"Sir, please follow me!"
The waiter hurried over, a look of enthusiasm on his face as he led Jiang Yi into the company's lobby.
Upon reaching the counter, Jiang Yi paid one million on the spot.
The waiter quickly handed Jiang Yi a gold card and, with great courtesy, invited him to the plaza.
The plaza was already filled with people, all attending the Bai Sheng Company's celebration.
Having purchased a gold card, Jiang Yi's seat was at the very front.
Behind him were those who had purchased silver cards.
As for those with bronze cards, they didn't even have seats and could only stand.
Jiang Yi scanned the plaza and noticed Du Hai sitting in the row directly behind him.
"Why are you staring at me? Do you know me?" Du Hai asked Jiang Yi, his brow furrowed.
"You look very familiar!"
Jiang Yi replied, "Have we met somewhere before?"
"I don't recall. You must be mistaken!" Du Hai said lightly.
"Perhaps I am mistaken!"
Jiang Yi smiled faintly. "I used to know a person named Du Hai. His brother is the manager of Wan Hui Company. Though we only met once, we hit it off immediately. We haven't seen each other for many years, and I've almost forgotten what he looks like!"
Hearing this, Du Hai froze!
After a moment, Du Hai came back to his senses.
"I am Du Hai!" Du Hai quickly said.
"It seems I wasn't mistaken after all!"
Jiang Yi smiled and said to Du Hai, "Mr. Du, you are an important figure. Naturally, you wouldn't remember someone like me, a nobody."
Afterward, Jiang Yi began to converse with Du Hai.
Jiang Yi actually had nothing specific to talk about with Du Hai, so they just chatted aimlessly.
Soon, the two began to talk and laugh.
"May I ask your name?" Du Hai asked Jiang Yi.
"My surname is Jiang!" Jiang Yi replied.
"So you are Mr. Jiang. Although I don't have any impression of you, we've hit it off immediately. How about we become friends?"
"I know quite a few influential people in the stone gambling industry. If you have the chance, I'll introduce them to you, and we can all discuss our plans for getting rich!" Du Hai said with a chuckle.
Seeing that Jiang Yi was wealthy and generous, Du Hai proactively sought to befriend him.
"It is my honor to befriend you, Mr. Du."
Jiang Yi smiled and said, "From now on, we are friends. After the celebration, let's find a place to have a few drinks, shall we?"
"Okay!"
Du Hai readily agreed!
Jiang Yi let out a cold laugh.
He had expected to expend considerable effort to get close to Du Hai, but to his surprise, it was accomplished in such a short time.
Du Hai glanced around, seeing that no one was paying attention to them, and then whispered to Jiang Yi, "Mr. Jiang, you are likely to suffer a great loss this time. The celebration held by Bai Sheng Company is actually just a money-making scheme. You paid one million for a gold card, not only will you not earn anything, but you'll likely lose quite a bit of money!"
"Is that so?" Jiang Yi asked.
"Bai Sheng Company holds a celebration every year, and I come every year. At first, I didn't know it was a trap. Later, I suffered a great loss, and only then did I realize that purchasing a silver card is the best option," Du Hai said.
"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Du, but it's alright!" Jiang Yi smiled.
This statement made Du Hai a little stunned!
"Mr. Jiang is a wealthy person, so one million is nothing to you. Your composure is understandable," Du Hai remarked.
"It's not that I have a lot of money, but I am confident that I can make a substantial profit!" Jiang Yi stated.
"Mr. Jiang, since we are friends, I might as well be direct. Many experts in stone gambling were like you before. They were confident of making a fortune, but in the end, they lost a lot of money."
"Bai Sheng Company's schemes are too deep. It's as difficult as climbing to heaven to make money from them," Du Hai was very pessimistic about Jiang Yi's chances.
"Although I don't have much skill in the stone gambling industry, I am very lucky. From my first venture into stone gambling until now, I have never lost a single time!" Jiang Yi said.
Upon hearing this, Du Hai's expression showed a mix of belief and doubt.
He did not believe that Jiang Yi possessed such good luck.
In Du Hai's opinion, Jiang Yi was simply trying to show off.
"Mr. Jiang, how about we make a bet?"
Du Hai said to Jiang Yi.
In Du Hai's mind, Jiang Yi was a very foolish, plump sheep.
Du Hai intended to seize this opportunity to fleece Jiang Yi severely.
"How shall we bet?" Jiang Yi asked with a smile.
He had just been pondering how to scheme against Du Hai, and unexpectedly, Du Hai had proposed a bet.
This was clearly Du Hai inviting his own demise.
He saw Jiang Yi as a plump sheep, but he didn't realize that he himself was the plump sheep.
"It's very simple. You paid one million for a gold card. If, by the end of the celebration, you manage to earn back your one million, I lose. If you fail to earn it back, you lose!"
Du Hai grinned and said, "Whoever loses has to give the other party one million. Mr. Jiang, you are a wealthy man, so one million is nothing to you. Let's just treat this bet as playing around."
"Alright!"
Jiang Yi readily agreed.
Seeing Jiang Yi agree, Du Hai secretly rejoiced.
Fearing that Jiang Yi might renege, Du Hai immediately drafted a written agreement and had them both affix their fingerprints.
There were two copies of the agreement, one for Jiang Yi and one for Du Hai.
Looking at the agreement, Du Hai grinned and said to Jiang Yi, "Mr. Jiang, you are likely to lose this time. We should agree beforehand that we are friends. Whoever loses should not get angry, as one million is not worth it."
Du Hai said this with the intention of continuing to fleece this plump sheep, Jiang Yi, in the future.
Jiang Yi was not a fool; he knew what Du Hai was thinking.
On the surface, they were friends, but in reality, they were nothing of the sort.
"Don't worry, one million is nothing to me. If I lose, I will definitely not get angry!"
Jiang Yi smiled. "Besides, I might not lose. I am determined to win this time. I will not only make a substantial profit from Bai Sheng Company but also from your one million."
Hearing this, Du Hai burst into laughter.
Du Hai looked at Jiang Yi as if he were an idiot.
In Du Hai's eyes, Jiang Yi was definitely going to lose this time!
Just then, a stout middle-aged man walked onto the high platform. He scanned the crowd below, picked up the microphone, and began to speak, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for attending my company's tenth-anniversary celebration. I thank you all here."
As soon as he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.
"I won't waste any more time. As per tradition, after today's celebration begins, we will start the stone gambling. I will have people bring out raw stones for everyone to choose from. These raw stones are the cream of the crop. If you are lucky, you will surely make a fortune!"
After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he immediately signaled for preparations to begin.