The process of traveling through time felt peculiar, like passing through a foggy tunnel. Suddenly, Blake found myself in a vibrant, colorful world where everything gradually reassembled in front of me, forming distinct objects.
For Blake, this experience felt more like motion sickness combined with waking up from a hangover, lacking the grandeur often depicted in fantasy novels where one breaks through the barriers of worlds and everything falls beneath their feet.
Returning to the secret room built by Tony, Blake sat at the computer desk for a while before slowly getting up to carefully explore his house. Compared to the real estate prices in top-tier cities back home, Los Angeles didn't seem too expensive.
For less than two million dollars, he bought a nearly 400-square-meter high-rise apartment with a single apartment per floor. Although this translated to over ten million yuan, there was also a difference in living costs to consider.
While the property wasn't excessively priced, Blake still had to pay nearly ten thousand dollars in annual taxes to the government due to the size of his property. This reminded him of the saying that buying a big house in the U.S. was easy, but maintaining it was hard. Perhaps he should buy a house in Shanghai next time he returned.
Today marked his housewarming party, according to local time stasis. Hosting a dinner was in order. Motivated by 30% to promote traditions, 20% to show off his luxurious new home, and 50% to alleviate boredom, Blake sent out a message to everyone he knew in this world. The message read:
[Hi! This is Blake! Today, I moved into my new home. According to tradition, when moving into a new house, it's customary to invite friends over for a meal! So, I've decided to host a grand dinner at my place tomorrow evening at 7:00 PM. You're all welcome to join me.
PS: Another tradition is to bring gifts and 'Red Envelope' when visiting friends who have moved into a new house. You can Google 'Red Envelope' for more information. A friendly tip: you can buy 'here'. I've attached a screenshot with a map marker for directions!]
In truth, Blake wasn't very good at cooking. He could manage a few simple home-cooked dishes, but not a banquet. However, with thousands of years of culture, not knowing how to cook couldn't stop him from hosting a meal. Enter the hot pot! A trip to the market provided all the necessary ingredients, sauces, and various types of seasonings.
While he might not use everything, having them at home added a sense of living atmosphere. From the twin-flavored pot to lamb slices and beef, he quickly realized why people don't venture out of their house often. The variety of items available in one block exceeded what could be found in a large supermarket further away.
From snacks, different types of clothing, even the smallest items, like pickled vegetables were plentiful. There were also herbal shops, mahjong parlors, and even funeral wreaths. Although some restaurant dishes had been Westernized, differing slightly from domestic flavors, it still felt familiar.
Having bought a large assortment of items, Blake was ready for his housewarming celebration.
Carrying bags of groceries home, Blake boiled water to prepare the hot pot base, washed and chopped vegetables, and arranged them neatly on the table. He also washed a variety of fruits and placed them out for guests. The whole process made the house feel more lively.
"Perfect!" Blake said, biting into an apple as he waited for guests, or rather, for their gifts.
The first guest to arrive was quite unexpected: Dr. Banner. Blake hadn't sent him an invitation, and since Banner had been taken by S.H.I.E.L.D., Blake had no way to contact him.
Sitting on the sofa, he watched the security feed showing Banner at the door. "Nicole, open the door!" Blake instructed.
"Yes, sir!" The convenience of having an intelligent housekeeper was apparent.
"Hi, Dr. Banner, welcome to my home!" Blake greeted warmly. Though they weren't close, he had to be hospitable.
Banner, being a straightforward person, seemed a bit embarrassed as he handed over a bottle of wine. "I've been controlling myself well lately, haven't transformed in a while. They mentioned an Avengers initiative and suggested I get to know you better. Agent Romanoff said you moved, and according to tradition, I should bring a gift. So, I brought some wine!"
"Did she not mention anything else?" Blake asked, noting the absence of a red envelope.
"No, is there something I should know? She's parking the car downstairs," Banner replied, looking uneasy.
"No, no, it's fine," Blake said, realizing it was unfair to expect a gift from someone currently without a home. He warmly invited Banner to sit down.
Within a few minutes, Black Widow arrived. "Hey, Blake, I picked up Dr. Banner from Canada today and didn't have time to buy a red envelope. I didn't know what gift to get, so here," she said, giving Blake a light kiss on the cheek.
"Alright," Blake said, shrugging. "Beauties always have privileges, but if the next guests don't bring red envelopes, I curse them with exploding hemorrhoids!"
Soon after, more guests arrived. Tony Stark took a break from his work on a new element, and even Nick Fury, accompanied by Hawkeye, showed up. Agent Coulson, stationed in Los Angeles, also came. Essentially, the founding members of the Avengers were all there, except for Captain America, who was still frozen, and Thor, who was in Asgard.
However, none of them brought red envelopes. They came with various gifts: wine, a painting, and Hawkeye even gifted an arrow.
"What am I supposed to do with this? Use it as a back scratcher?" Blake complained, using the arrow to scratch his back.
"Since you're all so stingy, don't blame me for being ungrateful!" Blake muttered to himself. While preparing the hot pot, he sneakily added two packets of spicy hot pot base to the clear broth side of the pot.
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