It was indeed the legendary Qian Duoduo. Besides the trademark figure-eight mustache, Qian Duoduo's hands were rolling a pair of walnuts polished to a deep patina.
From those fluent movements and flexible fingers, Jing Shu could tell Qian Duoduo had "rolled" a lot of things. Jing Shu wondered if anything Qian Duoduo disliked would end up getting rolled too.
Only then did Qian Duoduo look at Jing Shu. Satisfaction crossed Qian Duoduo's face. At least Jing Shu's clothes were clean. If someone has foul odor, Qian Duoduo would never let the family eat food made by that person.
Qian Duoduo smiled kindly. "Thank you for coming. You must be Ms. Jing. I heard your ice cream is excellent, so I asked Minister Niu Mou to invite you. My son is allergic to certain additives, so we need to test the ingredients first."
Jing Shu nodded. The richer someone was, the more cautious and afraid of death they tended to be. It made sense. Qian Duoduo would be afraid someone might poison it, or add something harmful in the name of flavor.
"Ms. Jing, rest assured. Whether or not we end up using your ice cream, I will give you a result that satisfies you."
Truly generous.
Jing Shu took the pretty jars of ice cream out of the cooler and handed them to the lab tech. A man in a white coat and mask received them and went off to test.
"Please wait a moment," Qian Duoduo said. One second Qian Duoduo's figure-eight mustache curved at a sixty-degree friendly angle, the next it straightened with fury. With a single gesture, four bodyguards pinned three terrified men to the ground. The trio begged for mercy nonstop.
Rolling one walnut in hand, Qian Duoduo pointed at them with the other. "I, Qian, am rich and sometimes foolish. If something is good and you name a sky-high price, I can accept it. But one of you overdid an additive by ten times. Another used something that expired six months ago. The last one brought me product laced with poppy."
By the end, Qian Duoduo's tone had gone icy. "So you wanted to fish with a long line, is that it? Poppy is not something ordinary people can get."
Jing Shu narrowed her eyes. So Qian Duoduo had been burned badly before. No wonder the caution.
Minister Niu Mou leaned over and whispered to Jing Shu, "This research institute is funded by Mr. Qian Duoduo. They test all kinds of things for him."
"Impressive." A tall tree catches the wind. Qian Duoduo must have provoked plenty of envy. With a figure like Qian Duoduo around, whatever Jing Shu did would not stand out. A pity Jing Shu had not known about him in the last life.
At last Qian Duoduo flicked a glance. The bodyguards dragged the weeping trio away. Perhaps because there was an outsider present, Qian Duoduo did not allow rougher methods.
"Sorry for the spectacle," Qian Duoduo said with a polite, slightly embarrassed smile. "I heard Ms. Jing uses fresh milk to make an all-natural ice cream. I assume there are not many messy additives."
This was the perfect chance to plant a flag.
"The 'messy additives' I use are all good for the body," Jing Shu said with a small smile. Jing Shu had worried about how to convincingly claim that eating her ice cream was nourishing and healthful. Now, with Qian Duoduo's own testers on hand, the assist had arrived.
Qian Duoduo's face said "I do not believe it," though the mouth said, "Oh, I look forward to hearing it."
So perfunctory.
…
"What did you say? Say that again." Qian Duoduo dug at an ear, suspicious of what had been heard.
"No other additives. Pure natural food. It perfectly preserves all nutrients not found in ordinary ice cream. Per one hundred grams, it supplements calcium, rich protein, minerals, and lecithin, roughly equal to one egg and two hundred grams of milk combined.
The lecithin is brain-nourishing and beneficial for your son's recovery. Nutrients absorbed naturally are far more effective than injections. We verified this three times."
The walnuts slipped from Qian Duoduo's fingers and thumped to the floor. Qian Duoduo's voice shook. "Say that again."
The tester repeated the conclusion carefully. Qian Duoduo stood and paced. "Good. Good. I never thought this method would work. That kid would rather die than eat eggs or drink milk. Excellent. How is the taste?"
"Excellent."
Qian Duoduo shook Minister Niu Mou's hand in excitement, then turned to Jing Shu, eyes bright. "So you added only good things. No matter the cost, I want this ice cream. Here, let everyone try it."
The tester spooned samples into paper cups for Qian Duoduo, the remaining two bodyguards, Minister Niu Mou, Jing Shu, and himself.
One spoonful in, Qian Duoduo's eyes lit. In this heat, a bite of ice cream sent coolness through the body. Qian Duoduo's thumb shot up. This was real ice cream. Everything before this had been fit for dogs.
This flavor was something Qian Duoduo's foolish son would certainly love.
After the first bite, everyone felt as if they were standing inside a cool ice cellar. A satisfied breath escaped their lips, like life had peaked for a moment.
"I will take this jar. Name your price," Qian Duoduo said.
Do not be fooled by Qian Duoduo's blustery air of being an easy mark. This was how smart people tested others. Qian Duoduo wanted to see how Jing Shu would charge. Would Jing Shu open like a lion for a one-off, or present it as a favor to make Qian Duoduo owe a debt?
"I want diesel. Mr. Qian Duoduo can decide how much diesel this jar is worth. If the price is right, I would be happy to make this a repeat business," Jing Shu said, passing the ball back. Qian Duoduo could name a price, but if Jing Shu was not satisfied…
Qian Duoduo picked up the walnuts and pondered. "Water is extremely scarce now, and your ice cream uses rare ingredients like pure milk and eggs. Add the unique process and preserved nutrition, which are priceless.
But you should know that one ton of crude only yields 480 liters of diesel and 310 liters of gasoline. Labor today comes with meals, and costs have gone up by a hundredfold. On value and rarity, one liter of your ice cream is absolutely worth 100 liters of diesel. I am willing to triple that. Ms. Jing, what do you say?"
One kilogram of ice cream for three hundred kilograms of diesel. Jing Shu could eat that much ice cream in a day. Who knew how many tons of oil Jing Shu had indirectly consumed over time.
Qian Duoduo truly had sincerity. In a few years, with petroleum tightening, would Qian Duoduo still be so lavish? A family with a mine really was different.
Jing Shu's lips curved. Jing Shu nodded openly. "Deal."
Both sides looked satisfied. Qian Duoduo did not lack petroleum and he valued Jing Shu's attitude.
This first deal moved 5 liters of ice cream. Jing Shu received 1.5 tons of diesel in exchange. Compared with trading one black-smoked pig for one ton of diesel and five tons of water, this price was far gentler.
A phrase popped into Jing Shu's mind: we have no middleman taking a cut, so it is cheaper.
In the end, Jing Shu never did see Qian Duoduo's rumored sprawl of villas covering the whole of Xishan Villa, nor the true face of the landlord's foolish son. A pity. Minister Niu Mou did, however, share quite a bit of insider news.