Return to Hong Kong Island for a Century

Chapter 351 Small gathering
Li Song's courtyard house looks unremarkable from the outside, and the gate is also the kind that looks rather old.

However, upon entering, there is a screen wall made of stone.

Beyond the screen wall are three south-facing rooms, which were also demolished and rebuilt.

The interior is made of very thick wood in a raised structure.

The ground is covered with ceramic tiles.

There are three south-facing rooms, two of which are kitchens, bathrooms, and living rooms, and there is also a guest room!
The walls below the windows of these houses are only 1.2 meters high, with the rest being large panes of glass.

The courtyard is quite large, with three rooms on the north side.

To the west of the north, there is a passageway that looks like a back courtyard. Behind the courtyard are two east wing rooms, two west wing rooms, and five north-facing rooms.
The east and west wing rooms should be smaller!
As soon as Zhang Liwei and Gong Xue entered the house, they saw the marble floor and the renovated front yard.

It looks completely different from what it appears from the outside!
This completely overturned the two people's impression of Kyoto courtyard houses, because in everyone's mind, courtyard houses are relatively old.

In fact, most of them are courtyard houses, which are large, crowded courtyards!
Now, just look at these few houses, one by one, huge panes of glass, and pillars tens of centimeters thick, all of which have been repainted!
"Tsk, tsk."

"Sister Lin!"

"I didn't expect your family to be so well-off." Of the three, Zhu Ling was born in 1952, Zhang Liwei in 1953, and Gong Xue in 1954.

Therefore, the two of them called Zhu Ling "Sister Lin".

“This was all done by Ah Song!” Zhu Lin glanced at Li Song.

Zhu Ling and Li Song had already agreed that, to the outside world, Li Song would work for a foreign company.

Zhang Liwei and Gong Xue were filled with envy upon hearing this.

Li Song's current appearance conforms to everyone's aesthetic standards; he has a square face and is tall and strong.

Li Song dressed rather maturely, but the two realized that Li Song was definitely younger than they thought.

"It's so beautiful!!" The two arrived at the three south-facing rooms in the front yard.

I saw the sofa, tiled floor, and chandelier inside!
The sofa inside is a fabric sofa.

The room is decorated in a simple European style.

It wasn't that Li Song didn't want to play with the leather, but the heating here was too strong in winter.

The overall color scheme is off-white!

Zhu Ling then showed the two of them the kitchen and the bathroom.

I saw a large refrigerator, microwave, oven, rice cooker, custom-made cabinets, and marble countertops in the kitchen!
There are also bathrooms covered in tiles.

Then I looked at the guest room. The guest room only had a wardrobe, two bedside tables, and a mattress!
Most importantly, the guest room has a large window facing the courtyard, making the room very bright even without the lights on.

Then the three of them went to visit the north room of the first courtyard.

Then we arrived at the second courtyard!

The east and west wing rooms of the second courtyard have two platforms built on them.

You can go up via the stairs between the north building and the two side rooms in the second courtyard.

The entire courtyard is paved with marble!
Li Song didn't build a pond or anything like that in the yard!

Because pools and similar structures require specialized equipment and professional personnel for regular management!

Otherwise, it will be a stagnant pool!
Furthermore, the location of the pond in the courtyard is also significant, varying according to each person's birth date and time.

And it also depends on the orientation of the yard!
Li Song still believes in these superstitious things to some extent, after all, he is a prime example of it.

"Let's have a simple lunch!" After the three of them toured the place, they returned to the south room of the first courtyard and saw that Li Song had already brought out a lot of ingredients!

Li Song didn't expect the two of them to come at noon. Zhu Ling had only gone to inform them!

It doesn't matter, there's enough food in the fridge anyway. If we need more, we can just go outside and ask Section Chief Zhou to help us buy some!

"This is too much trouble!" Zhang Liwei and Gong Xue always felt a bit reserved when facing Li Song!
"Please sit down, please sit down!"

"You should try my cooking too!" Li Song then told the three of them to go outside.

"We can help too!"

