Without hesitation, he respectfully greeted him, "Brother Hong!"
Wei Haihong waved his hand and laughed, "You're my friend Xiao Zhou, so you're my friend too. There's no need to say anything else, I'll order!"
Zhou Xuan then pointed to Achang and Xiaoqing and said, "This is Brother Achang, you've met him before, and this is Brother Hong's niece, Xiaoqing!"
I still vividly remember Ah Chang. He single-handedly and swiftly took down several men, piercing the addict's wrist with a throwing knife, disarming and subduing the others—all in a flash. Just like in the movies, he was a highly skilled martial artist. I immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Brother Ah Chang, thank you!"
Volume 1, Chapter 67: Luxury Mansion
"At the hotel, with the kids!" **'s face lit up. First, he was happy to have made friends with such remarkable people as Brother Hong and Achang. Second, his pockets had suddenly become fuller, jumping from one million to four million. How could he contain his joy? However, after thinking about it all night at the hotel, ** decided to go back to his hometown first to see what would happen. Even if he did nothing, four million would be enough to live on back home.
But Wei Haihong didn't think so. He was interested in winning over ** as well, so that he could settle down in Beijing. He should be at ease now that He Laosan's matter was resolved. If he was here, Zhou Xuan would probably feel much better with company.
"Uncle, let's order, I'm starving!" Wei Xiaoqing was getting impatient.
Wei Haihong chuckled, handed her the menu, and said, "You order, order whatever you want!"
He immediately said, "Brother Hong, you've helped me so much this time. This meal is on me, just to show my appreciation!"
"Boss!" Zhou Xuan pulled him down to sit, smiled and said, "Don't say that, sit down and eat in peace. This meal is on me!"
Wei Haihong also laughed and said, "If you guys have to pay the bill in a place like Beijing, where would I put my face?"
"Stop arguing, Uncle, Zhou Xuan, it doesn't matter which of you pays, just stop shouting. Anyway, you're both rich, you won't go broke eating like this every day. I'm ordering!" Wei Xiaoqing said, waving to the waiter to come over and take her order.
"Huangding shark fin soup, yellow croaker soup, and oil-fried prawns," Wei Xiaoqing ordered as she flipped through the menu. "Nine-turn large intestine, cuttlefish egg soup, and clear bird's nest soup."
As Wei Xiaoqing spoke, the waitress took notes, but her scalp tingled!
Even if you've never eaten pork, you've seen pigs run. Wei Xiaoqing ordered all the most expensive dishes. The total cost of this meal is unknown, but luckily, she has plenty of money in her pocket!
The first dish served was Huanglan shark fin. Wei Haihong asked the waiter for a bottle of 15-year-old Wuliangye liquor, which cost 1,500 yuan a bottle. He originally wanted a 50-year-old Wuliangye, but Yijinglou was out of stock.
The waiter opened the bottles and poured drinks for everyone. Achang ordered a can of Coke separately because he didn't drink alcohol and had to drive.
Wei Haihong raised his glass and said with a smile, "Brother Zhang, let's celebrate our acquaintance with a drink!"
The wine glass was only about the size of a thumb. After drinking one glass, I didn't feel much of a difference; it tasted a bit sweet, unlike the strong, spicy corn liquor from my hometown.
Zhou Xuan doesn't actually have a high alcohol tolerance, but this wine wasn't strong enough; he didn't feel anything after drinking it. Back in his hometown, people used bowls to drink alcohol, which wasn't so refined.
A-Chang offered to drink it instead of alcohol and also downed a glass, while Wei Xiaoqing ignored him.
Wei Haihong put down his wine glass, pointed to the dishes, and said, "Yijinglou's shark fin is excellent. They use Philippine Luzon yellowfin, cooked whole, and it's prepared entirely by soaking in warm water without any additives. During the cooking process, no chemical additives are used; it relies entirely on several hours of heat to simmer all the collagen in the shark fin into the broth, resulting in a rich, flavorful soup. The fin meat and fin needles are tender and fragrant. Every detail and step in cooking yellowfin shark fin can affect the success or failure. If the fin is cooked for too long and the skin bursts, sand will stick to the fin meat and fin needles, affecting the texture; if the blanching is not done properly to remove the fishy smell, the finished product will have an unbearable fishy odor; if the cooking time is insufficient, the fin meat and fin needles will not reach the standard of being tender."
"Uncle!" Wei Xiaoqing said reproachfully, "Did you bring us here to learn how to cook or to eat?"
Wei Haihong chuckled and said, "Let's eat, that's all for now!"
Zhou Xuan saw that the yellow coral shark fin was golden in color and had a fragrant aroma. Just looking at it made his mouth water. After Wei Haihong said that he had eaten it, Wei Xiaoqing picked up a piece without hesitation. She put a piece in her mouth without any hesitation. It was soft and smooth. After chewing it a few times and swallowing it, she felt that her mouth was fresh and fragrant and had an endless aftertaste!
The next few dishes were all things Zhou Xuan had never heard of or seen before. For example, the yellow croaker in soup looked perfectly normal on the outside, with no knife marks on its body or belly. But when you pierced it with chopsticks, clear soup containing tiny pearl-like balls slowly oozed out. When you cut open the belly, you could not find any internal organs or intestines.
Zhou Xuan was very surprised. The fish hadn't been gutted, so how were its internal organs removed? And how were so many rare delicacies stuffed inside?
