After saying that, she hung up the phone, stepped in front of Elaine, and smiled as she said, “Madam, come. Let me help you try it on.”Elaine nodded and put on the necklace with the salesgirl’s help. After that, she kept looking in the mirror.The price-performance ratio of the jewelry from this big brand was really thin. The 18K gold chain was not worth a lot of money, and the pendant made of broken diamonds also did not cost much. When it was put together, it was estimated that a fraction of the price was already enough to cover it.However, what Elaine valued was not the price-performance ratio, but the reputation-to-price ratio.The so-called price-performance ratio was the ratio between product performance and price. For the same price, the better the performance would naturally be better. As for the reputation-to-price ratio, it was the ratio between the reputation and the price of the product. At the same price, the higher the reputation, the more important it was. Even i
The salesgirl’s sentence that stated that Elaine was the top amongst the noblewomen overwhelmed Elaine immediately.She felt that the salesgirl’s words had a kind of chemical energy which could produce a large amount of dopamine that would rush straight to her head through a chemical reaction with her eardrum. Simply put, it made her lose her sense. This feeling was like a young man who had just learned to smoke and had grabbed his uncle’s dry tobacco pouch and taken a big puff of it.It not only went up to his head, but it also made him feel a little dizzy.Elaine was so happy that she could not even close her mouth. She looked at the salesgirl, and the more Elaine looked at her, the more she liked her. Hannah was indeed very good at patronizing her, and they had obviously been sisters-in-law for decades. Hannah could also praise her whenever she wanted to.However, if Elaine were to really compare the salesgirl in front of her with Hannah, Hannah would definitely lose out.
However, when Elaine thought of how the salesgirl had already set up the atmosphere, wouldn’t she be unable to live up to the title as the ‘top amongst the noblewomen’ if she were to say that she could not afford it? Just as Elaine was feeling uneasy, the salesgirl placed the treasure of the store in front of her.Elaine looked down at the price tag and suddenly exclaimed, “Oh, my God! Seven, eight, eight, eight... Seven, followed by six eights with no decimal points... This is f*cking 7.88 million dollars!”The salesgirl in front of her took the necklace out, looked at Elaine, and then looked at the necklace before she shook her head and said, “Madam, I suddenly feel that this necklace is somewhat dull in front of you.”Elaine was about to cry.‘A necklace that is nearly eight million dollars also looks somewhat dull in front of an old lady like me?! Do you think that I’m as bright as the sun?!’Hannah, who was behind her, was also shocked and blurted out, “This necklace is too
Hannah, who was aside, had already exclaimed in shock before Elaine responded. She blurted out, “I remember that there have never been any discounts in your brand before. How can it suddenly be eighty thousand dollars cheaper?!”The salesgirl smiled and said, “Madam, you’re right. We never offer discounts in our store. Today is the only exception, and it is only for today!”Elaine was also moved.A brand that had never given any discount was now directly cheaper by eighty thousand dollars. This was a huge bargain!As the saying goes, it would be stupid if she did not take advantage of a bargain.If she did not buy this necklace, she would wake up with regrets at night. So, she quietly turned on her cell phone and glanced at her account balance in her bank app. She had three hundred and sixty-two thousand dollars left in her bank account.In the few days that Charlie and Claire were gone, not only did she spend eighty thousand dollars in the beauty salon for a super VIP member
The salesgirl said, “The cashback is 20%. Didn’t you buy this necklace for three hundred and sixty thousand dollars? We will refund 20% of the money to you after the transaction, which is seventy-two thousand dollars.”“Oh, my God...” Elaine blurted out, “Wouldn’t that mean that I would be able to buy this necklace, that is worth more than four hundred and eighty thousand dollars, for less than three hundred thousand dollars after I participate in these various activities?!”“Yes!” The salesgirl held the calculator for a while and said, “The actual price will be only two hundred and eighty-eight thousand dollars, which is two hundred thousand dollars cheaper!”Elaine was extremely happy. Two hundred thousand dollars cheaper! Wasn’t this a great bargain for nothing?!Just as Elaine was feeling excited, the salesgirl said, “By the way, you can come to the store to participate in the lottery at about 1.00 pm or 2.00 pm after you buy the necklace. The lottery is free, and the highest
Even though she had no tears, Elaine really felt like crying when she heard this.However, in order to maintain her status as the top amongst the noblewomen, she could only clench her teeth and bear with it.After all, she thought to herself, ‘I cannot argue with this salesgirl for the arrival time of the seventy thousand dollars. After all, she was quite good to me and gave me so many discounts...’‘What’s more, it’s not that they are not going to return the seventy thousand dollars back to me. It’s just the normal procedure, so how can I have a fallout with them over this? Wouldn’t it be a little too unreasonable of me, then?’As Elaine thought of this, she could not help but sigh as she thought to herself, ‘The main thing is that I only have more than two thousand dollars in my bank card now, and it will only be enough to last me for a few days...’After making up her mind, Elaine did not continue talking about this issue. Instead, she pretended to laugh and casually said to th
