321: Chapter 321 The Heartless Boss

The Shop Owner irritably scratched his head and said, "Stop talking nonsense with me. I was tricked by someone before and bought a batch of stones that weren't very good."

"This time I've learned my lesson. All the stones I bought are extremely good. If you don't believe me, buy one and check it out!"

Hearing this, a customer nearby asked the Shop Owner, "Then how much are your stones?"

The Shop Owner replied without hesitation, "Eighty thousand! If you are genuinely interested in buying, I can give you a friendly price!"

As soon as the words fell.

The Shop Owner was once again drowned in a flood of spit from the surrounding customers.

"Stones of that quality, and you dare to ask for eighty thousand each? Dream on!"

"No wonder people are unwilling to buy the stones in your shop; you're ripping people off too blatantly!"

"Right! How dare you quote that price? Why don't you just fly up to heaven?!"

The crowd's scolding grew increasingly intense.

The Shop Owner hadn't expected that these customers wouldn't help him, but instead would stand up for Shen Yan and Liu Hui. He was scolded so much by them that he didn't dare to retort a single word.

Nearby, Shen Yan and Liu Hui listened with great interest.

Because Shen Yan had the System, he hadn't researched the rough stone gambling market before coming here.

Now, amidst the crowd's scolding, he gained a superficial understanding of the rough stone gambling market.

For stones like those in the Shop Owner's shop, selling them for eight thousand each was already considered very expensive.

The Shop Owner wanted to sell the stones in his shop for ten times the price to them; no wonder he was being scolded and lectured by these old foxes.

Since the Shop Owner remained silent, the customers eventually stopped scolding.

Seeing the customers gradually walk away, Shen Yan and Liu Hui also decided not to stay put.

Just as they were about to look around in other shops, the Shop Owner suddenly called out to them.

"Hey!"

"Don't go!"

Hearing this, Shen Yan glanced at the Shop Owner and asked him with a half-smile, "What? You want to trick us again?"

The Shop Owner shook his head frantically.

"No, no! I just saw that you two look like outsiders, so I wanted to charge you a bit more..."

"I've already been scolded by you and them just now. I know I was wrong. Didn't you want to buy stones from my shop? I'll sell them to you cheaper..."

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Hui directly interrupted him.

"We don't want the stones in your shop anymore. You black-hearted Shop Owner deserve to have no customers!"

The Shop Owner looked a little wronged.

"But there are no non-black-hearted Shop Owners in this rough stone market! I'm already considered very conscientious. If you don't believe me, go look at other shops."

"The prices they quote you when they see you definitely won't be lower than mine!"

"I don't mean anything else; it's just that nobody has bought stones from me in a long time."

"This batch of stones I have is genuinely new stock, and the quality is very good. Why don't you just give it a try!"

"I won't take advantage of you either. Eight thousand yuan each."

Hearing this, Liu Hui turned to look at Shen Yan and asked, "Want some?"

Shen Yan curled his lips, pinched Liu Hui's cheek, and replied, "If you want it, buy it."

Liu Hui hesitated for a moment, then finally walked towards the Shop Owner.

"Let me see what stones you have in your shop."

The Shop Owner nodded frantically.

He placed all the stones in his shop on the counter, letting Liu Hui choose for herself.

Since it was Liu Hui's first time playing this game, she found it very novel.

Looking at these strangely shaped stones, she looked up and asked the Shop Owner, "How can I know if the stone I buy contains jade?"

The Shop Owner replied, "Don't worry, our market here always offers a full-service package. If you want it cut on the spot, I can do it for you, but if jade is found, I will charge a cutting fee."

Saying this, he added with vigilance, "Don't say I'm ripping you off. These are the rules of the market. If you want the boss to help cut it, you must pay a labor fee."

Liu Hui chuckled and said, "I never said you were ripping us off, why are you so nervous?"

The Shop Owner thought to himself: I just tried to fleece you once, and I was scolded like that by the surrounding customers.

What if you say I'm ripping you off again? Wouldn't I just get drowned in other people's spit again?

Of course, he wouldn't voice his inner thoughts.

Seeing Liu Hui's gaze return to the stones, he turned to Shen Yan and asked, "Sir, aren't you buying any?"

Shen Yan shook his head.

"The stones here are too small; they don't meet my requirements."

Hearing this, the Shop Owner asked curiously, "Then how big do you want one?"

Shen Yan thought for a moment, gestured with his hands, and said, "About a meter or so..."

As soon as these words came out, the Shop Owner's eyes widened immediately. He looked at Shen Yan in disbelief, "That big?!"

Shen Yan nodded.

The Shop Owner swallowed hard.

"You must be joking with me. Do you know how much a stone that size costs?"

"Even if you manage to cut out raw material, you would first need tens of millions to buy such a stone."

Shen Yan replied with a smile, "Don't worry. Since I plan to buy it, I have the capital to afford it."

After listening, the Shop Owner smacked his lips.

"Young man, I've been running this shop here for many years. Based on my past experience, people who bet their entire fortune usually don't have a good outcome. Do you understand what I mean?"

Shen Yan hadn't expected the Shop Owner to say these things to him. He looked at the Shop Owner with some surprise and asked, "Are you advising me not to buy?"

The Shop Owner waved his hand.

"It's not that I'm advising you not to buy; it's that this line of work has very deep waters."

"Many people dream of getting rich overnight. They take out loans and sell their houses just to cut out a piece of top-quality jade."

"But their final outcome is often that they not only fail to cut out any jade but also lose their entire fortune. Yet, even so, they still relentlessly continue to take out loans and sell houses to scrape together money to buy stones."

"This is a bit like... gambling, you understand, right?"

Shen Yan was genuinely a little surprised. He hadn't expected the Shop Owner to say these words to him.

After all, the Shop Owner was someone who sold stones himself. For a stone seller to advise a stone buyer not to buy stones was simply laughable if told outside.

However, laughter aside, he still accepted the Shop Owner's good intentions.

"Thank you, but I know what I'm doing. I won't bet my entire fortune on this."

Hearing this, the Shop Owner shook his head vaguely.

Having run his shop here for so many years, he had seen all sorts of people.

Some people were unlucky and spent millions without managing to buy a single valuable stone.

Some people were very lucky and only spent a few hundred thousand to cut out jade of excellent quality.