Chapter 80 True Friends

  Xiao Ping was shocked and stared at the Frenchman, asking loudly: "Why is this?"

  "My friend, these white truffles are too good!" Pierre said sincerely to Xiao Ping: "Such good truffles should be auctioned off, only then can their true value be reflected. I could of course buy them from you at a price of $2,000 or $3,000 per kilogram, but that would be dishonest. We're friends, I couldn't cheat you, do you understand what I mean?"

  Unexpectedly, the Frenchman was a man of his word. Xiao Ping couldn't help but feel moved after his initial surprise. For the first time, he patted Pierre on the shoulder and said with sincerity: "Old Pi, you're a good guy!"

  "I don't have a surname of Pi." The Frenchman explained weakly: "My surname is Pierre!"

  Xiao Ping waved his hand indifferently and said, "Don't get hung up on such trivial matters, let's talk about the Matsutake auction instead!"

  "Pierre said discontentedly: 'My surname is no small matter...'"

  Xiao Ping completely ignored the Frenchman's protest and continued, "I'm really not familiar with this line of work, how about you take charge of the auction? Leave 20 kilograms of black truffles and 10 kilograms of white truffles for free, and sell the rest. What do you think?"

  Pierre was momentarily stunned, and immediately felt himself overwhelmed with a great sense of happiness, involuntarily looking at Xiao Ping to ask: "Are you serious? Not joking?"

  "Do I look like I'm joking? Xiao Ping frowned and said, "It's true that you haven't seen the world, getting so worked up over such a small matter. Just tell me directly if you're willing or not!"

  "Of course I'd be willing!" Pierre nodded without hesitation, then stammered: "But if you give me truffles for free, won't you lose a lot..."

  Xiao Ping interrupted the Frenchman's words, saying: "Old skin, I Xiao Ping will not treat true friends unfairly. Compared to our friendship, this little loss of mine is nothing!"

  Xiao Ping is indeed such a person, when others show him an inch of respect, he will return them with ten times the respect. Xiao Ping used to live alone and was often bullied and looked down upon, so he cherished true friends even more. Although the Frenchman loved to hug people all the time and his strong perfume could kill mosquitoes within twenty meters, when Pierre suggested that Xiao Ping auction off the truffles, he considered this Frenchman a true friend. Since Pierre's suggestion allowed Xiao Ping to earn a lot of money, it was only right for him to return the favor.

  "Friends!" Pierre was also moved by Xiao Ping's words and nodded in agreement: "That's right, we are true friends!"

  The Frenchman was also a straightforward person, and since he had taken Xiao Ping as a good friend, he didn't say much polite words and directly discussed the truffle auction. Pierre was also a well-known chef in France, and his understanding of these things was indeed much deeper than Xiao Ping's. After thinking for a moment, he immediately said to Xiao Ping: "Although the quality of these truffles is extremely high, you don't have any reputation in this line, and it's unrealistic to hold a large-scale auction immediately. I can invite the head chefs of Western restaurants in nearby cities first, hold a small-scale auction, let everyone know how good our truffles are, and things will be easier after the influence expands, what do you think?"

  Pierre's plan was exactly what Xiao Ping had in mind, and he immediately nodded: "This is the best way to use our truffle quality to conquer customers. We should be honest when doing business."

  Xiao Ping agreed with his own suggestion, and the Frenchman said with a smile: "However, you have to give me some time to prepare for the auction. The truffles can be stored for quite a long time, so there's no need to rush to sell them."

  "Let's go." Xiao Ping didn't have any objections to this, and smiled at Pierre: "When the time comes, our truffles will surprise everyone."

  The Frenchman was very much in agreement with Xiao Ping's words, and he himself had been quite surprised when he saw so many truffles. The two of them chatted a bit more about the details of the auction, Pierre being anxious to get going on the auction business, and Xiao Ping took the opportunity to bid farewell.

  Xiao Ping originally wanted to leave the truffle in the Frenchman's restaurant, but Pierre was adamant. He said that although they were friends, it would be better for Xiao Ping to keep such a valuable thing himself. To persuade Xiao Ping, the Frenchman even quoted the old saying "close brothers, clear accounts".

  Since Pierre had said so much, Xiao Ping could no longer insist on his own views. He only left the part of the truffle that he promised to give to Pierre and took the rest back in a bucket.

  "Xiao, do you know how to preserve truffles?" Seeing Xiao Ping carrying two buckets and walking out in a carefree manner, Pierre couldn't help but ask another question.

  It turned out that Pierre's concerns were justified, Xiao Ping scratched his head and said: "How to preserve? Put it in the refrigerator? Put it in the freezer? Wrap it with plastic wrap and put it in the freezer?"

  "Thank God I asked another question." Pierre rubbed his head and said, "Truffles should be wrapped in tin foil and placed in the refrigerator. However, the best way to preserve them is to bury them in the soil where they grow, controlling the temperature and humidity at the level of their growth, which can keep them fresh for a longer time, but it's a bit troublesome."

  For Xiao Ping, this method was not troublesome at all. As long as he put the truffle back in the Lian Yao Hu, it would be fine. So he immediately replied: "Oh oh, I know. Don't worry, I'll keep the truffle safe."

  Xiao Ping left the dining hall with two large buckets. Looking at his careless appearance, Pierre suddenly regretted his earlier decision and couldn't help but mutter to himself: "I should have agreed to leave the truffles behind, in case these truffles become inferior due to storage issues, it would be a real pity."

  Xiao Ping's careless attitude actually stems from his strong confidence, and does not mean that he does not take these truffles seriously. After leaving the Raffles Hotel, Xiao Ping found a hotel to stay in and buried all the remaining truffles under an oak tree. According to Pierre, this method can keep the truffles fresh for several months, let alone just half a month.

  Since he had already arrived in the provincial city, Xiao Ping didn't plan to rush back and instead decided to stay here for two days. Now that it's Chinese New Year, there wasn't much going on at the farm either, so taking a break was also necessary.

  The next day, Xiao Ping went to the most prosperous business district in the provincial city, planning to buy a few sets of clothes for himself. In the past when he was poor, Xiao Ping didn't care about these things, but now that he had made some money, he naturally didn't want to be too stingy with himself. Xiao Ping walked around Armani's specialty store and picked out two suits from head to toe, even buying new leather shoes, socks, and a watch strap.

  After taking the spiritual liquid for a period of time, Xiao Ping underwent a significant transformation. His figure became slender and upright, with evenly toned muscles, making him look like a standard clothes rack. When Xiao Ping emerged from the fitting room wearing a high-end suit, the salesgirl's eyes lit up involuntarily, and her attitude towards him became even more enthusiastic.

  When Xiao Ping let the salesgirl pack up all the clothes he had chosen and paid for them with a swipe of his card, the salesgirl's eyes, which had been shining with tears, suddenly became fiery hot. Young, rich, handsome, and most importantly, seemingly single, Xiao Ping was simply the perfect boyfriend material, no wonder even the experienced tour guide couldn't help but be attracted to him.

  Xiao Ping felt somewhat uneasy under the hungry gaze of several salesgirls, and after paying, he hastily left the specialty store. He had just returned to his hotel when he unexpectedly received a call from Wen Zhiping.

  Horizontal line

  Thank you for the rewards from "Book friend 111025193436139", "080915123712731" and "Great Han nationality LIU". Thank you all for your support.