Chapter 352: Chapter 352: Her Bet
Irene Jensenâs eyes filled with amazement when she saw Vera Xavier. She had thought Susan Caldwell was already outstanding in both looks and bearing, but the moment Susan stood next to Vera, she was immediately outshone in every aspect.
A sense of curiosity about Vera Xavier immediately sparked within her. She now understood why both Susan Caldwell and Skylar Crowe had lost out to Vera yesterday. âThis Vera Xavier is clearly not someone to be trifled with.â
Vera Xavier said nothing, but Susan Caldwell didnât seem to mind. She continued to smile and said, "Are you also here for stone gambling?"
"Isnât that a stupid question?" Jack Judd, who had no fondness for her whatsoever, retorted. "Why else would someone come to The Jade Market? To eat rocks?"
Susan Caldwell completely ignored him, instead looking at Vera Xavier and saying, "What a coincidence, weâre here for stone gambling too. I wonder if youâd be interested in having a little competition with me?"
The corners of Vera Xavierâs mouth turned up. âIf it were a competition in anything else, I might not be a hundred percent certain of winning. But stone gambling? Iâm not afraid at all. Since Susan Caldwell is so eager to be put in her place, it would be a real shame to refuse.â
She looked at Susan Caldwell and asked, "What are the rules?"
Seeing that she had taken the bait, a faint smile appeared in Susan Caldwellâs eyes. "Itâs simple. We have until five oâclock this afternoon. Each of us will put up five hundred thousand to buy raw stonesâno limit on quantity or size. Whoeverâs stones yield jade of a higher total value is the winner!"
"Susan, youâre giving her too much credit!" Skylar Crowe said with a cold expression. "A country bumpkin like her has probably never even seen five hundred thousand in her life!"
Indeed, in that era, five hundred thousand was a huge sum of money. Unless one came from an extremely wealthy family or was a professional stone gambler, it would be impossible to produce that much cash.
The price of raw stones hadnât yet reached the insane levels they would twenty years later. In two decades, even an entry-level stone gambler would need two or three million to get started. But in this era, five hundred thousand was enough to be considered a beginner in the game.
Susan Caldwell had proposed this bet to test Vera Xavierâs resources. If Vera couldnât even produce five hundred thousand, it would mean her family background was average at best, and she had just been putting on a brave front. Dealing with her later would require little effortâshe could just crush her outright.
Jack Judd had no idea how much money Vera Xavier actually had. He only knew that she had swindled four hundred thousand from Rona Langdon, but four hundred thousand wasnât even enough to participate in this bet. That would be quite the slap in the face.
He said worriedly, "Vera..."
Before Vera Xavier could speak, Susan Caldwell was already looking at her with a smile. "If you canât come up with that much money, I can lend it to you. Or, you could just admit defeat right now."
Vera Xavier ignored her offer and asked, "What are the stakes?"
A smile played on Susan Caldwellâs lips. "Whoever loses has to kneel and apologize in front of everyone at the entrance of The Jade Market, then slap themselves a hundred times and shout, âI was wrong.â"
Vera Xavier looked at Susan Caldwellâs confident and smug face, then pursed her lips. "Those stakes arenât very interesting. How about this: whoever loses has to perform an act of eating rocks. Not too manyâjust all the worthless stones they bought that didnât yield any jade."