Chapter 441 - 435: Money Lost

With that, she turned and signaled to the others with a look.

Hailey Beckett reacted instantly, hurrying back to get the radishes from the car.

When the radishes were brought over, the boss let out a sigh of relief.

Chloe Sinclair had picked out one of a lower quality earlier, but when the boss glanced at the radishes in the basket, he saw they were much better than the one she had been holding.

"Sir, you see, it’s 385 jin in total. I’ll round it down for you—just give me 190, and we’ll call it even."

Chloe Sinclair’s tactful words put the boss at ease. After getting the money, the group prepared to leave.

As they reached the door, the boss suddenly called out, "Hold on."

Chloe Sinclair stopped in her tracks.

The boss hurried after them. "How many more do you have? Our shop sells several thousand jin of radishes a day. If your village has more, you can bring them all here."

"Here’s my number. I’ll buy as many as you have."

The radish season was almost over, so the boss wanted to stock up on as many as he could.

After all, radishes could be kept for several months.

The radishes from Chloe Sinclair’s group were good and cheap; he was definitely interested in buying more.

Chloe Sinclair hadn’t expected a business opportunity to arise so quickly. She hurriedly took the number. "Thank you."

She had seen that the village still had plenty last time. With an order like this, they wouldn’t have to worry about selling the rest of the radishes.

Chloe Sinclair was very grateful to the man.

But Nina Sinclair just frowned.

Once they were gone, Nina Sinclair asked, "Chloe, as a businessperson, don’t you have any basic moral integrity?"

Chloe Sinclair replied, "What do you mean?"

Nina Sinclair looked at Chloe Sinclair’s confused expression, unsure if she was genuinely clueless or just pretending to be.

"Why did you lie to that man and say we bought these radishes for eighty cents? These radishes clearly..."

"You were going to say that these radishes clearly aren’t worth this price, right?"

Chloe Sinclair suddenly cut her off.

Nina Sinclair didn’t respond this time, her silence conveying her thoughts to Chloe Sinclair.

"The boss chose to trust you as we were leaving. Not only that, he even gave the villagers a way to sell their radishes. If he finds out you lied, there’s no guarantee he’ll still be willing to buy from the other villagers."

Chloe Sinclair raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

’Who knew Nina Sinclair’s social consciousness could get so high in just one day?’

’From the individual to the collective. That’s a huge improvement.’

"Miss Sinclair, this isn’t cheating. If the radishes the villagers grew weren’t any good, I wouldn’t have had the nerve to open my mouth. Theirs are juicy and crisp, better than what many merchants on the market are selling. They’re worth this price."

"Besides, my conversation with the boss was just part of the usual market haggling. We both understood the game, but we didn’t call each other out."

The man himself claimed to have been in the radish business for over a decade; there’s no way he doesn’t know the annual market prices.

The reason he was willing to pay market price for these lower-grade radishes was that their internal quality left him completely satisfied.

Nina Sinclair has been pampered for more than a decade; this was likely the first time in her life she had ever been to a produce market. Of course she wouldn’t understand the subtleties.

But mostly, Chloe Sinclair just couldn’t be bothered with her.

’Out of everyone, she’s the one who talks the most, all day long.’

"Alright, let’s head back."

The ancient town was crowded, and Chloe Sinclair didn’t want to linger, so she prepared to head back.

Besides, Jessica Ford and Nina Sinclair were still carrying all that money.

"Chloe, since we’re already here, why don’t we look around a bit?"

The ancient town was scenic, with a clear, sparkling lake just outside. Of course Nina Sinclair didn’t want to leave.

And when she saw a café with a live singer, she became even more rooted to the spot.

"Why don’t we borrow some of the villagers’ money for now? We can pay it back from our personal accounts later, right?"

"No."

Chloe Sinclair hadn’t even spoken yet, but Yara Garrison and Jessica Ford answered first in unison.

Being rejected by two of her seniors at once, Nina Sinclair was stunned for a long moment. Then, her face turned thunderous.

"The show’s rules state we can’t use our personal funds while filming," Yara said. "Chloe is right. It’s getting late; we should head back."

Jessica Ford clutched her heavy, faded black purse. Even though she knew there wasn’t even a thousand yuan inside, she was still worried. "I’m afraid I’ll lose the money."

Normally, she would spend a thousand yuan in the blink of an eye.

But today, the money she was carrying felt incredibly heavy.

This money had been incredibly hard to earn.

At current market prices, it could only buy twenty or thirty jin of pork.

Twenty or thirty jin of pork might sound like a lot, but it was what they got in exchange for a ton of white radishes.

Hearing this, Nina Sinclair felt disgraced, like a rat crawling out of a gutter.

She didn’t say anything, just trailed silently behind the group.

However, by the time they exited the ancient town, the group realized Nina Sinclair was gone.

Nina Sinclair’s dedicated cameraman was also nowhere to be seen.

—Comment Section—

"I suspect she did it on purpose. She didn’t want to go back before, so I’m guessing she deliberately ditched the group."

"Nina Sinclair’s cameraman is looking for her too. She’s not on any of the live feeds."

"Seriously speechless. Why does she always have to be the one to drag everyone down?"

