Chapter 16 Ungratefulness
"Really?!" Dennis said and was immediately surprised. It was clearly a favor to him. Would Phillip have let him benefit from it? To be honest, Dennis was a bit skeptical.
Firstly, Phillip was a rather shrewd person who wouldn't do something disadvantageous, and their relationship wasn't deep enough for this.
"What's there to fake?" Phillip continued earnestly saying, "Dennis, we're old friends. Do you really think I would cheat you? Besides, you're a professional, too. Can't you see that this stone will definitely yield good jade?"
Saying this, Phillip generously showed the quarter-revealed stone to Dennis for inspection.
Dennis took out his tools and carefully examined it. He wasn't particularly a professional in stone gambling; he was more of an enthusiast.
With his knowledge, the more he looked at this rock, the more he liked it, especially the jade that had already been exposed. The quality was excellent, and usually, the remaining ninety percent could yield a valuable piece of jade.
Kaitlyn leaned in and whispered worriedly to Dennis, "Dennis, this doesn't seem right. Phillip is known to be stingy. Why would he willingly give us an advantage? We should be cautious."
"Well..." Dennis nodded. He understood this logic, too. But he was so fond of this stone that the temptation of extracting a valuable piece of jade was too great for him.
Moreover, tomorrow was his father-in-law's seventieth birthday, and his father-in-law was a fervent jade enthusiast. If he were to present this jade to him tomorrow, it would surely earn Dennis's respect!
It was also a chance to show some backbone in his in-laws' home.
Despite not being a son-in-law like James, due to his rural upbringing and limited education, his status in his in-laws' home had always been low. Every time he visited, he had to navigate the situation delicately.
After so many years, he wanted to make a splash and make everyone look at him in a different light.
Unlike James, who was a coward and indifferent to insults and taunts, he valued his reputation and was ambitious. That's why he found James so distasteful, especially after James came in, lowering his status even further in his in-laws' home.
In recent visits, he had been mocked relentlessly, feeling utterly humiliated.
"Phillip, we've been old buddies for a while now, so there's no need to play coy. You surely had some scheme when you pawned this rock off to me," Dennis said as he handed the stone back to Phillip.
"I knew I couldn't fool you." Phillip gave Dennis a thumbs up, admiringly saying, "Well done, you caught on. I do have a plan."
Dennis raised an eyebrow, a look of self-satisfaction in his posture.
Philip proceeded to explain, "Well, Mr. Rogers has a good stone that's priced at two hundred thousand dollars. I only have twelve thousand on me at the moment and cannot raise the remaining funds. And since you were looking to buy a good jade for your father-in-law, I thought I would approach you with this opportunity."
"Dennis, I'm doing you a favor here. Any discerning person can see that this stone, once fully revealed, will definitely yield good jade..." At this point, Phillip's tone changed, and added, "Of course, if you really don't want it, that's fine. I'll find someone else."
"Wait a minute." Dennis stopped Phillip, furrowing his brow. He looked at the stone, his gaze flickering, then finally, gritting his teeth, he said, "Alright, I'll take it!"
Phillip's face lit up, and he exchanged a meaningful glance with the middle-aged man in a suit next to him, revealing a knowing smile.
Unfortunately, Dennis and the others' attention was focused on the stone, and they didn't notice the insincere smile exchanged between Phillip and the man in the suit. Only James caught onto it.
"Great, Dennis, you're bold!" Phillip said and gave a thumbs up. "Leaving everything else aside, I admire your courage. Eighty thousand, are you paying in cash or transferring to my bank account?"
"Bank card," Dennis said, taking out his phone to transfer the money to Phillip.
Just then, James couldn't hold back. Stepping forward, he said, "Dennis, we can't accept this stone."
His sudden appearance stunned everyone present, especially Phillip and his group, who furrowed their brows and showed a hint of darkness in their eyes.
James had been standing at the back the whole time. Coupled with his low-key demeanor, even after Phillip and the others had come in, they hadn't noticed him.
Upon hearing James' words, Dennis immediately frowned and rebuked, "James, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Jennifer and Kaitlyn also looked at James in confusion.
James walked over. To be honest, his impression of Dennis was not good, seeing him as a man who values pride over personal comfort, and his attitude towards him was particularly bad.
In the five years since he had married into the family, the other person who had insulted him the most, apart from Jennifer, was Dennis.
But James still had to speak up as a member of the Johnson Family in such a situation.
He braved it and said, "I believe most of the jade in this stone has already been extracted. Continuing to dig it will only reveal more stone.
"In other words, the value of this stone is, at most, around forty thousand. Buying it for eighty thousand would be a loss. Besides, there's no such thing as a free lunch..."
The family didn't notice, but after James said this, the expressions of Phillip and the man in the suit changed, showing signs of panic.
"Nonsense!" Phillip immediately retorted, adopting a defensive stance and pretending to be angry.
He accused, "Ungrateful, Dennis. I even came here specially to give you a good deal, but I didn't expect you to let your son-in-law insult me! There are plenty of people who want this stone if you don't."
Seeing Phillip about to take back the stone and leave, Dennis became anxious and hurried after him, explaining, "Hey, Phillip, wait! I didn't say I wouldn't buy it. Come back! That was a misunderstanding. I'll transfer the money to you right now."
Phillip's face brightened, but knowing Dennis' character, he still put on an act, looking reluctant. "You said it yourself. Don't blame me if you can't extract any jade later. Hmph!"
"No, no, of course not," Dennis assured him, ready to transfer the money to Phillip.
James frowned tightly. He spoke again, "Dennis, listen to me, we really can't buy..."
"Shut up!" Dennis angrily cut James off, full of impatience. "It's not your place to speak here. Go stand aside!"
After being scolded by Dennis in front of so many people without any regard for his dignity, James decided not to say anything more. He wasn't a person without pride. Since Dennis doesn't appreciate kindness, he'll let him suffer the consequences.
Phillip glanced at James, then said to Dennis, "Dennis, let's forget about it. Your son-in-law seems to know a thing or two about stone gambling. Maybe he's right. If there's no jade in this stone, haha."
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