Chapter 312 - The Master of Imagination
It was almost 6 p.m.
The wind started to blow outside the door.
It looked like the weather was going to change again!
Ling Ping’an closed the door a little tighter, then took his phone and sat on the sofa.
Meow!
The kitten jumped onto his body and gently rubbed against his master’s clothes.
“Let’s have roast meat today…” Ling Ping’an played with his phone and thought of the bowl of spice water that he had brewed.
In order to prevent it from spoiling, he decided to roast it today.
But…
What roast meat should he eat?
Beef?
Eating beef rice every day seemed a little boring!
Mutton?
Thinking of mutton, he slowly curled his lips and recalled the mutton he had eaten a few years ago.
It was really fresh!
And it was extremely fragrant!
Thinking of the mutton, Ling Ping’an couldn’t help but cry.
But…
He couldn’t buy the right one.
Ling Ping’an thought of the IQ tax from the previous few times.
He shrunk his neck. The ancient people said that nothing could be done more than three times.
But in order to eat the mutton, he had to pay the IQ tax at least five times, and he was cheated every time he did it.
The mutton he bought was so bad that he could only throw it in the trash.
‘Should I pay the IQ tax again?’ He thought.
But as he scrolled through the merchants on the local fresh meat platform on his phone.
He sighed again.
Because he knew that these people were also bragging.
But in reality, the mutton they sold was not the ‘Northwest Mutton’ they claimed.
Many of them were directly slaughtered and transported from the ranches of the Southern Zhou or Northern Zhou.
They were all industrialized commodities.
Although they were called mutton, they were actually all big rams.
They were very stinky!
Other than being cheap and large in quantity, they had no other unique characteristics.
Therefore, he could only put down the phone in his hand.
“It’s a pity that I don’t know anyone who specializes in supplying them…” he couldn’t help but sigh.
As a gourmet, it had always been a pity that he didn’t have a reliable and professional supply channel.
But he had no choice. He didn’t often need good meat.
He might not even cook once a month.
Besides, he didn’t have much money.
Naturally, he couldn’t know any professional suppliers.
Those people had their own circle.
Thinking of that shop, Ling Ping’an stood up.
“Yes…” He said. “Maybe I can go to that shop and ask…”
The crayfish he bought last time was really delicious!
So, he could trust him.
Therefore, Ling Ping’an put on his coat and picked up his cat.
“Little Boy, let’s go out for a while…”
Meow!
The Little Cat meowed softly in its owner’s arms.
…
Ling Ping’an came to the market.
His sense of direction was gone again.
He looked at the densely packed vegetable stalls and the roads that led in different directions.
Scratching his head, he asked, “Is that the seafood shop from last time over there?”
He really couldn’t remember it.
Meow!
The kitten in his arms was meowing and wanted to come down.
Ling Ping’an put it down.
The kitten walked forward vigorously and meowed as it walked.
“Little Boy, you remember the way…” Ling Ping’an was instantly happy and quickly followed.
The man and the cat shuttled through the market in the afternoon.
Soon, Ling Ping’an followed his pet into a small alley.
Meow!
The kitten cried in front of a closed house.
Ling Ping’an looked at the door and remembered that he had been here twenty days ago.
It was brought by the volunteer driver.
So, he walked over and knocked on the door.
Knock, Knock, knock…
The door opened very quickly and a man with a cigarette appeared in front of Ling Ping’an.
“Who are you?” He glanced at Ling Ping’an with a hint of disdain in his eyes and a hint of contempt in his tone.
Because the young man in front of him was really too ordinary.
What kind of place was this?
It was Jiangcheng City’s most high-end food and beverage supplier!
Even the mayor’s family who wanted to have a gathering needed to buy goods from this place!
They really didn’t have any free time to interact with each other, and they could talk and laugh like scholars!
Naturally, he couldn’t help but be a little arrogant.
Ling Ping’an didn’t care about the other party’s arrogance. He just smiled and asked, “Is your store manager here?”
“Store Manager?” After being suspicious for a moment, he turned around and shouted, “Store Manager, someone is looking for…”
Not long after, a shrewd-looking man in a formal suit came to the door.
He looked at Ling Ping’an and asked curiously, “Young Master, who are you?”
Ling Ping’an smiled. “Last time, a friend brought me to your store and bought crayfish…”
The man frowned slightly. He didn’t quite remember this matter.