"I actually get where Nina Sinclair is coming from. She worked hard all morning, but it’s past one o’clock and they still haven’t eaten. I’d be pissed too."

"The poster above ’gets’ it? Get what, my ass! Nina Sinclair hasn’t eaten, but has anyone else?! Besides, was Chloe Sinclair wrong about anything? The money from the radishes is for the villagers. Why would they use it without permission? Chloe said from the start they should go back to eat, but Nina was the one who refused. At the end of the day, isn’t she just being completely selfish?"

"Right? I just don’t get it. Chloe Sinclair was completely focused on selling those radishes. My dad sells produce, and fifty cents a jin really has no profit margin this year. Chloe even ate a radish raw right in front of the buyer just to make more money for them. And after all that effort, Nina Sinclair still questions her? I’m just speechless."

"I used to go to the market as a kid, and I have to admit, Chloe Sinclair is amazing. Her social skills are on another level. If I were that buyer, she probably would’ve had me buying them all for seventy cents a jin."

"To the person above: That’s only because you’re dealing with Chloe Sinclair. Try that with anyone else and see what happens."

"Hahaha, the previous comment is killing me."

"Why aren’t they going back to look for her?"

"To the person above, be realistic. The ancient town is only so big. If Nina Sinclair got separated by accident, she’d find her way back to them."

However, the group waited for half an hour, and there was still no sign of her.

Yara Garrison and Jessica Ford were starting to get low blood sugar. Left with no other choice, Chloe Sinclair had to ask the production staff for help.

Due to the special circumstances, the two of them were taken back first.

The rest remained where they were, waiting.

"What the hell is Nina Sinclair doing? We’ve been waiting this long and she’s still not back!"

After a busy morning, whatever they had eaten for breakfast had long since been digested.

Gabriel Sinclair was young and had an even faster metabolism.

A staff member then suggested, "Why don’t you all head back first?"

Chloe Sinclair frowned but said nothing.

"Let’s go look for her."

With that, Chloe Sinclair and the others re-entered the ancient town.

It was just after lunchtime, and the crowds were even heavier than an hour before.

The entire town was a sea of people; if you weren’t careful, you could easily be jostled aside.

"If we get separated, meet back at our original spot. Don’t get lost."

"Okay."

After saying that, Gabriel Sinclair lowered his gaze and discreetly moved to Chloe Sinclair’s side, subtly shielding her to keep passersby from bumping into her.

Suddenly, Chloe Sinclair heard a commotion nearby. The crowd ahead was in disarray; something seemed to have happened.

Because of this, the path became even more difficult to navigate.

Chloe Sinclair’s heart skipped a beat. "Let’s go take a look."

With that, she moved through the crowd as gracefully as a crane, weaving through the people with fluid ease.

The cameraman was only able to film her retreating back, and even that was quickly swallowed by the vast sea of people, visible only with careful searching.

When she reached the source of the commotion, Chloe Sinclair saw a young woman sitting in the center of the crowd.

’There was no need for confirmation. She’d recognize Nina Sinclair even if she were reduced to ash.’

She scanned Nina from head to toe, her voice laced with anger. "Lost your wallet?"

Nina Sinclair shuddered. When she looked up and saw it was Chloe Sinclair, a flash of terror crossed her eyes. She shook her head and buried it in her knees.

"Answer me. Was the money stolen, or were you robbed?"

However, all Nina Sinclair did was cry.

"Speak! I asked you, was it stolen or were you robbed?!"

Chloe Sinclair’s voice suddenly shot up, cold and sharp as a winter wind, stabbing into Nina Sinclair’s heart like a knife.

She looked up in a daze at Chloe Sinclair’s eyes, which were as dark as an abyss, and grew afraid.

"I was robbed."

With that, she burst into loud sobs.

"When were you robbed? Did you get a clear look at him? Any distinguishing features?"

Chloe Sinclair was exasperated. "Talk. Stop just crying."

"I..."

Nina Sinclair sobbed. Seeing Chloe Sinclair act this way, she felt that the other girl was just being arrogant, and it rankled her.

But Chloe’s gaze was like a harsh winter wind, leaving no room for argument.

"Five minutes ago. It was a man. I didn’t get a clear look at his face, I just know he was wearing a blue jacket."

Chloe Sinclair frowned.

’What Nina Sinclair said was as good as saying nothing. This was looking for a needle in a haystack.’

"Let’s call the police."

Hailey Beckett suggested from the side.

The amount of money wasn’t large, but the crime was serious. The police would handle it.

Chloe Sinclair nodded. "You guys go report it. I’m going to look around."

With that, she left.

The others didn’t understand what Chloe Sinclair meant and turned to look at Gabriel Sinclair.

"My sister... probably went to catch the robber."

Without waiting to see their reactions, he said no more and took off after Chloe Sinclair.

Hailey Beckett’s eyebrow twitched. She turned and said, "Sir, you and Miss Sinclair go to the police station first. I’m going to go see what’s happening."

Frank Hayes was speechless.

’Actually, he wanted to go too.’

But he and Nina Sinclair were the only ones left. Seeing the state she was in, he knew he couldn’t just abandon her.

—