The process of traversing through it was strange, like passing through a misty tunnel.
Suddenly, it's like switching to a world of vibrant colors.
Then everything gradually reassembles in front of you, turning into individual objects.
For Qin Xiao, the process was more like a combination of motion sickness and waking up from a hangover.
It lacks the grandeur and magnificence of fantasy novels, where one breaks through world barriers and has everything at their feet.
Back in the secret room Tony had created, Qin Xiao sat at the computer desk for a while.
He then slowly got up and carefully looked around his house.
To be honest, compared to the housing prices in first-tier cities in China before I traveled there...
Housing prices in Los Angeles aren't that high.
For less than two million US dollars, a high-rise apartment with one unit per floor and a space of nearly 400 square meters was built.
Although it's over ten million yuan when converted to China currency, there's a price difference involved.
Although the house price isn't high, Qin Xiao's single-person property, with its size, still requires him to pay nearly $100,000 in taxes to the government every year.
Otherwise, I'd always heard that buying a big house in the United States is easy, but maintaining it is difficult.
As expected, the traditional China mindset prevails; coming back here feels more like home.
Houses, huh? Looks like I should buy a place to live in Magic City next time I go back.
Speaking of this house, if time were to stand still here, today would be my housewarming day!
That means I'll have to treat everyone to a meal.
Thirty percent of the purpose is to promote traditional China virtues, twenty percent is to show off their luxurious new homes, and fifty percent is to kill time.
Qin Xiao sent a text message to almost everyone he knew in the world.
The content is as follows:
Hi! This is Qin Xiao! I moved to my new house today. According to China tradition, it's customary to invite friends over for a meal when moving to a new house!
Therefore, I have decided to hold a grand China- style banquet at my home tomorrow night at 7:00 PM. Everyone is welcome to come and be my guest.
PS: Another China tradition is to bring gifts and 'hongbao' when visiting friends who are moving or buying a house!
You can Google the meaning of 'hongbao' yourself. Also, a friendly reminder: 'hongbao' is sold in Chinatown!
Attached is a screenshot of the electronic map markers!
To be honest, Qin Xiao isn't very good at cooking.
I can cook one or two simple home-style dishes, but they're really not presentable enough for entertaining guests.
But does the rich culture of China, with its thousands of years of history, mean that you can't invite people to dinner if you can't cook?
How about trying hot pot?
A trip to Chinatown yielded a complete selection of base sauces and dipping sauces, and I even bought a huge pile of other miscellaneous China- style seasonings.
There are some things you may not need, but you must have them in your home, at least to give it a touch of homey atmosphere.
Hot pot with two separate broths: lamb slices and beef slices.
Qin Xiao finally understood why China people abroad always seem to be inseparable from Chinatown.
You can buy more things in one block here than you can in a large supermarket in China.
From various snacks and Tang suits to martial arts training, Cantonese morning tea, and Sichuan hot pot.
From small items like pickled mustard tubers and fried dough sticks, to even Little Raccoon instant noodles, they have it all.
There are traditional Chinese medicine clinics for treating bone injuries, mahjong parlors, and even funeral shrouds and wreaths.
If you're a homebody, you stay home all day and only need to go downstairs to buy what you need, so it's basically not much different from living in China.
However, some dishes in certain restaurants have largely been Westernized and are slightly different from the domestic flavors.
I bought a lot of things.
They carried large and small bags home.
Boil water to dissolve the base sauce, wash and chop the vegetables, and arrange them on the table.
I washed a whole bunch of fruit and arranged them.
Putting aside how to entertain guests, after all that fuss, the house suddenly felt more lively.
"Perfect!"
After a whole afternoon of fussing around, Qin Xiao casually picked up an apple, munching on it while waiting for a red envelope—oh, I mean, a guest to arrive.
However, the first guest was somewhat unexpected for Qin Xiao.
Dr. Banner!
Qin Xiao had never sent him a text message. In fact, Qin Xiao had no way to contact him since he was taken away by S.H.I.E.L.D..
I sat on the sofa, looking at the view outside the door displayed on the opposite wall.
" Nicole, open the door!"
"Yes, sir!"
This is where the convenience of having a personal butler becomes apparent.
"Hi Dr. Banner, welcome to my home!"
Even though they weren't familiar with each other, Qin Xiao always had to give them a warm welcome when they arrived at his home!
Banner is an honest man, even though Qin Xiao played a trick on him in the desert last time and even shot himself.
However, in that situation, Hulk would obviously be a better fit than himself.
Seeing Qin Xiao's enthusiasm, Banner took out a bottle of red wine, feeling a little embarrassed.
"I've been controlling it pretty well lately, haven't transformed in a long time. They said there's an Avengers Initiative, and they wanted me to come and build some chemistry with you first. But Agent Romanoff said that since you're moving, according to China tradition, you should bring a gift. So I brought a bottle of wine!"
"Didn't she say anything else to you?"
Qin Xiao glanced at his hand; there was only red wine, no red envelope.
"No! Is there anything I need to know? She's still parking downstairs!"
Banner pointed somewhat awkwardly downwards.
"It's nothing, it's nothing!"
Even the shameless Qin Xiao couldn't bring himself to rip off this honest man who was now homeless.
He warmly invited Banner to sit down.
A few minutes later, Black Widow also came up.
"Hey! Stop looking, Qin. I picked up Dr. Banner from Canada today, so I didn't have time to go to Chinatown to buy red envelopes. I didn't know what gift to give you, so this will count as a gift!"
Black Widow knew what Qin Xiao Qin Xiao thinking from his constantly scrutinizing gaze, so she pulled him close and gently kissed his cheek.
"All right!"
Qin Xiao helplessly spread his hands.
"Beautiful women always have special privileges, but if the next group doesn't prepare red envelopes, I curse their chrysanthemums to explode!"
I don't know if it was a coincidence or because Qin Xiao had a lot of influence.
Tony, the workaholic, put aside his research on the New Element, and even Nick Fury put aside his work to come over, bringing Hawkeye with him.
And of course, we can't forget Agent Coulson smile is always a constant presence in Los Angeles.
Well, all six Avengers superheroes are here, except for Captain America's still frozen and Thor who's a brat in Asgard.
However, without exception, none of these people gave Qin Xiao a red envelope.
Some people sent wine, some sent paintings, but the most amazing one was Hawkeye, who sent Qin Xiao an arrow.
"What am I supposed to do with this? Use it as a back scratcher?"
Qin Xiao scratched his back a few times with the arrow and complained.
"Since you're all so stingy, don't blame me for turning my back on you!"
Qin Xiao silently complained to himself, and while the fire was Kung Fu Hustle, he added two packets of spicy hot pot base to the clear broth of the divided hot pot!