All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

Liu Feng no longer saw himself in his eyes; everything was in the past.

Yes, it's all in the past.

This reunion of comrades-in-arms felt more like a reunion after ten years, with the seating arrangement rearranged. Liu Feng was now seated in the main seat, while Lin Dingding, the once dazzling flower of the cultural troupe, sat quietly in the corner, watching Liu Feng boldly raise his glass and drink it down with his comrades.

Liu Feng and He Xiaoping only stayed in Hainan for two days before leaving in a hurry. Everyone got Liu Feng's contact information and discussed his wealth, but no one noticed Lin Dingding's disappointed look in the corner. It was all over. She had just been deluding herself.

That evening, Lin Dingding also left, and never contacted her comrades again. Years later, it was said that after divorcing her husband in Australia, she went to Hong Kong, but she never crossed paths with Liu Feng again. It was said that she later married an old man, but who knows the truth?

This reunion of comrades-in-arms can be considered as fulfilling a wish of Liu Feng and He Xiaoping.

After that, he never contacted these people again. In 1993, Chen Can went bankrupt in Hainan and called Liu Feng. Liu Feng only offered a few words of comfort and then hung up. They never contacted each other again.

Friendship is a luxury for him; two or three close friends are enough for him in life.

Mao Chengcheng has been following in Liu Feng's footsteps all these years. He has also been in charge of managing Mingzhi Pharmaceutical in China. He follows Liu Feng's instructions and has never expanded the company. By 2003, his wealth had already exceeded one billion RMB. He bought a building for each of his sisters as a dowry. When Liu Feng occasionally returns to the mainland, his sisters always invite him to their home. After so many years of friendship, his sisters have long since recognized him as their elder brother.

Perhaps the family bonds among the wealthy are just that simple.

As for Guo Zhenyuan, who married an older woman, he has achieved success in both his career and love life in recent years. The couple's relationship is relatively harmonious, and his relationship with his five stepchildren does indeed have a sense of filial piety.

The Guo Group has always been one of the top three wealthy families in Hong Kong, and its assets have been rising. However, behind this wealth, as Guo Zhenyuan gets older, crises are looming.

In 2008, with the Beijing Olympics just around the corner, Liu Feng and Guo Zhenyuan made plans to take their families to watch the Games. Guo Zhenyuan was still busy with work abroad, while Liu Feng took his whole family to Beijing early in the morning.

Three days before the Olympics, Liu Feng suddenly received a call from a senior executive of the Guo Group. The words on the other end of the line made Liu Feng stand up straight.

"Mr. Guo Zhenyuan was involved in a car accident in the United States late last night and is currently receiving emergency treatment in the hospital. Before he lost consciousness, Mr. Guo Zhenyuan asked us to contact Mr. Liu Feng and request that you come to the United States as soon as possible!"

Upon hearing this news, Liu Feng's eyes sharpened, a ruthless glint appearing in them. He looked out at the tall buildings and muttered to himself.

"What was bound to happen has finally happened!"

Chapter Twenty: Dreams Become Reality

A few coughs came from the darkness. Zhang Peng slowly opened his eyes. He tried to bring his consciousness back to his body, sighed, and turned to press the light switch.

"Dad, let me get you a bottle of water!"

Hearing that his son had been woken up, Zhang's father struggled to get up and then said something.

"I'll go get it, you sleep a little longer!"

Zhang Peng shook his head helplessly. His father still treated him like a child.

Perhaps in the eyes of all parents, children should sleep a little longer at night.

Zhang Peng got up, picked up the bottled water that was placed next to the TV cabinet, and handed it over.

Mr. Zhang took the bottle of mineral water, looked at the bottle, and said hesitantly.

"This water must be expensive, right?"

Zhang Peng was somewhat speechless, then shook his head and said...

"It's not expensive, the same price as in the supermarket."

Zhang's father nodded, opened the bottle cap, took a few sips of water without even putting his mouth to the bottle opening, and handed the water to Zhang Peng after two sips.

Zhang Peng glanced at his father with a hint of helplessness, then casually took the drink and drank a few mouthfuls himself.

This is the father, a father from the countryside. Even though he knows his son is now wealthy, he is still unwilling to spend more of his son's money.

"Dad, why don't you get some more sleep?"

Mr. Zhang nodded. Zhang Peng lay back on the bed, checked his phone, and saw it was 4:30 a.m.

Fanghua's life spanned several decades, yet in reality, it only lasted a few hours.

