Chapter 447: Chapter 209: The Auspicious Ingot Worth 600,000 in the Reservoir! (Part 2)

Although her expression was slightly panicked and frightened at the moment, she still didn’t lose her beauty.

Bai Yulan’s appearance gives people a hazy feeling of being ageless.

She looks like both a young woman in her thirties and a noblewoman in her forties.

The unique temperament she exudes, which is precipitated by years, is difficult for anyone without certain life experiences to imitate.

"No need to go to the hospital, thank you for saving me just now, my name is Bai Yulan, what’s your name, young man?"

Indeed, Bai Yulan is someone who has been through big storms.

She quickly recovered from the terror of drowning, and her face regained composure.

Realizing that her posture with Jiang Tao was somewhat inappropriate, she gently moved forward a little, creating some distance.

"My name is Jiang Tao, from the nearby Jiang Family Manor."

Jiang Tao straightforwardly reported his name.

He drove over in the middle of the night and jumped into the water to save someone; he wasn’t going to act like an anonymous "Lei Feng" doing good deeds without leaving his name.

"Hello Jiang Tao, let me formally introduce myself, I’m Bai Yulan, the owner of Baiyulan Restaurant in Ping County."

"I owe you my life today, in the future, if you ever need anything, feel free to come find me at Baiyulan."

"Also, from now on, whether you come alone to our restaurant or with guests, all meals will be free of charge."

After Bai Yulan got up from the ground, she looked at Jiang Tao and gave him her promise with a solemn expression.

"Baiyulan Hotel? The most upscale hotel in Ping County is the one you own?"

Playing along with the act, Jiang Tao feigned ignorance, showing a surprised look upon hearing Bai Yulan’s words.

"Yes, the restaurant is named after me."

Bai Yulan nodded, admitting frankly.

"In the future, whether I go by myself or with guests, it’ll all be on the house?"

"President Bai, aren’t you afraid I might bring a bunch of people over every day for free meals?"

Jiang Tao looked at Bai Yulan with a smile, joking to lighten the mood.

Of course, he was just kidding with Bai Yulan to liven things up.

Even if Bai Yulan meant it, he wouldn’t have the nerve to bring a crowd over for free food and drinks every day.

"Compared to the life-saving grace you extended, these things don’t matter."

Bai Yulan looked at Jiang Tao with sincere eyes.

Only those who have walked near the gates of hell know the preciousness of life.

"President Bai, you don’t need to constantly bring up the life-saving grace; it makes me feel a bit embarrassed."

"I was just doing what anyone witnessing the situation would have done."

Jiang Tao smiled, his face displaying a relaxed demeanor.

Even though his intention was to build a connection with Bai Yulan, he hadn’t thought about leveraging the favor for something in return.

"Let’s exchange WeChat contacts, Jiang Tao. You look around your thirties; I’m a bit older than you, so from now on, call me Sister Bai."

As she spoke, Bai Yulan took out a phone from a box beside her fishing gear and opened the add friend interface.

"Alright, being able to know a big boss like Sister Bai is also a blessing for me."

Jiang Tao said with a smile and a polite tone, taking out a wet phone from his pocket.

Fortunately, modern phones have decent waterproof capabilities and his was still functional.

He opened the WeChat app on his phone, scanned the QR code on Bai Yulan’s phone, and they successfully added each other as friends.

"Achoo!"

Right after adding each other, Bai Yulan suddenly sneezed.

The temperature at this time of night was only around eleven or twelve degrees, combined with her clothes being entirely soaked; it would be strange if she wasn’t cold.

"Sister Bai, your clothes are all wet. Hurry back and change, can you manage on your own? Do you need a ride?"

Jiang Tao also felt a wave of coldness all over his body, so he looked at Bai Yulan and asked with concern.

"No need to trouble yourself, Jiang Tao, I can manage. Thank you for tonight, I’ll head back now."

Bai Yulan’s voice carried a slight tremor, evidently quite chilled.

Without insisting, Jiang Tao nodded and said, "Then drive carefully, Sister Bai."

