The fat man glanced at Travis before placing a simple wooden box onto the round table. Inside the box was a crimson red jade, seemingly an ancient treasure. As soon as the box was opened, everyone present felt as though the lobby had been filled with a hint of warm energy. 1 Everyone's eyes lit up. 1 Jasmine turned to Quilt. "Uncle Quilt, what do you think?" Quilt stared at it and nodded. "I think it's the real thing. It seems to be the Bloody Jade from the Zhou dynasty. It also appears to have been blessed by a very powerful monk!" Jasmine nodded and then turned to Charlie. "What do you think, Mr. Wade?" Charlie, on the other hand, scowled in disgust. "It's a fake " 3 Quilt glowered at him. "You're just a youngster, who gave you the right to lie through your teeth in front of this many people?" 4 Matthew Gibson, the elderly man who was sitting next to Travis, opened his eyes and stared at the piece of jade. "May I hold it?" 1 The fat man let out a cold laugh. "Mr. Gibson, are you kidding me? Don't you understand the rules of an appraisal? Jades should never be touched, let alone this piece of Bloody Jade from the Zhou dynasty. Who would be the one to blif it were to break?" 4 Startled, Matthew flinched. "Ah, pardon my recklessness..." He then leaned toward the jade and scrutinized it. Closing his eyes once again, he nodded. "I can't say for sure that the jade is from the Zhou dynasty, but I can assure you that the rumors of it being able to regulate geomancy and calm souls is true." Upon hearing this sentence, everyone was fired up. To them, the history of this piece of jade was not significant. It was what it could do that mattered to them. 4 Quilt smiled. "Mr. Gibson has quite a sharp eye, unlike those who are inexperienced and nothing but a sham." 2 When she heard this, Jasmine couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed in Charlie. He indeed seemed to be too young for such delicate work. Although he was quite skilled in restoring antiques, he was clearly far more inexperienced as compared to these old men. 2 Charlie decided not to interfere with this. It was clear that these people were willing to be scammed, and he didn't want to be nosy. 3 The fat man then closed the lid of the box after the appraisal and smiled. "Well, since the jade has been appraised, isn't it tto bid for it?" Graham immediately responded, "I'll bid one billion..." "One billion and three thousand." Travis proposed. 3 The fat man had noticed that Jasmine had yet to make a bid, and so, he asked, "What about Miss Moore?" Realizing that Jasmine still had her doubts, Quilt whispered into her ear. "Miss, this really is a rare treasure to find. This jade is worth around three billion. If you manage to get it within two billion, the benefits will outweigh its cost!" 4 Jasmine was almost persuaded, but then, she turned back to Charlie. His expression was calm, almost as if he didn't have a care in the world, and this made her doubts arise again.
Quilt shot Charlie a cold glare, knowing that Jasmine was under his influence, causing her to have yet to make a bid. Hence, he suggested, "Well, since Mr.
Wade mentioned that this jade was a fake, I'd like to know how he cto that conclusion. Let's see what you've got!" 5
He knew that if Charlie tried to bluff his way through this, Jasmine would realize that he was just pretending and would then make her bid without further hesitation.
The others murmured in dissatisfaction as well, "He's just a good ng brat, what would he know..." "Yeah, who gave him the right to bluff like that?" "If you guys aren't interested, don't waste our time." Facing everyone's insults, Charlie merely stared at Quilt in amusement. "Are you sure you would liketo explain?" Ashburn X