That's good. Experiencing life in a dream is also a kind of experience, and Liu Feng's life experience is quite good.

Although the game started with a broken hand, overall it was still a pretty good dream life.

In that world, he had love, family, friendship, and even conspiracies, but unfortunately, it was all just a dream and ultimately vanished like smoke.

The last few images that flashed through his mind were of Guo Zhenyuan lying in the hospital bed, watching his lifeline slowly disappear. He suddenly opened his eyes and looked at himself one last time. He still remembers that look in his eyes.

At Guo Zhenyuan's funeral, he personally lit an incense stick at his Western-style funeral and announced in full view of everyone that all of Guo Zhenyuan's property would be donated to major global organizations.

In that scene, he saw the shocked and pale expressions of many people; all walks of life, whether human or ghost, seemed to be revealed in that instant.

Guo Zhenyuan's fate was actually sealed many years ago.

Guo had long anticipated that such a day would come, but he still chose to face it.

Humans are just like that, Liu Feng thought Guo Zhenyuan was just being a jerk.

The Guo brothers, who were eventually released from prison by their stepson, set a trap for him, leaving him with no place to bury his body. Unfortunately, those who set the trap could not have imagined that their beloved stepfather and biological brothers had foreseen all of this many years ago.

On the night of Guo Zhenyuan's wedding, instead of going to the bridal chamber, he brought a jar of wine and a bag of peanuts to Liu Feng to drown his sorrows. Old Guo, drunk, held Liu Feng's hand and said...

"Old Liu, if I die before you, remember to burn incense for me. I have a premonition that I will go before you. When that time comes, remember to go to the Swiss bank to collect the gift I prepared for you."

After saying that, Lao Guo threw a key to Liu Feng. Liu Feng cursed him for being a jerk and threw the key into the drawer.

Liu Feng hardly bothered to investigate the truth, nor did he need to. He simply sent those involved to the lower levels a year later to confess their crimes to Lao Guo. Money really can buy anything!

The world of youth had a huge impact on Liu Feng's character. He has long since become indifferent to money and even doesn't understand why people have to work so hard. Brothers turn against each other for wealth and are entangled for a lifetime, but in the end, it all comes to nothing.

Zhang Peng turned off the lights and slowly closed his eyes in the darkness. He had gained a lot from the world of youth. The book "Thirteen Flavors" gave him a new understanding of ingredients. His culinary skills had reached a new level, a level where he could calmly face any chef in the world.

Regardless of the style of cuisine, the ultimate consideration is whether it tastes good or not. The taste of a dish is closely related to the ingredients. Although human tastes vary, the perception of food is ultimately the same for everyone: salty. Everyone who eats food will find it salty.

So the real key is how to use the same flavors to create food that most people will like, and Zhang Peng has now mastered this method.

Zhang Peng sometimes thinks that he has experienced so much of the world and learned so many skills that he can't even count them all. Perhaps one day, he will get tired of it.

Perhaps I'm already tired of it all. Should I try a different way of living?

Having traversed so many dreams, Zhang Peng now has a question: it seems he has always been traveling through modern society in his dreams, so why is there no ancient time travel?

Even a mythological world?

He never figured out the mystery behind it, so he decided to just give up.

Just let things take their course. My life is pretty good right now. Dreams have come true, making my life more colorful and reducing many regrets.

Let the future be what it is!

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

The next day, after getting up and having a simple breakfast, the father and son went to the hospital again.

Zhang Peng asked the doctor and learned that his uncle's condition had not improved. He learned that his uncle should be gone in the next few days.

Upon hearing the news, Zhang Peng and his son were both quite upset; reality is reality after all.

Perhaps the uncle was just like Liu Feng in real life, who ultimately lost to reality. It's a pity that He Xiaoping was not in his world, and that last glimmer of light in his life did not shine into his life.

My uncle was in a coma for several days before he passed away, until his lifeline was completely gone.

Liu Feng asked his cousin if his uncle had left any last words, whether he wanted to return to his roots, or something else.

My cousin, neither happy nor sad, looked at my uncle being wheeled into the morgue and sighed.

"He doesn't want to go back, so I'll prepare a grave for him in this cemetery!"

After her cousin finished speaking, she turned and walked away with a dejected expression. Zhang Peng quickly stepped forward, pulled her away, and handed her the bag in his hand. Her cousin was a little surprised and opened the bag to take a look.

Inside were five bundles of brand-new 100-yuan bills. Looking at this 50,000 yuan, the cousin looked at Zhang Peng somewhat at a loss.

