51: Chapter 51 Abnormal Snake Meat

Welcoming the group into the living room and seating them, Cao Xiao asked, "Teacher, who are these two?"

"This is Ren Pingnian, the Vice President of the Provincial Collectors Association, and this is Wang Chengan, the President of the Provincial Jewelry Association. They've come this time regarding the chicken blood stone. There's no rush for that, though; let your big brother tell you about the matter with Tianxing Garden first," Elder Chen said.

"Xiao Xiao, this happened suddenly, so you need to be mentally prepared," Chen Huaiyu said, not speaking directly but giving Cao Xiao a heads-up first.

Cao Xiao knew Tianxing Garden would be in trouble. Since even his big brother, the Executive Vice Committee Member of Huanghe City, was so solemn, and his teacher had personally come over, it surely wasn't a small matter. If it had been a few days ago, he might have been very anxious, but now his heart was calm. He simply had confidence; the millions of tons of ore in his space were his confidence. With these ores in hand, even if he lost Tianxing Garden, he could find another place to settle. Moreover, if someone really wanted to forcibly seize Tianxing Garden, Cao Xiao guaranteed that the Tianxing Garden they got would be an utterly worthless, broken wasteland; he could destroy it until not a blade of grass remained in a short time. Besides, he wasn't a pushover either; money could sometimes become an invincible force.

Hearing Chen Huaiyu's words, he instead said with a smile, "Everyone probably hasn't had time for lunch yet, right? I made some good dishes today; let's talk about these things after we eat."

"Haha, Xiao Xiao, go ahead and serve the food; we'll eat first." Elder Chen heard Cao Xiao say this, and the worried expression on his face instantly vanished, clearing up in a moment. He laughed twice and arranged for Cao Xiao to serve the dishes, then turned to the other two old men and said, "How about it, my student's temperament is pretty good, right?"

"Not bad, remaining calm in the face of change, though I don't know if it's an act. This garden's value is quite high!" Wang Chengan was the first to speak.

"Old Chen, this student of yours is probably not simple, right? Looking at this calm demeanor, it doesn't seem fake. Even that chicken blood stone isn't something an ordinary person could possess!" Ren Pingnian said, looking at Elder Chen with burning eyes.

"You two old fogeys don't need to beat around the bush to fish for information from me. Although I don't know much about this student of mine either, he's just an ordinary person, not as complicated as you think," Elder Chen said nonchalantly, seeing through their schemes.

At this time, Cao Xiao came out of the kitchen carrying dishes and asked everyone to go to the dining room to eat.

"Oh, we're in luck today! Wild boar meat. Hey! What's this?" Ren Pingnian recognized the braised wild boar meat on the table at a glance and couldn't help but swallow his saliva, but he asked with some confusion as he looked at the snake meat, white as snow, in the dish.

"This is boiled snake meat! There aren't many dishes today, please bear with me!" Cao Xiao said apologetically to everyone, then saw Chen Huaiyu's secretary and driver still standing behind and said, "You two should sit down and eat together as well; I don't have many rules here."

"You two sit down and eat as well; my junior brother is very easygoing," Chen Huaiyu said to the two behind him.

The host had spoken and the leader had also spoken, so the two looked at each other and found seats to sit down.

"What kind of snake meat can be in such large slices? This is fish meat, right?" Ren Pingnian still didn't believe it. It wasn't that he hadn't eaten snake meat before, but even python meat wasn't this large; sliced thin, it was the size of a palm. Saying it was fish meat was more like it.

"Elder Ren, this isn't ordinary snake meat; it's python meat. One came out of the mountains two days ago. I don't know what species it was, but its size was terrifyingly large, over ten meters long, and it even took the initiative to attack the workers, so it was killed by them." Cao Xiao originally didn't want to cause trouble, and he hadn't expected this python meat to have such an effect, but with so many people present, it was better to explain clearly.

"Was anyone injured? I recall our province doesn't seem to have pythons, and there are no large python species within our country's borders. You said it came from Baiyun Mountain?" Chen Huaiyu asked with concern.

"No one was injured. By the way, big brother, you should have someone notify the residents near Baiyun Mountain to be careful. There are quite a few large animals in Baiyun Mountain, and they are much more aggressive than in other places," Cao Xiao said.