"These fishing gear, if you don’t mind me having used them, consider them a gift; if you don’t like them, feel free to give them to someone else."

Bai Yulan looked at the set of fishing gear worth over 60,000 given to her by someone else on the riverbank, currently without any inclination to sort them out.

Jiang Tao smiled and said, "Sister Bai, you’re too polite, you go ahead. I’ll pack them for you and bring them over tomorrow."

"That would be great, I’m off to change now; I’ll properly thank you tomorrow."

Bai Yulan, not being the type to dawdle, coupled with the cold, said this and then elegantly turned to leave.

Jiang Tao watched Bai Yulan walk about ten meters away before turning around to start packing up her fishing rods.

Swish, swish, swish~

"Oh, there’s actually a fish on the hook!"

When Jiang Tao lifted the fishing rod, he found a fish the size of an adult’s arm hooked, making it an unexpected reward.

Meanwhile, Bai Yulan hurried back to a Range Rover parked by the riverbank.

Once inside, she quickly started the car, waiting for about three minutes before turning on the car’s warm air.

Whirr, whirr, whirr~

Feeling the warm air blowing out of the vent, Bai Yulan’s body temperature gradually returned to normal.

Her blue lips slowly regained their color.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, images of her recent struggle for survival in the lake kept flashing through Bai Yulan’s mind.

Although a bit puzzled by Jiang Tao’s sudden appearance, she felt more gratitude toward him.

Regardless of why he appeared there or what his intentions might have been.

He saved her life, pulling her back from the brink of death.

"Jiang Tao..."

"Jiang Family Manor."

Recalling the conversation she had with Jiang Tao,

Bai Yulan’s intuition and her vast experience with people told her.

Jiang Tao wasn’t approaching her with any ill intentions.

Both his manner of speaking and behavior gave a sense of reliability.

Moreover, from his facial features, Jiang Tao had a "national peace and security" kind of honest look.

Handsome, upright features, with a kind of attractive presence to women.

Jiang Tao’s appearance perfectly matched the traditional "three courts and five eyes" standard.

Not overly three-dimensional, yet harmonious and dignified overall.

If he were acting on TV, he’d definitely have the typical upright male lead image.

"Making a new friend can be considered a blessing in disguise!"

While Bai Yulan had few friends, she was quite fond of Jiang Tao this time, hoping to befriend him.

After blasting the warm air conditioning in the car for about ten minutes until her body temperature fully recovered.

Bai Yulan looked one last time at the reservoir in the distance through the window.

This day’s experience made her a bit fearful of water, and her interest in fishing plummeted.

"Fishing is too dangerous; better stick to jogging."

She murmured to herself once more.

Then, she started the car and drove toward Ping County.

...

After neatly packing Bai Yulan’s fishing gear, Jiang Tao placed it into the trunk of his Mercedes G-Class.

He lifted his wrist to check the watch on it.

After all the fuss, it was now 12:52 in the evening.

Taking out a new pack of cigarettes from the car, he opened it.

He lit one up and then with a thought continued to review the remaining two reports for today.

[Today’s Intelligence 02]:

You camped at the Qisan Reservoir yesterday and obtained the following intel—

Somewhere at the bottom of the Qisan Reservoir lies a Celestial Official’s Blessing fifty-tael Auspicious Ingot valued at 600,000 yuan from the Qing Dynasty.

...

"What on earth is an Auspicious Ingot?"

Seeing the content of the second piece of intel, Jiang Tao’s eyes lit up.

Although he didn’t know what an Auspicious Ingot was, that wasn’t important.

Brother Tongzi mentioned this thing was worth 600,000.

This was what Jiang Tao was most concerned about.

Jiang Tao looked toward the lake of Qisan Reservoir.

On the holographic map in his view, the Auspicious Ingot was more than 300 meters away from his current location.

Additionally, its position was near the reservoir’s center, out of reachable range.

"I’ll rent a boat to sail over and have a look tomorrow."

"It’s too cold now; if I got a cramp swimming halfway, I might lose my life here."

After a brief consideration, Jiang Tao ultimately decided to take a more prudent approach.

Risking it for 600,000 didn’t seem worth it.