201: Chapter 199: Those Who Gamble Should Accept Their Losses 201: Chapter 199: Those Who Gamble Should Accept Their Losses “Thanks, Tangyu, I really appreciate it.
I’m sorry—I didn’t expect that we’d have to order like this on my first visit here.
It feels like I’ve put you on the spot.
Once I get my paycheck, I’ll treat you to a meal,” said the plump man, his face flushed with embarrassment.
“It’s no big deal; I’m happy to treat you,” Tangyu replied with a light smile, sensing that the plump man was genuinely sincere.
“Haha, then I won’t hold back this time.
But let’s get down to business.
I have a friend who’s the head of the publicity department at Wanjin Industrial Co., Ltd., and they’re looking to invest some money into promotional advertising.
He mentioned this to me when we were playing basketball the other day, asking if I could recommend any good advertising firms to him,” the plump man said.
Tangyu looked at him and asked, “What kind of company is Wanjin Industrial, and if he’s the head of the publicity department, why is he asking you for recommendations?
Doesn’t he already know?”
“Hehe.” The plump man grinned, brimming with enthusiasm, “You might not know this, Tangyu, but here’s the situation.
Wanjin Industrial’s offices are in the same building as ours, so we’re close, and I’ve known him for quite a while, over a year.
He’s trustworthy enough, hehe, but he’s particularly fond of …” he said, rubbing his fingers together in the universal gesture for money.
After a glance at the plump man, Tangyu joked, “No wonder you guys hang out together—you share the same interests.”
“Cough, you caught me.
As for Wanjin Industrial, it’s not a big company; its strength is neither strong nor weak.
Its market value could probably exceed a hundred million, I guess.
But within this building, it’s considered small.
The project isn’t huge, so there’s not a lot of profit potential; that’s probably why he came to me.
He knows I’m familiar with a lot of people in the advertising industry.
He’s asking for my help in brokering this deal to get a bigger cut on the side,” the plump man explained.
Only then did Tangyu understand; it was that kind of situation.
“Hehe, Tangyu, I know your company has always been fair in pricing, one of the lowest in the industry, in fact.
And your company has strong capabilities.
So, you can satisfy Wanjin and get him a bigger cut on the side—that’s why I thought of you.
Would you be interested in discussing this further?” the plump man asked.
“I’m certainly interested in negotiating deals for the company, and him wanting a cut on the side is fine.
I don’t need to take my share,” Tangyu said.
The plump man was taken aback and looked at Tangyu before smacking his lips, “Tangyu, you’re letting others off too easy.
Kickbacks are an industry-understood rule; if you don’t take it, you’re just making it easier for someone else.
Doing favors without reaping benefits is unnecessary.
You should take your rightful share; even the company acknowledges that.
If you don’t, it won’t necessarily benefit the company, and it might even benefit your competitor.
So, it’s meaningless.
Kickbacks are essentially incentives the company offers for employees to bring in more business.
As long as you ensure the company gets its share, that’s all that matters.”
Tangyu grimaced, only then remembering that he was, indeed, out of money.
It isn’t good to be without money.
He needed to earn some cash; otherwise, he’d be broke the next time he needed it.
“That’s true.
Okay then, arrange it for me, plump man.
I might not have the time, so if I’m not available, have Dashuang go talk to you,” Tangyu said.
“Hehe, sure thing.
Let’s agree on that.
Here comes the coffee; let’s drink up before we leave.
Damn, everything here is so expensive—a sip costs over ten bucks.
It really hurts to drink it,” the plump man said, laughing as he smacked his lips.
“Tangyu, you’ve been pretty busy these last few days, haven’t you?
I haven’t seen you around,” the plump man remarked.
“Yeah, I’ve been fairly busy lately; I’ve spent most of my time running around outside,” Tangyu replied.
“Hmph, plump man, I’ve been looking for you a few times and couldn’t find you.
Yet here you are, I thought you were hiding.” Just then, a somewhat sharp voice rang out.
Two men and two women, all seeming to be in their mid-twenties to thirties, approached.
The four of them were dressed in formal business attire.
The speaker was a notably tall man, probably almost one meter ninety, with a broad build, giving off the impression of a muscle-bound man.
Tangyu scanned the group and could tell from their attire and demeanor that they were all your average salary-earning crowd.
The men were not handsome, and the women were not stunning.
Upon seeing the group, the plump man’s cheeks twitched as he forced a smile, “Oh, if it isn’t Wang Lie!
What a coincidence.
You’re here for dinner too, huh?
And this must be your girlfriend, she’s really beautiful; you make me envious.”
“Plump man, don’t try to suck up to me.
You swindled me last time; I lost a whole five thousand because of you.
How are we going to settle this debt?” the tall man, Wang Lie, glared fiercely at the plump man, a threatening anger visible on his face.
The plump man hastily responded with a placating smile, “Now, that’s not quite fair to say.
I really didn’t swindle you.
Remember, we agreed on the terms, and I didn’t tamper with anything, right?
We played a fair game of basketball.
Maybe you were just unlucky that day, and I happened to be on a lucky streak, which is why I won more.
But that doesn’t mean I swindled you, does it?
Besides, gambling naturally involves winning and losing.
To call it swindling might be a bit much.
