Chapter 105: Hey, How About a Bowl of Noodles?

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April’s authorization document is crucial. It signifies that she has permanently transferred the land use rights to Qiu Fengyu. In other words, Qiu Fengyu is now effectively the owner of this house. In the U.S., demolishing and rebuilding is a common way to construct houses. But now, Qiu Fengyu doesn’t even need to tear the old one down—he can build directly on top of it.

The first step in building a house is to handle the procedures at the city government’s planning department. It’s quite straightforward: fill out an application form, then the government will promptly approve it, and next, hire a professional architect to design it.

All the legal formalities were managed by Sheriff Coffin’s lawyer on Qiu Fengyu’s behalf. The lawyer also took full responsibility for completing the paperwork and informed Qiu Fengyu that construction could begin.

In reality, it’s quite simple. Americans build houses by hiring professional construction companies. The lawyer friend signed a contract with the construction company, ensuring everything was properly arranged.

Paying a hefty lawyer’s fee saved Qiu Fengyu a lot of time and effort.

As these arrangements were underway, Thanksgiving was approaching. This was Qiu Fengyu’s first time celebrating the holiday according to local tradition. But none of it was a problem because he had plenty of friends around.

Tim and Davis were likely to be freeloaders, clueless about how to celebrate the holiday beyond partying. As for Ryoko Mikura, she would probably stay home like a well-behaved girl, just as she had appeared to Qiu Fengyu before—quietly staying indoors.

Besides, Japanese people probably didn’t know how to celebrate Thanksgiving, right?

Clearly, Qiu Fengyu was mistaken. Japanese families seemed even more enthusiastic about Thanksgiving than Americans. Early in the morning, Qiu Fengyu saw a Japanese family driving out shopping. Britt was the best choice; he would give Qiu Fengyu some good advice.

“Hey, boss. I can celebrate Thanksgiving with you.” Tim said this to Qiu Fengyu two days ago. After school today, having finished dinner, he sneaked over to Qiu Fengyu and said, “I’m grateful Mr. Britt took me in. But… you know, I don’t feel like I belong there. This is where I belong.”

“I’m not going to be your dad!” Qiu Fengyu grabbed a dozen beers and headed out, glancing at Tim. “Wanna go check it out nearby?” he said, then walked off.

Tim followed him, and the two went over to the foundation of the new building next to the noodle shop. Construction had already started. According to American construction schedules, it should be ready to move in before Christmas. They were now pouring the foundation, mainly concrete and steel reinforcement. Erecting the main structure would be easy afterward. The interior would be wooden, while the exterior would be shaped and reinforced with concrete and rock.

“This will be our home!” Tim looked happily at the foundation.

“It’s my home.”

“It’s mine too, boss. You can’t shut me out like that,” Tim said through gritted teeth. “Look at this place. It can easily house several people.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll have your own room.” Qiu Fengyu patted his shoulder firmly. “I’ve prepared six rooms, a backyard, and a front lawn where I’ll plant clusters of flowers.”

“I like red roses.”

“I thought you preferred roses. Aren’t they the national flower of America?” Qiu Fengyu glanced at Tim.

“I know, but I’m of Arab descent. Though that heritage has diluted to a tiny fraction, I’m still Arab.” Tim grinned. “So what flowers I like has nothing to do with being American, boss.”

Qiu Fengyu chose a place to sit, then patted a nearby stone, signaling Tim to sit beside him. “I’ll move these things to the backyard, then dig a swimming pool. I’ll plant a grove of trees behind it and use the pool water to irrigate them.”

“You sure you want to build a pool?” Tim shook his head. “I’m not optimistic. Just so you know, I might only live here for a year before joining the military, so don’t expect me to clean it.”

“Davis can! He’s a good worker!” Qiu Fengyu laughed.

“I think so too,” Tim smiled. “I’ve always thought that. He’ll probably ask you for a raise, but since you pay and he works, it’s all good.”

“Better than doing it myself!”

The two shamelessly assigned more work to Davis. As they were talking, someone approached—wearing a white dress, her long hair flowing gently in the dusk light.

Tim sighed. “Every time I see her like this, I get the illusion that the tough girl you went hunting with in leather pants and this angelic girl before me are the same person.”

“People change, kid. You’re still a little green,” Qiu Fengyu scoffed. “Though deep down, she’s no angel.”

“You’re not falling for her, are you?”

