"Where have you been recently? There's not even a letter. I thought you were silenced by Qi Li's ex-boyfriend!" The man who had just referred to Jiang Hai as "boss" said to him with an unhappy expression.
"I asked him just now, and he said he'd explain after everyone arrives," replied the man who had just driven to pick him up. After hearing this, Jiang Hai paused for a moment and decided to fabricate a story.
He had no intention of telling anyone about the dragon balls or the dragon patterns on his body—not even his future wife. This was a secret, one he intended to take to the grave.
However, given the current situation, he had to come up with a lie.
"I wasn't in a very good mood recently. I just finished the anniversary of my mother's death, so I decided to go out and clear my head. While I was in the Gobi Desert, I found some stones by the blue sea..." Jiang Hai slowly spun his tale, looking at the few friends in front of him.
The story was simple: He had picked up some stones, which turned out to be quite valuable. When he returned, he sold them at an auction house. One of the stones was worth hundreds of millions of dollars. With the proceeds, he bought a large farm in the United States, which combined agriculture, livestock, fishing, and wine production. He had just signed the contract and was waiting for his green card to take effect.
"You're not embarrassed. You drank too much, and you're talking nonsense?" The others stared at him in disbelief.
"Well, I might have had a little too much to drink, but I'm telling the truth. Here's the green card," Jiang Hai responded, glancing at the group before slapping the green card down on the table. They had heard of green cards but had never seen one before. The green card, officially known as a permanent resident card, was issued to foreign nationals, and China also issued such cards now.
It resembled a temporary ID card: green on the front, with three lines of numbers at the bottom. A photo of the person was on the left, with their information beside it, and a fingerprint on the far right.
Jiang Hai had only seen a green card for the first time a few days ago.
Though they didn't know what a green card looked like, these people couldn't help but be impressed. They shifted from suspicion to curiosity as they looked at Jiang Hai.
"Your luck is incredible. You just pick up some stones and get such an adventure. I didn't expect you to be the first among us to get rich," said the man who had picked him up earlier, unable to hold back his amazement.
"Hehe, when luck's on your side, you can't stop it," Jiang Hai said smugly as he put the green card away.
"No, I must make you bleed tonight. Waiter, bring me ten more skewers of kidneys!" The boss couldn't help but shout as he watched Jiang Hai's smug expression.
"Okay, no problem! Order as much as you want. I'll make sure you're sick tonight!" Jiang Hai responded with a grin.
Jiang Hai didn't have a complicated background, and neither did his friends. He never believed he'd be the protagonist of some story, mainly because none of his friends were heirs to powerful families or wealthy business magnates. They were just regular guys, and so was he.
The man who picked him up was named Xu Wei, his high school classmate. Xu Wei's family was ordinary. His father passed away when he was in high school, and his mother had raised him with little savings. Through a family relocation, they managed to get two houses, so housing was no longer a concern. After high school, Xu Wei didn't attend college but went straight to work. Despite his years of hard work, he didn't have any special skills and didn't earn much.
Two years ago, he bought a small van through an introduction and used it to transport workers at construction sites. On good days, he could earn more than 200 yuan a day. When business was bad, he'd stay home. On good months, he made over 5,000 yuan, but because Bingcheng was so far north, construction projects couldn't start in late autumn when the snow fell. So he often spent about five months a year at home, barely making a living.
The man Jiang Hai had beaten earlier was called Huang Yunfei. They had been childhood friends, and though he was a year younger than Jiang Hai, they had grown up together and were very close. Huang Yunfei's family lived behind Jiang Hai's building. His father was a small section chief at a nearby hospital, in charge of cleaning and landscaping. Though he held the title of "section chief," he didn't make much money and had little influence.
Huang Yunfei had no interest in further education and, after graduating, his father secured him a job at the hospital's cashier's office. It didn't pay well, and Huang Yunfei was struggling.
The other two men sitting across from Jiang Hai were Fu Yuan and Xiang Hua. Fu Yuan, a classmate from junior high, had repeated a year to be in the same class as Jiang Hai. His family owned a dry cleaning shop and a copy shop at a university where his father worked as the director of security. Though his father had a position of authority, it didn't bring in significant wealth.
Xiang Hua, also from junior high, studied fine arts and was currently driving for his father-in-law. He was the only married person in the group besides Jiang Hai. His wife came from a family that ran a small machinery factory worth about one million yuan. Xiang Hua's wife and father-in-law treated him well, which is why he was able to work as a driver.
These four were Jiang Hai's closest friends. When he was younger, he loved making new friends, but after attending college, he lost interest in people who weren't genuine. Later, as his family changed and he got married, only these four remained in his life. The bond between them was strong and unbreakable.
After a while, the waiter brought the skewers they ordered, and they began to eat.
When it came to grilled skewers, Xin Province and Inner Mongolia were the first places that came to mind. Known for their mutton, they were experts in grilling it, and Jiang Hai admitted the best skewers came from Bingcheng. Despite differing tastes, even southerners agreed the skewers there were delicious, though some couldn't handle the large kidneys.
Jiang Hai found himself eating more than ever since being affected by the dragon ball. His appetite had grown, and where he could once eat 20 skewers, he now devoured 30, sometimes even 40 or 50.
He thought back to when he was in Boston, where Robbins had cooked a ten-pound steak, and Jiang Hai had eaten more than half of it.
As they continued to eat, they ordered more skewers until everyone was full.
When the bill came, Jiang Hai paid over 500 yuan for the barbecue. With only five of them, it was quite an expensive meal, but their appetites made them rare big eaters in Bingcheng.
"What should we do now? We can't just eat and go home!" After paying, Fu Yuan checked his phone. It was just after 6 p.m. and time to do something fun.
"Go sing? Or play mahjong?" The others eagerly asked.
"Sing? Forget it. I haven't had a bath in two months. I'm practically a mud man," Jiang Hai said, waving his hand to reject the idea.
"Okay, bath it is! Let's go!" The others laughed, and they all left the restaurant. None of them had been drinking, so they drove to their regular bathhouse.
The bathhouse, though small, was affordable for Jiang Hai and his friends. The 39 yuan package included a bath, scrubbing, sweat steaming, and access to a lounge. You could also choose one of three additional treatments: foot massage, cupping, or health massage. It was a great deal, and they often visited this place.
They ordered five 39-yuan packages and headed straight into the bathhouse!