Chapter 99

"Han, is there any hot water here? I want to take a shower; it's uncomfortable being all sticky." Liu Ming put away his fishing rod, clapped his hands, and turned to ask.

Li Han, who was pouring the fish into a bucket, looked up and smiled. "Sure, the bathroom is over there. Do you need me to lend you some clothes?"

Liu Ming waved his hand and said, "No need, I have clothes in my car." Liu Ming went out to get a change of clothes and went into the bathroom. Li Han washed the dishes in the kitchen, put them away, went upstairs to get clean clothes, and after taking a shower, found Liu Ming fiddling with the coffee machine. "This thing is quite tricky; I can't find the switch."

Liu Ming usually didn't drink coffee, preferring green tea due to the influence of his elders. Li Han opened the cabinet, took out some coffee beans, and smiled. "This thing has been around for a while. Do you want coffee or green tea? You brought quite a bit last time."

"Of course, green tea. I thought you were out of it."

Li Han handed the porcelain jar to Liu Ming. After fiddling with it for a while, Liu Ming managed to make it taste better than Li Han's. "It's drinkable, it's a high mountain tea, but the tea plants aren't great, and the processing is a bit old. The aroma is too strong."

Li Han said irritably, "Drink it or don't. Last time you didn't complain so much. This tea costs nearly a thousand per catty."

"A catty?" Liu Ming shook his cup, looking at Li Han with disdain. "This thing costs a thousand? You must be joking."

"A kilogram, a thousand per catty. I don't have that much money to waste. When you brought it, I'll try some."

Liu Ming nodded. "I thought so. A thousand per catty isn't like this. In my opinion, the best tea comes from high mountains, picked by young girls around seventeen or eighteen. The tea should be processed with a gentle fire, and the best time is before the Qingming Festival. Although this is high mountain tea and picked before Qingming, the environment and the pickers aren't good, and the processing is too old. The aroma is too strong. A light fragrance would be better. I'll bring some when I have time; the taste is really good."

Li Han didn't want to argue with Liu Ming. Once he got to know someone, he could be quite annoying. Liu Ming, seeing that Li Han wasn't paying attention, smiled. In front of strangers and unfamiliar people, Liu Ming was quite proper, reserved, and acted like a young nobleman, good at reading people. But once he got to know someone, he lost his seriousness and became as casual as the fat guy next door.

They drank tea and chatted about the farm. Liu Ming planned to set up a horse farm in the country, which he had mentioned to Li Han, but they hadn't discussed the details. Before dinner, they had time to talk while cleaning the fish and shrimp. By the time they finished dinner, they had discussed most of the details. Li Han saw Liu Ming off. "Alright, no need to be polite. We just talked about the matter. Pay attention to it. I'll bring the money tomorrow. If you need anything, call me. Money isn't a problem for me."

"Thanks, get some rest." Li Han closed the car door and greeted Philip. He then went back to the small house. Doudou had just woken up, wearing her father's big slippers, rubbing her eyes as she came down the stairs. Little Black Bear, Xiaohēi, chased after Doudou's feet. Xiaohēi had a little accident on the stairs, rolling down and tumbling. The little thing was smart and held its head with its paws, rolling around. It got a bit dizzy and wobbled over to Li Han's feet, sitting on his foot.

"Doudou, you're awake. Wash your face, and I'll leave some food for you."

Shrimp and tofu soup, fried small fish, chicken legs, a plate of braised beef slices, and a large bowl of rice. Doudou washed her little face and came back to the living room. Li Han had the food ready and waved her over. Doudou ran over, her big slippers clapping. Li Han was afraid she would fall. "Be careful." The little black bear sniffed the smell and crawled over. The little guy had a very sensitive nose. After dinner, Li Han told Doudou a few stories until she fell asleep. She had slept a lot in the afternoon.

They had a good night's sleep. Early in the morning, the father and daughter carried a small milk bucket to the cowshed. After the milk was disinfected, Li Han brought it back to the kitchen to make a cream cake. "Doudou, help Dad make a birthday cake." "Okay, Dad, make a big one for Doudou, okay?" Li Han pinched Doudou's little nose. The little one was drinking milk, her tummy full.

Doudou pointed to her little face and said, "No, Doudou wants a small one, and Dad wants a big one." "Okay, wash your hands." Li Han held Doudou and washed her little hands. The little one insisted on wearing a small hat and apron like Dad. She looked like a little chef. "You look beautiful." The father and daughter were busy, beating eggs, cream, and baking the cake. Doudou helped Dad with the big one, and her little face was covered in cream.

Diana brought the raw milk for disinfection and greeted Li Han, finding it amusing that the father and daughter were covered in cream.

"Good morning, Han, Pandora. Do you need any help?" "Good morning, thanks, Diana. No, by the way, Doudou and I are having a birthday party tonight. Come over, and ask Jim and Hutton to come too."

"No problem, Han. With beer and grilled meat, I'm sure Jim and Hutton won't miss it." Diana smiled. Li Han asked if Lulu could come, and if not, to send a cake and beer, and some grilled meat.

"Han, I can help you send it over." Diana had nothing much to do today and could pick some vegetables for Lulu. Li Han prepared beef, mutton, oatmeal, milk, cola, cake, beer, and sent them over. "Thanks, Diana. Come over early tonight."