“No need to swear,” Qiu Fengyu snorted, waving at Ryoko as she got closer. “Hey, what brings you here?” He tossed her a beer can.

Ryoko carefully lifted her skirt with one hand, walked cautiously around the construction site, and with the other hand, caught the beer can smoothly.

“That’s why I like her—innocence and wildness coexisting!” Tim whispered into Qiu Fengyu’s ear.

Before Qiu Fengyu could laugh, Ryoko snorted and sat beside him. “I heard you talking about me. You’re just a kid; you don’t understand anything,” she said with a tone full of disdain.

“Are you really planning to live here long-term?” Ryoko took a big gulp of beer, a bit rough for someone in a dress.

“For now, yes. I’ve spent my entire savings and budget building this house. From now on, I’m broke. Damn broke. I hate that word.” Qiu Fengyu grunted through clenched teeth.

The budget for this house was $280,000, including the swimming pool he mentioned.

“I get a room, right?” Ryoko jumped happily onto the poured foundation, hopping around, then stood where one room would be. “Here… I want this one.”

“Oh no, you can’t do that. That one’s mine. I already reserved it,” Tim protested loudly. “I just talked it over with the boss.”

“Boss? Ha! He’s not your dad.” Ryoko laughed heartily.

Qiu Fengyu shrugged at Tim, signaling he wasn’t taking sides.

“Alright, but… you have a harsh reality to face. Will Mr. Mikura let you stay here? Haha—” Tim suddenly acted like he caught her in a weakness. “So everything you just said was nonsense.”

“No, you might have misunderstood my family. Actually… at home, I do whatever I want, completely unrestricted. Got it?” Ryoko smiled at Tim, then glared at Qiu Fengyu. “But don’t expect me to call you boss just because you give me a room… No way!”

“I never thought that,” Qiu Fengyu said carefully, nodding. “How about I call you boss instead?”

“Ha… you’re really funny.” Ryoko laughed, not at all ladylike.

“If you keep acting like this, I’ll really start to doubt that the image I had of you before was just an illusion!” Qiu Fengyu sighed.

“Because… we slept together?”

“Pfft!” Qiu Fengyu spat out his beer.

“Hey, hey, I’m still here! I’m a minor!” Tim protested from the side.

“Shut up!” Qiu Fengyu and Ryoko shouted at Tim simultaneously, then glanced at each other and shrugged.

“Do you really think that?” Ryoko stared at the foundation and then angrily said, “If you do, you’re an asshole.”

“Oh, I am, ever since you reminded me,” Qiu Fengyu said.

“When did I remind you?”

“When you said we slept together just now, you helped me remember, and then I thought… okay, shut up, I know you’re about to call me an asshole. But I never denied being one!” Qiu Fengyu raised a finger and made a shushing gesture toward Ryoko, who looked ready to explode.

“Haha, that’s why I like the boss so much!” Tim laughed.

“Alright, two assholes, keep stinking it up here. I was going to have a drink with you, but forget it.” Ryoko snorted and turned to leave.

“She’s great. If it’s possible, she should be an important part of our group,” Tim said to Qiu Fengyu. “I’m really curious—what did she do before? What kind of experiences does she have?”

“I suggest you don’t even think about it. That’s her secret, just like I won’t tell you about mine. I’ll only say this—I’m from Ukraine, I’m Chinese, that’s all.”

“Okay, got it. Some things are better left unasked, huh? Sounds like we’re some secretive organization, and you’re the boss leading us…”

“Shut up, Tim.” Qiu Fengyu cut off his wild imagination.

The two chatted and drank beer until it was all gone, then went back. Tim wanted to stay, but Qiu Fengyu kicked him, and he obediently returned to Britt’s house.

Construction continued, but tomorrow was Thanksgiving. Qiu Fengyu decided to close the shop for two days. Since people spend Thanksgiving having big dinners at home, keeping the noodle shop open was a waste of time and resources.

Still, today’s business was good. Even though Thanksgiving was tomorrow, some people came to Qiu Fengyu’s place for a bowl of noodles. That flavor was irresistible.

After selling forty bowls, as Davis was about to clean up, someone entered and walked straight to the kitchen door, ignoring Davis’s astonished gaze. She said to Qiu Fengyu, who was just about to take off his chef’s coat, “Hey, chef, give me a bowl of ramen.” (To be continued.)