Chapter 475 New Neighbors
Six o'clock in the afternoon, Becca community.
Melodious classical music played in the yard of Robert’s house. A barbecue grill had been set up in the open space, and Robert was grilling charcoal with a cassette stove.
There are white dining tables and chairs on the lawn on the right side. Linda is marinating the barbecue. The method is very simple. Large steaks are marinated with black pepper, coarse salt and red wine.
Val and Fatty sat at the table chatting, one drinking beer and the other drinking Coke.
Val quipped, "Hey Jack, why didn't you bring your little girlfriend today?"
The little fat man rolled his eyes, "Uncle, I know you envy me for having a girlfriend, but don't talk about it all the time.
And you're not too young, it's time to put some thought into finding a girlfriend. "
Val forced a smile, "What? You think I won't have a girlfriend?"
The little fat man asked back, "If you have a girlfriend, why have you never seen it?"
Val shrugged, "Hey, kid, you don't understand the adult world.
It’s not that I don’t have a girlfriend, how can I not have a girlfriend?
My problem is that I have too many girlfriends and I don't know which one to bring.
If I bring A's girlfriend, B will be jealous.
If I bring girlfriend B, girlfriend C will be jealous.
So I don't bring any of them, you know what I mean? "
fatty"…"
"Woooo..." A Mercedes-Benz G500 parked outside the yard.
The door of the cab opened, Luke got out of the car, and said hello, "Grandpa, mom, uncle, and my lovely brother, have a good weekend."
Val turned his head and looked over, "Hey, big detective, you're late, we're all waiting for you."
"Sorry, I have a lot of things to do this afternoon, but fortunately, I have already dealt with them. I can have a good drink tonight." Luke also pulled a chair and sat down.
Val handed him a bottle of beer and asked curiously, "Has there been another big case in Los Angeles recently?"
"It's not a big case." Luke shook his head, not really wanting to bring up this case.
The little fat man came over and asked, "Brother, do you know what grandpa is going to announce?"
Luke opened the cap of the beer bottle and touched the bottle with Val, "That's what I want to ask too, does uncle know?"
Val smiled, shook his head and said, "In your grandfather's heart, I am on the same level as you.
He didn’t tell you, and naturally he wouldn’t tell me either. "
Luke quipped, "When did my level drop?"
val "..."
At this time, Robert's voice came from the barbecue grill, "Hey, guys, do you smell the smell of barbecue?
Let's toast together and celebrate this wonderful time. "Robert enjoyed the feeling of standing next to the barbecue grill, and raised his glass to Luke and others.
The aroma of barbecue is getting stronger, and dinner is ready.
Dinner is relatively simple, grilled steak, grilled chicken wings, grilled sausage, grilled lobster.
Linda prepared a large plate of fresh vegetables, as well as Luke's favorite cucumber, which quenches the tiredness and thirst, and is very suitable for drinking and eating.
There are also various drinks on the table, beer, red wine, whiskey, and cola.
After the barbecue was served on the table, everyone sat around the table and prayed.
The family gathering officially begins.
Luke first ate a charcoal-grilled lobster, which tastes better when it's hot.
The method is very simple. Cut the lobster in half, spread the garlic sauce on top, and grill it directly on the charcoal fire. The garlic sauce is bought by Luke, and it tastes great.
The little fat man’s favorite food is grilled sausages. The sausages are made of pork. Except for some seasonings, they are almost all meat.
Val, like Fatty, also likes to eat grilled sausages.
Linda likes to eat grilled chicken wings. The whole chicken wing is grilled together, which is more delicious than a single grilled wing.
Robert’s favorite is steak. He nodded in satisfaction after taking a bite, raised his wine glass and said to everyone, “Hey, let’s raise our wine glass.”
"cheers!"
The little fat man took a sip of Coke and said with a smile, "Grandpa, if you open a barbecue restaurant, I bet it will be full every day."
Robert shrugged with a smile, "If I were ten years younger, I might have such an idea, but forget it now."
Wall said, "I think this proposal can be considered.
Dad, if you are worried that one person will be too busy, my sister and I will help you. What do you think we can make the restaurant a family business? "
The little fat man smiled and said, "Uncle, don't you want to open a convenience store?"
Val added another piece of sausage to the little fat man, "The adults are talking, children don't interrupt, hurry up and eat."
The little fat man rolled his eyes, and continued to eat.