"We can cook too!" Zhang Liwei and Gong Xue were about to come and help!

"Let's talk about it tonight. We'll just grab something quick for lunch!"

"I can do it myself!" Li Song then told Zhu Ling to take the two of them out.

"Oh dear, you've already gone to so much trouble!"

"That's right!" Zhang Liwei and Gong Xue were about to attack without any regard for the consequences!
The two knew that they were able to get the BMW endorsement fee thanks to Li Song, and they were also able to get the quota to buy a minivan!
Having no other choice, Li Song assigned three people to do the work!

I cooked rice directly in the rice cooker at noon!
Then I washed some cilantro and stir-fried it with lamb!
Then I cut up another plate of braised beef!

I stir-fried another plate of celery and pork.

I stir-fried some cabbage!

And then there's an egg and seaweed soup!

Li Song actually loves to eat because the food he ate in his previous life was terrible.

Moreover, the old varieties of vegetables taste much better than the genetically modified ones.

Many vegetables are transported in a way that facilitates transportation and extends their shelf life.

Some older varieties have been phased out!
As a result, the tomatoes became harder and harder, and less and less flavorful.

Then the cabbage got harder and harder.

It's for easy storage and transportation!
This is also why there are so many affordable vegetables later on, thanks to the application of various new technologies.

First, you need to eat your fill, then you can eat well!
The variety of vegetables in Kyoto now is far inferior to what it was later.

"Sister Lin, thank you for your hospitality!"

"We came empty-handed, and thank you, Brother Li, from the bottom of my heart. We successfully secured the BMW endorsement!" During the meal, Zhang Liwei and Gong Xue raised their drinks to toast Li Song. Most people in Beijing are quite generous, with only a few considering themselves to be from the Plain Yellow Banner or something similar. Zhang Liwei directly addressed Li Song as "Brother Li!"

"Don't dare take it!"

"You are Sister Lin's girlfriends and my friends. You are the brand ambassadors because of your own excellence."

"I have little influence in the company."

"Moreover, large companies have their own processes and evaluation systems."

"I'm just offering suggestions!" Li Song picked up his cup, which contained cola. Most drinks these days are just artificial coloring and flavoring, but given the current scarcity of resources, even artificial coloring and flavoring tastes great.

"Brother, you're too kind!" Zhang Liwei and Gong Xue said.
"Let's eat, let's eat." Zhu Ling was also very happy.

In fact, Zhang Liwei and Gong Xue were both planning to buy gifts, but Zhu Ling refused!

When I buy gifts, they're usually canned goods, candy, malted milk powder, and the like.

Zhu Ling knew that her family had plenty of things; many of the items were brought directly from Hong Kong by Li Song.

And there will be even more in the future, because with private jets, Li Song can bring a lot of things, though of course he'll have to go through customs.

Li Song knew which items he could bring and which he couldn't.

Zhang Liwei and Gong Xue both secretly envied Zhu Ling.

I can't believe I found a boyfriend like this.

Tall, handsome, and charismatic; he can cook and has such a great job!

Although Li Song is quite famous in mainland China, he rarely appears in public.

There was only one interview with a mainstream news media outlet.

Li Song is more famous in Hong Kong and overseas, at least because he appears in the media more often!
However, Li Song wore glasses most of the time during the interviews, and his attire was also different from what it is now.

To live in such a nice house.

This is much better than any apartment building!

Look at their floors and furniture, they're practically works of art.

The group chatted while eating.
"Shall we go for a walk after we finish eating?" Zhu Ling suggested.

“There are so many places in Kyoto that I haven’t been to yet!” Gong Xue said.

"We'll take you there, where do you want to go!"

"That's right, we're very familiar with each other!"

"How about going to the Great Wall?" Gong Xue asked.

“Sure, I’ll drive. You can go wherever you want,” Li Song said.

"Badaling is too far; it would take several hours to drive there!"

"How about we go earlier on Sunday?" Zhang Liwei shook his head.

"so far?"

"Then forget it!" Gong Xue said upon hearing this.

