Chapter 609: Chapter 609

The trading center looked surprisingly more like a hotel dining room!

The lobby was large, with a stage in the center surrounded by scattered booths, each furnished with a leather sofa for four and a dining table.

Of course, this was not the main point. Jing Shu thought it resembled a dining room because the tables were indeed filled with various foods!

From a distance, Jing Shu had smelled the aroma. It indeed set itself apart from the Black Market by more than just a little. Impressive!

Perhaps noticing the confusion in Jing Shu’s eyes, Director Wang placed Jing Shu at a booth near the center stage and smiled, "All this food is provided for free..."

Tan Ke scratched his head with some regret. "Had I known, I would’ve brought my sister along. What a loss."

Jing Shu coughed. Looking at the eager expression in Tan Ke’s eyes, she asked softly, "Director Wang, I wonder if the food is portioned or unlimited?"

"If it were unlimited, we would have had a buffet... However, Xiao Zhang will take extra care of you all later." Fatty Wang gave a knowing look, then wiped his forehead, ready to leave. "It’s about to start, but there might be quite a few people today, and this spot might be assigned to someone else soon."

There were many types of food, each perfectly divided into four portions. This included an unprecedented selection of red wine, exquisite cream bread for dessert, cherry tomatoes also divided into four portions, and snacks like peanuts, sunflower seeds, and dried Banana Chips. Surprisingly, there was also a serving of ginger brown sugar tea for each person, and a small meat patty.

The trading center had really splurged—each portion’s value was in the hundreds of Virtual Coins.

The aroma was coming from the meat patties, fried to a golden crisp without other seasonings. First, Jing Shu ruled out steak. With her top-tier foodie experience, she recognized she had never tasted something . It could be synthetic, perhaps a new food of the apocalypse era.

Jing Shu couldn’t help but recall the synthetic meat formula ZS880 she had brought back from the United States and handed to Qian Duoduo to study. She currently faced difficulties with the cost, as reducing it for mass production was a major issue.

Did the Imperial Capital solve this problem? However, my synthetic meat mainly includes protein. Supervisor Wu You’ai suggested using cockroaches as the primary material... Cockroaches are high-protein; it’s feasible. We’re just waiting for the Imperial Capital’s biological experiments to cultivate bacterial groups that can be used to feed cockroaches in large quantities.

Jing Shu gave all her snacks, fruit, and bread to Tan Ke, asking him to take them back for his sister. While pondering the cockroach matter, she ate the meat patty in one bite.

After Tan Ke had packed all the food, he looked eagerly at Jing Shu and then asked, "What does the meat patty taste like? Is it good?"

"It’s a bit gamey; only salt was added, no other seasonings. I’m not sure what meat this is. Look, there’s Rousi, but it’s mixed with starch... It’s quite soft, a bit like eating dumpling filling."

After eating, Jing Shu knew that this meat patty couldn’t be made from the synthetic meat formula she brought from the United States because this patty truly contained meat, making mass production impossible.

Tan Ke was incredibly envious. "If only my sister could eat this kind of meat patty every day."

Jing Shu quietly thought, If synthetic meat could be mass-produced in the future, it might be better not to tell the public about the raw materials. Sometimes, being ignorant can indeed bring happiness. As long as the taste is good, that’s enough.

The trade meet finally began! The host was none other than Director Wang. As he took the stage, he winked and smiled at Jing Shu, a look that confirmed he saw her as a valuable client.

"Hello everyone, welcome to the eighth-floor trading club. Today, I’ll be hosting. Surprised, right? Well, no more chitchat. First, let’s have everyone open up their big data, and we’ll update the on-site data."

The hall quickly filled up. A mother and son, along with a young man, were assigned to their booth.

The young man, wearing glasses, looked somewhat dazed and emotionlessly opened his phone. Jing Shu and Tan Ke, following Director Wang’s instructions, were quite curious about the club’s new trading methods.

The woman was dressed in a cheongsam with her hair pinned up at the back, exuding a vintage charm. She elegantly paired this with a white mink coat. She sauntered to a seat, pulling along an eight-year-old boy.

"Oh, they have pan-fried meat patties today! Qiqi, come and try. Oh dear, Qiqi, that’s someone else’s food, you mustn’t touch it."

The young man, expressionless, remained seated and said nothing.

The little tyke ran over and stuffed a piece into his mouth. Orıginal content can be found at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹~𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮~𝚗𝚎𝚝

"You naughty child! I already said that’s someone else’s. Why won’t you listen? Oh, handsome young man, I’m so sorry..."

The young man remained expressionless and silent.

Jing Shu suggested, "You haven’t touched your meat patty yet; you could give it back to him."

The woman glared fiercely at Jing Shu, then said sheepishly, "I accidentally got my saliva on this one when I was talking. I’m so embarrassed. I guess this handsome young man won’t mind..." Having said that, she scornfully sized up Jing Shu, thinking internally, Where did this country bumpkin come from, dressed so bulkily? Yet her skin is oddly well-maintained, all dewy and youthful. Being young is truly an advantage.

The young man didn’t speak, and the atmosphere suddenly turned cold. The woman, familiar with the process, opened the big data interface.

Jing Shu quickly understood what Director Wang meant by "updating the data." Soon, a 3D model of the hall appeared on the large screen in the center of the room. It not only showed everyone’s location but also displayed the goods for the current trade.

Jing Shu somewhat understood the tedious process required before entering the eighth-floor trading club; this new system made it seem much more convenient.

Just like now, Jing Shu could see in the simulated scene the demand list and items intended for sale by Miss Jing, Mr. Zhao, and Ms. Luo at table A04.

It felt like playing a game. Each player sat at a table, setting up a stall with their demand signs, while other players could freely browse and pick items from each other’s stalls.

The trading club acted like the GM system in a game, keeping an eye on everyone. They mainly managed quality assurance and price stability. Transactions below a floor price would be reclaimed, and excessively high prices would be restricted. Of course, as an intermediary platform, their most important responsibility was to both parties involved.

Here, as long as the items you brought were legal, no matter how precious, they were protected. Each item had a traceable code and was permanently safeguarded, essentially binding high-end luxury goods.

Thus, items traded at the trading club were valuable or prestigious. Unlike the Black Market, you wouldn’t find things like toilet paper or basic materials here anymore.

Jing Shu opened the demand list of Mr. Zhao, the dazed-looking young man beside her. It was a long list, and it also included his ideal prices, which was very convenient.

"Alright, same old rules. Please savor the delicious food while you vote for today’s top demand list and the most anticipated sales list, shall we? In three minutes, we’ll officially start today’s trade meet!"