Fortunately, there weren’t many people at the stall right now, or else his reputation might be affected if the word gets out.
In the stall owner’s eyes, the two girls and the man seemed like wealthy people who came to the gambling square for fun, not like businessmen who would gamble on stones. That’s why he couldn’t resist trying to deceive them a little.
“Sir, telling lies is not right. Businessmen’s reputation is crucial, you know?” Nicola began to lecture the stall owner.
“Yes, yes, you’re right,” the stall owner hurriedly admitted, seeing people leaving his booth with disdainful expressions, feeling a bit sour inside.
Nicola turned to Leo and said, “Leo, since you dared to say that my thirty-five percent success rate isn’t high, let’s make a bet, shall we?”
“How?” Leo became interested.
“It’s simple. Right here at this stall, each of us will pick a stone, then take it to be cut. We’ll see whose stone shows the biggest increase in value, alright?” Nicola’s lips curved slightly.
“No problem. Since it’s a bet, it won’t be fun without stakes. Let’s agree on the wager. What if you lose?” Leo asked.
“Don’t be ridiculous, how could I lose to you? I already know what you’ll have to do when you lose. If you lose, you’ll have to apologize to me for what you said earlier and shout loudly in this gambling square: ‘Nicola, you are my idol.'”
Nicola’s face showed an amused expression.
“No problem. If it’s you who loses…” Leo started to size up Nicola, looking for something that interested him.
“Hey, what are you looking at? Don’t even think about any crooked ideas!” Nicola quickly exclaimed, seeing Leo’s mischievous gaze.
Leo’s gaze finally landed on the jade bracelet on Nicola’s left hand. “How about this: If you lose, you’ll lend me your bracelet for two days. How does that sound?”
“The bracelet?” Nicola raised her hand to look at it and said curiously, “You like bracelets worn by girls… do you have that kind of fetish?”
Nicola suddenly remembered some news she had read before, about some perverted men liking women’s used stockings…
“Leo, why do you want to borrow Nicola’s bracelet?” Coral also didn’t understand Leo’s strange request.
Seeing Nicola looking at him strangely, Leo explained, “Don’t worry, I won’t break your bracelet. It will be the same when I return it to you.”
“No, I’m afraid you’ll use my bracelet…” Nicola hesitated, “It seems like you can’t do that with a bracelet anyway…”
“What did you say?” Leo’s ears perked up.
“Oh, nothing. Alright, let’s do it your way. Let’s get started!” Nicola said, and then began to select the gambling stones.
Nicola was an expert in her field, while Leo’s experience in gambling stones was close to zero. He couldn’t match Nicola’s professionalism, but to make himself look more convincing, Leo pretended to pick as well.
After pretending to select for a while, Leo activated his spiritual power and used it to scan the jadeite stones on the stall, like a security scanner at an airport, making a comprehensive assessment.
Soon, Leo had a precise grasp of the gambling stones on this stall. Out of the two hundred or so stones, there were about thirty with jadeite, but only less than twenty of them were of good quality. As for stones that could yield high-class jade, there were only two.
Two out of two hundred stones had a one percent chance of producing significant gains. Indeed, the odds were low, which explained why people often said, “Gambling on stones is risky; enter the trade with caution.”
Leo pointed to one with black sand coat and looked at Nicola with a smile. “I’ve made my choice.”
Nicola found it funny inside: You’re just pretending.
As a professional, she had already noticed that Leo’s experience in gambling stones was nothing more than an amateur’s.
This guy was simply choosing a stone randomly, relying purely on luck.
In no time, Nicola also picked her gambling stone and asked the stall owner, “How much for this piece of gambling stone?”
Looking at the greenish stone Nicola was pointing at, the stall owner replied, “The one you picked has a large volume, a good texture on the surface, and even python patterns…”
“Don’t bother with all that. Just tell me the price,” Nicola interrupted impatiently.
“Um, this piece would have originally been priced at three hundred thousand, but since you’re a professional, I won’t rip you off. How about twenty-five thousand?” The stall owner put on a sincere expression.
“Fifteen thousand!” Nicola cut in, bargaining.
“Miss, you can’t bargain like this. I have a family to feed, and I work hard to bring stones back from Myanmar. I can’t possibly sell them at a loss to you,” the owner feigned an angry expression.
Nicola didn’t buy into his act and coldly snorted, “Save the sob story. You didn’t go all the way to Myanmar just to bring back one stone, did you? This stone is worth fifteen thousand, and if you don’t sell it to me, I’ll go tell the person in charge of the gambling square about the scam you tried to pull on me earlier!”
“You…” The stall owner faced a hard nut to crack. He reluctantly put on a pained expression and said, “Alright, fifteen thousand it is. Take it.”
In reality, the cost of the stone Nicola picked was only around twelve or thirteen thousand for the owner, so he was just making a bit less profit.
“That’s more like it.” Nicola took out her bank card and handed it over. “Swipe it.”
After the card was swiped, the gambling stone became Nicola’s.
“How much is this gambling stone?” Leo pointed at a piece of dark and unimpressive stone on the stall.
This stone had a very poor appearance, with many cracks on the surface and no python patterns or any other distinguishing features.
It could be said, without exaggeration, that this stone had the lowest chance of yielding jadeite among all the stones here.
The stall owner casually glanced at it and thought to himself that this was just an ignorant amateur. He casually quoted, “Although this stone doesn’t have the best water, it still weighs about fifty kilograms. Since you’re with the beautiful lady, I’ll give you a discount. How about nine thousand?”
The owner would still make a couple of thousand in profit if he sold it for nine thousand.
“Four thousand five hundred!” Leo followed Nicola’s lead and named his price directly.
Hearing this number, the stall owner had the urge to vomit blood. He just blurted out two words, “No way!”