Chapter 79

Huiyang cuisine is one of the four major cuisines in China, known for its strict selection of ingredients, meticulous knife skills, and emphasis on the main ingredients, among other features. Now that Qi Ping has the conditions, he naturally needs to taste the authentic Huiyang cuisine. This is also because he is back in the country, where the most authentic Chinese cuisine can be found.

Although Qi Ping can cook some simple home-style dishes, his skills are limited to that level. As for the Chinese food in American Chinese restaurants, Qi Ping finds the taste quite strange and cannot really enjoy it.

Dishes like Clear-Stewed Crabmeat Lion's Head, Three-Part Duck, and Crystal Meat, which are signature Huiyang dishes, Qi Ping has tasted over the past two days. For him, this trip has been worthwhile, and he feels he has gained a lot. Chinese culinary culture is profound and extensive, and Qi Ping may not like all the dishes from the various regional cuisines. However, he knows that if he has the opportunity, he will definitely travel around to taste all these authentic delicacies.

Not only Chinese cuisine, but Qi Ping also feels it is necessary to try some American and French dishes. As long as the conditions are right, Qi Ping will give them a try. This is part of enjoying life, and he will not deprive himself of such pleasures.

After eating and drinking to his heart's content, it is time to get down to business. Qi Ping's schedule is quite tight, as he needs to purchase jade and also return to his hometown. He knows that Kate must be missing him a lot, not only because they have just started dating but also because Kate is finding it difficult to take care of the gorillas and the others.

Although Qi Ping really enjoys these delicacies, he knows that now is not the time to indulge in them. Being able to enjoy a bit of fine food in his busy schedule is already something to be happy about. If he lingers here, it would be putting the cart before the horse.

Continuing to seek out jade is what Qi Ping needs to do now.

"Really unlucky, I always thought the quality of this batch of jade pebbles was average, and there has never been any truly good jade found in them." Qi Ping followed the boss, Mr. Zhao, to an exchange event, which is a high-end circle where players deal with better-quality jade pebbles.

"That's true, that guy spent over two million on this material, and he's probably going to lose a lot. Good jade does exist, but it's too scattered and fragmented, and it's not worth much." Listening to these people's whispered conversations, Qi Ping suddenly had a bright idea.

For Qi Ping, he doesn't necessarily need the best-quality jade pebbles; a bit of fragmentation is fine as long as the quality of the jade is good.

"Boss, can I take a look at this jade?" Qi Ping is the kind of person who acts on his thoughts. Finding the main character who was considered to have lost a lot, Qi Ping's eyes lit up.

Qi Ping doesn't understand much about the outer skin of jade pebbles, but he saw that the surface of this fist-sized jade pebble was covered with tiny sand-like pores, like a rough, pitted surface, which is known in the industry as a "sand-pitted original skin."

Although this jade pebble has little value to many jade merchants and collectors, it makes sense. Jade pebbles are formed by the long-term erosion of mountain materials that have fallen into rivers due to tectonic movements. Many jade pebbles have a half-stone, half-jade structure.

This jade pebble is no exception, with some jade but mostly stone. The most important thing is that the jade is not well-formed or in large quantities, but rather scattered in small, high-quality pieces on the stone.

Qi Ping's eyes lit up. He doesn't know what kind of jade the merchants like, but based on his recent studies of arrays, this piece of jade is suitable for his needs because it has good spiritual energy. It's not as good as the jade he found earlier, but it's not far off.

"This jade is great for an array eye. Although it can't complete a large array, it can set up a small one. If paired with some other jade, it should meet the requirements for the small lake." Qi Ping calculated that this piece of jade is really good. With such a piece of jade, he feels that his return to the country has been a great gain.

"If you like it, you can take it for three million. You can see, this is genuine sheep fat white jade. Our internal exchange event only has the best, genuine Hetian jade." Seeing Qi Ping playing with the jade and looking quite satisfied, the middle-aged man spoke up.

"Three million?!" Qi Ping was somewhat dismissive. Although he is young and it's his first time at this internal exchange event, that doesn't mean he is a fool.

This piece of jade, except for Qi Ping's liking and need, would definitely not be taken by other merchants.

The middle-aged man dared to ask for three million, even though it was a loss for him. Instead of trying to minimize his losses, he was trying to take advantage of someone, which is a typical case of not giving up until the last moment. Of course, merchants seek profit, and it's normal to ask for a high price and negotiate down.

"At most fifty thousand. You know what this piece of jade is like, and I don't believe anyone would be willing to take it." Qi Ping handed the jade back, even though it was his first time in the industry. He knew that haggling was normal, especially when someone tried to take advantage of him.

After a heated negotiation, including the middle-aged man repeatedly praising the uniqueness of the jade pebble and his tearful sale, Qi Ping remained unmoved. For him, the goal was to get the jade at the lowest possible price. Even if the middle-aged man talked about his potential financial ruin, Qi Ping wouldn't show sympathy. Business is like war, and he wouldn't waste his money.

In the end, the deal was made for 1.1 million, and the middle-aged man managed to recover some of his losses. For Qi Ping, he received a very good piece of jade. Although it might be considered a tasteless and worthless piece by experts, it was valuable to him.

Qi Ping became a rising star in this small exchange circle. Most people knew that this young man was not short of money and had a unique taste. He looked like an outsider but had a certain level of expertise. Such people are the easiest to take advantage of because they often think they know better.

"Mr. Qi, take a look at this piece of jade." A burly man squeezed through the crowd and proudly showed a piece of jade.

"No, the quality is too poor. I do need jade, but this jade doesn't satisfy me at all. First of all, it should be Hetian jade. I don't care about the size, but I do care about the quality." Qi Ping shook his head after a quick glance. Although it was a large piece of jade, to him, it was basically just a stone.

The burly man grumbled and walked away, thinking Qi Ping didn't know what he was missing. The jade was of average quality, but it was large. As a low-end jade, it could still be processed and had a market and potential. Even if it didn't make him rich overnight, such a piece of jade should be worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Qi Ping continued to study and evaluate. He suddenly felt that he had become a small celebrity in the industry, which might have its benefits. Although he was seen as a fool, it was very convenient because some jade was constantly being brought to him, some of which might be undervalued by experts.

He received another piece of jade for four million. This piece of jade was excellent, quite complete, and had good spiritual energy, making it valuable even to experts.

For Qi Ping, he felt he had made a huge profit. He had obtained two pieces of jade that could serve as array eyes and received many business cards, opening up a good jade exchange circle. This made him very happy and proud, as it seemed he wouldn't have any trouble finding jade in the future.

Feeling very pleased, Qi Ping suddenly realized that after buying two high-quality jade pieces and two "scraps," he had unknowingly spent over one million dollars. This made him suddenly feel a headache, as his pocket was once again almost empty, and most of his loans were spent.

Money is hard to earn but easy to spend.

"Well, this is an investment, and I will definitely make it back in the future!" Qi Ping could only console himself this way. In fact, every time he was short of money, he would say the same thing.