The meal was ready, and Murong Yanran returned right on time. Mimicking Xie Baolian’s style, she kicked off her high heels the moment she stepped through the door and walked in wearing comfortable anti-slip slippers.
The description was rather apt; when stepped on, they’d squish outwards to the sides.
“Aunt Lian, what are you guys doing?”
Seeing Xie Baolian and Li Haochen gathered around the dining table, a notebook in hand and busy writing, she was curious.
“Quick, come over, let’s brainstorm what needs to be done for the banquet.”
“Banquet?”
“Yes, to bring some life to the new house.”
“Oh, I see. Then we really do need to plan carefully.”
And so, the three of them discussed it tirelessly.
With only three days left, time was tight, and there were quite a few things to prepare.
Li Haochen and the others weren’t planning a grand celebration. The guests included Chen He, Liu Dehui, Liang Minfeng, their girlfriends and wives, Gu Xiaonian and his group, Liu Zijun, and Liu Xuan.
They had initially thought about inviting classmates and the head teacher, but since Ling Hanfeng would also be attending, it wasn’t appropriate to invite too many people, especially considering his position as the head of the city. They’d have to find another opportunity to invite them.
As for bedding and covers, Li Haochen didn’t need to worry about them; Murong Yanran and the others had already prepared them long ago.
The biggest challenge was hosting over a dozen people and ensuring they were well taken care of.
With so many people, it would test the culinary skills of the chef. This was physically demanding work, and Xie Baolian and the others would likely only be able to assist.
“Let’s leave it at that for now. If we’ve missed anything, we’ll add it.”
“Gurgle gurgle~”
Checking the time, they realized they had been discussing for two hours. It was only when they stopped that they discovered how incredibly hungry they were.
But the food had long since gone cold, so it had to be reheated.
Li Haochen carried all the dishes into the kitchen and dumped them into a pot, creating a hearty mixed dish.
Unexpectedly, mixed together like this, the flavor was actually quite delicious, much like a large communal dish.
Perhaps because they were hungry, all three ate from bowls, mixing the sauce and rice together. Eating like this truly offered a rich layering of flavors.
In a flash, they devoured it all, leaving nothing behind.
Waking up the next day, Li Haochen packed his things and headed for the pier. The banquet was the day after tomorrow, so he had to go out to sea to catch some fresh seafood.
Of course, buying from the market was an option, but those were farmed goods and would be considered subpar.
Even though his good friends wouldn’t mind, he, on the other hand, couldn’t compromise. He had to host them with delicious food and drink.
Before going out to sea, he naturally had to inform Xie Baolian and Murong Yanran. Upon hearing that Li Haochen was going out to sea to prepare ingredients for the banquet, they gave their full approval and even issued a strict command that the spread must be abundant.
Alright, they didn’t say anything during the planning, but now they were issuing orders.
It was only a two-day, one-night trip out to sea, so Li Haochen didn’t bring much, just enough. Besides, if it wasn’t enough, there was plenty in the sea; he wouldn’t worry about not having food.
In the pier’s duty room, Wang Xiaoming happily lit a cigarette given by Li Haochen. “Haochen ah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you around. What have you been busy with lately?”
“Uncle Ming, I went back to my hometown for a bit and started a small business, haha!”
“Oh?”
Wang Xiaoming’s interest was piqued, and he continued to ask, “Not bad! Buying a boat and opening a factory now. What industry is it?”
“Uncle Ming, you’re teasing me again. It’s not a factory, just a workshop. You see, every household in my hometown village grows bamboo, so I tinkered with a chopstick processing workshop, seeing if everyone could get some benefit.”
“Chopsticks, huh? How’s the sales?”
“Still working on it, haha!”
Li Haochen scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
“See you later, Uncle Ming. I’m heading out to sea first.”
After Li Haochen left, Wang Xiaoming thought for a moment, then took out his phone and opened his contacts. There were only a handful of numbers in it.
He dialed one of them.
“Old Lin, how about we go for some ‘special service’ tonight?”
“Get lost, you crude fellow! We are respectable people, aren’t we? Would we go to those shady places? Come for tea tonight, same old place, see you there.”
“Tsk, a cultured man! Remember to bring Old Zhao along. Gotta go, business is calling, hehe!”
Wang Xiaoming saw a new boat docked at the pier, put on his security cap, grabbed the logbook, and happily ran over…
Meanwhile, Li Haochen was already far from the pier.
His target was clear: Dunhuang Island.
Speaking of banquets, chicken and fish are the standard main courses on the table. For fish, grouper is the top choice, so his target this time was to catch some grouper.
He finally arrived at his destination around noon.
He went into his spatial realm and took out a lot of mussels. First, he mashed some to use as bait for the traps. After filling the twenty-odd bait boxes, he put them back into the traps and then started to open the mussel meat.
It had been a long time since he last fished, and he was feeling a bit itchy.
This time, he didn’t use his “Hidden Dragon” rod; he just used the lure rod he had bought earlier.
With a flick of his wrist, the lure was cast a hundred meters away. Li Haochen was very satisfied with his throw.
As he slowly reeled in, his eyes involuntarily drifted to the mountainside.
It was there that he had unexpectedly discovered that batch of valuable Yuan Datou coins and that precious jade bracelet last time, which had brought him a windfall. Just thinking about it made him happy.
He couldn’t help but want to search that area again. It was understandable, as a single small jade bracelet was worth hundreds of millions. If he found ten or eight more, he could just retire.
Of course, Li Haochen was just thinking about it. He had already been incredibly lucky to find what he did; he couldn’t possibly ask for more.
While he was lost in thought, the fishing line suddenly tugged, and the tip of the rod bent into a big arc.
Li Haochen held the fishing rod and gently flicked it upwards. The fish immediately thrashed wildly but showed no signs of breaking free. Judging by the situation, the hook seemed to be firmly set, and the fish wouldn’t escape.
With a pull and a release, the fish fought back, but he held firm. An unequal tug-of-war began.
Actually, judging by the fish’s resistance, it wasn’t very big, perhaps only five or six pounds. Li Haochen just wanted to experience the thrill of playing a fish.
In less than five minutes, the fish was exhausted. Li Haochen effortlessly brought it out of the water.
It was just a sea bass, not what he was looking for. However, its size was good, and it could serve as a backup option, just in case he didn’t catch any grouper.
He changed the bait and cast again. This time, it was much farther, tens of meters further than before.
When the fishing line had been reeled in by more than half, the line suddenly vibrated with a hum.
The feel was excellent; this one was definitely seven or eight pounds.
After a period of back and forth, the fish was finally conquered.
Perhaps the goddess Mazu had blessed him, as this time he actually caught a grouper. Although it wasn’t a rare variety, a seven or eight-pound wild green grouper would be quite impressive when served.