Overnight at the Riverbank

The RV turned onto a gravel road, went down a slope, and after another hundred meters, the stony riverbank lay ahead.

Many cars were parked there, with people sitting in groups of three or five, barbecuing and relaxing. It was one of Kun City's famous riverside barbecue spots.

The RV drew people's attention. When a group of young people got out, it made them wonder even more what kind of background these people had.

After all, in 2012, anyone who could travel in an RV was no ordinary person.

Jiang Dabao basked in those looks. "When I graduate, I'm going to open a big restaurant. Once I make money, I'll buy an RV too."

Everyone else laughed at him. Only Lin Qiye did not.

Who would have thought that Jiang Dabao would actually do exactly what he said, devoting himself to the food and beverage industry for more than ten years and eventually making something of himself?

Just then, an old man walked over and spoke in an authentic Kun City dialect. "Kids, barbecuing? I've got everything here."

Jiang Wanxin replied, "Sir, we don't need anything. This is an RV. It has a kitchen inside."

The old man immediately became unhappy. "What? Not barbecuing? Fine, then park over there. This place is run by my family."

"This is a public area. How did it become your family's?"

Jiang Wanxin still wanted to argue, but her classmates pulled her back.

Lin Qiye said kindly to the old man, "We'll discuss it and give you an answer in a bit."

Inside the RV, someone was already explaining things to Jiang Wanxin.

Lou Xingyu said, "The locals have been operating here for a long time. Whoever comes has to pay them. It'll be the same if we change spots. If we rent their stone stove and barbecue tools, they'll waive the parking fee."

Jiang Dabao also comforted his girlfriend. "Why get mad? This is how they make a living. It isn't easy."

Indeed, this could be considered a livelihood too.

Many people came over to rent the locals' cooking utensils and buy the ingredients they had already marinated. It was very convenient.

This time, Jiang Dabao went to negotiate with the old man.

The two of them muttered back and forth in the local dialect for a while, and in the end, they spent only fifty yuan to rent the stone stove and barbecue tools, with the parking fee waived as well.

Since they had already rented a pile of things, they might as well switch to a riverside barbecue.

The three girls directed the others to carry the ingredients, oil, and seasonings off the RV, and they began bustling about.

Young men disdained taking part in such things, except Jiang Dabao, who was obsessed with good food.

Soon, the three girls and Jiang Dabao were busy running around, while the remaining boys strolled along the riverbank.

After walking for a while, there was not much to see, so they came back and bought two decks of poker from a nearby stall to play cards.

They gathered around a table and started playing Shengji.

Lin Qiye was not interested. He walked a little farther away, put down his laptop bag, sat on a rock, and spoke in a low voice.

"Has there been any news from Dafang Pharmaceutical?"

Not yet. It's still late at night over in the United States. Even if there is news, it won't come until tonight.

But there are already rumors spreading on the Internet, and many people are half believing, half doubting them.

"Didn't that blog post on the foreign Internet get passed back into the country?"

The person involved has already deleted it. That blog post did not have many views, so the news may not have leaked from him.

Once the news is confirmed, there are expected to be another two to three limit-up days before this sentiment ends.

"Shouldn't good news like this make it soar? Why would it end after three limit-up days?"

The product that received FDA certification does not have a unique effect, nor is it the best among similar drugs. Once the market reacts, it will naturally recognize the reality.

Lin Qiye understood. This stock's rise was entirely driven by sentiment. It was not truly major good news at all.

This gave Lin Qiye a new understanding of the stock market.

The stock market was an extremely complex and chaotic place.

Here, prices could be driven by sentiment into soaring rises and plunging falls; value could also be discovered in advance, allowing early positioning to reap astonishing returns.

There were even some crooked methods, using fraud and manipulation of public opinion to seek improper gains.

For some reason, Lin Qiye thought of Li Xiongye and Professor Wang. Both were capable men in their own industries, yet they had still become leeks harvested in the stock market.

By comparison, his former self had not been too bad. Although he had lost some money, he had not become so addicted that he could not extricate himself.

He could not help feeling curious.

"Did you discover any stock-price manipulation while gathering information?"

Stock-price manipulation does indeed exist in the stock market. Some large funds or individual investors take advantage of their massive capital, using wash trades, false statements, rumor-mongering, and other methods to manipulate stock prices for profit.

But all of these actions are illegal. Participants will use various methods to disguise them and avoid being discovered.

If the authorities want to bring them to justice, I can allocate part of my Computing Power to investigate.

"No, don't. That's not what I meant. Let's stop there."

Lin Qiye was startled. He was no hero, nor did he intend to become some righteous champion acting on heaven's behalf.

Decades of life experience told him that the world was not simply black and white. Good and bad were separated by only a fine line.

Most of the time, people existed in a state of balance and safety—unless someone destroyed that balance.

Intelligent AI's seemingly righteous suggestion was exactly the kind of thing that destroyed balance. Don't think catching one or two manipulators would be the end of it. Heaven knew if there were others behind them.

Better to honestly live as an ordinary nobody, earn some money, enjoy a good life, and not think about things beyond his ability.

He stood up, shouldered his laptop bag, and walked toward the four temporary chefs busy at work.

These four were clearly very interested in cooking.

Among them, Jiang Dabao was acting as head chef. Not only was he bustling around himself, he also had to direct the others.

Jiang Wanxin was his good assistant, and she could understand what he meant very well.

Tian Nina and Wang Meijia, on the other hand, were a little chaotic.

Jiang Dabao was slicing pork belly. When he turned back and saw Tian Nina and Wang Meijia, he couldn't help roasting them.

"Don't mess around, you two. Perfectly good roast meat is being wasted by you."

Tian Nina retorted, "My mom taught me this. You've never eaten it, so you're not qualified to judge."

Lin Qiye walked over to see what exactly she was making.

A pile of ingredients sat on the chopping board.

Two-centimeter chunks of lamb, chopped onion, green pepper, and minced garlic.

He couldn't make sense of it either, so he asked, "What are you making?"

Tian Nina replied proudly, "Hungarian roast meat. My mom's exclusive secret recipe."

Seeing that smug little look on her face, Lin Qiye couldn't help teasing her. "Then let me see what kind of result my mother-in-law taught you to make."

The moment he said that, the guys playing cards all turned their heads and burst into laughter.

Li Nanguang spoke up. "Big Lin, you're already calling her mother-in-law? Moving fast enough, huh. Poor me, I'm still at the hand-holding stage."

Wang Meijia glared fiercely at Li Nanguang, and the guy immediately shut up.

These young people were thin-skinned. They dared to think but not say it, dared to say it but not do it. How could they compare to Lin Qiye, who had been beaten down by society and had a thick skin?

And sure enough, he still had more to say.

"Of course. My parents are coming over for National Day, so she's practicing her cooking skills in advance."

Tian Nina, who had not spoken the whole time, nearly left dents in the onion in her hand. Then she suddenly smiled sweetly.

"That's right. Auntie and Uncle will definitely like the dishes I make. Maybe they'll even give me a chance to become official."

This was something only the two of them understood. Lin Qiye had been countered, and he couldn't help freezing in surprise.

Fine. A good man didn't fight with a woman. Lin Qiye decisively shut his mouth.