"Hi, welcome everyone!" Looking at the six cars lined up in the parking lot, Robbins said with a smile.
"Do I need you to welcome us? We will be here from now on," Philemon replied, his tone slightly sarcastic. His words caused everyone to laugh.
In the United States, cars are just a means of transportation and are relatively inexpensive. You can buy a used car for about a thousand to two thousand dollars, or even for just a few hundred dollars. When I watched Transformers, the male protagonist spent only two thousand dollars on Bumblebee. It's not exactly an expensive price.
So in the United States, basically all adults own at least one car, regardless of its condition.
Now, all of Jiang Hai's employees own a car. The best ones are Robbins and Edward, who both own pickup trucks. Of course, pickup trucks come in different grades. The better ones can cost about a million dollars abroad, but Edward and his friends don't own such high-end trucks. Their pickups are all Chevrolet models—older cars. According to Robbins, when they first started, their new truck cost only 30,000 US dollars, and they had to borrow some money from the bank. It was really not that expensive.
But in fact, the Ford Raptor F150, which is very popular in China, sells for only 30,000 or 40,000 US dollars here.
Aside from these two pickup trucks, the others drive mostly small cars.
Philemon drives a Honda MPV, which is a seven-seater business car that can be used for family trips.
Burke-Dale, probably because he is single, drives an off-road vehicle, a Jeep Wrangler, which is considered a rare, good car here. Harriman, on the other side, drives a very old Subaru Forester, which is probably six or seven years old.
Finally, Bellezizi-Lester drives a small Beetle. Although it's typically considered a woman's car, if price is considered, his car is actually the most expensive among them.
Jiang Hai looked at these cars and couldn't help but click his tongue. Though there was a row of old cars in front of him, at least the others had cars. He, however, still didn't own one. Now that everyone was gathered, he planned to buy a car tomorrow.
Indeed, a utility vehicle is indispensable. In addition to the car, he also needed to buy a cattle dog and an all-terrain vehicle.
Fortunately, he is in the metropolitan area of Boston. As long as he is willing to spend money, he can buy anything.
"Alright, go grill the fish. You men are clumsy and keep burning the meat," at this moment, Philemon's wife, who had just greeted Jiang Hai, walked over to the grill and pointed at Robbins and Edward with an unhappy expression. Philemon's wife is Edward's sister, so she is familiar with Robbins and the others. Her name is Vicky Turner. As a full-time housewife, her cooking skills are well-known in the cowboy world.
"You don't understand. The boss is Chinese. He's not used to eating meat that's too raw, so I have to grill it until it's well done," Robbins replied stubbornly, still confident in his barbecue skills.
"Alright, go prepare the fire. You guys clearly can't cook it well," Vicky Turner said, giving Robbins a glance. At over 180 pounds, she pushed Robbins aside and began preparing the grill. Seeing this, Edward stopped what he was doing, handed the remaining tasks to Philemon, and went to help Robbins prepare the fire.
"Wow, this is going to be a treat. Mrs. Turner is the chef," Bellezizi-Lester, sitting off to the side, laughed and smacked his lips.
"Why, is Mrs. Turner's cooking really something to look forward to?" Jiang Hai, carrying two large glasses of beer, walked over and asked. Despite being the owner of this manor, Jiang Hai was not like other American capitalists who felt superior. He was willing to befriend his employees, and the others were either uncles or Harriman, who couldn't offer much of a conversation. Bell-Lester was more interesting since they were the same age.
"That was true at first, boss. You'll see what real Boston flavor is like once you try Mrs. Turner's cooking," Bell-Lester said with a smile as he took the beer glass from Jiang Hai.
"Oh, I'll definitely get a good taste later!" Jiang Hai, a real foodie, couldn't help but light up at the mention of food. He sat casually next to Bell and waited for the fire to start. While the steak was grilling, he chatted with Bell, mainly about Bell's military service. Bell wasn't worried about Jiang Hai being there to spy on intelligence. He spoke freely about what he could, like their training, weapons, and even his own military service in the Delta. Each team there has its own specialized equipment, including firepower, snipers, demolition experts, and communication personnel. These individuals need to possess other skills alongside their specialized ones, such as driving ability. For example, although Bell's full-time role was a sniper, he could fly, run, and swim, and drive nearly any machine or vehicle.
This surprised Jiang Hai, who thought he might eventually be asked to follow Edward on sea patrols. After all, Edward alone was a bit unreliable.
While Jiang Hai continued chatting, the fire had been lit. The fish they had caught earlier was either sliced into pieces or skewered, then seasoned and placed before the fire for anyone to grill themselves. The first round of steaks was also ready. Curious about Mrs. Philemon's cooking, Jiang Hai decided to try a piece of steak first. The moment he tasted it, his eyes widened. It was absolutely delicious.
It was tender but well-done, without the burnt flavor that often accompanies overcooking. Additionally, Mrs. Turner had made a special sauce, which was completely different from the black pepper sauce Robbins had used before. Jiang Hai ate a 300-gram steak in a few bites before making another one.
"Boss, my wife's cooking is pretty good, right? She can't just cook—she also grows vegetables. I saw that Robbins has a small vegetable garden over there. It's really too small. We can expand it when we have time," Philemon said, smiling as he walked over, seeing Jiang Hai enjoying the food.
"Yes, it's really good. Mrs. Turner, have you ever considered working? We can talk about the vegetable garden later. I'm alone here, and cooking is a bit troublesome. If possible, I'd like to come over to eat at your place sometimes and pay for the food. Is that alright?" Jiang Hai asked while eating his beef.
Hearing this, Mrs. Turner brightened. In fact, she had been showing off her skills for exactly this reason.
After all, they had two children. While the eldest no longer needed financial support, the younger child's college expenses were substantial. It made perfect sense for her to earn some extra income without having to leave the house.
"Of course! I don't mind cooking for one more person," Mrs. Turner laughed, and Jiang Hai nodded. They quickly settled on a price. Since Jiang Hai provided the food and Mrs. Turner only did the cooking, she was too shy to ask for too much. They agreed on fifty dollars a week, and with Philemon's contribution, it would total eight hundred dollars a month. The amount was reasonable for Jiang Hai, and both parties were satisfied.
However, no formal labor contract was signed, as fifty dollars a week didn't warrant that kind of paperwork.
The dinner that followed was a success. After the pizza arrived, everyone drank wine and ate meat, pizza, and grilled food enthusiastically.
Those grilled fish, chicken wings, and chicken hands were all delicious. Jiang Hai hadn't tasted food so good in a long time.
Of course, the ingredients mattered, but the atmosphere and his good mood made the experience even better.
Everyone played until 11 p.m., and then the event ended. Although Jiang Hai's physical fitness was at the human limit, he had not drunk much before. Tonight, he was happy and slightly tipsy.
Afterwards, he went upstairs to sleep, while the others cleaned up downstairs.
The next morning, Jiang Hai looked out the window and saw that everything had been cleaned up except for a pile of ash from the fire. He smiled, pleased that the people he hired were responsible.
After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Jiang Hai went to Philemon's villa for breakfast. The typical American breakfast is simple, consisting of five types of food: sandwiches, grilled sausages, fried eggs, oatmeal porridge, and coffee.
Today, Mrs. Philemon had prepared sandwiches, fried eggs, and oatmeal porridge. To be honest, Jiang Hai didn't enjoy the oatmeal porridge; it was too rough and hard to swallow. But the sandwich tasted great.
After a simple breakfast, Jiang Hai and Robbins, who had just finished eating, climbed into his old pickup truck and headed towards Winthrop to buy a car and a dog.