1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 355 Uncle Lei, your words are too harsh! What do you mean by "turning them to their side"? It's clearly just about making friends!

Inside the largest banquet hall of the reception center.

As dusk settles, the light is bright yet not glaring.

The huge long dining table was already set up, covered with a clean white linen tablecloth, on which were arranged the exquisite porcelain and gleaming cutlery that had been specially transported.

Several pots of locally grown winter chrysanthemums, newly grown in the greenhouse, adorned the center of the table.

A faint, warm fragrance permeated the air.

This time, the advance team from the other side arrived ahead of schedule, and Su Wenchen prepared for it seriously, treating it like a rehearsal.

Even though the other party showed hostility at the beginning, he never mentioned deliberately reducing his treatment.

One reason is that the other party wasn't being unreasonable, although there was an element of using the situation as an excuse to make a fuss.

However, one issue doesn't involve their national dignity and sovereignty, while the other involves the other side making a fuss only about security.

However, for Su Wenchen, deliberately reducing their benefits would make them seem too petty.

This is something we can't do.

If you're going to seek revenge, you have to do it openly and honestly, and you even have to make the other person willingly accept it without saying anything.

soon.

Under Su Wenchen's guidance, Hague, Ronald, Ray Boliang, Chen Guodong, Jiang Dayong, and the main leaders of the Special Administrative Region and various counties, as well as the core members of the U.S. advance team, took their seats on both sides of the long table.

However, the main seats on both sides of the long table were intentionally left empty.

Su Wenchen, as the host, stood up, wearing a polite smile, and spoke in a clear and steady voice.

"Everyone!"

"This casual dinner tonight is to welcome General Haig, Mr. Ronald, and all the colleagues from the advance team who have come from afar."

"This is also to let you all familiarize yourselves with the menu we'll prepare when the president and his entourage arrive, and to see which dishes are unsuitable for the president to eat!"

"That way, it will be easier for us to exchange them!"

"All the ingredients here are sourced from local carefully raised and grown animals, some of which are special flavors from the Jiangsu-Anhui Special Economic Zone."

"I hope you all enjoy your meal!"

After speaking, Su Wenchen deliberately glanced at Hegel, whose face remained solemn, and Ronald, who had a probing smile.

Then he nodded to the waiter next to him.

The well-trained waiters immediately began serving the appetizers in an orderly manner.

The first dish served was a clear soup, garnished with a few goji berries and white mycelium.

Scooping it up with a spoon, the clear broth exudes an indescribable rich aroma of chicken and mushrooms.

The members of the advance team, who had been working all afternoon, couldn't help but sniffle.

"Gulu!"

Just then, after a busy afternoon, many of the advance team members were already hungry. At that moment, smelling the rich aroma of the soup, their stomachs immediately growled at an inopportune time.

Hague's face darkened instantly.

He glared at the subordinate who had just left.

Su Wenchen acted as if he hadn't heard, and immediately smiled and reached out his hand.

"Everyone, please!"

"This pre-meal soup is made with local golden-feathered chicken as the main ingredient, along with various other ingredients."

"If there's anything you're not satisfied with, please let us know."

"We can make some changes depending on the situation."

Ronald took a bite, and his eyes lit up instantly.

"Oh God, the soup is incredibly delicious!"

"Su, these mushrooms are even fresher and more delicious than the ones I had in Beijing!"

"Especially, it has a unique flavor! It's practically a work of art among poultry!"

Hearing Ronald's words, Hague didn't say anything, but curiously picked up the soup spoon and took a sip.

When the rich flavor explodes on the taste buds, the previously tense jawline relaxes instantly.

Then, he subconsciously nodded slightly, clearly approving of the flavor.

Even the American personnel in the other advance teams nodded in agreement in hushed tones.

They all clearly thought it tasted good.

However, Ronald shook his head after finishing the soup in the bowl.

"Unfortunately, our President may never have the chance to experience this delicacy."

Seeing Su Wenchen's puzzled look, Ronald explained directly.

"You may not know, but our president has an almost physiological aversion to mushrooms."

"It is said that he suffered a severe case of mushroom poisoning when he was a child."

"However, Sue, even though the President doesn't like it, we still like it very much. I think this pre-dinner soup is excellent!"

"It would be a shame to remove it. I think you can just prepare a different soup for the President separately."

"The president is not picky about ingredients. As long as it's not mushrooms, he can accept any other ingredients, even offal that most people can't stand."

Upon hearing Ronald's words, Su Wenchen glanced at the team leader, Hager.

In just a short while, the other person had finished the entire small bowl of soup.