Elaine kept thinking about the lottery after she was done eating.She did not expect to win the 1.2 million grand prize. She would be satisfied as long as she could win any prize at all.After eating, Elaine and Hannah returned to Harbour City again.At this time, the manager of the jewelry store had already received the lottery tickets that Jasmine had sent over.This batch of lottery tickets had been made by a printing house working overtime this morning, and the lottery tickets still smelled strongly of ink. When Elaine walked into the store with Hannah, the salesgirl from the morning hurriedly rushed over to greet her as she smiled and said, “Madam, you’re here! Please come with me to our store manager’s office!”As she spoke, she lowered her voice deliberately and said to Elaine, “Madam, our lottery today is only limited to high-end customers like you. Ordinary customers in the store are not entitled to it, so let’s keep a low profile and not let them find out about it.”E
Elaine’s heart was beating rapidly when she saw the words ‘grand prize’.After Hannah heard what Elaine said, she hurriedly leaned forward and looked down.As soon as she looked, she could clearly see the words ‘grand prize’ written clearly on the prize redemption area.At this moment, Hannah felt so depressed that she really felt like dying.‘I really cannot understand why that d*mned b*tch, Elaine, could have such f*cking good luck?!’‘She drew the grand prize as soon as she reached out her hand! Is she still a f*cking human being?’‘Seeing that d*mned b*tch, Elaine, winning 1.2 million dollars makes me feel even more uncomfortable than if I were to lose 1.2 million dollars myself!’Elaine was already rejoicing at this time, and she hurriedly asked the store manager, “What exactly is the grand prize?”The store manager hurriedly said, “Go ahead and scratch the prize! The prize is written below, but you won’t know what it is until you scratch it off.”Elaine muttered, “It’d b
Charlie chuckled. "Don't sell yourself short, Mr. Hart. There are plenty of business folk who got so used to their comfort zone that they became caught in the illusion that they can be successful in anything they do. It's a mindset that leads to them blindly developing new projects and new competition, and then they end up losing big."If memory serves, there have been real estate businesses that started mineral water brands, search engines that tried the car industry, e-commerce sites attempting social media, and vice-versa. All of them are multi-billion-dollar companies venturing into new frontiers, but all to unimpressive outcomes."Pausing, Charlie then continued, "You've mentioned rising above the competition amidst the development of the new energy industry. That would get anyone's attention, and it is why I believe that you definitely will make a strong impression with your strategizing and knowledge of the basic principles."Yolden found it hard to refuse, seeing that Charli
Having lost it all, Jacob really looked like he wouldn't be getting back up.But fortunately, he had a pillar in the form of Elaine.In fact, Elaine would serve to be a container, whipping Jacob into shape if he got too full of himself.But on the other hand, now that Jacob was utterly despondent, she would be forcing him to smile and function in general.Elaine's attitude to the entire issue was clear as well. Even though Jacob had just lost his job, she would make him go shopping with her in Dubai even if he fell into a coma. Even if he was dead, she'd just cremate him and bring his ashes along.Hence, with Elaine's firm grip around Jacob's leash, he went on strolls, going shopping and taking selfies with Elaine everyday, eventually easing the toll on his mood and spirit.-Back at Aurous Hill, Charlie was preparing for Yolden Hart and Matilda Hall's wedding as it approached.Yolden was a schoolmate of his mother, Ashley Layna Acker, as well as Charlie's elder.And while Cha
"See you." As soon as Charlie hung up on Matilda, Don Albert's call came right after.He sounded nervous as Charlie answered the phone, saying, "Master Wade, I think I might have gone too far…""Wait, what's this about?" Charlie asked."Your father-in-law, of course…" Don Albert sighed. "You asked me to leave him hanging for a while, so I did. I even refused when he asked to book a room in Heaven Springs.""Well, that's not a problem, is it?" Charlie shrugged. "He and Zachary ganged up for some real mischief. As you are Zachary's boss, it's right that you refused him because you didn't appreciate what he did.""That's just it. I thought that approach was just right as well," Don Albert quickly said. "I wasn't playing nice when Mr. Bay of the Calligraphy and Painting Association called me either. That's when he said he'd try to save Jacob's position as vice-president, but I told him it's none of my business."I then hung up on him without much thought, only for Zachary to tell m
