The prices of the stones at the stone gambling event ranged from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions.
The host, holding a microphone, spoke excitedly, “Today, we have many stones transported from the quarry. As far as I know, it’s difficult to find a piece of jade among tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of raw stones. Moreover, these stones have already been screened, and usually, the good ones are picked out by experts at the quarry.”
“So, what kind of stones we can get today depends on luck.”
“Jade is something that can only be encountered by chance.”
Everyone knew that the chances of finding jade were one in ten thousand, but they still participated with a playful attitude. If they found good jade, it was luck; if not, even a poor-quality stone was considered a gain.
If nothing was found, they could only blame their bad luck.
“The prices of these stones range from $3, 000 to $8, 000. Some are more expensive because experts believe they might contain jade. So choose according to your budget,” the host continued. “Now, I declare the stone gambling event officially open! Please select the stones you like for trading and cutting!”
“Start choosing, Cassandra, Madam Virginia, you too,” Matthew enthusiastically said to the Sweeney family mother and daughter. “Let’s see how our luck is.”
Cassandra pretended to understand and started touching the stones.
In reality, she had no idea what she was doing; she was just playing around.
“Cassandra, that one won’t do; it’s too angular and not smooth,” Matthew said, trying to sound professional. “You need to pick ones that aren’t too rough.”
“Madam Virginia, isn’t your stone a bit small? Smaller ones usually don’t yield anything.”
“Don’t rush; take your time choosing.”
Matthew kept giving instructions to the mother and daughter as if he were the world’s foremost expert on stone gambling.
Sylvia and Franklin were also among the crowd. She touched several stones but didn’t choose any.
Franklin, who knew a bit about stone gambling, noticed her lack of interest and smiled slightly. “What’s wrong? Didn’t find anything you like?”
“These stones are average; there’s no good jade in them,” Sylvia said as her clear eyes scanned the stones. Then she walked toward a corner. “Let’s check over there.”
“Miss Andrews, don’t tell me you don’t understand these stones?” Cassandra couldn’t help but mock Sylvia when she saw her not picking any stones.
Sylvia paused and looked at Cassandra. She realized this woman couldn’t go a minute without provoking her.
She glanced at Cassandra indifferently. “Oh? You understand them? Then I should learn from you.”
“I don’t know much, but my teacher, Old Mr. Berry, is an expert,” Cassandra said smugly. “He often plays stone gambling and has found a lot of jade. So… why don’t you gamble with my teacher?”
Matthew also wanted to dampen Sylvia’s spirits since his apprentice lost to her yesterday.
He was confident in his understanding of stone gambling and thought he could find jade.
He didn’t expect Cassandra to bring it up publicly but felt that Cassandra’s boasting was quite fitting. He smiled with an air of superiority. “Miss Andrews, how about this: I’ll let you choose three stones first to avoid being accused of bullying. We’ll each put up $300, 000 to buy stones and see who finds better quality jade. How about it?”
Three hundred thousand dollars was no small amount, but for many present, it wasn’t much.
People often said that nine out of ten bets are losses, and in stone gambling, it’s almost ninety-nine out of a hundred.
Sylvia glanced at Matthew and found him repulsive compared to Old Mr. Thompson’s elegance.
His appearance made her nauseous.
Since learning to read faces, she had a physiological reaction to people with bad appearances.
Especially Matthew, who looked like he was about to have bad luck…
She really wanted to stay away from him.
But under everyone’s gaze, if she refused, Cassandra would mock her mercilessly.
Thinking of this, she smiled. “Old Mr. Berry, if I refuse your kind invitation, wouldn’t that be disrespectful?”
Hearing Sylvia agree, Matthew felt secretly pleased, confident that his experience would help him find jade.
“I think we should set a time limit. How about two hours?” Cassandra suggested. “You must choose yourself; no one else can do it for you.”
Sylvia smiled slightly. “Two hours is too long. Cutting raw stones takes time. We can start cutting some selected stones after an hour.”
