After seeing off the last customer, Zhang Guodong pulled down the roller shutter. He casually stuffed the 28,000 yuan in sales into his wallet without even glancing at it.
Li Yun wasn't coming home for dinner, and Zhang Guodong felt like something was missing. He called Fatty: "Fatty, Li Yun's not here. It's no fun eating alone. Come over for a drink?"
Normally, a little alcohol would be very tempting for a fat man.
But at that moment, the fat guy was out at a Western restaurant 'on a date' with a beautiful woman, how could he possibly leave? The fat guy said righteously, "Although I really want to eat your cooking, these days women are more important than brothers, so Guodong, you'll have to suffer alone!"
The white-collar beauty across the way rolled her eyes at the fat man's loud voice, making him dizzy with shock.
Zhang Guodong immediately knew who the fat man was dating. Since graduating from university, the fat man had gone through a string of girlfriends; his luxury car always attracted beautiful women, and he was always successful. But he quickly dumped them; these women were after his money, not him. However, after meeting Lin Yujiao, the fat man surprisingly changed his ways, pursuing Lin Yujiao, the daughter of the deputy director of the provincial television station, with an unwavering determination to win her over.
Lin Yujiao is a petite and beautiful woman with a lot of charm, and she is also very well-mannered.
The chubby guy was thick-skinned and had a sweet tongue, which quickly won over Lin's mother. With a little more persuasion from her, Deputy Director Lin tacitly agreed. As soon as their daughter grew up, her parents started thinking about her marriage. The chubby guy was now in politics, serving as the full-time secretary to District Chief Luo and the deputy director of the government office. In Lin's mother's eyes, he was a good young man.
Lin Yujiao, however, was not attracted to the fat man. But she never refused his daily gifts of flowers or meals. However, if the fat man ever tried to grope her, Lin Yujiao would immediately throw him over her shoulder, leaving him dazed and shaken. This delicate woman had studied karate and seemed to be a black belt.
In short, their relationship is somewhat ambiguous. The process is winding, and the outcome remains to be seen. However, given the fat man's abilities, he has a very good chance of winning the beauty's heart.
"Hehe, that's all for now. I'm busy right now, don't bother me unless it's absolutely necessary!" The fat man hung up the phone and smiled at the white-collar beauty Lin Yujiao, explaining, "A friend of mine, a college classmate and best friend, his girlfriend isn't here today, and he actually invited me over for drinks, hehe!"
Lin Yujiao stirred her steaming coffee, glanced at him again, and said, "Then why don't you go?"
The fat man said righteously, "How could I go? Your aunt entrusted you to me, and I have to return you safely!"
"What do you mean I handed you over? There are so many guys chasing after me, the line stretches all the way to the airport! Hmph!" Lin Yujiao didn't back down from the fat man's act, bluntly exposing his grammatical error and adding a small threat. "Besides, who's protecting whom isn't even certain yet!"
The first throw left the fat man in pain for half a day, and the power of the second throw would probably keep him from having a good time for a day. The fat man smiled sheepishly. It was true, he couldn't beat Lin Yujiao's karate, which was really sad. So he changed the subject: "Yes, yes, Yujiao is more beautiful than a flower. The men she pursues could circle the earth several times, but I think that apart from me, no one else is good enough for you!"
Having witnessed the fat man's shamelessness before, Lin Yuqiao was ashamed to admit that he was this shameless.
Therefore, Lin Yujiao wisely did not respond to this question.
"Tell me about your friend, what do you think?" Lin Yujiao said. As soon as she said it, she felt a little awkward, as if she were trying to get to know the other person.
Sure enough, the fat man's eyes lit up, and Lin Yujiao blushed, scolding him playfully, "You're such a scheming person!"
"Haha, I didn't say anything. It's someone with impure thoughts, isn't it?" the fat man said. Afraid that Lin Daiyu would lose face on the spot, the fat man quickly changed the subject, trying to gain an advantage and create distance. He only went so far as to make a point, otherwise going too far would be offensive.
Then, a brief introduction to Zhang Guodong and Green Treasure Pavilion was given, of course, his romantic escapades were absolutely out of the question. The introduction of Zhang Guodong was relatively positive, as it concerned the fat man's ability to judge character and indirectly reflected his moral integrity.
