novelIf We Can't Finish, We Can Take Away
| ← Ch.224 | Ch.226 → |
"Ah, Mr. Chen, isn't that fish too big? Maybe we just should have some shark's fin or fish maw instead?" How could Wei Jie care about his demeanor now? His forehead was filled with sweat, and it was obvious to anyone that he was just pretending to be cool.
Because of the girl next to him, he could not just shove through the crowd in excitement and go to the aquarium to observe the huge fish, even though he very much wanted to. If he had done so, he would have seen the "Not For Sale" sign on the aquarium, and he could have continued boasting about his wealth without fear of having to pay for the bahabas!
"Alright then. We'll eat something else!" Chen Fan nodded, pretending to be indifferent.
Seeing that Chen Fan kept staring at the extra large abalones, Wei Jie quickly walked up to disturb him. If Chen Fan ordered those things, it would surely cost him at least a million yuan. It was not that he did not have the money, but he did not want to spend so much for them without any reason!
"Hello, there. We would like to have a plate of cheese lobster!" Wei Jie waved his arm and a cute waitress approached them. He pointed to the lobster counter, and then to the sea cucumber counter."And also three servings of sea cucumber soup!"
Next, he made up his mind, feeling that if he did not order any expensive food, it would be insufficient to show off his wealth. Thus, he waved his arm and said quite loudly, "Three servings of braised abalone in sauce, " and then added in a barely audible tone, "the smallest kind."
"Okay boss!" The waitress stared at him with obvious and intense temptation. Her voice was so sweet, it could almost melt rocks!
Meanwhile, the Chen Fan deliberately avoided making eye contact with her so that he would not be recognized.
The seafood needed to be ordered on the spot, but other dishes could be ordered from the menu in the private dining rooms. On their way, quite a number of waitresses managed to recognize Chen Fan, but they called him "boss" as well, just like the other customers.
"Mr. Chen, how about we order a bottle of ten-year Cascavel red wine?" After ordering five light vegetable dishes, Wei Jie smiled and pointed at the elegant-looking menu in his hands. Although this red wine was not as well-known as the 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, its cost was just slightly lower at about 30, 000 yuan. He was certain that upstarts like Chen Fan would not have seen this brand before, because wines from this brand did not have a proper label. Merchants would purchase the wine in oak barrels from the winery and pour it into small oak barrels. Those who did not know much about wines would not even recognize the brand.
Indeed, Chen Fan lifted his head innocently."Whatever. I don't know much about these things. I feel that red wines all taste the same."
"Ha, Mr. Chen is really a candid man!" Wei Jie closed the menu and then urged the waitresses to quickly serve the dishes.
"Oh yeah. Mr. Chen, after knowing you for so long, I don't even know what your occupation is?"
"Small business. Maritime trade."
"Ah, maritime trade!" Wei Jie first praised Chen Fan about his occupation, saying things like how it was good, and that one could enjoy sightseeing while on the sea. However, his tone abruptly changed."Mr. Chen, these days international shipping has been experiencing many ups and downs, and the trade route along the Gulf of Aden has many pirates. Nowadays, most of the entrepreneurs like buying shares in real estate businesses. The returns are very high, and usually you can get back your investment within a year. Currently, I am developing some properties in Zhongyun Bluewater Bay that have a market value of 600, 000, 000 yuan. Mr. Chen, if you are interested, how about we buy some shares together? I have sole proprietorship over these properties, and there is no fraud, so you can buy your shares without worry."
Wei Jie's goal was simple: to make Chen Fan feel inferior. Six hundred million yuan was not like 600, 000, 000 dong. Even Ma Rongtao could not take this amount out all of a sudden.
A person's total assets and liquidity are two completely different things. There are many people whose assets can reach a few billion, but they owe other people a few hundred million in terms of liquidity. Therefore, Wei Jie was certain that upstarts like Chen Fan would feel inferior after hearing his words. That was especially true since he was next to a pretty girl where his self-esteem would have been greatly magnified.
"Six hundred million yuan! Wei Jie, you are actually so rich. I thought that it was your parents who are rich?" Chen Fan made a very exaggerated expression, causing Wu Ruoyu, who was just beside him, to keep signaling him under the table. She was not a young high school girl and could clearly tell that the two men were competing against each other behind their smiles.
