My Demon Friends-Chapter 576 - 550: A Sad Story

"Today seems to be Kitchen God's Day," Zhou Li said.

"What do we eat for Kitchen God's Day?" Huai Xu asked.

"Rice soaked in fish soup!"

"It seems like we don't eat anything specific," Zhou Li thought for a moment, "and we also need to clean."

"We eat rice soaked in fish soup!"

"That's miserable, starving all day and still having to work," Huai Xu shook his head. "Thank goodness we're out here and didn't go back."

"What I mean is there isn't anything specific we need to eat, not that we don't eat anything at all," Zhou Li explained, while quietly observing Huai Xu's expression. "At least, that's how we do it."

"The New Year is almost here," Huai Xu remarked.

"Yes..."

It really was rather late now.

Especially since they were more than four thousand kilometers away from Yan City. The full journey on the highway would take over forty hours. If they didn't drive day and night without stopping, it would take at least three days.

Therefore, Huai Xu said, "Then let's head back today without delay. Anyway, there's nothing much to see here anymore."

"Okay."

Zhou Li quickly finished his lamb skewers.

Old monster was still quite considerate, having left him a box of milk—Kedi, the brand he liked to drink. This brand was barely found in supermarkets in Yi Province due to its limited brand recognition. Zhou Li had yet to see this brand for sale anywhere in Qingjiang during his time there.

They tidied up and checked out.

Huai Xu took the driver's seat, and Zhou Li, holding Tuanzi, sat in the passenger seat. He set up the navigation, aiming for Wu City as today's destination, where they planned to get a maintenance check.

Another long journey lay ahead.

Once on the highway, Zhou Li reclined his seat and said to Huai Xu beside him, "I'll take a nap first; call me if you need anything."

"Sleeping so early in the morning," Huai Xu glanced at him with a sidelong look. "Didn't you sleep well last night?"

"Lord Dumpling was doing parkour all night," Zhou Li closed his eyes.

"Nonsense! Lord Dumpling was very well-behaved last night!" Tuanzi couldn't stand such slander. Clearly, Tuanzi had noticed Zhou Li seemed unhappy last night, so she had quietly lain beside him the entire time, keeping him company. She hadn't expected him to malign Lord Dumpling instead of being grateful. "Zhou Li is so nasty!"

"HEH HEH HEH."

Huai Xu grinned but did not speak to reveal the truth.

Zhou Li, too, kept his eyes closed and remained silent, pretending he didn't want to stoop to their level, as if he'd already fallen asleep.

If you can't hear or see, there's no embarrassment.

He slept for two hours this way.

When Zhou Li awoke, he felt almost fully recharged but quickly became terribly bored in the car. There wasn't much to do other than look out the window or play with Lord Dumpling.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated.

"Hmm?"

Zhou Li was surprised his phone had a signal in this place and opened the message.

It was a message from Aunt Jiang—

Aunt Jiang: [Video]

Aunt Jiang: Received it.

Zhou Li clicked on the short video.

The video panned from right to left, showing several large, sealed bags of raisins and dates on the coffee table. As it moved to the far left, Old Zhou appeared, staring blankly at a bag of black goji berries.

He looks so happy with that blank expression.

Zhou Li smiled and quickly typed a reply—

Zhou Li: Do they taste good?

Aunt Jiang: Haven't tried yet.

Zhou Li: Is Old Zhou satisfied with the black goji berries?

Aunt Jiang: Very satisfied.

Aunt Jiang: When are you coming back?

Zhou Li: We're already on our way back, but it's quite far. We're driving slowly and prioritizing safety, so it might take several days to get home.

Aunt Jiang: That's how it should be; safety is most important.

Zhou Li: Did you do any dusting today?

Aunt Jiang: We'll do it this afternoon.

Zhou Li: Is Xiao Shuang at home?

Aunt Jiang: He's at home. He said he'd wait for you to come back before leaving.

Zhou Li: Oh, I see.

This year's New Year might not be as lively as last year. According to their arrangement, Zhu Shuang was going to his dad's place this year.

Zhou Li felt a bit regretful.

After chatting with Aunt Jiang for a while, Zhou Li sent Brother Nan a message: Did you get the raisins?

Li Daimao: They arrived in Yan City today but haven't been delivered to me yet.

Li Daimao: Guess what I'm doing?

Zhou Li: Don't know.

Li Daimao: Guess.

Zhou Li pondered for quite some time before he started typing—

Zhou Li: Thinking about me.

Li Daimao: Scram.

What a sad story.

Zhou Li smiled, holding his phone and waiting for a while. Sure enough, Brother Nan sent another message.

Li Daimao: Guess again.

Zhou Li: Dusting.

Li Daimao: Wrong.

Zhou Li: I don't know then.

Li Daimao: I'm filming an ad for my family's noodle shop. Your Little Cousin is instructing me remotely. Once I've finished filming, I'll hand it over to her for post-production. With my millions of followers, do you think I could make my family's noodle shop an internet sensation?

Zhou Li: Yan City doesn't have internet-famous restaurants; there aren't enough people. It might be possible in Jin Palace. Besides, you're not a food blogger.

Li Daimao: Oh, right.

Li Daimao: Jin Palace is better; anyone can become famous there with a bit of hype. I even heard about some 'chicken hotel' that became an internet hotspot. People come from all over just to stay there. Tell me, can any hotel really be more comfortable than your own bed?

Zhou Li: Can't figure it out.

Just then, his phone vibrated again.

A rare contact had sent him a message.

Baozi: Cousin, happy Kitchen God's Day.

Baozi: [Red Packet]

For some reason, seeing this red packet, Zhou Li sighed involuntarily.

He was getting tired of this routine.

He opened it expressionlessly.

He looked at the 0.88 expressionlessly.

He replied with 88.88 expressionlessly.

He watched her politely say "Thank you, Cousin," and replied with a nonchalant "You're welcome," not expecting her to add—

Baozi: Cousin, stop chatting with Brother Nan. She's been filming this ad all morning, and none of it has been usable.

Zhou Li: …

He seriously suspected his Little Cousin had opened their chat intending to tell him to stop messaging Brother Nan and distracting her from making money. She probably only remembered it was Kitchen God's Day and decided to casually score some cash off him. But even after getting the red packet, she didn't hesitate to tell him to shut up.

Zhou Li took a screenshot, sent it to Brother Nan, and then turned off his phone to look at the scenery.

Soon he was bored again, so he went to message Miss Zheng.

Huai Xu had delivered the raisins for Miss Zheng, and they had arrived long ago. Miss Zheng said the raisins were tasty, but she couldn't distinguish the numerous flavors of the loose ones. Zhou Li told her that those were from Old monster and had nothing to do with him.

Old monster hadn't just brought her local specialties.

According to Miss Zheng, Xing Hui and Ji Bai also received several grapevines, while Xiao Yuan and Lao Hui got two wild apricot trees and four jujube trees.

Zhou Li was silent for a while after hearing this.

Old monster was playing a long game.

After the car maintenance in Wu City, they went to Dunhuang the next day to see the Little White Fox in the desert.

「On January 7th, the 26th of the lunar calendar, they arrived in Yan City.」

Aunt Jiang had prepared a sumptuous meal. Since Zhu Shuang would be heading to Jin Palace the next day, tonight served as their reunion dinner.

In fact, Zhu Shuang's father had urged him several times to go to Jin Palace earlier to visit relatives. However, Zhu Shuang insisted on waiting to have a meal with his brother before leaving. But his brother was a heartless man, completely preoccupied with his girlfriend.