"We are aware of this. Every year, there are many incidents of animals attacking people in Baiyun Mountain, and we've been doing safety publicity in that regard. But I see it's still not enough. A large python like the one you mentioned could already eat cattle or horses, and a person could be swallowed in one bite. I just don't know how many more of these large snakes are in the mountains. If their numbers are too high and the mountain's ecology isn't suppressed, it will collapse, which would be a disaster for the surrounding residents. We will organize personnel to go into the mountains for an inspection soon to get a specific understanding of the ecological situation in Baiyun Mountain," Chen Huaiyu said solemnly.

"Teacher, please try some!" Cao Xiao was only reminding Chen Huaiyu, and as soon as he finished speaking, he attentively picked up a slice of snake meat and placed it in his teacher's bowl. Then he said to everyone, "Don't be polite, everyone, let's start."

"Hmm? Eating this meat feels like there's an extra trace of heat in my body. Strange, snake meat is cold and yin in nature; it shouldn't be like this. Xiao Xiao, give me some later; I'll take it to be tested," Elder Chen said to Cao Xiao with some surprise after swallowing the snake meat and savoring it carefully.

"Teacher, this snake meat, I had someone test it. There are no parasites or bacteria, and it's non-toxic, so it's safe to eat..." Cao Xiao was also startled, thinking his teacher thought there was something wrong with the snake meat, so he said quickly.

"I'm not talking about that," Elder Chen waved his hand to interrupt Cao Xiao. "Having someone test it is just a simple check for hazards. I feel that this snake meat isn't ordinary python meat; feeling heat after eating it is a sign that it's beneficial to the human body. I want to see exactly what's abnormal about it."

"Yes, indeed! Not to mention it's delicious, it's also so nourishing for people, almost like the effect of ginseng. You young people should eat less, or you might feel uncomfortable in a bit," Wang Chengan said after picking up a slice and tasting it.

"This is a rare good thing! It can be used directly as medicine. Little Cao, how much do you have left? For your teacher's sake, give me a few pounds to take with me later," Ren Pingnian said to Cao Xiao after happily eating a few slices.

"You shameless old thing, exploiting my student under my name right in front of me. Is that any way for an elder to act?" Elder Chen laughingly scolded Ren Pingnian, then said to Cao Xiao, "Xiao Xiao, give him some later; he has someone sick in his family."

"Alright, after removing the internal organs and bones, this large python still has over a hundred pounds of meat. Everyone can take a few pounds with them later." Cao Xiao didn't mind Ren Pingnian's request. These two old men seemed to have a good relationship with his teacher, and given his teacher's character, his friends wouldn't be bad either. Moreover, since his teacher said Ren Pingnian had a sick person at home, he spoke generously.

"Little Cao, the snake's gallbladder is still there, right?" Wang Chengan suddenly asked.

"The snake skin and gallbladder are both here. Elder Wang, if you want them, I'll give them to you together in a bit."

"If this python meat can nourish people, the gallbladder surely won't be simple either. I'll take it back to study and pair it with medicinal herbs to soak in some wine, and then I'll give you half," Wang Chengan said, seeing Cao Xiao's generosity.

"That would be wonderful. Elder Wang, when you're done, could you give me a copy of the recipe?" Upon hearing Wang Chengan say this, Cao Xiao was immediately overjoyed. He had been worrying about how to handle those snake gallbladders without bringing them out in the open. He hadn't expected Wang Chengan to have such a skill. If he got the medicinal recipe, he could prepare the snake gallbladder wine himself and wouldn't have to worry about people finding out. Otherwise, if one person took out so many python gallbladders, others might think he was smuggling them; such a large quantity would be enough for a prison sentence.

"What do you want the recipe for? I'll be formulating it based on the medicinal properties of the gallbladder; it might not necessarily work for other snake gallbladders. Could it be that you killed two pythons?" Wang Chengan asked in confusion.

"It's not easy to encounter even one such large python, how could there be two? I just want to study it; I'm very interested in medicine." Cao Xiao was startled. He had only been thinking about how to handle the gallbladders and forgot that the characteristic of Chinese medicine is to prescribe based on symptoms. This python was different from others, and his act of asking for the recipe would seem very strange to others, so he quickly made up an excuse about liking medicine to smooth it over.

"Oh, I didn't expect that you'd like medicine at such a young age. I'll give you the recipe then. If you really like medicine, come find me, and I'll give you some lessons on your teacher's behalf. Haha!" Wang Chengan said happily upon hearing that Cao Xiao liked medicine.