Five cents of silver is five hundred wen, which Xue Huan could certainly afford. However, she always felt unsatisfied when buying things without bargaining, especially at an open stall like this, where prices were set by the stall owner himself and fluctuated greatly. If she could cut the price in half, she would feel a great sense of accomplishment.
Xue Huan glanced at the beads in her hand again and found a flaw: "Boss, this bead is smaller than the ones next to it. How about a discount? Two hundred coins, I'll take it."
Before the stall owner could speak, a voice from the side interrupted, "You can't even afford a bracelet. Boss, I'll buy this bracelet for 500 wen. Bihe, give me the money."
Xue Huan looked over and saw a young girl in gorgeous clothes with her hair full of pearls and jade, accompanied by two maids, who were looking at her with contempt.
The maid named Bihe threw the money on the stall and stretched out her hand to Xue Huan: "Give me the bracelet."
Xue Huan raised an eyebrow, "Don't you know that first come, first served?"
The girl, Gu Shishi, said coquettishly, "I don't care about first come first served. I only know that the highest bidder wins. You can't afford it, but you can't stop others from buying it, right?"
The stall owner looked at the string of money on the table and looked embarrassed.
Xue Huan: "The highest bidder wins? That's what you said. I'll pay one tael of silver, boss, and I'll sell this bracelet to you."
Gu Shishi raised her eyebrows: "Are you deliberately going against me?"
"If you're going to do anything wrong, it's you and me, right? I was shopping here peacefully, and you suddenly came in and said the highest bidder wins, trying to snatch the bracelet I liked. I offered a higher price to buy it. What's wrong with that?"
"You! Okay, then I'll give you five taels!"
Xue Huan: "Ten taels."
Gu Shishi: "Fifty taels!"
Xue Huan said calmly, "One hundred taels."
The stall owner looked at this and then that, his heart so excited that he wished the two ladies would keep bidding.
Gu Shishi opened her mouth to bid, but Bihe tugged at her sleeve and said, "Miss, this woman might be in cahoots with the stall owner, deliberately raising the price to cheat you out of your money."
Xue Huan scoffed, "Am I in cahoots with the stall owner? Get this straight, you were the one who came over and butted heads just now. You were always saying the highest bidder wins, and I thought you were rich, but it turns out you were just pretending to be rich. You can't even come up with a hundred taels."
What Gu Shishi couldn't stand the most was others looking down on her financially. Provoked by her, she blurted out, "Then I'll give you two hundred taels!"
Xue Huan clapped her hands and said, "Miss, you are so rich. You can spend two hundred taels to buy such a bracelet. It is really admirable. I am short of money, so I won't fight with you. I will give it to you."
She said this on purpose to annoy Gu Shishi. She was just shopping, so what was wrong with bargaining? This girl came over and looked down on her, and even tried to snatch the things she liked. If she didn't fight back, she would be a piece of shit.
Gu Shishi finally realized that Xue Huan was deliberately bidding against her to cheat her! Even if she was rich, she couldn't do that to buy a pearl bracelet for two hundred taels!
But now the price has been called out, and she had said before that the highest bidder would win. If she goes back on her word now, wouldn't that be contradicting herself?
Gu Shishi glared at Xue Huan with hatred and yelled at Bi He, "What are you still standing there for? Pay up!"
Bihe trembled after enduring the lady's anger for no reason, but she still quickly paid the money.
Two hundred taels just slipped away from her hands. Even though it wasn't her own money, Bihe felt a pang of pain. It was all that woman's fault!
She glared at Xue Huan.
Otherwise, how can we talk about the servant Xiao and the master? Bihe has the same virtues as her master.
Xue Huan didn't take it to heart. After giving Gu Shishi a good scolding, the depression she felt from having her bracelet stolen was completely gone. She even felt secretly happy and continued to choose items at the stall in a good mood.
Gu Shishi got the bracelet, but she didn't feel happy as she wished. Instead, she was very upset. Seeing that Xue Huan had cheated her and she didn't just leave quickly, but continued to choose leisurely, she was so angry that she wanted to throw this woman into the sea to feed the fish!
"Do you know who I am?" Gu Shishi raised her chin and asked with a disdainful attitude.
Having suffered a great loss at Xue Huan's hands, she was unwilling to leave like this, as it would make her look like a humiliated loser!
She wants to get back at him!
Xue Huan picked out a colorful shell bracelet and tried it on her wrist. Upon hearing this, she asked casually, "I don't know. Who are you?"
Gu Shishi's heart choked. This woman didn't even know her? She was either a country bumpkin or an outsider. No wonder she was so poor!
She glanced at Bihe.
Bi He immediately introduced her cleverly: "I can't tell you the truth, but I'm afraid you'll be scared to death! Our lady is the daughter of the Director of the Shipping Department."
The bidding between Xue Huan and Gu Shishi just now attracted a lot of onlookers. After all, they are both beauties. Isn’t it interesting to see beautiful women bidding for a pearl bracelet?
The onlookers had not dispersed yet. When they heard Bihe announce Gu Shishi's identity, they all stood in awe.
There is no other reason for this, because the Shipping Department is an agency specializing in the management of maritime affairs. Without the consent of the Shipping Department, ships cannot go out to sea, and the goods brought back must first be transported to the Shipping Department's warehouse for registration, and then taxes must be paid according to the type of goods.
In a coastal city like Linhai City, the Shipping Department can be said to be the most powerful and wealthy government department.
No matter how wealthy a businessman you are, you dare not say a word in front of the Director of the Shipping Department, because a single word from the Director of the Shipping Department may make you lose everything.
At this moment, the daughter of the Director of the Shipping Department appeared before their eyes. How could they not be in awe?
"So it's Miss Gu. I was saying that this person's aura clearly showed he wasn't an ordinary person. Miss Gu, how is your father doing lately? Last time I..."
"Miss Gu, do you like the things on this stall? Come on, pack up all the things on this stall and give them to Miss Gu."
"Miss Gu, my last name is Chen. Last time I went to your house with my father to visit, I met you once and I haven't been able to sleep since then."
…
It's a big dog-licking scene.
Gu Shishi usually disdains those who come up to her, but at this moment, their flattery and fawning clearly reflects her status and position, so she did not act so indifferent and just dealt with them politely.
She watched Xue Huan's reaction from the corner of her eye, but the scene she imagined did not occur. The woman showed neither regret nor fear, nor any intention of coming forward to apologize to her. Instead, she just left... left...
Gu Shishi: “…”
Just then, she saw a man walking towards the woman. It was——
"Ah, Master Mo is here!"
The group of people who had just been surrounding Gu Shishi and showing their courtesy ran away in an instant, came to Mr. Mo Qian, and flattered him with an attitude that was ten times more enthusiastic than when they licked her just now.
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