"Hey, handsome, you came here last night with Uncle LĂŒ, didnât you?"
When Liu Yue looked up and saw Jiang Tao, she felt like his face was familiar.
Although Jiang Tao had already entered the ranks of middle-aged uncles, his looks were still quite outstandingânot the kind of average face youâd instantly forget.
Last night, Jiang Tao came here with LĂŒ Qian for dinner, and Liu Yue still remembered him.
"Yeah, thatâs right. I saw you guys were selling coconut snails here last night when I ate with Brother LĂŒ, so I came straight to you to buy them."
Hearing the boss lady knew LĂŒ Qian, Jiang Tao took the opportunity to make clear that he was pretty close with LĂŒ Qian, and said:
"Just name your price. I donât want you working for nothingâafter all, you run such a big restaurant, not making money isnât realistic."
Upon hearing Jiang Taoâs words, Liu Yueâs smile grew even warmer. She replied with a smile:
"Youâre Uncle LĂŒâs friend. For LĂŒâs sake, Iâll throw in two for you, itâs no problem."
"We always buy these coconut snails in bulkâthe wholesale price is forty per jin. Just pick whichever one you like yourself."
"Sister Liu, call Xiao Guo out to weigh these for the customer!"
Liu Yue greeted Jiang Tao while also calling out to the cleaning lady whoâd spoken to him earlier.
"Thank you, boss lady. Sorry for the trouble."
Jiang Tao hadnât expected Brother LĂŒâs reputation to carry so much weight here, but he was still grateful to Liu Yue.
Liu Yue laughed, "No worries. Just come back more oftenâthatâs the biggest support you can give us."
"Definitely, for sure."
Jiang Tao nodded and smiled, agreeing with her for now, though who knew if heâd really come back in the future.
After thanking the boss lady again, Jiang Tao turned and walked over to the glass seafood tank.
He picked up a scoop net hanging on the side and fished out the coconut snail that was shining with a dark golden glow.
As he fished it out, Jiang Tao grumbled in his heart.
If Brother Tongzi hadnât tipped him off, this lucky chance mightâve gone to someone else.
But now, itâs all his!
The coconut snail Jiang Tao picked was pretty bigâit was longer than his whole hand.
The kitchen helper took it from him and plopped it onto the digital scale.
This coconut snail actually weighed a whopping 3.2kg, which is more than 6 jin.
Just the cost price of one coconut snail was 256 RMB, and if made into a fancy dish itâd easily sell for four or five hundred RMB.
Thanks to LĂŒ Qian, Jiang Tao saved more than 200 RMB right away.
Then, to disguise the big snail, Jiang Tao randomly picked a smaller one, though it was still over 3 jin.
When he totaled it up, it came to 388 RMB altogether.
Thinking about that valuable 120,000 RMB Meile Pearl, spending 388 RMB didnât even sting.
turning into 120,000, thatâs an over 300 times profitâinsane!
After thanking Liu Yue once again, Jiang Tao paid up and carried his two coconut snails out of Brother Fattyâs Seafood Barbecue, heading straight for his rented apartment.
Back at the apartment, Jiang Tao tossed the other regular coconut snail into a stainless steel basin first.
Then, following a method heâd found online, he held the snail on both sides, pointed the sharp end down, and started banging it on the floor.
Ka ka ka, ka ka ka, ka ka ka...
After knocking it on the ground dozens of times, way more snail meat was showing than before.
Feeling it was about right, Jiang Tao held the shell with one hand and yanked the meat out with the other.
Pop~
A big chunk of whole snail meat came right out of the shell in one piece.
His gaze snapped straight to the organs at the end of the meat.
Just as expected!
Hidden in that white, fatty clump of organs, that splash of orange-yellow stood out!
Jiang Tao gulped, excitement lighting up his face as he reached out his right hand.
Soon enough, he had that pigeon-egg-sized orange-yellow little pearl in his hand from inside the snailâs organs.
This Meile Pearl was really hard and slick, felt like a marble, but was worlds apart when it came to value!
Ever since heâd bonded with the Intelligence System, Brother Tongziâs price estimates had been spot on.
Brother Tongzi said itâs worth 120,000, so thatâs what Jiang Tao would aim for when selling.
He didnât care if it was a couple thousand short, but if it was much less heâd just hold out for a better buyer!
Anyway, he was debt-free, had tens of thousands socked away, so he wasnât in a hurry to sell his Meile Pearl just yet.
Sitting tight and selling it for the highest price was definitely the best move!
"Iâll take another trip to Pan Garden to see what the marketâs like for this Meile Pearlâand maybe Iâll trigger some intel about antiques, too."
"Iâm not giving up! If once doesnât work, Iâll go twice, if twice doesnât work, Iâll go three, four, five times."
"Iâm playing hardball with Pan Garden nowâIâll go every day! If all else fails, Iâll just rent a place and live over there!"
Once the excitement faded, Jiang Tao quickly worked out a plan in his mind.
He grabbed a tissue from the table and wiped off the sticky goo from the Meile Pearl.
Then he wrapped up the Meile Pearl layer by layer to keep it from being knocked or scratchedâprotecting its looks and value.
Finally, Jiang Tao dug out a medicine bottle of Six-Flavor Rehmannia Pills from his drawer.
He popped all six pills left in the bottle into his mouth, then tossed in the wrapped-up Meile Pearl.
With the pearl sorted, Jiang Tao tossed the stripped snail meat back into the basin.
According to the internet, itâs supposed to taste pretty good, so tonight heâd fry it up for dinner.
Consider it a way to celebrate scoring that 120,000 RMB gem today.
He tucked the pill bottle with the Meile Pearl into the inside pocket of his jacket.
Before heading out to Pan Garden, Jiang Tao pulled out his phone and dialed Xu Liâs number.
Beep, beep, beepââ
After a few rings, the call connected, but Xu Liâs voice on the other end sounded much less cheery than usual.
No matter how hard Jiang Tao tried to comfort her, she clearly couldnât get over losing 30,000 RMB so soon.
"Hey, honey..."
Once the call was through, Jiang Tao gently suggested Xu Li search some hidden corners in the house again.
Like between the sofa cushions, under the coffee table, behind the TVâplaces like that.
The call lasted over ten minutes before they hung up.
After ending the call, Jiang Tao locked the door, grabbed his newly won Meile Pearl, and headed straight for Pan Garden.
Meanwhileâ
Ping County, Jiang Family Manor, Jiang Taoâs home.
"Sofa seams, under the coffee table, behind the TV..."
"Why would it end up in places like that?"
"Still, canât hurt to try, better safe than sorry!"
"Worst case, I lose a bit of time. If I find it, thatâs thirty grand!"
"Xiao Xue, wait just a bit, Mommy will find something first and then take you out to play."
Xu Li put her phone away, gave the sofa a thorough once-over, then bent down, sticking out her hips to look under the coffee table.
Finally, she went over to what she thought was the least likely spotâthe side of the TVâtilted her head, and peered into the gap between the TV and the wall.
"Huh, whatâs this..."
Xu Li squeezed her two slim fingers into the gap and pulled out a tiny paper airplane.