Anna tried to talk to Evelyn, but the old woman seemed so uninterested in talking to her that Anna had to hold back as she led her into the restaurant.
Arthur and the others could no longer watch her as she passed through the entrance, so they could only wait for her arrival.
Maybe because she was using the elevator, it was quite fast.
The wooden door opened again, revealing the figure of Evelyn who was followed by Anna, several policemen, and waiters carrying sumptuous dishes.
The last group entered first, placing the dishes on the table.
As for the old woman, she stared at Isabel with her eyes which had almost lost their color but were still very sharp.
She also glanced at Arthur and Amanda, but not for long because she stepped into the room as soon as the waiters left.
Anna was clearly very curious what they wanted to talk about, she seemed to be speculating.
Even after the door closed, it took a while before she glanced the other way.
On the other hand, Evelyn was quite calm as she walked over to the dining table.
Perhaps the agarwood branch had shocked her a lot, but after a day had passed, it was enough for her to calm down.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Isabel I think you have had a good life lately, I can tell you are happy," she said as she arrived beside one of the chairs.
Of course, it was only natural for Isabel to feel happy that she was no longer a mortal.
She brought her hand to the chair beside Evelyn and said, "madam, please sit down, let's eat first!"
Strictly speaking, this does not mean that they are familiar, after all, they live in different places and belong to different generations. However, since they were basically one faction and their thoughts were always similar, any conversation was always easy.
Evelyn sat down and immediately took one of the cups in front of her. It contains slightly warm water.
After drinking it, she looked at Arthur.
"So you made the fragrant agarwood?" She asked, heeding Isabel's invitation to eat first.
She looked at Arthur carefully. There was no way she wouldn't be confused how a young man would make such a thing.
Arthur nodded and replied "how do I make it, it's a secret, I just hope I can sell it without getting into any legal trouble."
The fact that Arthur immediately said that made Evelyn's brows furrow slightly, indicating that she had hoped to get some information on how to make fragrant agarwood without burning it.
Of course, another thing that surprised her was Arthur's calmness when talking to her. Normally, not to mention the middle-aged generation, even the older generation would be nervous in front of her. A student should be trembling.
In the end, she looked at Isabel again.
"You seem to have raised a boy very well," she said.
Arthur's attitude did not anger her. She was a liberal, who from a young age was very critical and supportive of young people who lacked the mentality of submitting to the strong.
Isabel laughed softly at that, but she didn't make a comment. Instead, she asked, "so, madam, what do you think about my nephew's business, can it run without breaking the law?"
"What can't be done on this continent?" answered Evelyn, looking at Isabel with eyes as if to say; 'don't pretend you don't understand!'
In front of someone older, Isabel didn't mind acting innocent, she just laughed softly again.
Of course, her words could be interpreted in another way. For example; 'You didn't ask for anything to help us, did you?'
Although Evelyn is a clean official, politics is ultimately something very complicated. Even among good officials with the same goals, there are almost always hidden negotiations.
"Actually, the problem is the status of the agarwood. It is illegal to export according to the rules of countries in Southeast Asia," continued Evelyn. "If we legalize something whose raw materials are prohibited from being exported by a country, it will cause a lot of controversy.
"We can legalize your agarwood on the grounds it is unique, but then one will question where it came from. Was it really something that was legal or was it smuggled in from another country?"
"How about we ignore the question?" Arthur asked, something that made Isabel laugh once again.
Arthur didn't need some otherworldly insight to question that because hypocritical rules weren't new.
Ignoring people's questions and then responding with lies is quite common. In this case of agarwood, he could tell the public that it was the result of his own cultivation. And where it is a secret.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmPlus, it is a limited quantity product. Only the wealthy would buy it and unless they had other intentions they shouldn't be asking about its legality as long as they liked it.
"I'm not the type who likes bad controversy," said Evelyn. "So, I hope you guys can keep the situation from going wild."
She looked at Amanda because she knew that she would be in charge of the business.
Until now, the woman had not spoken. Seeing Evelyn's gaze on her, she nodded lightly.
"Okay," Evelyn said again. "However, the rules I'll make later aren't something specifically for agarwood, they're for all plants as long as they can be explained, so you guys might have to arrange for a lawyer to provide an explanation."
"When were the rules made?" Amanda asked. It seemed that she didn't want to keep quiet like she wasn't playing a role at all.
"This needs congressional approval, but don't worry, it's a commonsense rule, so there shouldn't be a long debate. The gist of the law is that a plant that is prohibited from being traded to protect its existence can be legal as long as it is proven to be better for the plant."
Amanda nodded with an understanding expression.
After that, Evelyn looked at Arthur again.
"Are you really not going to tell me how?" She asked. "You know, you can still patent it, so it doesn't matter if other people find out."
'Patent?' Arthur laughed inwardly.
Unfortunately, it's not something that can be patented. Plus, it wasn't his invention either, he just gained knowledge of it from other people.
He shook his head in response. However, he said, "when the time comes, it will reveal itself."
"Oh?" Evelyn's eyes narrowed slightly, looking like she wasn't sure what Arthur meant.
Isabel and Amanda, who understood, were silent, pretending that they didn't understand either.