Chapter 362 The Chen Family's Housewarming Joy
Zi Yi Sheng also wanted to hear his father-in-law's decision, as it would determine how much effort and cost he would have to invest.
Ye Dad understood his son's meaning, wanting him to make a decision.
"If it really comes to negotiating with the higher-ups, then give up. We've worked hard to leave the circle, and we can't break that for one person. Don't worry, I'm not so kind-hearted as to put our entire family at risk."
Ye Mu En immediately hugged his father with a smile, afraid that his father would act foolishly for Qi Lu Quan.
"That's good. As for us, we'll still search. If we really can't find it, then there's nothing we can do."
"Yes, now we just hope Sheng Ge has it. That would make everyone happy."
Ye Sheng Ge returned to her room, quickly locked the door, and disappeared into her space. She went to the room specifically for the treasures Zi Yi Sheng had given her and began searching the small labels on the chests.
Zi Yi Sheng had brought back at least several hundred chests from the Bai Li family, so finding one would be a major undertaking.
Ye Sheng Ge was already experienced. If she saw loose jewelry and ornaments inside, she'd close the lid, only looking for chests with small boxes.
After three hours of effort, Ye Sheng Ge found over a dozen boxes containing medicinal herbs. However, she only recognized half of them. The rest would need to be identified by Min Xing, as she didn't know what the missing dozen or so herbs looked like.
Min Xing quickly received the news and rushed to the Ye family's home. He looked at the boxes spread across the table, then at the herbs, and then at Ye Sheng Ge.
"Sheng Ge, you have a hobby of collecting medicinal herbs?"
Ye Sheng Ge couldn't explain. She couldn't possibly say that these were obtained by Zi Yi Sheng when he robbed the Bai Li family.
"See if you can find what we need. The book only lists the names of the herbs, with no pictures. I'll have to rely on a master like you to identify them."
Old Fan and Old Dang were already captivated by the medicinal herbs, sniffing and looking, but they didn't dare to touch them.
"No need to look. They're not here."
Everyone was disappointed at Min Xing's words, while Zi Yi Sheng fell into his own thoughts.
"Sheng Ge, are you willing to sell these medicinal herbs? I'll buy them all. I'll offer you two hundred thousand!"
Ye Sheng Ge raised an eyebrow at the price. It was an astronomical sum, so she definitely wouldn't sell!
Old Fan and Old Dang stared anxiously at their young disciple, afraid she would be tempted by the money and sell them.
"Since they are so valuable, it means they are precious herbs. Sometimes money can't buy them. I want to keep them for myself, just in case."
"Hahahaha, good. My disciple is right. Good things should be kept."
Min Xing shook his head with regret. He could at least double his profit by selling these herbs.
Qi Xuan sighed in disappointment. All they could do now was wait.
"Since that's the case, let's split up and inquire. Min Xing, it would be best if you drew out what the herbs look like, as none of us know what they are."
Zi Yi Sheng, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke.
"I'll find people to inquire about the remaining collections of the Bai Li family. The medicinal herbs shouldn't have been handed over to the national treasury, so they might have been taken by someone else."
"Be careful. Our actions should not be too conspicuous."
Qi Xuan looked at everyone trying to find solutions for them, feeling both happy and guilty. After all, they were repaying a favor that was too great.
Ouyang was very frustrated. He had only spent half a day with the little fatty and had already received a task that he had to carry out immediately. Now, Ouyang looked at Zi Yi Sheng as if he were the biggest obstacle on the path to happiness.
"Young Master Zi, you can't do this. Tomorrow is the Chen family's housewarming banquet. How can I not be present on such an important day?"
Zi Yi Sheng looked at Ouyang's furious expression with great curiosity. He was genuinely serious.
"Did they invite you? I recall the Chen family only invited one or two people per family."
"Why wouldn't they invite me? Chen Tang Tang personally invited me today!"
"Oh, impressive. Such skillful tactics!"
Ouyang quickly clasped his hands together. This was the first time he had begged Young Master Zi in such a fawning manner.
"Please, please. I'm at a crucial moment right now. Young Master Zi, please assign the task to someone else. Consider this a vacation for me recently."
Zi Yi Sheng deliberately remained silent. His secretary was always composed in emergencies. It was rare to see Ouyang so anxious, and he felt he had to make things difficult for him.
After much bargaining, Ouyang finally had to sacrifice more of his labor to get the opportunity for a vacation.
The next day, Ye Sheng Ge didn't even sleep in. After breakfast, she went with Ye Mom and Qi Xuan to help the Chen family.
As soon as they entered, they saw Ouyang busily acting like the master of the house, moving tables and pouring water, without any pretense of politeness.
