NOVPUB
Chapter 851: 739
Returned to the Hotel.
Lin Jiaxue was promptly dragged off by Zhan Xi for a foot bath.
The men, however, didn’t follow and instead took to the tea room for tea drinking and chatting.
"Is this the tea you usually drink?"
After taking a sip of Tang Qing’s home-brought tea leaves, Bao Kaiyu looked up dumbfoundedly at him. He could never forget that familiar taste as just last month he had the good fortune to brew a cup himself when his old man had been drinking it at home—the memory was still fresh.
Dahongpao.
Special supply tea.
Those are far inferior.
Regrettably, the old man cherished his tea leaves to an extreme. Share? Having one cup for yourself was enough; dreaming of sharing? Wishful thinking. At this moment, Bao Kaiyu’s brain short-circuited a bit, as despite his best efforts, he couldn’t find out where this tea came from.
"Not bad," Tang Qing said modestly.
Honestly, if it weren’t for Chai Ren’s visit, he wouldn’t have casually brought it out to serve others.
"Hmm... still the same taste, delicious," Chai Ren murmured as he savored a sip, his face a picture of enjoyment. If one didn’t know he was just drinking tea, they might think it was some kind of contraband.
"Young Master Chai, you’ve had it before?" Bao Kaiyu asked curiously.
Chai Ren gave him a look that said ’you-country-bumpkin-have-never-seen-the-world’, and chuckled, "Of course I’ve had it. The tea your dad drinks was actually a gift from my father. This treasure, with its scarce production, you might as well stop coveting."
"Where is it from?" Bao Kaiyu eagerly asked.
"You tell me where it’s from." Chai Ren nudged his chin towards Tang Qing.
Bao Kaiyu immediately caught on, looking excitedly at Tang Qing, "Can I buy some? Name your price."
Today he had officially indulged his palate, tasting seafood he had never tried before and now encountering a ’dealer’ of such tea leaves.
"Let’s not talk about buying it, I’ll give you two ounces when you leave. Drink it sparingly, I don’t have much in stock." Tang Qing truly never thought of selling tea to make money, and as for not having much in stock, that was as false as could be.
He was actually starting to worry about the high output. Due to the special nature of the Training Area, he already had several types of tea in quantities measured in tons.
He couldn’t finish them even if he drank every day.
However, he couldn’t just give them away indiscriminately. Rarity increased value, and it seemed that they wouldn’t fetch much money if there was too much. Hence, he would only give away and never sell, because once money was involved, it became impossible to exchange for favors.
Bao Kaiyu, though disappointed, felt joy as well, "Thanks, I am so grateful. I’ve been craving this flavor for a long time, tsk tsk..." He sipped lightly again, praising as he tasted, "A true rarity, indeed."
He looked expectantly at Zhai Zhihua.
Tang Qing shook his head and said, "Each of you will get two ounces when you leave."
"But I came with my wife," Chai Ren didn’t miss any chance to ’extort’ Tang Qing.
"Four ounces," Tang Qing retorted with a roll of his eyes, not rejecting Chai Ren’s ’blackmail’. This stuff was so abundant it could be used as firewood—did two ounces versus four really make a difference?
The answer was yes.
Especially to ’two ounces’, Bao Kaiyu immediately regretted, "Ah, why, why didn’t I bring my wife along?"
"Stop right there, you’re not even married yet. Where’d you get a wife from?" Knowing Bao Kaiyu was up to his tricks, Chai Ren played along smoothly.
"Can I go out and find one now?" Bao Kaiyu asked weakly.
"Get lost."
"Haha..."
"Baozi, how about a little shame, huh..."
"..."
The atmosphere during the chat was great.
Digressing here and there, Tang Qing grew much more familiar with Bao Kaiyu and Zhai Zhihua. Seeing how ’generous’ Tang Qing was, treating them to delicious food and gifting tea leaves, and even having several boxes of fruit wine ’extorted’ by Chai Ren, their impression of him suddenly soared several levels.
Such a friend.
Was truly someone one would want to get closer to.
Liu Qian had no chance to chime in from the sidelines.
He could only silently sip his tea.
The topics discussed by these second generations were terrifying.
Among these second generations, terms like provincial governor and minister rolled off their tongues as if city-level officials weren’t even worthy of discussion. Indeed, Liu Qian truly broadened his horizons.
Rumors and various gossips were quite enjoyable to listen to.
But Tang Qing lacked interest.
Because the information he wanted to know, he could learn in even more detail than these people.
...
In the evening.
Around eleven o’clock.
Zhan Xi only brought Lin Jiaxue back then.
Tang Qing immediately took his leave.
Not having returned home so late, both families had called, knowing that Tang Qing was entertaining important guests, but worry was still there. Liu Qian also left the hotel with Tang Qing, not to go home, but to escort Tang Qing.
"Phew..."
Breathing in the fresh air, Liu Qian let out a long sigh.
The pressure of being with these second generations was indeed very great.
"Uncle Liu, go home and have a glass of fruit wine, get some good rest. The day after tomorrow, they will be gone. You need to improve your mental strength," said Tang Qing with a smile.
"No way, the butt dictates the brain; they are all people we cannot afford to offend," Liu Qian said with a wry smile, shaking his head. Thinking about having to attend to this group of young masters tomorrow, Liu Qian truly felt tired. Confidence was really important.
Even Tang Kai wouldn’t be too nervous in front of these second generations.
Because other people’s businesses were mainly overseas, in Thailand, Tang Kai could cooperate with the military families in Thailand, a staunch ally of Wangsa, in Myanmar, he was acquainted with Ling, the Myanmar Vice-President, and was quite familiar, so he could afford not to care too much about Chai Ren and the others, giving them the appropriate courtesy was enough.
Liu Qian could only lament that people’s fates differed.
"I’ll be leaving first; you should rest early."
Tang Qing couldn’t find a good way to relieve Liu Qian’s pressure, nor could he empathize with the ’walking on thin ice’ feel of Huaxia merchants, so he decided to leave first.
"Alright, goodbye."
Liu Qian waved goodbye.
Watching Tang Qing’s car disappear by the roadside at the hotel’s main gate, Liu Qian turned and went back.
...
After Tang Qing left.
Chai Ren and the others did not disperse.
"Old Chai, let’s talk about it, the matter of Tang Qing." Bao Kaiyu stared at him, asking for a reason to persuade himself to agree to Tang Qing’s equal investment. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain to his family.
"There’s not much to it; he is now an important partner of our Chai family," Chai Ren explained.
"Partner? In mining?" Bao Kaiyu asked uncertainly.
"Yes, but overseas. If you feel that there is a loss, you can always come to me, Chai Ren, for the part of the loss. My word is always valid," Chai Ren said steadily, with neither sadness nor joy.
The two were shocked by Chai Ren’s tone.
This was beyond the scope of mere partnership; there was a strong sentiment of courting favor, even to the point of ’desperately courting favor.’ The Chai family was willing to sacrifice its own interests to protect Tang Qing’s interests.
"Is it worth it?" Zhai Zhihua suddenly asked.
A smile flickered at the corner of Chai Ren’s mouth.
He thought back to the day when the ’divine troops descended’ incident occurred.
Over a hundred armed Africans turned into corpses within minutes, dead beyond dead, and also that man who dared snatch someone directly from the hands of Congo Gold’s big warlord Sadoke in Bei Ji Province, and afterwards, there were no consequences at all.
"It’s worth it."
