Chapter 159

“Thud!”

Zhao Huaqiang had just finished speaking when he hung up the phone.

Fang Ziqiang was completely flabbergasted.

Just a phone call from Tang Feng, and Zhao Huaqiang was too scared to meddle further.

Even a fool could see now that this young man was no ordinary person!

He wasn’t a fool, on the contrary, he was very smart.

Immediately, he forced an ugly smile at Tang Feng.

“Mr. Fang, do you have anything else to say now?” Tang Feng waited for him to finish the call before asking.

“I…”

Fang Ziqiang’s expression changed again and again, then he suddenly leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Young man, let’s talk this out, shall we?”

“As long as you stop causing trouble, once everything is over, I’ll give you… two million as compensation.”

“Two million?” Tang Feng looked at him with a smile that was not quite a smile, “Mr. Fang is really generous, eh? You think you can settle things with just two million for a project worth over a hundred million?”

Fang Ziqiang caught a hint in his words that there was still room for negotiation, and was instantly overjoyed, “The price is negotiable, as long as you stop causing trouble, I can give you… ten million, that should be enough, right?”

Tang Feng looked at him in surprise, “Ten million?”

Thinking he was still not satisfied, Fang Ziqiang immediately lamented, “Young man, although my business seems big, there are a lot of expenses like purchasing stock, managing relationships, renting premises, and staff salaries.”

“Alright, fifteen million is the most I can offer, no more.”

This time, Tang Feng did not respond, as if he was contemplating something.

Fang Ziqiang sneered to himself in his heart.

He had merely written a blank check, planning to vanish from Zhonghai as soon as the gambling event ended.

By then, this kid would have nowhere to even cry.

Hmph, want to fight with me? You’re still too green.

Just as he was feeling smug, he heard Tang Feng suddenly raise his voice, “What? Mr. Fang wants to give me twenty million to keep my mouth shut?”

“Hmph, what do you take me for? You think you can make me do something against my conscience for a mere twenty million? Dream on!”

Fang Ziqiang was instantly dumbfounded.

This kid had just appeared to be considering the offer, about to agree, when he suddenly backed out.

No sooner had he spoken than the yard exploded with commotion.

“What? Fang Ziqiang wants to give this young man twenty million for his silence?”

“There must be something fishy going on here. If he was really innocent, why would he need to pay someone off?”

“Spending so much to buy silence, he must have a guilty conscience. It seems there really is something shady about today’s gambling event.”

“This young man is upright and honorable, well done.”

“Yeah, I might have accepted a twenty million offer to keep quiet if it were me.”

“Exactly, exactly, who could resist the temptation of twenty million? Good for you, young man…”

People started to doubt Fang Ziqiang while they heaped endless praise on Tang Feng.

Refusing twenty million, maintaining integrity in the face of such temptation, was not something just anyone could do.

This young man, he’s got something.

They were clearly misunderstanding something, Tang Feng was not the kind of sage who couldn’t be tempted.

Moreover, this was no longer about a mere trifle.

How much rice could twenty million buy?

He hadn’t calculated, but he was sure he could never eat it all in a lifetime.

The reason he refused was because he was certain Fang Ziqiang wouldn’t keep his promise.

People involved in Pig-butchering Scams like this usually hit once and then move on.

Once the gambling event was over, trying to find this guy again would probably be impossible.

It was better to use this old fox, do a good turn for the players present, and incidentally expand his network.

Mr. Fang seethed with silent hatred, wishing nothing more than to strangle the bastard right there.

It seemed that today’s gemstone gambling event would not end well.

He contemplated in his heart ways to resolve the situation.

Tang Feng didn’t care about whatever schemes he had in mind; he immediately shouted to the crowd, “Everyone, bring those rough stones up and cut them open. If any jade can be cut out, no matter its quality, I’ll honor our previous bet.”

“Good!”

The crowd let out a cheer, scrambling to lift the rough stones and move towards the cutting machines.

A few people surrounded Mr. Fang to prevent him from escaping in the chaos.

The stone-cutting masters, not daring to confront so many people, reluctantly began to slice the stones one by one.

“Crack crack crack crack…”

The grating sound of gears against stone echoed through the entire courtyard, causing headaches.

But the crowd was too busy to care.

Song Lele and Xu Xinling, caught up in the atmosphere, also followed to lift the rough stones.

Zhou Bingrui, covering his ears, approached Tang Feng, “Feng, are you confident? Are these stones really all worthless?”

Tang Feng gave an evasive answer, “After they’re cut, won’t we know?”

Seeing that he wouldn’t speak frankly, Zhou Bingrui didn’t press further.

Now, all that was left was to wait for the results from those cuts.

“This piece is a fail.”

“This one’s failed too.”

“Damn, mine’s failed too…”

There were three cutting machines in the courtyard, all running continuously.

But after cutting more than a dozen pieces, they all turned out to be failures.

Forget about any increase in value; not a hint of green was to be seen.

Purely a pile of waste.

Even a fool could see at this point there was something fishy about these stones.

“Damn, what kind of gemstone gambling event is this? It’s a complete ‘Pig-butchering Scam’!”

“I was wondering why. I’ve cut three pieces and all failed. Turns out it’s all junk?”

“This old guy is detestable, treating us like pigs to be slaughtered?”

“Let’s get him…”

There were quite a few spoiled rich brats at the scene, used to being arrogant and domineering.

Discovering they had been played for fools, they were livid with anger, surrounding Mr. Fang and beating him with a flurry of punches and kicks.

Some unwavering people kept cutting the stones, hoping to uncover a piece with a hint of green.

Mr. Fang’s cries of agony mingled with the noise of the machines, creating a haunting chorus.

Zhou Bingrui’s expression darkened even further.

For him, gambling on stones was only a hobby.

At most, a loss in gambling would put him in a slightly foul mood; he wouldn’t get too angry.

But today, he was truly furious.

After all this time, he realized he’d been toyed with.

It was an outrageous disgrace!

The man with gold-rimmed glasses who had previously gone out to meet Tang Feng had already turned deathly pale, “Mr. Rui, I truly didn’t know this guy was a swindler. Otherwise, I would never dare recommend you to a place like this…”

He was the one who had told Zhou Bingrui about the gemstone gambling event.

Now, it was proven that the event was a complete and utter scam.

He feared Zhou Bingrui might take his anger out on him.