Hehe, how about this, Wang Lie, we can play another round sometime, and you just might win it back.”
“Hmph, just lucky?
You’re just lucky?
You’re clearly very skilled, a master even, and you pretended to be weak.
At the start, you deliberately lost to me, and then later you played hard and won every time.
You even used reverse psychology to anger me, making me raise the bets and lose over five thousand to you.
If that’s not scamming me, what is it?” Wang Lie scoffed.
“Ahem, how can that be?
How could I dare to scam you?
Playing pool is all about luck, isn’t it?
If I didn’t have a good start, naturally my performance would be worse.
Later on, when I got into my rhythm and my luck improved, naturally I could play beyond my normal level.
Such things are completely normal; it can’t really be considered a scam,” the fat man said with a friendly and joking smile on his face.
Tangyu glanced at the fat man.
He was aware of the guy’s little tricks.
Walking night roads often means encountering ghosts; those who frequent riverbanks will eventually have wet shoes.
To say this amounted to a scam might be going a little too far.
Gambling is like Zhou Yu fighting Huang Gai—one willing to strike and the other willing to suffer.
It’s not a scam as long as no foul play is involved.
Being duped by someone hiding their strength isn’t being scammed; that’s just being foolish.
You can’t blame others for that.
“Damn it.” Wang Lie, true to his fiery name, quickly got infuriated.
Grabbing the fat man’s clothes, he glared menacingly and said, “What do you mean by that?
Not admitting you scammed me, is that it?”
“Wang Lie, why bother arguing so much with him?
I’m embarrassed for you that you were scammed out of five thousand by someone like him.
You must make him cough up that money,” Wang Lie’s girlfriend also said with a hostile expression as she looked at the fat man.
Seeing that Wang Lie was about to get physical, the fat man was somewhat frightened and quickly said, “Wang Lie, what are you doing?
We’re all civilized people here.
Let’s talk this out.
Let go first, then we can talk.”
“Hmph, you think I’ll let go so easily?
I want to ask you, are you going to give me back that five thousand or not?” Wang Lie said.
The fat man began to complain bitterly.
Faced with such a person, he was at a loss, but even if he had it, he simply couldn’t return the money.
He won it fair and square; why should he return it?
Even if things escalated to the police station, he was confident in his position.
“I really can’t return the money.
Let’s talk nicely, please first let go,” the fat man said.
“You won’t return it, huh?
Fine, come outside with me,” Wang Lie said, pulling the fat man towards the exit.
The fat man clung to Wang Lie’s hand with one hand and the table with the other, his face turning red with anger.
Being treated like this was truly embarrassing, and a hint of rage flashed across his chubby face.
Wang Lie was indeed very strong, and his attempt to drag the fat man almost sent him tumbling to the ground.
Suddenly, Tangyu stood up, grabbed Wang Lie’s hand, and prevented him from exerting any more force to pull the fat man.
Seeing Tangyu intervene, the fat man was slightly taken aback, then looked at Tangyu with a flicker of gratitude in his eyes.
“We are all civilized people; why resort to violence?
Let’s talk nicely, just let him go,” Tangyu said calmly to Wang Lie.
Wang Gang glared furiously at Tangyu, trying to shake off his grip but realizing he couldn’t break free.
He was quietly shocked.
This young man, who looked frail, shouldn’t have had more strength than him, so why did it feel like he was chained by an iron grip?
“Talk nicely, right?
Well, let’s see how you want to talk this out,” Wang Gang said before loosening his grip.
Just as the fat man was about to speak, Tangyu gestured for him to be quiet, indicating that he would handle it.
Tangyu faced Wang Lie calmly and said, “Since ancient times, there’s been a saying that gambling is a mutual agreement.
If there’s no cheating involved, it’s fair.
I assume the fat man didn’t cheat, right?”
Wang Lie grimaced, glared at the fat man, and then said, “There was no cheating, that’s for sure.
If he dared to cheat, I would have dealt with him on the spot.”
“That settles it, then.
Since he didn’t cheat and you both willingly agreed to the game, everything should be alright.
Accusing him of a scam is really a bit much, isn’t it?
Even if the fat man hid his strength initially, that’s quite normal.
Deception is part of war; if you can’t judge his ability, you can’t blame others.
Besides, the fat man didn’t win five thousand from you in a single game; you must have played several rounds.
Since you kept on playing because you weren’t satisfied, you can’t blame anyone else.
It’s a matter of mutual consent,” Tangyu continued.
“Hmph,” Wang Lie snorted, looking at Tangyu fiercely, “So what you’re saying is, I just lose those five thousand for nothing?
That’s not scamming me?”
“Clearly, you were willing to lose.
It indeed can’t be called a scam.
If you truly believe the fat man scammed you, then it’s simple: go to the police or consult a lawyer.
It’s up to you.
But to insist that the fat man scammed you without evidence is hardly fair.
A man should accept his losses with dignity,” Tangyu said.
“Fine, you won’t admit it, huh?
Alright—,” Wang Lie fumed and then said, “Since that’s how it is, let’s have another round.
Not pool this time, let’s arm wrestle.
One round determines the winner, with five thousand on the line.
If you can beat me, I’ll give you another five thousand.
If you can’t, you’ll return the five thousand to me.”