Old Blake nodded without hesitation and said, "No problem! I can transfer the money to your company's account today … or any account Mr. Xia requests. "
Old Blake remembered the last time he asked for peace with Xia Ruofei and paid two million US dollars for "mental damage compensation." Xia Ruofei asked him to transfer the money to an offshore company's account.
He also knew that the procedures for transferring money overseas in Huaxia were a bit cumbersome. Many rich people liked to set up overseas accounts.
A deposit of one million euros wasn't very high. Although the market price of black truffles was around a few thousand euros per kilogram, and fifty kilograms was definitely less than one million euros, that was the price of black truffles.
Xia Ruofei's truffles must have both black truffles and white truffles. Moreover, Xia Ruofei's truffles were not only big, but their overall quality was also higher than those truffles on the market by more than one grade. Naturally, the price could not be estimated according to the market price.
This was also the reason why so many traditional truffle suppliers and Michelin-starred restaurants were scrambling for this auction.
Otherwise, with the Blake family's annual sales volume, how could the patriarch personally come to negotiate for fifty kilograms of truffles?
Xia Ruofei thought for a moment and said, "It's the same account as last time. Also … Mr. Blake, I won't sign any agreement with you. This requires your trust in me."
Old Blake froze for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "Xia … You are really … Okay! It's okay if there's no agreement. I believe in your credibility! "
Xia Ruofei smiled noncommittally and said, "If there's no objection, then I wish us a happy cooperation!"
Xia Ruofei's seemingly overbearing approach was actually very simple. He didn't want to use the company's name to trade with the Blake family, and he didn't bring the company's official seal! As for signing the agreement in his own name, Xia Ruofei didn't think it was meaningful. Anyway, as long as the Blake family acted according to the agreement, he couldn't break the agreement.
If Old Blake didn't accept it, then it didn't matter if the business couldn't be done.
It was precisely because Xia Ruofei had an indifferent attitude that he was so domineering. Because he had nothing to ask for, he had no worries.
Old Blake smiled and said, "It's a pleasure working with you!"
Xia Ruofei stood up and poured two glasses of red wine. He clinked glasses with Old Blake and asked, "By the way, how is your George doing?"
An awkward expression appeared on Old Blake's face.
George Blake had been humiliated by Xia Ruofei last time. In order to maintain their cooperative relationship, Old Blake had even stripped him of his position as the successor. This wasn't something that the Blake Family would be proud of.
Old Blake said, "I've already stripped him of all his positions in the family company, and stripped him of his position as the successor. However, as a member of the family, he still has the most basic guarantee every month. But Mr. Xia, don't worry. The monthly allowance is no longer enough for him to continue his previous life of debauchery."
Xia Ruofei nodded slightly. It was already good enough that Old Blake could do this. After all, George Blake was a direct descendant of the family. The blood relationship couldn't be cut off. He couldn't just kick George Blake out of the family.
Xia Ruofei wasn't worried that Old Blake would lie or brush him off, because it was easy to find out. Unless the Blake family valued George Blake so much that they let him pretend to be very down and out, but secretly still focused on training him.
With George Blake's idiotic behavior, this possibility was infinitely close to zero.
After casually asking about George Blake, Xia Ruofei chatted with Old Blake. After all, Old Blake was a guest. If Old Blake didn't take the initiative to say goodbye, he couldn't directly ask him to leave. In any case, they had just negotiated a business deal!
Old Blake also wanted to get closer to Xia Ruofei, so in his words, he praised the truffles produced by the Taoyuan Company. Of course, he also wanted to ask about the production area of these truffles.
After all, there were only a few famous truffle production areas in the world. Basically, the world's truffle business was monopolized by the traditional truffle families. Xia Ruofei's Taoyuan Company seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and forcibly snatched a market share with almost perfect products.
Of course, Xia Ruofei took the high-end route. He didn't use dumping methods to make the price of truffles fall. It wouldn't have a big impact on the annual global sales of dozens of tons of truffles, so Old Blake was more curious.
Xia Ruofei naturally changed the topic directly, so Old Blake tactfully stopped asking.
The two chatted and talked about high-end ingredients. Xia Ruofei really didn't have a topic to talk about. The two men couldn't just stare at each other! Moreover, this could be considered their old profession.
Old Blake asked, "Mr. Xia, I don't know if your company is involved in other high-end ingredients in the field of Western food besides truffles?"
