Chapter 38
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Just then, the shop assistant brought the ginseng over. Shannon checked it casually and was about to put it away.
Suddenly, Myra said, “This looks good. I’ll have one, too.”
The shop assistant replied, “I’m sorry, ma’am, but any ginseng over a hundred years old requires a reservation. I’d be happy to register you for an appointment now, or perhaps you’d like to look at some of our other products?”
Myra pulled a long face. “What do you mean? She didn’t have an appointment, did she?”
The shop assistant answered, “She’s not like the other customers besides, she did have an appointment.”
“How’s she different? Are you looking down upon me? Do you know who I am?” Myra looked at her arrogantly.
Employees of Rainbow Trade, a high–end shop in Lorston, were sensible, of course. The shop assistant replied with respect, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Gross. It’s a rule in our store. I am not authorized to sell you supplements without an appointment.”
Myra was completely enraged. “Are you kidding me? Do you guys even want to stay in business? Acting so smug right in front of me what, you think our family’s easy to mess with?”
“Enjoying yourself giving a shop assistant a hard time?” suddenly Shannon asked bluntly.
Hearing this, Myra looked at her disdainfully. “Who said you got to speak?”
Shannon rolled her eyes. “Why couldn’t I? Who gave you the shit authority to silence the others?”
Myra was furious. “Y–You have no manners, do you? Such vulgar language.”
“Manners are for people who deserve them. As for you? Yeah, I don’t think so.” Shannon sneered.
“You…” Myra’s expression changed.
Shannon mocked, “You what? You aren’t even qualified to buy ginseng. I feel embarrassed for you. But if you like the one I’ve just bought, I may consider selling it to you at a reasonable price.”
Looking at her, Myra asked, “What do you mean?”
Smiling brightly, Shannon answered, “I can sell it to you if you pay more.”
Myra frowned. Before she said anything, Beatrice beat her to it, saying, “Mom, no. See how complacent she is? I bet she’ll rip us off.”
“No? Alright then,” Shannon sighed, looking disappointed. Then she turned to the shop assistant. “You have 500–year–old ginseng, right? I’ll take that, too.”
“OK,” the shop assistant said.
Furious, Beatrice stopped the shop assistant. “What kind of store is this? You’ve got stock, but you won’t sell to us? We’ve got
should know better than to piss off us!” money, okay? And if you know who we are, you
“I’m sorry. I’m not at liberty to sell. I…” The shop assistant suddenly saw Shannon nodding at her. So, after a pause, she said, “I’ll call Mr. Tucker to see if we can do something about it.”
Soon, she came back and told Beatrice and Myra, “Mr. Tucker says you’re our VIPS and therefore our walk–ins, but today’s minimum purchase for VIPS must total at least three million.”
3 million dollars was just the price of a necklace to Beatrice and Myra, and they were OK with it.
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Chapter 38
Beatrice looked at Shiatmon arrogantly. “So what if we don’t have an appointment? We got what we wanted anyway.”
“Congratulations,” Shannon said flatly.
Her attitude made Beatrice suspicious, who looked at her. “It bugs you a lot, right?”
“No. I’m quite pleased.” Shannon was being honest.
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Yet Beatrice wouldn’t believe her and snorted,.“Yeah, right.” She pointed at the ginseng Shannon wanted to buy. “I’ll take that
one.”
The shop assistant hesitated. “But this lady here has already called dibs.”
Beatrice snorted, “She hasn’t paid, has she?”
Shannon smiled, “Ever heard of the concept of honesty in business? I called dibs first, so it’s mine–unless I decide I don’t want it.”
Shannon’s implication bugged Beatrice, who pulled a long face and looked at the shop assistant. “You get commissions for everything you sell, right? The more you sell, the more commissions you get. Sell me this, and I’ll give you an extra 50 thousand dollars.”
The shop assistant felt a bit awkward. “It’s not how things work here, Miss Gross.”
Myra chimed in, “How much does it cost? I’ll pay you double the price.” The ginseng was quite rare; her father was getting old, and this ginseng would do good to him, so she was set to have it.
With a half–smile, Shannon glanced at Myra. “Mrs. Gross, you’re well–off indeed. But you shouldn’t act like a bandit, don’t
you
think?”
Remaining calm, Myra said righteously, “I’ll pay. What kind of bandits does that? You can feel free to double the price, too.”
Shannon replied lazily, “That won’t be necessary. You can have it! Then she turned to the shop assistant. “You have another one just the same, right? I’ll take that one.”
Myra was stunned, and then her face turned sullen. As she looked at the shop assistant taking out another ginseng identical to the one she bought, she suddenly said, “I’ll take this one, too.”
She figured that it was not a bad deal, since each ginseng was of fine quality. Since it was a regular supplement in their family, buying two was acceptable.
Shannon deliberately looked displeased and said coldly, “Mrs. Gross, you’re going too far. I didn’t have any objection when you took the first one, and now you want this one, too?
“You know what? Even the doubled price is nothing to me. I didn’t raise the price simply because I didn’t want to cross you. Do you really think I can’t afford it, Mrs. Gross?
“I’ll be OK even with the tripled price or more–it’s all just pocket change to me. I’ll even buy whatever the shop is selling.”
She looked at Beatrice and Myra while continuing, “Why the silence? You’re not competing with me anymore? Ran out of cash?”
Her gaze turned pitiful. “I really envy you two. Using hubby’s or daddy’s supplementary credit cards every day, carefully sticking to the spending limit to save a buck or two. So frugal, so responsible.
“Not like my husband, who handed me the main black card and told me to swipe to my heart’s content. Can’t stop me from blowing through money if he tried.”
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Chapter 39
