Reborn in 1878: America's Number One Bandit

Chapter 18 Farmhouse Barbecue

This enigmatic smile and rambling answer only made Marlene more certain of her guess.

She didn't ask any further questions and fell into deep thought.

The yard fell silent for a moment, with only the dull sound of hunting knives slicing through flesh as Er Gou and San Gou processed the venison.

After a long while, Marlene finally spoke.

“I don’t know where you got the money, but you lied to me.”

"Ergou and Sangou, they are not only from your hometown."

Lawson raised an eyebrow, signaling her to continue.

"They are very capable, talk very little, and look at you with awe."

Marlene struggled to find the right word, “Yes, it’s reverence.”

They are not like your brothers, but more like your servants or bodyguards.

They'll do whatever you ask them to do. Ordinary fellow villagers wouldn't be like that.

"Mrs. Marlene," Lawson exclaimed. "You are simply the smartest woman I have ever met."

"Alright, since you've figured it out, I won't hide it from you anymore."

He directly admitted Marlene's guess.

"Actually, I am not an ordinary Chinese worker."

Lawson rattled off, “Across the ocean, in my hometown, the place you call the ‘Great Qing Empire,’ my family, how should I put it, is quite wealthy. We have hundreds of servants, thousands of acres of fertile land, and we do business in silk and porcelain.”

He began to make up stories, vividly depicting his imagined life as a landlord class.

At this moment, Lucy, who had been sitting quietly on the threshold, hugging her knees and listening to their conversation, curiously interjected, "Rosen, what kind of country is the Qing Empire?"

Lawson looked into the little girl's innocent eyes.

"It's a very ancient and vast country. It's like an old house that's been passed down for thousands of years."

"However, this house is too old."

Its roof beams had been almost completely eaten away by woodworms, and cracks had appeared in the walls.

The people living inside, however, were still immersed in their former glory, unwilling to open their eyes to look outside, and even less willing to admit that the house was about to collapse.

They would even laugh at their neighbors who had invented steam and steel, considering those mere tricks and gimmicks.

Lucy was completely confused, having no idea what termites or houses were.

Marlene, however, seemed to understand something.

The look in her eyes as she gazed at Lawson held less suspicion and more deep sympathy.

He must have encountered a huge upheaval in his hometown to be forced to leave.

"so……"

She asked softly, "You just came to America with gold bars?"

“That’s right.” Lawson continued her story, “My father thought that old house was bound to have problems sooner or later, so he sent me with some of the family’s savings, mainly gold bars, to this new continent to look for opportunities.”

Er Gou and San Gou are responsible for protecting my safety.

Who knew that we would encounter a storm at sea, our ship would wreck, and we would get separated from the others.

When I woke up, I was already in San Francisco. The gold bars were gone, and I had been sold like a pig to a railroad construction site…

He recounted his experiences in a dramatic and plausible way, making it sound like something out of an adventure novel.

Marlene believed it.

She felt that everything that seemed illogical before now had a perfect explanation.

She patted Lawson's hand: "The suffering is over, everything is fine now."

Then, a new question came to her mind: "Since you don't lack money now, why do you still want to stay here?"

Wouldn't it be better to go to town, or even San Francisco?

Why stay in this poor and remote rural place?

Lawson met Marlene's eyes.

"Because here, I can get a good night's sleep."

He said softly, “During those three months at the construction site, I lived in fear and hunger every day. It was you and Lucy who took me in, gave me a roof over my head, and a full meal. Here, I feel at peace.”

He said something in Chinese that Marlene couldn't understand, but she could sense the weight of it.

"Where my heart finds peace, there is my home."

Then, he switched back to English and added with a smile, “For me, home is where my heart finds peace. So I won’t leave until you kick me out.”

“We won’t kick you out!” Lucy immediately jumped up from the doorstep and retorted loudly, “Mom isn’t like that! Right, Mom?”

Marlene didn't speak; she just quietly looked at Lawson.

The last rays of the setting sun fell on his face, making his young and handsome Eastern features appear exceptionally gentle.

Night fell quietly, enveloping the entire farm in tranquility.

A bonfire was lit in the courtyard.

The orange-red flames licked the venison placed on top, making a sizzling sound.

Grease dripped onto the hot charcoal.

Wisps of smoke, carrying a fragrant aroma, rose up.

This dinner was personally directed by Lawson.

San Gou had excellent knife skills. He sliced ​​the tenderest deer tenderloin into thin slices and marinated them briefly with beer, salt, and some unknown spices he bought from town.

Lawson had him skewer the meat slices, making the most basic kind of grilled skewers.

On the other side, a pot of salted edamame and peanuts was boiling.

A perfect match for snacks to accompany drinks.

He also had San Gou mash a large amount of garlic cloves into a paste, mix it with coarse salt and a little vinegar, and make a simple dipping sauce.

A few potatoes dug from the ground were wrapped up and thrown directly into the ashes of the campfire, waiting to be roasted until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

When the first batch of venison skewers was grilled to a golden brown on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside, Lawson picked up a skewer, rolled it in minced garlic, and then put it in his mouth.

The freshness of the meat, the spiciness of the spices, the heat of the garlic, and the slight bitterness of the hops explode on the taste buds in an instant.

"Damn, this is the taste!"

Lawson sighed contentedly and tilted his head back to gulp down a large mouthful of beer.

At this moment, he felt as if he had returned to a summer night in his past life, sitting at a roadside food stall, eating skewers and drinking with his friends, chatting and joking.

Unfortunately, this scene can never be relived.

But things are not bad now.

He glanced around.

The firelight shone on Marlene and Lucy's faces, making their smiles even more beautiful.

Two beautiful women, one tall and one short, were eating grilled meat and drinking beer in small bites.

"Losen, you're a genius!"

Lucy ate with her mouth full of oil, but still gave a thumbs up.

Although Marlene didn't say anything, her eyes, which smiled like crescent moons, said it all.

Lawson devoured nearly five pounds of venison by himself and drank several glasses of beer.

His terrifying appetite would have terrified Marlene and her daughter when he first arrived, who would have worried that his stomach might burst on the spot.

They're used to it now.

Lawson had his own considerations.

His body was like a bottomless pit, desperately needing nourishment.

His maximum physical constitution is 17, and his current value has just reached 10.

His digestive system, which had been enhanced by the system, was incredibly efficient.

The food we eat will be absorbed and transformed to the greatest extent possible.

There is absolutely no problem of overnutrition.

There's no need to worry about becoming an obese person.

For him, it was not a matter of eating too much, but rather a matter of malnutrition.

A few jokes that Lawson told off the cuff had the mother and daughter laughing uncontrollably.

Marlene laughed so hard her breasts heaved.

Laughter and cheerful voices echoed in the small farmyard.

Er Gou and San Gou had already eaten their fill, and they waited in the shadows outside the courtyard.

It's completely different from the peaceful atmosphere here.

It is located more than ten kilometers to the north.

On that vast land covered with apple trees, a bloody massacre is about to unfold.

(End of this chapter)