CHAPTER 1045: CHAPTER 1042: HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL

"Lin Tian, let me go to battle. I refuse to believe we can’t beat them. At worst, I’ll have Little Zi cause a commotion at the venue, making it hard for them to walk away unscathed." Xiao Manxuan clenched her small fists and said viciously. The little girl really hated these people who constantly made things difficult for the Xiao Family.

Lin Tian waved his hand, telling the little girl to calm down. Although he too liked solving problems with violence, when violence couldn’t solve everything, it was time to rely on one’s brain.

Lin Tian turned to face Shen Yuankui, smiling slightly, "You all say I’m not part of the Xiao Family and thus not qualified to compete. But what if I’m a shareholder of the Xiao Group?"

"A shareholder?" Everyone was stunned, none of them knew Lin Tian had such an identity.

The father and son of the Bai Family exchanged a glance, seemingly recalling something, with their faces turning somewhat unpleasant.

Shen Yuankui said, "If you’re a shareholder of the Xiao Group, then you are barely qualified to accept the challenge. But the condition you mentioned must be true."

"I can prove it. Lin Tian became a shareholder of the Xiao Group just recently, and he’s also one of the founders of Tianxue Jewelry. The Xiao Group’s equity structure is very clearly documented. If you’re unsure, I can have someone fax a document over right now." Miss earnestly said.

Lin Tian chuckled and said, "There’s no need for such trouble, because members of the Bai Family from Xikou City are present here. I’m sure they are already aware of this matter."

Bai Yuze looked a bit embarrassed; he had stood up earlier opposing Lin Tian and forgot this matter. In fact, he knew about Lin Tian becoming a shareholder in the Xiao Group, as the information came from Sun Hai.

"Indeed." Bai Yuze admitted awkwardly.

"Since that’s the case, Lin Tian is qualified to accept the challenge together with Xiao Manxue." Shen Yuankui finally announced.

Yun Hongxi saw that both sides had reached an agreement and said, "Brother Shen, three questions can start with the first one. But I must remind Brother Shen that the questions must be fair and reasonable; otherwise, Mr. Ning and I have the right to invalidate them."

Shen Yuankui confidently nodded, giving Qian Wanguan a signal. Qian Wanguan stood up, his eyes flashing with a sinister smile, and said to Lin Tian, "As businessmen, our ultimate goal is to sell products and make money. How to make consumers willingly spend money on products tests one’s wisdom the most. This first question will examine your brains."

"What’s Mr. Qian’s specific question then?" Miss said.

"Don’t rush; the question is very simple." Qian Wanguan smirked, took out a one hundred yuan note from his pocket, gestured it to everyone, and then said, "I have a hundred yuan note in my hand. No matter what method you use, if you can make me hand over this money to you, then you’ve passed the first test. Otherwise, you fail."

Upon hearing the question, everyone frowned. The task seemed straightforward but was indeed as difficult as reaching the sky. Because Qian Wanguan was reluctant to let the Xiao Family pass the test, no matter the strategy the Xiao Family used, Qian Wanguan simply wouldn’t give the money away.

However, the question was indeed fair and reasonable. How to earn someone else’s money truly tests a businessman’s brain. It was very fitting for the identity of the businessmen present and was not off-topic.

Put this problem into a market outside, and for the businessmen here, it wouldn’t be difficult to get a hundred yuan from a stranger’s hand. But Qian Wanguan cleverly situated the question in the present moment, thereby hugely increasing the difficulty.

Among those present, not even Miss, probably not even the experienced old men could accomplish it.

Of course, Lin Tian could use force to get the money. Not to mention a hundred yuan note, he could rob the Qian Family’s treasury without an issue. Yet, if he used violence to obtain the money, he’d not only face charges of attacking the elderly but also be immediately expelled from the business association and even get reported to the police.

Moreover, the problem was clearly stated; it was about testing a businessman’s brain, not his brawn. Yun Hongxi and the others shook their heads, apparently disapproving of Qian Wanguan’s tricky question.

Miss stared at the hundred dollar bill in Qian Wanguan’s hand, frowning for a long time. She thought of many solutions but ultimately rejected them herself. Was the first round meant to be lost?

She glanced at Lin Tian, seeing him deep in thought, seemingly without any solution either. Miss sighed and said, "The first question, we..."

"The first question we forfeit." Lin Tian suddenly spoke, interrupting Miss.

Miss was shocked; did even Lin Tian have no solution? Everyone felt a bit regretful, having looked forward to this challenge with great interest, only to see the first question forfeited.

"Are you really giving up?" Qian Wanguan’s eyes revealed a trace of a complacent smile as he said.

Lin Tian snorted coldly and said, "You pose this kind of question, clearly disrespectful. Why should we humiliate ourselves?"

"The question is plain for everyone to see. Even Mr. Yun has no objections. How can you say my question is disrespectful?" Qian Wanguan frowned.

"Exactly, if you can’t do it just admit it. Don’t claim the question is flawed; I’d say you’re insulting the person who posed the question." Bai Yuze sneered.

Lin Tian didn’t even bother to look at him, standing up, walked to Qian Wanguan with a cold laugh, and said, "Mr. Qian, do you dare say your question has no issues? Why then did you use a fake hundred dollar bill to test us? You want us to win fake money; is that your respect for us?"

"I see you’re also a Qian, but money doesn’t seem to have the minimal respect for you." Lin Tian said disdainfully.

These words undoubtedly infuriated Qian Wanguan. The Qian Family had long profited from money, aligned with the "Qian" name. They were very proud of their "Qian" surname, believing it was destiny. The Qian Family makes money; it’s a sure profit.

Yet, being accused by Lin Tian of using fake money to deceive, how could Qian Wanguan not be angry? Even Qian Jin and his father were enraged.

"Lin Tian! Watch your language. When has our Qian Family ever used fake money to deceive people!" Qian Jin retorted angrily.

’Your Grandpa, I say something about your family, you get mad. Yet you spoke many unpleasant things about the Xiao Family earlier and didn’t mind the language?’ Lin Tian inwardly despised the hypocritical Qian Family.

"Who knows, maybe you don’t mind whether a money note is real?" Lin Tian said casually.

To the wealthy, money is so plentiful that they wouldn’t care if a hundred dollar bill is real or fake, as a fake note isn’t a loss to them. However, to ordinary people, receiving a fake bill would cause significant loss.

What Lin Tian said made sense, the merchants pondered it themselves, realizing it might actually be true. Normally when using money, they barely paid attention to its authenticity.

Could that note really be fake? The people couldn’t help but think so, but they were too far from Qian Wanguan to see clearly.

Lin Tian laughed lightly and said to Qian Wanguan, "Mr. Qian, isn’t this question about testing eyesight, not brains, eh..."

Such sarcastic "eh" provoked Qian Wanguan greatly; he turned grim, threw the money towards Lin Tian, and said coldly, "Young man, look closely before you speak, don’t just babble irrelevantly!"