chapter 33 A scumbag

"Haha, so this Bandon Hong is a toy boy. He's even worse than a man who marries into his wife’s family." "Why do you say he's worse than a man who marries into his wife’s family?" "A man who marries into his wife's family is just sponging off his wife under the protection of marriage law, right? He's sponging off someone without legal protection. Because he's being kept by a wealthy woman, not married to her." "Haha, turns out you can be quite the joker sometimes." Dinah Yang seemed much cheerier. "I heard from a friend that he married that woman last year." "Damn it, he's married and still bothering you? What a scumbag." As soon as Stanley Du finished speaking, a man's sneering laugh came from behind him. "Who are you calling a scumbag?" Dinah Yang saw the man and her face turned sour again. Stanley Du turned around and saw a handsome, well-built man. "So you're Bandon Hong, huh? Where's your wife? Didn't she come with you?" Stanley Du asked. "Dinah, who is this guy to you?" Bandon Hong didn't even glance at Stanley Du, asking Dinah Yang directly. "I'm Dinah Yang's fiancé." "Well, congratulations then. You're a lucky man. Where do you work?" "I work at the Yang Family Hospital." "So, the Yang family is supporting you?" Bandon Hong mocked Stanley Du. "Aren't you being supported by your wife too?" Stanley Du shot back. That comment almost made Bandon Hong spit blood. A few years ago, to stay in Tiandu after graduation and to save himself thirty years of struggle, Bandon Hong accepted the pursuit of Lina, who was ten years his senior. Lina had just inherited a huge fortune from her late husband when she and Bandon Hong got together. To get his hands on that inheritance, Bandon Hong had to marry Lina. But Lina was wary of Bandon Hong too. It took Bandon Hong several years of effort to earn Lina's trust and become her new husband. Indeed, he was being supported by his wife. But he hated when others pointed it out. "My wife is a billionaire worth twenty billion. How much is your wife worth?" Bandon Hong sneered at Stanley Du angrily, "You think you can compare to me?" "Hahaha, some guys brag about their dads, some their moms, others their uncles or aunts, but you, bragging about your wife's fortune, that's a first for me." Stanley Du said in a very relaxed tone, ridiculing him, "You sure do give us men a good name." "You... you just wait!" Bandon Hong was so angry he wanted to lash out. But this was a place where he absolutely couldn't start a fight. So he could only escape in a sorry state after being verbally thrashed by Stanley Du. "Haha, this Bandon Hong is such a coward." "Don't underestimate him. His wife is in the jewelry business. Have you heard of Gold 9 Fortune Jewelry? They're the jewelry giant in the eight northern provinces." Dinah Yang explained, "Bandon Hong's wife is the chairwoman of Gold 9 Fortune Jewelry. Bandon Hong's visit to Ning City is probably for expanding their market." Just then, Hedy Yao came over to remind Stanley Du, "The stone gambling is about to start." "I'm not in the mood, you go ahead." "Bandon Hong is participating in the stone gambling too." Hedy Yao said slyly, "Don't you want to teach him a lesson?" "Alright, you win, you've successfully riled me up. Lead the way." A few minutes later, Stanley Du and Dinah Yang followed Hedy Yao to the stone gambling venue. It was a warehouse at Vintage Grace Antiques, filled with raw stones of various sizes. "Harry, look at that number three raw stone over there. It's all covered with black moss. There's an old saying, 'Where there's moss, there's a chance of green.' So, opening this stone, there's a high chance it'll reveal something valuable." "Number three's a popular one, starting bid's half a million. There are sure to be a whole bunch of people driving up the price. I might not be able to get it." People were chattering away; even Jimmy Xu and Bandon Hong had their eyes on number three. When the bidding for the raw stone number three started, it was indeed fierce competition. The price for the raw stone shot up from five hundred thousand all the way to four million two hundred thousand. "Ten million!" Jimmy Xu suddenly jacked the price of raw stone number three by five million eight hundred thousand. "Twenty million!" Someone was locking horns with Jimmy Xu. Looking over, it turned out to be Bandon Hong, trying to snatch what Jimmy Xu was after. "Twenty-five million!" Jimmy Xu called out again. That was the highest price he could handle. "Thirty million!" After Bandon Hong called out his bid, he shot Jimmy Xu a challenging look. This time, Jimmy Xu hesitated to bid. "Hedy Yao, drive the price up a bit more for me," Stanley Du whispered. Without hesitation, Hedy Yao called out, "Thirty-two million." "Forty million!" Bandon Hong shouted loudly. "Are we still bidding?" Hedy Yao asked Stanley Du quietly. Stanley Du shook his head and chuckled, "Number three raw stone is worthless. All bark and no bite, just junk." "You sure?" Jimmy Xu and Hedy Yao asked in unison. "If you don't believe me, go on and keep driving up the price with Bandon Hong," Stanley Du said dismissively. Jimmy Xu and Hedy Yao didn't bid anymore. "Haha, President Xu of Silver Phoenix Jewelry Group, and Miss Yao, heiress of Harmony Restaurant Chain, is that all you've got?" Bandon Hong mocked loudly. "Don't get too smug. Stanley Du said that number three raw stone is junk, not worth a dime. He told us to drive up the price to set you up," Hedy Yao retorted coldly. "Stanley Du doesn't know jack!" Bandon Hong couldn't help but shout, "There are many gambling stone experts here. They all say that the number three raw stone is highly likely to contain top-quality material. Only Stanley Du thinks it's going to be junk. He's just trying to show off and be different!" "Mr. Hong is right. I can't believe that all the other gambling stone experts would get it wrong and only this Stanley Du would get it right." "Mr. Hong, go ahead and cut the stone. It'll be clear who's right and who's wrong with a few cuts." "Alright! Stanley Du, before cutting the stone, do you dare to bet with me?" "What's the bet?" "If number three raw stone turns out good, you kneel and kowtow to me, slap yourself until your face swells!" Bandon Hong sneered. "If the number three raw stone turns out to be all junk, you kneel and kowtow, and I'll slap you just once," Stanley Du said calmly. "Done! Whoever backs out, may their whole family die!" Then, a professional stone cutter took the stage to do the job. The number three raw stone was quite big, around fifteen kilograms. The stone cutter turned on the machine and started cutting along the lines drawn earlier. Stone chips flew everywhere, and after seven or eight minutes, the raw stone was split in two. Everyone crowded around to see, and there were gasps of shock. "Oh, man! It really is junk! Not a hint of green." "Bandon Hong's forty million is probably down the drain." "Well, not necessarily. The raw stone's big. It can still be cut a few more times." Hearing these comments, Bandon Hong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and instructed the stone cutter, "Cut again!"