"This gentleman has already paid the bill for the two of you. If you have any other needs, please feel free to call me."
After Lele finished speaking, he bowed to the pair, then walked out and closed the door.
Geno and Lucia recovered from their momentary surprise and looked at the old man with total confusion.
"Hehe, meeting is fate. Besides, just watching you two eat improved this old man's appetite quite a bit."
"How can we accept this? Your money didn't come from the wind; how can we trouble you to spend so much!"
As he spoke, Geno moved to return the meal money to the old man.
"An elder's gift cannot be refused. Just take it as this old man finding you congenial. It's my treat."
The old man persisted in refusing Geno's repayment. Seeing this, Geno had no choice but to accept the other party's kindness with gratitude.
Immediately, Geno cupped his hands and bowed formally to the old man.
"In that case, this junior thanks you, Uncle. We will be staying in Weifeidi for a period of time. If you have any needs, please do not hesitate to instruct this junior."
Lucia, standing to the side, also nodded.
Seeing Geno behave this way, the smile on the old man's face did not diminish, and his eyes were full of satisfaction. He hadn't seen such a polite junior in a long time.
Most young people nowadays were heavily poisoned by popular internet culture, speaking of messy things he couldn't understand.
A junior like Geno, who understood etiquette and knew his place, was truly rare.
"Hahaha, I wouldn't dare to give instructions. I just wonder if my young friend is willing to chat with this old man to relieve some boredom."
Seeing the elder's request, Geno couldn't well refuse, so he let go of his reservations and began to chat with him.
"My name is Geno, and this is Lucia. May I ask how to address you, Uncle?"
"Aiyoyo, look at me, I forgot to introduce myself. Uh, just call me Old Tai."
"Uncle Tai."
Seeing Geno remain so polite, the look of approval in the elder's eyes deepened, and he nodded with satisfaction.
"Listening to your accents, you are from out of town, right?"
Although Weifeidi was also under the jurisdiction of New Eridu, it possessed unique cultural geography, and its language formed its own school. Although they spoke the official language, it carried a slight local accent.
"Yes, we came from the Janus District. We came to Weifeidi this time to seek a supply of Radiant Porcelain."
Radiant Porcelain?
Hearing this, the face of the elder, which had been full of smiles, paused for a moment. Although it was very brief, it was still noticed by Geno.
"Uncle Tai, do you know something?"
Hearing Geno's inquiry, the elder calling himself Old Tai furrowed his brows, seemingly considering how to speak.
"Hmm, you just arrived in Weifeidi, so you might not understand well. Here, it is no exaggeration to say that Radiant Porcelain is the most important resource in all of Weifeidi. Relying on the excavation of the raw material for Radiant Porcelain, 'Radiant Ridge Stone,' the entire Weifeidi region has achieved rapid development."
As Old Tai spoke about the past development of Weifeidi, his thoughts seemed to fly back to that era.
"Relying on the special effect of Radiant Porcelain to isolate Ether, many enterprises developed a strong interest in it. Consequently, the supply of Radiant Porcelain became a top priority."
Taking a sip of tea, Old Tai continued.
"And nowadays, the entire Radiant Porcelain supply in Weifeidi has been monopolized by major consortiums. Although there are a small number of individual enterprises producing it, I imagine since you said you are here to seek a supply, these scattered producers wouldn't be enough to meet your demands."
Listening to Old Tai's words, Geno nodded with a somewhat grim expression.
"Well, for the present, it should be enough, but we will definitely need a more stable supplier later."
According to Twiggy, what they needed later was a stable, sustainable industrial supply chain. If there were only a few scattered producers, he feared it wouldn't be enough.
Hearing this, Old Tai adjusted the hat on his head. His gaze took on a hint of scrutiny as he stared at Geno and spoke.
"Since that's the case, then you can only start with the other enterprises."
Indeed, since the existing stock couldn't satisfy Geno's needs, he could only think of ways involving other enterprises that already controlled the Radiant Porcelain supply.
Seeing Geno begin to think, Old Tai continued speaking.
"Here in Weifeidi, the biggest leader is 'Huijing-Meike'."
Huijing-Meike, a Radiant Porcelain mining enterprise under TOPS, monopolized all Radiant Ridge Stone mining and Radiant Porcelain production businesses within the Former Zenith Aerospace City inside the Lemnian Hollow.
Compared to them, Vision Corporation, which had previously caused a huge uproar in New Eridu, could only be considered a small fry.
"As a member of TOPS, Huijing-Meike's style of conduct is extremely tough. I imagine it won't be that simple."
Speaking of this, Old Tai curled his lips. Those arrogant guys were not so easy to deal with.
Trying to snatch a bite of food from the mouths of those vicious dogs who ate people without spitting out the bones was simply harder than ascending to heaven.
After listening to what Old Tai said, Geno also frowned in great difficulty.
The supply from scattered producers was insufficient, and Huijing-Meike was extremely difficult to deal with.
This task Twiggy entrusted to him was really tricky.
"Thank you for the reminder, Uncle Tai, but I... still want to try."
If one thinks of retreating before even starting, then one will succeed at nothing.
Hearing Geno's answer, although Old Tai shook his head, the appreciation in his eyes for this outstanding young man became even more intense.
Just as the two were chatting happily, Lucia, who was to the side, suddenly made a noise.
Buzz~ Buzz~
"Ah, sorry, it's my phone."
Scrambling to find her mobile phone from her bag, she then skillfully tapped the screen. Looking at the characters on the screen, Lucia's expression instantly became flustered.
"Crap! I was too absorbed in listening to you chat! I forgot the agreed time! Youye and the others are still waiting for us!"
Only then did Geno remember that Lucia came to Weifeidi for an offline meetup. Having stayed at Tea Immortal for a long time, he had completely forgotten about this matter.
Although he was chatting enthusiastically with Old Tai, he couldn't keep Lucia's friends waiting.
Thus, Geno stood up and apologized to Old Tai.
"Apologies, Uncle Tai, we still have things to do, so we'll be leaving first."
"Hehehe, go ahead. It's good for young people to be busy."
Old Tai was also a reasonable person. Seeing that Geno had matters to attend to, he let him go do his business.
However, the discussion between the two did not reach a conclusion.
For example, how would Geno get this Radiant Porcelain supply from the hands of Huijing-Meike, and what role did Old Tai play in this?
Geno wouldn't be foolish enough to think that this old man was just a neighborly uncle drinking tea whom he met by chance.
An elder capable of such conversation and temperament, who could even casually pull out two hundred thousand Dennies to treat guests, must have extraordinary qualities.
Presumably, he certainly had some insights into Geno's current situation, but there was no opportunity to delve deeper this time.
However, what Geno didn't expect was that the two would meet again very soon, and in a way that completely exceeded Geno's expectations.
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