He was clearly very satisfied and did not object to Ronald's words.

The meaning is clear: they agree with Ronald's statement.

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen smiled and nodded.

"Then thank you for your reminder, Mr. Ronald. We will take your suggestion into consideration and prepare a separate soup for the President."

"Then everyone can continue and see if there's anything else that's not suitable for the other dishes!"

Next up was the star of the night, the Golden Feathered Chicken, prepared by Su Wenchen.

In order to fully showcase the product, and also to satisfy different taste preferences and viewing needs.

Golden-feathered chicken was prepared into several main dishes in different forms.

One plate features a crystal-clear, neatly chopped poached golden-feathered chicken with an enticing pale yellow skin that gleams with oil, served alongside a specially prepared ginger and scallion sauce.

One plate contains golden-brown, crispy fried chicken nuggets that exude a rich aroma of spices and oil.

Finally, there was a large bowl of steaming, clear chicken soup, with a few drops of oil and finely chopped scallions floating on top. Its aroma was far more subtle and mellow than that of the other dishes, yet it still wafted into everyone's nostrils, whetting their appetites.

Ronald looked at Su Wenchen excitedly when he saw that fried chicken had been served.

"Oh, Sue, you guys actually prepared fried chicken here."

"That's great. Although the food prepared in Beijing is plentiful, to be honest, I still prefer fried chicken, which suits my taste."

"Let me tell you, this kind of fried chicken has to be coated in batter before frying, that's the essence of American fried chicken."

As he spoke, he picked up a golden-yellow chicken wing.

After he took a bite, the crispy crust cracked clearly between his teeth.

However, the movement suddenly stopped.

Because beneath the crispy, caramelized skin of these chicken wings, the meat inside remains incredibly tender and juicy.

In particular, the next moment, a unique aroma and flavor of meat fat suddenly burst forth in his mouth.

He felt as if he had returned to his childhood, to the first and last time his grandmother made fried chicken for him.

That Christmas, my grandmother secretly tore off a chicken wing from the fried chicken and gave it to me, who was craving it.

He would never forget that taste.

I never expected to taste that flavor from my mind again today.

Thinking of this, tears welled up in his azure eyes.

This left Hague, who was standing nearby, completely stunned.

Was this poisoned?

Why are you crying?

In his memory, Ronald was a very sociable and rather cautious young man.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have become the president's press secretary at such a young age.

He had never seen the other party have any problems with social etiquette before.

Although they are the advance team, they are also representing their country to take the lead.

What do you mean by crying in public as a team leader?
If you didn't know better, you'd think Americans couldn't afford fried chicken!
This is simply tarnishing their country's reputation! Especially in front of a backward country.

This is so embarrassing!
So he couldn't help but cough a few times and remind her in English.

"Ronald, watch your table manners!"

Upon hearing his companion's reminder, Ronald couldn't help but pull out a tissue and wipe his eyes.

She said to Su Wenchen, feeling embarrassed.

"Su, I'm really sorry, I don't know why, but I suddenly thought of my grandmother who was always there for me when I was little."

"The taste of your fried chicken is very similar to the taste I remember."

"I've eaten countless kinds of fried chicken in the country, but I've never tasted anything like this."

"I never expected to taste this in a foreign country today."

"Su, I wonder if you could arrange for me to meet the chef? I really need this recipe."

"This is important to me!"

Su Wenchen pointed to the dishes and introduced them.

“Mr. Ronald, I understand your eagerness, but to be honest, our chef doesn’t have any special culinary skills.”

"This fried chicken is made using the most common method of coating and frying chicken in your country."

"What you really need is the ingredients. These golden-feathered chickens are raised in our special economic zone and are the highest-end poultry in the country."

Then Su Wenchen took out the data from the previous test at the research station to endorse it.

"This breed of chicken, when it reaches adulthood, contains 1.2mg of inosinic acid per gram of muscle, which is more than three times the amount of beneficial substances for the human body found in ordinary broiler chickens."

"Its tibia length is also the golden ratio selected through three generations of gene screening, with a muscle fiber diameter of 57 micrometers and a water retention rate exceeding 23%."

Seeing Ronald listening in a daze, Su Wenchen continued.

"Most importantly, this chicken has 1.8 times the density of taste bud receptors as a regular chicken! So they can accurately identify more than 60 kinds of insects and accumulate flavor precursors like a sommelier carefully selects grapes."

"Furthermore, because each chicken ingests different insects every day, their unique flavors are also slightly different."

"To be precise, each of our Bluewater Golden Feather Chickens has a unique taste! This is because the President is a distinguished guest invited by our country, which is why we provide this ingredient!"

