Lin Wanwan opened the Space-Time Gate and moved the Yellow Croaker and Sea Jellyfish Skin to the modern era.
The Space-Time Gate closed. Lin Wanwan took out her phone and opened it to find many messages, mostly greetings from former classmates and colleagues, and one message from Chen Jinyu inviting her to work over the weekend. She replied that she wasn’t considering it at the moment, only to discover that the work location was at a five-star hotel.
Lin Wanwan looked back at her Sea Jellyfish Skin and Yellow Croaker, touched her chin, and pondered if she should give it a try.
Just then, WeChat chimed again. Lin Wanwan picked it up to see a message from Lu Shouyue, asking if she had gotten any treasures recently.
Lin Wanwan thought that someone like him, who is both a wealthy second-generation and a scholar, would probably have quite the connections. So she snapped a photo of the Yellow Croaker and sent it over, asking: "Someone sent me a wild Yellow Croaker, is it a treasure? I don’t know how to handle it, do you have a channel, Mr. Lu?"
The next second, Lu Shouyue’s call came in, and Lin Wanwan answered: "Hello, Mr. Lu."
Lu Shouyue’s voice came through with a smile: "Hello, Miss Lin. But can we not be so formal? You can just call me Lu or Shouyue, can I call you Wanwan?"
Lin Wanwan laughed: "Let’s get to the point, Mr. Lu, do you have a channel to sell Yellow Croakers?"
Lu Shouyue replied: "If the one you have is truly a wild Yellow Croaker, then I have a channel to handle it. It’s best not to find someone else, as it’s currently the fishing off-season, and public selling could cause you trouble."
Lin Wanwan had indeed forgotten about that, luckily she didn’t post it on her moments. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoveI[F]ire.net
She contacted Lu Shouyue because her first impression of him was quite good, more scholarly rather than like a swindler. Although one shouldn’t judge by appearances, good-looking people do tend to leave a favorable impression, benefiting from a bit of natural advantage.
"Alright, then I’ll leave it to you, Mr. Lu, the item is definitely real. Where are you now? I’ll bring it over."
After getting the address from Lu Shouyue and ending the call, Lin Wanwan booked a ride through a ride-hailing service and carried the wooden box with the Yellow Croaker downstairs.
"Recently, it seems like my strength has increased a lot," Lin Wanwan thought to herself. She walked to the doorway, pulled out a scale from the gap under the shoe cabinet, and weighed the fish, which was 59.9 KGS.
Almost 120 pounds, and I can still carry it. Could time traveling have changed my physique?
Lin Wanwan flexed her arms, glancing at her not-so-obvious biceps, feeling a bit puzzled.
"No matter, it’s not a bad thing anyway."
Lin Wanwan put the fish back in the wooden box, placed it on a small luggage cart, opened the door, and went straight out; the ride-hailing car was already waiting at the gate of the community.
Upon arriving at the designated location with Lu Shouyue, Lin Wanwan had just opened the car door to get out when a security guard in a white-gloved suit walked over, politely offering to help with the luggage.
However, upon opening the car trunk, the security guard couldn’t lift it and became quite embarrassed, laughingly saying: "This thing is a bit heavy, huh."
He then gestured for another security guard to come over, and together they managed to lift it out with effort, with Lin Wanwan smiling and expressing her thanks.
"Are you Miss Lin?" the initial security guard who greeted Lin Wanwan inquired.
The security guard immediately pulled the cart ahead to lead the way: "This way, please."
Lin Wanwan, carrying the bag with the Sea Jellyfish Skin, followed the security guard into a rather elegant tea restaurant, which was packed with people.
Lu Shouyue was sitting by the window having breakfast. Seeing Lin Wanwan enter, he smiled and waved, showing a standard set of eight white teeth: "Join me for breakfast, let’s chat while eating, I’ve already ordered."
Lin Wanwan wasn’t actually hungry, having had dinner in the Tang Dynasty three hours ago. But in China, people are reserved when talking business and don’t like to get straight to the point; having meals or tea is commonplace.
So Lin Wanwan sat down across from Lu Shouyue and casually ate some fruit salad so as not to sit idle.
Lu Shouyue glanced at her curiously and, after swallowing his food, asked with a smile: "What, are you on a diet?"
Lin Wanwan replied nonchalantly: "I ate before I came out."
Lu Shouyue gently said: "Have a bowl of porridge; it’s quite rare here, you’ll know once you try it."
Lin Wanwan thought there was nothing special about a bowl of porridge, but she picked up the bowl of black rice porridge that was just served. The moment it entered her mouth, her eyes widened slightly, and it felt like all her senses were awakened, from the tongue tip to the taste buds.
Lin Wanwan swore she had never had such delicious porridge in her life! Compared to this bowl of porridge, what she had before seemed like pig food.
She thought they would discuss business while eating, but it turned into a silent breakfast. After finishing a bowl of porridge, Lin Wanwan still wanted more.
"Can I have another bowl?"
Lu Shouyue shook his head with a smile: "I would love to, but the chef is quite an oddball and only provides one serving per person. The bowl you had was my portion."
Lin Wanwan was tongue-tied, feeling like she had walked into some incredible place; rich people truly know how to make things special, even having unique dining rules.
Lu Shouyue explained a bit more with a smile, noticing the Sea Jellyfish Blood in the plastic bag, nodding slightly: "Is that Sea Jellyfish Blood?"
Lin Wanwan took out the transparent plastic bag containing the Sea Jellyfish Blood and replied: "Yes, Mr. Lu, would you like a look?"
"No need for now. I only have some knowledge, but there is an expert here today."
After breakfast, Lu Shouyue took Lin Wanwan straight to the kitchen, where a man in his thirties wearing a chef’s coat had just taken off his gloves to come out.
This person was obviously a renowned chef, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, distinct features, and an extraordinary demeanor. His chef’s coat seemed tailor-made, and the watch he wore looked expensive.
Lu Shouyue previously introduced him during breakfast as the head chef and owner of a private kitchen, named Jie Yuting, very affluent and with top-notch culinary skills, recognized by industry peers as Asia’s most creative genius chef.
If you wanted to eat a meal cooked by him, you had to book three months in advance. Lin Wanwan was able to have a bowl of porridge today thanks to Lu Shouyue.
Jie Yuting was straightforward: "Did you bring the wild Yellow Croaker?"
Lin Wanwan pushed the small cart forward: "Yes, Mr. Jie, please have a look."
A young person dressed as a sous-chef stepped forward, removed the straps from the cart, and opened the wooden box to reveal the Yellow Croaker inside. Jie Yuting only glanced at it from the corner of his eye before smiling: "Hmm, not bad, it is wild."
Then he approached as if he had gotten a treasure, squatted down to take a closer look at the Yellow Croaker without touching it, but instead stroked his chin and examined it carefully.