Chapter 251: Chapter 187: What the Hell? Exporting 10-Year-Old Rice to China?

Li Xiang was now in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand—one of the most popular tourist cities for Chinese travelers.

Bangkok’s most famous attraction was... ladyboys. Of course, there were plenty of other famous sights and fun activities, but none held the same allure.

Unfortunately, Li Xiang was a man of principles and had no interest in ladyboys at all.

Bangkok was only a little over three hundred kilometers from P’an, Myanmar, located to its south. Although Li Xiang had previously been out on the ocean for a bit of fun, he hadn’t gone beyond the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, so it didn’t take him long to get here. He changed into some local clothes, put on a hat and sunglasses, and began to wander the streets, snacking as he went.

There were many signs in Chinese, and some restaurants had Chinese menus. Large shopping centers were even equipped with Chinese-language information desks and Chinese-speaking employees.

However, Li Xiang felt there wasn’t much point in wandering around by himself. He also had to keep himself disguised to avoid exposing his identity. After all, he was a major influencer with over thirty million fans, practically an actor in the entertainment industry, and had even filmed a passionate scene with Little Celestial Immortal. It wouldn’t do to be recognized.

The streets of Thailand were filled with tourists from China, as well as many Chinese people who lived and worked there.

’I’ll bring the girls over for a team-building trip next time!’ As a conscientious boss, Li Xiang naturally wanted to provide his employees with excellent benefits, and a trip abroad was one of the best team-building projects he could think of.

His company hadn’t been founded long, so they hadn’t had many team-building events. Their activities had been limited to eating and drinking in their local county town and one trip to the provincial capital for fun; they had never even left the province.

If Yao Yao and the others found out about this good news, they would be absolutely thrilled.

Besides, they could shoot some videos during the trip to generate traffic. Knowing the workaholic nature of Yao Yao and her colleagues, they would never let the opportunity go to waste.

Li Xiang went to a large shopping mall and picked up a few things he liked, paying with the US dollars he had acquired previously.

In Bangkok, US dollars could be used directly and were especially welcome. It was very common to use them for everyday purchases, even at small street stalls and in local shops.

Such was the sad reality for smaller nations. Their monetary systems often lacked credibility, and many didn’t even have the ability to print their own currency. In fact, the Thai Baht was already stronger than the currencies of many other countries.

Li Xiang might have plundered the Alien Race, but he had his own code of honor. He didn’t bully ordinary people, only targeting officials and wealthy merchants, especially those involved in shady dealings. That’s why he always paid for his food, drinks, and shopping.

’This restaurant looks decent.’ On the third floor of the mall, Li Xiang saw a number of restaurants and chose a popular one. He found a seat and ordered curry crab, raw marinated shrimp, pan-fried grouper, basil pork with rice, tom yum goong soup, and a fruit bowl with shaved ice and coconut milk. Everything tasted quite good.

The curry crab and pan-fried grouper were especially delicious—fresh, fragrant, and rich with an authentic Thai flavor. The sauce served with the grouper was particularly unique and perfectly suited his tastes.

The restaurant also had a television mounted on the wall. Li Xiang glanced at it a few times and saw that it was playing a Thai BL film with a lot of provocative scenes. ’It feels a little weird showing this in such a public place, but the locals don’t seem to think anything of it. Maybe people in Thailand are just more open-minded?’

In Thailand, after all, there were many adult shows. For instance, the "drum beating" show tended to leave Chinese tourists speechless. Only women were invited onto the stage for "drum beating." If a man went up, the strippers would strip him naked, give him a bubble bath, and slap him in the face with their breasts, all in public and in front of the entire audience.

So, if you ever go to Thailand to see these shows, definitely don’t bring your family. It would be incredibly awkward.

Since it was daytime and he was in no rush, Li Xiang ate at a leisurely pace. After a while, the awkward movie finally ended. Following a commercial break, a proper news broadcast began.

The screen showed Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce tasting a pot of freshly cooked rice. The television station was surprisingly considerate, perhaps fearing that local Chinese residents and tourists wouldn’t understand, as the Thai broadcast was accompanied by Chinese subtitles.

After watching for a moment, Li Xiang’s brow furrowed. ’What is this? They’re actually planning to sell ten-year-old aged rice to China?’

Of course, the news report didn’t explicitly state that this batch, amounting to tens of thousands of tons of aged rice, would be sold to China. However, the minister did mention promoting exports to China—after all, China is the world’s largest consumer of rice. Furthermore, most of Thailand’s rice is exported to China, though it’s also sold to other countries like Indonesia, South Africa, and Iraq.

This batch of ten-year-old rice—no, to be precise, it was eleven years old—was from a rice-pledging scheme "engineered" by a former prime minister. The news report called it a "high-price rice acquisition program," but any Chinese person would immediately understand the shady dealings behind it. Anything labeled "high-priced" was guaranteed to involve kickbacks; the potential for corruption was enormous.

The total amount of aged rice was certainly far more than just this one reported batch.

This deputy prime minister had staged this stunt during an inspection of a granary in Northeast Thailand, "personally eating" the rice to prove the quality of the eleven-year-old batch. He then emphasized that the rice had a certified quality inspection report and contained no aflatoxins or other chemical additives.

As for whether the pot of rice he "personally tasted" was actually made from the aged grains? Who could say?

’If this were liquor, ten years would make it a fine vintage. But rice? Do you people think you have an Otherworldly Warehouse like I do, where things come out in the exact same condition they went in?’

’I’m collecting rice now because of my Otherworldly Warehouse’s preservation ability. Even if I take it out to eat during the Apocalypse ten years from now, it will still be as fresh as the day I stored it. How could an ordinary Thai granary possibly compare?’