Meanwhile, Charlie was downstairs in Claire's office, waiting to pick her up and head home.That was when Matilda called him, asking as soon as he answered, "Charlie, do you know how Jacob is doing? He never answered any of my texts—is he going to be alright?""I wouldn't know," Charlie replied. "Both he and Elaine are in Dubai on a trip… What's wrong?""He resigned," Matilda sighed. "I only saw the public statement that the Calligraphy and Painting Association posted this afternoon. It says that he tendered the resignation himself, but it doesn't really feel that way. I wonder if he's at odds with other members of the association…"Charlie was actually surprised to hear that Jacob had resigned.He had told Zachary to expose the truth of the bronze sculpture fraud case to teach Jacob a lesson so that Jacob would understand the meaning of true pain.However, he anticipated that Mr. Bay would at least keep Jacob around with an unimportant job even if Jacob did lose some money and e
Falling apart in both mind and spirit, Jacob was crying as he disembarked and took a cab to the hotel.Elaine, who had been lying around for 24 hours, was stunned speechless as she watched him enter, crying like a child.In contrast, Elaine looked like a mother to Jacob just then as he threw himself into her arms and bawled, "Darling… That prick Mr. Bay screwed me over… I have nothing left now…"Taken aback for a moment that Jacob would bawl in her arms like that, Elaine soon came to her senses and patted his back as she comforted him, "Oh, stop crying already. Who cares about some Calligraphy and Painting groupies? We certainly don't! Just hear me out and don't ever go there again!"Jacob kept sobbing, "But I care… I want to go…"Annoyed, Elaine's hand that had been patting Jacob a moment ago slid down to his hip and pinched him viciously before he noticed."Ow!" Jacob yelped in pain, and he demanded indignantly, "What was that for?!""Shut up!" Elaine snapped, glowering. "I wa
Jacob couldn't even be bothered by the looks others were giving him, and he called Mr. Bay immediately.Mr. Bay had already gone home and was seated on the couch with his wife, watching his phone and waiting for Jacob to call and demand an explanation.Mr. Bay knew that he had to answer for this and that if he avoided Jacob, it may well be a confession that he had screwed Jacob over.So, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he decided to come clean with Jacob.Naturally, by coming clean, he meant passing the buck as his wife had suggested.Hence, as he answered Jacob's call, he immediately sighed in embarrassment, "Hey, Jacob. I'm so sorry about that…"However, Jacob was so furious he immediately started bellowing, "Mr. Bay! Are you fucking with me here?! You said that the resignation letter was more of a formality, but you just made it public instead! So, all those things you said about helping me were just a trap, was it?! You're despicable! And to think I've been so good to you, even
The repeated flights had left Jacob tormented.Even before he actually had the time to enjoy Dubai, he had already gotten sick of the place and didn't want to ever return.And on the flight, he couldn't stop his thoughts from going astray.Now that he was not getting back the money he had lost, his only hope was Mr. Bay.Fortunately, Mr. Bay was serious about his promise that he would at least save him a job as department head. That was why, despite his thoughts running astray, he never considered the thought that he would be kicked out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association.As soon as his flight landed, he didn't wait to turn off his phone's flight mode, waiting for the internet connection to return so that he could ask Mr. Bay about the meeting.Once he did, he received a ton of messages from public accounts to acquaintances—many had already found out that he had resigned from the post of administrative vice-president and wanted to ask how he was doing.And Matilda was
The Calligraphy and Painting Association was certainly efficient—soon after the meeting was dismissed, the news that the administrative vice-president had resigned was posted on their official page and social media.The notice was simple and never mentioned what Jacob had done, only that the administrative vice-president had asked to resign for personal reasons. The request had since been voted upon, and all members had agreed to it.And that was how a simple and short message kicked Jacob out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association entirely.In the city, other associations closely connected with the Calligraphy and Painting Association were the various cultural societies and circles of antique enthusiasts and the Senior University. In fact, most fans of the public page of the Calligraphy and Painting Association were from the Senior City, and every lecturer, student, and even guest lecturer were subscribed.As a matter of fact, that was entirely Jacob's doing. After his lect
There weren't that many members in the Calligraphy and Painting Association—just a handful over twenty.Hence, at Mr. Bay's request, everyone showed up at the conference at 1 pm.He chose the afternoon as there were a handful who were away on outreach, including Walker, who was subbing for Jacob's lectures.Once the entire Calligraphy and Painting Association save for Jacob was informed of the mandatory meeting, every member was there on the hour, seated primly and in attention in the huge conference room.Mr. Bay didn't waste his breath on the preamble either—as soon as he saw that everyone had arrived, he announced, "Everyone, I've gathered you here today because our administrative vice-president, Jacob Wilson, has been alleged to be involved in a certain malicious scheme."Last night, Mr. Wilson submitted his resignation to me, and after a discussion with my vice-presidents, we've all decided to hold a vote. It will be open to every member in the association as we will be decid