Chapter 191: Chapter 123: Little Head Potion

"Alright, thanks," Li Wei said, noticing that all three of them had their hands full. "Can I come back to get it in a little while?"

"Let me carry it in for you," the doorman said. "It’s what we’re here for."

Li Wei thought for a moment, then nodded and led the way.

After they went inside, he gave the doorman 20 USD as a tip and placed the package on the living room’s marble coffee table.

He didn’t need scissors; his arms were like hydraulic clamps. Grabbing the tape wrapped around the package, he tore it open with a single pull, revealing layers of protective foam inside.

As he opened the packaging, the faint, savory aroma unique to dried seafood drifted out.

"What’s this?" Lily leaned in, curiously staring at what, to her, were some very oddly shaped things.

"They’re giant undersea caterpillars," Li Wei said without turning his head. "This is my Chinese New Year gift to you, dear. Tonight, it’ll crawl onto your face and cuddle with you."

"Eww~" Lily said, her face scrunched up in disgust. "That’s so gross."

"I’m just kidding," Li Wei said, taking out a beautifully packaged box. "This is called sea cucumber. It looks like it’s already been rehydrated. It’s a prized delicacy."

"I don’t want to eat that," Lily protested. "It looks kind of gross."

"You picky little girl," Li Wei said. "Looks like Lin Daohang sent some really nice stuff. Is this abalone? Must be dried... Ah, I know! These are ingredients for ’Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.’ This must be the legendary fish maw and dried scallops."

Rummaging to the last box, he found a tightly sealed ceramic pot. Inside was "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall." A handwritten card was attached, explaining that Lin Daohang had gone to great trouble to collect these ingredients for Mr. Li to sample. It also mentioned that, if he was available, a chef from Longjingxuan Restaurant could come to his home to prepare it for him.

To be fair, it wasn’t hard to find expensive ingredients in New York if you had the money. You could just go to Whole Foods or a Michelin-starred restaurant. The ingredients Li Wei had just bought were all top-tier; otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent over 5,000 USD. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

But getting authentic, traditional Chinese delicacies and centerpiece dishes of this quality... money alone wasn’t enough for that. You needed connections, you needed to put in the effort. It was a gesture with real heart.

For Li Wei, living in a foreign land without even a green card, this pot of "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" was worth far more than any A5 Wagyu from Japan.

Regardless of his personal opinion of Lin Daohang, he had to accept this gesture of goodwill.

"Chairman Lin, I received the delivery," he said, having called Lin Daohang. "You’ve gone to far too much trouble."

"Ah, Mr. Li! I’m so sorry. I asked for your address yesterday," Lin Daohang said, apologizing before Li Wei could say more. "I had planned to deliver it to you personally today, but when I arrived at the entrance to your community... wow. It’s truly a high-end neighborhood! The security, the environment, it’s all top-notch. I didn’t go in, hahaha."

He laughed again. "When I learned you weren’t home, I had no choice but to leave it with the guards at the gate."

At this moment, Don Quixote glanced at the intercom by the main door. "The front desk called us a few times, but none of us were home."

"You’re too thoughtful," Li Wei said with a smile. "But I think I’ll have to take you up on your offer. I honestly have no confidence I could prepare a proper ’Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.’ Besides, I’ve been seriously craving some good Chinese food."

"Of course, of course," Lin Daohang said with a hearty laugh. "I know exactly how you feel. When I first came here in the ’90s, all I craved was the fried noodles from the little shop back home... Just tell me when you’re free. There’s a master chef in Chinatown, formerly the head chef at the Longjingxuan Restaurant in Hong Kong. I can have him and his apprentice come over and prepare a feast for you."

The name Longjingxuan Restaurant had sounded familiar to Li Wei, so he’d done a quick search. Apparently, it was the first Chinese restaurant ever to receive three Michelin stars.

"That’s very generous of you," he agreed. "The New Year is in a few days. I’ll make some time to pay you a formal visit."

The next day, Lunar New Year’s Eve arrived. Li Wei had wanted to invite Anya over, but she was swamped with preparing materials for a supplementary application and just couldn’t get away.

What did surprise Li Wei, however, was that Don Quixote had secretly invited Susan.

"You two..." Li Wei began, surprised. "Welcome, welcome! Please, come in."

"Happy New Year," Susan said in very broken Chinese. "I hope I’m saying that right."

"You said it perfectly, I understood every word," Li Wei said with a laugh. "Come on in. We’re having hot pot today. I hope you like it."

In truth, Li Wei hadn’t understood her perfectly, but that didn’t stop him from getting the gist.

Lily skipped over, clutching the red envelope Li Wei had given her in one hand and a calico ragdoll in the other. She pulled Susan, who had just changed, off to give her a tour of her new bedroom. Li Wei seized the opportunity to corner Don Quixote.

"What’s going on with you?" he asked, looking down at Don Quixote with a scrutinizing gaze. "When did you start dating behind my and Lily’s backs? An old tree finds its spring, huh?"

"What are you talking about?" Don Quixote shot back. "I just asked Susan if she was free and invited her over for dinner. That’s it."

"Oh yeah?" Li Wei pointed toward his own nose. "You trimmed your nose hairs today. You just did that yesterday. Don’t think I didn’t notice."

"Damn it, how do you know everything?" Don Quixote said, flustered. "There’s nothing going on between me and Susan."

"Catherine is in the past," Li Wei said, patting Don Quixote’s shoulder. "She ran off with what’s-his-name from that foundation, right? It’s time for you to find a new companion."