Robert looked at his son and said, "I think what Jack said makes sense. It's not easy to do in any industry. You'd better work hard in the supermarket.
Even if I want to open a restaurant, I will find an experienced partner. I don't want to lose all my money. "
Luke stood up, went to the barbecue grill, turned the barbecue over, and said, "Grandpa, I heard you have something to announce?"
"Yes, I plan to travel recently, does anyone want to go with me?"
Val smiled, "Dad, if you can pay for the trip, I will definitely go."
"How old are you today? Are you five or fifteen?
If not, I am not obliged to pay for your consumption now. "Robert put down the knife and fork, snorted, and changed the topic,
“However, I still hope that the family can travel together.
So, I can pay for the air ticket when I go, and you need to pay for other expenses by yourself. "
Linda asked, "Dad, where are you going to travel?"
"Of course, Hawaii. Is there a better place to travel with the whole family than here?"
Val was excited, "Dad, you're right, this place is perfect. And I haven't been there for a long time.
However, the consumption there is very expensive, and the air ticket back is not cheap. "
Luke said, "Since grandpa bears the airfare to Hawaii, I will bear the return airfare."
Val laughed, "Cool, problem solved."
The little fat man showed an expectant look, "Mom, let's go too."
"No, you still have to go to school."
"I can ask the school for leave."
Linda took a bite of vegetables and shook her head, "No, I don't think this is a good idea." She looked at Luke aside again, "Aren't you busy with work? Why do you have time to travel?"
“There is never enough work to be done.
As my grandfather said, traveling with my family is the best, and I don’t want to miss such a good opportunity. "Luke, who shot the drug dealer while catching him, had a period of paid time off.
However, in order to avoid worrying his family, he did not say.
"Mom, you won't leave me alone." The little fat man was a little dissatisfied.
Luke asked, "Grandpa, why do you suddenly want to travel to Hawaii?"
"I just feel that life is a bit boring, and I want to go outside and change the environment." Robert took a sip of wine and asked Luke, "Has your new house started construction?"
Luke said, "The demolition of the old house has been completed, and the foundation may be laid tomorrow. I am going to have a look."
"Call me anytime you need it."
"I will."
Subsequently, the family began to discuss travel strategies to Hawaii.
The next morning, Luke got up and cooked a bag of instant noodles, a fried egg, and a grilled sausage.
It’s been a long time since I ate instant noodles, but once in a while, it tastes pretty good.
After dinner, Luke came to the yard, made a pot of Tieguanyin, and enjoyed the leisure time.
Unknowingly, Luke has been in Los Angeles for a year, a lot has happened in this year, and he has grown a lot.
Just two days ago, the real estate agent who leased this house called to ask, does Luke want to renew the lease?
Luke thought about it, and renewed the lease for another six months.
By the end of May, his new house will be finished, and he will be able to live in it after a period of drying.
【Ding Dong, congratulations to the host for solving the shooting case and the car accident case, reward 120 points. 】
In this case, Luke used a bullet avoidance card, an accuracy card, and an identification card. Luke first used up 70 points and added three cards.
Adding the remaining 50 points before, the detective system now has 100 points.
It's a pity that there are no new cards rewarded this time.
Luke guessed that this may also have something to do with the difficulty of the case.
At ten o'clock in the morning, Luke went to a Chinese supermarket to buy some coffee and wife cakes.
Later, he drove to the Palisades community to check the construction progress of the new house.
Luke parked the car outside the yard, when he heard a "whooping" mechanical sound, the new home was under construction.
After Luke got off the car, he walked into the yard of the villa with his bag. The old house had been completely demolished, and the big yard seemed even more empty.
There is a cement mixer truck on site, and there are about a dozen workers busy beside them, most of whom are Chinese faces. This is why Luke brought his wife cakes. If he brought donuts, they probably wouldn’t like them either.
Of course, it is more appropriate to have some tea at this time, but the new home does not even have a place to boil water, so it is not suitable. It is more convenient to buy coffee, and these Chinese are also used to drinking coffee.
Zhang Jianmin was responsible for managing the on-site construction. When he saw Luke, he hurried over and said in Chinese, "Captain Li, you are here."
Luke handed him the bag, "Mr. Zhang, I brought you some food, please help share."
"Thank you." Zhang Jianmin took a cup of coffee, put the bag on the table beside him, and shouted, "Don't do it, everyone, let's have a rest.