But he didn’t dare to neglect it because such a confident person who knew about this store couldn’t be an ordinary person.
The crayfish in the shop weren’t ordinary things.
They were raised in the deep mountains of Yun Gui.
The annual output was not much.
If the crayfish was split among the families, there wouldn’t be much left.
The people who could come here to buy crayfish were either rich or noble!
Therefore, he asked carefully, “What’s the name of your friend?”
Ling Ping’an was stunned.
Because he couldn’t remember the name of the driver.
He could only say, “I forgot to ask his name…”
“But…”
“He is a taxi driver and a volunteer…”
Hearing Ling Ping’an’s words, the manager’s expression became serious. He said to Ling Ping’an, “Sir, please wait…”
He turned around and returned to the store. He dialed a number in front of the counter.
He didn’t know what he said on the phone.
He immediately came out with a smile.
“Young Master… Please come in…” he smiled and said, “It’s windy outside. I don’t dare to let you catch a cold…”
Ling Ping’an nodded and walked in with his cat.
It had been a long time since they last saw each other, but this seafood shop was still the same as last time.
There were no crayfish in the water tank.
Instead, there were many big crabs.
Ling Ping’an looked at the pure white big crabs in the water tank and smacked his tongue, asking, “Are these king crabs from western song?”
The store manager smiled and said, “Young Master, you have good taste. These are special king crabs caught from the cold water in the southern part of Western song…”
“Would you like one?”
“It’s very delicious!”
Ling Ping’an shook his head. “I don’t need it for the time being…”
He couldn’t afford such a luxury item.
It was said on the internet that this kind of crab was only produced in the cold water of the southern and western parts of the Western Song dynasty.
Its growth rate was extremely slow, and its population size was very small.
Therefore, it was a noble among sea crabs!
It was several times more expensive than the spider crabs that people were familiar with that were caught from the Northern Zhou dynasty!
Ling Ping’an couldn’t even afford a spider crab, let alone this king crab?
However…
After thinking for a while, Ling Ping’an said to the store manager, “Can you save one for me?”
“I might need it next month…”
“No problem!” The store manager said with a smile, “You can come at any time. I have it here…”
“Even if you don’t have it, I can prepare it for you immediately. It will arrive in two hours!”
When he said this, he was full of confidence.
Although the king crab was rare and expensive, it was not a rare item to him.
It was barely an ordinary item.
The truly expensive and rare crabs in his shop were not from the sea at all.
Instead, they were medicinal crabs that grew up eating ginseng and spiritual insects in the mountains.
One or two large crabs were worth tens of thousands of dollars!
Even so, there was still a high price but no market. It was not something that could be bought even if one wanted to. It was the coattail rider.
“What do you need today?” The store manager’s attitude was very amiable, causing Ling Ping’an to be filled with emotion.
“I think I should learn more from him…”
“This kind of service attitude is really too good!”
Ling Ping’an thought about it and nodded seriously. He replied, “I want some good northwest mutton…”
“I wonder if your store has it?”
The store manager smiled. “Young Master, we don’t have it here for the time being…”
“But don’t worry…”
“One hour! Give me one hour, and I’ll transfer the goods for you!”
Immediately, Ling Ping’an smiled. “Okay! I’ll pick up the goods in an hour…”
“How much do you want, Young Master?” The store manager inquired.
“Just two catties…” Ling Ping’an thought for a moment. He could only eat so much by himself. As he spoke, he asked, “Will this trouble you… If it’s too troublesome, then forget it…”
He still knew that many things couldn’t be done by relying solely on his own thoughts. He had to take care of others.
After all, it wasn’t worth it at all for two catties of mutton.
Right?
Everyone worked very hard.
To be considerate of others was also to be considerate of oneself in a certain sense.
On this point, Ling Ping’an was very empathetic.
Because he was also a businessman.
“It’s no trouble!” Unexpectedly, the store manager immediately smiled. “It just so happens that the store will be bringing in a batch of goods later…”
“Just ask the delivery person to bring them along…”
“Thank you so much!” Ling Ping’an immediately thanked him and asked, “By the way, how much is it?”
The store manager smiled and said, “Since you want it… you can give me 60 yuan per catty…”
When he said this, the staff next to the store manager looked as if they had seen a ghost.
