Chapter 132: We Must Win This!

Slurp! Slurp!

Zhong Di quickly sucked the last of the latiaozi noodles into his mouth. As he chewed, he looked up at his visitor.

The man appeared to be in his early fifties. Perhaps because his slightly graying hair didn't quite match the wrinkles on his face, Zhong Di felt he might be even older than that. But that didn't matter. The visitor’s intention was clear—he had come specifically for a purpose. Zhong Di searched his memory, feeling that the man's name sounded vaguely familiar, yet upon closer inspection, it felt completely foreign.

"Ah, hello! No problem at all. I just finished eating myself. Would you like to join me for a bite?"

Zhong Di's invitation was merely a polite gesture; he didn't actually expect the man to eat. Yu Yunfei, however, looked stunned. What? Was this not the farm owner? Did he not recognize him? Or was he just a worker here?

That seemed very possible. As someone from Nanyuan Floriculture in Kulun City, he had already been in contact with them. Even if they were unwilling to cooperate, they should at least recognize him! At the very least, they should remember his name.

"No thank you, I've already eaten," Yu Yunfei replied with standard politeness. "May I ask who the owner of this farm is? I’ve come here today mainly to discuss a large-scale purchase of your mosquito-repellent herbs. I’ve already spoken to your customer service team about this matter previously."

Yu Yunfei spoke with impeccable, standard phrasing. Even if he knew the man before him wasn't the owner, he believed in maintaining a professional demeanor.

"Oh, that’s me. I remember now—someone did want to buy our mosquito-repellent herbs in bulk. Sis, didn't you tell them we weren't selling?"

Upon hearing the purpose of the visit, it clicked for Zhong Di. No wonder the name sounded familiar.

"I did tell them," Zhong Hui replied.

Yu Yunfei examined Zhong Di once more. There was nothing special about him. He actually hadn't remembered his name—well, he supposed he had been a bit arrogant to assume otherwise. After a brief internal monologue, Yu Yunfei accepted the reality that he wasn't someone everyone would remember, and began to focus on the task at hand. Under normal circumstances, he might have severed business ties with such a place, but he couldn't afford to do that here—they held all the cards.

Their production base desperately needed these mosquito-repellent herbs to revitalize their business.

"Look, I think we can discuss this in more detail. There’s no need for an outright refusal! At the very least, even if we can't strike a deal, we can be friends, right? Could I take a look at your mosquito-repellent herbs?"

Yu Yunfei showed no embarrassment. He pegged this young man as a novice who didn't know how to handle social situations, but now wasn't the time to nitpick such details.

"Uh, they're planted everywhere around here. If you really like them, I can sell you a few pots, but a large-scale order is out of the question."

That was the truth. Even if business couldn't be done, there was no need to burn bridges. Being friends was fine, even if most friendships were based on interests; one still had to maintain appearances.

"Thank you." After expressing his gratitude, Yu Yunfei began to look around.

*Hmm, this place is actually quite nice. It makes you want to stay and hang out. The air, the comfort...*

*Wait, what am I doing?* He shook his head. *The priority is checking the herbs.*

Yu Yunfei refocused and began searching for the plants. Since they were scattered everywhere, they were easy to find. He noted that there were indeed no mosquitoes around; the effect of the herbs was truly remarkable. He had to secure this deal.

"May I ask if there’s a specific reason you refuse to sell in bulk? Is it the price, the supply volume, or something else?" Once he confirmed the efficacy of the herbs, Yu Yunfei decided to get straight to the point.

"There's no reason other than that I don't want to sell. Uncle Yu, there's really no need to waste your breath. I'm not selling the mosquito-repellent herbs. I only grow them to provide a perk for my farm's members; I have no other motives."

Seeing that Yu Yunfei was determined not to give up, Zhong Di felt he had to be firm, otherwise, this would drag on forever.

Yu Yunfei was stunned. He stared into Zhong Di’s eyes for a moment before giving up. His intuition told him that today was a lost cause and he would have to find another opportunity later. "Very well, then."

"Zhong Di, I brought you the fresh oysters you wanted for lunch."

Just as Yu Yunfei was about to leave, Qian Weining arrived.

"Oh, Uncle Qian, I told you I’d go pick them up myself! Why did you bring them over?" Zhong Di quickly took the bucket from Qian Weining’s hands.

It was filled with oysters, along with moon snails, mussels, cat-eye snails, and other shellfish. While the farm's ponds had them too, Zhong Di preferred buying from the reservoir, hoping to domesticate the ones in his own ponds.

"It was on my way! Oh, eating? Latiaozi? Can I join you?" Qian Weining’s eyes lit up. The farm’s noodles were incredibly satisfying—the kind you couldn't forget once you’d tasted them.

"Sure!" Zhong Di agreed readily. He checked the sky; it wasn't dark yet. Asking Zaker to make another portion of noodles was no trouble at all.

"Zaker, could you please make some for Uncle Qian as well?"

"You got it," Zaker replied, heading into the kitchen.

The farm treated its staff well, providing fair pay, end-of-year bonuses, and overtime wages. Plus, whenever they worked extra hard, they were rewarded with surprise paid time off.

"President Qian, I didn't expect to run into you here!" Yu Yunfei's attitude shifted rapidly, moving from casual to slightly deferential.

"And you are?" Qian Weining asked curiously. He was in the middle of chatting with Zhong Di, so he asked out of polite habit.

"President Qian, it's Yu Yunfei from Nanyuan Floriculture. I’m not sure if you remember, but you hold some shares in our company." Yu Yunfei wasn't offended that Qian didn't remember him; it was perfectly normal.

"Oh, I remember now. Nanyuan Floriculture, Yu Yunfei. Yes, you're doing a good job. Keep it up." Qian Weining feigned familiarity and offered some standard pleasantries. In reality, he knew of Nanyuan Floriculture, but he had no idea who Yu Yunfei was. This was the reality for many financially independent people—their circles were so vast that they had countless one-off encounters. Trying to remember everyone would be exhausting.

"President Qian, I'll leave you two to talk. I’ll be going now." Yu Yunfei was experienced enough to see that Qian didn't want to chat, so he wisely excused himself.

"Uncle Qian, do you know him?" Zhong Di asked curiously.

"To be honest, I don't even know who he is. I just know I have some shares in Nanyuan Floriculture and collect a dividend every year. Anyway, forget him. I wanted to talk to you about something important—the 'Returning Farmland to Forest' project is set up, and I need you to take a look and see if there are any issues."

Qian Weining decisively moved on from the topic of Nanyuan Floriculture and steered the conversation toward business.