One of the reasons he was gathering supplies, especially grain, so early was that he knew the weather would worsen with each passing year, causing crop yields to decline. If he waited to hoard food on a massive scale in the final years before the end, it would put immense pressure on the local populace.

’Even though the Apocalypse is coming and many people will die, it’s still better to leave some food behind for the locals. Taking a little each year, doing it in phases, is the safer approach.’

’But I never imagined the Thais would be so crooked as to try and sell ten-year-old rice to China! What the hell? How can I let this stand?’

’I bet this isn’t the first time,’ Li Xiang thought. ’No wonder the expensive Thai rice I used to buy when I worked in the big city had no fragrance at all.’

’Losing the fragrance is one thing, but the real issue is that rice stored for that long develops aflatoxins.’

Aflatoxin is a Group 1 carcinogen. It’s extremely stable; even boiling it at 100°C for twenty hours won’t necessarily destroy it. Its toxicity is off the charts. Aflatoxin B1 is 10 times more toxic than potassium cyanide and 68 times more toxic than arsenic. Even a minuscule amount can cause cancer. A concentration of just one milligram per kilogram in the body is enough to trigger it!

It also permeates the food, not just sitting on the surface. Even if you cut away the moldy parts, the aflatoxins have likely already seeped into the rest. You can’t wash it off.

For example, if an apple gets moldy, it’s useless to just cut off the bad spot, because the aflatoxins have already seeped into the entire fruit.

’In that case, I won’t be so polite. I’ll only take the fresh rice. You can keep the old stuff for yourselves!’

Li Xiang decided to head to the main production areas for Thai Fragrant Rice in the country’s Northeast—provinces like Roi Et, Ubon Ratchathani, Buriram, Sisaket, Surin, and Yasothon—to investigate the situation. He would exclusively collect last year’s fresh rice, as this year’s crop had not yet been sown.

While it’s possible to have three harvests a year in Southeast Asia, high-quality grains like Thai Fragrant Rice are only grown once annually. Planting takes place in July and August, with the harvest from November to December. This period coincides with Thailand’s dry season, when reduced rainfall and abundant sunshine create the ideal conditions for the fragrant rice to mature.

The rice from other seasons—the kind harvested two or three times a year—just doesn’t taste as good.

After finishing his meal, Li Xiang decided to set off immediately. Thailand’s population density wasn’t very high, with most people concentrated around Bangkok. He traveled through the open countryside, using trees and other natural features for cover, unafraid of being seen. And even if he were spotted, he wouldn’t care.

Just as he stood up, a commotion erupted up ahead. Then, the local patrons in the restaurant all began to kneel, murmuring something unintelligible.

Some Chinese tourists started whispering among themselves, "The King of Thailand is here. Should we kneel?"

Li Xiang called out, "Of course not."

’That’s not even a question you should ask. Do you even need to ask? Over seventy years ago, the Instructor declared to the entire world that the Chinese people had stood up. Did you not get the memo?’

Besides, Thailand hasn’t been a vassal state of China since 1853; there’s no reason for a Chinese person to kneel.

’How could a citizen of a superior nation kneel to the ruler of a subordinate one?’

But even though Li Xiang had spoken plainly, a few people were still hesitating, looking like they wanted to kneel. Li Xiang began to gather his Cold Ice Sword Qi. ’If any of you dare to kneel,’ he thought, ’you can just say goodbye to your kneecaps.’

Thankfully, as the King of Thailand, surrounded by numerous guards, passed by the restaurant, those few people didn’t kneel. They merely squatted down.

Li Xiang didn’t even bother to squat.

The King of Thailand’s procession was a grand spectacle. He was surrounded by a massive retinue, complete with all sorts of ceremonial regalia and numerous ornate, multi-colored canopies. The kneeling crowds chanted endlessly. Though Li Xiang didn’t understand the words, he figured it was probably something along the lines of "Long live Your Majesty."

It was said that out in the open, even elephants had to dutifully kneel before him.

’What an ostentatious display,’ Li Xiang thought, shaking his head. ’What century are we in, that such decadent feudal remnants still exist? Respect local customs? What kind of custom is this? Some customs are meant to be broken.’

China had abolished the ritual of kneeling as early as 1912. Later, the Instructor’s campaign to Smash the Four Olds swept away all "monsters and demons" and abolished all outdated and corrupt customs with incredible force. Because of this, even when the Apocalypse arrived, order collapsed, and society regressed in many ways, absolutely no one ever suggested reviving the decadent ritual of kneeling.

One could say this deeply humiliating feudal ritual was a red line that no one dared to cross. Even the so-called "leaders" of the Apocalypse wouldn’t dare bring it up.

The guards glanced a few times at the standing people, their gazes lingering on Li Xiang in particular. Perhaps realizing they were Chinese, they didn’t make an issue of it.

After the King of Thailand had passed, the crowds stood up, and Li Xiang left the restaurant as well.

That night, the Royal Jewelry Center, a magnificent two-story building owned by the Royal Family of Thailand and considered one of the largest jewelry stores in the world, was ransacked by a Mysterious Man. Countless precious rubies, sapphires, yellow gemstones, jadeite, and gold items were stolen. The losses were reportedly as high as one billion Baht.

Li Xiang saw the news and felt something wasn’t quite right. ’I estimate the things I took were worth maybe seven or eight hundred million?’ he mused. ’I didn’t even touch a lot of the less valuable-looking stuff, like the porcelain, tinware, and scented bath oils.’

He didn’t dwell on it, though. After all, inflating losses like that was standard operating procedure everywhere.

Li Xiang arrived in the main production region for Thai Fragrant Rice. After a few days of reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, another major incident shook Thailand. Numerous granaries in the Northeast had been raided by a Mysterious Man and a Mysterious Force. As much as 100,000 tons of high-quality, fresh fragrant rice had vanished into thin air.