"Why buy more wine again? You brought a case of Wuliangye last ti, didn't you? You never co empty-handed, and buying more things just makes unhappy." The old man liked Maotai, sure, but when family mbers keep bringing things, it feels too formal. Plus, young people have big expenses; he worried Luke might not have enough for himself.
"Grandpa, I can't co more than a few tis a year. While I'm in New York, I want to show my filial piety; otherwise, I'd feel guilty."
The old man waved his hand, "Young people are supposed to be working hard on their careers; being busy isn't a bad thing. I still have your dad and uncle by my side, no need to worry.
In a few years, even if you want to be busy, you won't have the energy."
Will ca over holding a case of chilled beer, "Bro, have a bottle to quench your thirst."
Luke took the beer bottle and drank a sip, advising, "Will, I'm heading back to Los Angeles tomorrow. Rember, if anything happens at ho, give a call."
"Bro, don't worry, I got it at ho." Will pounded his chest with a 'thump thump' sound.
Luke handed another beer to Li Zhaonian, who was preparing the barbecue.
Li Zhaonian waved his hand, "I can't drink this. Get one at room temperature. You guys also drink less of the chilled stuff; as you get older, it can upset the stomach."
"Okay." Luke responded, handing his uncle a bottle of room-temperature beer he got from inside the house, and said, "Uncle, the issue with Blue Hair has been resolved; he won't be causing any more trouble at the restaurant, so you can just run it smoothly."
Li Zhaonian clinked his beer bottle with Luke's and took a sip, "How did you resolve it? How much did it cost? I'll give it to you."
From start to finish, Luke was the one helping with this issue, so asking him to spend money on top of it would be too much.
"It didn't cost anything. I just found him privately, revealed my Brooklyn identity, and gave him a lesson. He's too scared to trouble you again."
In the past few years, Li Zhaonian had experienced quite a bit in Chinatown and knew these hooligans were the most troubleso, always bullying the weak and fearing the strong, one day smiling at you, the next they could just turn against you.
With Luke suddenly leaving, he felt a bit uneasy.
Seeing his uncle's unease, Luke said, "Don't worry. Even though I'm leaving, I still have friends at the Brooklyn office in New York. If Blue Hair causes trouble again, just call , and I'll have a friend take care of it."
Li Zhaonian nodded, "Your dad has work tomorrow; let Will take you to the airport."
"No need, New York traffic is quite congested. Taking the airport bus is pretty convenient for ."
A car stopped outside the yard, and Luke's aunt got out, carrying a wine bag in her left hand and a vegetable bag in her right, with tomatoes, cucumbers, and Chinese greens, all simple cold dishes or quick dishes.
Will ran over to take the things and asked, "Aunt, why have you co alone?"
Li Wan said, "Julia has gone to school as well. Your uncle has a case today and can't get away; he has court tomorrow morning."
Li Wan looked at Luke nearby, "I heard you're going back to Los Angeles tomorrow?"
"Yes, tomorrow morning's flight."
"Your uncle originally planned to co by today and said he wanted to have a few drinks with you, but sothing ca up last minute, so he can't make it today.
He said, next ti you brothers co, he'll treat you to a feast."
"Alright." Luke agreed readily, showing no displeasure.
Since Luke and his brother returned, this uncle hadn't shown up, which was sowhat inappropriate. But it's hard to fault that, as it doesn't make sense for an elder to see off a younger person.
Moreover, Luke and this uncle weren't very close, so it didn't matter if he ca or not.
Luke just wanted to spend more ti with his family before leaving; feelings are developed by spending ti together.
There were no outsiders here, only close family, and soon joyful laughter filled the yard.
The main al was barbecue, along with so vegetarian dishes, fruit platters, beer, red wine, and tea.
They ate and chatted, and it wasn't until nine at night that the gathering dispersed.
Driving ho that evening, Luke discovered there were two additional boxes of alcohol and two packs of cigarettes in the trunk—a case of premium red wine, a case of whiskey, a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, and a box of cigars.
"Dad, who put these things in the car?"
"I suppose it was your uncle; I saw him take the car keys."
"What should we do with these things?"
"Since he gave them, just keep them; it's a token of his goodwill too.
If you don't take them, he'll feel uneasy."
Luke didn't fuss, "Alright, I'll call Uncle in a bit."
Since he couldn't take them with him, he might as well treat them as a gift for his father.
Luke took a shower and saw his father packing his luggage—placing several tea boxes, so dry goods, cigarettes, cigars, and a piece of cured at in the suitcase.
"Dad, no need to take so much stuff; I don't cook often anyway."
"No worries, these things have a long shelf life, and they're hard to buy in Los Angeles."
Luke dried his hair, "Dad, I have sothing to tell you."
Li Zhaofeng was almost done packing, pressing down the full suitcase to zip it up, "Go ahead."
Luke told his father about the auctioning of the stolen property.
Li Zhaofeng furrowed his brow and pondered for a mont, "Why is the starting price so low? And can it really be bought at that price?"
"No problem, just think of it as Brooklyn's benefit."
"Will normal taxes apply?"
"Of course, all procedures are legal, and there's no issue."
As an accountant, Li Zhaofeng was quite knowledgeable in this area; even if he hadn't handled it personally, he had heard of such things. The Brooklyn office, as a strong enforcent departnt, had so privileges and special benefits.
Otherwise, so many people wouldn't be eager to join Brooklyn.
He just hadn't expected his son could also get a piece of the pie, and judging from the profit-sharing ratio, Luke was definitely not a minor player.
No matter how vast Gambling King Zhou Tiansheng's assets were, there were more people eyeing them hungrily.
Most of his assets were frozen in Southeast Asia, and a small portion was hidden through illegal channels. Among them, the cash was directly seized by the federal governnt, and what Brooklyn really handled were those auctionable stolen goods.
The value of that Los Angeles villa ranked among the top of all stolen goods.
Li Zhaofeng looked at his son with a gaze full of pride.
This wasn't just about money; it had a much bigger significance behind it.
It's not easy for Chinese Aricans to survive in the US. His generation could achieve higher material conditions through hard work, even barely entering the middle class.
But the status of Chinese Aricans wasn't high, and they couldn't enter mainstream society.
Li Zhaofeng didn't have a strong sense of belonging to Arica. Deep inside, the distant East was his real ho.
His son's current status had been recognized by the mainstream society, which gave Li Zhaofeng more confidence in living on this land, at least without worrying about being bullied by those white and black people.
Li Zhaofeng regained his composure and displayed a serious expression, "This is a great opportunity; we should buy it. Even if we don't live there, it's possible to make a profit of six hundred thousand US dollars by reselling it.
I'll rge your major assets and prepare the funds for the purchase. However, I estimate it may still be a bit short of three million."
Luke nodded. In fact, his total assets were already close to three million US dollars, but eighteen thousand of it was reserve capital in the Detective System that hadn't been realized yet, and this portion couldn't be disclosed to Li Zhaofeng.
Fortunately, Negan would hold the property for a month, giving him ti to gather funds.
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