Xia Ruofei smiled and asked, "What are the high-end ingredients that Mr. Blake is referring to?"
Old Blake said, "For a long time, French foie gras, truffles, and caviar have been called the three great delicacies in the world. As for truffles, your company's products are definitely those! "
Old Blake said and gave a thumbs up, then continued, "I just don't know if your company has foie gras and caviar in this area? If there is, I am quite looking forward to it! "
Xia Ruofei raised his eyebrows and asked, "Does your Blake family also have other ingredients business?"
Old Blake smiled and said, "Our family started by selling truffles. After several generations of hard work, it has reached its current scale. Truffles are, of course, our most important business, but as the company grows, the business will naturally expand. Basically, we dabble in high-end ingredients. Of course, our main business is still the sales agent model. "
Xia Ruofei was also a little interested. He leaned on the sofa and took a sip of wine, then asked, "Mr. Blake, if you don't mind, can you introduce foie gras and caviar to me? Our company is also preparing to expand the business scope. "
Xia Ruofei wasn't lying. In fact, he had heard of the three great delicacies in the world, but he didn't know much about them. At least, he knew that whether it was foie gras, caviar, or the truffles business that the Taoyuan Company was now operating, the profits were very big.
Making money was one thing, but Xia Ruofei also paid special attention to the richness of the company's product line and the company's reputation.
As the three most famous ingredients in the western food field, the Taoyuan Company couldn't avoid the high-end ingredients route. Since the Blake family was operating in this area, it was a good opportunity to understand the situation.
When Old Blake heard that, he knew that the Taoyuan Company didn't have foie gras and caviar products. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
However, he quickly adjusted and said enthusiastically, "Of course, I don't mind! Xia, let me tell you about foie gras first. The foie gras here refers to French foie gras. Foie gras has been eaten in France for thousands of years. Back then, Caesar the Great highly praised this delicacy. It is said to have rich nutritional value, so it is a must-have on the menu of high-end western restaurants. But … "
Speaking of this, Old Blake changed the topic and said, "This dish is also known as the cruelest delicacy in the world!"
Xia Ruofei heard this and suddenly felt very curious. He couldn't help but ask, "The cruelest? Why do you say that? "
"This has to do with how the foie gras is obtained," Old Blake said. Old Blake said, "The French foie gras we're talking about is different from ordinary foie gras. In fact, it's the liver collected from geese with fatty liver. It usually weighs more than 700 grams, which is dozens of times more than ordinary foie gras. Why do geese get fatty liver? It is completely the result of human intervention … "
Old Blake's tone was a little low, which made Xia Ruofei feel like he was listening to a midnight ghost story. He couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.
Old Blake continued, "After the geese are born, they are brought to the farm. For the first 12 weeks, the young geese are squeezed into small cages. Outside the iron fence, only rows of necks are exposed. They are fixed on a rack that specializes in training the neck muscles. The farmer increases the amount of food fed every day, trying to fill the geese's stomach to the size of a noodle bag. When the geese's neck muscles and intestines are as strong as steel, the real torture begins …
Every day, the farmer stuffs at least 12 kilograms of food into the geese's stomach with a hard tube that is 30 centimeters long! As a result, the liver becomes abnormally large due to overload. This kind of torture takes 18 days to 'create' a fatty liver that is ten times or even dozens of times larger than normal foie gras! In order to prevent the geese from overeating due to exercise, they are fixed in a very small space. The farmer also deliberately reduces the amount of calcium in the food formula. Therefore, these fat geese basically have osteochondrosis. They can only lie lazily every day until they die! "
Xia Ruofei couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine. Directly stuffing a hard tube into the stomach and stuffing food into it was several times more painful than doing gastroscopy! These geese had to undergo "enhanced gastroscopy" many times a day, and then their stomachs would swell all the time. Moreover, the space for movement was extremely narrow. This was simply torture from hell! It was scary just thinking about it!
"How can there be such an evil method?" Xia Ruofei couldn't help but sigh.
Old Blake shrugged and said, "It's all because of profit! The profit margin of French foie gras is very large, so everyone is scrambling for it. Even if there are animal protection organizations protesting every year, the effect is not obvious. "
Xia Ruofei nodded silently. He found that he had no interest in French foie gras anymore, and he was afraid that the Taoyuan Company would never be in the foie gras business.
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