CHAPTER 1784: CHAPTER 1186: BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF BELIEF!

"Mr. Jiang, the 5% service fee shouldn’t be given; we don’t have that here."

The guard couldn’t help but remind him.

In business trade, besides taking advantage of acquaintances, there’s also taking advantage of strangers.

Taking advantage of acquaintances is easy to understand, like those e-commerce platforms that clearly arrange things with big data, showing the same item at different prices to different users.

As for taking advantage of strangers, it’s even easier to comprehend.

Most taking advantage of acquaintances happens online, while taking advantage of strangers is common offline.

Just like now.

As a foreigner who seems young and harmless, Boss Jiang is a classic ideal target.

Buying a melon by the roadside, asking the vendor to cut it, and the vendor says cutting is possible, but for a fee.

This is simply lawless.

The vast majority of people surely can’t accept this.

But when away from home, who would fuss over trivial matters, and as a businessman, Boss Jiang doesn’t mind being taken advantage of, as long as it’s made clear beforehand.

If you don’t mention it beforehand but request money afterwards, that’s extortion.

Since the vendor declared it upfront, at least on this point, Jiang Chen felt he could accept it, especially since he wasn’t alone; Pei Yunxi was watching, and he had already committed. The stakes were high, so how could he slap his own face over a bit of service fee?

Showing off wealth is shameful.

Being stingy is equally shameful.

"It’s okay."

Jiang Chen expressed indifference, just taking it as a tip; the goal of traveling is emotional value.

Opening a batch worth hundreds of thousands at once is rare in this market, as most people would just spend a few hundred to try their luck.

The surrounding people grew interested, crowding around, more eager than Jiang Chen himself.

First, weigh the stones.

The few rough stones together weighed about 26 pounds.

Adding the service fee, it was around 270,000 RMB.

Jiang Chen didn’t even blink, swiping the card promptly.

The onlookers were increasingly envious; among those mining for gold here, one had sharper eyes than the next, clearly seeing he was a true tycoon.

Upon confirming the funds were received, the vendor couldn’t help but smile; this was definitely a rare big order, which influenced his attitude to be more enthusiastic as he moved the rough stones to the cutting machine.

"Boss, do you want to cut it yourself or should I do it?"

"You do it."

Pei Yunxi certainly wouldn’t use the cutting machine, plus it was dangerous.

In stone gambling, there’s no need to operate it personally; the most thrilling part is when the result is revealed.

While everyone eagerly awaited, the vendor started with the smallest piece.

"Buzz..."

The cutting machine started.

Accompanied by a piercing friction sound, the sharp blade sliced the five or six-pound rough stone, and when it split in half, a collective sigh arose.

"Alas, it’s white, a huge loss."

The cutting machine stopped.

The result of the first stone was unsatisfactory; not only wasn’t there Imperial Green, but it was so dull and worthless that it wouldn’t even be wanted as scrap.

Undoubtedly, it was like pouring tens of thousands down the drain.

However, in stone gambling, the essence is in the gamble itself.

Opening a rare treasure on the first cut - could that actually happen outside a scripted novel?

Jiang Chen didn’t care, and Pei Yunxi was just the same.

"Continue."

The vendor reopened the cutting machine.

The second stone.

The third stone.

Gambling certainly involves risks, often far outweighing the benefits, and although this batch of stones, claimed as the best by the vendor, yielded something, it absolutely wasn’t worth the cost, let alone presentable as a gift for elders - it’s just embarrassing.

"Seems like your luck isn’t too great today."

He’s adept at shifting blame.

Seeing the disappointing result, Jiang Chen immediately put the responsibility on Pei Yunxi.

But should she really bear this blame?

Who picked these stones impulsively anyway?

And is luck even the issue here?

Luck is fundamentally a very low-probability event; complaining after a few stones, is this about gambling or just trying to cash in?

Considering even his business empire includes a casino, yet he lacks composure. In comparison, Pei Yunxi was quite calm, watching the last rough stone about to be cut.

That’s right.

One last stone remained.

It’s also the largest, heaviest, and most expensive, weighing over ten pounds.

There’s still a chance for a turnaround.

The final stone is undoubtedly the main event worth anticipating, as the surrounding audience subconsciously held their breath, their eyes glued to the cutting machine, which started to spin madly under the vendor’s control, slowly descending.

"Zzz..."

The sharp sound pierced everyone’s eardrums like a thousand blades, yet no one was distracted, tensely and eagerly awaiting the unveiling of the result.

"Alas!!!"

The familiar sigh echoed once more.

The last rough stone cracked open, revealing a dull grey interior, indicating it was more junk.

"What a huge loss."

The onlookers felt it wasn’t worth it for Jiang Chen, though some entertained schadenfreudic amusement.

27,000 RMB spent for a pile of useless stones, not so much as losing everything, but really a major financial loss.

Luck truly doesn’t favor any one person consistently.

For someone of status, losing money isn’t really important; it’s not a big deal, but the key is face and reputation.

Spending money on a heap of trash, how could he maintain face?

Boss Jiang naturally understood that it certainly wasn’t Pei Yunxi’s fault.

"Didn’t you say these were the best stones you had?"

He asked the vendor.

The vendor knew exactly what he meant, his expression darkened, looking fiercer. "Even with the best stones, there’s no guarantee of quality output; it’s the same across all stalls."