Chapter 448
After Luke returned home, he drove his Mercedes to 99 Dahua Supermarket, the largest Chinese supermarket chain in the United States.
This supermarket is very much in line with the traditional Chinese festivals, Lantern Festival with dumplings, Dragon Boat Festival with zongzi, Mid-Autumn Festival with mooncakes, Chinese people need things can be bought here.
Luke turned around in the supermarket, the general feeling is that vegetables are more expensive than meat.
Tonight, Luke is ready to arrange a family gathering, sort of pick up for his dad, a few days ago he was busy closing the case, only today he has free time, naturally, he has to do it well.
In the past family gatherings, most of them are eating roast meat, today Luke decided to come to something different, eat hot pot.
Luke bought meat, seafood, dipping sauce, and filled the trunk of the car to the brim.
Back home, Li Zhaofeng also came back, father and son were lazy to cook, made a pot of tea and ate a few wife cakes.
After resting for a while, they began to pack the ingredients and prepare the family gathering meal.
Eating is one of the easiest satisfactions to achieve in modern society, and putting some effort into food will be a better experience for life.
At four o’clock in the afternoon, the hot pot ingredients were already prepared, and the drinks were all ready, white wine, red wine, beer and whiskey.
Luke’s relatives also arrived one after another.
The first to come were mom and Little Fatty.
Yesterday, Li Zhaofeng had seen the little fat man, picking him up after school, took him to eat dinner together, however, did not see the legendary little girlfriend.
Little Fatty and Linda got out of the car one after the other.
Luke walked over and kissed Linda’s cheek, “Mom, you look beautiful today, I like your pendant.”
The little fat man on the side revealed a smug look, “I gave it to you.”
“Really? Where did you get the money?”
The little fat man extended his palm, “Are you going to reimburse me?”
Luke waved his hand, “No, just pretend I didn’t ask.”
Li Zhaofeng also walked over and greeted, “Linda, you still look the same as you remembered, basically nothing has changed.”
Linda bristled, “Is this your way of complimenting me?”
“Yes, you’re still as young and beautiful …… that’s what I’m trying to say.”
“You don’t have to be so subtle, I’ve said it many times …… “Linda seemed to think of something and shook her head, “Forget it.
Is dinner ready yet? Do you need any help?”
“No, we’re ready.”
Perhaps because they hadn’t seen each other for too long, the two of them got along a bit awkwardly and rusty, chatting for a couple of sentences and then nothing more.
Little Fatty interjected, “Dad, what have you guys made to eat. I’m very hungry now.”
Li Zhaofeng introduced, “We prepared hot pot, as well as fried chicken legs and pizza.”
Little Fatty revealed an excited look, “Wow, all of them are what I like to eat.”
The fried chicken legs and pizza were ordered by Luke, Luke was afraid that they were not used to eating hot pot, so he ordered the more familiar staple of pizza and fried chicken legs.
Eating hot pot with fried chicken sounded a little weird, but when you thought about it most Sichuan style hot pot restaurants had little crispy pork and it didn’t sound out of place.
Wouldn’t it be even more delicious now that the little crispy pork had become fried chicken thighs.
Luke moved the folding table out and put it in the yard, ready to eat hot pot outside, now the weather is not too cold and not too hot, it is very suitable for open-air gathering.
After the table, chairs, and ingredients were set up, Robert and Val drove up.
“Hi, Robert.” Zhaohong Li went forward for a warm hug.
Robert sized up Li Zhaofeng and didn’t show any difference because he divorced his daughter, “Hey kid, how long has it been since we’ve seen each other.
It’s been a long time since I’ve heard from you, except for my daughter who compliments you when she receives her alimony.
You should come around more often.”
Li Zhaofeng accepted with a false sense of humor, “You’re right, I’ll focus more on my kids from now on.”
Robert patted his shoulder, “You’re a lucky guy to have two good kids, haha.”
Linda “……”
Val “……”
Li Zhaofeng shook Val’s hand, “Man, how have you been? I heard you got a new job.”
Val smiled, “Not bad, I’ve been working at the supermarket recently.
Dad said if I can work steadily at the supermarket for three years, he would consider investing in a small convenience store for me to run.”
Li Zhaofeng said, “Congratulations in advance then.”
