Chapter 1585: Snack Street

Chapter 1585 -1583: Snack Street

Yang Chen’s expression darkened when he heard this.

Even though they’d only revealed the tip of the iceberg, the sheer scale of the Yuan Group was enough to make one’s heart tremble.

This was just a simple branch in Aoli Country, and it already had such enormous power. If all their operations worldwide were united, what kind of force would that be?

Yang Chen fell into deep thought.

It reminded him of another colossal consortium—the Moqing Consortium!

The Moqing Clan was so massive it had once controlled nearly fifty percent of the Northern Federation’s wealth. Although it had gradually been overtaken by the Rolle Consortium now, its deep foundation was still terrifying. And with the economic recovery in modern times, economies exploding with growth, and countries opening up to investment and construction, those consortia were like starving wolves catching the scent of blood, pouncing madly.

This also caused those family consortia to expand at an incredible speed.

What’s shown in public documents is only a tiny fraction, just like an iceberg—only a small tip is visible.

The Yuan Group now was also only showing the tip of the iceberg, yet it was already this enormous.

Yang Chen thought to himself in silence.

The Yuan Group had been dormant for so long, and previously they hadn’t sensed its presence at all. With it hiding this deep, what exactly was their goal?

Now they were starting to show themselves and even taking the initiative to strike—did that mean they’d begun implementing their plan?

Yang Chen wasn’t sure, but he was deeply suspicious.

As things stood, their understanding of the Yuan Group was still far from enough.

Yang Chen had Ye Xin continue investigating the Yuan Group.

As for him, he contacted Dongzi, Night Fire and the others, having them send people over.

It was time to start cleansing the Yuan Group’s influence inside Monkey Country.

After settling these arrangements, Yang Chen began drafting his plan.

Eight o’clock in the evening.

Ye Xin knocked on Yang Chen’s door.

“Come in!” Yang Chen was bent over his documents, organizing the plan; he replied casually.

Ye Xin pushed the door open. Seeing Yang Chen still working at the desk, his eyes bloodshot, she couldn’t help feeling a stab of heartache.

“If you keep working yourself like this and don’t take care of your health, how is that okay?” Ye Xin frowned.

Seeing Ye Xin, Yang Chen put down his fountain pen, looked up and smiled. “I’m almost done.”

A trace of worry flashed through Ye Xin’s beautiful eyes. She said to Yang Chen, “I want to go out and have some fun!”

“Huh?” Yang Chen was stunned.

Ye Xin pouted her enticing little lips. “We’ve been in Monkey Country this long and I haven’t gone out to play even once! I want to go out!”

“Uh…” Yang Chen glanced at the papers on the desk, hesitating. “Right now?”

“Mm! Right now!” Ye Xin complained, “What’s more important, work or me?”

“Of course you’re more important!” Yang Chen stood up without hesitation, looking at Ye Xin. “Let’s go! We’ll head out right now. Wherever you want to go, I’ll go with you!”

Only then did a bright smile bloom on Ye Xin’s face. “Okay! Let’s go out and have fun!”

Yang Chen nodded, put aside his work, and walked over to Ye Xin.

Ye Xin happily hooked her arm through Yang Chen’s and headed out.

The guards outside immediately saluted when they saw them, preparing to accompany Yang Chen.

Yang Chen said, “You stay here on watch. I’ll go out on my own.”

“But, Number One…”

“That’s an order!” Yang Chen said.

The Guard members hesitated for a moment, then obediently stepped back.

Arm in arm, Yang Chen and Ye Xin left together.

It was already night, so going to the beach or anything like that wasn’t realistic. Besides, the sea breeze was a bit cold, and Yang Chen wasn’t about to take Ye Xin there—he was afraid she’d catch a chill.

The two of them chose to go to the biggest night market in the area.

There were all kinds of Monkey Country specialty snacks inside.

They decided they were going to try everything.

The snack street was lively; since this place counted as a tourist country, there were a lot of foreigners around, and among the crowds coming and going, you could see every kind of skin color.

“What’s this?” Ye Xin pointed at the food on a snack stall. The things were skewered on bamboo sticks and looked like they’d been deep-fried, golden and tempting.

Yang Chen explained with a smile, “These are eggs.”

“Eggs?” Ye Xin looked incredulous. “How do you even eat eggs like that? This counts as street food?”

Yang Chen laughed. “They boil the eggs first, then coat the outside with a layer of batter. After deep-frying, they turn golden, and then they add some dipping sauces and other sides. The taste is actually pretty good.”

As he spoke, Yang Chen had already bought a skewer and handed it to Ye Xin. “Try it!”

Holding it, Ye Xin hesitated, her expression conflicted—she wanted to eat it but didn’t quite dare.

Yang Chen chuckled. “Go on, eat. Don’t worry about hygiene. All street stalls are like this; there’s no real hygiene standard. What you’re after is convenience and freshness, and the fun of tasting unknown flavors. If it’s good, have more; if it’s not, move on to the next stall. That’s the charm of strolling a snack street!”

Ye Xin’s eyes lit up as she listened, and she nodded repeatedly. “Mm, mm! You’re right!”

Then she stuck a toothpick into one of the eggs and popped it into her mouth, nodding. “The flavor’s a bit strange, but it’s actually pretty good!”

Ye Xin speared another one and held it up to Yang Chen. “You try too.”

Yang Chen took a bite with a smile. The sweet-and-sour taste was a bit odd, but since Ye Xin was feeding it to him, it felt wonderfully blissful.

“Come on, I’ll take you to the next stall.” Yang Chen said, smiling.

Ye Xin nodded, eating as they walked.

“Bananas?” Ye Xin stopped in front of another stall, staring curiously at bananas being deep-fried in the oil. “You can deep-fry bananas too?”

Yang Chen nodded with a grin. “They’re done almost the same way as the eggs—coated in a layer of batter and deep-fried. The taste is great.”

Ye Xin looked at Yang Chen in disbelief. “Do they deep-fry everything?”

Yang Chen shrugged. “Everything can be deep-fried.”

“I really didn’t expect that. I thought only our country used this much oil.” Ye Xin said.

“Culture spreads and influences others, especially when it’s from a great cultural power. Its impact on the surrounding smaller countries is profound. Back in our ancient times, we already had the habit of deep-frying food. As our national strength grew, the influence on neighboring small countries became even stronger. These used to be tributary states, paying us tribute every year. They admired and adored our culture, so naturally they picked up this culinary style too.” Yang Chen said.

Ye Xin suddenly understood. “Then I’ve got to try this. The sauce they’re slathering on looks really tasty.”

Yang Chen smiled and asked the stall owner for one, paying the bill.

He only knew some basic Monkey Country phrases, but it was enough for simple communication and buying things.

Even if they couldn’t fully understand each other, these stall owners could usually speak a bit of Federation Language, so they could still manage.

He bought a skewer, and Ye Xin took a bite, then couldn’t help laughing. “The influence is way too obvious—this tastes almost exactly like our sweet bean sauce!”

Yang Chen laughed. “For the real deal, you still have to go to Jin City to eat it.”

“Mm! Then next time you’re taking me there just for the food!” Ye Xin said coquettishly.

“Okay!” Yang Chen smiled and gently tapped Ye Xin’s little nose. “My little foodie.”