"You are also welcome to try our other dishes."

"Like boiled meat!"

Hearing Su Wenchen's confident introduction, the advance team members were all stunned.

In particular, many of them were technicians who came to work with them.

Upon hearing this, he immediately started slamming his fist on the table.

Clearly, they felt that they were only able to taste such precious ingredients because they were giving them to the president for an advance tasting, and that they might not be able to eat them again in the future.

This is definitely something to talk about!

Actually, this kind of thing doesn't matter much in any country; the differences in working at the bottom are not that significant.

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's introduction, Heige couldn't resist picking up a piece of boiled chicken leg meat.

Then it was replaced by overwhelming amazement.

He almost subconsciously muttered to himself in English, “Unbelievable… this meat… so tender, yet so full of a unique… wild sweetness?”

"The original flavor of this kind of bird is so rich!"

Then he tried dipping it in ginger and scallion sauce and found that the flavor was even more complex this time.

He had to believe that the ingredients they had brought out this time were definitely top-quality.

However, he still dutifully addressed Su Wenchen.

"Your ingredients taste really good, but I would like to ask you to provide some ingredients so that we can test them, mainly to detect any possible psychoactive or addictive substances."

"After all, Ronald's behavior was a bit out of line just now, I hope you can understand!"

Clearly, Hague thought this stuff tasted so good that it must have some addictive substances added!

Although addictive substances are not illegal in their country, it is still unacceptable to give them to the president.

Su Wenchen readily agreed with a smile.

"Testing can be done at any time. You can go directly to the logistics management department and personally select a live chicken."

"After slaughtering them in front of you, you will take some for testing and use the rest as food."

What do you think of this arrangement?

Su Wenchen couldn't have been happier to have this kind of test.

As long as there are no problems, this is equivalent to giving them an extra layer of strong endorsement.

Especially if it's exported to the United States.

This is definitely a significant endorsement; just think about the fact that it has passed the full scrutiny of the president's security team.

This naturally leads to a high level of trust among most Americans.

Such safe ingredients, what's wrong with selling them at a higher price!
Hegel was unaware of Su Wenchen's thoughts, but upon hearing that the other party had made such thorough arrangements, he felt much more at ease.

After all, he himself is quite concerned about addictive substances.

It now seems that the other party actually dared to let them send people to choose, and then slaughter and cut them in half on the spot, taking one half for testing and the other half as food.

Moreover, since it was conducted under their full monitoring, there was obviously very little room for manipulation.

This shows that the other party has absolute confidence in their ingredients.

This put him at ease. After all, he was the security assistant, and as long as the president's safety was not compromised, his mission was accomplished.

Other things will naturally be taken care of by others.

On the other side, Ronald heard Su Wenchen's words and then picked up a piece of boiled chicken leg meat with peace of mind.

"Oh my God, this is simply the best poultry I've ever eaten! I've discovered that poaching is the best way to bring out its unique flavor!"

"I found that the strong spice flavor of fried chicken neutralizes this unique flavor."

"I think this poached chicken thigh is my favorite dish right now!"

After saying that, he made the sign of the cross apologetically.

"Oh, Grandmother, I'm sure you'll forgive your lovely little Ronald!"

After a moment, Ronald finally snapped out of his reverie and looked at Su Wenchen with sparkling eyes.

"Su, I've noticed you have a lot of high-end ingredients here!"

"Do you have any plans to export this golden-feathered pheasant?"

"I must say, whether it's the agricultural potential you've demonstrated, or this Golden Feather Chicken or the Zhijian Rabbit, they have far exceeded our expectations." "I will return and report back to His Excellency the President in full, but I believe this high-value chicken deserves to be promoted to a wider market!"

"What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen glanced at Hei Ge.

After all, the other party is the team leader.

Seeing that the other person still didn't speak and was focused on chewing the food in their mouth, but their actions seemed to imply a certain acquiescence.

At this point, Su Wenchen also noticed that the two seemed to have a division of labor, with Ronald not interfering in security matters at all.

Similarly, in other aspects of negotiations, Haig never said a word more than necessary.

Su Wenchen felt reassured and raised his glass.

"Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Ronald."

"Whether it's the Golden Feathered Chicken or anything else, they are all the result of our special zone and farm staff exploring new paths for development."

"We welcome all cooperation and exchanges based on equality and mutual benefit."

Su Wenchen's words were both a response and a way of revealing some information to the other party.

Discussions are possible, but they must be based on equality and mutual benefit.

