Uncle Two really liked to eat lotus roots, but the vegetable market here was mostly seafood and many dishes weren’t good. Fortunately, Fatty and I were good at cooking. We bought a lot of things and brought them back to the guesthouse's kitchen, cooking three tables’ worth of food. My arms were very strong, so I could use the big spatula in the kitchen. Fatty was actually on the same level as a chef, so he placed the green onions, ginger, garlic, and taro (1) into the thick, sweet and sour fish head soup to simmer. Although the total amount of dishes wasn’t much, the wine on the three tables made it look like there was.

Fatty was smoking a cigarette while cutting vegetables, "You don’t really want to go back to Hangzhou and open a restaurant, do you? I won't go into business with you."

I dried my hands on my apron and said to him, "I have to get my shop back. I’ve already figured it out. I used to be soft and would beg for help, but now I’m too hardened. I often thought there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do since I went to fucking pick up Poker-Face, but now I think that way of thinking is wrong."

Fatty put down the kitchen knife and smiled, "It’s good you know that now. We can always send Little Brother back to the bronze door, pick him up, and send him back again in the future. Now that’s what I call an amazing feat."

I thought to myself.

At that moment, things outside started to get noisy. I walked out of the kitchen and saw Uncle Two and his people approaching. They were covered in mud and looked tired, but I could see that they were in a good mood. Many of the guys were even whistling and goofing off.

The floor was soon covered in wet footprints. When Liu Sang came out of the shower, Uncle Two asked him, "Did you hear the thunder?"

Liu Sang glanced at Fatty, nodded, and then sneezed.

I walked over to Uncle Two and said, "Uncle Two, I figured it out. You’re right. I cooked enough food for three tables. Consider it logistics to comfort my brothers."

I saw Poker-Face follow the group in. Fatty patted him and told him to take a quick shower. Uncle Two looked into the dining room, "Are your eyes alright?"

"Everything's fine. Anyways, I admit defeat. I figured it out, Uncle Two."

"If everything's fine, then what’s with that mischievous look?" Uncle Two walked into the dining room, picked up two plates of vegetables and a bottle of wine from the table, and then headed for his room, "If you've really thought this through, we'll talk again. I’m tired and want to rest."

I watched the other guys nod to me and then head into the dining room to grab the food and wine. Soon, only half of the three tables were left.

Fatty became angry, "Let's eat together! Why take the food away? You’re not giving me any face!"

"We’re going to rest," one of the guys said.

Fatty tore off his apron. "What the hell does that mean? I'm not some delivery guy!"

"Uncle Two doesn't want them to talk in case they let slip some important clues. He’s afraid I’ll overhear them, so they won’t sit at the table if we’re here.” I also tore off my apron. I had been thinking the exact same thing. I knew I could hear some clues once they got talking, but Uncle Two was very familiar with me. He would even know what I ate last night as soon as I showed my butt.

With half the table left, we decided to bring it back to our room. Little Brother took a shower and then the three of us ate in silence.

Fatty was picking at his feet while drinking and looking out the window. The rain clouds were still outside and lightning flashed from time to time, but the rain wasn’t as heavy as before.

"Little Brother, what did you do down there for so long?" He suddenly asked Poker-Face.

Poker-Face took out his cell phone and put it in front of Fatty.

Fatty turned it on and began looking through the photos. He seemed surprised by what he saw. Then he realized that I was still eating silently. "Don't you want to have a look?""I’ll look later." I glanced out the window and noticed that something was wrong. I could see the beach outside from this angle, where a group of people had started gathering at some unknown point.

I stood up and turned off the lights in the room. There were a lot of shadows standing on the beach and they were walking right towards our guesthouse. They all looked especially creepy in their ponchos.

Fatty also saw them and asked me what was going on. I squinted and realized that the old man who had been washing porcelain during the day was heading the group.

"Did you pay for that sea porcelain today?"

"It should be paid up." Fatty also stood up.

"Did you do anything that would make others want to seek revenge?" I asked him.

Fatty touched his chin, "I don't think so…"

I quickly looked around the room, kicked my stool until it broke apart, tossed part of it to Fatty, and kept the other part for myself. I then turned to Fatty and Poker-Face and said, "It doesn’t look like they’re here to discuss business."

****

TN Notes:

(1) It’s basically a root vegetable. It apparently tastes much like a sweet potato, doesn't fall apart when cooked, and soaks up flavor like a sponge. More info here.

****