Barbecue Is Still Too Cheap

Few people knew the specifics of Li Xian's family situation, and most assumed both his parents had passed away.

That wasn't quite the case. His mother had indeed died of illness before he could remember, but his father hadn't died—he had gone missing.

His father left home when Li Xian was four or five years old and never returned, with no news for nearly twenty years.

Li Xian had never spoken about this to outsiders; it was known only within the family. Whenever anyone asked about his parents, he always said they had died. After all, no one would dig that deep, so why bother explaining?

In his heart, he had long since treated his father as dead. Thinking that way made it easier to bear.

"That's how it is... He entrusted someone to give me a large sum of money, but he won't show up himself... Sigh." Li Xian spun a lie, roughly pinning the source of the money on his missing father. Whether the excuse was credible or not, it barely passed as an explanation.

It was still better than saying he had endless money forced on him by a system. If he said that, even if people didn't take him for a lunatic, they'd hand him over to the state.

Li Xian wasn't an idiot. The system matter would stay buried in his heart. Blabbing it out wouldn't just mean losing the money—it would mean losing himself.

Wang Meng processed what Li Xian said. Though it seemed far-fetched, after thinking it over, it was the only reason that could explain where the money came from.

Who else but his own parents would give him that much money?

Li Xian lowered his head and drank, looking a bit down. Wang Meng didn't know how to comfort him, so he patted his shoulder and joked, "Brother Xian, your story could be made into a TV drama."

"Heh..." Li Xian looked up at Wang Meng, his mouth twitching into an awkward smile. He thought to himself: Even TV dramas wouldn't dare write this... Using my missing dad as a shield—he won't come find me tonight, will he?

Amitabha... sin, sin.

Li Xian put on a sad expression. Whether it looked real or not, it still affected Wang Meng.

He felt sorry for his buddy's situation. A father missing for twenty years, avoiding him, and on top of that, a breakup—a double blow. If it were him, he definitely wouldn't have held up.

Brother Xian had it rough. He couldn't bring up Zhang Ning's matter today.

Wang Meng had originally wanted to ask about Zhang Ning, but seeing the current state of things, he decided not to bring it up and upset Li Xian.

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

"Come on, it's us. No need for all that. You know me—happiness comes first... Let's just drink and not overthink it." Li Xian downed his glass in one go, poured another round for both of them, patted his stomach, and said, "I brought two bottles, so you figure it out."

"Gotta make up for it. I'm not short on this much booze." Wang Meng said, opening a bottle and preparing to chug it.

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

With that, Li Xian grabbed another skewer of kidneys from the plate and bit into it. The tender, fatty kidneys were grilled until they dripped with oil. One bite was so satisfying he nearly bit his tongue off.

Li Xian had been craving kidneys for way too long. He polished off a skewer in three or four bites, not caring about the heat, then washed it down with a swig of beer before going for another.

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

"Mengzi, you're slacking." Li Xian clinked his bottle against Wang Meng's.

Wang Meng twitched his mouth, swallowed, and said, "Bro, that eating style of yours—I really can't keep up. I never noticed you had such an appetite before!" Li Xian had been wolfing down skewers one after another like a starving ghost, and it had honestly startled him.

"Back then, I didn't have the money to go all out. Now I can eat freely..." Li Xian said with a smile, adding silently, and I don't have the pills to back me up either.

The Strong Digestive Pills in the system warehouse were already gone. The medicine worked well—after eating so many kidneys, he felt nothing in his stomach, just a bit of greasiness in his mouth.

That didn't matter. If it got too greasy, he'd rinse with beer or chew a piece of gum.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed. Li Xian and Wang Meng had downed over ten bottles of booze together, both a little tipsy.

Their tolerance was about the same—around ten bottles of beer or a little over a pound of liquor. Any more, and they'd have to head to the bathroom to gag themselves or take a break under the table.

The skewers they ordered hadn't all come yet, but plates kept arriving and being cleared, and they were nearing the end.

All ten plates of kidneys Li Xian had ordered were served. He didn't know where Third Sister had borrowed them from. The kidneys couldn't run out—many people came specifically for them.

Over those two hours, the customers around them changed over and over, but those who had finished their skewers didn't leave. 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 a show. He actually ate it all. I'm impressed."

"Heh... I told you, this guy's no ordinary."

"You win... son of a bitch."

"How's his stomach built? I don't even see it bulging..."

"Some people are just born eaters. A friend of a friend of mine can down fifty meat pies for breakfast, or eight burgers at KFC as a baseline."

"Yeah, people like that—just too insane. Watching him eat makes me feel hungry again."

"Heh, I recorded it all. I'll watch it during meals—gives me a huge appetite."

Li Xian was still buried in clearing the skewers on his plate. He knew people were watching him, but he didn't realize so many were gathered around, discussing him, even betting on him and recording it.

What's so interesting about eating skewers? It's just eating a bit more.

Every day, people making a big deal out of nothing.

Li Xian couldn't be bothered with them. He picked up his bottle and clinked it with Wang Meng's.

"Brother Xian, that's enough. I really can't go on." Wang Meng said with a wry smile, holding the bottle in one hand and patting his round belly with the other.

"Huh? Already done? I was thinking of ordering more." Li Xian looked at the last plate of chives in front of him. Third Sister had said everything was served, but he was planning to ask for more.

The digestive tablets from the system still seemed to be in effect; right now, it felt like he hadn't eaten anything at all.

But seeing that Wang Meng really couldn't take it anymore, he said, "Forget it, I'll go settle the bill and pack some more to take back."

"Still packing... oh right, Brother Xian, I transferred that ten thousand back to you. Make sure to accept it."

"Ah, it's not a big deal."

Li Xian waved his hand and went into the shop to pay. The meal had cost over 3,500 in total. He rounded it up and ordered another 500 worth of beef and lamb. When Third Sister saw him off to the car, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were practically smiling.

A barbecue meal had only cost a little over 4,000. Li Xian wasn't very satisfied—the money was spending too slowly. It looked like he'd need to eat something expensive tomorrow.

He dropped Wang Meng off at home first and got back to the hotel around nearly eleven. After soaking in the bathtub for a while, drowsiness and drunkenness both hit him. Li Xian stumbled groggily to the bedroom, collapsed onto the bed, and fell asleep.

That night, he had a strange dream. He dreamed he was swimming in the sea, tightly entangled by an octopus, unable to breathe.