Chapter 2225 - 2128: Favoritism
After putting the last piece of rough stone that could produce Oily Green Species into the Space, Huo Sining nodded with satisfaction, casually picked a piece of rough stone from the ground which looked like it was worth just a few hundred, then turned around to call out to the guy surnamed Lai standing over there:
"Boss Lai, this rough stone doesn’t look particularly good. I’ve done such a big business deal with you today. How about you give me this piece as a bonus?"
The man surnamed Lai was stunned upon hearing this.
He had been in the rough stone business for years and seen all sorts of oddities, but he had never heard anyone ask for a bonus like this.
However, he did take a look at the piece of rough stone in Huo Sining’s hand, which indeed looked quite ordinary, without any Python Band or Pine Flower, clearly not looking like it could turn out to be good stone.
Besides, nobody knew better than him that in this pile of rough stones, getting one or two pieces that would increase in value was a miracle.
So he didn’t believe that the random piece Huo Sining picked could yield Jadeite. It was just a palm-sized rough stone, and if it were sold, it might fetch three to five hundred at most.
But this woman was casually asking him for a bonus, and he was a businessman, not a charity; if he agreed easily, who knows if this woman would then take advantage and ask for a second piece?
Therefore, the man surnamed Lai did not immediately agree but rather looked at Huo Sining with a bit of distress: "Lady, you’re really putting me in a difficult position. My small shop doesn’t earn that much money. If I give you a piece just like that, wouldn’t I be losing out?"
Huo Sining chuckled: "You’re treating me like an outsider. I just bought that rough stone from you for three hundred thousand. If you won’t even give me such a small piece of rough stone, I think we better cancel the deal. My assistant hasn’t brought the money over yet, so we could just..."
Before Huo Sining could finish speaking, the man surnamed Lai quickly waved his hand at her, his expression changing:
"No, no, madam, I haven’t finished speaking yet. If you really like it, just consider it a gift from me. Let’s be friends, and in the future, you can take care of my business more. Please don’t call it a bonus, it doesn’t sound good. What do you think?"
Huo Sining glanced at the man surnamed Lai with a half-smile and asked with a laugh: "Really giving it to me?"
Though the man surnamed Lai was displeased, he dared not say it was fake because if he did, and this pregnant woman got angry and didn’t buy his fake rough stone, wouldn’t the thirty thousand investment be lost?
The man surnamed Lai helplessly nodded weakly: "It’s a gift for you."
Huo Sining, having gained such an advantage, laid it on thick: "Alright then, since you’re so sincere, I’ll accept it. Thanks a lot."
Huo Sining happily hugged the rough stone and carefully walked out of the pile of rough stones.
The men picking rough stones nearby were displeased when they saw this: "Boss, you’re biased. Why give rough stones to her and not to us? How about giving us a piece too?"
"Right, we’re also your store’s customers. Customers are like God, and treating us unequally is not fair!"
"Yeah, yeah, how can you give a gift to just one person? You’re looking down on us brothers!"
"..."
The group of men began to play dirty, and the man surnamed Lai was amused seeing this.
He had seen shameless people, but never someone this shameless. He was the boss, and the rough stones in this yard were his to give to whoever he wanted. These men hadn’t bought a single rough stone all day and were still expecting gifts from him; he wondered where they got the nerve!
"Want me to gift you a piece?" The man surnamed Lai asked with a smile.
The group of men brightened up, thinking they were in luck, and quickly nodded: "Yeah, yeah, just like that woman got a gift, give us a piece too!"
The man surnamed Lai nodded but immediately changed his expression, coldly smiling:
"If you want me to give you a piece, you can. If you also spend thirty thousand with me like that lady just did, I’ll give you a piece, and you can choose any piece from this yard!"
The men who were shouting for a gift just before were suddenly silent, some even gasped in disbelief:
"Thirty thousand? Did that woman really buy thirty thousand worth of rough stones? What kind of rough stones are worth that much? Besides, can she even afford it?"
The man surnamed Lai might be a fraud, but seeing these men disdainful of a woman, he couldn’t help but look down on them:
"Ignorant country bumpkin, thirty thousand is nothing. In the stone gambling circle, many buy rough stones for hundreds of millions. At the stone gambling fair, people buy even billion-worth stones. The more valuable the rough stone, the more people want it!"
"Besides, just because you can’t afford it doesn’t mean others can’t. That lady just now had a private assistant with her, and the watch on her assistant’s wrist alone is worth half of the rough stones in this yard. You look down on them, but they haven’t even looked down on you!"
As soon as the man surnamed Lai spoke, the men all turned red, clearly remembering how they mocked the pregnant woman earlier in the shop.
However, these men were still somewhat skeptical about what the man surnamed Lai said. They exchanged glances, looking doubtful.
Because they noticed earlier that the pregnant woman wasn’t dressed fashionably at all; she didn’t look like someone wealthy. Plus the private assistant that the boss mentioned wasn’t even visible, so the men suspected the boss might be making excuses to refuse their request for rough stones.
Just then, when Huo Sining was about to leave the yard with her small rough stone, she suddenly stopped.
Because at this moment, a woman dashed into the courtyard from the shop, carrying a backpack, and quickly ran into the yard. Upon seeing Huo Sining, the woman hurriedly took off the backpack and smiled at Huo Sining:
"Miss Huo, I’ve brought the money for you."
Huo Sining nodded, gesturing towards the man surnamed Lai: "Go give it to Boss Lai and let him count it."
Yingzi nodded, took the backpack and walked to the man surnamed Lai, then pulled the zipper open and said:
"Boss Lai, thirty thousand, please count!"
Stacks of red bills appeared, filling the backpack fully, seemingly worth indeed twenty to thirty thousand, seeing this situation, the men who had been doubting before were now shocked.