Chapter Thirty-One: Delicious Food (Part One)

  After fierce bidding, the final price was set at 10.5 million yuan by Qian Yifeng. Zhang Xinghui seemed a bit dissatisfied, but if he continued to bid, he wouldn't have made much profit, and his face showed some hesitation.

  It's not that only the two of them had the strength to buy this piece of jade material in the crowd, but others didn't have as much strength as they did. Just now, some others also made offers, but when it reached one million, they all retreated.

  Chu Chen was already quite satisfied with the price of 10.5 million, and the ability given by Yi Neng was only around 1 million. Just as he was about to make a decision, a familiar voice suddenly came from outside the scene.

  "Wait, I'll give you 11 million."

  Chu Chen looked over in the direction of the sound and saw an old man who was a bit chubby, with a kind face, leading a middle-aged man through the crowd.

  These two people were not unfamiliar to Chu Chen. The old man was Lu Changshun, the boss of Juyuan Pavilion. Although he looked quite harmonious, he had a set of skills when it came to doing business. Otherwise, the business of Juyuan Pavilion wouldn't be so good. And the other person was Zhao Qirui, who had gone to dig up the house with him a few days ago, and the price just now was reported by him.

  Chu Chen saw these two people and hurriedly greeted them: "It's actually Director Zhao and Boss Lu, what a pleasant surprise!"

  Zhao Qirui smiled and shook hands with him: "I used to think that you, little brother, were more skilled in ancient ceramics, but I didn't expect you to be so good at gambling stones too. How about handing over this piece of jade to me?"

  Chu Chen said hesitantly, "General Zhao, you're really overpraising me. I just got lucky, and as for the jade...” He looked at Qian Yifeng here.

  When he first heard the quote, Qian Yiyu was still a bit angry, but when he saw that the one who quoted it was Zhao Qirui, the billionaire boss, he didn't say anything about his strength. He himself is also considered to be his breadwinner, and if he exceeds 1.1 million, he can basically make no profit, so he had to agree:

  "Since it's what Director Zhao likes, then I'll let you have it."

  But his smile looked somewhat stiff on his face.

  On the other hand, Zhang Xinghui will not have any opinions anymore. He was hesitant just now, and seeing his old opponent being outsmarted, one can tell from the smile on his face that he is secretly gloating.

  Zhao Qirui had some impression of Qian Yifeng's arrival, and after thinking for a while, he finally remembered who this person was. He smiled at him and said: "You are the boss of Qianji, I won't let you lose out either. In a few days, I'll introduce two clients to you."

  Qian Yiyu was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly, it's really "losing in the east and gaining in the west", compared to the importance of customers, this small piece of glass with a jade-like color is nothing. For a moment, everyone was delighted, except for Zhang Xinghui who had a gloomy face, his old rival had gained a new customer, it's strange if he could be happy about it.

  Since Qian Yifu agreed, Chu Chen was also happy to trade the jade to Zhao Qirui. Moreover, he was very satisfied with this price, which was ten million more than his previous estimate.

  Zhao Qirui was also very happy to see the transaction go smoothly, and he said to Chu Chen: "It's almost time for dinner, let's not bother, Brother Chu, let's go have a meal together, and then we'll go settle the account. It just so happens that I also have something to trouble you with."

  "Zhao, you're being too polite," Chu Chen replied with a smile. "It's not a bother at all. As long as it's something I can handle, I'll definitely take care of it for you. And next time, if you don't mind, just call me Xiao Chu."

  Lu Changshun chimed in on one side: "It's my turn to speak now, Little Chu, don't mind me calling you that."

  After seeing Chu Chen's indifference, he continued to ask: "You've opened the glass window, do you want to put a firecracker in it?"

  Chu Chen waved his hand repeatedly and said, "Let's just forget it, besides, this piece of jade is not that big."

  Like firing high-quality jade firecrackers, the store owner will generally ask the jade owner first before deciding. Some people may not want to be too famous and choose not to fire them. Of course, this also has a bit of a "covering one's ears while stealing a bell" flavor. The jade industry is actually not that big, with just a little wind blowing through the grass, it will spread out in an instant.

  Lu Changshun saw this and didn't mind either. After all, the glass was only worth a few hundred thousand yuan, so it didn't matter whether he sold it or not. If it were worth over five million, he would have definitely sold it directly. Besides, customers wouldn't be too particular about such things.

  However, if the purchase price of wool is included, the difference would be a thousand times. What business can make so much money? However, compared to the previous youth's bankruptcy, it can also be seen that the essence of "one knife rich, one knife poor" in gambling on stones.

  Before leaving, Chu Chen and Liu Zhiqing apologized, after all, he was also a witness today. Originally wanted to invite him to dinner, but now in this situation, can only make an appointment to meet again later.

  After De Chu Chen left, the crowd immediately began to discuss it. A piece of wool that everyone looked down on suddenly skyrocketed and opened up a new market, this impact was undoubtedly shocking for all the gamblers present.

