The next morning, Xu Milu took Li Ning to the Qingjiang Hotel. They hadn't waited more than a few minutes at the hotel entrance when a man in a black suit politely invited them inside to talk.
"Hello, are you Ms. Xu Milu? I'm Jin Buhuan from the Risk Assessment Department of Honghe Research Institute. You can call me Xiao Jin. Our seeds are inside. This way, please."
Jin Buhuan was dressed in a black suit, looking refined and gentle. He was carrying a black combination lock suitcase, and he had a gray jacket draped over his hand, obscuring the lock on the suitcase.
He was accompanied by two bodyguards, both tall and 1.9 meters, silent and taciturn, standing behind him with their hands behind their backs. Passersby couldn't help but take a second look.
This formality makes Xu Milu, who is only wearing a sweatshirt and jeans, look somewhat informal.
"Junior Aunt, what kind of seed is this? There's a risk assessment department and bodyguards involved. It's so mysterious! This is quite a big deal."
Li Ning instantly sobered up, staring at Jin Buhuan with shifty eyes:
"Do you think it might be like in the movies, where he hides a pair of handcuffs under his clothes and has the suitcase and handcuffs together?"
"...You know what, it's actually possible."
Xu Milu was also confused. She had only asked Li Rui to deliver the seeds of the small cypress to the company and then mail them over. Before that, she had never heard Zhang Cang mention setting up any risk assessment department.
Was it temporarily assembled?
Jin Buhuan exchanged his inoculation certificate in the coffee shop on the first floor of the hotel. After everyone was seated, the two bodyguards slowly left and sat at a table not far from them to observe them secretly.
"I apologize, and I hope Miss Xu can understand. These seeds were airlifted to Ningcheng overnight as instructed by President Ren. I believe Miss Xu is aware of how precious they are."
Jin Buhuan removed the clothes covering the box, revealing a pair of gleaming silver handcuffs connecting his hands to the box.
"Of course, Sister Honghe has already told me that your research institute has not yet conducted trial planting of this new seed, and she has not kept any samples. She wants me to plant a batch first."
Xu Milu's gaze fell on the box: "Do I still need my identification or anything else?"
"Of course not, Miss Xu, there's no need to be nervous. My task is simply to deliver the seeds to you."
Jin Buhuan took out a delicate little key from his pocket, unlocked the handcuffs, and then loosened his wrists before laughing self-deprecatingly to ease the atmosphere:
"This journey has been quite grueling; it seems I really should start working out."
He then looked at Li Ning beside him, subtly displaying a hint of doubt: "And this is—"
"This is my nephew, he came with me to get vaccinated."
Xu Milu smiled slightly: "We used to use express delivery to pick up and deliver seeds. This time, Mr. Jin, you've gone to a lot of trouble."
“Miss Xu, you can just call me Jin Buhuan. My parents gave me this name because they had me late in life, so they gave me such a common yet elegant name. Now that Miss Xu has brought someone with her, I am relieved.”
Jin Buhuan pushed the combination lock box forward, directly facing Xu Milu, and slightly shielded the keypad with his hand so that only Xu Milu could see the entered combination:
"Ms. Xu, this is our company's newly purchased combination lock safe. It contains a camera and a facial recognition system. It will automatically alarm if you enter the wrong password more than three times. To prevent any misunderstandings, I will demonstrate it for you, and then I will send the password to your mobile phone. Please check your phone."
Jin Buhuan opened the combination lock keypad on the box, glanced at Li Ning, and Li Ning immediately realized what was happening and turned his head away.
"Drip, drip, drip, drip."
After entering the four-digit password, the safe made a soft "click" sound, finally revealing the seeds inside.
The safe was divided into groups of compartments by countless black foam pads, with ten transparent test tubes neatly arranged inside, and tiny, black sesame-like seed pods lying quietly at the bottom of the test tubes.
"One gram of seeds contains approximately four seeds. Here are 250 grams of small toon seeds. Each test tube contains about 100 seeds. The planting method and cultivation conditions are provided in duplicate. I have sent the electronic version to Ms. Xu's email address, and the paper version is at the bottom of the safe."
Jin Buhuan said politely:
"Please inspect the goods. If there are no other problems, you can sign the receipt confirmation. Our company will conduct follow-up visits from time to time, because it is a new variety and we need to prevent the seeds from being leaked. We hope Ms. Xu can understand."
His words were impeccable and logically sound, and Xu Milu inwardly gave him a thumbs up.
"Okay, then I can take the seeds with me after I sign the papers, right?"
Xu Milu glanced at the package and, finding nothing amiss, closed the briefcase and signed her name on the receipt confirmation on the table.
"I really appreciate it for Mr. Jin today. If you want to conduct regular follow-up visits, I hope your company can contact me in advance."
"That's for sure. I hope Ms. Xu won't worry too much. Rice Food Shop is our company's only designated private ingredient supply channel. Now many people are eyeing new varieties, so Ms. Xu should also do a good job of protecting her rights."
Jin Buhuan extended his hand: "If there are similar collaborations in the future, it should be my turn to negotiate with Ms. Xu. Well then—please accept my offer?"
Xu Milu doesn't need to worry about security. Ever since the local forestry bureau of Ningcheng took over that batch of ping-pong grape seedlings and started researching cutting techniques, there have been frequent patrols on the more than 1,000 mu of land she contracted. In addition, there is a research team from the Agricultural University there, so at least there is no chance that the small Toona sinensis seeds will be stolen.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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