This is a treasure! It is three times bigger than the original crude stone.
But that’s not the point. This stone is ‘greened’.
‘Greened’ was a term used in the jade industry to describe the action of scraping a few millimeters off the stone’s surface to reveal the jade inside.
In other words, there was a ninety percent chance that this stone was a full-green with only a few millimeters thick surface surrounding it.
However, this stone was a grade higher than full-green because the green color was likely to be the top-grade ‘Imperial-Green!’
If it were a full ‘Imperial-Green,’ this stone could worth at least four hundred million!
It was the first time the audience got to see such a top-grade stone. Hence, they were very excited.
Both Nancy and Hannah were in a daze.
The auctioneer announced, “Well, I don’t need to explain more about the stone. An expert could see that at a glance.”
“Now, let’s start bidding. The starting price is fifty million.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up with excitement.
The starting price of fifty million was low for a top-grade stone like this.
“Sixty million!” Someone shouted as soon as the auctioneer finished his words.
“Seventy million!”
“Eighty million!”
Nancy clenched her teeth, “No matter what, I must get this stone.”
“It could boost our family business to another level. We could even rank as the top jeweler with that piece of stone!”
“Ok, let’s do it. Then, we can throw a feast at your house for a few days,” said Zeke with a smile.
“What do you mean?” Nancy asked.
“Even if you bid it at eighty million, your family will go bankrupt, and all of you will starve to death. The funeral banquet would usually last for several days.”
Nancy was annoyed.
I’m gonna kill you!
Lacey quickly interrupted, “Zeke, stop being a jerk. Quit messing around, will you?
Hannah couldn’t help but reprimanded, “Zeke, I know you don’t agree with Hannah. But can’t you save it for later? Don’t pester her now. Don’t make her lose her head and miss the big deal, ok?”
“No, I didn’t! Don’t worry. She’ll thank me for it later,” Zeke said with a nod.
Nancy quickly asked for 150 million from her family so that she could start bidding for the stone.
With her family’s support, Nancy immediately raised her hand. She called out, “One hundred million!”
The crowd turned silent.
The audiences were hesitating whether to continue or not.
Hadley Murphy, who was silent all the while, suddenly called out, “One hundred and ten million.”
Nancy took a deep breath, “One hundred and twenty million.”
“One hundred and thirty million!” Hadley said without thinking.
Nancy was a little surprised. It seemed that Hadley was fighting with her.
She looked at Hadley at once.
Indeed, Hadley was looking at her provocatively.
Nancy was mad. Damn it! She’s doing it on purpose after what Zeke did to her just now.
Nancy gave Zeke a fierce glare, “Fool, can’t you do anything right? If it weren’t for you, I could have bidden that at 100 million now.”
Zeke was dumbfounded. What’s wrong with her? What does this have to do with me?
Nancy did not dare to take risks. She raised her hand and asked, “Auctioneer, I have a request. Can I come on stage to take a look?”
“Sure, young lady.”
Nancy brought Hannah on the stage together to verify the stone’s authenticity.
They then whispered in each other’s ears for a moment before Nancy Hinton bade again, “One hundred and forty million.”
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