"Yes — give us a private room!" Wu Chengtian nodded and said.

"Sir, the four of you have come for morning tea, haven't you? Why not take a booth? The private rooms carry a minimum charge, and the booths are very quiet at this hour — there's no one..." the waiter kindly reminded him.

After all, it was late morning, and the people who came to a hotel at this hour generally came for morning tea; however dear a morning tea might run, it hardly came to much, certainly not tens of thousands in one sitting — nowhere near the minimum charge for a private room!

At those words, Wu Chengtian frowned. He had gone to such trouble to treat Sun Jingyan to a meal precisely so he could show off, and now a single sentence from the waiter made him feel he was being looked down on!

Who did they take him for? The legitimate grandson of the distinguished Wu family — as if he could possibly care about some minimum charge? And in his present station he was one of Songshan City's "big bosses"; a single meal was well within his means!

"How much is the minimum charge?" Wu Chengtian asked with a frown, a little impatient.

The waiters here were the sort who knew how to read a face. Hearing Wu Chengtian ask that, she knew he was somewhat put out — that this gentleman did not care about any minimum charge, that this gentleman had money! But the doorman had told her earlier that these people had arrived in an Audi A4L. How much did an Audi A4L cost, after all? Even if they were rich, could they really put away tens of thousands in a single meal?

At that thought, the waiter could no longer be sure of Wu Chengtian's spending bracket. The private rooms here had their grades, too. Name too high a figure and she feared he could not afford it and, losing face, would fly into a rage; name too low a one and she feared he would take the cheapness as an insult.

"Brother Chengtian is a big boss — even his business cards are made of gold. Would he care about a little minimum charge?" Feng Xiaoxiao spoke up. "Today, Brother Chengtian's car got smashed, and the man paid him five million. He didn't so much as glance at it — he just handed the money straight to me! And you would question whether a man of that caliber can afford a minimum charge?"

Wu Chengtian glanced at Feng Xiaoxiao. The little girl really did know how to win him face! Good — it seemed the five million had not been wasted. If she could build up his image in front of Sun Jingyan today and let him carry the beauty home, the money would not have been spent in vain!

"Ah?" The waiter was stunned for a moment at Feng Xiaoxiao's words. So the reason they had come in an Audi A4L was that the car had been smashed! What kind of car got smashed and fetched five million in compensation? That had to be a Bentley or a Rolls-Royce at the very least, surely?

And the man did not even care about that compensation money — he had simply handed it off to the person beside him without a second thought. So just how rich must he be himself! Business cards made of gold? Gold had risen to over three hundred yuan a gram now; a card had to weigh two or three grams at least, which put the cost at over a thousand yuan apiece! And those were cards he handed out?

If an ordinary person got hold of one of those cards, wouldn't he have struck it rich? It seemed the people Wu Chengtian dealt with were all big shots as well — otherwise wouldn't those cards be snatched up like mad?

A rich man — an absolutely rich man!

Once the waiter had reasoned all this through, she hurriedly said, "Sir, the most luxurious private room here is the Crystal Palace on the top floor. It happens to be free just now, but the minimum charge is five hundred thousand yuan..."

"Five hundred thousand?" Five hundred thousand just for the minimum charge? Wu Chengtian was taken aback. This restaurant was ruthless! He had only brought ten million with him; after setting up Xiao Wangba's company and buying the car, over a million was gone, leaving him just over eight million. And now a single meal would wipe out five hundred thousand — wasn't that a touch too much?

In Wu Chengtian's original estimation, a country backwater like Songshan City was worlds apart from Yanjing. However expensive the hotel, a meal would cost thirty or fifty thousand at the very most — how much dearer could it get? The eight-odd million in his hands was enough to let him show off several times over. But now it appeared the situation was a little different!

The waiter, hearing Wu Chengtian fall silent after saying "five hundred thousand," assumed he thought five hundred thousand too little, and hastily added, "Of course, a five-hundred-thousand meal hardly shows off sir's distinction. After all, there are only four of you this time — even the most expensive dishes wouldn't run to that much..."

"Of course, of course!" Seeing the waiter change her tune, Wu Chengtian relaxed at once. This waiter really did have an eye — she had noticed that he thought five hundred thousand steep? Perfect: let her be the one to say it, and he would not lose face!

What she said was quite right — there were only four of them, they could not eat that much, and even the priciest dishes would not come to much money!

Wu Chengtian was gloating when he heard the waiter go on: "Even if all four of you ordered bird's nest, shark's fin, abalone and sea cucumber, five hundred thousand would be the absolute ceiling! So I would recommend sir apply for a VIP card here. For a deposit of just five hundred thousand, you would enjoy VIP treatment — you could reserve the Crystal Palace at any time, no private room would have a minimum charge, and every dish would come at a twenty percent discount! That is VIP-exclusive, you know!"

This VIP card seemed to offer benefits and discounts, but what it really conferred was a VIP's privileged status! So in the eyes of the truly wealthy, it was not a slight but a mark of the extraordinary rights they alone enjoyed!

Besides, not everyone could put down five hundred thousand for a dining card. And those who could afford to — once they were in the Crystal Palace, who would have the nerve to order cheap dishes? A few-thousand-yuan meal would be too embarrassing to eat in the Crystal Palace!

"Huh?" Wu Chengtian was dumbstruck. Five hundred thousand? For a VIP card? Was she out of her mind? He already thought five hundred thousand a great deal, and now suddenly five hundred thousand more? What a rip-off!

But he had come out today to build his image and show off; if he flinched at the mention of five hundred thousand, all the image he had built would be for nothing. So for now he could only grit his teeth and tough it out: "Mm, five hundred thousand is a trifle. Only, my business keeps me too busy — I'll hardly eat in Songshan more than a few times. Once I've bought this five-hundred-thousand card, I'd probably use it once and then never know where I'd left it!"

Wu Chengtian's subtext was: hurry up and take us to the private room. I don't care about discounts or no discounts; what I chiefly fear is trouble. Even if I buy the card, I won't be able to come eat!

"I see..." The waiter nodded, suspecting nothing, though she felt a little disappointed — after all, she got a share of the commission for every card sold.

"Brother Chengtian, why not buy a card and then give it to me? You're not in Songshan City, but I am — I'll eat up the rest of the money for you! Five hundred thousand may be nothing to you, but to me it's very much something!" Feng Xiaoxiao spoke up again, and at that Wu Chengtian very nearly rolled his eyes.

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