The atmosphere at the dinner, amidst the delicious food and clear signals of cooperation, gradually shifted from initial tension and restraint to a slightly distant yet pragmatic warmth.

During the meal, Ronald skillfully struck up conversations with Su Wenchen on several occasions, seemingly casually steer the topic toward the farm's researchers.

However, Su Wenchen skillfully deflected them all.

After the banquet is over.

A military jeep slowly drove away from the reception hall area.

Lei Boliang, who was driving, looked at Su Wenchen, who was leaning against the passenger seat, and asked in confusion.

"Xiao Chen, what are we going to Xuzhou for?"

"I remember that all kinds of telegraph machines and telephones have been installed here in your special economic zone, right?"

"Can't we just stay in your special economic zone?"

Su Wenchen rubbed his temples.

"Uncle Lei, the matter I'm reporting today concerns members of their advance team."

"This time, the other party transported various inspection equipment. Although they claim it's security equipment, can you tell the difference between genuine and fake?"

"What if they have advanced equipment that can monitor our signals? Wouldn't that be like having our underwear exposed?"

"If it were just ordinary information, it wouldn't be a problem, but if they manage to eavesdrop on the information I'm reporting this time, then there's basically no chance of success."

Hearing Su Wenchen say this, Lei Bo was quite curious.

"What's the matter? Can you tell me?"

Su Wenchen nodded.

"It's not really a very important thing. Ronald tried to turn me against him this afternoon."

Lei Bailiang frowned.

"He knows that the Moon Rabbit was your doing?"

"It shouldn't be!"

"We all got the same story from above after that!"

“Apart from a small number of people in your field, most people only know that you are the team leader.”

Su Wenchen smiled and shook his head.

"It's not that they know about my work, but rather that they want to find the core researchers through me."

Upon hearing this, Lei Bailiang suddenly realized what was going on.

"That's not surprising. We've already uncovered quite a few domestic spies just because of the Moon Rabbit."

"From what I understand, there are people specifically stationed at the entrance of your main venue."

"Just by waiting and staking out the rabbits, we've already arrested quite a few people."

"If this trend continues, I estimate that in less than two years, all the Kuomintang spies left here will be arrested."

“This kind of tentative attempt to win you over doesn’t cost them much.”

"And even if we find out, we can't just turn against each other over such a small matter."

"So I reckon that even if you report this to the higher-ups, they won't take any action."

"We don't have any concrete evidence yet, so I guess we'll just have to let it go."

"After all, we are still at a disadvantage."

Su Wenchen nodded.

“I know this is something I can’t talk about, and I don’t mean to report it to my superiors because of this.”

"If it's really because of this, I can just report it directly to the Special Administrative Region."

"It doesn't matter whether they're monitoring or not."

What I mean is, can we do it the other way around?

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words...

"laugh--!"

Lei Bailiang instinctively slammed on the brakes.

"boom!"

Su Wenchen bumped his head right in front of him.

"hiss--!"

"Uncle Lei, what are you doing!"

Lei Boliang looked at Su Wenchen intently.

"You mean, you want to turn them against their cause?"

"You found their vulnerability during the day?"

"who is it?"

Seeing Lei Boliang's anxiety, Su Wenchen waved his hand.

"Uncle Lei, you drive first!"

I'll tell you slowly on the way.

He rubbed his head as he spoke.

"Uncle Lei, you're being too harsh! What do you mean by 'turning them to our side'? It's clearly about us making friends!"

“Someone like you would definitely not have been qualified for underground work in the past.”

"Through our contact today, I've determined that their advance team's number two leader is someone we can potentially break through."

"Once it is breached, its value is very high. First, the other party will gain access to the core assessment guidelines of the US."

"If we knew this, things would be much easier to discuss later."

"Then there's the economic value. Even if the other party is highly aware, it doesn't matter. I found that they are still very interested in our technological achievements."

"Regarding the import of our breeds, unless they lift the embargo on us, I don't think we will loosen our restrictions on the export of breeding livestock."

"So in the end, I estimate that both sides will only engage in general trade of products."

"At this point, when our products entered the US market, we actually needed a local as a partner."

Lei Bailiang was puzzled when he heard Su Wenchen's words.

"So you're planning to use this profit to win them over?"

"The other party is just like you, having reached this level at a very young age. Do you think they can be swayed by such small benefits?"

Su Wenchen smiled and shook his head.

"This is just a small gift; the real leverage to get him to cooperate will come later with the treatment of alkaline fertilizer."

Do you know about the other party's electoral system?

Lei Bailiang didn't know why Su Wenchen brought this up, but he nodded nonetheless.

