Chapter 38: The Gambler's Market

  "Tang Zheng brothers, this time I'm really sorry to have invited you over so abruptly." Li Chunyu opened his arms warmly and welcomed him.

  Li Chunyu's demeanor remains elegant, with a noble air that is not lacking in warmth; her gentle nature has an extraordinary quality to it. Giving people a feeling of being both close and distant at the same time.

  "Brother Chun, you're too polite." Tang Zheng also seemed a bit reserved.

  Li Chunyu's gaze had already turned to the back, seeing Li Fei, Li Chunyu was stunned for a moment. Smiling and saying: "Tang Zheng brother, is this your girlfriend? Not bad, very beautiful."

  On the first floor on the left is the only dining area for guests in this private house restaurant. After entering the room, the host and guest sat down separately.

  It's just these four people, for Li Chunyu and Xiao Qiankun, this kind of spoiled rich kid. The number of people doesn't matter much. The atmosphere is artificial.

  "Tang Zheng brothers, the dishes here are not bad. They belong to Huaiyang cuisine. I don't have many hobbies, but I love to eat. The braised lion's head here is absolutely unique. Come try it and taste the flavor!" The four of them ordered a total of six dishes, which were quickly served.

  Steamed crab roe lion's head, squirrel mandarin fish, Liangxi crispy eel, and another soup option is Huaiyang duck broth, paired with two seasonal fresh vegetables. The table looks very clean and neat.

  For liquor, Li Chunyu chose Huadiao Huangjiu.

  Beside him, Xiao Qiankun was visibly moved, and the expectation on his face that he couldn't hide made Li Chunyu laugh: "Xiao Qiankun, can you be a bit more reserved?"

  "Haha, face can't be eaten as rice. You think I'm you, eating and drinking have rules, our old Xiao family, from a humble background, no stinky rules like yours Li Chunyu, want to eat then eat, want to drink then drink." Xiao Qiankun retorted without caring. While speaking, he picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of the mandarin fish: "I came here just for this Huadiao yellow wine. The owner of this place is giving you face. Ordinary people can't usually drink the special Huadiao here."

  "Foodie!" Li Chunyu shook his head and cursed with a smile.

  Xiao Qiankun's face was shocked, he looked up at Li Chunyu: "Awesome, Li Chunyu, Spring Brother, Spring Young Master, you can even find out this nickname."

  With Xiao Qiankun's interjection, the atmosphere suddenly became relaxed. Li Chunyu also smiled and said: "Tang brothers, let's eat, or these dishes will be gone."

  After the meal, Tang Zheng was also shocked. Indeed, it's true that every move produces a champion. With just these dishes, they can actually produce such delicious flavors. Moreover, Xiao Qiankun's unforgettable Huadiao wine. Tang Zheng has truly experienced it, and compared to the Huadiao yellow wine in the world, they are indeed two completely different concepts.

  After getting drunk and full, Xiao Qiankun was lying on the chair, looking very unrefined, picking his teeth with a toothpick. From time to time, he would exaggeratedly let out a belch. If outsiders were to see him like this, it would be enough to lose face for all the young masters of the capital's aristocratic families. This kind of behavior would even shame the faces of the capital's rascals.

  "Xiao Qiankun, don't say you know me from now on. I'm ashamed of that person. If those rascals find out, they'll laugh at the fact that someone like you came out of our big courtyard." Li Chunyu scrunched up his face, looking as if he was ashamed to know him.

  The rascal is also an important part of the Beijing cultural composition. If the big courtyard children are representatives of the wealthy family children, then the rascals are the children of the Beijing alleys, and both sides have been standing on opposite sides due to their differences in family status since they first appeared.

  "Tang brothers, this afternoon, do you have any plans? If you're free, come with me to take a stroll?" Li Chunyu invited with a smile.

  This time in the Mediterranean, Li Chunyu's purpose was to reconnect with Tang Zheng. After parting ways in Venice, Li Chunyu had a subconscious feeling that Tang Zheng was quite extraordinary and had also developed an intention to get to know him better. The actions of the Xiao family naturally did not escape Li Chunyu's notice. That they could make Xiao Qiankun willing to take risks to create such a powerful license plate only made Li Chunyu even more curious.

  Coming to the Mediterranean, everything is false. The main purpose is just to get in touch with Tang Zhong and make friends.

  Tang Zheng hesitated for a moment, now in Zhonghai No. 1 Hospital, the internship has entered its final stage. Other schools have already taken their internship results and left. Zhonghai Medical University is close by, so they haven't moved yet. But it's just a matter of three to five days.

  Moreover, during this period, Tang Zheng did not arrange any specific work. Although he was already a formal employee of Zhonghai No. 1 Hospital, without his graduation certificate and license, Tang Zheng's daily work was very casual.

  He nodded immediately and said, "Okay, since Brother Chun has said so, I'll just tag along and gain some experience."

  As he walked out of here, at the door, Li Chunyu also drove over in his car, a local Zhonghai license plate, a very low-key car - Volvo XC90.