Little Fatty came over, “Uncle, when the time comes, can I do odd jobs at your store?”
Val thought about it and said with a serious face, “Of course, I will give you an interview.”
Little Fatty rolled his eyes straight away.
The people arrived and the hot pot was set on the table, it was a mandarin duck pot one curry flavor and one spicy flavor.
The table was set with all kinds of ingredients, meat, seafood, vegetables, mushrooms, Luke first placed half a box of lamb to moisten the pot.
He was worried that mom, Robert, and Val wouldn’t be able to eat the lamb, and he also bought a lot of fatty beef rolls.
The little fat man did not wait for the opening of the pot, he was hungry and straight, picked up the fried chicken leg that had just been heated ‘cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck’ ate it, it was called a crispy.
Luke even listened to the gluttony.
He muttered, “You know what? I super love the sound of that.”
Val wondered, “Your girlfriend didn’t come?”
“Yeah, Maggie’s been busy lately, so I came by myself.”
Val shrugged, “I thought you guys broke up.”
Fatty “……”
You must be jealous of me, yes.
There were communal spoons in both pans and Robert used them to fish a spoonful of lamb into the curry pot, dipped it in the little ingredients and took a bite, giving a thumbs up, “I love the flavor, it’s awesome.”
Luke laughed, “Very good, looks like we have one more option for future family gatherings.”
Robert pointed to the buttered pot roast again, “Is this spicy? It smells a little chunky.”
Luke said, “Yes, this is spicy, my favorite flavor. But if you can’t eat spicy, don’t try it.”
Robert fished a spoonful of lamb into the bottom of the spicy pot with a slotted spoon and dipped it into the little ingredients, “Wowow, very peculiar, really spicy, feels a little choked, but this tastes pretty good.”
Robert picked up his glass of beer and took a big sip, turning to Li Zhaofeng, he asked, “How is your parents’ health? I haven’t seen them for many years.”
Li Zhaofeng replied, “Pretty good, the last time Luke and Jack came back to New York. They even mentioned you and thought of visiting you in Los Angeles sometime.”
“I’ll go to the airport to greet them, and I’ll also treat them to the most authentic barbecue in Los Angeles.”
“I’ll pass that on to them, I’m sure they’ll be delighted.”
Robert took a slotted spoon and fished another spoonful of meat into the spicy pot, Luke put in fatty beef this time, Robert took a bite and nodded, seeming to like the flavor, he wiped his mouth and said, “Are you coming to L.A. for work this time? How long are you planning to stay?”
Li Zhaofeng said, “Luke should have told you guys, he is going to buy a house in Los Angeles, I will help him deal with some tax issues and buying procedures. Basically, the processing is almost done, when he signs the contract, I will return to New York.”
Robert looked over at Luke who was on the sidelines, “Kid, congratulations, you’re going to have the first house of your life, when are you going to show us around?”
Luke thought for a moment, “The house I bought is a bit old, it may need to be renovated or rebuilt, and I won’t be able to move in anytime soon after I buy it.”
Robert touched his nose, “Are you planning to live there for a long time, or is it of an investment nature?”
“Long-term residence.” If there were no accidents, this house Luke did not consider selling, because the purchase price of this house was very low, and if it was sold the percentage of taxes paid would be very high.
And the neighborhood was so livable that Luke had no need to sell.
“Then it does need to be built properly, let me know if you need any help. I’m not very old yet.”
“I will.”
Val chimed in, “And me, anything else as long as it’s not a loan.”
Luke automatically ignored his words.
Robert put down his chopsticks, “Families, let’s raise our glasses and congratulate Luke on being about to own the first house in his life.”
“Cheers!”
The following morning.
Luke went to the closing company with Daisy.
Since the property was in the nature of a stolen property auction, it was handed over to a real estate company.
The real estate company broker’s name was Tom Akram, a white man, around forty years old, wearing a suit, tie, and meticulously combed hair, looking very professional.
“Mr. Lee, nice to meet you.” Tom offered his hand.
The two shook hands and Luke introduced, “This is my attorney Daisy Ellis.”
“Hello Attorney Daisy.”
“Hello Mr. Akram.”
“Tom, just call me by my first name.”
