Barbecue Was Still Too Cheap

Few people knew the details of Li Xian's family situation. Most assumed that both his parents had died.

That was not actually the case. Li Xian's mother had indeed died of illness when he was too young to remember, but his father had not died. He had disappeared.

His father had left home when he was four or five and never returned. Nearly twenty years had passed without any news.

Li Xian had never told outsiders about it. Only his family knew. Whenever someone asked about his parents, he always said they had died. No one would pry into the details anyway, so why bother explaining so much?

In his heart, he had long since considered his father dead. Thinking that way made things a little easier to bear.

"That's how it was... He had someone give me a large sum of money, but he never showed up himself... Sigh." Li Xian made up a story, essentially pinning the source of the money on his missing father. Whether the explanation was believable or not, it was at least barely plausible.

It was still better than saying that a system had forced him to have endless money. If he said that out loud, even if people did not think he was crazy, they would hand him over to the government.

Li Xian was no idiot. He would definitely keep the system's existence buried in his heart. If he blabbed about it, the problem would not just be losing his money. He would lose his life too.

Wang Meng digested what Li Xian had said. Although he found it somewhat unbelievable, after thinking about it, he realized that this was the only explanation that made sense of where the money came from.

Aside from his biological parents, who else could give him so much money?

Li Xian lowered his head and drank, looking somewhat downcast. Wang Meng did not know how to comfort him, so he patted him on the shoulder and joked, "Brother Xian, your story could be turned into a TV drama."

"Heh..." Li Xian looked up at Wang Meng, tugged the corners of his mouth, and forced an ugly smile. Even TV dramas wouldn't dare write something like this... Using my missing dad as a scapegoat—what if he comes looking for me in the middle of the night?

Amitabha... What a sin.

Li Xian pretended to be sad. Regardless of whether he looked convincing, he still managed to affect Wang Meng.

Wang Meng felt sorry for what his buddy had gone through. His father had vanished for twenty years without showing his face, and then he had suffered a breakup on top of that. Faced with such a double blow, Wang Meng himself definitely would not have been able to hold on.

Brother Xian has it rough. I can't bring up Zhang Ning today.

Wang Meng had originally wanted to ask about Zhang Ning, but seeing the situation, he decided it would be better not to upset Li Xian further by bringing it up.

He poured himself a glass of liquor and said, "Brother Xian, you know I'm not good with words and don't know how to comfort people. It's all in the drink. Uncle might have had his reasons... Sigh, forget it. I'll drink first."

"We're practically brothers. No need to be so formal. You know me—being happy is what matters most... Let's just drink and forget about the rest." Li Xian drained his glass, poured another for Wang Meng and himself, then patted his stomach and said, "I came with two bottles. You know what to do."

"Of course I have to make up for it. Your buddy can handle this much liquor." As he spoke, Wang Meng opened a bottle and prepared to down it in one go.

Li Xian raised a hand to stop him, picked up a skewer of grilled kidneys, and handed it to him. "Why the rush? We've only just started. Eat something first."

As he spoke, Li Xian took another skewer of kidneys from the plate and began gnawing on it. The plump, tender kidneys were dripping with oil. One bite was so satisfying that he almost bit his tongue off.

Li Xian had been craving kidneys for far too long. He finished one skewer in three or five bites without even minding the heat, then took a sip of beer to wash it down before reaching for another.

Three or five minutes later, the plate in front of Li Xian was already empty. He had eaten four skewers, while Wang Meng had only just finished one.

"Mengzi, you're not much good either." Li Xian raised his bottle and clinked it against Wang Meng's.

Wang Meng tugged at the corner of his mouth, swallowed, and said, "Bro, I really can't eat like you do. I never realized you could eat this much!" Li Xian had just been devouring one skewer after another like a starving ghost, and it had genuinely shocked him.

"I didn't have any money before. I couldn't indulge. Now, of course, I can eat whatever I want..." Li Xian said with a smile, silently adding, And I've got medicine to back me up.

The Strong Digestive Pills in the system warehouse had already been used up. The medicine really was effective. After eating so many kidneys, he did not feel the slightest discomfort in his stomach. His mouth was just a little greasy.

That was nothing to worry about. Whenever the grease became too much, he could rinse his mouth with beer or chew a piece of gum.

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, two hours had gone by. Li Xian and Wang Meng had polished off more than ten bottles of liquor and were both feeling a little drunk.

Their limits were about the same: around ten bottles of beer or a little over half a kilogram of baijiu. Any more than that, and they would have to go to the bathroom and stick a finger down their throats, or take a break under the table.

The skewers they had ordered had not all arrived yet. Plate after plate came out and was quickly emptied. They were basically nearing the end.

All ten plates of kidneys Li Xian had ordered had been served. He did not know whose house Third Sister had gone to borrow them from. The kidneys could not be allowed to run out, since many people came specifically for them.

Over the past two hours, the customers around them had changed several times, but those who had finished their skewers had not left. Instead, they stood nearby watching Li Xian.

"Holy crap... Is he almost done? He can really eat."

"Damn, I thought he was just putting on an act. He actually ate all of it. I'm impressed."

"Heh... I told you this guy was definitely not ordinary!"

"You win... Damn it."

"How is his stomach built? His belly hasn't even stuck out..."

"Some people are just born with a huge appetite. A friend of a friend of mine can eat fifty meat pies for breakfast. At KFC, he starts with eight burgers."

"Yeah, people like that are just incredible. Watching him eat is making me hungry again."

"Hehe, I recorded it all. I'm going to watch it while I eat. It'll really stimulate my appetite."

Li Xian was still lowering his head and eliminating the grilled skewers on the plate. He knew someone was watching him, but he had no idea that so many people had gathered to watch him eat, discuss him, bet on him, and even record him.

What was so interesting about eating some skewers? He was just eating a little more than usual.

People really made a fuss over nothing.

Li Xian could not be bothered with them. He picked up his bottle and clinked it against Wang Meng's.

"Brother Xian, that's enough. I really can't drink anymore." Wang Meng smiled bitterly, holding a bottle in one hand and rubbing his round, bulging stomach with the other.

"Huh? You're done already? I was thinking of having some more." Li Xian looked at the last plate of chives in front of him. Third Sister had just said that everything had been served, and he had been planning to order more.

The Strong Digestive Pills from the system still seemed to be working. Right now, he felt as though he had not eaten anything at all.

However, seeing that Wang Meng really could not hold out any longer, he said, "Forget it. I'll go settle the bill, then pack some more to take home."

"You're packing more too... Oh, right, Brother Xian, I transferred that ten thousand yuan back to you. Remember to accept it."

"Ah, it's not worth worrying about."

Li Xian waved his hand and went inside to settle the bill. The meal came to a little over 3,500 yuan. He rounded it up and ordered another 500 yuan worth of beef and lamb. When Third Sister delivered it to his car, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes crinkled with laughter.

A barbecue meal had only cost a little over 4,000 yuan, and Li Xian was not very satisfied. He was spending the money too slowly. It looked like he would have to eat something more expensive tomorrow.

After dropping Wang Meng off at home, Li Xian returned to the hotel at almost eleven. He soaked in the bathtub for a while, and then the drunkenness and drowsiness hit him at the same time. In a daze, he returned to the bedroom and fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow.

That night, he had a strange dream. He dreamed that he was swimming in the sea, tightly wrapped up by an octopus with eight tentacles, unable to catch his breath.