Chapter 94

Walking straight ahead, all the way to a spacious clearing deep inside the cave, that was where Wenlong and Catherine's "bedroom" was located. Although it was simple, it was still quite cozy, with a bed made of stones and a whole beaver's pelt used as a mattress. A lamp made from the fat of hunted prey provided lighting for the cave. The materials obtained from their previous hunts were placed in a corner not far away, and in the center of this area was an extinguished campfire.

"Still, this cave is too simple as a home, meow," Wenlong suddenly remarked.

"It's not, Mr. Cat, I think it's quite nice," Catherine replied from beside him.

Wenlong noticed that Catherine seemed a bit uncertain when she said this, so he said, "Stupid woman, don't be so stubborn. After all, a cave is just a cave. If caves were good, humans wouldn't need to build houses... But don't worry, we'll have a house soon, and as we earn more money, I'll build a super large castle, even bigger and more luxurious than the king's palace, and recruit a hundred cat-eared maids to serve me, meow!"

"A castle bigger than the king's palace?" Catherine was startled when she heard this.

"Of course, how could such a building match my future great achievements? And haven't you noticed that even Levi, a low-rank two-star hunter, still has a villa in Mirard Village? Now, as long as you return to Mirard Village and complete this mission, you'll also be a low-rank two-star hunter. Living in a cave would be a bit too undignified, meow," Wenlong said.

"Although that's true... there's no need to build a castle bigger than the king's palace..."

"I didn't say we'd build such a large castle right away, but at least we should start with a mountain villa. It will cost a lot of money, but money is meant to be spent, meow." Wenlong said this while starting to tend to the extinguished campfire, adding some dry branches and lighting it to prepare for dinner. After all, they had been busy and hadn't had time to do this before.

"I understand, Mr. Cat, if it's your wish..."

"Hmph, what's wrong with you? Other women love living in beautiful big houses, but you're picky, meow?" Wenlong said, a bit displeased.

"No, no, no, absolutely not," Catherine quickly explained, "I'm happy to have a big house... I'm just a bit worried about the money. The cost to build a villa... we don't seem to have that much yet, do we?"

"We don't, but we will soon. Besides, this villa can be an investment. When we go to big cities like Majepoltan, we can rent it out, and the money we spend on the villa can be earned back, meow."

Wenlong confidently answered Catherine while setting up a rack over the campfire and taking out cooking utensils, which he had previously bought in Mirard Village to make their food more varied. After all, even if roasted meat is delicious, eating it every day can get tiring.

"An... investment?" For Catherine, the concept of investment was indeed too unfamiliar, so she didn't understand.

"Don't understand investments? Uh... forget it, you'll understand eventually, meow." Wenlong thought for a moment but decided not to explain to Catherine. After all, his investment philosophy came from his experience as a human on Earth, and explaining it to Catherine would probably be too difficult for her to understand.

However, in Wenlong's mind, the plan was already set. If they were to build a villa, it would be on the mountaintop, from where they could enjoy the most beautiful scenery in the area.

The vast flower fields on the hillside, the neatly arranged fields at the foot of the mountain, and the winding river in the distance—such a naturally blessed environment could be turned into a business model similar to a "rural retreat," specifically catering to wealthy people from big cities. They could experience a different rural life, even using replica hunting weapons to hunt gentle and non-aggressive prey like spirit deer and herbivorous dragons, experiencing a different life as a "hunter."

At this point, the pot was already set up, and Wenlong started pouring in some water and spices, beginning to cook. Catherine, on the other hand, was asked to slice the fresh meat into thin pieces.

"Mr. Cat, are you making... hot pot?"

"Yes, hot pot. It's convenient to make this now. When Dahu and Xiaohui finish their work, we can invite them to join us. All we need to do is put the sliced meat and vegetables in... Oh, right, and some delicious specialty mushrooms, meow."

Soon, the conversation between Wenlong and Catherine shifted to food, and the topic of building a mountain villa was temporarily put aside.

Before long, the water in the pot started to boil, and Wenlong was about to put in some of the sliced meat. At this moment, Catherine suddenly said,

"That won't work, Mr. Cat."

"What? Meow?" Wenlong asked, a bit puzzled.

"First, you should put in the fattier pieces of meat. Since the broth in the hot pot has no oil at the beginning, putting in the fatty meat first will release the fat, making the broth just right. Then, when you add the lean meat later, it will be better."

"I see, I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable about food, meow." As a穿越者 from the Great Food Empire, Wenlong felt his dignity challenged.

At this moment, Dahu and Xiaohui finished their work and, smelling the aroma of the hot pot, walked in.

"Wow, Hero, I didn't expect you to cook dinner yourself, that's quite a surprise, meow!" Dahu said.

"That's our fault. We've been so busy with work that we forgot to prepare dinner for you, Hero, meow," Xiaohui added.

"No, it's nothing. The work was my arrangement, and compared to dinner, the work comes first. You didn't do anything wrong, meow." Wenlong quickly said, then gestured for Dahu and Xiaohui to join them for dinner, "Come on, let's eat together. Hot pot is best enjoyed with a group, meow!"