Both parties sat at a conference table, Tom Akram said, “Captain Lee, I just watched your news two days ago, thank you for catching that sick shooter and restoring peace to Los Angeles again, I’m sure that process was thrilling and exciting.”
“You’re right, it was indeed exciting.” Luke said politely, belaboring the fact that it was just a brat, nothing compared to the murderers that had been captured with.
Tom Akram said, “If there is a suitable time, we can have a drink, sit together and talk, I am very interested in hearing about your experience, you are now very famous in Los Angeles, even my daughter knows about you, Sleuth Luke.”
Luke laughed, “If I ever come out with an autobiography, I’ll be sure to give your daughter a copy.”
“She’ll be super happy.”
After both sides exchanged a few pleasantries, Tom Akram placed his briefcase on the table and took out a few pieces of information, “Captain Lee, you should be clear about the situation of this house.
Our company was commissioned by the FBI to handle the sale procedures.”
“Yes, I am clear.”
“Do you need me to introduce the neighborhood and the house again?”
“Yes.”
“The Palisades community is located in the suburbs of Los Angeles, with convenient transportation, beautiful scenery, large superstores and restaurants nearby, two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school, although the school district is not big, it can be ranked in the top seven in the whole of California.
This is the most important place for many Chinese residents.
The average home price in the community is around 10 million dollars.
The size and location of the house you are purchasing is among the better ones, and several similar houses are around $11 to $12 million.
The house you are purchasing is older in construction and has never been lived in, the house needs to be rehabbed before you can move in, which is why the house is less expensive.
However, based on the size and location of the house, if you were to rebuild it, the overall price of the house would also go up in value, and a new home could cost between $11 and $12 million.”
Daisy said, “As I understand it, because of the economic climate, the prices of homes in Los Angeles fell back a while ago, wasn’t the Palisades neighborhood affected?”
Tom Akram shook his head, “The Palisades neighborhood’s supporting facilities are all first-class, and more than fifty percent of the residents are of Chinese descent, the housing prices in the Chinese community have always been firm, and there is almost no possibility of a price drop.”
“OK, let’s start signing.” Luke spent three million dollars to buy a nine million dollar lot, not a bad deal by any stretch of the imagination.
Luke also opened his briefcase and took out the loan information.
Tom Akram’s side also took out some information and documents.
With Daisy’s help, Luke started to sign some documents, such as the house title, insurance, property management, and so on.
Luke asked, “Tom, you also know that the house is a bit dilapidated, I am going to find a construction company to repair or rebuild it, when can I probably start the construction?”
Tom Akram replied, “If we follow the general rules, we need the loan approval to come down and the official closing before we can start the construction.
However, the person in charge of communications over at the FBI has said that as long as you turn in the down payment check for the house and the loan information, the house is yours to do with as you please.”
Luke smiled, “Thank him for me.”
Technically, the house itself was a perk for FBI insiders, except that Luke didn’t have to say anything to the public.
Tom Akram reminded, “It’s a good idea to communicate with the community board in advance before you start construction.”
“Thanks, I will.”
Both sides signed the contract and shook hands to say goodbye.
Luke and Daisy exited the closing company together.
Daisy sat in the car and exclaimed, “Wow Wow, a ten million dollar mansion!”
Previously, although Daisy knew that the environment of that neighborhood was good, she didn’t expect it to be worth so much.
Luke laughed, “Want to come with me to take a look?”
Daisy glanced down at her watch, “It’s better to wait until the house is fixed.
I have a client to see this afternoon.”
“That’s fine, I can’t entertain you even if you go now.” Thinking about that dilapidated house, Luke also felt a little powerless, it was a big project.
“When are you going to start the construction?”
“I have an appointment with the builders this afternoon, I’ll take them to the house there to check out the site and make a construction plan, and then we’ll decide whether to repair or rebuild.”
Daisy nodded, “Remember to look for me before signing the contract with the builder, there are some ambiguous clauses in the building contract, if there are no problems it’s fine.
Once a problem arises it will be troublesome, and a lawsuit will cost money and waste time.”
“I will.”
Daisy took off her heels and changed to a comfortable sitting position, “It’s getting late, let’s go to lunch.
Consider it a celebration of your purchase of the new house.”
Luke started the car, “What do you want to eat? My treat.”
“French food, consider it your lawyer’s fee for the day.”
“Deal.”