My Years as a Copyist in Taiwan

For his first birthday after transmigrating, Zhao Wen confidently went to the Black Pine Grand Hotel to invite them for a catering service, as he had read in his previous life that many grand hotels offered this service.

"I'm sorry, sir, but if it's a banquet, we can't accept that."

"How many tables do you need to take on?"

"Ten or more tables."

"How about I pay for ten tables?"

"I'm sorry, sir, we at the Black Pine Hotel do not have that rule."

"..."

Zhao Wen didn't bother to ask for a chef through connections anymore. Instead, he simply called Aunt Chun to the market. As long as she recognized the ingredients, he bought them all. To Zhao Wen's surprise, Aunt Chun recognized all kinds of expensive seafood and old-fashioned banquet dishes!

Zhao Wen spared no expense on just the four cold dishes.

Puli's top-grade mullet roe, known as the "black gold of the sea," costs five thousand yuan per kilogram on the market. I'll buy five kilograms!

Thinly sliced ​​premium dried abalone imported from Japan, aged Jinhua ham using only the core, and sakura shrimp salad with sea cucumber strips—

The cost of the four appetizer cold dishes alone exceeded 40,000 New Taiwan Dollars.

The main course is the middle section of deep-sea grouper, with more than ten other side dishes of seafood, land and sea delicacies. Aunt Chun looked at the large pile of expensive ingredients and said hastily:

"I used to cook these dishes in the kitchen of wealthy families when I was young. I can guarantee the taste is absolutely authentic. It's just that after marrying Ah Lai's father, I haven't touched these delicacies for decades. It's been too long since I've plated them properly, and I'm afraid the presentation won't be as exquisite. I'm sorry to trouble Ah Wen to entertain the guests..."

Zhao Wen laughed heartily: "Aunt Chun, you don't need to worry about this. When we're eating as family, the important thing is the taste and the sentiment. I don't really like fancy plating; as long as it tastes good, that's enough!"

...

Despite it being the big day for the release of "Norwegian Wood," Editor Gao wasn't as busy as he had been with his previous books. This was because Zhao Wen had told him that the first print run was set at 20 copies, and any unsold copies would be his own responsibility!

So, before 2 o'clock, Editor Gao had already found his way into Zhao Wen's house. By this time, Uncle Gao had upgraded his equipment; he had long since abandoned his motorcycle and replaced it with a Ford Mitsubishi, Taiwan's own Mercedes-Benz.

Editor Gao bought the car with his own money. He has completely lost hope in Jiuge Magazine. He thought that these few books had made Jiuge a fortune, so he should at least reward himself, right? Instead, he bought himself ten packs of cigarettes. Who does he think he is?

He has shares in Jiuge, only 12%, but he received more than 200 million in this dividend distribution. With the dividends from the vinyl record, his personal assets have reached more than 500 million. With more than 500 million in assets, it's not unreasonable to buy a car worth more than 40 to reward himself, right?

Seeing that Uncle Gao was clumsy and really wanted to help Aunt Chun, Zhao Wen quickly stopped him, because Aunt Chun, Aunt Chen and A Lai were already in the kitchen. The kitchen was pitifully small, what was he, tall and strong, going to do?

However, Zhao Wen stroked his chin, which hadn't yet grown a beard, and looked at Uncle Gao, who still seemed reluctant to leave the kitchen, and fell into deep thought...

Brother Deng still arrived in two BMWs, driving at full speed on the Zhongshan Expressway with the speed limit at 100 km/h, even a little faster than the English ladies who stopped along the way.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Deng Changxi sitting on the sofa. He was an acquaintance, the queen's younger brother. He had even dealt with him last year.

"Producer Wu!" Deng Changxi stood up and greeted him very respectfully, offering him a seat.

"Brother Changxi, we're kindred spirits, no need for formalities, just call me Brother Deng like Awen does!" Wu Deng was five or six years older than Deng Changxi, and he had no intention of using his status in the underworld to intimidate him by asking him to call him Brother Deng.

Zhao Wen came through the wooden house next door, which he had bought last month and had just finished reinforcement and renovation. When he saw Wu Deng, he greeted him warmly as "Brother Deng." Then, Editor Gao took the teacup from A Lai and handed it to Wu Deng.

At this moment, Aunt Chen Er Feng came out of Wenwen's room, rolled her eyes when she saw Wu Deng, and went to the bathroom by herself. She had been watching videotapes all afternoon.

