Chapter 498: Playing Along

Ye Chen was never a soft-hearted pushover.

Sometimes he would see others as pitiful and want to give them a hand.

But the prerequisite was that the other party had to know what was good for them.

If they didn't know what was good for them, he would absolutely not stick his hot face against someone else's cold backside.

Some people were stubborn and foolish; it was better to let them taste the consequences themselves.

Anyway, it was all their own doing. If they fell into the fire pit in the future and burned to death, they couldn't blame anyone else.

So, he intentionally tried to change the subject and immediately said, "If you want to manage your finances, go ahead and start a private group to chat later. We are here to treat Aunt Li to a meal today, and we haven't even ordered yet after all this time."

Jiang Ming immediately became interested and said with a smile, "Come, come, give the menu to Aunt Li and let Aunt Li order!"

Aunt Li hurriedly waved her hand and said, "No, no, I've never been to such a nice place. I don't know how to order anything; you young people should do it."

Jiang Ming then took the menu without hesitation and said with a smile, "Then I'll order!"

Afterward, he immediately summoned the waiter and said, "Come, let's order."

The waiter came over, and Jiang Ming immediately started ordering. However, he was particularly scheming this time: he only ordered the expensive items.

As soon as he started, he ordered a serving of premium abalone for everyone. This one dish alone cost 1,888 yuan per person.

Zhao Zhuoyue caught a glimpse of the menu and exclaimed, "Oh my, Brother Ming, this dish is too expensive! Just this one dish alone will cost over 20,000 yuan! We... we can't afford it!"

Because Jiang Ming had proposed that he would pay half for this meal and the others would split the rest, everyone had to pay money; it was just that his share was a little less than previously stated.

But once the meal became too expensive, even if Jiang Ming paid half, the remaining half would be a huge burden for the others.

Jiang Ming looked at Zhao Zhuoyue with some disgust and said, "No wonder your future mother-in-law won't budge on the dowry. With your stingy appearance, you're scared like this just from eating a meal. Your mother-in-law must want more dowry to prevent her daughter from being wronged in the future! What if you were treating your future mother-in-law to this meal today and you were so scared you didn't even dare to order? What would they think of you?"

Zhao Zhuoyue's expression was a bit awkward, and he said gloomily, "Brother Ming, I'm not as rich as you. To tell you the truth, to save money, my weekly living expenses are only 100 yuan. I drink cold water and eat steamed buns in the company dormitory every day; I can't even bear to buy an electric kettle..."

Jiang Ming said coldly, "No wonder you're poor. With your mindset and your consumption philosophy, you'll never make money. If you're not poor, who is?"

After a pause, Jiang Ming added, "What is money? Money is only money when it's spent. If you don't spend it, what is it? It's just paper in your wallet and numbers in the bank. Besides, I've already promised to take you to make money. If you can't even bear to pay for this meal, then I won't be friends with you anymore. Sorry."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhuoyue immediately shut his mouth sensibly.

He had already regarded Jiang Ming as his lifeline, so no matter what, he couldn't defy him.

Otherwise, what hope would there be for his life?

The others also felt that Jiang Ming was being too extravagant with his ordering, but after hearing him lecture Zhao Zhuoyue, no one dared to speak up.

Everyone felt that since he was paying half himself and so many people were paying the other half, if they still complained about being poor, they wouldn't be able to save face.

At this time, Jiang Ming said to the waiter, "Bring us a five-pound lobster!"

The waiter nodded and said, "Sir, our premium lobster here is 688 yuan per pound. Is that okay?"

Jiang Ming waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Yes, of course. Why wouldn't it be? Just bring it!"

After finishing, he added, "Oh right, bring me two bottles of Ace of Spades champagne!"

The waiter said, "Sir, a bottle of Ace of Spades champagne is 18,888 yuan. It cannot be returned once opened. Is that okay?"

Jiang Ming immediately said, "Yes! Hurry up and bring it!"

Hearing that he had ordered two bottles of wine worth nearly 40,000 yuan at once, everyone couldn't sit still.

Calculating this way, this meal was already going to cost over 60,000?

If they split it, everyone would have to pay at least 2,000 yuan!

Zhao Hao said with some difficulty, "Jiang Ming, we don't need to be so extravagant for this meal. Today is to treat Aunt Li to a meal and welcome her back. Aunt Li has just recovered from illness and definitely shouldn't drink. What do you mean by ordering these two bottles of wine?"

Jiang Ming said with disdain, "Zhao Hao, I, damn it, look down on your poor, pathetic appearance. It's just a meal; what the hell are you afraid of?"

After finishing, without waiting for Zhao Hao to speak, he immediately said to the waiter, "Bring us a large grouper and a serving of abalone sauce shark fin for everyone!"

Jiang Ming just hoped to order more so he could earn more.

The others were all worried, feeling that the money each person had to pay for this meal was too much.

But no one was embarrassed to tear their face off, and no one was embarrassed to say at this time that they wouldn't eat this meal, after all, Aunt Li was still here.

Aunt Li couldn't sit still either, and she said nervously, "Jiang Ming, there's really no need to be so extravagant for this meal, and these things you ordered are too expensive. Auntie is telling the truth, my heart is trembling just looking at the prices... Can we order some affordable dishes? Home-cooked dishes?"

Jiang Ming didn't want to let go of any opportunity to make money, so he naturally couldn't be willing to spend only a few thousand yuan on this meal; that way, he wouldn't be able to earn any price difference.

So he hurriedly said, "Aunt Li, just sit and eat today; we'll handle the rest. We were raised by you, and your kindness to us is heavier than Mount Tai. What's wrong with spending a little money to treat you to a meal? Even if I, Jiang Ming, spend 30,000, 40,000, or 50,000 today, I'm willing, and I spend it gladly!"

After finishing, he deliberately looked around at everyone's expressions.

His words just now were actually moral kidnapping. The subtext was already very clear: What? Aunt Li treated us so well and raised us, and you're not even willing to spend money to treat her to a meal? Are you still human?

Sure enough, as soon as he said this, everyone dared not show any dissatisfaction or opposition.

Everyone had already decided in their hearts that since they were treating Aunt Li to a meal, they would just have to bleed a little.

Ye Chen suddenly felt that something was wrong. Judging from Jiang Ming's deliberate car crash to avoid fulfilling the bet, he knew this person was definitely not a generous person, and was absolutely a villain.

So, why would a not-so-generous villain be so generous when ordering?

Could it be that ordering more for this meal had some benefit for him?

However, since Jiang Ming had said he would pay for half of the meal, he shouldn't be a shill for this restaurant.

Then there was only one other possibility: Jiang Ming could get this meal reimbursed!

So this Jiang Ming was calculating everyone into it. Since that was the case, he might as well play along!

Thinking of this, Ye Chen immediately said, "Everyone, how about this. For today's meal, Jiang Ming and I will pay half each, and the others don't have to pay a single cent. Even if this meal costs 200,000, we'll pay for it!"