“Alright! It’s a deal. If I win, Miss Andrews… why don’t you become my apprentice instead of following Old Mr. Thompson?” Matthew thought having Sylvia as an apprentice would be great.
It was clear Sylvia had more talent and connections than Cassandra.
Even though he had Cassandra, the Sweeney family’s daughter as an apprentice, he wasn’t satisfied.
Cassandra’s face turned green when she heard this and stomped her foot. “Master… I don’t want to be her sister apprentice!”
“Oh, Cassandra, I’m just joking,” Matthew said, but he was already thinking about how to steal Sylvia from Old Mr. Thompson.
“Alright then, let’s do as Old Mr. Berry says. If Old Mr. Berry loses, then… he can become my master’s apprentice,” Sylvia said with a smile.
Matthew’s face darkened as he glared coldly at Sylvia. “You insolent girl!”
Sylvia shrugged innocently. “So Old Mr. Berry doesn’t dare to gamble? Gambling is all about excitement and thrill. Without some stakes, what’s the point?”
People around them started whispering.
“Old Mr. Berry was the one who brought up taking apprentices first; why can’t others suggest it?”
“Yeah!”
“So petty!”
Matthew gritted his teeth. If he didn’t agree, it would ruin his reputation.
It wouldn’t fit the image he had cultivated.
He gritted his teeth and said, “Fine! Let’s play!”
As soon as he spoke, the crowd erupted in applause and cheers.
“Gamble! Gamble! Gamble!”
“Go for it!”
The atmosphere at the event became electrifying due to this bet.
Franklin grabbed Sylvia’s arm with a hint of worry in his deep eyes. “Sylvia, are you sure?”
He could tell Sylvia had deep feelings for Old Mr. Thompson…
“Don’t worry; I know what I’m doing,” Sylvia smiled and started selecting raw stones.
She picked quickly and bought more than ten stones ranging from $3, 000 to $8, 000 each.
She even picked one super cheap stone for just $300.
Franklin found a cart somewhere for Sylvia’s stones. Jasper pushed the cart behind her as she selected more stones.
Franklin stayed by her side and noticed she wasn’t picking randomly but seemed quite skilled.
So his worry gradually eased.
Matthew was also picking raw stones on the other side with an expert guiding him on-site. Although Matthew chose the stones’ surfaces himself, the expert provided many suggestions.
Many people watched closely and didn’t leave.
This delighted the Cultural Heritage Fair organizers.
Some spectators even joined in buying raw stones; today’s stone gambling event was booming with business.
Initially, only five cutting machines were set up; now there were twenty.
Ten machines were reserved for Sylvia and Matthew each.
The remaining ten were for other participants’ stones.
Most people didn’t find good jade; only a few found average-quality jade.
Sylvia didn’t bother watching the cutting process and let Franklin oversee it while Jasper followed her with the cart for more stones.
She spotted a stone that looked promising for jade-a bit larger than a fist and priced at over $30, 000.
It was expensive and risky.
But Sylvia bought it without hesitation and picked two or three more stones priced at $20, 000 to $30, 000 each.
After buying them, she saw Matthew leading the Sweeney family mother and daughter towards her with a smug look.
From afar, Matthew called out to Sylvia, “Did you hear? Two raw stones were just cut open; mine are valued much higher than Miss Andrews’. It seems Miss Andrews… might become my apprentice.”
Sylvia smiled calmly. “The competition has just begun; why rush?”
Matthew looked at her dismissively. “Keep talking tough! I’m sure I’ll win!”
They arrived at the cutting area where a crowd had already gathered around the cutting machines’ sharp noises filling the air.
Everyone waited quietly!
Jasper pushed the cart through the crowd. “Excuse us.”
He saw Franklin standing by the cutting machine with some stones already cut open.
Matthew’s other two apprentices were also by the cutting machines with two tables set up-one for Sylvia’s stones and one for Matthew’s.
On each table were two delicate bowls containing cut jade pieces of mostly poor quality.