Auntie Silly's eye roll made Wu Deng burst into laughter. Anyway, he felt that with Awen around, no matter how fierce this girl was, she definitely wouldn't dare to lay a hand on him!

But Zhao Wen was worried. He thought to himself, "This silly aunt, I might not be able to stop her."

"Changxi, I heard from Sister Feng that Miss Lijun has recognized Awen as her sworn brother. I thought she was coming today too." Wu Deng sat down, talking to Deng Changxi as she picked up a Peace cigarette from the table, lit it, and took a big, pleasant drag.

Deng Changxi responded, "My sister originally made time to come over today, but Awen firmly disagreed. You've probably heard about that, Brother Deng..."

Wu Dun nodded approvingly. He was well aware of the Guo family's inhumane tactics: "Awen is meticulous, absolutely right."

"Brother Deng, I heard this movie wrapped up filming yesterday?" Zhao Wen sat down next to Wu Deng, lit a cigarette, and together with Editor Gao, the three heavy smokers filled the room with smoke.

"Yes! I know nothing about the professional aspects of post-production, so I'm idle again. In a week or two, I'll start selling films!" Brother Deng was very proud of the term "selling films" that he had invented.

"The schedule doesn't matter, but right now we need to quickly connect with major newspapers and hype it up to be a phenomenal hit... Our drama is top-notch, we're not afraid of being overhyped!"

Zhao Wenwen came back early today, her first day of school. She greeted everyone politely and then went to her room to watch a show with her silly aunt.

The two bottles of liquor that Zhao Wen brought out today made even the all-powerful Deng Ge's eyes widen: white porcelain bottles of Maotai!

Brother Deng is a heavy drinker and often gets his hands on smuggled liquor from fishermen, but he has only ever drunk from this white porcelain bottle once; it was a private collection from a friend of Zhenjie.

"Wow, Wen, you can even get your hands on this wine? You're incredibly resourceful!" Wu Deng picked up the bottle and examined it closely, looking quite greedy.

"Brother Changxi brought this; it was collected by Sister Yi a few years ago." Zhao Wen felt a little proud. At this time of year, being able to use this to entertain guests in Taiwan would be incredibly prestigious.

Wu Deng looked around at the delicacies on Zhao Wen's table and exclaimed, "Good heavens, all sorts of rare and exquisite dishes are here! Your Aunt Chun's cooking skills are truly exceptional..."

Speaking of Aunt Chun, Zhao Wen had already seen the mother and daughter exchanging hand gestures in the kitchen. One said, "There are so many dishes, it'll be too much trouble to clean up after we finish eating, let's wait a bit," and the other said, "Let's go back and rest for a while, and come back to clean up after everyone leaves"...

Zhao Wen suppressed a smile and quickly walked to the two women, speaking gently, "Aunt Chun, Sister Lai, don't be shy, we're all family. Sit down and eat, you can't leave."

Aunt Chun kept declining, her sense of helping others from decades ago was ingrained in her bones, how could she possibly sit at the host's dinner table?!

It wasn't until Zhao Wen said, "Uncle's kindness to my brother and me is like that of family! When I didn't have a salary, Uncle would charge me for a plate of fried noodles and cook enough for two of us!"

Thinking of Awen's background, Aunt Chun's eyes reddened, and she quickly pulled Alai to sit down.

The young version of Jia Jinwen had long since returned to Taipei with Aunt Xu, so the nine people sat around the table, allowing the birthday celebrant Zhao Wen to give his remarks.

Zhao Wen raised his glass: "Of all the birthdays I've had in recent years, today's is the one that has moved me the most. Brother Deng, traveling from Taipei to Tainan, it's no exaggeration to say you traveled thousands of miles to help me! Editor Gao, when I was penniless, poured all his efforts into helping me publish my book! Brother Changxi, tirelessly helping me make money in Korea and Southeast Asia, and Aunt Chen, Aunt Chun, Aunt Feng, Sister Lai, and my beloved silly little sister—today, I feel so fulfilled. Come on, bottoms up!"

Brother Deng was the first to down his drink in one gulp, happy for his good brother's birthday and also for the mellow Maotai liquor.

After observing for a while amidst the clinking of glasses, Zhao Wen breathed a sigh of relief. Auntie Chen Erfeng didn't seem to harbor any hostility towards Brother Deng; her eye-rolling was probably just contempt for people from the martial arts world.

Brother Deng, however, was incredibly thick-skinned and didn't care at all about Chen Erfeng's eye-rolling; he just drank heavily and ate meat with gusto.