Chapter 645 (1/2)

Chapter 645: A Game of Gambling

Translator: Udeze Editor: Udeze

As Tang Xiu strode into the shed, he saw Master Huang and the old man in Chinese tunic suit sitting on the couch and having a chat. He let out a smile and said, “Master Huang, I’m afraid that I’ll have to trouble you today since I bought a lot of stones. I wonder if you can have them all done this afternoon?

Master Huang directly got up and looked at the six carts that came in behind Tang Xiu. He forced a smile and said, “Unless I work overtime it can’t be done.”

“It’s alright. Just do your best,” said Tang Xiu. “We’ll continue tomorrow if you can’t finish it.”

Master Huang replied and then greeted the six cart pushers, telling them to move the stones to the nearby stone cutter machine. Just as the stones were being moved, his expression changed into a respectful one as he quickly welcomed Chu Yuan and Xue Yu who came inside.

“Paying respect to the Imperial Garden’s Young Master. (Paying respect to the Imperial Garden’s Young Master.)”

The old man in Chinese tunic suit also greeted with a respectful expression.

“Please don’t be over-courteous, two Garden Elders.” Chu Yuan lightly smiled. “I just happened to meet Jade Beauty and then learned that Mr. Tang has rented Senior Huang’s shed, so I followed them. By the way, I’m very pleased to meet you, Mr. Tang.”

“Very pleased to meet you too, Mr. Chu,” said Tang Xiu lightly.

“Does Mr. Tang already know me?” Asked Chu Yuan, looking startled.

“The heir apparent of Shanghai’s Imperial Garden; the owner of Imperial Effulgent Group, and the founder of the Imperial Wherewithal Venture. If I don’t know such a celebrated and influential person like you, then I’m an ignorant man with very limited knowledge and scanty information, no?”

The vigilance inside Chu Yuan’s heart increased several points after hearing Tang Xiu’s answer. The other party knew that much details about him but he did not know anything about the other. Such a feeling was very bad to have. Though he did not like this feeling, by virtue of his extremely high intelligence, he could still reply while maintaining his composure, “Mr. Tang is kidding me. By the way, may I know what field Mr. Tang engages in?”

“I’m just a student,” answered Tang Xiu.

While pointing to the stones unloaded from the carts, Chu Yuan let out a slight smile and said, “For a student to be able to afford so many stones, such a student would be very rare, no?”

“Please do not beat around the bush if you want to inquire about my identity, Mr. Chu,” said Tang Xiu lightly. “You can directly ask me if you really want to know my identity since I’m so stupid that I don’t feel like using my own brain.”

Chu Yuan raised his brows and said, “Since Mr. Tang is a straightforward person, then I’ll go straight to the point. I’m very curious about you, so I want to know Mr. Tang’s background. Perhaps, we can become very good friends in the future.”

“Whether we can be friends or not, I don’t know about that. But your arrival here affected my purpose in coming here. This Jade Beauty who helped me push the carts became lazy since she needed to speak with you. Due to that, shouldn’t you compensate me for that given your wealth and identity, Mr. Chu?”

“What exactly is the compensation Mr. Tang requests of me?” Asked Chu Yuan with a faint smile.

“Well, I’m someone who’s easy to be pleased,” said Tang Xiu.

Chu Yuan pondered for a moment before turning around and pointing to the two carts behind him, saying, “Since Mr. Tang likes to gamble on stones, how about I make it up to you with stones, Mr. Tang?”

After saying that, he did not wait for Tang Xiu to reply and directly spread his hand and said, “Please.”

Tang Xiu was just joking when he asked for compensation. Little did he think that Chu Yuan would take it seriously. He could even see from his face that he was not joking at all since his eyes looked especially serious.

“Seeing how serious Mr. Chu is, it’s better to accept deferentially than to decline courteously, no?” After saying that, Tang Xiu went straight to the first cart and released his spiritual sense. His fingers touched the seven or eight stones on top. After a short while, there was an unusual glint in his eyes as he picked up a fist-sized stone and threw it into the pile of stones belonging to him.

“I’ll have to trouble you, Master Huang,” said Tang Xu.

Master Huang quickly glanced at Chu Yuan and nodded with a smile, “I’ll do it now.”

“Please wait a bit, Elder Huang.” Chu Yuan raised his hand. “Mr. Tang, since we are fated to meet here today and also have a common interest, how about we have a game of bets now?”

“What kind of bet, exactly?” Asked Tang Xiu.

“You have picked up a lot of stone materials, so did I. How about taking three pieces and handing them to Master Huang to be cut? Whoever has the higher value of what comes out of the stone will win, how about it?”

Tang Xiu couldn’t help but chuckle and said, “Do you really want to gamble?”

“Of course,” said Chu Yuan straightforwardly. “Also, I think we should have some profits at stake in our gambling, too.”

“Alright, you’ll decide the stake, then,” replied Tang Xiu without hesitation.

After glancing at Xue Yu, Chu Yuan said with a smile, “Alright, whoever wins will get the opportunity to invite Jade Beauty to a dinner. Jade Beauty, would you be willing to give face to the two of us?”

There was a strange expression in Xue Yu’s eyes as her vision went back and forth between them. Though it never crossed her mind that Chu Yuan would propose such a stake, she was well aware what his intention was, as he was only trying to win the opportunity to have dinner with her, and at the same time, won a crossing-sword game against Tang Xiu.

“It will be my pleasure.”

Despite having mediocre emotional intelligence, Tang Xiu was immediately able to tell what Chu Yuan’s real intention was with his extremely high IQ, so he nodded and said, “Alright, I agree.”