Zhou Jianmin angrily shouted, pushing him with considerable force.
If it had been someone else, they might have been pushed to the ground, but to try to move Gu Changsheng?
That was simply too naive.
Zhou Jianmin only felt as if his force had sunk into a quagmire. Gu Changsheng didn't even budge. Instead, with a slight puff of his chest, it was Zhou Jianmin who stepped back, staggering almost to the point of losing his balance—
"You dare to lay a hand on me? You beast!"
Gu Changsheng was also angered. First, Mrs. Zhou, and then Mr. Zhou, even a clay Buddha has some fiery temper, let alone him, who was neither a Buddha nor a saint.
"Father-in-law, speaking foul words is not the way of a gentleman. You, as an elder, show no semblance of one, which is quite disappointing to the younger generation, isn't it?"
Watching his imposing manner rise, Zhou Jianmin also faltered for a moment, stunned.
But with his daughter by his side, he wasn't afraid. "Jiayi, Jiayi, look at him, look at your good man, your good husband. What is he trying to do now? Growl and glare, thinking of laying hands on me!"
Zhou Jiayi had seen everything, "Dad, it was clearly you who started it. Changsheng hasn't moved an inch, and he's still reasoning with you. If you talk like this, I won't help you either. You've gone too far. How can you curse your own son-in-law."
"You! Zhou Jiayi, are you still my daughter?"
"And you didn't listen to what Mr. Tian said, that this guy dared to commit fraud, which is punishable by imprisonment, and that he has severe character issues."
Fraud?
Gu Changsheng had something to say, "Mr. Tian, you wanted my help, from five hundred thousand to one million, then to five million. I have never agreed. Yet you can really sling mud, playing the victim as the instigator, huh."
"Haha, now you have no defense either. I can't be bothered to talk more with you. Considering you're Mr. Zhou's son-in-law, forget it. You'd better hurry up and leave. A daughter and son-in-law who don't respect their elders, I really feel sorry for old Mr. Zhou."
"You..." Zhou Jiayi has also realized that this Tian Dong is no good person.
But how could her father associate with such a person?
"Get out, all of you get out, you're infuriating me!" Zhou Jianmin cursed loudly.
Gu Changsheng, unperturbed, took Zhou Jiayi and left, "Let's go, there's no need to linger."
Zhou Jiayi was upset again, the events of the day having already brought her mood to an all-time low.
But at this time, Gu Changsheng had no time to comfort her.
He thought, "How could Zhou Jianmin be mixed up with the boss of the Jade Pavilion? This Tian Dong is not a good person. Even if one is influenced by their surroundings, with Zhou Jianmin's methods, he would certainly be no match and would just be played for a fool."
At that thought.
Gu Changsheng extended his spiritual perception. Although he was still recovering, a distance of several dozen meters was enough to lock onto the conversation of the two people.
Therefore, he deliberately slowed down while pulling Zhou Jiayi along.
The first few sentences were certainly mocking Gu Changsheng.
But as the conversation continued—
Tian Dong said, "Mr. Zhou, why were you so eager to find me today?"
Zhou Jianmin said, "Ah, I was just passing by and thought I'd drop by your shop to have a look. I mean, look at my luck, I always see you guys carve jade out of worthless stones. I never find anything and even end up losing a lot of money. Passing by today, I just wanted to try my luck."
"Gambling on stones isn't just about luck; you need to have the eye for it. How about this, we have some nice pieces that just came in today. Why don't I take you to have a couple of tries?"
"Never mind, I still owe Mr. Lu from the stone field over a million. I'm short on cash lately…"
Hearing this.
Their conversation had gone beyond the range of his perception.
Even Gu Changsheng had not expected it.
Zhou Jianmin was actually involved in stone gambling and had accumulated over a million in debt?
No wonder, previously, both he and his wife continuously asked Zhou Jiayi for money, even claiming to keep it safe for her. Now it seemed all the money had gone into someone else's pocket, deceived.
Laughable indeed.
