"What?"
Hu Tianhan hadn't expected such a large sum of money.
Given his family's circumstances, repaying this amount wouldn't be impossible.
However, he had repeatedly promised his mother when he was injured last time that he wouldn't cause trouble again. If she found out about this now, it would be far more than just stopping his allowance.
"One million eight hundred and thirty thousand!"
Manager Zhao confirmed the amount once more.
Everyone present had picked a watch they fancied.
Liu Sandao chose the cheapest model, the one he had admired from outside.
He simply felt its appearance suited him, without giving it much further thought.
Fu Ruhai liked gold, which matched his style.
Mei Ziqi was overjoyed. Owning a luxury watch himself was a tremendous stroke of luck.
Zhao Xiaoying selected a more petite-looking watch, while another girl chose a rather large one.
Interestingly, Bai Suxiang picked a watch of the same price range as Liu Sandao's.
Even with these choices, the value already amounted to over 800,000 yuan.
There were seven or eight other people present, and a few who understood the value had selected watches worth no less than 130,000 yuan. Combined with the loss of the dropped watch earlier, the total was easily 1.8 million, if not more.
"You! You! You're extorting me..."
Hu Tianhan's emotions suddenly surged, and he pointed at the people present.
Seeing his distress, Bai Suxiang felt a pang of sympathy and prepared to return the watch in her hand.
When Liu Sandao saw this, he immediately pushed her hand back.
"You're not returning it. I won this watch, and I have the final say!"
Hu Tianhan was furious, especially at Liu Sandao's attitude.
Liu Sandao paid him no mind. He took his watch, gestured to Fu Ruhai, and led a few people towards the exit.
"You can't take them!"
Hu Tianhan shouted.
"What's wrong, Young Master Hu? A bet is a bet. You're not going to back out, are you?"
Mei Ziqi, emboldened by the situation, straightened his back.
His words made Hu Tianhan's face flush with shame.
To be questioned by someone he utterly disdained, and to have no reply, was truly demeaning.
Liu Sandao ignored him, pushed him aside, and strode towards the door.
"Open the door!"
Manager Zhao, hearing the commotion, immediately signaled the security guards outside to open the shop's entrance.
After the guards opened the door, they even asked people outside to make way.
The group exited the OMG store under everyone's gaze.
As for what happened inside later, Mei Ziqi recounted:
Apart from Hu Tianhan's two or three companions who returned their watches, everyone else took theirs.
After all, these were valuable luxury timepieces.
The poor couldn't afford them, and the rich might not be willing to spend on them.
Hu Tianhan ultimately covered the remaining cost, settling for 1.3 million yuan.
His card was maxed out, and he had to borrow another two to three hundred thousand from other relatives.
For his family's financial standing, it wasn't a catastrophic event, but he simply didn't know how to break the news to his mother.
Liu Sandao and his companions had a very enjoyable day.
For the next few days, no one mentioned the watches.
After wearing the watch for a few days, Liu Sandao casually left it in his dormitory. The novelty had worn off, and everything seemed the same.
The world claims immortals are blessed with freedom, joy, and immortality; but who can understand that living for too long also becomes meaningless?
Over the next four to five days, Liu Sandao and Fu Ruhai were extremely busy with a constant stream of minor tasks, naturally including the distribution of blessings and fortunes.
This left him no time to discuss his ideas about starting a company with Fu Ruhai, despite having thought about it earlier.
It wasn't until a Wednesday morning that Wu Da Zao said, "Today is our last class. After today, those who need to prepare for postgraduate studies will do so, and those who need to find work will do so."
Those accustomed to waking up early found it quite unsettling when they no longer had to attend class.
Some people even grumbled:
"Now we won't even have an excuse to wake up early!"
Others, of course, were discussing their job prospects.
By the senior year of college, after completing their theses, the main focuses were postgraduate entrance exams and finding employment.
This reminded Liu Sandao that he absolutely had to talk to Fu Ruhai that evening.
At midnight, on the rooftop of Building One.
The sky was clear, yet only a few stars were visible.
This was because the surrounding city lights had obscured them.
"Do you remember when Zhao Caishen suggested we start a company?"
Liu Sandao began.
This was the first time he had initiated a question with Fu Ruhai.
"Of course. But I think it's unreliable. What business would immortals have starting a company? Besides, how would we even run it? Earn money to bribe people with decrees?..."
Fu Ruhai went on a tangent.
Liu Sandao finally understood. Fu Ruhai still hadn't grasped the concept. The main issue was the lack of a feasible method to both distribute blessings and fortunes and earn money.
Ultimately, the method of distributing blessings and fortunes was too antiquated.
It was unclear whether the Heavenly Court was conservative or if the methods of the Fortune Gods were simply too rigid.
"Let me ask you: is everyone's portion of blessings and fortunes predetermined?"
"Of course."
"Can bestowing them change their ultimate destiny?"
"Not at all. We distribute these according to their predetermined fate, very precisely, of course."
...
Fu Ruhai initially disagreed with Liu Sandao's points.
Unable to convince him, Liu Sandao employed a roundabout approach and finally managed to sway Fu Ruhai.
To change the current situation, the method of distributing blessings and fortunes had to be altered.
Otherwise, not only would his own task be completed, but he wouldn't receive commendation in the Heavenly Court and would instead face blame.
Most importantly, the Heavenly Court itself was seeking change.
They hoped that through changes in the mortal realm, some transformations could be brought about in the heavens.
Therefore, Liu Sandao presented his prepared plan and proposals.
It had to be admitted that after so many days of studying economics, he had managed to keep up with the times and learned how to persuade others with plans and proposals.
Thus, a joint project proposal was born, with Liu Sandao providing the outline and Fu Ruhai offering detailed supplementary explanations.
The outline of this proposal was as follows:
(I) Modification of the Method of Distributing Blessings and Fortunes: Shifting from scheduled distribution to free distribution.
Simply put, you could take them whenever you needed them; you were also free not to keep them, as long as you bestowed your deserved blessings and fortunes upon yourself in the final stage of your life.
(II) Diversification of the Forms of Distributing Blessings and Fortunes.
Blessings and fortunes could be life-saving, or they could be money and opportunities. The specific form would be determined by the unfolding of events. In essence, all requests would be answered, with the ultimate settlement made in blessings and fortunes.
(III) Marketization of the Distribution of Blessings and Fortunes.
To put it plainly, they could be measured by monetary value. One could buy good fortune, but with a precondition: good fortune with benevolent intentions would be sold at a simple price, while fortune with malicious intent would be sold at an increased price.
(IV) Distribution of Blessings and Fortunes to be Integrated with the Heavenly Court through Multi-faceted Cooperation.
Specifically, this meant collaborating with other deities. Distribution could be done independently, or they could be delegated to others. The storage of distributed blessings and fortunes would need to be addressed.