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Fan Qiao was no exception.

Of course he thought Begonia Crisp was delicious.

But after tasting the Assorted Albizia Cup, he immediately and shamelessly switched sides, forgetting all the wonderful times he had shared with Begonia Crisp and setting off down a road of no return with that meddling little vixen, the Albizia Cup...

Only after wolfing down two in one go did he come to his senses—yet his first reaction was not to repent for being so disgracefully greedy and losing face, but to swiftly give up all pretense. Since he had already embarrassed himself and the past could not be undone, he might as well seize the moment... and keep eating until he had finished the remaining two on the plate.

Afterward, he drained the tea that had somehow been refilled, then sat on the sofa with a faintly awkward expression.

Jing Yi smiled. "I'm so happy that the food I made is well received! Seeing your reaction, I finally feel more confident about bringing these to visit the new neighbors..."

Fan Qiao gave him a serious thumbs-up. "They're incredibly delicious, truly! So delicious that I'm already starting to despair. Now that I've tasted real food, how am I supposed to face nutrient supplements in the future...?"

Jing Yi burst out laughing, then changed the subject. "So what do you think? Should I develop my future career around making and selling this sort of food...?"

Fan Qiao asked, "Do you know many similar recipes?"

Jing Yi nodded. "Every kind you could want."

Fan Qiao asked again, "Are the ingredients common? Are they expensive? How should the finished products be priced? Should you take the high-end route or sell in volume? Can they be mass-produced?"

His questions were all simple, yet every one of them cut straight to the heart of the matter. Jing Yi found himself admiring him more and more.

"Take these two pastries as examples. Begonia Crisp uses cooking oil, butter, a milk product, and three different kinds of nutrient powder. The most expensive ingredients are eggs and jam. The pastries are small; one piece costs about two dollars to make. The Assorted Albizia Cup uses nutrient powder, meat, nuts, and vegetables. The three fillings can be freely combined and substituted. The kind you ate costs about... three dollars per piece."

That cost price utterly shocked Fan Qiao! Not because it was high, but because it was far lower than he had imagined! Personally, after tasting them, he would have been perfectly willing to spend a hundred dollars on either one—and would still have thought the owner incredibly generous!

But what shocked him most was not the low cost. He had not expected Jing Yi to reveal his bottom line so casually! For someone who wanted to "do business," that was extremely immature. How long had they even known each other? If Fan Qiao had harbored ill intentions, Jing Yi would have paid a painful price for his trust and carelessness!

Fan Qiao had asked those questions mainly to help Jing Yi sort out his thoughts. Jing Yi could have given him a vague answer, such as saying the ingredients were fairly common and not too expensive, and that the selling price could basically guarantee a profit...

Faced with such heartfelt openness, he was completely dumbfounded and did not know what to say.

Seeing how uneasy he looked, Jing Yi let out a snort of laughter.

"You were introduced by Yang Chun. I heard about you from him, so I trust your character!" Jing Yi smiled for a while like a thousand-year-old fox demon who had just pulled off a prank, then added, "Besides, what does it matter if I tell you the cost? Be honest—if others knew how much my ingredients cost, would they still buy one for a hundred dollars?"

Fan Qiao: "..." They really would!

Jing Yi continued, "Didn't you realize that I was actually trying to lure you in? Those businesses I showed you are nominally mine, but I've never managed them myself, so I truly don't have a single person I can trust. If you think my idea has potential, maybe you'll be tempted to come work with me. I'll give you dividends, and think of how much trouble that would save me..."

Fan Qiao glared at him irritably. "You certainly are honest! I've been here less than half an hour. Where does all that confidence in me come from?"

"Haven't you heard the saying?" Jing Yi declared righteously. "'White hair may meet as strangers, while chance encounters may feel like old friends.' When looking for a partner, you have to find someone you click with. If Yang Chun introduced you, that means you have both ability and character. And after meeting you, I like you very much. If I don't take this chance to recruit you, then when should I?"

Watching him grin like that made Fan Qiao's fingers itch. In the end, he could not resist pinching Jing Yi's cheeks twice. They felt smooth and soft, and he could not help sighing. Someone this cute—how did he end up marrying Qin Meng? They would have made a good match if Qin Meng were still alive, but now Jing Yi could only keep watch over a memorial tablet. What a pity...

"By the way, what kind of meat is in that Assorted Albizia Cup? The texture was amazing, and it was packed with energy. At first, I suspected it was high-grade beast meat, but you said the total cost was only three dollars, so apparently it isn't..."

"You want to know?" Jing Yi blinked mysteriously. "Just agree to join me, and I'll take you to see it!"

Half an hour later, Yang Chun came to pick him up, and the three of them went to inspect the processing base in person.