A flash of thought crossed Zhang Guodong's mind: this news must have come from Li Ningguang! Without Li Ningguang's proof, who could be sure that he also had two fruit trees that had become extinct two million years ago?

It's important to know that, aside from the gimmick that it went extinct two million years ago, this is a fruit tree, not an ordinary tree species!

Based on this alone, the price won't be low.

But why doesn't Li Ningguang sell his own plant?

Zhang Guodong was puzzled. The only explanation seemed to be that Li Ningguang did not believe that this 'green fruit tree' was only worth 20 million! Perhaps more.

Liu Dewang!

Zhang Guodong suddenly thought of this person. Were there more Qingguo trees? Would Li Ningguang strike first?

It should be sold!

This is a powerful voice within my heart.

"Should we really sell it?" Zhang Guodong asked himself again.

“Brother Zhang, where do you live? Let me come and take a look at the main structure. Let’s talk face to face. Funding is not a problem at all! It’s worth 25 million, or even 30 million, no problem!” Hu Yongyi said at this moment.

Hu Yongyi had never been to Green Treasure Pavilion.

But Hu Yongyi was very anxious about this potentially huge deal. Tens of millions of trees—this was an extremely rare and top-tier commodity, and something that had gone extinct two million years ago. It was definitely worth seeing.

Zhang Guodong raised an eyebrow and suddenly said, "Mr. Hu, I think you don't need to come over. If these two trees were really that valuable, they wouldn't be mine now!"

"Why? We can talk this over!"

“I bought this tree with Mr. Li Ningguang. Mr. Li told me about it, but the day before yesterday, I gave it to a friend who has been supplying me with vegetables and aquatic products for a long time. Now it seems I can’t get it back. How can I go back on what I’ve given away?” Zhang Guodong said regretfully, his tone as if he were trying to find some peace, as if he were having a mental struggle, with friendship ultimately prevailing.

I thought to myself, "Please forgive that nonexistent friend. This time, I'll use you as a shield again!"

Zhang Guodong understood somewhat. Regardless of whether many trees still existed, it didn't matter much to him; he already had two! Forty or fifty million? That was a lot, but in terms of acquiring enormous wealth, it didn't seem difficult.

It's all under a plausible pretext.

But Zhang Guodong didn't like this process. As a famous person once said, the process is enjoyable, and the result is the icing on the cake. Zhang Guodong, a man of great ambition, chose the former, believing it could generate the wealth that would allow him to realize his dreams!

"Regardless of whether Li Ningguang decides to drag Liu Dewang into the mountains again, I have to seize the opportunity to get involved!" Zhang Guodong thought to himself. If he didn't participate, it would be like giving up for nothing.

It would be foolish of him to refuse money that's right in front of him.

In this way, if similar tree species become available again, Zhang Guodong can naturally sell them!

But does it really still exist?

Zhang Guodong was very suspicious.

"Give it away?" Hu Yongyi's mind nearly went blank. Something worth forty or fifty million was just given away so easily? My God, are there really such stupid people in this world?

It's absolutely fake!

"Mr. Hu, come here!" Zhang Guodong suddenly said.

"kindness?"

"Come over for a casual meal, let's get in touch, and then we can all make money together if we have any business opportunities in the future!" Zhang Guodong said again.

This time, Hu Yongyi finally understood. Zhang Guodong had invited him to dinner, and he absolutely had to accept the invitation, all because of those two legendary plants. He absolutely had to eat there!

“Okay, you tell me the location and time—” Hu Yongyi readily agreed.

Having finally dealt with Hu Yongyi, Zhang Guodong hung up the phone and smiled. Money was good money, but he didn't want to sell this extremely rare treasure for it.

After two meals, Mr. Hu will probably understand his true intentions in giving the gift away, right? The location is Green Treasure Pavilion. Is it a bit of a cover-up? He needs to come up with an explanation, maybe even get to know some senior figures? That's a good reason. Normally, it would be impossible for someone like Zhang Guodong, a nobody, to invite these bosses with assets worth at least tens of millions.

But today is an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone!