Mr. Li brought coffee and food for everyone. Everyone has something. "
The workers were also tired. They walked to the dining table in twos and threes, took their own coffee and wife cakes, and found a shady place to rest.
Luke walked around the construction site, dug a big hole underground, and started to lay the foundation. There are a lot of steel bars inserted in the big hole, and some of them have been filled with cement.
Luke turned his head and asked, "Mr. Zhang, is the construction going well?"
Zhang Jianmin came over and replied, "It's going well. It is estimated that the foundation can be laid today. After the assembly parts from the factory are delivered, the structure of the house can be built."
Luke nodded, "According to this progress, can it be completed in mid-May?"
Zhang Jianmin thought for a while, "According to the agreement in the contract, it will definitely be completed before the end of May.
If construction is possible on Saturdays and Sundays, the construction period can be brought forward to mid-May. "
Luke asked, "If you work overtime on Saturdays and Sundays, do you need additional fees? For example, overtime pay or subsidies."
“No, in fact, many workers also want to work on Saturdays and Sundays.
After all, we all work for a day and receive a day's salary, which is different from those white-collar workers who do office work. "
Luke looked at these Chinese faces, but it was understandable.
He thought about it carefully, but still rejected Zhang Jianmin's proposal. He wanted to finish the project ahead of schedule and move into the new house earlier.
But he is worried that the construction on Saturday and Sunday will affect the rest of the neighbors.
Everyone goes to work from Monday to Friday, and the impact of construction noise is relatively small.
Adults and children are resting at home on Saturdays and Sundays. If the construction continues, it is likely to be complained and cause unnecessary trouble.
Luke doesn't want to leave a bad impression on the neighbors before he moves into the community.
Luke stayed at the construction site for an hour and was about to leave near noon.
He walked out of the yard and was about to get into the car when a Porsche drove up and stopped beside him.
"Hi, Captain Li." The car window opened, and the driver was a white man in his seventies with silver-gray hair and black-rimmed glasses.
Luke thought for a while before he remembered the identity of the other party, the famous writer and screenwriter Romit Bull.
Before, Luke investigated a murder case. The scene of the crime was filmed in a movie called "The Gone Girl".
During the filming of this movie, the actor really disappeared. After some searching, his body was found in the big pit on the shooting site, which is exactly the same as the plot of the movie script.
After that, the heroine of the movie was also strangled to death on the bed, which is also the same as the plot of the movie script.
This bizarre case caused quite a stir at the time, and the novel "The Vanishing Lover" became a hot seller again.
Romit Bull is one of the few beneficiaries in this case. The police once regarded him as a suspect, but after investigation, he was ruled out.
Luke said, "Mr. Bull, long time no see, why are you here?"
"I live in this community, I should be asking why you are here?"
Luke thought for a while, "I remember when I visited you, you seemed to live in another community."
"Haha, you don't think I only have one house." Romit Bull smiled,
"Since the last time my novel went viral, I've always had a few rabid fans around my house, and I've had to wear long pants even for swimming, can you understand that feeling?
So, I moved here, where it is cleaner and not many people know me.
And you? Why come back here? "
Luke pointed behind him, "I just bought the house behind me and am rebuilding it."
"Oh, you are very discerning, the Feng Shui of this house is very good."
"Feng Shui? You still study Feng Shui?" Luke looked at the old white man with a mixed feeling.
"Hey, I'm a professional writer, and I'm also a speculative novelist. I need to accumulate a lot of writing materials and understand the customs and peoples of various countries in the world. You don't think that the plot of a novel can appear out of thin air, right?"
Luke nodded, "I'm glad to have an extra knowledgeable neighbor. I'll treat you to afternoon tea another day."
Romit Bull smiled, "That's what I want to say too.
Chatting with young and promising police detectives like you can inspire new creative inspiration.
Why another day?
How about we have lunch together? I know there is a good Chinese restaurant nearby, I believe you will like it. "
"Sorry, I can't do it today. I have other things to deal with." Luke's family is going to Hawaii tomorrow, and today he has to pack his bags so that he doesn't forget his belongings before leaving.
"OK, let's meet again next time." Romit Bull handed Luke a business card and drove away.
Look looked at the leaving Porsche car, faintly feeling that the old man was a little too enthusiastic.
Perhaps, this old man hopes to get more writing materials from himself. After all, writing comes from life, and mystery novels should be recreated based on real cases.
(end of this chapter)