"Why don't we just stroll around Houhai? We can plan ahead next time," Zhang Liwei suggested.
“You’re all probably tired of seeing this, aren’t you?” Gong Xue said again.

"fine!"

"Then it's settled." Zhu Ling and Zhang Liwei were indeed familiar with Houhai, after all, they grew up in Kyoto.

"Let's forget about it. How about we play mahjong instead? Your home is so nice."

"Anyway, we don't usually have time for entertainment." Gong Xue actually just wanted to see the Great Wall.

"That's okay too."

"Let's go to the Great Wall early next week." Zhu Ling nodded. The intensive training at the Beijing Film Studio was not easy; they had to practice etiquette and manners, among other things.

Li Song naturally had no objections. After the group finished eating and cleaning up together, they started playing mahjong.

Li Song knew that Gong Xue had gone abroad, and he didn't know much about Zhang Liwei. Of the Five Golden Flowers, he knew most about Liu Xiaoqing.

A few people were playing mahjong in a north-facing room in the first courtyard; they were playing Shanghai mahjong.

The group started talking about Dream of the Red Chamber, and everyone shared their opinions. Gong Xue said, "Lin Daiyu is so pitiful. In the end, she didn't get to be with the person she loved most."

“Yes…” Zhang Liwei also chimed in.

Li Song shook his head and said, "The Jia family has been deceiving Lin Daiyu from beginning to end. Jia Baoyu is not Daiyu at all; he is a playboy, or more accurately, a good-for-nothing playboy."

“The Jia family has always been eyeing Lin Daiyu’s estate,” Li Song added.

"Hey bro, what about this?" At this point, everyone was more interested in things like love.

"Lin Daiyu's father was the emperor's confidant. If you were the emperor and your confidant died, wouldn't you take good care of his family...?" Li Song began with a long speech that went on and on.

Gong Xue and Zhang Liwei were stunned by what they heard, because if this was the case, then the Jia family deserved it; they were the murderers who killed Lin Daiyu, since the ginseng Lin Daiyu ate had also hurt the other party emotionally.

Zhu Ling waited until Li Song finished speaking before giggling and saying, "Just listen to this. He even said that Sun Wukong in Journey to the West is the Great Sage Who Balances Accounts..."

"The Great Sage of Balancing Accounts?" the two asked while playing mahjong.

“Yes…” Zhu Ling said to the two of them while playing mahjong.

After listening, the two felt that Li Song was right, but why did it feel completely different from their own understanding?

"Journey to the West is just a way to fool the people."

"Don't you even know who Sun Wukong's master is?"

"Sun Wukong smashed the Heavenly Court to pieces, then went out for a stroll, and was rewarded for his merits. It's definitely a shady deal."

"And what's even more ridiculous is that those who made meritorious contributions were all the mounts of some Heavenly Court bigwig, uncles or something, and their acting was terrible."

"Anyway, the Heavenly Court's mess has been settled, and they've given an explanation to Sun Wukong's master. Everyone's happy except for us common folk who were fooled," Li Song said seriously.

"This..." Zhang Liwei and Gong Xue couldn't refute it after hearing it. Wasn't this main idea a form of resistance?
How could things have turned out like this?

In the evening, Li Song cooked Western food: steak, vegetable salad, and opened a bottle of red wine.

That evening, Zhang Liwei and Gong Xue didn't return to the Beijing Film Studio either; they both called home.

"Sister Lin, how did you meet Brother Li? His way of thinking is simply..." Zhu Ling, Zhang Liwei, and Gong Xue stayed together that night, and the three women were whispering to each other when Zhang Liwei asked.

“I think Brother Li is very wise. He has seen through the essence of things. The Jia family in Dream of the Red Chamber is simply a bunch of devils who eat people without spitting out the bones,” Gong Xue said.

“Sigh, actually, no matter where Lin Daiyu was back then, she would have been exploited to the point of having no descendants.” Zhang Liwei shook his head.

“Yes, it’s probably not feasible for an unmarried girl to carry so much family wealth, even now.” Zhang Liwei nodded.

(End of this chapter)