Never Mind. He is doing this for me. I cannot put the cart before the horse and start blaming him. Wu Ruoyu uncontrollably extended her arm and grabbed Chen Fan's hand below the table.
"Ha, just small business. Small business!" Wei Jie sounded extremely hypocritical. After speaking, he deliberately raised his arm and looked at his Vacheron Constantin watch."Huh? It has already been 15 minutes. Even if the seafood is not ready, the vegetable dishes should already be here, right?"
Yes, Wei Jie was trying to show off to that upstart.
Although his watch was not that expensive, it still cost over 800, 000 yuan. The 12 hour marks on the watch were all top-grade blue and white diamonds embedded onto the dial plate, which was hollowed out into irregular patterns so delicate that a magnifying glass would be needed to see them clearly. Even if one wanted to make a counterfeit, the photochemical machining techniques available would not be sufficient.
However, he was actually howling at the moon. To be more direct, he was totally wasting his time.
That was because Chen Fan not only did not recognize his watch, but kept flirting with the girl that he liked. Chen Fan's hand even crossed the boundary and reached over to Wu Ruoyu, who blushed and looked down. Wei Jie, who was a womanizer, obviously knew what was happening.
It was as if cold water had been poured onto a piece of red hot iron, producing sizzling sounds and smoke. Wei Jie's face turned from red to white, and in just an instant, to a very pale white. He felt like a bull had run over his organs. It was so painful, he wanted to kill someone.
He was like a clown trying his best to perform on stage, and yet the audience was uninterested.
However, since Wei Jie could become such a rich man with assets of over a few hundred million yuan, he definitely had some remarkable qualities. He knew that sometimes he had to be patient, and at least not lose his temper in front of a pretty girl.
Just then, the door was pushed open. Two waitresses in satin clothing successively placed numerous exquisite dishes around the table, and at the center was a lobster whose upper body looked red but lively, and whose lower body was cut into many pieces that looked very creamy. Lastly, a delicate bluestone bowl was placed in front of the three, as well as a red porcelain plate from Jingdezhen.
In the stone bowl, which was as colorful as an ink painting, a black fat sea cucumber with tentacles all over it body was curled up at the center with a few bean sprouts smartly embellished beside it. Even the appearance of the dish was artistic. The dense aroma drifting from the soup alone could make people drool.
As for that fat abalone covered in red sauce, ordinary words could not sufficiently describe it. Indeed, if the food was not the best in the world, who would spend so much money to eat at the place?
The two were still fresh. If they could be processed into dried food and stewed over a gentle fire for a few days, they would have been so tasty that one would be in heaven just smelling them!
Wei Jie, whose face was filled with anger, took a deep breath. Putting on a polite smile, he lifted his glass and said, "Come. Cheers!" He even stopped calling Chen Fan, "Mr. Chen."
"Cheers!" Chen Fan lifted his glass and finished the wine, after which he took the palm-sized abalone and, without even cutting it with his knife, bit it briefly and swallowed it.
Then, Wei Jie's eyes widened and started filling with blood. The upstart ate the sea cucumber like noodles. He lifted the whole sea cucumber and swallowed it after chewing briefly.
With his whole body trembling, Wei Jie almost stopped breathing and his lungs almost exploded.
"The seafood tastes great! But the red wine is not mixed with Sprite. Not nice, not nice!" Chen Fan grabbed a piece of tissue paper and lightly wiped off the oil around his mouth. Then, at Wei Jie's furious look, he gently called the waitress over and bent to speak into her ear for a while.
"Wei Jie, I ordered a few more dishes. I think you wouldn't mind?"
"I don't... don't... mind!" Wei Jie clenched his teeth so hard, they were almost crushed!
The atmosphere suddenly turned silent. Wei Jie's face was extremely cold. He knew that Chen Fan had been sneaky, and yet he had to tolerate the loss temporarily.
"Is it too much?" Wu Ruoyu spoke to Chen Fan softly while turning around and pretending to look for something. Although she hated Wei Jie because he was a playboy, she did not feel that the two men needed to be so hostile towards each other over some small matters.