"Changsheng, are you still angry?" Jiayi tentatively broke the silence, asking timidly.
Gu Changsheng snapped back to reality upon hearing her, "Of course not, I'm just upset to see you distressed and feel it's not fair to you."
"Changsheng, you're too kind, and only you can understand me. Moreover, despite the way my parents and family have treated you, you never get angry."
"Angry? Of course, I get angry, but it passes quickly, and it's not a big deal. After all, they are your parents and grandchildren of the grandfather. I do owe the grandfather some gratitude; without him, you wouldn't have married me."
Gu Changsheng had no trouble consoling Jiayi.
Sure enough, Jiayi was immediately amused, "You're just sweet-talking me!"
"Alright, let's go eat and not dwell on these things. Let's just enjoy our own life."
"Yes, I understand."
With that, the couple seemed to find a newfound sweetness as they walked arm in arm into the Japanese restaurant.
Once seated, Gu Changsheng gave it some thought and said, "Wife, I'm going to use the restroom."
"Ah, you should order before you go."
Gu Changsheng laughed, "I've never eaten this stuff. Just order what you like."
It wasn't that he had never tried these dishes; he simply disdained them.
But since Jiayi liked them, he naturally went along with her.
And out he went.
Gu Changsheng made sure Jiayi didn't follow him before he headed back to Jade Pavilion.
By now, Zhou Jianmin had already vanished, leaving Mr. Tian supervising at the entrance, still looking helpless and covered in dust.
Getting closer, Gu Changsheng called out, "Mr. Tian."
Mr. Tian was startled, puzzled why Gu Changsheng had returned.
But even though they had had a disagreement earlier, Mr. Tian didn't worry about it. He knew how to deal with different people, and he felt things were squared since he had already taken advantage of Gu Changsheng.
"Ah, Gu my dear nephew, what's up? Coming to help me with my troubles again? You might as well stop; we know each other too well for pretense."
Gu Changsheng didn't care about the mockery. He had come to understand Zhou Jianmin's problems, so he cut to the chase, "Mr. Tian, since you're in the jade business, you must know about stone gambling, right?!"
"Huh?!" Mr. Tian's eyes flickered, and then he squinted, scrutinizing Gu Changsheng.
Stone gambling was indeed not an honorable matter; it lay in a gray area and wasn't a subject casually discussed with strangers.
Gu Changsheng was well prepared, smiling as he said, "No need to hide it from me. Zhou Jianmin is my father-in-law after all. We're family; there should be no secrets among us. Even if he's keeping something from me, I have a pretty good guess."
Seeing he was exposed, Mr. Tian dropped the act, "What? You want me to persuade your father-in-law to stop? Forget it, his debt isn't cleared, and he doesn't listen to me anyway."
"No, no, no." Gu Changsheng waved his hand, "That's not what I mean. I've heard that stone gambling can make one rich overnight and the thrill of it all really intrigues me. My father-in-law? Well, he's just down on his luck; losing money is to be expected."
Despite his words, Mr. Tian still didn't believe him, thinking something was fishy, "Gu, my smart nephew, no need to act. I'm quite aware of the Zhou family's situation. Zhou Jianmin, a second-generation heir, isn't even valued by Mrs. Zhou and doesn't have much money. He only gambles little by little."
"Just now I heard Zhou Jianmin say, you're nothing but a son-in-law living off his wife. Where would you get the capital from?"
"Capital?" Gu Changsheng's smile turned mysterious, and then he fished something out.
Mr. Tian's expression changed at the sight, "A Huaqi Bank global gold card?"
"No point in talking more; I just want to try my luck. Is it possible? Give me a straight answer."
Mr. Tian weighed the options, not wanting to miss out on a potential windfall.
Gu Changsheng was right; Mr. Tian had a stake in that mine.
"How about we go right now?"
"Now? I'm still with my wife."
Mr. Tian added, "There's no rush then. There'll be new stock the day after tomorrow. Here's my card; give me a call then. We start at seven in the evening, don't be late!"