Chapter 84: Treating Bald Qiang and the Animals to Grilled Fish
"Li You, please, come in. This is my log cabin." Bald Qiang enthusiastically welcomed Li You into the yard.
"Thank you, Brother Qiang. It’s a very beautiful log cabin."
To be honest, Bald Qiang’s cabin was actually quite beautiful.
"Not at all, not at all, you’re too kind." Bald Qiang was very proud, but for once, his words were uncharacteristically modest.
"Oh, right," Bald Qiang said after a moment. "Everyone must be hungry after fighting for so long. Let me treat you all to something to eat. How about it?"
"Something to eat?" Xiong Er’s eyes lit up instantly. "Yeah, yeah! Bald Qiang, what are we eating? Bring it out, quick!"
Xiong Da, however, said, "Bald Qiang, you’re being quite generous today!"
Bald Qiang said, "Brother Qiang is always generous, alright?"
Xiong Da spread his paws, indicating he didn’t see it that way.
Li You thought for a moment and said, "I caught a lot of fish in the lake earlier. How about I borrow Brother Qiang’s yard and treat everyone to grilled fish?"
"Grilled fish?" Xiong Er cheered. "Yeah, yeah! I love grilled fish! Li You, thank you! You’re such a good person."
Jiji also did a somersault and shouted, "HUWAH! Grilled fish, grilled fish! This king loves grilled fish the most!"
Li You smiled and asked Bald Qiang, "Brother Qiang, what do you think?"
Bald Qiang said, "Great idea! And it just so happens Brother Qiang has a grill and charcoal right here. My grilling skills are top-notch, too. I used to sell barbecue in town, and business was booming. If it weren’t for that annoying administrator who wouldn’t let me set up a stall, Brother Qiang would’ve gotten rich selling barbecue long ago."
Xiong Er said angrily, "Bald Qiang, you have the nerve to say that? You even dared to sell spoiled ingredients! I had diarrhea for a whole day because of you."
Bald Qiang chuckled sheepishly. "I just didn’t want to be wasteful. I’ll go get the grill."
With that, he dashed into the house.
Xiong Er muttered, "That Bald Qiang."
Li You watched with a smile. This all felt so real, yet at the same time, a little surreal.
Then he said, "Beng Beng and Tutu aren’t here. Why don’t we invite them to join us?"
"Li You, you even know Beng Beng and Tutu?" Xiong Er asked.
Li You laughed. "Of course! I know all of you."
Xiong Er chuckled. "Looks like we’re famous."
"I’ll go get them," Maomao said.
"Thank you for making the trip," Li You said.
"It’s no trouble." With that, Maomao ran out of the yard.
At that moment, Li You took out about fifty crucian carp from his Spatial Fish Pond. They were all top quality, each weighing around half a pound.
Crucian carp were the best for grilling.
Seeing so many fish, Xiong Er cheered again, "That’s so many fish!"
Xiong Da was also very happy and said, "Li You, you’re a pretty amazing fisherman! But if you treat us to all the fish, didn’t you catch them for nothing?"
Li You smiled. "It’s alright. I can always go fishing for more."
Jiji, however, said, "Li You, you’re not bad. This king was right about you."
Just then, Bald Qiang came out with the grill and charcoal.
When he saw the fish Li You had brought out, he exclaimed, "WOW! With so many fish, we can really eat our fill!"
After a bit of work, he lit the charcoal.
Xiong Da and Xiong Er started to clean the fish. With a few swift motions, a fish was ready.
Bald Qiang brought out some seasonings from the house and started grilling the fish.
Soon, the aroma of grilled fish began to waft through the air.
And it smelled amazing.
While the fish were grilling, Maomao returned with Beng Beng and Tutu.
On the way, Maomao had already told Beng Beng and Tutu all about Li You.
So, as soon as they arrived, both Beng Beng and Tutu thanked Li You for helping destroy the logging robot and saving the forest.
Li You smiled and told them there was no need to thank him.
