Three-Man Contest (2)

Fatty Dong rubbed his slightly aching head and gave an awkward smile. "I just feel that even if we lost a bet on jadeite like this, it wouldn't hurt that much. I really didn't mean to say anything discouraging."

"You've got a pig's brain, only focused on the immediate benefits."

Liu Sizhe curled his lips. "You're only thinking about the money for the rough stone. Why don't you think about how, if Brother Chu loses, it'll have a huge impact on his reputation? Never mind five hundred thousand—even five million wouldn't be enough to make up for that."

"That's true!" Fatty Dong thought about it and realized it really did make sense. Just as the old saying went, starting a business was easy, but maintaining it was hard. Protecting one's family fortune was no simple matter. Sometimes, a single wrong decision could ruin all the effort that had come before.

That applied to Chu Chen as well. Although it wasn't quite that serious, losing the contest would still have a considerable impact.

After thinking it through, Fatty Dong couldn't help growing worried again.

"All right, Fatty. It's not as serious as you think."

Chu Chen patted Fatty Dong on the shoulder. "Like I said before, reputation in stone gambling doesn't actually do much for me now. Think about it—I'm not going to become someone else's stone-gambling master, so what do I need such a great reputation for?"

"Well, having it is better than not having it!" Fatty Dong scratched his head.

"You think I'm going to lose?"

Chu Chen laughed heartily, then said, "Come on. Whether we win or lose, we'll know soon enough. Let's hurry and move the rough stone over there so we don't keep them waiting..."

Next, Chu Chen had the workers use a manual pallet truck