Reborn As Super Heiress

"What?" Huo Sining was somewhat astonished.

The elder chuckled, "My granddaughter and I are tourists who've come from out of town to visit S City. I won't lie to you, I lived in S City for about seven or eight years of my childhood, so this is something of a nostalgic return for me.

Just now, as we were walking down the street, we chanced upon someone who had bought some hairy crabs from your shop, and upon asking, we discovered they were local crabs. It reminded me of the taste of my childhood, and on a whim, I wanted to buy some to try. If it's not too much trouble, could we use your kitchen to steam the crabs?"

Huo Sining couldn't help but laugh at the old man's request; although it was somewhat surprising and unusual, it wasn't unreasonable, so she nodded in agreement.

Having eaten countless crabs during this period, Huo Sining's crab-steaming skills had also improved significantly, and soon enough, a pot of piping hot crabs was ready.

When the lid was lifted to reveal the plump crab meat and golden crab roe inside, not only the grandfather but also the granddaughter, who had previously displayed an expression of distaste, were incredibly surprised.

The senior wasted no time in being polite or caring about appearances, and picked up a crab immediately. Huo Sining had already prepared the necessary utensils and dipping sauce for eating crab. The old man deftly began to enjoy the delicacy.

The semi-translucent crab meat was extracted from the pincer and melted in his mouth, delicate and smooth. The moment the crab meat entered his mouth, the old man's eyes lit up, and he slapped the table in admiration, "This flavor is amazing, it's truly authentic local hairy crab!"

The girl was skeptical, but subconsciously picked up a piece of crab meat and put it in her mouth.

The crab meat dissolved upon entering her mouth, its sweet flavor spreading through her taste buds to every limb, and the girl's facial expression instantly changed.

"It's so delicious, is this really a local crab from S City? How come I feel it's even better than Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs?!" she exclaimed.

The old man said proudly, "This is the indigenous crab of S City. Despite its less impressive appearance compared to Yangcheng Lake crabs, the taste is absolutely delicious. When I was a kid, during crab season, I used to eat this all the time. I'd also swim with my buddies in the river, picking crabs.

Not to brag, but when I was your age, I could dive into the Huang Family waters and swim from one bank to the other without coming up for air."

You could tell the old man was fondly reminiscing about his childhood, and there was a clear hint of boasting in his words. Huo Sining and the girl exchanged glances, wanting to laugh but holding back.

"Young lady, thank you for your help, the crab tasted exquisite!"

Having not enjoyed such a rich and authentic taste of childhood food in a long time, the old man was visibly satiated after finishing the crabs. He paid contentedly and prepared to leave.

At this moment, Wu Jun walked in from outside the shop. Noticing the grandfather and granddaughter, he didn't pay much attention and simply said to Huo Sining, "Boss, the short mackerel has just been brought in. Should I put them in the aquarium now?"

Huo Sining replied calmly, "Don't rush, bring them inside first, I need to check if there's anything wrong with the stock."

Wu Jun nodded and went out. Meanwhile, the old man, overhearing the conversation, was taken aback. He looked at Huo Sining in surprise and asked, "Young lady, you are the owner here?"

Huo Sining nodded, and the old man glanced at her and then at the red and white koi in the aquarium beside her, both surprised and incredulous: "Did you raise all these koi yourself?"

Seeing the old man's expression, Huo Sining instantly understood what he meant, realizing that the elder was someone who knew his stuff. She paused inwardly but smiled candidly on the surface,

"Look at what you're saying. I'm just a middleman; I sourced all these fish from outside. It seems like you're someone from the inside, could it be that you're interested in these koi?"

"Not really someone from inside the circle, but my family does raise a few red and white carp. These fish of yours are not bad; ordinary people can't raise them like this. It must have been difficult to get your hands on these guys, right?" The old man looked at Huo Sining with a mix of belief and doubt, somewhat skeptical in his heart.

Huo Sining laughed, "I just got lucky. I happened upon them on the street. Someone told me they were a scam, but I didn't believe it, and unexpectedly, I stumbled upon a great bargain."

Those words were indeed the truth. Wasn't the vendor who sold the koi fry someone she had encountered on the street? At that time, those fry were no more than three inches long, appearing sickly, and only Huo Sining, who didn't fuss over such things, would consider buying them. Other buyers were not fools; why would they willingly accept a loss?

Raising koi requires a lot of patience and skill. Huo Sining looked young and it seemed unlikely that she could raise such exceptional fish, so upon hearing her explanation, the old man immediately believed her excuse and nodded without probing any further.

After seeing off this peculiar grandfather and grandson duo, Huo Sining didn't dwell on the small interlude. Recently, she was busy with classes, treating Master Huang, and occasionally sneaking to the Yellow River at night to restock for the Xianyu Shop—her schedule was very tight, leaving no time to rest.

Huo Sining was unaware of the identity of the grandfather and grandson until a few days later, when she received a call from Su Zhenhua to rush to the restaurant and saw the old man again. Only then did she realize that he was the helmsman of the Zhou Financial Consortium, which had been making headlines lately.

"What! Are you sure this information is true?"

These days, Su Zhenhua was overwhelmed with so much to handle. With no progress in attracting business and investment to S City and unclear information from Director Zhang, it looked like the multi-billion dollar mega-project would slip through to the Jiangzhou government, leaving him helplessly watching and unable to do anything.

Unexpectedly, just less than two days later, Director Zhang suddenly paid a visit to the Su Residence, bringing him a significant piece of news.

"Could it be fake? This is a proposal document sent to me by Mr. Zhou's secretary. If we accept the investment, we must meet one of their conditions." Director Zhang sipped his tea while handing a document to Su Zhenhua.

"Guanlan Villa?" Seeing the four characters on the cover, Su Zhenhua frowned, flipped open the proposal, and as he read the detailed terms, his brow smoothed, "Are you sure this is Zhou Group's demand?"

Director Zhang nodded, "Mr. Zhou said it himself, the proposal was his spur-of-the-moment idea. He hopes to develop the villages and river areas upstream from Dongjiadu to Shatian Port, restoring them as cultural old towns and implementing environmental protection. The funds required for this project would be fully covered by Zhou Group.

In return, Zhou is willing to invest two billion yuan into a biopharmaceutical factory project in S City."

"The villa won't be used for profit?" Surprised by the explanatory notes at the end of the proposal, Su Zhenhua raised his eyebrows, "Is this the requirement put forward by Zhou Guosheng that you mentioned?"

"Yes," Director Zhang's eyes contained a hint of uncertainty, "I called Mr. Zhou Guosheng personally about this matter, and he promised me directly. The development will be ecological; it's not intended as a tourist resource. After Guanlan Villa is developed, it will be opened to the citizens of S City free of charge."