Lin Yujiao looked at the fat man in surprise. She probably didn't expect that a fat man would become best friends with a vegetable vendor.
Seeing the fat man praising Zhang Guodong's vegetables and seafood to the skies, Lin Yujiao became interested.
"I'll take you to his place for a few meals another day. I guarantee you'll want to go again. Guodong has some good stuff, like fresh wild ginseng and wild black fungus. The latter, in particular, is great for beauty and health. They're all aged, and most people can't afford them even if they have money!" The fat man inadvertently revealed a bit of his secret to Zhang Guodong.
Women love beauty; this has been true since ancient times.
In myths and unofficial historical records, He Wu (a type of medicinal herb) is believed to increase lifespan, promoting longevity, rejuvenation, and a youthful appearance. While modern science has proven these legends untrue, the natural components of He Wu do indeed contain medicinal ingredients that promote rejuvenation in the human body.
Turning white into black is entirely possible.
However, wild and precious medicinal herbs are extremely scarce nowadays, and it's very difficult to find those that have been cultivated for many years. Most are now cultivated, which naturally greatly reduces their efficacy. Perhaps some deep in the mountains and remote, impoverished areas might have some aged and precious medicinal herbs, but they are not easy to find.
Moreover, the fat man didn't know that Zhang Guodong's medicinal herbs were unique and far more effective than similar herbs.
Fatty was actually quite impressed with Zhang Guodong's luck. A single trip to Qinglang Mountain had yielded wild ginseng and wild Hewu (Zhang Guodong kept the most precious Golden Snake Fruit a secret; even Fatty didn't know it existed, let alone that eight-year-old varieties of the three herbs had appeared, doubling the previous maximum of four years, demonstrating the uniqueness of Taoyuan). He even brought back five wolves of various sizes, making Fatty unable to deny Zhang Guodong's talent.
However, he had only tasted ginseng stewed with black carp and stewed with black-boned chicken and mushrooms two or three times. This was when he accompanied Luo Jianhui and Jiang Lihan. Zhang Guodong gave his best friend face and took out two-year-old wild ginseng to stew in. He had never seen He Wu before.
Zhang Guodong dared not reveal the truth to him, otherwise how could those medicinal herbs be preserved? Zhang Guodong was still hoping that some of the herbs would grow for three to five years and eventually become wild specimens that would last for a hundred years.
It is said that precious medicinal herbs such as ginseng and aconite have existed for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. Although tens of thousands of years is a legend, historical records and research show that wild ginseng can live up to 400 years due to environmental factors, but it is extremely rare for it to live to 200 years.
Nowadays, it's difficult to find even wild ginseng that's a few decades old, let alone 200 years old. This is because severe destruction of vegetation and forests on Earth, coupled with industrialization, has greatly shrunk and worsened the habitats of many precious medicinal herbs.
The same applies to precious Chinese medicinal herbs like He Wu (蕭乌). These must be aged, wild-grown, and fresh; they are practically nonexistent in the market, with many being counterfeit. Therefore, some wealthy individuals pay exorbitant prices for these items, yet they remain priceless despite their availability.
Lin Yujiao's eyes sparkled; clearly, the fat man's persuasive words had swayed her. However, it was obvious the fat man had misunderstood. Lin Yujiao was thinking, since wild ginseng and wild he wu (a type of medicinal herb) were so effective, how about bringing some back for her parents to help them recover? She was, after all, a filial daughter.
"They actually keep wolves?!" Lin Yujiao was shocked.
The fat man realized he had made a mistake; he seemed to have been momentarily blinded by passion and had said a bit too much. Treating a blue wolf as a pet seemed truly difficult to explain.
"Keep your voice down, haha, the steak's here, let's eat first!" The waiter brought out the steak and red wine, and the fat man immediately said upon seeing it.
Authentic French restaurants are quiet, and customers don't disturb each other. Lin Yuqiao looked around and stuck out her tongue, while the fat man started swallowing, wishing he could taste that little tongue.
As a result, the meal was eaten in a hurry, and Lin Yujiao urged him to go to Green Treasure Pavilion. Fatty and Lin Yujiao had 'date' many times, but this was the first time Lin Yujiao took the initiative to ask him to go, so Fatty was naturally overjoyed and readily agreed. After all, brothers are meant to be used as fodder for their buddies! The filthy Fatty is now also caught in the whirlpool of love and can't extricate himself.
