Lust System: Harem Of Beautiful Women Chapter 897 Not Many Suckers Out There!

Mira rolled her eyes. "Sharing one man? Yeah, right. Isn't Nancy married?"

"I know that Hans Bar is actually run by her husband, Daniel."

"And I know Deewa and Nancy's personalities—if they accepted that, it'd be scarier than a ghost story."

Chloe laughed. "You've done your research. Yes, Deewa runs the company now, but Nancy is my man's sister-in-law. He invested because of her."

"Ah..."

Mira was stunned, staring at Luis. "He's married?"

"Exactly!"

Chloe said casually. "She's a great person. I actually get along better with her than with Nancy. She's Nancy's younger sister. I'll introduce you sometime."

"Anyway, we're here to talk business—why are we gossiping?"

Mira was truly shocked. Her mind was buzzing, wondering if she'd misheard.

If it were Deewa, who wasn't well-off, or Nancy, who came from an average background, becoming mistresses for money wouldn't have surprised her.

Even if the guy was handsome, Chloe's family had always been well-off—not filthy rich, but comfortably above average.

Nancy and Deewa were proud because of their own attributes, but Chloe actually had real backing.

Her own family, her parents, her siblings—all of them held official positions.

Her career as a flight attendant was practically a family disgrace. Under those circumstances, what did money matter? If she wanted to ruin someone, she could.

Chloe as a mistress—Mira could barely believe it. If anyone had seen the real world, it would be Chloe.

Chloe was also tactful. Some things should stay hidden. They weren't close enough to share everything, so she kept certain secrets to herself.

Seeing Mira's shock, Luis cleared his throat. "Ms. Mira, shall we get down to business?"

"Of course!"

Mira snapped back to reality. "I'd like to cooperate with Blossom Media. My entire studio would merge in."

"Revenue would follow the company's bylaws, with the same split as Nancy's..."

"My main and side accounts would all be folded in, in exchange for a reasonable stake. That's what we should be negotiating."

That wasn't unreasonable—as long as her equity demands weren't excessive.

But even with no business experience, Luis spotted the issue. "We can discuss that later. But right now, the 'Top Creator' competition doesn't seem to involve you anymore."

"Whether it's Iron Ox or your rivalry with Nancy, it hasn't escalated to that point."

"Even without his cooperation, you could run your own team and do fine. So why come to us now?"

Luis looked at her calmly. "Your feud with Iron Ox is your business. If you were sincere, you'd talk to Deewa directly. Coming through me suggests a lack of sincerity."

"Or maybe you chose Chloe not because she's easy to talk to or your best friend, but because she's your most likely way in."

Chloe realized he was right and her expression darkened with a hint of anger.

Mira's expression didn't change. She said calmly, "I came to Chloe because we're close and can communicate properly. It's not as complicated as you think."

Luis smiled. "Fair enough. We'll discuss it and get back to you."

After the meal, Luis dropped Chloe and her baby off at home, then called his sister-in-law Nancy.

"I'm at Daniel's hometown!"

Nancy said sweetly. "Do you want to come over?"

Luis took a taxi there. He had to admit, the estate the Zester family had built in the countryside—using collective and buying extra land—was quite impressive.

Four neat villas, spacious and bright courtyards, quiet and surrounded by hills and water—just as nice as any city villa.

The door was opened by Brook, wearing a house dress, glasses, and her hair pinned up—a vision of wifely seduction.

"Is your husband home?"

Luis noticed the security cameras and behaved himself, though a lecherous grin still crept onto his face.

"He's out playing cards. I came with Nancy."

Brook's eyes also held a hint of spring. "But my father-in-law and the others are home, so don't try anything."

Next to her villa was a prefab structure—a used RV shell that actually looked quite stylish in the yard.

"Brother-in-law Daniel, come have some tea."

At the prefab's entrance, Brook's father-in-law was chatting with Nancy. On an intricately carved stone root table sat elegant tea sets, exuding a refined aesthetic.

Luis sat down without ceremony and said warmly, "Uncle, what were you two discussing?"

Brook sat down too, sipping tea and smiling. "A while ago, Nancy said she wanted to order a batch of ordinary jade pieces for a few hundred dollars each."

"It just so happens my father-in-law recently took on two carving apprentices. She's here to pick up the finished pieces."

Luis walked into the prefab with interest. It was filled with jade-carving machines, lined up in rows.

Two middle-aged women in dust masks were working at a table, the machines emitting a harsh screech and the acrid smell of stone dust.

Piles of jade fragments—of all colors and sizes—were stacked like mountains. Before polishing, they looked like construction waste.

Both apprentices were in wheelchairs—disabled. This kind of work suited them well.

When they noticed someone enter, they looked up briefly then resumed working, wearing protective eyewear.

Luis stepped back outside. Brook's father-in-law brought out a table and laid out the finished jade pieces.

Jewelry is fascinating—even if you're not an expert, you can instinctively tell when something is expensive.

Cheap pieces are just as obvious. It seems to be a natural human instinct.

The pieces on the table were varied in style—safety buckles, plain plaques, all with simple carvings and mixed colors. Cheap stuff, about twenty pieces in total.

"Uncle, I really appreciate this!"

Nancy said cheerfully as she admired them.

She took out a red envelope with ten thousand dollars and said apologetically, "You have to take this, or I'll feel too embarrassed to come back."

Brook's father-in-law didn't refuse. He casually set the envelope aside and said with a smile, "We're family. You're being too polite. Fine, I won't argue with you."

That worked out to less than five hundred dollars per piece—very cheap indeed.

Luis added, "Uncle, even between brothers, accounts should be clear. You should at least cover your costs—this is too cheap."

Her father-in-law poured tea and chuckled. "I'm still making a profit."

"These are leftover scraps from years ago. Carving them myself isn't worth the effort, and throwing them away felt wasteful, so they've just been collecting dust."

"Since Nancy needed them, and an old buddy of mine heads the local association, I took on these two apprentices to give them practice."

"It's enough to cover their wages and a small red envelope."

Brook brought over a bag of jewelry boxes.

She sat beside them and packed the pieces with practiced ease, tying them with fine gold thread—instant class. No one would believe these were under five hundred dollars each.

"The carving is still a bit rough."

Her father-in-law was still critical. He called out to the prefab, "Take your time and do it right. In the old days, with work like this, you'd be too embarrassed to ask for payment."

"Got it!"

The two apprentices said in unison.

Nancy still felt bad and brought two bottles of Remy Martin from her car. "Uncle, keep these for yourself."

"Deal!"

Her father-in-law didn't refuse this time. He laughed. "The red envelope will be their wages, and the liquor is your filial gift."

"I'll bring you some tea next time."

Nancy said sweetly.

Riding back to the city in Nancy's G-Wagon with Brook, Luis learned that Nancy had practically begged the old man to take the ten thousand. And that was for fifty pieces, not twenty.

Luis was surprised. "Wouldn't that mean your father-in-law is taking a huge loss?"

Brook chuckled and said, "No loss at all. He made his fortune long ago."

"People lose money on things like gambling on rough stones. But my father-in-law buys pre-cut stones and bids in bulk—he's been at it so long he's practically a wizard at it."

"My mother-in-law said that back then, just the bracelets he cut from the stones already covered the costs and then some."

"The cores of the bracelets were pure profit. Even the scraps with decent color and quality could be turned into simple pendants and plaques—still profit."

"As for this batch, they're just leftovers that aren't worth selling but are a shame to throw away."

Luis said, "Even so, these scraps look pretty nice to me. Places like this would sell them for thousands."

"Not that many suckers out there."