"I know!"

"It's just a vote!"

"But what does it matter?"

Su Wenchen said directly.

"What do you think the other party would gain if they acted as an agent and introduced our alkali-remediating fertilizer to those states in California with severe land degradation?"

Lei Bailiang frowned.

"What did you get? Money?"

Su Wenchen waved his hand.

"No, the farmers have a stable voter base!"

"Once we have cheap and convenient alkali-resistant fertilizers available on a large scale in those three states..."

"At that time, the farmers on those more than five million hectares and hundreds of millions of acres of land will become his stable voter base."

"I don't need to elaborate on the importance of such a stable base of voters in the electoral system of the other country!"

"With this core group of voters, as long as you're capable, you're guaranteed a seat as a state legislator."

"If he has the ability, he could even try to run for president later, but of course, that depends on him!"

"So, Uncle Lei, do you understand what I mean?"

Lei Bailiang swallowed hard upon hearing this.

This time, he was truly astonished by Su Wenchen's audacity.

How could you even think of that!

Their main goal is to see if they can find out any information about the other side's internal negotiations so they can devise a countermeasure in advance.

As a result, you immediately started thinking about pushing someone you supported into the top position within the organization, and you even dared to think about running for president.

Why don't you go to heaven!
However, after carefully considering what Su Wenchen said, I realized...

Lei Boliang also felt that there seemed to be some room for maneuver.

Although there are many variables, the temptation is too great if it succeeds.

Even if it's not the president, just cultivating a member of parliament who is close to them is enough.

Thinking of this, Lei Boliang took a deep breath.

"Are you sure you can still control them once they go up there?"

Su Wenchen shook his head.

"Uncle Lei, what are you thinking about?"

"Controlling it is of course impossible!"

"You really treat them like puppets! You're just trying to win over people who are slightly closer to us."

"Of course, in general, this is a win-win situation for both sides."

“For him, losing our alkali-fixing fertilizer every year would reduce the output of those saline-alkali lands, and the farmers whose profits would decrease would inevitably protest!”

“He will naturally lose those votes as well.”

"Unless they can produce their own fertilizer to combat alkali soil degradation, they'll have no choice but to befriend us!"

"Our request is simply to try to introduce some advanced equipment and technology as needed. People aren't stupid enough to ask for more."

"Besides, Uncle Lei, there aren't that many absolute things between countries!"

"It's all just a matter of weighing the pros and cons."

"The most useful thing is for us to work hard to develop ourselves. Otherwise, no matter how many tricks we use, we can't change the fundamental nature of strength and weakness."

"This method is just a means to help us solve difficulties. If we treat this as the foundation of our livelihood, we will definitely suffer a great fall!"

Hearing Su Wenchen say that, Lei Boliang felt that it made sense.

"You should finish reporting this matter first!"

Clearly, he now understood why Su Wenchen was being so cautious.

Once leaked, it will definitely cause a lot of trouble.

Although Su Wenchen said that cooperation would benefit both sides, who can say for sure about such things!

Anyway, he definitely couldn't handle the leak, but he still couldn't help but confirm with Su Wenchen.

You didn't tell anyone about this, did you?

Su Wenchen said with a smile.

"Uncle Lei, only the two of us know about this right now, so if it gets leaked, it'll be either me or you!"

"Besides, this idea only came to me during the day!"

Lei Bailiang swallowed hard and remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking.

"Xiao Su, thanks!"

At this moment, Lei Boliang also realized that Su Wenchen had pulled him over to drive the car without even bringing a driver.

It was clearly an intentional effort to help him.

After learning this news, he knew he only had two possible outcomes.

One option is to get involved, and the other is to shut up.

His background must have been thoroughly vetted to be assigned here.

Therefore, it is highly likely that he will be involved in the future.

Participating in a mission of this level would naturally lead to a much better future, especially since he was already a leader in the security department.

At that moment, he truly felt that meeting Su Wenchen was one of the luckiest things in his life.

Su Wenchen replied with a smile.

"No need for thanks, Uncle Lei, you've helped me a lot too."

"You helped me a lot at our first Canton Fair!"

"I wouldn't have known our minister without you!"

Lei Boliang, however, did not think so.

"It's different. You're gold, you'll make it sooner or later, but if you asked me to think about it, I would never have imagined such a thing in my life!"

Su Wenchen shook his head.

"Everyone says that gold will eventually shine, but what's the point if you wait until you're old to shine?"

Su Wenchen knew very well that age was actually a very important asset.

He's already reached this point at his age, so his future can't be too bad!

(End of this chapter)