Green Treasure Pavilion.
Cursing that he was heartless when it came to women, Zhang Guodong reluctantly went upstairs, took a hot shower to relax. Cooking for one person was easy, but these days food tasted bland; Zhang Guodong had gotten used to Li the demoness's presence. He planned to make a simple meal of boiled fish fillets and steamed rice.
The fish in the pool are multiplying rapidly. There are big black fish, two black fish, four small green fish, and old green fish. These big eaters eat at least two fish every meal. Even with the fish sold, it is not enough to keep the number of fish in the pool at a relatively balanced level. Overall, the number of fish has increased slightly.
The pond is only so big, and too many fish are a worry for Zhang Guodong.
So Zhang Guodong developed a discerning palate; he only ate snakehead fish and eel, selling the rest. These two types of fish have tender, flavorful, and smooth flesh with few bones. Zhang Guodong could easily finish a two-pound snakehead fish or eel in one meal. Moreover, snakehead fish are carnivorous, sometimes called piranhas, so overpopulation is a problem.
Big Black, Second Black, and Four Little Green were practicing their fighting upstairs, their battle raging fiercely. Big Black had won, pinning Big Green beneath him and roaring defiantly, as if declaring himself the boss. Second Black was also eager to try, wanting to learn from Big Black. However, seeing the three Little Green 'watching him like wolves' nearby, Second Black hesitated. One against three—what were his chances of winning?
Zhang Guodong glanced at the little ones with amusement, then went into Peach Blossom Spring, scooped out a lively blackfish weighing about three pounds, and just as he left the space, before he could even put the fish on the cutting board, the phone in the living room rang.
Zhang Guodong thought the fat man had a change of heart, so he went to the living room to answer the phone. But when he looked at it, it wasn't the fat man calling; it was an unknown number.
After my father, Zhang Zhengrong, and mother, Ye Cuihua, went to Sichuan with my eldest brother, they rarely made landline calls; they mostly used mobile phones.
"Xiao Zhang, it's me, Mei Lan!" The other person was a woman with a kind voice. Zhang Guodong was stunned for a moment, then immediately remembered who it was.
He usually called the old lady Aunt Mei, but when he said her real name, he couldn't quite place it. The old lady was a retired cadre from the provincial TV station. She had just retired, and after Zhang Guodong gave her the last big black carp, she became very friendly towards him. Every time she came to the store, she would chat with him for a while.
He's a very warm and approachable person.
"Aunt Mei, hello, hello!" Zhang Guodong said hurriedly. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Xiao Zhang, I'm inviting you to my house for dinner today, you absolutely have to come!" Aunt Mei said warmly. "My husband has been praising the vegetables and seafood at your shop ever since he tried them, and he'd like to treat you to a meal!"
Zhang Guodong was surprised to receive a dinner invitation from a client; this was the first time he had ever done so, and he was in a great mood.
"Aunt Mei, you're too kind, there's no need, it would be too much trouble for you!" Zhang Guodong said politely. "But thank you anyway!"
He shouldn't be shameless when others are being polite; expressing his gratitude is the right thing to do.
"Xiao Zhang, what are you saying? Don't talk about trouble or anything. It's settled then. I'll have someone pick you up in a bit!" Aunt Mei hung up the phone before Zhang Guodong could refuse.
This is a mess.
Zhang Guodong smiled wryly, realizing that the other party was genuinely treating him and wasn't being polite.
"This is my first time entering the provincial TV station compound, which saves me the trouble of cooking for myself!" Zhang Guodong thought to himself.
P.S.: Second update here, two updates complete, a total of 7,000 words updated today!
Thank you so much '1uiz' for the generous donation! Also, congratulations to 'z1hf' on becoming an apprentice! Who will be the next apprentice? Looking forward to it!
Finally, I'm asking for votes, favorites, tips, and reviews! This week's Zhoujiang recommendation results weren't particularly good, but they were still decent; we made it onto the Urban Weekly Ranking and the Urban Weekly Recommendation Ranking. However, we're stuck at the very bottom of the Weekly Recommendation Ranking, a very precarious position. If any of you have any recommendation votes left, please help us out! Thank you!
"Experienced Farmer" level QQ group (not full, still recruiting)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com