Chapter 449 Chilies and Variety Store
The princess is marrying, so a lot of people are going to the Nami Star to watch the ceremony and have a tour.
Hearing that it is summer on the Nami Star, Colin Weir orders a lot of valuable natural cotton cloth and some coconut-like thirst-quenching fruit that can be kept for a long time. These goods don’t cost much. The cotton cloth costs 40,000,000 credit points, and the coconut-like fruit costs 30,000,000. The fruit is cheaper, which is sold at the price of 50 credit points per kilogram. The warehouse is full now. Taking along the products, the people aboard can comfort themselves that they are not squandering money without earning anything.
Knowing that Colin has ordered the goods, Lin Luoran leaves the shopping mall with the yellow jadeite phoenix hairpin.
It is not that they don’t sell the hairpin. As long as you can pay enough for the “treasures”, the sellers will readily part with those “not for sale”. After all, who will let go of any opportunity to make money?
Lin Luoran pays 9,000,000 credit points for this yellow jadeite phoenix hairpin. Nolan Mancia’s fame makes this tiny piece of yellow jadeite cost at least a hundred times more than its counterparts. However, the hairpin is worth it. At least, she has learned a lot about Nolan Mancia.
The female designer whose birth remains a mystery has worked her way to being recognized by the royal family of the Nami Star. She has been famous for 40 to 50 years, but no one has seen her in person. People would have doubted whether the lady is still alive, if the Nami Star royals didn’t attend events wearing jewelry designed by her.
“Master Nolan loves jadeite, a kind of new material. I heard that she made great efforts to turn jade from energy source to jewelry.”
Recalling the store manager’s words, Lin Luoran solemnly tucks away the yellow jadeite in her s.p.a.ce.
She really wants to meet the legendary designer, maybe on the Nami Star. She is going there anyway. Is the designer a fan of the earth’s culture, or is she actually from the earth? The puzzle will be solved someday.
The stars overhead give off gentle, golden rays of light. The twilight is beautiful. The street is lined with European-style castles, which are, in fact, high-tech buildings. Ladies in lace gloves walk along the street holding a feather fan. The scene is like a warm-toned movie.
At dusk, the N2 planet begins to be bustling with people. Lin Luoran and her companions don’t want to go back to their stars.h.i.+p.
There are many alleys behind the shopping mall. Different from avenues, the alleys are a paradise for small vendors. Similar to some alleys in Zhuzhou, Dongting City, these places look messy, but may actually be the most attractive part of a city.
Charcoal-grilled kebabs are regarded as greasy and unclean by the ladies. However, Lin Luoran calmly takes a seat in a kebab shop along the street. The siblings of the Ma family are okay with the food. Han Weiya doesn’t care, either. As for well-dressed Colin Weir, his mouth twitches a few times.
The shop owner is a middle-aged man from the Vansail Planet. He has a sharp nose. On the edge of the nose are nostrils, which are usually closed. He has a strong accent when speaking the interstellar standard language. Never mind. He is so hospitable that one may fail to notice the oil stain on his bellyband.
The kebabs make a rattling sound on the fire—the sound of burning fat. When the scent of meat drifts through the air, the man sprinkles the kebabs with some special seasoning so they are rich in taste.
“Do you eat spicy food?”
All nod except Colin Weir. When the middle-aged man sees the lovely little fox nodding, he laughs and says that this pet is clever.
The fox is not a fool. Actually, it got a small translator from Xiaozhi and a piece of jadeite from Lin Luoran. It hid the translator in the hollow jade, which hangs around its neck like a Jingle Bell.
Therefore, the cyan little fox can understand what the man says. If Lin Luoran didn’t catch it, it would have spoiled the kebab shop.
“Can’t you shut your mouth when you eat?”
Lin Luoran stuffs it with meat. The little fox snorts and swallows his saliva. At last, it bows to the man for the delicious food.
The spice is not too hot—not the chili on the earth. Is it something similar to cornel?
“Uncle Anthony, what’s the spice in the barbecue? It tastes delicious.”
It is not dinner time yet. Not many diners are in the shop, so Anthony is free to chat with Lin Luoran. He feels proud when he hears Lin Luoran praise his barbecue.
“You little girl have good taste. This spice is called Heartburn gra.s.s. It is native to the Vansail Planet. It is spicier than ginger and is famous throughout the alliance.”
Anthony’s gray beard trembles. He is very proud of the specialty of his hometown. There is even water in his eyes.
Lin Luoran thinks that Uncle Anthony simply misses his hometown. It’s not until many years later that she learns the truth. In fact, two thousand years ago, a member star of the Nami Alliance discovered the extremely remote Vansail Planet. Heartburn gra.s.s, the delicious spice became available to the Nami people, but it also plunged the Vansail Planet into a war.
This spice only grows in a certain environment, so the Vansail Planet was reduced to a plantation to cultivate spice for the Nami Alliance. The indigenous people were expelled from their native planet. Few could return to their hometown.
“So, there is no chili in the Nami Alliance?”
