How About We Split the Tip Half and Half? (Continued)

Even if he hadn't said it, Song Tianyao, Golden-Tooth Lei, and Yan Hung had already seen Chan Ah-sap angrily leave Taibai Seafood Restaurant and return to the dock in a sampan with his men.

"I'm just waiting for him to cause me trouble. If he doesn't, why should I force him to leave today?" Song Tianyao said to Zhao Wenye with a smile.

No one present understood the meaning behind Song Tianyao's words. Golden-Tooth Lei, Yan Hung, and Zhao Wenye all looked at Song Tianyao. Was it him who forced Chan Ah-sap to leave? Clearly, Chan Ah-sap couldn't offer enough benefits, so he left in a huff.

Seeing that all three were looking at him, Song Tianyao glanced at Gao Lao Cheng across from him, who was still eating and drinking heartily and had already devoured three or four dishes in front of him. He grinned and said, "Brother Shing really cares about me. The most important thing in life is to fill your stomach. Thinking too much is useless. Filling your stomach before the banquet ends is the most important thing."

After Chan Ah-sap left, Song Tianyao stood up and pretended to see him off. He said to Golden-Tooth Lei, "Brother Lei, have fourteen gold bars delivered to the outside of the Dulles Hotel tomorrow morning. Then go back and wait for news. I prefer fair trade. I'll take your gold tomorrow morning, and within three days, get your men to the docks."

"Fourteen bars..." Golden-Tooth Lei glanced at the four bars on the table. Was he supposed to take those four bars back in front of Song Tianyao? It seemed unlikely. That was a total of eighteen gold bars!

But upon hearing Song Tianyao's affirmation, Golden-Tooth Lei hardened his heart. At worst, he could go home and melt down some of his wife's gold jewelry to make up the difference. As long as he had territory at the dock and could collect dues from laborers, he would earn the money back sooner or later!

"Don't worry, Secretary Song, I'll have someone bring all the yellow croakers first thing tomorrow morning. Thank you for your hospitality tonight, Secretary Song." Golden-Tooth Lei said goodbye to Song Tianyao without any hesitation, and then prepared to leave with Gao Lao Cheng and Yan Hung.

Actually, he misjudged Song Tianyao's intentions. Song Tianyao had no intention of adding four more gold bars at the last minute. So, as soon as he turned around, Song Tianyao pointed at the gold bars on the table and called out to Golden-Tooth Lei, who was already heading towards the stairs, "Brother Lei, I forgot about the gold bars. I'm not that greedy. Uh... right, I said I'd use them as a reward, but the lady played a tune off-key, so we'll deduct money. Keep one, and take the remaining three. I'll trouble Brother Lei to make up the difference with one more."

As he spoke, Song Tianyao picked up a gold bar from the table and placed it in front of the long-legged, mature woman, then gestured for Golden-Tooth Lei to take the remaining three gold bars.

Golden-Tooth Lei hurriedly said it didn't matter, and that Secretary Song could use all the gold bars as tips. Song Tianyao stared at Golden-Tooth Lei with a half-smile, "Brother Lei, are you being polite with me? If I, Song Tianyao, wanted to make money, I wouldn't have only asked you to take out fourteen gold bars. You think you can just let what happened this afternoon go so easily? You should use your brain before being polite."

Golden-Tooth Lei couldn't understand Song Tianyao's words, so he could only chuckle awkwardly and let Gao Lao Cheng go over and put the three gold bars away before saying to Song Tianyao, "Thank you, Secretary Song, I'll be going now."

Standing by the railing, facing the wind, Song Tianyao watched as Golden-Tooth Lei beckoned his men to board the ship and head towards the dock. Only then did he turn around and walk to the woman still playing the pipa. "Thank you for playing the music, young lady. Now let's talk about the reward."

The pipa music stopped abruptly. The woman held the strings with all ten fingers, loosened them, removed the fingernails from her fingertips, and gently moved her wrists. Her beautiful eyes stared at Song Tianyao with a puzzled look.

Song Tianyao picked up the gold bar and waved it at the woman. "A four-ounce piece of gold. I guess the person from earlier wouldn't dare to try and cheat me with fake gold. Miss, I don't know much about gold prices. How many Hong Kong dollars is a gold bar like this worth?"

The woman stared at Song Tianyao, who was smiling, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "Sir, I don't work as a street clock."

She was afraid that Song Tianyao would give her the gold bar and then use it to buy her off to rent a hotel room, so she hesitated before speaking to Song Tianyao.

"Not going to work as a street clock? Then why are you hesitating for so long?" Song Tianyao took out a cigarette and offered one to the woman. After she declined with both hands, Song Tianyao lit one for himself, looked at the woman with a smile, and seemed to be waiting for her answer.

The woman pursed her lips, glanced at the gold bars in Song Tianyao's hand, and said, "I'm thinking, if it were four gold bars, I might not be able to resist agreeing."

"Haha, I admire intelligent people the most. That man who was eating so heartily just now, and you who said that to me, are both intelligent people. Don't worry, I won't force you. Besides, I haven't slept well since last night. With a beautiful woman like you lying next to me tonight, I'll be even less able to sleep. I really want to ask you, how much is this gold bar worth in Hong Kong dollars?" Song Tianyao was amused by the woman's words and laughed heartily, seemingly with indescribable pleasure, and continued to ask.

"Large gold shops dare not accept gold of unknown origin due to Hong Kong Government restrictions, while smaller gold shops and silver houses will accept stolen goods and melt them down themselves. I sold a pair of my bracelets last month. According to the prices at that time, a piece of gold like that would be worth at most four thousand Hong Kong dollars." The long-legged, mature woman bit her lip, not understanding why Song Tianyao was not planning to buy the street clock but was still teasing her, but she still truthfully told her the price she knew.

Song Tianyao looked at the gold bar in his hand, smiled, and looked up at the woman, saying, "Four thousand? Here, young lady, I'll give you this gold bar as a reward. Could you return two thousand Hong Kong dollars to me?"

"Huh?" The woman stared at Song Tianyao, speechless. Although she hadn't been at Taibai Seafood Restaurant for long, she had seen many customers, all sorts of strange and wonderful people. She had seen people casually tipping gold jewelry and rings to take women out, and she often saw customers who were stingy with tips. But she had never seen anyone give tips and then ask the Songstress for change.

"Sir, you can tip me based on the price of the music. Gold is too expensive for me to accept," the woman said softly to Song Tianyao.

Song Tianyao took out his wallet and emptied it outwards; not a single coin fell out. He said to the woman, "See? I don't have a single penny. Before leaving, I gave all my money to my mother. This dinner party tonight was paid for by the people I drove away. I spent a lot of time and effort, and in the end, all I had left was this gold bar. I don't need it, so how about we split the reward in half? You keep the gold bar as a reward, and I'll keep two thousand yuan in my wallet. You should be able to tell that I need the money right now, otherwise I'll be sleeping on the streets tonight."