Chapter 251: Dumbfounded
"I can’t believe there’s such a complicated and bizarre story behind all this." Ms. Kerr watched Mr. Lewis and his wife leave, unable to hold back a sigh.
Seemingly worried that Arabella Donovan might think she was a poor judge of character, she quickly put in a good word for Mr. and Mrs. Lewis. "I’m sorry, Serena. My junior is usually the most honest, sincere, and warm-hearted person. I truly had no idea his family situation was like this. But I can assure you, he was raised by his grandparents from a young age. He’s not at all like his father and mother..."
As Ms. Kerr spoke, she suddenly recalled that Mr. Lewis’s parents had become a resentful couple, and strictly speaking, his grandparents bore an undeniable responsibility for it.
’When you get to the root of it, those two... don’t exactly seem like upstanding people either.’
Arabella Donovan was currently busy sorting out the plot points related to Terence Lewis and the main protagonist group, so her reaction was a bit delayed.
It took her a good while to process what Ms. Kerr had said. She smiled and, in turn, reassured her.
"Miss Kerr, I know what you mean. Mr. Lewis’s grandparents might not have been good parents who respected their child’s wishes—they were autocratic and tyrannical. But to Mr. Lewis, they were truly impeccable elders."
This was a contradiction common in many people. They could lecture their children with perfect reason, but when they themselves faced a problem, their actions often contradicted their words.
’I wonder if that old couple feels even a shred of regret, seeing how their interference caused their son and daughter-in-law to become a resentful pair, with the bitter consequences falling entirely on their most beloved grandson years later?’
Seeing that Arabella Donovan was clearly distinguishing Mr. and Mrs. Lewis from their unreliable elders and malicious brother, and wasn’t blaming her for introducing them, Ms. Kerr breathed a sigh of relief. She tactfully steered the conversation back to the original Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, and Joy Bracelet.
"That Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, Joy Original Stone of yours is truly rare and stunning. Even the old masters at our company who do the cutting and polishing—men who have seen all sorts of rare and precious stones—couldn’t help but admire it for a long time. They praised it constantly while working on it, as if they’d encountered some peerless beauty."
Ms. Kerr wasn’t exaggerating in the slightest. While the Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, Joy Original Stone was scarce, it wasn’t entirely nonexistent.
Prior to this, she herself, as well as her company, had handled several pieces of jade of this type.
The precious thing about Arabella Donovan’s original stone was that it didn’t just have all these beautiful colors with their wonderful meanings; its texture, water content, color distribution, and transparency were all of the highest, most supreme quality.
It’s rare enough to find a piece with even one of these qualities. To have them all was unquestionably precious. It was like a hexagonal warrior, outstanding in every aspect—completely unbeatable.
It was a good thing this stone came from Arabella Donovan. If it had been anyone else, Ms. Kerr wasn’t sure she could have resisted the temptation to secretly pocket the leftover scraps, which were about the size of glass marbles.
"The value of this pair of bracelets, after an expert appraisal, should be around one hundred million, and that’s not even counting potential premiums. It’s the perfect wedding gift. You won’t have to worry about it being overshadowed by other expensive and rare presents."
Arabella Donovan was happy to hear this. "The craftsmen at Miss Kerr’s company are so skilled. This pair of bracelets is polished so finely and smoothly. It’s more beautiful than any bracelet I’ve ever seen."
"Even a skilled housewife can’t cook without rice. No matter how good the craftsmanship, you can’t create such a world-stunning treasure without good raw materials." Ms. Kerr’s eyes curved into crescents, clearly pleased by Arabella Donovan’s praise.
"The remaining small items like the jade pendants, tags, ring faces, and earrings will also be finished in succession. It might just take a little longer, especially the jade pendants and tags. They often require intricate carvings, which takes more time than the other items."
Arabella Donovan stroked her chin, musing, "There’s no rush for those. You can arrange it as you see fit. Oh, right, for the jade pendants, carve them with qilin as we discussed. As for the tags..."
Arabella Donovan turned to Caspian Rhodes. "Mr. Rhodes, the tags can also be carved with designs. Remember to confirm with Miss Kerr in advance, just in case your elders don’t like the patterns they carve."
"Mr. Rhodes’s elders?" Ms. Kerr and her son turned to look at Caspian Rhodes, confused.
Arabella Donovan said, a little embarrassed, "I forgot to tell you. Those two tags have already been reserved by Mr. Rhodes. He’s using the five hundred million he lent me at the auction. So, for the production of these two tags, I’m afraid you’ll have to communicate directly with Mr. Rhodes."
Arabella Donovan intentionally mentioned the five hundred million Caspian Rhodes had lent her because she didn’t want Ms. Kerr to think she was deliberately giving him special treatment—thinking of him first when a good opportunity arose, instead of them, who had also helped her.
Little did she know, Ms. Kerr didn’t have any strong feelings about her reserving the two tags. Instead, it was the clearly stated price of five hundred million that left her speechless.
Staring at Arabella Donovan and Caspian Rhodes, for a moment she couldn’t quite tell who was getting the better end of the deal.
But regardless of who was getting the better deal, it wasn’t her place to meddle.
"Oh, so that’s how it is. In that case, Mr. Rhodes, if you have any ideas for these two tags, you can let us know in advance. Everything is negotiable before we start carving."
"Okay."
"Besides this Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, Joy Original Stone, you also sent over a block of icy, full-green jadeite..."
Goodness knows, while she and her son were still buzzing with excitement over the events at the auction house the night before and Arabella Donovan’s Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, Joy Original Stone, they suddenly received another package from Arabella.
When they opened it, they found yet another piece of supreme-quality raw jadeite.
Ms. Kerr and her son were dumbfounded. Because they didn’t know what was inside beforehand, the two of them had opened the box in the main hall of the design department.
The moment this huge raw jadeite stone appeared, it immediately caused a huge commotion throughout the department, even luring out several old masters who had been practically retired in the neighboring department for years.
To fight for the right to work on this original stone, several old men, with a combined age of several hundred years, argued until they were red in the face. Decorations went flying, and they nearly came to blows in front of so many people at the company. It was absolute chaos.
Meanwhile, the two of them, the company bosses, could only stand to the side and stare helplessly. The few times they tried to interject a word or two, they were met with eye-rolls and were kicked out of the fray, left ignored on the sidelines.
During this time, the two from the Kerr family hadn’t contacted Arabella Donovan to ask how to handle this stone. On one hand, the previous stone wasn’t finished yet, and the masters needed to rush to complete it, so they simply didn’t have the energy or time to work on another huge stone.
On the other hand, the old seniors at the company were arguing endlessly and still hadn’t been able to decide on how to allocate the work for that stone.
Therefore, aside from coming to deliver the items and help the Lewis couple get an introduction to Arabella Donovan, they also had another task today.