By now, there was only an hour left until the time Vera Xavier and Susan Caldwell had agreed upon. She needed to buy all the raw stones she had her eye on.
The raw stone that had been used as a stool had been in the shop for a long time, and its exterior looked terrible, so Vera Xavier bought it for a very low price. In contrast, the one containing Yellow Jade was a bit more expensive.
After buying the raw stones, she had the shop owner send them to the main service desk to be cut by the market's staff.
She paid for her purchases as she walked back. She knew the success rate for high-quality jade from the stones she'd picked was too high, which would be too conspicuous. So, as she bought more stones, she deliberately picked some duds that had nothing inside and placed them on the very outside of her pile.
By the time she finished, Jack Judd still hadn't returned, and it was now only ten minutes until the agreed-upon time of five o'clock.
