173 Human Rights Discrimination
The people around them burst into laughter when they heard Vivian’s sarcastic words.

Vivian frowned when she heard this. She was not sure if Gu Jue Tun was simply trying to get money from them, or if he was using other people’s money to cause trouble for them, or if he was trying to benefit from both sides.

Gu Jue Tun did have the idea of taking both sides. Who would mind having less money? anyway, it was fine as long as the matter was done.

However, Vivian was not someone who could be taken advantage of. She immediately asked coldly, “Mr. Gu, how did we disrupt the order of your market? Didn’t the others raise their signs too? If you’re going to arrest one, then arrest them all at once. Otherwise, you’re just targeting us. I’d like to see if you’re planning to stop us foreigners from entering the market from now on!”

Vivian deliberately exaggerated the matter. The foreign merchants had contributed a lot just in the ticket and booth fees. There was indeed a double standard in the market, but it was only in the aspect of fees. Other management services were the same.

Gu Jue Tun was not stupid. He knew that he could not offend the other party too much. Otherwise, they would lose his source of customers and be fired. Therefore, when he learned that the other party only asked him not to let Vivian raise the sign, he took on the responsibility.

It was a small matter and the reward was generous. Gu Jue Tun had thought that he was lucky today, but now that he saw Vivian, he realized that the money was not so easy to earn. “Are you the same as the others?! The higher-ups are promoting the sale and purchase of raw stones, what are you guys doing? What little knowledge about raw stones forgery? You’re ruining our reputation!”

The more Gu Jue Tun spoke, the more he felt he made sense. He suddenly realized he would not be afraid to say this to the manager. He was protecting the reputation of the market!

At the thought of this, Gu Jue Tun’s eyes, which had been drifting, became much more determined.

Vivian’s lips curled up into a smile, and she asked in confusion, “I wrote on the to kindly reminding everyone. I didn’t write anything else on it. How is this damaging your reputation?”

Gu Jue Tun seemed to have caught Vivian’s weakness and said excitedly, “Your employees even went around telling people you bought fake goods here. Isn’t this kind of behavior unacceptable?!”

Vivian immediately retorted, “Hey, Mr. Gu, there’s a difference between telling others and answering others’ questions. Isn’t it normal to talk about what happened to you recently when you meet someone you can talk to? Besides, we weren’t lying. The merchants in the vicinity all know that we received a fake raw stone yesterday.”

“If we lie, you can say that we’re causing trouble, but we can’t even tell the truth? We foreigners don’t even have the right to speak in your market?”
Because there were a lot of people standing there, many passers-by stopped and looked at them curiously, especially the foreigners who were selling goods and setting up stalls nearby. At this time, everyone’s interests were the same, so when they saw this situation, they also came over.

“That’s right. Let’s not talk about the overcharging fee. We’ve followed the previous rules, but your service is different. This is human rights discrimination!”

“That’s right, the high fees are for us developed countries’ businessmen to help the economy of a third world[1], but if they don’t even have the freedom to speak, then we definitely have an opinion!”

“The slave trading back then were not even like this. We’re here to do business with you and this is how you treat us? You don’t even give us the respect as equals!”

Vivian was afraid that Gu Jue Tun could not understand her, so she asked the translator to stand by his side and translate others’ opinions for him.

Gu Jue Tun heard Vivian’s words and looked at the foreign businessmen with intense emotion. He had a headache. Now, he only wanted to make a quick decision and at least keep his share of the money. He shouted, “Don’t try to attract hatred here. Since this is your first offense and I’m a nice person, I’ll exempt you from your fine. However, you can’t raise that sign anymore, and you’re not allowed to spread the news of you buying fake raw stones! If you agree, then we’ll let this go.”

Gu Jue Tun wanted to keep the peace, but Vivian was not willing to do so. She had not achieved her goal yet. “I can’t agree to any of the things you’ve said. If you insist on following your rules, then call your manager. I want to ask him personally!”

[1] The term “Third World” arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. Strictly speaking, “Third World” was a political, rather than an economic, grouping.