  In comparison, Hummer represents a kind of boldness and dominance; Volvo, on the other hand, represents low-key and introversion. This Swedish brand has been positioned as a representative of low-key from the very beginning.

  The license plate number is also very low-key, completely different from the Hummer's flashy style. On the Hummer, there were only Tang Zheng and Li Fei. Xiao Qiankun was quite tactful and sat in Li Chunyu's car.

  Looking at Tang Zheng who was focused on driving, Li Fei felt a little dazed. The man in front of her had given her too many shocks and surprises; just over twenty days ago, Tang Zheng was still struggling with his internship results. Who would have thought that after just over twenty days, the same person would be driving a car worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and having a formal job?

  "Tang Zheng, what have you been up to recently? You've changed so much. I wonder if you're some kind of rich kid who's intentionally pretending to be poor." Li Fei couldn't help but think this way. In just over 20 days, there was such a change, it was simply too incredible. Apart from this reason, Li Fei couldn't think of any other situation that would cause Tang Zheng to have such a transformation.

  Looking at Tang Zheng, Li Fei was a little distracted. If he really is in this situation, then between him and her, it seems that there's also a possibility.

  As soon as she had this thought, Li Fei suddenly felt her face burning and immediately turned her head to look out the window: 'What am I thinking? How could I possibly like this guy?'

  Tang Zheng smiled and said: "It's really not some rich family's son. I'm just an ordinary farmer's son. This period of time, uh, maybe my luck has come."

  Tang Zheng didn't want to say, and Li Fei didn't ask again. Explaining it with just luck was definitely impossible. Since Tang Zheng didn't say anything, this meant that things hadn't reached that point yet. In this aspect, Li Fei still understood the ways of the world quite well.

  Drove Li Fei to Yu Jinglan Bay. Tang Zheng only started driving and followed Li Chunyu's car.

  One in front and one behind, after circling around half of the Mediterranean city. On this side of the southern suburbs of the Mediterranean city, the car drove into a factory.

  The southern suburbs of the Mediterranean are considered an industrial area, with many factories and plants around.

  At this moment, there are many luxury cars parked in the front yard of the factory. In the surrounding area, a large number of stones are piled up.

  As soon as the car stopped, Xiao Qiankun smiled and said, "Younger brother, this is a great place in Zhonghai City to gamble on stones."

  Li Chunyu also smiled and said, "I'm afraid I've made Brother Tang laugh. In this life, I don't have many interests or hobbies. Collecting antiques and jade is my biggest hobby. The jade markets and gambling dens in various places, I'm quite familiar with them. This time I came to Zhonghai, it's specifically for the purpose of gambling on stones."

  Although that's what he said, only Li Chunyu himself knew the actual situation. The stone gambling was just an excuse, and the real purpose was to observe and get in touch with Tang Zheng a bit more.

  On this side, someone had already come to greet him. A middle-aged fat man in his forties with a smiling face came over: "Young Spring, rare guest! How did you have time to come and play at my humble shop today?"

  For Li Chunyu, Tengchong is even more so than Yangon, Myanmar, a place he must visit every year. The market for raw jade stones in the South China Sea is not thriving and developed. In the eyes of people like Li Chunyu, it is indeed a small shop, too small to be smaller.

  Li Chunyu smiled and said, "Boss Zhou, you're too kind. Who doesn't know that in the entire Zhonghai City, Boss Zhou is a big shot in the antique industry? This time I came to Zhonghai for some business, bringing two brothers along to take a look. These two are Xiao Qiankun and Tang Zheng. Boss Zhou, do you have any new goods?"

  "Kun Shao, Zeng Shao. Honored to meet you!" Old Zhou was very enthusiastic. Those who could address Li Chunyu as brother or younger brother were naturally extraordinary individuals.

  "Spring is scarce, as the saying goes, coming early is not as good as coming at the right time. And indeed, a new batch of goods has arrived. Authentic Pagar old pit from Pontianak. Spring, take a look at your leisure. If you see something you like, just let me know."

  "I said why there are so many cars today? It turns out that new goods have really arrived. It seems that I'm still quite lucky."

  As for gambling, Xiao Qiankun is uninterested. The only thing on his mind is racing. As for Tang Zheng, he is completely ignorant.

  At this moment, Li Chunyu smiled and introduced: "Gambling stone is a special property derived from jadeite ore. Before excavation, the jadeite is all included in the stone, with weathered skin on the outside. Modern equipment, including X-rays, cannot penetrate the jade to see the inside situation. Therefore, in the gambling stone circle, there is a saying that one knife is hell and one knife is heaven. Every year, many people go bankrupt for this reason. There are also many people who become rich overnight because of this. This is the charm of gambling stones. I am a person who likes stimulation, so I have this hobby. Later, if Tang brothers have any favorite stones, just say so. Even if I give it to you as a gift."

  PS: The protagonist is not good at gambling, so it's arranged this way for a plot twist. Hope brothers and sisters can be patient and keep reading.