermore, her future self hadn’t realized she actually possessed a cheat ability; she had only assumed her recent streak of success was due to pure luck. Believing she had struck the jackpot of luck, it was only natural that she had listened to the crowd’s opinions and continued cutting.
Seeing Wendy remain silent, the man in the gold-rimmed glasses grew anxious.
Whether a raw jadeite stone contained good jade was practically a matter of mysticism. Things like the outer crust, pine flower patterns, python bands, moss spots, and fog layers were merely experiential guidelines passed down by predecessors. However, these so-called experiences only slightly increased the probability of finding jade. If buying raw stones blindfolded gave a one-in-a-thousand chance of finding jade, then having this knowledge only bumped the odds up to 1.1 or 1.2 in a thousand. After all, even if a stone perfectly met all the external criteria, there was still a massive chance it contained nothing of value.
However, a stone with a window cut into it was entirely different.
Once a window was opened, buyers could observe a portion of its interior. Specifically with this stone, which had already revealed Imperial Green, the likelihood of the rest of the interior being Imperial Green was much higher. Because the inside was partially visible, the price of the raw stone would also fluctuate based on what the window revealed. He was rushing to make an offer because the current window was only the size of a thumb. If it were expanded, allowing a clearer assessment of the interior, the price of the raw stone would soar far beyond what a small-time broker like him could swallow.
If this beautiful young woman decided to widen the window... At the thought of that, the man in the gold-rimmed glasses gritted his teeth, ready to raise his bid.
Before he could even speak, an old man in a blue-and-white tracksuit grabbed the spotlight.
"Little beauty, two hundred and ten thousand!" he shouted. "I’ll offer two hundred and ten thousand! Let this old man have the stone!"
Seeing someone start a bidding war, the surrounding crowd could no longer sit still.
"I bid two hundred and fifteen thousand!"
"You only added five thousand, and you have the nerve to shout it out? Two hundred and twenty thousand!"
Many of those present were seasoned veterans. Seeing such a stunning shade of Imperial Green had whipped them into a frenzy. In the blink of an eye, the price had already soared to two hundred and fifty thousand.
Listening to the relentless urging and escalating bids around her, Charlotte Lynch felt like her heart was going to leap out of her throat.
Two hundred and fifty thousand! That wasn’t just two hundred and fifty bucks!
She leaned in close to Wendy’s ear, whispering excitedly, "Sis... two hundred and fifty thousand... They’re offering two hundred and fifty thousand! Hurry up and say yes!"
This money was coming too easily. A stone that cost her sixteen thousand was about to sell for over a dozen times that amount in a flash.
However, standing at the center of the storm, Wendy remained unusually calm. Her gaze fell on the stone in the Gem Cutter’s hands, and her voice rang out, clear and indifferent, "Sir, please move the water hose and wipe the cut surface with a dry cloth so everyone can get a better look."
The moment she spoke, the noisy scene fell into a momentary hush.
The crowd wondered what she meant. It was obvious she thought the price wasn’t high enough!
The Gem Cutter was an old hand at this, and he immediately understood her intention. Grabbing a clean towel, he wiped away all the water droplets and residual stone dust from the window. Without the reflection of the water, that streak of pure green appeared even deeper and richer.
"My God... that color is flawless!"
"If she cuts deeper and it yields a solid green piece, hundreds of thousands won’t even begin to cover it!"
"The most important thing is that there aren’t any visible cracks at all. It’s too perfect!"
"I think she should keep cutting!"
"Exactly! Even if she doesn’t cut it, just grinding off the crust around the window would multiply the price several times over!"
"If you ask me, she should just make a vertical cut along the edge. If it’s pure Imperial Green inside, the starting price will be in the millions!"
The man in the gold-rimmed glasses who had made the initial bid suddenly looked ill. Slapping his thigh in frustration, he regretted offering such a low price earlier. If he had just thrown out a high bid right from the start, this raw jadeite stone would likely be his by now.
Meanwhile, all the color had drained from the face of the woman in the white suit, who had initially been waiting to watch a good show. She stared fixedly at the stone, her eyes brimming with remorse and disbelief. If she had known the quality of this raw stone was so exceptional, she would have kept bidding against Wendy instead of handing it over on a silver platter.
At that moment, the middle-aged man with the gold-rimmed glasses squeezed his way back to the front.
"Two hundred and eighty thousand! Beautiful, I offer two hundred and eighty thousand!
"Quit while you’re ahead and take the cash! I’ll transfer the money to you right now—straight cash transaction!"
"You think you can snatch up Imperial Green for two hundred and eighty thousand? Old Rhodes, you’re driving too hard a bargain!" someone in the crowd immediately jeered.
Sure enough, the moment Old Rhodes finished speaking, a steady and powerful voice cut through the clamor of the room.
"Friends, please do me a favor. I’ll take it for three hundred thousand."
The crowd turned toward the voice to see an old man in a black-and-gold traditional Tang suit. His hair was meticulously combed, and he looked to be around sixty years old. He was accompanied by a burly bodyguard, making it obvious at a glance that he was no ordinary person.
Three hundred thousand!
As soon as that price dropped, all the previous chattering bids vanished instantly. Everyone looked at Wendy, waiting to see how she would react.
Hearing the offer, Wendy let out a sigh of relief.
"Deal." Without a shred of hesitation, she accepted his price.
Her quick response left the surrounding onlookers stunned. They couldn’t believe she sold it just like that. They wondered why she didn’t wait a bit longer, as the price might have gone even higher. If it was solid green once cut, that would be a difference of millions!
The old man in the Tang suit clearly hadn’t expected her to agree so readily either. He blanked for a moment before a satisfied smile spread across his face.
"Very straightforward!
"Then let’s trade—cash for the goods!"
Pulling out his phone, he swiftly transferred three hundred thousand to Wendy. Seeing the deposit notification pop up on her screen, she decisively handed the raw jadeite stone over to the old man.
"Sigh, what a pity. Such a great piece of material sold for just three hundred thousand."
"Exactly! If she had polished it a bit more, the price might have doubled!"
"She’s still too young. Couldn’t hold her nerve."
Listening to these discussions, Charlotte’s heart was doing flip-flops. She leaned in close and whispered, "Sis, did we... did we take a loss?"
Wendy merely shook her head gently without explaining.
Take a loss? She knew better than anyone that this was already the best possible outcome. If she had waited longer, she might have been able to squeeze out a higher price, but three hundred thousand already met her mental target. Furthermore, she was very well aware of the true condition hidden deep within that stone.