Reborn in 1981, starting by smashing my iron rice bowl.

The waiter's shout immediately drew everyone's attention. Not only did the other staff members look over, but even the customers curiously eyed Liu Weidong, who had been grabbed.

Ma Qiang arrived quickly after hearing the news, and the waiter hurriedly boasted to him, "Manager Ma, I caught that kid again! This time we absolutely can't let him off easily!"

Ma Qiang's attitude was also very bad. He lowered his voice and said fiercely to Liu Weidong, "You brat, I've already warned you. Since that's the case, don't blame me for being impolite. Xiao Zhou, go call the police station!"

Ma Qiang and the waiter were only thinking about how to teach Liu Weidong a lesson, but they didn't notice that Pierre already looked very unhappy.

Liu Weidong took in the French chef's reaction and said calmly to the two of them, "Let go right now and apologize to me, and I won't hold it against you."

The waiter sneered, "Heh, are you an idiot? You dare to ask us to apologize? You'd better be this tough after you're in the police station!"

However, no sooner had the waiter finished speaking than Pierre said in broken Chinese, "Apologies!"

Ma Qiang thought he had misheard and quickly asked the Frenchman, "Mr. Pierre, what did you say?"

“I told you to apologize to Mr. Liu!” Pierre’s face darkened further, and he coldly said to the two men, “Mr. Liu is my friend. He helped me and the restaurant solve a huge problem! And this is how you treat him? I’m going to report this to my superiors!”

These days, the thing people fear most when working for the government is having to report to their superiors, let alone when the person reporting the problem is a foreigner, which makes the situation even more serious.

Ma Qiang and the waiter were stunned, their minds blank, and they didn't know what to say.

Liu Weidong glanced at the waiter and asked, "Can we let go now?"

The waiter then came to his senses, realizing he was still holding Liu Weidong. He quickly let go and begged for forgiveness: "I'm sorry, comrade, I really didn't know you and Mr. Pierre were friends. It was a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!"

Ma Qiang quickly smiled apologetically, "Yes, yes, it's all a misunderstanding, Comrade Liu, please don't take it to heart, I'm so sorry!"

Although Liu Weidong loathed dealing with such a snobbish guy, the most important thing right now was to close the deal with Pierre, and it was really not a good time to cause any trouble.

So Liu Weidong simply said, "Ignorance is no excuse, I won't hold it against you this time!"

Ma Qiang and the waiter breathed a sigh of relief, thanked him profusely, and slunk away.

After the two left, Liu Weidong asked, "Mr. Pierre, can you accept my conditions?"

The Frenchman was quite decisive, quickly nodding and saying, "No problem, truffles three hundred, matsutake mushrooms thirty, all paid in foreign exchange certificates!"

Liu Weidong finally breathed a sigh of relief and said to Pierre with a big smile, "Great, Mr. Pierre, it's a pleasure working with you!"

"It's a pleasure to work with you!" The French chef shook hands with Liu Weidong, while smiling and looking him up and down with a strange look in his eyes.

Pierre's strange appearance reminded Liu Weidong that foreigners these days are quite open-minded. Could this Frenchman be a man-lover?

The thought made Liu Weidong uneasy. He quickly and discreetly withdrew his hand, wiping it repeatedly on the tablecloth, while asking Pierre, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Pierre chuckled and said, “I’ve been working here for two years and have met many Chinese people, but I always feel that you are different from them. No one else is as relaxed as you are in front of me, yes, that’s the feeling! You treat me with a completely equal attitude, and it feels so good!”

Liu Weidong immediately understood Pierre's meaning. These days, most people still look at foreigners differently, and they often enjoy various special treatments.

To the reborn Liu Weidong, these foreigners were nothing special; they were just ordinary people. In fact, in his previous life, Liu Weidong had hired several foreigners to work for him, and he would criticize them just the same if they didn't do well, never giving them any special treatment.

Liu Weidong, after his rebirth, carried this attitude with him into the 1980s, which explains why Pierre felt he was different from others.

Hearing Pierre's remark, Liu Weidong couldn't help but mutter to himself, "These foreigners are so shameless. It's not nice to be polite to them; they just want to be casual with them."

However, this did no harm to Liu Weidong. He just laughed and said, "Because I truly consider you a friend. Friends should treat each other as equals, don't you think?"

Pierre was even happier now, nodding repeatedly and saying, "That's right, you are my best friend in China!"

However, there's a Chinese saying, "Even close brothers should keep clear accounts," and this is even more true for friends. So, in front of Pierre, Liu Weidong weighed both types of fungi.

The truffles weighed just over two pounds, while the matsutake mushrooms weighed even more, a full six pounds. Liu Weidong simply rounded down the amount, calculating it as two pounds of truffles and six pounds of matsutake mushrooms.

According to the price they had just agreed on, Liu Weidong would receive 780 yuan in foreign exchange certificates from this trip alone. Based on the current black market rates, those certificates would be worth at least 1,000 yuan!

Liu Weidong made so much money in just one day, which is much better than his previous business of frying melon seeds and trading eggs. It shows that foreigners' money is still the easiest to earn these days!

However, Pierre still had to thank Liu Weidong. After handing him a stack of foreign exchange certificates, he said with a beaming smile, "Friend, it's so great to know you. You've really solved a huge problem for me. From now on, feel free to send me any truffles and matsutake mushrooms you have. I'll take as many as you can!"

Liu Weidong chuckled and said, "Don't worry, if I find something this good, you'll be the first person I think of. After all, we're friends!"

"Yes, yes, long live friendship!" Pierre wholeheartedly agreed with Liu Weidong's words and even personally escorted him to the restaurant entrance, showing him the utmost enthusiasm.

Ma Qiang and the other waiters were dumbfounded. This was a French chef whom the city leaders had invited with great sincerity. How could he be so polite to that young man? This was simply unbelievable!

Many people were secretly discussing and trying to figure out who Liu Weidong was, that Mr. Pierre was so enthusiastic towards him. If these people knew how Liu Weidong treated Pierre, they would probably be even more astonished.

While everyone in the Western restaurant was discussing the matter, Liu Weidong, clutching the thick wad of foreign exchange certificates in his pocket, also felt a deep sense of emotion.

Pierre was unaware that truffles grew in the local countryside, and the local farmers were also unaware that this pig feed was so valuable to foreigners. Liu Weidong, however, simply possessed this information and could easily make a fortune!

After leaving the Western restaurant, Liu Weidong headed straight for the Friendship Store a few blocks away. He had barely stopped in front of the store when a very suspicious-looking guy slowly approached him.