Zhang Peng shook his head with a wry smile and said.

"Consider this a small token of my appreciation as your nephew, sister. My dad and I are heading back tonight. You'll have to handle the rest yourself!"

After saying that, Zhang Peng turned and left, leaving his cousin standing there stunned.

The reason Zhang Peng left 50,000 yuan was simple: he hadn't been to his cousin's house once in the past few days, and hadn't even seen any other relatives besides his cousin. He could already guess what his cousin's current living situation was like.

Leaving tonight was probably to avoid embarrassing the other party. Fifty thousand yuan is enough for the other party to solve their current difficulties. He also paid the hospital fees in advance. He's not a saint, and he has a clear conscience.

Since my uncle doesn't want to go home, let him have his way. When a person dies, the light goes out, and the kinship between his family and my uncle's family will be severed.

Zhang Peng and his father drove home that very night. His father didn't seem to care much about his uncle's dying wish that he wouldn't go home. He just remained silent the whole way, perhaps lost in memories of the past.

After returning home, Zhang Peng stayed for two more days, carefully checked his parents' health, personally went to the traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy to get several doses of medicine for them to take on time, and then set off again to return to Guangzhou.

Returning to Guangzhou once again, Zhang Peng felt as if he had lived through another world. Now that he had a wife and children, he should be able to focus on developing his career. However, Zhang Peng suddenly felt that this kind of life was meaningless.

There are actually many ways for me to make money. Should I continue to rely on the secret recipe to make clay pot rice noodles?

It's kind of boring to think about, but isn't that what life is like?

Even though I know it's pointless, I still have to keep going.

However, he still intends to change his way of life and find some enjoyment in his life.

He's no longer planning to continue with his franchise stores. Making money isn't such a big pursuit for him anymore. He's going to open his own store, which will sell mala tang (a type of spicy hot pot), the kind where a meal costs over a thousand yuan.

This shop must be high-end, and he doesn't need to worry about not making money because its taste is truly unique!

After returning to Guangzhou, Zhang Peng locked himself in the ingredient room for a whole month, determined to develop a new seasoning recipe, a seasoning recipe that had never existed before in the world.

Back in his youth, he had an impulse that he would one day be able to create a brand new seasoning, a flavor that would be unforgettable for everyone.

With the foundation of the thirteen flavors, Zhang Peng felt that he now had a new understanding of taste. After a full month of experimentation, he finally succeeded!

After further research on the original seasoning recipe, he added nine more natural ingredients. When mixed with other ingredients, a special chemical reaction occurred. After three days of sedimentation and fermentation, a new seasoning was born.

This seasoning not only retains the original flavor of the seasoning, but also makes the broth richer and more complex after simmering, creating a flavor that is unforgettable.

After careful tasting, it gives people a special sense of pleasure. Even after finishing the food, a faint sweet and sour aftertaste lingers on the tip of the tongue. Licking the tongue, it feels like there is no taste in the mouth. However, once you come into contact with other delicacies, you will have a great appetite and become so engrossed in the food that you cannot extricate yourself. This phenomenon can last all day until you take a nap and these reactions will completely disappear.

The study of the flavors of ingredients in the Thirteen Flavors series is no longer a simple combination of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty, and savory. Aunt Wang's father has researched nine flavors, which is already the ultimate in the world.

However, Zhang Peng felt that to break through these nine flavors, he needed new ideas. In the world of Fanghua, he had been thinking about this problem, and now, he has finally realized his idea and found the tenth flavor.

This flavor, by analyzing the essence of all the flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, numbing, salty, fragrant, and pungent, stimulates the instinct of human taste. It can even create a virtual, spiritual sense of taste in humans.

It's clearly the simplest seasoning, but after you taste it, it will trigger a certain nerve in your brain, making you imagine your favorite flavor. This kind of seasoning is no longer just a simple cooking skill.

Human wisdom is truly boundless. It's a pity that the Thirteen Flavors book couldn't be taken out of the dream, otherwise he would have to read it carefully. Although he had read it dozens of times, Zhang Peng still felt that he hadn't fully grasped it.

The title "Thirteen Flavors" says it all: there are thirteen flavors in the world that can stimulate humans. The old Taoist priest had already deciphered the true thirteen flavors of the world, while Zhang Peng is still far from being able to do so.

Zhang Peng has only been able to figure out the tenth flavor thanks to the wisdom of his predecessors, and the fact that he once drank Granny Wang's soup is a testament to that.