She ultimately remained cautious and steady, even considering the possibility that Edward Clark might be colluding with someone to commit fraud. Although this was highly unlikely, she couldn't afford to be careless—her company had all her heart and soul invested in it, and she couldn't afford to lose!

“Payment?” David Bolton laughed, reached for his checkbook, wrote down an amount, and handed it to Olivia Foster. “Of course, I'll pay in full at once.”

Olivia Foster took the check, her hands trembling slightly. The check was genuine, and three million could absolutely be cashed immediately. But having such a windfall drop into her lap just felt off. He didn’t ask about the price, didn’t ask about discounts, just paid cash directly—what kind of businessman does that?

“So, the delivery address? When do we sign the contract?”

David Bolton was just about to speak when his phone suddenly rang. He frowned, pulled out his phone, answered briefly, then looked at Edward Clark with some regret and said, “Edward Clark, something’s come up. I can’t have dinner with you today. Remember, you owe me a meal.”

“I’m not used to owing people, and I don’t think this deal does me any good.” Edward Clark actually replied like this. “If you feel you’re getting the short end of the stick, you can always find someone else to do this deal.”

Olivia Foster was so angry she almost spat blood, wishing she could kick Edward Clark out. She didn’t expect David Bolton to not be angry at all, just laugh and say, “Alright, well said. Then let’s say I owe you a meal. When the time comes, I’ll treat you, and you’d better give me the honor.”

He laughed heartily as he walked out, naturally drawing the attention of everyone around—no one knew where this madman had come from. Olivia Foster hurried after him, saw David Bolton already in the elevator, and called out anxiously, “Boss Bolton, who should I contact about the contract?”

“Have that kid Edward Clark contact me.” David Bolton left this final sentence as the elevator doors closed, leaving a baffled Olivia Foster behind. She turned to look at the equally confused Edward Clark...

Section 9: The First Pot of Gold

“You’re very familiar with Boss Bolton?” Olivia Foster walked into the room and asked softly. Now she truly saw Edward Clark in a new light, though judging by his outfit, most people would probably believe he was just well-acquainted with David Bolton’s gardener.

“We’ve talked on the phone twice.” Edward Clark pushed up his glasses and smiled.

“How did you get his phone number?” Olivia Foster asked a key question. Not only Edward Clark, even she herself couldn’t get David Bolton’s number. And even if you had it, if you weren’t a close acquaintance, you might never even hear his voice.

“When I was still a pioneer, I accidentally picked up a business card—not the kind you have—on which David Bolton’s contact info was written,” Edward Clark explained. “I saw he was a boss, figured he might buy products, and since I was bored anyway, I tried calling. As it turned out, this Fat Bolton answered. When he heard I was selling products, he told me to prepare some materials for him to look at. He said it seemed okay, so he’d buy twenty million’s worth first. I told my boss and colleagues, but no one believed me, and that was the end of it. I had no idea this fat guy was so persistent and would actually find me.”

“Wait, what did you call him?” Olivia Foster looked at Edward Clark as if he were a monster.

“Of course, Fat Bolton,” Edward Clark said with a straight face. “Isn’t he fat? Although we didn’t close the deal, I called him again to thank him for his kindness and said that if he ever came to S City, I’d splurge and treat him to a high-end boxed meal for ten yuan a serving. Fat Bolton was very polite and replied that eight yuan would be fine—he doesn’t like eating meat.”

Olivia Foster nearly fainted. “A high-end boxed meal for ten yuan a serving?”

She realized she and Edward Clark lived in completely different worlds. She simply couldn’t connect the words “ten yuan” and “high-end,” but seeing how naturally Edward Clark said it, Olivia Foster made a judgment: Edward Clark’s standard for a meal probably never exceeds five yuan!

“But luckily, Fat Bolton forgot about that.” Edward Clark laughed happily, as if he’d gotten a great bargain. “Otherwise, if he’d brought it up just now, I couldn’t have pretended not to remember, and I really would’ve had to splurge.”

Olivia Foster was speechless. No matter how many times she tried, she never had the chance to treat David Bolton to a meal, yet Edward Clark was reluctant to spend even ten yuan. Well, to be more precise, it was eight yuan, because now she had no doubt that Edward Clark would firmly remember David Bolton’s promise not to eat meat and would just order him a vegetarian dish.

“That’s all there is to it?” Olivia Foster was getting a headache. She just couldn’t figure out how this happened. Other people would beg and plead, even bring a pig’s head as an offering and still not get the deal, but Edward Clark landed it so casually, and even said, “Let’s just start with twenty million.” Shouldn’t those top salespeople be fighting to the death for this?

“So, what does Mr. Foster think should be done?” Edward Clark hadn’t even mentioned that he’d only called out of boredom, just for fun—otherwise, Mr. Foster would probably have fainted on the spot!

“It’s nothing, nothing.” Olivia Foster snapped back to her senses and looked Edward Clark up and down again. Although she tried hard to remove her bias and give Edward Clark a careful, complete, and entirely new evaluation, the moment she saw a piece of vegetable stuck in his teeth and those scuffed, misshapen leather shoes, she still gave him a score of forty out of a new full mark of one hundred and fifty!