Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 114: Chapter 111 Weird Grandfather and Grandson

“What?” Huo Sining was somewhat astonished.

The elderly man smiled and said, “My granddaughter and I are tourists who came from out of town to visit S City. To be honest with you, I lived in S City for about seven or eight years during my childhood. It’s quite like revisiting old grounds for me now. Just now, while walking down the street, I saw someone bought large crabs from your place, and upon asking, I found out they were local crabs. That reminded me of the flavors of my childhood, and on a whim, I wanted to buy a few to taste. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could I use your kitchen to steam the crabs?”

Huo Sining couldn’t help but laugh at the odd and sudden request from the old man, but it wasn’t an unreasonable one, so she nodded in agreement.

Having eaten crabs countless times recently, Huo Sining’s crab-steaming skills had improved significantly, and before long, a pot of steaming crabs was ready.

When the crab shells were cracked open to reveal the plump flesh and golden roe inside, not only was the grandfather amazed, but even the granddaughter, who had previously looked disdainful, was extremely surprised.

The old man didn’t bother with politeness or image, and he directly grabbed a crab to eat. Huo Sining had already prepared the necessary tools and dipping sauce for eating crab, and the elderly man began to feast with nimble hands and feet.

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The translucent crab meat was taken out of the pincer and melted in the mouth, tender, fresh, and slippery. The moment the crab meat entered his mouth, the old man’s eyes lit up; he slapped the table and praised enthusiastically, “The flavor is so fresh; this is indeed authentic local large crab!”

The girl, skeptical but curious, subconsciously picked up a piece of crab meat and put it into her mouth.

As the crab meat melted in her mouth, a sweet fragrance spread through her taste buds to every limb, and the expression on the young girl’s face changed instantly.

“It’s so delicious. Is this really a local crab from S City? How come I find it even tastier than Yangcheng Lake crabs?!”

The elder beamed with pride and said, “This is the genuine local crab of S City. Though these fellows might not look as good as those from Yangcheng Lake, their taste is absolutely exquisite. When I was a kid, as soon as crab season came, I would often eat these. And, I would go swimming in the river and catch crabs with friends. I’m not bragging to you, but back then, I could dive into Huang Family’s waters and swim from this end of the riverbank to the other without taking a single breath.”

It was clear that the old man harbored deep nostalgia for those childhood days and there was an unmistakable hint of boasting in his words. Huo Sining and the young girl exchanged glances, trying to suppress their laughter and succeeding only in holding it back.

“Young lady, thank you for your help; the crab tastes wonderful!”

It had been a long time since the old man had tasted such rich and authentic flavors from his childhood. After finishing the crabs, he looked full and content, paid the bill satisfactorily, and got ready to leave.

At that moment, Wu Jun walked in from outside the shop. Seeing the grandfather and granddaughter in the shop, he didn’t pay much attention but instead said to Huo Sining, “Boss, the short mackerel shipment has just arrived. Should we put them in the aquarium now?”

Huo Sining replied calmly, “Don’t rush; bring it inside first. I need to check the goods for any problem.”

Wu Jun nodded and went out. Upon hearing this, the elderly man was greatly surprised and looked at Huo Sining with a face full of wonder, asking, “Young lady, are you the owner here?”

Huo Sining nodded, and the old man glanced at her and then at the red and white koi in the aquarium on the side, his heart filled with both amazement and disbelief, “Did you breed all these koi?”

Seeing the old man’s expression, Huo Sining immediately understood what he meant. It looked like this elder was someone who knew his stuff. She paused inwardly, but her face remained smiling, serene as ever,

“Look at what you’re saying. I’m just a middleman; I got these fish from suppliers. You seem like someone from within the industry. Could it be that you’re interested in these koi?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m from within the industry, but my family does indeed breed some red and white carp. These fish of yours aren’t bad, not everyone can raise them. It must be difficult to get your hands on these fellas, right?” the old man said, half believing and half doubting, casting a skeptical glance at Huo Sining.

Huo Sining laughed, “I just got lucky. I happened upon them on the street corner. At the time, someone told me it was a scam, but I didn’t believe in curses and, to my surprise, I stumbled upon a huge bargain.”

Her words were indeed the truth. Wasn’t it on the street corner where she encountered the vendor selling koi fry? At that time, those fry were barely three inches long and looked sickly. Only Huo Sining, who didn’t fuss over details, was willing to take the risk. The other buyers weren’t fools; who would be willing to take such a loss?

Breeding koi requires great patience and expertise. Huo Sining looked young and was not likely to breed such standout specimen, so the old man believed her explanation right away and nodded without any further questioning.

After seeing off that peculiar grandfather and grandson pair, Huo Sining didn’t dwell on this minor incident. She had been incredibly busy lately, attending classes, treating Master Huang, and sometimes sneaking out at night to the Yellow River to restock Xianyu Shop. Her schedule was packed tight, leaving her with almost no time to rest.

Huo Sining had no idea about the identity of that grandfather and grandson until a few days later when she received a call from Su Zhenhua and rushed to a restaurant, where she encountered the old man once again. It was only then that she realized this person was actually the helmsman of the much-talked-about Zhou Financial Consortium.

“What! Are you sure this information is accurate?”

Su Zhenhua had been frazzled lately; there had been no progress with the S City investment attraction issue. The information from Director Zhang was also ambiguous. He could only watch helplessly as the Jiangzhou government was about to pull away a project worth several billion yuan, without any solution in sight.

Just less than two days later, Director Zhang made a sudden visit to the Su Residence, bringing with him some big news.

“How could this be fake? This is the proposal document that Mr. Zhou’s secretary sent to me. If we accept the investment, we have to meet one of their conditions,” Director Zhang said while sipping tea and passing a document to Su Zhenhua.

“Guanlan Villa?” Su Zhenhua frowned upon seeing the four characters on the cover. As he flipped through the proposal and understood its terms, his frown relaxed, “Are you sure this is the Zhou Group’s demand?”

Director Zhang nodded, “Master Zhou said that this plan was completely spontaneous. He wants to develop the villages and rivers from upstream of Dongjiadu to Shatian Port, restore them as a cultural ancient town, and enforce natural preservation. The funding required for this project will be entirely supported by the Zhou Group. In return, the Zhou Group is willing to invest a biopharmaceutical factory project worth two billion yuan in S City.”

“This villa won’t be for profit?” Su Zhenhua raised his eyebrows in surprise after seeing the remark at the end of the proposal, “Is this the demand you mentioned Zhou Guosheng raised?”

“Yes,” said Director Zhang with a hint of disbelief in his eyes, “I called Mr. Zhou Guosheng about this issue, and he personally assured me. It’s a native ecological development, not intended as a tourist resource. After the development, Guanlan Villa will be opened to S City’s citizens free of charge.”