After listening to Brian, Chen Yiyang felt he understood a bit why Europeans in New Zealand have low birth rates.
Because they just take too many risks.
Forget about a 100-year-old cake, even if it was a ten-day-old cake, Chen Yiyang would still ponder whether it was okay to eat it.
However, for this particular item, Chen Yiyang thought it might be worth bidding on.
So he raised his hand to bid a few times and eventually bought it for a small amount.
After the auction, the auction house put the item in a freezer box and brought it to Chen Yiyang.
Opening the box, Chen Yiyang took a look and found that this 100-year-old cake surprisingly showed no signs of spoilage or decay.
A picture of the 100-year-old cake.
"To be honest," Brian said, eyeing the cake's appearance and nudging Chen Yiyang, "I think this thing can actually be eaten; it doesn't look spoiled at all."
"Could there be mold or other microorganisms?" Chen Yiyang hesitated.
"Buddy," Brian said, "this cake was found in Antarctica, where the average surface temperature is minus eleven degrees, and it's so dry that there aren't any nutrients for mold to survive."
Chen Yiyang hadn't thought of that.
Many parts of Antarctica can be described as a sterile environment, and even the highest temperatures in Antarctica are below minus ten degrees.
Under such conditions, this cake has been frozen for a hundred years.
But the question is, can a cake that's been frozen for a hundred years still be eaten?
Seeing that Brian was eager to try, Chen Yiyang quickly stopped him.
He still thought it should be assessed by a professional.
However, before Chen Yiyang could find someone, a fifty-something Caucasian gentleman walked over.
"Are you planning to eat this cake?"
"And you are?" Brian asked the gentleman.
"A retired university professor," the old man introduced himself simply before continuing, "Although due to the unique Antarctic environment, over these hundred years, the microorganisms on this cake almost stopped growing, and food spoilage due to microbial contamination can be ignored.
However, the chemical changes inside the food don't stop and continue to occur.
For instance, oxidation and hydrolytic rancidity of fats continue, albeit at a slower rate in a frozen environment than at room temperature.
Similarly, enzymatic reactions don't cease because only high temperatures deactivate enzymes.
Fat rancidity can lead to the production of various small molecules, which could pose a food safety risk, and even cause poisoning.
This is why some frozen meats can be stored for one or two years without issues, but overextended periods can render them inedible."
"See, we really can't eat it." Chen Yiyang wiped the sweat from his forehead.
If he hadn't stopped Brian from eating the cake, he might have had to take some responsibility afterward.
"Alright, alright." Brian was quite disappointed to hear that the cake couldn't be eaten.
"Since there's no fun to be had, how should we spend the evening?"
Brian pondered for a while and suddenly said, "How about going to the casino?"
"New Zealand has casinos?" Chen Yiyang was a bit surprised.
"Of course, how could a capitalist country lack casinos?" Brian said, "In Auckland, there's New Zealand's largest casino, Sky City. Want to take a spin?"
Chen Yiyang had always declined places like casinos, so he was ready to refuse Brian.
However, Brian patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, I'm not the gambling type; I just want to have some fun out of boredom. I'll bankroll it, buy us each a thousand NZD worth of chips, and once we lose them, we leave, how about that?"
"But what if we win?" Chen Yiyang was never worried about losing money at the gambling table; rather, winning money was a real test of character.
"If we win, we'll give it to the waitstaff as a tip. We don't care for such small change."
"That sounds fair."
Chen Yiyang was indeed fairly idle.
The main issue was that Auckland had too few entertainment options.
This city with a population of over a million couldn't support some entertainment projects that other cities have.
Chen Yiyang had a bodyguard take the box with the 100-year-old cake back home, and then he led the remaining translators and bodyguards to accompany Brian to Sky Casino.
This casino, located in Auckland, may not have international renown, but it isn't small in scale.
It is a comprehensive center that combines hotels, high-end dining, various entertainment activities, and the casino.
"Actually, what Sky City is most famous for is the chefs here," Brian explained to Chen Yiyang, "To attract tourists to spend money here, the owners have hired many celebrity chefs to create high-end dining experiences.
Initially, many tourists were drawn here mainly because of the chefs."
Chen Yiyang wasn't too interested in gambling but was highly interested in delicious food.
So he said they should dine there after the gambling was over.
Upon arriving at Sky City, since Brian was a regular customer there, they went straight through the VIP entrance into the casino.
Asian tourists are an essential source of tourism for New Zealand. Along with so much Chinese at Auckland Airport, Sky City naturally has a lot of Chinese signage and Chinese staff.
Chen Yiyang didn't need to speak English to communicate with visitors here.
After entering the casino, Chen Yiyang received a thousand NZD worth of chips.
Brian pointed out to Chen Yiyang, "Here, whoever places the bet, the winnings belong to them, regardless of whose money it is.
So, unlike the movies, don't ask a pretty lady to place a bet for you, because if it wins, the money goes to her."
"Is there such a rule?"
"Of course, most casinos are like that. It's meant to avoid disputes. So, whether it's a machine or a table, you need to make sure you're the one clicking the buttons or placing the bets."
Actually, Chen Yiyang didn't care about the money; he was just curious if this casino had those legendary pretty female dealers.
Upon entering, he found that most of the dealers were men, and even the few women dealers were average-looking.
Chen Yiyang shared this observation with Brian.
"Good-looking people don't work as dealers." Brian rolled his eyes, "I remember a Huaxia friend I knew who first came here also mumbled about pretty female dealers.
In reality, the good-looking ones work as servers; no one opts to be a dealer."
"Why?" Chen Yiyang asked.
"You ask him, he seems Asian too," Brian pointed out to the dealer at the table where they were betting.
"Good evening." The dealer nodded at Chen Yiyang, greeting him in Chinese.
