Chapter 48: Chapter 48: An Astonishing Talent
Seraphina Sterling watched as the master finished processing the half-cut stone on the ground, a nearly black piece with just a hint of green light. Gazing at the long, rough-hewn block and feeling its subtle, delicate texture, her spirits soared. ’This time, I’m really going to make a killing!’
This time, however, Seraphina Sterling had learned her lesson. She put the cut jade directly into her schoolbag to avoid a repeat of yesterday’s incident. It seemed, though, that all her good fortune was spent on stone-gambling, leaving little luck for anything else.
"Hey, little girl! I’ll give you ten thousand dollars for that drab-looking black jade you just got!" The speaker was a young man with a staggering eight rings on his ten fingers—a textbook example of new money.
"Not for sale." Seraphina Sterling’s brows furrowed slightly. Though her voice was soft, her refusal was unwavering.
The upstart was not pleased. "Ten thousand is an exorbitant price for that dark piece of jade! You only paid a thousand for the stone, so that’s a net profit of nine thousand. That’s more than enough! You shouldn’t be so greedy!"
"Not for sale," Seraphina Sterling repeated, her expression unchanging.
Seeing that Seraphina Sterling wouldn’t budge, the upstart grew angry. But there was nothing he could do—this was the Stone Exhibition floor, and forced sales were strictly forbidden. "Twenty thousand dollars!"
"Not for sale." Seraphina Sterling remained utterly unmoved.
Veins pulsed on the upstart’s forehead. If he could have, he would have simply snatched the jade right then and there.
Just as they reached a stalemate, a middle-aged woman approached. "Young man, that’s a rather unscrupulous price you’re offering. Are you trying to bully a little girl who doesn’t know the market? This is clearly Black-Bone Silkie jade, worth fifty thousand dollars at a minimum! And you only offered twenty thousand!"
The middle-aged woman’s words caused a small commotion nearby. People started pointing and muttering, looking down on the upstart for trying to swindle a young customer.
"Young lady, it’s a good thing you ran into me today," the woman said. She was fashionably dressed and her tone was incredibly sincere. "This piece of Black-Bone Silkie jade is large, but the quality isn’t the best. I’ll give you sixty thousand dollars for it. What do you say?" The crowd, seeing her apparent generosity, murmured their approval.
"Not for sale."
"I’ll transfer the money right..." The middle-aged woman, assuming Seraphina Sterling would agree, had spoken without thinking. She caught herself mid-sentence, the surprise on her face unconcealed as her voice shot up. "What did you say? Not for sale?"
Realizing she had become a little too agitated, the woman cleared her throat with a soft cough. "Young lady, sixty thousand dollars is a lot of money. What you have is Black-Bone Silkie jade, which is only a mid-tier stone. Sixty thousand is more than fair! It’s not good to be overly ambitious."
Her tone now carried a veiled warning. Nearby merchants and fellow gamblers, quick to offer their two cents, couldn’t help but chime in.
"Young lady, sixty thousand is a great offer!"
"The lady’s right. Black-Bone Silkie isn’t some high-end jade. It’s mid-tier at best. You’re not losing out at sixty thousand!"
"Don’t be greedy, young lady!"
...
"Ma’am, I may be young, but I’m not blind. Did you really think I couldn’t see this jade’s true value?"
One of Seraphina Sterling’s eyebrows arched, the dimples in her cheeks barely visible. She looked as innocent and lovely as ever, but in that moment, no one would dare treat her like a typical high school student.
As expected, the middle-aged woman’s expression faltered. She stared in shock at the slender girl before her, momentarily speechless.
"If I’m not mistaken, you’re in league with this upstart, aren’t you? He starts by making a deliberately low offer. If the seller takes the bait, you don’t have to show your face. But if the seller holds firm, like I did, that’s your cue to step in."
Seraphina Sterling laid it all out in her soft, melodic voice, and with every word, the crowd grew more astonished.
"You offer a bit more than the upstart, but your price is still far below the jade’s actual value. Faced with what seems like a much higher offer, the seller usually caves immediately, and you get what you want. Am I right?"
Seraphina Sterling looked at the upstart and the middle-aged woman, a smile as warm as the sun still playing on her lips. The pair, however, felt a sudden, bone-deep chill.
The upstart’s expression gave him away completely. The woman handled it better, managing a merely awkward smile. "You’re quite the joker, young lady."
"It’s you two again!" a young man in the crowd shouted. He glared fiercely at the pair. "This woman bought the jade I just had cut over at the west-end stalls for twenty thousand dollars! I was happy at first—it was a small profit, after all. But then my friend told me that piece should have sold for at least fifty thousand!" He looked like he wanted to snatch it right back.
"You were the seller, I was the buyer. It was a fair transaction. I didn’t force you to sell!" the woman finally snapped, her pleasant facade dropping to reveal an ugly, grasping expression.
"Getting away with it once or twice is just good luck. Did you really think everyone is that ignorant?" Seraphina Sterling shot the pair a sidelong glance. "What I’m holding is Mo Cui—a dark green Omphacite Jadeite, the absolute highest quality of its kind. Its market price is no less than one hundred fifty thousand dollars! Did you really think you could fool me by calling it simple Black-Bone Silkie jade?"
Seraphina Sterling swept her gaze over the onlookers. So much for her plan to stay low-key and score a few hidden gems; it was time to make a statement.
"While the Ureyite jadeite of the Black-Bone Silkie variety and Omphacite Jadeite are both technically types of Mo Cui, their quality is worlds apart! Do you really think everyone is an amateur?"
The moment Seraphina Sterling finished speaking, none of the surrounding stall owners or customers dared to underestimate her any longer. They had all heard of Mo Cui, but the differences between the two types were incredibly subtle, requiring careful inspection to distinguish. They had never encountered anyone who could tell them apart with a single glance. Even veterans who had studied stone-gambling for decades would have trouble cultivating that kind of discerning eye. To think that a young girl possessed such an ability! It just went to show you can’t judge a book by its cover.
"Seraphina, I’ll offer one hundred fifty thousand for this Mo Cui!" Having enjoyed the show long enough, Felix Gallagher finally stepped forward.
"Mr. Gallagher, make it two hundred thousand," Seraphina Sterling said. Despite the cheerful smile on her face, her expression was completely serious; she wasn’t joking in the slightest.
The crowd fell silent. This was Felix Gallagher, a titan of the nation’s jewelry industry! If that Mo Cui belonged to any of them, they would have given it to him for free! Not just anyone could curry favor with a man like Felix Gallagher. Forging a connection with the Gallagher Family was like securing the most powerful patron imaginable. They would have paid for the privilege! And yet this girl had the audacity to ask for more?
Even Felix Gallagher, a businessman with thirty years of experience, was inwardly stunned by Seraphina Sterling’s outrageous price. Even top-quality Omphacite Jadeite wasn’t *that* expensive!