  What's more, they didn't even have time to eat their meals, and directly rushed to the thousand-yuan area, selecting the emeralds they liked. The leader was the person who jumped out like a clown when Chu Chen was solving the puzzle.

  The place where Zhao Qirui invited guests was not unfamiliar to Chu Chen. It was the private house restaurant where he had invited guests two days ago.

  Zhao Qirui saw that Chu Chen was somewhat familiar with this place, so he asked: "Little Chu, have you been here before?"

  Lu Changshun saw Chu Chen nodding, and smiled: "Little Chu, you don't know, do you? This private restaurant is actually Zhao's business. The head chef used to serve the leaders."

  Chu Chen heard this and exclaimed in surprise: "No wonder the dishes here are so delicious, Director Zhao, you really have a big appetite!"

  Zhao Qirui burst out laughing and said: "What big hand? It's all just small potatoes."

  For you, it's just a small matter, but for people like us, it's a big deal. Thinking of this, his heart, which had been somewhat complacent due to the over 10 million yuan profit, instantly calmed down. The road is long and distant, ah!

  When everyone walked into the store, the lobby manager saw Zhao Qirui at a glance and ran over to ask: "Director Zhao, you're here. The private room has been prepared for you. Shall we go now?"

  "Alright, everyone's here, let's get going."

  Zhao Qirui waved his hand, and then everyone followed the manager to a room with an ancient charm. After entering, Chu Chen couldn't help but sigh in his heart that this place was indeed full of flavor.

  This room is somewhat like Zhu Dafu's guest hall, but it has a different style. Zhu Dafu's guest hall is suitable for tasting tea and discussing Taoism, while this one is suitable for drinking wine and having fun. But the same point is that they both have a unique natural flavor, and dining here can be said to be a kind of enjoyment in life.

  After everyone sat down, Zhao Qirui saw that Chu Chen had a somewhat dazed expression and smiled slightly: "Little Chu, do you have any taboos?"

  Chu Chen said with some self-mockery: "I grew up in the mountains, where sometimes we couldn't even get enough to eat, let alone have any dietary restrictions."

  Zhao Qirui instructed the waiter to serve the dishes. Some of them who were interested asked Chu Xuan, "Little Chu, I still don't know where you're from?"

  "Hehe, I am from Shunde Mountain in Yunnan Province."

  "Oh, Xiao Chu, I couldn't tell your accent at all, so how did you become Old Wu's nephew?" Zhao Qirui said thoughtfully.

  Chu Chen smiled and replied, "This is nothing, my father was a native of the capital city, and when I was young, he and Uncle Wu were as close as brothers. However, at that time, our family's social status was not good, so we were sent down to that place."

  There were only four people present, plus one of Zhao Qirui's bodyguards and drivers, so they ordered four dishes and a soup. With the fast service here, by the time Chu Chen finished speaking, all the dishes had been served.

  After listening to Chu Chen's explanation, Zhao Qirui seemed a bit disappointed and said: "Oh, I see. Come on, let's eat first. We'll talk about the favor you need after dinner."

  At this time, Chu Chen finally shifted his attention to the four dishes and one soup on the table. At first glance, it was clear that these dishes were not simple at all. The flavor was not mentioned, but the color was so beautiful that it could be eaten with eyes, and the fragrance was so strong that it filled the nostrils.

  The dishes Chu Chen had tasted here before were already perfect in color, fragrance and flavor, while the color and fragrance of these four dishes and one soup were even more impressive than before, and the taste was surely not ordinary.

  Lu Changshun saw Chu Chen's drooling appearance and smiled: "Little Chu, we are lucky today thanks to Zhao's introduction. These dishes were personally cooked by Niu Shifu, a chef who has served leaders before. Ordinary people can't usually get to eat them."

  Chu Chen said with a hint of surprise, "No wonder the other dishes on the table, except for that one dish of nine-turn large intestine, I haven't seen any of them on the menu before. And except for the middle dish which should be the famous boiled white cabbage, I don't even know the names of the other three dishes. I'm really quite ignorant."

  Zhao Qirui smiled and said: "Don't worry if you don't know, just eat it and you'll understand. Come on, let's have Old Lu introduce it to you first."

  Lu Changshun humbly said, "General Zhao is overpraising me. I'm just a few years older than everyone else, it's not like I've seen and experienced much more. If there's anything wrong with what I said, please forgive me."

  "After that, he continued: 'This is a famous dish, we have to taste it before we can remember it. Next, let's eat and talk at the same time, I believe everyone will have a deeper impression. Come on, let's start with this one.'"

  The dish that Lu Changshun pointed to looked like a vegetarian dish, with many ingredients used, but they were neatly arranged in layers. The knife work was also impressive, with each piece of vegetable cut into uniform size and thickness. Just by looking at it, one could tell that the chef who made this dish had very deep skills. The whole dish looked so visually appealing that even Chu Chen felt a little reluctant to eat it.

  After Zhao Qirui took the lead, Chu Chen picked up a chopstick and just put it to his mouth when a fragrance wafted in. As soon as he put it in his mouth, before he even started chewing, a refreshing aroma instantly rushed into his brain.