Considering that people on the Nami Star may give the chili a different name, Lin Luoran fumbles in her sleeves for a while and takes out a red pepper.
“Is this the chili you refer to? I haven’t seen it before.”
Anthony takes the chili. It smells spicy. Out of his professional habits, he puts it into his mouth but is almost choked with its taste. After a while, however, he feels his mouth is full of saliva. In fact, the spice pleases his palate.
“It’s really a good thing! If it’s used for barbecue, the meat will definitely be more inviting!”
Anthony recognizes the value of chilies at once. Lin Luoran also feels that it is feasible to grow chili peppers. If she does so, there will be no need to bury spirit stones in the ground to produce ingredients with Reiki. Actually, selling ingredients with Reiki may involve some risks. As long as the Nami people like the spice, they will easily make a fortune in the alliance. Actually, chilies are popular in the center of Chuan province. Therefore, if chili peppers become popular in the Nami Alliance, Lin Luoran can relive the experience in her hometown. That will bring her no less satisfaction than personal ability does, right?
Lin Luoran is happy with the idea. Besides, Anthony’s kebabs taste good. When Anthony says he wants to buy the new spice, she generously says that she can give him a few kilograms of chilies for free trial when she leaves the N2 planet.
Anthony realizes that Lin Luoran wants to sell chilies. “You can just sell a little more to Uncle Anthony. I am very confident in this spice.”
“Okay, but I can’t deliver it to you until tomorrow.”
Both the shop owner and the diners are glad. Anthony not only gives them a 20% discount, but also gives the cyan little fox some extra kebabs. Anthony says he has never seen such a small pet that eats a large amount of food!
Knowing the fox too well, Lin Luoran drags it and hurriedly leaves the kebab shop with four other people before the cyan little fox impolitely rolls its eyes.
When Lin Luoran returns to the stars.h.i.+p at night, she plants chili peppers in the open ground of her s.p.a.ce.
Er Jing Tiao Chili, Chaotian Chili, Xiaomila Chili, Jalapeno, bell pepper, sweet pepper… She didn’t know she had stored so many pepper seeds until she sorted them out. There are slightly spicy and extremely spicy varieties, as well as those that are to be cooked as a dish but not used as seasoning. Lin Luoran decides to plant them in several batches. Some peppers can be harvested when they are tender and stored in her s.p.a.ce since they won’t go bad. Others have to stay long enough on the branches until they get dried. These dried peppers will then be collected.
All the work is done by agricultural robots. Lin Luoran comes and goes like the wind with a busy look. Three monsters in her s.p.a.ce are shocked. In their memory, Linny used to lead a leisurely life. When did she begin to work so hard to make a living?
Only White Fairy knows the truth. Lin Luoran temporarily evades the fairy, for she hasn’t decided on the matter related to the 10000-year Hollow Azurite.
White Fairy holds a flute near the tiny pond. She plays an old song composed thousands of years ago. She looks neither happy nor sad. Nor does she seem impatient, as if she doesn’t care about the 10000-year Hollow Azurite at all.
On the evening of the next day, Lin Luoran delivers the peppers by herself. Four young people are not as strong as her. They are tired from hanging around the previous day.
Carrying dozens of kilograms of dried chilies in her hands, Lin Luoran goes to the kebab shop. Uncle Anthony is busy. He feels sorry that he doesn’t have time to talk to her at the moment.
Lin Luoran sits at the table around the corner. When Anthony is free, she hands the chilies to him and briefly tells him that he’d better grind it into powder. She also teaches him how to make some chili sauce.
Anthony can’t wait to try it. He immediately grinds some chilies into powder and sprinkles the kebabs with it. The spicy scent of the roasted meat attracts the attention of many people.
An old man nicknamed “Pug Nose” approaches them as he sneezes. He asks what smell it is.
Anthony doesn’t speak but hands him a kebab with a smile. The old man feels so spicy that he jumps to his feet. After that, he has more meat and drinks a large gla.s.s of water before he can speak clearly.
“Anthony, what a spice it is! It’s so fascinating!”
Anthony is alert. He hasn’t talked with Lin Luoran about the price yet. He shouldn’t be distracted by this old man. “Pug Nose” is the owner of a variety store, where anything can be sold. He doesn’t want Pug Nose to make money at the price of his own business.
He takes the chilies brought from Lin Luoran and hides them somewhere. Then he is about to discuss the price with Lin Luoran, when he sees Pug Nose is pulling Lin Luoran to the variety store across the street.
“Oh, little girl. Go and see what’s in my shop. If you want anything, you may trade your spice for it.”
Lin Luoran almost bursts into tears. She is actually old enough to be the grandmother of this old man with a pug nose. It’s unfair to call her “little girl”. The old man with great strength drags her all the way to a crammed shop. Lin Luoran finds it both funny and annoying. She is about to sell him some chilies when she suddenly notices a dusty wooden box on the shelf.
A familiar feeling wells up in her heart. She can’t help but stop there.