However, as soon as the call ended, other people took the opportunity to call in. As a result, Zhang Guodong received more than a dozen calls from bosses that morning, all of whom invited him over. In the end, he had no choice but to turn off his phone.

Li Yun didn't get up until 10:30 a.m., her hair still a mess, and went out of the bedroom to the living room. Zhang Guodong was busy washing vegetables and cleaning live fish; the kitchen was bustling with activity.

She was quite surprised. Was it lunchtime yet?

The young lady was still half asleep, wearing pajamas and barefoot, running around the living room without washing her face. You could see she wasn't wearing anything on her upper body, and her two erect breasts were trembling. Her nipples, peeking out from under her pajamas, were a rosy hue, rather alluring.

Sleeping without a mask, supposedly for the sake of one's health. What a novel theory! But shouldn't one be going around doing it anyway?

"Guodong, what time is it?" Li Yun called out to Zhang Guodong lazily.

Zhang Guodong has been busy cooking ever since he finished the phone call. He's using all the ingredients from the restaurant, but the portions are large, enough for more than a dozen people, enough to keep him busy for an hour or two.

Tomatoes, large green peppers, and bracken—vegetables grown in Peach Blossom Spring; four black carp, four eels, grass carp, common carp, river shrimp, and crabs—aquatic products from the space's pool. The variety was limited, but Zhang Guodong hadn't prepared any other vegetables or food. Perhaps a comparison with ordinary vegetables would clearly show the difference, but that would be too obvious.

"Wash your face at 10:30, there will be more than a dozen guests eating here later!" Zhang Guodong said without coming out.

"Guests? A dozen or so?" Li Yun stuck out her tongue, thinking to herself, "If I'm going to invite so many people, I should go to a hotel." But then she thought, "The food at the hotel doesn't seem as good as the food and beauty products at Guodong's restaurant."

Li Yun usually avoids the presence of outsiders.

This time was no exception. After grumbling to herself, she said with a hint of annoyance, "I've saved myself another meal. Sigh, I'll have lunch with Sister Xiang!"

Xiang Chunyan's cold is now better, especially after Zhang Guodong's visit, which helped her recover quickly, so she's back to work. But after get off work, she's all alone at home.

Zhang Guodong patted his forehead and said to Li Yun, "Since we're eating with Sister Xiang, why don't we bring her something later?"

I wondered how good Xiang Chunyan's cooking was. If it was similar to Li Yun's, then I would be making a fool of myself!

Half an hour later, Li Yun felt an urge to bite Zhang Guodong a few times to vent her anger. She brought some things, including four black carp weighing over ten kilograms, four eels, each weighing at least two kilograms, and grass carp and river shrimp. Basically, she enjoyed everything Green Treasure Pavilion had, except for medicinal herbs, including vegetables and seafood.

She couldn't carry that much by herself, so she had no choice but to drive Zhang Guodong's van to Xiang Chunyan's place.

She has the key to that place.

Zhang Guodong didn't think too much about it; after that failed attempt, their lust had somewhat rekindled.

Having a woman to keep him company in bed...hmm, that sounds pretty good. Zhang Guodong thought to himself, "I must like Xiang Chunyan's body, right? And her seductive sweet talk."

The thought alone fills me with lust. Perhaps I should find some time to continue what we haven't finished?

At 11:30, Hu Yongyi arrived with ten acquaintances. More than ten luxury cars were parked outside Green Treasure Pavilion, much to the surprise of the nearby individual business owners. They hadn't realized Zhang Guodong was such a big shot!

The business owners greeted each other politely at the agreed-upon time, but Zhang Guodong knew they were sworn enemies in business. He greeted them with a smile, but inwardly thought, "After you've eaten here once, you probably won't want to go to hotels again, right?"

Of course, these people weren't worth him taking out precious medicinal herbs to entertain them. A single "whole-shop feast" was already something very few people could afford to eat.

"It is my great honor to have you all here today!" Zhang Guodong said in a flowery manner. "Our shop is small, but our food is excellent. Please make the effort to dine here, and we hope you will continue to support us. Let's make money together!"

These people were all shrewd old foxes; they immediately understood that Zhang Guodong was trying to befriend them. "Just for a meal, you expect us to promote you? Who among us isn't after those two valuable plants?"

