Chapter 35: Fishbone Food Corporation
Translator: _Min_ Editor: Lis_, Rundi
Jiang Chen’s mood was hardly pleasant. It was because he had just f*cked a s.e.x doll.
He was curious as to why the feeling was off. It was the silicone after all that made Jiang Chen conflicted about the idea. He initially thought the number 410 was just a setting and the private service was due to the hotel’s high-quality maids. However, he soon realized that the girl was a robot!
He came to that conclusion after using all of his techniques, and the “girl” still did not show any signs of pleasure.
That would be a short but funny story from the trip. Jiang Chen didn’t think too about the s.e.x toy because he didn’t have the same urges as before. In his view, some of the intimacy is more joyful when there are two people.
G.o.d knows what the Heaven Island Hotel’s manager would think after he learned Jiang Chen’s thought process. This robot was the result of centuries of innovation. Perfectly designed ergonomic with every detail to match. No human would look that flawless. Pregnancy or STD would not be a concern at all as a rinse of the internal parts would allow for repeated usage. If the manager knew his peculiar thought process, he would have just gone to the ghetto and found him a prost.i.tute there.
The culture divide meant that they wouldn’t understand each other. Jiang Chen preferred the realistic emotions carried by an actual person. He left the robot to the side. The occasional shoulder rub was quite relaxing.
He gratefully rejected the meal service offered by the hotel as he cheerfully lied on the magnetically levitating chair. He ordered the mechanical beauty to pick up a fruit slice from the can and feed it to him.
[What a lavish life!]
An entire day pa.s.sed, still, no one visited him. This made Jiang Chen uncertain about his plans.
[This is odd, do I need to be more proactive?] He raised his eyebrows as questions floated through his mind. He was not familiar with the place so he had no clue who the point of contact would be. Since the hotel registered him as a food corporation representative, in theory, anyone interested would contact him. Jiang Chen didn’t believe the hotel manager would keep this a secret, and he was uncertain how many people would have access to the information.
Jiang Chen over dramatized the severity of the situation because a merchant who smelt the opportunity for crystals was rus.h.i.+ng there.
It was the merchant that had to divide the can into three servings – Zhao Chenwu.
“Please come in.” When he heard the doorbell, he answered the door as the voice activated system automatically unlocked the door.
When he saw the visitor, he didn’t act surprised. He slowly and respectably stood up and asked the visitor to sit.
Zhao Chenwu spotted the fruit can on the table and swallowed his saliva, but his facial expression remained calm. Although he had a pa.s.sion for food, he was a man of influence, so he kept his composure. At this position of power, it was easy to disguise his desire.
The a.s.sistant behind him only glanced at the can on the table once, and her expression also remained the same.
Jiang Chen who was observing the situation became ecstatic.
Disguise would mean that there was a problem. The more you pretend you don’t care, the more you demonstrate your interest.
The value of food was without a doubt extremely high. A careless expression would only suggest the disguise behind the intention. If Zhao Chenwu were pretending, that would mean that he was here to negotiate. Jiang Chen’s plan was to find a business partner. It would be up to this negotiation to see if there would be a deal.
“h.e.l.lo, Mr. Jiang. My name is Zhao Chenwu; this is my a.s.sistant Su Lei.” Zhao Chenwu cut straight to the point and introduced himself. When she heard the boss introduce her, she respectably acknowledged.
“Hmm? You guys clearly have done your homework.” Jiang Chen gave Zhao Chenwu a thought-provoking look. The middle-aged man didn’t display any awkward emotion as if the provoking action didn’t bother him at all.
“Mr. Jiang’s detailed information means that you also want people to find you.” A smile suddenly appeared on Zhao Chenwu’s face.
Indeed, it was not required to input the customer’s information at the time of check in. A name and genetic ID would be enough. But Jiang Chen forcefully added the “Fishbone Food Corporation Representative” along with his name. His intention was quite clear.
“Haha, let’s not talk about this anymore. Since we have an important visitor here, I can’t be too cheap as the host.” Jiang Chen gave the mechanical beauty some orders as the robot directly entered the room.
Zhao Chenwu puzzled examined Jiang Chen and his intention. Jiang Chen was doing the same thing.
Momentarily, the mechanical beauty walked in with two pieces of fresh, watery orange slices. She directly placed the plate in front of the confused Zhao Chenwu.
“Fruit can, a specialty of our company. I already opened the one on the counter so it would be rude of me to serve you guys with it. I just asked my temporary maid to open two more cans. My pa.s.sion for oranges meant that I only brought oranges with me on this trip. I hope the two of you will not be offended.” With a grin on his face, Jiang Chen gestured Zhao Chenwu to try.
[Why would I be offended? This is just showing off.] Zhao Chenwu cursed in his mind.
