Ashley was about to speak, but Nancy waved her hand dismissively. She couldn’t be bothered to argue with Zack.

Reluctantly, Ashley pushed the cart back.

Zack, clearly impatient, was eager to finish cutting his stones so he could take Emily to a hotel. He even licked his lips at the thought. Turning to the jade cutter, he declared, "Cut them all!"

That was Zack—flashy and brash.

He had bought five large raw stones, each so massive Nancy couldn’t lift a single one.

Ashley watched as the first stone was placed on the cutting machine. Leaning toward Nancy, she whispered, "These stones must have cost him a fortune."

Nancy nodded lightly. "Rich people really live on another level, huh."

Ashley tilted her head to glance at Nancy, still unsure what Nancy’s definition of "rich" was.

On one hand, Nancy had spent over 101 million dollars on the Phoenix Bracelet for Emily and bought a 600,000-dollar stone for 6 million to help a woman escape her marriage. Yet, on the other hand, she was frugal to the point of pain when spending even a few thousand dollars on herself.

"Wow!"

A sudden exclamation drew everyone’s attention.

"Green! There’s green showing—it looks promising!"

As the blade cut deeper, a sliver of green emerged in the stone. Zack’s mood visibly improved, and he straightened up proudly. "Of course! I spent 1.5 million on this stone. If it didn’t show green, I’d have smashed this shop to pieces!"

The crowd quickly chimed in, flattering him.

"Mr. Bernard really has an eye for quality. Whatever he picks always turns out great."

"That’s the magic of Mr. Bernard—look at that green! If the texture’s good, that 1.5 million could easily triple!"

Zack puffed out his chest, basking in their praise. "Have I ever lost at stone cutting?"

But before he could finish gloating, the jade cutter shook his head regretfully. "It’s green, yes, but there are too many impurities, and the texture isn’t great. This one’s a loss."

"What?!"

Zack’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. "The texture’s bad?"

He rushed over to inspect the cut himself. Sure enough, the green jade was riddled with black veins, and there was a layer break that made the piece virtually worthless.

"Damn it!"

Pointing angrily at the next stone, Zack barked, "Cut that one next!"

The second stone also revealed green, but the interior was mostly yellow. Its market value didn’t come close to the millions he had paid—another loss.

Red-faced and fuming, Zack rolled up his sleeves. "Cut the next one!"

The third stone finally yielded a piece without impurities, but the layer of jade was too thin, with only a small section of usable material. Its quality was mediocre at best, and the result barely broke even.

"Hahahaha…"

Linda was already laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach. "All that bragging earlier, and look—still not good enough!"

Henry turned to her, feigning seriousness. "Linda, how could you say Mr. Bernard isn’t good enough? It’s clearly just… not standing up to the hype!"

"Pfft…"

Nancy slapped Henry lightly on the shoulder, laughing. "Henry, you’ve been corrupted!"

Henry pouted innocently. "What? He’s the one who exaggerated. It’s not my fault he couldn’t live up to it!"

"Hahaha!"

The entire room burst into laughter. Those who got the joke couldn’t stop themselves.

Zack glared at them, his face dark with anger. "What are you laughing at?! I still have two stones left! If even one of them turns out good, Nancy, you’ll be the one crying!"