Diana smiled and nodded. "No problem, Han, Pandora. See you later." "Bye, Aunt Diana. Doudou's cake is delicious." Doudou waved her cream-covered hands to say goodbye. The whole morning, Li Han and Doudou were busy preparing drinks, whiskey, which Ronald and others liked, beer, and wine, which Chris and others might like.

In the afternoon, Will and Katie came to help. Cynthia, Bella, Kelly, and Doudou's kindergarten friends were all invited. Liu Ming sent two boxes of Opus One through Philip, and Li Han put them out. "Han, the party is really great."

Drinks, fruits, snacks, grilled meat, and seafood. Will and Katie set up a dozen long tables, with various salads, vegetable salads, beef, mutton, venison, large lobsters, and two king crabs. It was extremely luxurious.

Li Han ordered many colored lights, which he set up on the lawn. "Will, can you help me bring the beer over?" "No problem, Han. This is my favorite job." Will went to get the beer, and Katie, Bill, David, Joe, and others followed, visiting Li Han's beer room. "Do you need any help?" Liu Ming stood by, a bit early, as guests hadn't arrived yet.

"Want to sit and have a glass of red wine?" Li Han smiled. Liu Ming rolled his eyes. If he wanted to drink, why would he come here? "Just kidding. The lights are a bit crooked. Help me pull this side while I pull the other."

Doudou and Liz, Michelle, were tying balloons. Michelle was envious of Doudou. Her parents never blew so many balloons for her birthday. Doudou giggled, very happy to invite her friends to her home for her birthday. Dad said Doudou wasn't adopted but was born to her parents. "Doudou, give the balloons to Aunt Liz." The balloons were beautifully arranged.

Jim and Hutton came early to help Li Han grill the meat. They laid out the seasonings, Thousand Island dressing, mustard, jam, butter, grilled bread, cookies, pudding, various small pastries, cream cookies, fruit pies, and cut various fruit platters. The preparation was very abundant. The party started at 6:30 PM, and many guests arrived. Li Han and Doudou greeted them. About forty to fifty farm owners came, including Anderson and Andre, even Glasserman and his butler, who brought Doudou a beautiful crystal princess crown. Li Han's gift was a bit casual.

Doudou happily asked her dad to put the crown on her. With a beautiful princess dress and a lovely crown, Doudou truly became a little princess. Little Michelle, Rem, and Sime were very envious.

Most of the guests were young people from the town. Li Han knew most of them, having made many friends through football and baseball. Of course, owning nearly ten thousand acres of prime pasture had elevated his status. At the start of the party, Li Han said, "Thank you all for coming to my and Pandora's birthday party. In Pandora's name, I will donate a thousand dollars to the Komi Star town square to add benches. Uncle Ronald, please take care of it."

Li Han handed the check to Ronald. "Glad to help. Pandora has a commendable father, Han. Congratulations." "Thank you, Uncle Ronald." Li Han understood that the benches represented his integration into Komi Star and entry into the core circle, which was a cause for celebration.

Liu Ming smiled, poured a glass of wine, and came to Li Han's side. "Not bad, that was a good move. Too bad I don't have the connections to donate money." "You will. Come, let's introduce the guests again." Li Han poured a glass of red wine and came to Chris's group, smiling. "Chris, thanks for the red wine. It's really great."

"Han, congratulations. The birthday party is really nice." Chris was more enthusiastic.

"Thanks, Chris. I really envy you for having the love of such a beautiful lady, Harley." Li Han gestured to Harley, and Chris smiled, raising his glass to Li Han. "Enjoy yourself. Excuse me, I need to go over there." "No problem."

"Mr. Glasserman, it's an honor to have you at the birthday party. How is your health?" Li Han came to a corner where Glasserman and a few old farm owners were chatting. These old farm owners were quite conservative.

"Little Hank, Tom would be very happy to see so many people at his farm, wouldn't he?" An old farm owner who was familiar with the original owner, Tom, said.

"Of course, Old Tom was a good man. To Old Tom, let's have a drink."

"Good boy, the whiskey is really good." The old farm owners smiled, and Glasserman nodded. "Pandora is a kind child. Thank you for the chicken soup. I feel much better, Han. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Mr. Glasserman. I hope you recover soon. To your generosity, cheers." This stubborn old man was not bad, renting the pasture for free, at least not letting the weeds and pests destroy the pasture and harm Li Han's pasture.

"This is a mutually beneficial arrangement, no need to thank me." Although Glasserman didn't dislike Li Han now, he didn't exactly like him either.

"Even so, you deserve my thanks. Excuse me, I need to go for a moment." Li Han excused himself and came to Andre and Ronald's group. Li Han had a good relationship with Marbury, Yulico, and others.

"Little Hank, you've grown up." Ronald, Marbury, and DeClare were among the first to know Li Han. At the time, Li Han was just a yellow-skinned kid playing with Will and Katie, a hired black worker. In just a few years, he had become a farm owner with nearly ten thousand acres of prime pasture, worth millions.

"No, Little Hank will always be Little Hank. Uncle Ronald, Uncle Marbury, Uncle DeClare, I'll have a drink with you." Li Han said, drinking a glass of red wine. These three were people Li Han respected for life, who had helped him a lot.