Ye Sheng Ge and the other two exchanged glances, holding back their smiles as they walked in.
"You're here so early? Aunt Xia is already helping me here."
Chen Tang Tang's face bloomed with a smile. Today was her happiest day.
"It's rare for me to be so diligent. Today, I didn't even sleep in for you, so I can't have come for nothing. I must be assigned some work within my capabilities."
The Chen family's courtyard had been lively since early morning. Zi Yi Sheng, of course, followed closely, accompanying his little girl to do manual labor.
Ouyang watched with great satisfaction. Who had ever seen Young Master Zi do manual labor? Today, he witnessed it. It proved that his little fatty was indeed amazing, capable of making friends, and that his own status would rise accordingly in the future.
This housewarming banquet was the result of everyone's combined efforts. Only the village chief, team leader, and Party secretary were invited to the feast from the village.
This also gave the village chief and the others a new perspective on the Chen siblings. They didn't particularly like Zhi Zhi, and they thought the Chen siblings only knew the Ye girl. They never expected their relationship to be so deep.
"Hahahaha, I'm going to eat my fill today."
"Hello, Grandpa Village Chief. Leaders, please be seated. The food will be served soon. We even have wine today!"
Chen Tang Tang never knew what shyness was. She was adept at receiving guests.
Ouyang and Xia Hong watched with satisfaction. Nowadays, many girls were shy and hesitant even when meeting someone. A straightforward girl like Chen Tang Tang was a rare sight.
"You have good taste, kid. I just don't know if you'll have the destiny for it."
"Don't worry, I never let go of what I like!"
"Alright, then I'll be waiting for the good news from your family."
When the dishes were served, there was only one table. Although it was a bit crowded for over ten people, there were many dishes on the table: six meat dishes, four vegetarian dishes, and two soups, making it a high-class banquet.
"These dishes are excellent. It's been so long since I've eaten such good food."
"This is also thanks to Sheng Ge's good fortune. Everyone in the village sponsored quite a bit of ingredients for me, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to present this today."
Chen Tang Tang wasn't stupid. She was willing to offer good food to entertain them because they were close acquaintances. As for the village chief and the others, they had to be invited, so she had to pretend to be poor to avoid drawing too much attention.
"Come, let's raise our glasses to celebrate the Chen family's housewarming!"
Ye Dad, as the representative of the elder male generation of the Ye and Bai families, was the first to raise his glass, thus taking on the role of a senior member of the Chen family.
"Thank you all for gracing us with your presence. From now on, my sister and I are official members of the Bai Rong Brigade. I hope for your continued support and that you'll point out any mistakes we make, and we will correct them."
Chen Tong Hua spoke his first formal words, his heart trembling, but he had to maintain his composure.
"Hahahaha, good. Since you are now a member of the Bai Rong Brigade, let's get along well from now on. If you need anything, just come to me."
The village chief definitely had to give face. It was also partly due to Zi Yi Sheng's influence that he had to show the Chen family some consideration.
After a drink, the banquet officially began.
Chen Tang Tang was all smiles throughout. She was genuinely happy. With today's situation, they would be different from Zhi Zhi and the others, and could even officially integrate into the Bai Rong Brigade.
All of this was thanks to Sheng Ge. Chen Tang Tang mused in her heart that her greatest fortune in this life was making friends with Sheng Ge, and even more so for having stayed by her side during Sheng Ge's difficult times in the past.
After the banquet, the village chief and the others were sent home. They had drunk quite a bit of wine today, making the village chief exclaim how generous the Chen family was.
Ye Sheng Ge then presented her housewarming gift to Chen Tang Tang: two sets of four-piece bedding. They were foreign goods that she had specifically asked people to find on the black market, as the ones in her space couldn't be used right now.
Almost everyone had brought a congratulatory gift, making Chen Tang Tang beam with joy.
Ouyang, on behalf of his mother, gifted a wardrobe and a desk, which were specially purchased from a department store in the city.
"I feel like I've become a millionaire today. I've never used such good things at home. Thank you, I'm so touched I could cry!"
Ye Sheng Ge pinched Chen Tang Tang's chubby little cheek.
"If you could control that uncontrollable smile on your face, you'd look like it. Don't cry on such a happy occasion!"
"Hehehe, I'm just afraid I won't be able to repay you in the future. But I'm good at cooking, so I'll thank everyone with my culinary skills from now on."
These gifts might be considered extravagant in the outside world, but Chen Tang Tang was surrounded by wealthy people. Even Ouyang's family was well-off due to Ouyang's capabilities.