Wei Haihong, a frequent visitor, naturally knew the intricacies of the dish. He chuckled and said, "Brother, the most difficult parts of this dish are threefold: first, deboning the whole fish; second, preparing the broth; and third, the process of simmering, frying, and braising. The most unique and rare aspect of the 'simmered yellow croaker' is that it contains a clear interior within its belly, yet its entire body remains completely intact. Therefore, the technique of removing the intestines and bones without breaking the belly is the most challenging aspect of this dish. The key to deboning raw fish lies in the gills and mouth area—a clean, even..." The contents are carefully removed from the fish's belly through a small incision, followed by the routine cleaning and deodorization process. The fish is then filled with broth, sealed, and braised. The broth is made by simmering eight precious seafood ingredients, including scallops, bird's nest, shark fin, sea cucumber, abalone, and sea cucumber, with clear chicken stock. The finished broth is so clear that the pattern on the bottom of the bowl is visible, yet its flavor is rich and delicious. This broth is infused with flavor and poured into the fish's belly along with the broth before sealing and braising. When served, all the broth is sealed inside the fish.
Zhou Xuan and ** were both speechless, never having imagined that there were so many intricacies involved in cooking.
Next, the cuttlefish roe soup also opened their eyes. Wei Haihong explained that "cuttlefish have eggs in their mouths, which are one of the eight treasures of the sea." Cuttlefish roe is already a tribute-level seafood delicacy, produced in Rizhao, Shandong. Rizhao cuttlefish roe is made from the ovaries of the local specialty, the golden cuttlefish. The spawning glands of fresh cuttlefish are cut off, and the roe is crushed in a broth mixed with alum and salt. After dehydration, the protein coagulates, becoming a milky white, flat, round, egg-shaped solid.
These small cuttlefish eggs are rich in nutrients and trace elements, have a delicious flavor, and are considered very valuable, helping to relieve winter chills and summer heat. They have even been listed as a state banquet soup at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
The meal was like a textbook lesson, and Zhou Xuan began to get a sense of the life of the upper class. However, ordinary people like Jiang Shi couldn't afford it. This meal must have cost at least ten thousand yuan. How could ordinary people afford it?
Later, when they had almost finished eating and drinking, Zhou Xuan used the excuse of going to the restroom to sneak to the counter to pay the bill, which came to 11,300 yuan. Since he didn't have cash, he naturally paid by card.
Wei Haihong's alcohol tolerance should be no more than one bottle. He finished the bottle without asking for more, which made me feel a little unsatisfied. But since Brother Hong didn't ask for more, he didn't ask the waiter to bring more drinks.
Actually, Wei Haihong wasn't unwilling to drink; he could tell. Zhou Xuan might have a decent tolerance for alcohol. But Zhou Xuan's tolerance was very low; he'd get drunk quickly, and how could he inspect the house if he was drunk? So, he stopped ordering more alcohol.
After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, they called out, "Waiter, the bill!"
"Excuse me, sir, that gentleman has already paid the bill," the waiter said, pointing at Zhou Xuan.
Wei Haihong smiled and said, "Well, brother!" But he didn't argue anymore and said, "Let's go, it's done. We're brothers, no need for such talk."
After Wei Haihong and Zhou Xuan left, **secretly asked the waiter, "How much?"
The waiter's answer stunned him. Without even blinking, he paid over ten thousand yuan. Was this really the Zhou Diwa he remembered, the one who only earned a few thousand a month? It seemed he had misjudged him; so many years had passed. He himself had amassed a fortune of hundreds of thousands; why couldn't Zhou Diwa make his own money?
And I reckon the younger brother's net worth is definitely no less than his. Even if he has a net worth of a million or so, he would never eat out every day at a meal costing tens of thousands of yuan. He can't afford it, he's not that extravagant.
Could it be that Diwa has become rich? Looking at his mysterious friend Brother Hong, it's quite possible. In **'s mind, Brother Hong is not just a rich man. If he were just an ordinary rich man, he wouldn't be able to easily do anything to someone like He Laosan!
After leaving Yijing Tower, Zhou Xuan, Wei Haihong, and Wei Xiaoqing got into Achang's Mercedes-Benz, while Wei Haihong drove his Sonata and headed straight for the newly opened Hongcheng Garden in the western part of the city, as instructed by Wei Haihong.
Hongcheng Garden is a newly opened high-end villa area, and its housing prices have already ranked among the top three in Beijing. It is said that the houses sold to the super-rich or top-tier movie stars are all extremely wealthy and powerful.
After parking at Hongcheng Garden Plaza, the sales office was on the right. Just by looking at the exterior of the building, its presence was already extraordinary. Looking over, a row of several high-rise buildings had extremely luxurious exterior decorations. Zhou Xuan had to look up to see the top of the buildings. It was like the cliffs in his hometown covered with colorful glass. Under the sunlight, it was very spectacular and beautiful.
In the parking lot on the left side of the square, there were only luxury cars and sports cars, while their Mercedes-Benz looked unremarkable, and the other car, a Sonata, looked extremely shabby.
I felt a little ashamed. I've always been proud of owning a car, but after coming here, I realized I'm just a nobody. I wonder why Brother Hong brought them here? The banner hanging outside the sales office clearly reads: "Hongcheng Garden Grand Sale, Lowest Price per Square Meter."
Good heavens! His four million was only enough to buy a 100-square-meter house, but this phase is selling villas, with the smallest area being over 300 square meters, and the starting price is 38,888 yuan. The price for a better location is even higher!
This is not a place they can come to!