Chapter 378 by Marina Vittori

Roderick continued bidding. “One billion.” Jayla showed no signs of letting up. As she was deliberately targeting the gem, the price of the red gemstone hit the billion–dollar mark, which had far exceeded the valuation of the gemstone. It would be a great loss for the winning bidder.

“It seems like they’ve come head–to–head with each other.” “I have a bad feeling something is going to happen to Big Buck Brooks for offending Ms. Grant.”

“He’s just wealthy. How does he have the guts to challenge such a prominent family?”

The crowd pointed and gossiped fervently, clearly enjoying the farce. “1.5 billion dollars.” Roderick raised his paddle again, boldly increasing the bid by 500 million dollars.

“1.6 billion dollars.” Jayla continued challenging him head–on.

“Two billion dollars!” Roderick then told her in an impassive tone, “Ms. Grant, if you raise it again, I’ll let you have it.”

Jayla was about to raise it when she froze. She wasn’t interested in the red gemstone. It would be disadvantageous for her if she continued increasing the price and ended up stuck with an item she didn’t need. She knew it was time to end her game.

“Forget it. Since you like the gemstone so much, I’ll be the generous one and let you have it,” Jayla said with a mocking smile. She had raised the price of a two- to three–hundred million–dollar gemstone to two billion dollars, forcing the other party to pay ten times the price. She was

satisfied.

“Mr. Brooks has placed a bid of 2 billion. Any other contenders? Going once, going twice… sold!” The auctioneer struck his hammer, signifying Roderick as the winning bidder of the red gemstone at the staggering price of two billion.

After they received the item, Jayla mocked them, “Hah … One look tells me you are from new money. You don’t have any sense. You just had to pay two billion for something that could be bought for 200 million. What an idiot.”

She deliberately showed off the box containing the thousand–year green lotus and taunted, “See this? This is a real, invaluable treasure.”

A scoff escaped from Dustin’s lips. “Ms. Grant, you sure are overconfident. Take a good look at it. Is your green lotus really a thousand years old?”

She raised her brows. “What nonsense. This precious item is pure, and delicate, and emanates a

characteristic smell. Of course, it’s a thousand–year green lotus!”

“A thousand–year green lotus has ten petals and ten seeds. Count them. Does it have enough?” Dustin asked with a smile.

Hearing him, Jayla started to count. Soon, her expression changed. No matter how many times she counted, there were only nine petals and nine seeds. She never managed to count to ten!

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“Hey! I’m warning you, you better not lie to me! If I find out you are, you’re not leaving this place!” Jayla warned coldly.

Dustin shrugged his shoulders. “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask the experts from Stoneray Order? They’re well–versed in various herbs. They’ll definitely be able to tell.”

“Hey! You there! Come here this instant!” Jayla turned around and shouted at the man in the long- sleeved shirt from earlier. “Take a good look at this. Is this green lotus a thousand years old?”

He stared at it, and there was a shift in his expression. “It’s a pity… What a pity! Ms. Grant, to be honest, this green lotus is only 900 years old. It’s on the verge of reaching maturity.”

Her eyes widened. “What? 900 years old? Doesn’t that mean it’s still short of one hundred years?”

Even an idiot understood the difference a hundred years made. Whether in value or effectiveness, the disparity was immense.

“Ms. Grant, even though this item is slightly inferior, it still holds significant value as a collector’s item.” The man in the long–sleeved shirt smiled apologetically.

“It is indeed a valuable collector’s item. You just need to hold onto it for another hundred years, and you’ll undoubtedly earn a great fortune.” Dustin flashed her a cheeky smirk.

“You…” Jayla’s face puffed up in anger with his words, looking like she had just ingested a load of shit. She would be rotting in the soil in a hundred years! A great fortune, her a s s!