Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Seraphina Is Looked Down Upon
"The Hale Family wants to get into the jewelry business too?" Justin Hale’s arrival immediately stirred up conversation. It couldn’t be helped. After all, the Hale Consortium held a significant position in the country’s business world.
"The Hale Corporation is merely interested in the jade business. Besides, the Hale Family branch in Tollan Town has run into some trouble, and the main family ought to support them," Justin said, being selective with what he revealed. Behind him, Willow Hale was overjoyed. ’The Hale Family is really going to be saved this time! Mr. Hale is a young master with the right to inherit the main family. As long as he makes a move, the family will be saved!’
However, most of the people here were seasoned business elites. They wouldn’t be so naive as to believe Justin Hale’s words so easily. But stone gambling came down to a sharp eye, experience, luck, and financial backing. It took more than just deep pockets! If Justin Hale couldn’t cut a good piece of jade, it wouldn’t matter even if he came with a mountain of gold.
The crowd’s gaze shifted back to Seraphina Sterling. Anyone brought here by Felix Gallagher was certainly no simple character. The smart ones chose to wait and see how things developed. But there were always arrogant types, like one man who had cut a decent piece of watery-green jade yesterday and was now getting smug about it.
"President Gallagher, even if you didn’t manage to cut a single piece of high-grade jade in the last two days, you didn’t have to get so discouraged that you’d turn to a little girl for help, did you? You’re really grasping at straws! If you’re that desperate for jade, I can casually cut open a few pieces later and sell them to you! That’s got to be better than relying on a little girl who doesn’t know the first thing about this!"
Franklin Sutton had finally found an opportunity to mock Felix Gallagher. For a long time, Sutton Jewelry had been suppressed by the Gallagher Family’s Jade Pavilion. He’d heard the Gallagher Family had run into some trouble, affecting Jade Pavilion’s operations. Otherwise, when would Sutton Jewelry ever get its chance to shine!
"President Sutton, you should just worry about yourself! Our Jade Pavilion doesn’t need those few pieces of jade of yours!" Although Felix Gallagher’s expression was grim, he hadn’t lost his composure, and he replied with a nonchalant remark. While the outside world knew Jade Pavilion was in dire need of jade, no one knew the full extent of the shortage. If he let himself be provoked so easily, he would expose just how dire Jade Pavilion’s situation was!
Seraphina Sterling had no time to pay attention to the turbulent undercurrents between these men. The probability of striking green in the stones here was extremely high. Focusing on examining the raw stones was the priority.
Seraphina looked them over one by one. ’They’ve definitely been pre-screened; the quality is on a whole different level!’ Soon, Seraphina locked onto a target.
"Hello, I’d like this one," Seraphina said to the salesperson, pointing at a raw stone priced at one hundred thousand. All the stones on the second floor belonged to the event organizer, unlike the first floor, which had individual stall owners. Here, there were only staff members employed by the contractor.
As her soft voice faded, the hall on the second floor instantly fell silent. This was the earliest sale they had made in three days! Seraphina Sterling, not being an insider, immediately became the center of attention.
Felix Gallagher was the first to walk over. He was the one who brought her. Although he was hopeful that Seraphina could cut a good piece of jade, she had made her decision in less than ten minutes, which still sent a jolt through him. One hundred thousand was nothing to him, but for a young girl like Seraphina, it was a huge sum of money!
"An amateur is an amateur. She’s rushing to buy it just because she saw a raised python streak! Even if the streak is obvious, there aren’t even any pine flower markings. How could it possibly strike green! Impulsiveness and carelessness are the biggest taboos in stone gambling. One misstep, and that one hundred thousand will go right down the drain!" Franklin Sutton drawled as he strolled over, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
But Seraphina didn’t even spare him a glance. After she paid, the stone-cutting master conscientiously got to work. The crowd subconsciously watched the master. He made a horizontal cut—a swath of gray. Nothing.
"What did I tell you! Young people shouldn’t be so impatient. Don’t think you’re some kind of master just because you won a few gambles on the first floor. That was just you getting lucky! There goes one hundred thousand yuan down the drain, right?" Franklin Sutton’s scorn intensified.
"I’ve had my eye on that stone for a long time. If it could really produce green, would it still be your turn to buy it? I would have snatched it up long ago! I was certain it was a worthless piece, which is why I didn’t buy it! I was even kind enough to warn you just now, but I didn’t expect a little girl like you to be so stubborn. Now you’ve paid the price!"
Franklin Sutton glanced at Felix Gallagher. "I told you, you can’t trust a little girl like her!"
Felix Gallagher’s face darkened. "President Sutton, you should focus on your own affairs!"
Seeing the cut was a bust, the crowd lost interest and turned back to search for their own stones.
Seraphina didn’t even look at Franklin Sutton. She couldn’t be bothered dealing with people like him. "Master, please grind this half down slowly."
Seeing that Seraphina was still perfectly composed, Felix Gallagher’s expression finally eased a little.
Although the stone-cutting master was reluctant, the girl had been brought by Felix Gallagher. No matter how unwilling he was, he had to comply.
「Fifteen minutes later.」