The fresh-looking orange slices were only available a few years after the war. The supermarket had some yet to be raided, but the supplies were all gone within two years.
It has been ten years since he had an orange this delicious. He chewed on the soft orange as his edged and rough face showed a sign of excitement. However, he immediately turned into his usual collected expression when he met Jiang Chen’s smile.
To greet the guest with luxury like this, especially including the a.s.sistant as well, demonstrated not only his good faith but also the amount of wealth he had.
Zhao Chenwu thoughtfully looked at Su Lei who still acted calm, but her mouth was chewing non-stop. He pushed the toothpick inside a slice of orange and didn’t continue to eat.
There would be plenty of time to taste the delicacy after the business was done.
“Does it taste good?” Jiang Chen asked with a smile. He also picked up a slice of orange and put in his mouth.
“It’s delicious. To be honest, even though the Sixth Street can produce some fruits, the production is limited. Due to the radiation, it is difficult to maintain the quality of the fruit, which means only some are edible. The rest could only be extracted for nutrient purposes.” These were not secrets at all as anyone on the street would know. Zhao Chenwu did not hide any information. Instead, he was straight forward and acted as honestly as possible.
“I have heard about this before. Therefore I see opportunities.” Jiang Chen nodded.
“The canned food at the exchange office must be Mr. Jiang’s move.” Zhao Chenwu said without any fluctuation in his emotion.
“You are correct. I sold it at a price of 50 crystals per can. I heard that the price was raised to 60?”
“In that case, since Mr. Jiang showed up in the inner circle and not the exchange office, you must be preparing for a big deal.” Zhao Chenwu’s face displayed a burning pa.s.sion.
“Indeed, I believe my products would sell very well in the Sixth Street.” The opportunity finally came. A glimpse of confidence flashed across Jiang Chen’s face, as the person who brought up the question was important in any negotiation, for the one that took the initiative would not be at an advantage.
Zhao Chenwu couldn’t contain his excitement that he was no longer calm..
The canned food would sell out the moment it enters the market. As a capitalist himself, Zhao Chenwu would not let the profit in front of him escape.
“Do I have the pleasure of becoming your business partner?” A thought provoking smile appeared on Zhao Chenwu’s face.
“Of course, if Mr. Zhao has enough influence,” Jiang Chen responded with a vague answer.
“It looks like Mr. Jiang didn’t investigate about me.” Zhao Chenwu smiled.
“Any individual or force can become our business partner granted they meet all the requirements. Investigating every individual within the inner circle would be inefficient. I know that as long as I show up here, people with business insight into business will find me. It is only a matter of time,” Jiang Chen shook his head and said calmly.
However, Zhao Chenwu recognized the other relevant information within Jiang Chen’s words.
“Are you talking about the trade? Wait, you can provide stable supply?” Zhao Chenwu pressed his hands against the table and stood up immediately. He stared at Jiang Chen with disbelief.
[It would be impossible in w.a.n.ghai City. It must be an organization outside of w.a.n.ghai. Simulated ecosystem facility? Regardless of what it is, I must make the deal.]
“Mr. Zhao, you are acting overzealously,” Although he was ecstatic in his mind, he remained collected and said it without any emotion.
“I apologize for my manner. Allow me to introduce myself again.” Zhao Chenwu realized his actions were overeager. He fixed up his clothes and extended his right hand. “Member of the Group of Ten Council, president of the Zhao Corporation, Zhao Chenwu. On behalf of the Zhao Corporation, I extend my warm welcome to your company’s presence regarding potential deals at the Sixth Street.”
[Oh my, part of the Group of Ten Council!]
Jiang Chen hid his surprise. These are the conglomerate that controlled all the capital within the neutral Sixth Street. Since they are part of the forces in the Sixth Street, safety would not be a concern either. The absolute neutrality is a law that was strictly enforced for more than 20 years.
He stood up and shook Zhao Chenwu’s hand to express his grat.i.tude.
“I’m Jiang Chen. A representative who is responsible for the negotiation of the deal. On behalf of the Fishbone Food Corporation, I express my grat.i.tude to the Zhao Corporation at the Sixth Street. Let’s put the gestures aside and talk about the details of the business.”
“Haha, Mr. Jiang is a straightforward person. This was what I expected.” Joyous by the suggestion, Zhao Chenwu happily accepted.
He originally thought Jiang Chen was a flipper merchant, common to the wasteland, with some unique products. Even if he brought him considerable profit in one trade, it would not be long term as flipper merchants wandered across the wasteland without a home.
However, Jiang Chen’s proposition was a long-term trade agreement which offered a significantly different meaning.
A stable trade route, with an external survivor camp with the product being luxury canned food, Zhao Chenwu was thankful that he took the initiative first. If he let this money printing machine escape from in front of him, he would be the laughing stock of the entire inner circle merchants.