Hu Lei was happily chatting on the phone. In the office, the background music “Wealth from All Directions” was playing.
“Boss Gu, have you appraised that piece of jade yet? How much is it worth? I just took it as collateral. Anyway, I’m asking 50,000 to redeem it. If it’s lower than that, I won’t sell it. So don’t try to cheat me like I don’t know the industry. This is Boss Wang’s family treasure; it took a lot of effort to get it back then…”
He looked up, thinking a customer had arrived.
Having just finished the call, he saw three figures walking into the office and immediately said, “Alright, I’ll bring it over tomorrow for you to see myself.”
When he realized it was three people who looked like students, he immediately lost interest.
Thinking they were just wandering around, he was about to chase them away when he recognized Wang Meng.
“Oh, isn’t this Boss Wang’s daughter? You’re Wang Meng, right?”
As a businessman, Hu Lei had to show some courtesy.
He immediately stepped forward to greet them, his eyes gleaming.
Tomorrow was the final deadline.
If they didn’t pay, the item would rightfully be his.
“Yes, hello, Boss Hu.”
Wang Meng nodded and got straight to the point.
“Is my family’s Peace Jade still here? I can redeem it now.”
“Oh? No rush. Sit down first, and let’s talk slowly.”
Hu Lei was slightly surprised.
He hadn’t expected Wang Meng to actually bring 50,000.
It seemed this thing was indeed very important to her family, or its value far exceeded 50,000.
Tang Ziya observed the surroundings with a face full of curiosity.
Gu Chen also found a place to sit.
After all, this was someone else’s business, so it wasn’t appropriate to interrupt.
“Wang Meng, as you know, your father still owes a portion of the payment for the goods.”
Hu Lei rubbed his hands and began to steer the conversation elsewhere.
Wang Meng wasn’t very clear on the details, but since the other party said so, she responded accordingly, “I know. That money will be paid back to you as soon as possible.”
“But seeing how quickly you have the money to redeem this, your family must still have quite a bit of foundation, right? Your dad can’t even be contacted right now, and I can’t wait that long,” Hu Lei said meaningfully.
“Uncle Hu, what do you mean by that?”
Wang Meng finally sensed that something was wrong.
She had come to redeem the jade, but he was asking all sorts of questions, clearly not wanting to give it back.
“I’ll be honest with you. Because there’s still a portion of the payment owed, it has had a big impact on my side as well. I had someone look at that jade, and it’s a good item. Someone has already offered 100,000 for it. This extra money would be more beneficial to me. How about this? If you’re willing to pay 100,000, I’ll give you the Peace Jade immediately. And no matter how much the other side offers, I won’t agree. How does that sound?”
Hu Lei finally revealed his true intentions, thinking he could squeeze out more money.
After all, the Wang family did owe him.
“What!?”
Faced with this kind of price gouging, Wang Meng’s face changed.
Even with her good temper, she couldn’t help but feel a bit angry.
“Uncle Hu, we agreed on 50,000 before. How can you change your mind?”
“Damn it! Do you have any integrity? Is it fun to bully a young girl?”
Gu Chen also flared up on the spot, slamming the table and roaring.
“Verbal agreements can be changed; those are the rules. If you don’t have the money, then forget it. I’ll see you out.”
Hu Lei remained unfazed, waving his hand to dismiss them.
The debt was owed by her parents, not her.
He was just taking advantage of the fact that she didn’t have her parents around to try and demand an exorbitant price.
This kind of rogue behavior was something Gu Chen couldn’t tolerate.
“Don’t you dare try not giving it back!”
Gu Chen said angrily.
“I’ll make a phone call right now, and you can see what happens.”
“Young man, you want to use force? Sure, go ahead. There are plenty of workers upstairs.”
Hu Lei wasn’t new to this kind of thing and had long been used to staying calm.
Besides, what kind of trouble could a few students cause?
“Alright, in that case, let him have the Peace Jade.”
Tang Ziya stood up, grabbed Gu Chen, and spoke slowly.
“What?”
The two of them looked over in disbelief.
Could these words have actually come out of her mouth?
“It’s hard to persuade a ghost who’s determined to die. Since this boss wants to be so stubborn, let’s not stop him. Let’s go. He’ll be begging us to take it back later.”
Tang Ziya spoke some mysterious words with a confident face.
“Huh?”
Gu Chen and Wang Meng were both completely bewildered.
‘What kind of act is she putting on now?’
But out of trust, they didn’t say anything and prepared to leave before asking.
“Wait, what did you just say?”
Hu Lei couldn’t sit still now and called out to stop her.
“Wang Meng wanted to redeem it because she didn’t want that thing to fall into someone else’s hands and bring bad luck.”
Tang Ziya stopped and winked at the other two, indicating that it was time for her performance.
She continued, “That Peace Jade is a treasure passed down through Wang Meng’s ancestors. Those ancestors used it as a medium to bless the next generation with peace and safety. If the item is not with the Wang family, then the person who gets it won’t receive good luck, but a curse instead.”
Wang Meng listened to the Class Monitor talk absolute nonsense, her brain unable to keep up.
“You little girl, making up such a story to lie to me? Do you really think I’m a three-year-old child who can be fooled by you? I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice,” Hu Lei sneered.
Clearly, since he could be a boss, he was already a shrewd person.
How could he believe her so easily?
“Believe it or not, it’s up to you,” Gu Chen chimed in.
“Even if you’ve eaten more salt than she’s eaten rice, it’s useless.”
“You!”
Hu Lei was a bit annoyed.
“Have you been feeling a chill on your back lately? Having trouble sleeping and often having nightmares? Is your neck also particularly heavy, as if someone is riding on it?”
Tang Ziya continued to ask.
“What?”
Hu Lei was stunned.
“Stop being so alarmist. Do you think I’ll fall for it just because you brought two people to act?”
He still put on a stubborn front and didn’t admit to anything.
Seeing this, Tang Ziya said no more and turned to leave.
Gu Chen and Wang Meng had no choice but to follow.
It wasn’t until they were a distance away from the factory building that Gu Chen impatiently asked, “Hey, what did you mean just now? Were you trying to scare that guy with a ghost story so he would obediently return the Peace Jade?”
Wang Meng had also guessed as much, but it didn’t seem to have any effect.
Tang Ziya nodded.
“Yeah, it’s pretty obvious.”
“Class Monitor, but he didn’t seem to believe it at all,” Wang Meng said.
“Exactly. He’s a businessman. How could he believe in such feudal superstitions?”
Gu Chen rolled his eyes.
“I thought you had some clever plan, but after all that, it was just this?”
“Then you’re wrong. Business people are often more superstitious than ordinary people. And from what I observed, I shouldn’t be wrong.”
Tang Ziya shook her head.
“Observed what?”
Gu Chen was puzzled.
“When we went in, what did you see at the entrance?”
“Uh… it seemed to be a lucky cat,” Wang Meng recalled and was the first to answer.