Chapter 79: Top-grade Truffle

  Against Xiao Ping's expectations, Pierre answered the phone and shouted at him: "Dear Xiao, Happy Chinese New Year, congratulations on getting rich!"

  Also wishing you good health and all the best! Xiao Ping first said a few words of blessing, then couldn't help but curiously ask: "Pierre, do you French people also celebrate the Spring Festival? Shouldn't you be celebrating Christmas?"

  Pierre laughed on the other end of the phone: "You Chinese have an old saying 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do', since I've come to China, of course I'll celebrate Spring Festival too."

  Xiao Ping felt a bit apologetic for disturbing Pierre's holiday, but since the call had already been made, he went ahead and asked directly: "Pierre, I have some things about truffles that I'd like to discuss with you."

  "Do you still want to buy truffles?" The Frenchman was mistaken, and said apologetically: "I'm very sorry, my friend. Recently the production of truffles has been fluctuating a bit, and even I haven't been able to get fresh truffles for a long time. I'm afraid I won't be able to help you."

  As soon as Xiao Ping heard Pierre's words, he was delighted and immediately smiled: "I'm not looking for you to buy truffles, but I want to sell truffles. Are you interested?"

  "Truffles for sale?" Pierre raised an eyebrow in doubt. "Those aren't from Yunnan Province, are they? That kind of truffle is very different from the French ones, and my restaurant doesn't use them."

  In the southwestern region of Yunnan Province, there are also some areas where truffles are produced. However, whether it's appearance or taste, they have a big difference with those from France or Italy. The price of these truffles is also very cheap, and it wouldn't be a problem to deceive outsiders, but for an insider chef like Pierre, he would absolutely not use them.

  Xiao Ping said discontentedly, "Pierre, I considered you a friend, how could I possibly sell you Yunnan truffles? Alright, let me show them to you and then you can decide whether or not you want them, what do you say?"

  Pierre naturally accepted such a suggestion and soon asked on the phone: "This is best, can you come tomorrow?"

  Anyway, Xiao Ping didn't have anything else on, so he immediately agreed: "Alright, see you at your restaurant tomorrow!"

  The next day, Xiao Ping put the two types of truffles into two large buckets, covered them tightly and went to the provincial city. At this time, the Spring Festival travel rush had passed, and there were almost no people on the high-speed train, so Xiao Ping didn't have to worry about not having a place to put the two large buckets, and he arrived smoothly at the Lai Fu Si Western Restaurant.

  Pierre was worried about the truffle shortage. In a high-end restaurant like Raffles, truffles were a frequently used ingredient. Recently, many customers who had hoped to taste the truffle dishes had left disappointed, which would have a great impact on the restaurant's reputation if it continued. So Pierre had been waiting in the restaurant early and when he saw Xiao Ping, his face lit up with joy and he hurried over to ask: "Dear Xiao, you've finally arrived, I've been waiting for you for half a day."

  "You're really in a hurry, I came on the first train." Xiao Ping smiled at Pierre: "Go to your office, let me show you the truffles I brought."

  "Alright." Pierre agreed readily, then looked at the two large buckets Xiao Ping was carrying and asked tentatively: "Are these two buckets... full of truffles?"

  "You'll know when the time comes." Xiao Ping first sold a suspense, carrying a bucket into Pierre's office. His mysterious appearance aroused the Frenchman's curiosity, and he hurriedly followed in.

  In front of Pierre, Xiao Ping opened one of the barrels and said: "You see for yourself!"

  Pierre merely glanced into the bucket and immediately his face expressed surprise. Without asking Xiao Ping's opinion, he picked up a piece of truffle and examined it carefully, then put it under his high nose to take a deep breath, with an expression of intoxication on his face. Next, Pierre took out several more pieces of truffle to carefully inspect their shape and aroma, the more truffles he looked at, the more excited he became, until finally even his nose turned bright red from excitement, as if he might have a heart attack at any moment.

  The look on Pierre's face made Xiao Ping a bit worried, in case this guy really had something to say, he wouldn't be able to explain it even if his mouth was full. So Xiao Ping quickly snatched the truffle from Pierre's hand and smiled at him, asking: "How is it, what do you think of my truffle?"

  "This... this is indeed a top-quality truffle, and it's extremely fresh!" Pierre, being the renowned chef that he was, easily distinguished between good and bad truffles. However, there was an even bigger question bothering the Frenchman, who stared blankly at Xiao Ping and asked: "Even in France, such high-quality truffles are rare, where did you get this from?"

  "This is a trade secret, my friend!" Xiao Ping said with a smile to Pierre, then got down to business: "So, do you want these truffles or not?"

  "Want, of course want!" Pierre nodded hastily, but immediately frowned and said: "But two big barrels are really too many, I don't need that much black truffle."

  Xiao Pingdao said: "Who says there's all black truffles here? There's only one bucket of black truffles."

  Pierre hastily asked: "What's in the other bucket?"

  Xiao Ping gave the Frenchman a sly smile, his expression somewhat similar to the enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa. While Pierre was still bewildered, Xiao Ping had already opened the lid of another large barrel and gestured for Pierre to come over and take a look.

  When the French saw what was in the bucket, they were so astonished that they involuntarily held their breath, and after a while, they whispered incredulously: "Oh my God, it's truffle!"

  Just like a treasure hunter who had spotted gold, Pierre almost pounced on the bucket and examined its contents carefully. After a while, he turned around and stared straight at Xiao Ping: "They're all high-quality white truffles, and they're so big! This... this is simply a miracle!"

  Because he was really too excited, the Frenchman's voice had already become choked with sobs, and his eyes were even a little red. Xiao Ping couldn't bear to see a big man like this, and looked at Pierre with disdain: "Look at you, it's just over 200 catties of truffles, is it worth getting so excited? You really haven't seen the world!"

  "These are all top-quality white truffles!" Pierre was extremely dissatisfied with Xiao Ping's nonchalant attitude, holding up a piece of white truffle excitedly: "Do you know? Even in Italy's best truffle-producing regions, only a few hundred kilograms of top-quality white truffles can be found each year! To see so many top-quality white truffles at the same time is... really too exciting!"

  When Pierre said that, Xiao Ping felt that he had indeed taken these truffles too lightly. However, for Xiao Ping, these truffles came easily, and of course, he wouldn't be as excited as Pierre with tears in his eyes, but rather more concerned about whether there was a sales channel. So before Pierre finished speaking, Xiao Ping couldn't help but say: "Don't get emotional first, let's talk about whether you want these truffles or not!"

  "Black truffle I can have half." The Frenchman said seriously: "White truffle I don't want even one piece!"