"I know what I am doing!" Chen Fan looked at Wei Jie, smiling. The fun part is still to come! he thought.
Very soon, the dishes that he ordered were served. They were so powerful that Wei Jie almost choked and Wu Ruoyu kept pinching his arms to signal that he was way too much.
Actually it was nothing much!
Two large plates of red-braised sea cucumbers...
The braise was something like red-braised eel. It was not like a bowl of soup made from a single sea cucumber, but rather dozens of sea cucumbers cut to pieces and braised without even having any other ingredients in it.
There were also three plates of abalones, each having a gross weight of a few kilograms, the type that could be used to make top grade dried abalone.
Next was a full plate of mixed shark fins and fish maw... and the plate was extremely full, just like a plate of beef with vermicelli during a banquet.
Wei Jie was vomiting blood in his heart. If it were not for his conscience telling him not to be impetuous, he would definitely pick up his chair and beat Chen Fan to death with it.
Who would eat shark's fin like that?
Shark's fin had to be dried and stewed in soup under a gentle fire for a long time. Otherwise, it would not even be as tasty as vermicelli...
Even though he was very rich, he could not afford so much expensive food. All these were real wild products, and even a small part of them could be served as a main highlight in a banquet consisting of many successful entrepreneurs.
But now?
It was all was piled up like pig food!
"Phhhhu..." How could Wei Jie care about his disposition now? His face was colder than the poker cards on Macao gambling tables, and he said in an emotionless tone, "Mr. Chen, you have ordered so many things. Can you finish them?"
"If we can't finish, we can take away!" It was as if Chen Fan had become blind and could not see Wei Jie's murderous look.
"Mr. Chen, you think I am an idiot?"
That was when he stopped being hypocritical and showed his true self!
"Idiot?" Chen Fan pointed at Wei Jie with his index finger, looking surprised."You said that yourself. I never meant that!"
"Then I want to see if you have the guts to finish all the high-class food here!" Wei Jie was ready to call his people to come over.
"You can take away the rest later. Doesn't that solve the problem?" Chen Fan smiled leisurely."I thought you were a generous friend and worth knowing. However, I didn't expect you to be this stingy. It's so disappointing!"
"Don't... don't do this!" Wu Ruoyu's face turned pale as she could foresee an intense conflict approaching.
"Ha, I have no other ways. I am not like you, so rich and stylish, driving a BMW 740 outside and drinking red wine with Sprite!" Wei Jie was so angry that he started laughing. He could not even think when the last time was he got this furious. In any case, it must have been very long ago.
"Why are you being so modest? I am not even planning to borrow money from you." Suddenly, Chen Fan signed and spoke in a disappointing tone, "I originally treated you like a friend, and yet you behaved like this. In the first place, I did not even plan to let you treat me for the meal because I have a personal problem: unless you are a close friend of mine, I will not let you treat me. But you still kept asking me to come and eat. Actually, I wanted to pay the bill quietly when I went to the washroom later.
"This meal is really uninteresting!" Chen Fan shook his head and stood up in an elegant and stylish way. Taking out the black UBS card, which was embedded with beautiful cloud designs, he threw it on the table."Check please."
"A membership card?" Wei Jie's eyes suddenly narrowed and his eyes were locked onto the exquisitely-made card.
"Wei Jie, we will leave first!" Chen Fan tapped on Wu Ruoyu who was still in a daze. When the two reached the door, he turned his head and lifted his eyebrows."The leftovers on the table. If you can't finish, just take away and bring them home!"
Of course, Wei Jie was not in a state to listen to his taunt.
It was as if someone inserted a concrete mixer into his brain, and an invisible hand was holding his soul and throwing it into the sky. His mouth was open so widely that all the food on the table could fit inside.
Why am I like a clown? he asked himself.
After a long while, the pretty waitress finally had to courage to go up and ask, "Boss, do you need to take away?"
Speechless!
He was like a confused apostle walking between the boundary of the light and dark. He could have left the place elegantly, but there was a voice in his mind that shouted, Take away, take away. These are all precious. Just take away, no one will know!
| ← Ch. 224 | Ch. 226 → |