1036 Fish



Qiao Mei, Xia He and Xia Wen did not bring their pagers around with them recently. They had all switched off their pagers. Any communication device around them would ring non-stop as soon as it was turned on.

"I'm here to talk to you about something beneficial. It all depends on whether you're willing to do business with me," Qiao Mei said laughingly.

The moment He Ning heard that it was about business, he immediately perked up. The commotion surrounding the Xia family in the past two days was so huge that it was impossible for him not to know about it.

"I'm not buying your 'divine medicine'. You've already emptied all my assets and you're still coveting my money. I still owe you a lot of money," He Ning said.

"I don't want money. Am I such a tacky person? Besides, there isn't any 'divine medicine' at all. I just chopped up some ginseng and mixed it with water for my father to drink. The rumors flying around are too wild. I just want you to tell the general public that you've obtained this divine medicine and that the effect is quite good," Qiao Mei said.

He Ning snorted coldly. Whoever wanted to do this thankless task could go ahead and do it. She really took him for a fool!

"No way," He Ning said coldly.

"I'll give you a discount of 50,000 dollars," Qiao Mei said even as she felt a sense of reluctance.

"50,000 dollars? Do you think I'm someone who lacks 50,000 dollars? If you say 500,000 dollars, I might still think about it. You only offer 50,000 dollars. Are you looking down on me or are you flattering yourself too much?" He Ning said angrily.

Now that Qiao Mei was the one asking for help, she could not be too forceful. If He Ning remained stubborn, Qiao Mei and the rest would need to pay a high price to find another way out.

Qiao Mei pondered for a long time before saying slowly, "Fish."

"Deal," He Ning said quickly.

After that, Qiao Mei hung up the phone. Xia Wen and Xia He were both stunned to the spot and looked at Qiao Mei quietly. They did not know what kind of riddle Qiao Mei and He Ning were talking about.

"Qiao Mei… what kind of fish is worth 500,000 dollars?" Xia He asked.

"The kind that I cook," Qiao Mei said confidently.

At first, Xia Wen did not understand what Qiao Mei was talking about, then he came to a realization. Back then, when He Ning came to their house to buy flowers and ginseng, Qiao Mei's stomach was not so big yet and she could still help Liu Fen prepare meals for the family. At that time, He Ning had dawdled at their house until dinnertime.

"How can you cook in your current condition? He Ning is really the most shameless person in the world. Let's think of another way. Can't this issue be solved without He Ning?" Xia He said angrily.

Xia Wen also felt that what Xia He said made sense. They could always find another way. At most, they could just forcefully suppress this issue. The Xia family had been active in the capital for so many years and it was not as if they did not have the resources to do that.

"We can solve this issue with just one fish. Besides, He Ning won't be coming empty-handed. He still owes me so much money. When he comes to our house with the money, it'll mark the end of this shenanigan. I won't be the one doing the cooking. I'll get the helper to do it," Qiao Mei said.

The secret to Qiao Mei's delicious food lay in the ingredients. When the time came, she would transfer some energy to the fish and the other ingredients and the dish would naturally taste good.

It did not matter if Qiao Mei was the one who made the meal. As long as He Ning went to the Xia family's house with the money, Qiao Mei's plan would have succeeded. At that time, they could just push all the issues to He Ning. It would be useless even if He Ning denied it. Why would people believe him if they thought that he was the ultimate beneficiary?

Furthermore, the Xia family was known for their honesty and sincerity. As for the He family, everyone knew their reputation very well. Therefore, people naturally formed their own impression about who was more trustworthy.

"… I think Father will break my legs if he finds out how this matter was resolved," Xia Wen said with a deep sigh.

Too many things had happened during this period of time and there were so many family elders who had threatened to break his legs. It was because things had become too chaotic and he was not able to handle everything perfectly, so there were many people who felt dissatisfied with the situation.

The areas outside the front and back doors of Qiao Mei's courtyard house were jam packed with people. The entire family had been trapped in the courtyard house for many days and they all had to live a life of frugality and ration whatever they had. Fortunately, all the children were no strangers to hardships.

There was still a lot of corn at home and it was enough to last them for a while. It was not as if they could not buy any groceries, the thing was that they did not dare to go out at all!