Chapter 348: Chapter 348: Mighty Sister-in-law
Since Vera Xavier was here under the pretext of jade gambling, she had to look the part. That meant getting the essential tools, or else she’d look like a total amateur and arouse suspicion.
In reality, she had no idea what the professional tools were. She’d had to ask the hotel owner, who told her what to get.
Aaron Cheney immediately agreed and went with Jack Judd to buy the tools nearby.
Trellis had long been known as the land of jade. Ever since The Hannon Dynasty, jade from Myrland had entered the country through Trellis. Throughout history, the flourishing jade industry brought immense prosperity to the people of Trellis, giving rise to many highly skilled jade artisans.
With the wave of economic liberalization in recent years, The Jade Market had boomed, attracting countless tourists from home and abroad. They all came to buy raw stones, eager to experience the ultimate thrill of striking it rich or losing it all with a single cut.
While some of these people were experienced jade merchants, many were curious newcomers. As a result, numerous shops had popped up nearby selling all the necessary tools.
Aaron Cheney and Jack Judd quickly bought everything.
The so-called professional tools didn’t amount to much—just a high-intensity flashlight, gloves, and the like.
When it came to the jade gambling industry, Vera Xavier was a complete novice. She was only getting by on her ability to cheat with her X-ray vision. At the end of the day, these tools were just props to help her look the part.
But Aaron Cheney didn’t see it that way. The piece of Emperor Green she’d found last time had completely won him over.
He looked at Vera Xavier with admiration and said, "You’re incredible! To think you even know about jade gambling!"
Vera Xavier just laughed. It was best if she said nothing on the matter, lest she expose herself and become a laughingstock.
Jack Judd, engrossed in a copy of the Gambling Stone Secret Manual he’d bought from a street stall, chimed in, "It’s just jade gambling. What’s so hard about it? I’ll win you an Emperor Green tomorrow!"
Aaron Cheney shot him a disdainful look. "You really think reading some crappy book makes you a master gambler? If it were that easy, you wouldn’t have so many people either striking it rich or going bankrupt from it."
Jack Judd, however, was unfazed. "The book says there are principles to judging raw stones..."
"That’s all just theory," Vera Xavier cut in. "We’ll see for ourselves when we go to The Jade Market tomorrow."
Jack Judd didn’t dare to argue with her, but Aaron Cheney scoffed, "Win an Emperor Green? You think they’re as common as street gravel? I bet you’ve never even seen a piece of Emperor Green in your entire life."
Jack Judd shook his fist at Aaron Cheney. Aaron just stuck his face forward, his eyes full of defiance. Jack wouldn’t actually hit him, of course, so he just reached out and gave him a scratch. Aaron immediately fought back, and the two of them instantly started roughhousing and laughing.
Vera Xavier couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of them.
The next day, after Jack Judd followed Vera Xavier into The Jade Market, he completely lost his nerve. The stones with what his book called a "python belt" (a type of black, snakelike pattern on the stone) were all marked with exorbitant prices, far beyond the reach of broke guys like them.
He settled for the next best thing, trying to find stones based on the book’s other criteria. But he soon discovered too many deceptively promising specimens. One moment a stone looked right, the next it didn’t. He thought this one was a match, then that one, until in the end, he felt like none of them were right.
And so, the instant jade-gambling expert was left completely dumbfounded, with no idea how to judge the stones at all.