But politeness is still necessary.

"Mr. Zhang, you're quite the young man! You're too modest!" This was just a polite remark.

But like Hu Yongyi, many others had a lot on their minds: what about those two legendary fruit trees? However, none of the dozen or so people spoke first; they all kept their thoughts to themselves. Zhang Guodong also made no mention of it.

With the food almost ready, Zhang Guodong personally cooked, showing them a lot of respect.

As the dishes were served one by one, everyone was drawn in by the aroma of the rice and the color, aroma, and taste of the food. They thought to themselves, "This Zhang is a thoughtful person; he prepared plenty of ingredients."

The food was quickly served, including both baijiu and red wine. Amidst the clinking of glasses, Zhang Guodong toasted with everyone. Seeing that they were quite 'interested' in the dishes, he smiled and said, "These dishes are quite delicious. To be honest, my cooking skills are just average. These vegetables and seafood are all from our restaurant, and they are ten times more expensive than similar vegetables and seafood elsewhere!"

boom!

ten times?!

Business people are more sensitive to numbers.

No wonder they were so annoyed when they entered Green Treasure Pavilion. The first floor of this little shop is very simple, but the vegetable shelves and water cabinets are in good condition. The prices on them seem very high. I thought it was a joke, but now it's true.

Unbelievable!

"Is what you're saying true, Mr. Zhang? With vegetables and seafood so expensive, will anyone actually eat them?" one of the medium-sized shop owners asked curiously.

Zhang Guodong remembered that this person's surname was Zhao, and he was one of the businessmen who had inquired about the million-dollar red beauty tree.

Zhang Guodong nodded and smiled, "Whether it's good or bad, you'll know once you take some vegetables and seafood home. My seafood is all wild-grade, and even better than ordinary wild seafood. The same goes for the vegetables; they are top-quality among similar wild seafood!"

Zhang Guodong's gift was naturally accepted. However, while they said it, no one took it seriously. After all, vegetables and seafood were just small businesses; even if they were delicious, how delicious could they be? What hadn't these people enjoyed?

They have enjoyed many of the dishes prepared by the master chef!

After the meal, everyone was quite comfortable. Although the setting was simple, the food was indeed delicious. If they knew that Zhang Guodong's comment about his cooking being only average was true, they would probably have to reconsider their opinion.

Hu Yongyi first asked, "Brother Zhang, could you show us those two fruit trees?"

This is the real reason everyone came here. Everyone is looking at Zhang Guodong with eager eyes.

“Exactly! If Boss Zhang has such a treasure, it’s worth the trip for everyone to see it!” someone chimed in.

"Gentlemen!" Zhang Guodong said with a regretful expression. "The tree has indeed been given away, and I'm too embarrassed to ask for something back. It seems you've all come with nothing. Forty or fifty million is a considerable sum, but I started my business entirely with that friend's support, and that friendship is priceless. I believe you all understand that. After you taste the vegetables and seafood I gave you, you'll know that I, Zhang Guodong, had no intention of deceiving you. I, Zhang Guodong, have no face to ask for something back! Please bear witness to this, otherwise my little shop will be in for a lot of trouble—"

More of these weird vegetables? Or seafood?

Zhang Guodong had prepared more than ten points, but he wouldn't give any more than that.

“Of course, if my friend is willing to help, he will definitely give priority to you bosses!” Zhang Guodong said just when everyone was extremely disappointed and even somewhat dissatisfied.

That's more like it, more realistic! But Zhang Guodong's words left no room for negotiation. Although it was hard for everyone to believe he had given it away, it was now certain that even if Zhang Guodong had it, he probably wouldn't sell it.

So they exchanged contact information and then said their goodbyes.

After seeing everyone off, Zhang Guodong breathed a sigh of relief. Although the excuse was a bit far-fetched, he was young, and young people value friendship! He believed that everyone would have some thoughts after tasting the gifts.

With just a little idea, Zhang Guodong's excuse has a very good chance of succeeding this time.

This kind of thing is exhausting.

P.S.: 3600 words, first update! This week's ranking push, everyone please vote for Tiandao, thank you!