Zhang Yi left an address, asking the staff from Haidilao to deliver the hot pot base later on.
As for the food ingredients, they could be directly taken from the Walmart warehouse when needed.
Only the hot pot base was something that they wouldn't actually sell, even though the packaged hot pot seasonings available in the market were vastly inferior to those used in the restaurant.
Otherwise, patrons wouldn't bother going to the restaurant for hot pot.
After finishing his meal, Zhang Yi prepared to go home and received a call from a five-star hotel manager.
"Mr. Zhang, we've prepared the 500 banquet tables you ordered. Are you available to receive them now?"
"Yes, just have them delivered."
Zhang Yi returned home, waiting for the delivery of the feast.
These 500 banquet tables would be enough for him to feast on for a couple of years.
With millions still at his disposal, he was in no pain spending money; in fact, he was eager to spend it all.
On his way home, Zhang Yi pondered what else he liked to eat.
Then, he placed orders with several major restaurants in Tianhai City, asking each to deliver a hundred tables of food.
With every major Chinese cuisine, including Western food, he ordered thousands of tables!
With this order, he'd effectively secured half a lifetime's worth of meals.
Before long, the banquet trucks from the Hongfu Universe Hotel had arrived at the entrance of Yuèlù Community.
A convoy of twenty or thirty vehicles congested the road, leaving the neighbors dumbstruck.
Security guard Uncle You hurried forward to stop them, asking what they were there for.
Although the hotel manager explained the situation, Uncle You insisted that the owner had to be present to open the gate.
Given the scale of their operation and unaware of what was inside the vehicles, he had safety considerations for the community and couldn't grant access so easily.
The hotel manager had no choice but to call Zhang Yi.
Zhang Yi then went downstairs and approached the community gate.
By then, a crowd had formed at the gate, including his neighbors from the building, and there were onlookers like Fang Yuqing and Lin Caini.
Walking up to security guard Uncle You, Zhang Yi said with a smile: "Uncle You, they're here to deliver my meal. Let them through, please!"
Uncle You looked surprised.
"Deliver your meal? What kind of meal requires a dozen cars to deliver?"
The neighbors, hearing about the meal delivery, were all astounded.
"Good grief, that must be hundreds of tables!"
"Could it be that Zhang Yi has some event at home that requires a banquet?"
"Is he getting married? But hundreds of tables is terrifying!"
"Look closely, that's Hongfu Universe, a five-star hotel!"
"To book several hundred tables there would cost at least a million!"
"Goodness, a single meal could cost over a million. Zhang Yi really keeps a low profile!"
"We knew his family was well-off, but it seems we're dealing with a tycoon!"
The neighbors were abuzz with conversation, looking at Zhang Yi with eyes ablaze with a mixture of reverence.
Seeing this scene, Fang Yuqing pursed her lips, more determined to win over Zhang Yi.
She took the initiative to approach him, smiling, "What's been keeping you busy at home, Zhang Yi? You've bought so much."
Zhang Yi ignored her and handed a cigarette to Uncle You instead of responding.
Seeing the owner present, Uncle You then opened the barrier gate, allowing the Hongfu Universe Hotel convoy to enter the community.
Zhang Yi led the way for them.
Although he didn't respond to Fang Yuqing, she seemed unfazed, chatting and laughing by his side.
"What's going on at home that you can't share with me? Aren't we good friends?"
"In the future, I hope to learn more about you. Don't ever treat me like an outsider."
Zhang Yi looked at her deeply and said with a cold laugh, "All these things I'm buying are for my boss. Also, the last meal at the Western restaurant was paid for by him."
Sighing, he added, "Ah, I wish I was really that rich."
Fang Yuqing's expression suddenly changed.
"You... you're not joking with me, are you?"
Zhang Yi spread his hands: "Why would I lie to you? We've known each other for many years, and you know my family's situation."
"My parents have passed away, and I'm just a warehouse manager. How could I have money?"
His explanation made Fang Yuqing's face go through a play of emotions.
Indeed, she had her suspicions; wealthy second-generation kids usually hail from families with big businesses.
Years had passed since Zhang Yi's parents died, and although they left some inheritance, that didn't make him a rich second-generation.
Now with Zhang Yi admitting he wasn't, all of Fang Yuqing's doubts seemed to be addressed.
She quietly created some distance between them, then, fixing her hair and with a polite smile, said, "Whether you're rich or not, we're still best friends, aren't we? I'm certainly not a materialistic woman."
She emphasized the word "friends" quite pointedly.
Being a green tea personality, she never breaks things off completely, because she always needs backup and fawning admirers to serve her interests.
Zhang Yi curled his lips and didn't say anything more to her.
Meanwhile, the staff from Hongfu Universe started moving the feast inside Zhang Yi's house.
Zhang Yi ordered the most top-tier dishes, such as abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, Australian lobster, truffles, and caviar – an array of extravagant choices.
His house would typically be way too small to accommodate a feast for 500 tables.
Even the hotel manager found it a headache to consider.
However, Zhang Yi just asked them to keep moving the stuff into the house.
While the movers were downstairs, he sneakily bumped all the food into his own alternate space.
He did it so surreptitiously that nobody noticed.
Soon, the entire 500-table feast was secured into his alternate space.
In the evening, Zhang Yi received a call from Wu Huai-Ren, the manager of Zhanlong Company.
Wu told Zhang Yi they were ready and could come over anytime to start constructing a safe house for him.
When asked when they could start, Zhang Yi told them they could come over the next day.
He planned to move into a hotel for the duration.
After discussing the safe house issue, Zhang Yi waited for Wu to continue.
He needed Wu for something very important – acquiring the Equalizer of All Beings.
After a long pause, Wu lowered his voice and said to Zhang Yi, "If you really need such a device, I could perhaps recommend a contact for you, though it might be a bit expensive."
Zhang Yi nodded; he was fully aware of that.
But regarding money, he had no concerns at this point.
"That's no problem, as long as the quality is good."
Wu responded easily, "All right, since that's settled, I'll make the introduction. I'll notify you of the trade location in three days."