At night, Ye Sheng Ge stayed up late again because the people from Mi Province had finally returned from their major procurement. Ye Mu En and Zi Yi Sheng, driving early, waited by the sea with Ye Sheng Ge.
As Ye Sheng Ge saw faint lights in the distance, she was the first to get out of the car.
Zi Yi Sheng quickly took out a military coat from the car. The seaside at night was very cold, and the sea breeze was biting.
Ye Sheng Ge was wrapped up warmly, her head even covered with a scarf by her elder brother.
"Why don't I see any trucks? With so much cargo, it must take many trips."
Zi Yi Sheng pointed behind the dark rocks not far away.
"They're all parked there, four trucks. They have to be transported away overnight as soon as they arrive. Although the docking point we chose is very remote, we're still afraid of being noticed, so we have to clean up the traces overnight."
Ye Sheng Ge nodded. The ship finally docked. Zi Yi Sheng took out a flashlight and signaled with three short flashes and two long ones. Someone jumped off the ship.
"Brother Mu, we had a great harvest this time."
Monkey was the first to run to Ye Mu En, his excited face indicating a significant haul.
"You've worked hard. How was it? Did you have your fill this time?"
"Hahaha, it was too satisfying, Brother Mu. I request to be in charge of this route to Mi Province in the future."
Luo Han Sheng, who had been silent, also wanted to be in charge of Mi Province matters, but he reconsidered his family in Qi City and withdrew the words that were about to be spoken.
"Alright, we'll discuss it when we get back. Let's get the manifest first. Sheng Ge is waiting to see it."
Ye Sheng Ge wanted to see the types of resources and their prices in Mi Province. Although she wasn't managing things, she needed to understand them completely.
"Sheng Ge, the meat products from Mi Province are the most cost-effective. We bought a lot of dried meat, both sweet and spicy, and five-spice. The people in Mi Province are really creative."
Saying that, Monkey took out some wrapped dried meat from his bag and handed it to Ye Sheng Ge.
Ye Sheng Ge picked up a piece and tasted it. It was much thicker than the dried meat from her previous life. This was pure meat, with no adulteration.
"The taste is good. How much is a pound of this dried meat?"
"Retail is five yuan a pound. We bought it at the wholesale price of three yuan and five jiao a pound."
Ye Sheng Ge nodded. Converting it to the gold ratio, two ounces for a pound, it wasn't expensive, really not expensive.
"Go to the truck and look at the manifest. We're going to talk to them."
Zi Yi Sheng didn't want his little girl to be exposed to the wind. They still had a lot of time to stay here, and there were many things to explain and discuss.
Ye Sheng Ge obediently took the manifest and the dried meat back to the car, quickly calculating while chewing the dried meat. Overall, Mi Province was indeed a good source for procurement.
She also heard Zi Yi Sheng's plan. If they exchanged ordinary antique jewelry for cash, it would be more profitable. Anyway, antiques and jewelry in China were not valuable now, so it was better for them to collect them rather than be smashed, as long as valuable and meaningful antiques were not taken out.
Ye Mu En and Zi Yi Sheng had a short meeting with everyone by the ship. Currently, food was the priority in China, especially before and after the New Year, and the black market had a huge demand.
Since Zi Yi Sheng controlled more black market resources, the two parties negotiated that Zi Yi Sheng would take seventy percent of the goods on each shipment, and Ye Mu En's side would take thirty percent.
Of course, the investment proportions were also different, which was to stabilize their black market. In any case, the money earned would ultimately be handed over to Ye Sheng Ge.
Monkey officially stayed behind and would be roommates with A Sen and the others from now on. Luo Han Sheng escorted the goods and left overnight. With only a few days left until the New Year, he didn't even have time to say a few more words to Ye Sheng Ge.
Soon it was the twenty-ninth day of the lunar year. The adults at home were all busy, and the younger generation were incited by Ouyang to go to Chuncheng again.
Mainly, he had the opportunity to go shopping with the little fatty and take her to eat Han Hao's private cuisine. This way, he could slowly win her over.
Qi Xuan also went along this time. He was completely different from his usual quiet demeanor on the way, almost becoming sworn brothers with the six Bai family brothers.
If Han Hao hadn't received notification to stay at the private kitchen, he would have gone to the Bai Rong Brigade to find his master today. He was an orphan, and Gong Wen Tao was not only his master but also his only family.
"Today is the last day of operation for this year. If you want to eat my cooking after this, you'll have to find me at my master's house."
"Oh, Han Hao, you're getting arrogant now. At your master's house, you won't stand out. The Gong family in the Bai Rong Brigade has excellent chefs. Don't go there and get discouraged to the point of doubting your life."