Because if it was a random item in this store, wouldn’t it be priced at thousands or tens of thousands of yuan?
Sixty Yuan per catty?
Were they sure that it wasn’t bought in the market?
Were they trying to ruin the reputation of the brand?
However, the store manager was sent from the headquarters, so they didn’t dare to say anything. Instead, they could only remember this matter in their hearts.
“Sixty Yuan?” Ling Ping’an listened to the price and quickly took out his phone. Then, he glanced at the QR code on the counter behind him and chose to pay 120 Yuan.
Then, he showed the QR code in his hand to the manager and said, “Then I’ll come back in an hour to get the goods!”
“Okay!” The manager nodded with a smile. “Take care…”
After he walked Ling Ping’an out of the door personally, he closed the door and let out a long sigh. He then took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
As he turned around and looked at the shop assistants, his face was full of anger. “What are you all standing there for?”
“Hurry up and get to work!”
The shop assistants immediately scattered.
The shop manager walked to the counter, picked up the phone, and dialed the number again.
“Third Young Master…”
“Yes…”
“That young master is here to buy mutton…”
“Understood! I’ll make sure it’s done well!”
He put down the phone and let out a sigh of relief.
If others didn’t know, didn’t he understand?
The outsiders didn’t know. They thought that their company had moved the shop from the center of Jiangcheng City, which had the most high-ranking officials and rich people, to this remote market alley in the east of the city for a gimmick.
However, the store manager understood that this was actually for the convenience of serving that special young master.
It was the young master with glasses who had just left.
He wore very ordinary clothes and had a cat with him.
The store manager didn’t know why, but he was sure that this was a direct order from the highest level of the group.
It was also the intention of the third young master who had the best chance of inheriting the company.
Just this fact alone showed that the young man who had just left had an unimaginable background.
Therefore, the entire company had to curry favor with him.
They even needed to open a shop for him here and serve him at any time.
“Could it be…”the store manager couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild. “That company is the illegitimate child of a certain big shot in the Imperial City?”
The plot of a TV drama about the grudges between rich and powerful families that he had just watched this afternoon appeared in his mind.
When a certain big shot was young, he fell in love with a commoner girl, but because of the pressure of his family, he had to be separated. More than ten years later, the big shot who had already reached a high position remembered his first love when he was young and sent people to look for him, he was surprised to find that he had a love child.
Therefore, the guilty important figure poured all his love into this illegitimate child..
Thinking of this, the store manager laughed.
This kind of plot on television could not happen in reality!
Even if it did, it could not be such a plot.
That was because the higher-ups of the federal empire had very high ethical standards.
Any minister in the Cabinet of the federal empire would have to undergo the examination of the Ethics Committee of the Council of Ministers and physicians of the Federal Empire.
It wasn’t that illegitimate children weren’t allowed.
But they had to be made public!
Any act of concealment was disloyalty!
Disloyalty to the Council of Ministers and physicians was disloyalty to the emperor and the world.
In that case, he had broken the law.
Those who were more sensible would resign on their own and still have some dignity. Otherwise, if they were to really wait for impeachment, they would trigger the crime of ‘disloyalty’.
This was a capital crime!
In the past 200 years, no minister had dared to break the law.
However, other than the important figures in the imperial capital, who else could make their young master deliberately curry favor with them?
They even specially opened the shop here for him.
They were even open 24 hours a day to ensure that he could receive service at any time!
This attitude and instruction was already comparable to two hundred years ago, when the merchants in the imperial city deliberately opened the shop near the imperial city in order to curry favor with the imperial family.
And that order to directly provide all kinds of expensive special offerings at a price equivalent to ordinary goods to the other party.
It was even comparable to the time when the Sun Family sold several million worth of calligraphy and paintings in the imperial capital as fakes to Emperor Taizong, who came to visit them in disguise.
Thinking of this, the store manager’s brows slowly furrowed.
Because he had discovered a blind spot!
Indeed, the big figures in the imperial capital had an ethics committee to investigate, but the imperial family didn’t!
And the legend of the late emperor was that he was unruly…
Could it be that he was the descendant of a dragon?
The thought made the store manager’s heart pound.
Why would the descendant of a dragon be wandering among the ordinary people?
Just thinking of this, the store manager couldn’t help but get excited.
The people of the Federal Empire loved to gossip about the imperial family the most.
Well, who would not like this kind of gossip?