At that moment, Bald Qiang shouted proudly, "Brother Qiang’s famous grilled fish is ready!"
He then handed a grilled fish to Li You and said, "Li You, try some. What do you think of Brother Qiang’s skills?"
"I want to try some too," Xiong Er said.
"And this king as well! Bald Qiang, hurry up and present this king with his fish," Jiji demanded.
Bald Qiang retorted, "Get it yourself. You expect Brother Qiang to serve you? Dream on!"
Li You burst out laughing. It was so lively here.
He took the grilled fish from Bald Qiang and took a bite. It really was incredibly fragrant and delicious.
Li You gave him a thumbs-up. "Brother Qiang’s skills are undeniable. This is absolutely delicious."
Bald Qiang said smugly, "See? Brother Qiang wasn’t bluffing."
At the same time, Xiong Da, Xiong Er, Jiji, Maomao, Luobutou, Beng Beng, Tutu, and of course, Bald Qiang himself, all started to eat.
Every single one of them—or to be precise, the two humans and seven animals—ate with great relish.
When they finished, they grilled more.
When those were ready, they ate again.
Gradually, all fifty fish were eaten.
Li You found it absolutely incredible that he was actually sharing grilled fish with Bald Qiang, Xiong Da, Xiong Er, and the other animals.
But at the same time, it all felt so real.
"That was delicious! That’s the best grilled fish I’ve ever had. Thank you, Li You," said Xiong Er.
"Aren’t you going to thank Brother Qiang? Brother Qiang was the one who grilled all this fish," Bald Qiang said.
"Thank you too, Bald Qiang," Xiong Er added.
"That’s more like it." Bald Qiang was satisfied.
Xiong Da, as well as Jiji, Maomao, Luobutou, and the other animals, all expressed their thanks to Li You and Bald Qiang.
After the lively gathering, Li You announced it was time for him to leave.
He had to go back.
Hearing that Li You was leaving, everyone, from Bald Qiang to Xiong Da, Xiong Er, and the other animals, was very reluctant to see him go.
Xiong Er said, "Li You, I don’t want you to go. Can’t you stay a little longer?"
"Yeah! Just stay a little longer. If you don’t mind, you can even stay the night here in my cabin," Bald Qiang said.
"You helped us destroy the logging robot and treated us to grilled fish. We haven’t even properly thanked you yet," Xiong Da said.
Even Jiji said, "This king permits you to stay in the forest for a while longer."
Li You smiled. "I’m so happy I got to meet all of you. Don’t worry, I’ll come back again in the future. Who knows, maybe I’ll even have something to ask for your help with then."
"Don’t you worry. No matter what it is, as long as we can do it, we’ll do our best to help," said Xiong Da.
"If you ever need anything in the future, just come to Bear Ridge and find Brother Qiang. Brother Qiang will definitely get it done for you, no problem," said Bald Qiang.
Li You smiled again. "Then I’ll thank you all in advance. Alright, goodbye for now, everyone. Take care."
"You have to come back and see us again!"
"Yeah! You have to come back."
"Don’t worry, everyone, I’ll definitely be back. Goodbye, everyone!" Li You waved farewell.
"Goodbye! You have to come back!"
Bald Qiang, Xiong Da, Xiong Er, Jiji, Maomao, Luobutou, Beng Beng, and Tutu all waved and said goodbye too.
"Okay, I will."
After saying this, Li You turned and left Bald Qiang’s yard.
"Goodbye! You have to come back!"
Even after walking a long way, Li You could still hear the calls of "Goodbye" coming from Bald Qiang’s yard.
Li You stopped, slowly turned around, and looked back at Bald Qiang’s yard with a smile on his face.
He really wanted to return to this place again in the future.
And he believed he probably could.
After a long while, Li You said in his mind, ’System, exit the current game instance.’
’Acknowledged. Exiting current game instance. Countdown: 10, 9, 8...’
When the countdown reached "1," the world before Li You’s eyes began to turn illusory.
Then, he returned to the real world.
...