NOVEL WEB Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Gender Discrimination
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Antique Street was just a few hundred meters behind the hospital. However, Su Meng and Wei Ting had to go around the hospital, so the two of them walked for more than ten minutes.
At the entrance of the street, there was a stone tablet engraved with the words ‘Imperial Antique’. This stone tablet looked old, and the red paint on it had faded. However, this did not affect the prosperity of Antique Street. The space inside was not wide, and cars could not enter. In addition, there were stalls on both sides of the road, so the place looked especially lively with people coming and going.
However, no matter how bustling it was, it was mainly for antique sellers. The older one was, the more popular they would be. Everyone had made their own shops look very retro, and each one looked more dilapidated than the last. Therefore, even if there was no trash, the streets were a little dirty.
As the person in charge of the Wei family, what Wei Ting wanted was just a matter of words. It wasn’t that he didn’t have antique things, but he didn’t need to personally buy them. Instead, he bought them at auctions.
When had he ever seen such a scene? However, there wasn’t any disdain in his eyes. Instead, he lowered his head and stared at Su Meng, thinking to himself what kind of antique things Su Meng wanted to buy.
Su Meng led Wei Ting all the way in. As the number of people decreased, they finally stopped at the entrance of an unremarkable shop that didn’t even have a sign hanging on it.
Su Meng pushed the door open and entered. The door was a little shaky and creaky, as if it would fall at any moment.
The owner of the shop was an old man who looked to be over 70 years old. He had a long beard and was sitting on the armchair with his eyes closed to rest. When he heard that someone had entered the shop, he did not even open his eyes. He said lazily, “The items are all here. Look for them yourself. There is a price on the side. Don’t try to bargain. I refuse to take credit. There aren’t many items. If they aren’t on the shelves, then there aren’t any anywhere else. There is no need to ask.”
Su Meng was not pretentious. She ignored the old man’s indifference and walked directly to the innermost shelf of the house to look for something.
Wei Ting followed her and saw what Su Meng was picking and choosing from the shelves. She chose a stack of yellow talisman paper, the kind that did not have any talismans writing on it. Then, she took out a feng shui disc that was used by fortune-tellers, as well as many other things that he had never seen before.
Wei Ting: “…”
With so many of these things, Su Meng looked like a fortune-teller.
But when he thought of the dice-playing skills that Su Meng had just demonstrated and the sudden change in her personality, he suddenly felt that it wasn’t impossible.
He couldn’t help but open his mouth and ask what he was thinking. “You bought these because you want to be a fortune-teller?”
Su Meng smiled gently at him, but what she said was infuriating. “I want to go back and read my fortune. I want to see what kind of dirty things I bumped into that caused me to fall into the hands of a cheating couple.”
What was she saying? Wei Ting was speechless again. He found that he couldn’t understand Su Meng more and more. Moreover, looking at Su Meng’s proficiency in choosing things, he knew that it wasn’t her first time doing this.
Wei Ting did not know what Su Meng was going to do, but the old shopkeeper knew.
When he heard Su Meng’s words, he opened his eyes and looked at Su Meng. His eyes were pitch-black and bright, which did not match his old appearance at all.
The old man stared at Su Meng for a long time and then asked in puzzlement, “Are you a girl?”
When Su Meng heard the old man’s words, she did not react for a moment. She lowered her head to look at her chest and reached out to touch her long hair. Then, she asked the old man in return, “Don’t I look like a girl?”
“We don’t have females in this line of work. It will ruin our reputation. You should return to where you came from. I’m not selling these things anymore. You should leave quickly. I don’t think this man looks like a person in this line of work. Quickly take your wife and leave.” After the old man finished his words, he turned around and left. He continued to close his eyes to rest. He did not have any intention of moving at all.
Su Meng frowned. “Do you think a woman can’t do this work?”
The old man said slowly, “Girls can’t do what we do. Even if they do, they won’t be able to develop.”
Wei Ting could tell that this old man wasn’t just targeting Su Meng, but the identity of a woman.
Gender discrimination was common in the workplace, and it was also a sickness. The reason why the Wei family could make their business so big was that they only used capable people, regardless of gender, identity, and background. If you had the ability, they would give you a corresponding reward.
Wei Ting raised his eyes and glanced at the old man. He said indifferently, “There are no men and women when it comes to business. You are short-sighted. No wonder you can’t earn money.”
After hearing Wei Ting’s words, the old man waved his hand and said carelessly, “Young man, you’re right. I really can’t earn money. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have moved to the innermost part of this place. However, men and women still have to be divided. You can go.”
Su Meng looked at Wei Ting in surprise. She had known him for a long time. Even a wolf that only knew how to bite would wag its tail once. He actually spoke up for her.