"Hey—Uncle Yang, when are you coming?"

"What? Not coming? What are you going to do with the cement and gravel for this project?"

"Give it to me? No, no! Even if you give it to me, I can't take it with me!"

"You're really not coming? What? Your dad has cancer? He'll have to stay in the hospital with him."

"What? You used my 90,000 yuan? Mr. Yang, how could you do that? That's for my mom's medical treatment!"

Beep, beep...

"Hello—hello—"

Beep, beep...

"Yang Guofu, fuck your ancestors—" Looking at the hung-up phone, I just wanted to curse!

My name is Geng Sanjiang. I'm 23 years old. I just graduated from the University of Finance and Economics. Because my family is poor, I followed that bastard Yang Guofu out of school and came to this desolate desert country of Continent F.

When I first arrived, I couldn't adapt to the climate. It was so hot it felt like you were getting burned. Later, I couldn't eat the food. Not to mention the sticky, gooey mixed noodles, the cooking environment was so utterly distasteful. That was all thanks to that bastard Yang Guofu. To save money, he wouldn't buy cheap rice or noodles, insisting on hiring a local chef. He even claimed it was for everyone's benefit, calling it "localized cuisine and better integration into local society!"

In short, for someone like me who had never been abroad, everything in the desert country was both new and painful. I wasn't familiar with the language, the customs, the food and sleep, and I had to deal with people who reeked of body odor.

Well, for the money, I endured it, I could endure it!

A monthly salary of 20,000 Chinese yuan was too tempting for me!

Look, within six months, I'd already saved 100,000 yuan. Of course, this was also thanks to that stingy boss, Yang Guofu. While the mixed noodles weren't tasty, I still didn't have to pay for food, clothing, and shelter. Of the 100,000 yuan, I gave him 90,000 yuan to bring back for my mom for the Lunar New Year.

I didn't want him to bring it, but my parents, while both have smartphones and use WeChat, haven't activated the payment function. They don't even have Alipay or anything like that. We do have a few bank cards, but transferring 100,000 yuan still costs dozens of yuan in fees!

Damn! Just to save a few dozen yuan in fees, I actually believed Yang Guofu's "good intentions" and thought he would just give the money directly to my mom!

Of course, I can't be blamed for this, because Yang Guofu is from my grandmother's village. We already know each other, and according to the hierarchy of relatives, he even calls my mom "cousin." Who could have imagined that this millionaire, a billionaire, would embezzle 90,000 yuan from me!

The more I think about it, the angrier I get, and the more stupid I feel!

I originally wanted to go home for the Lunar New Year, but the plane tickets were expensive! Air tickets, which usually cost three to five thousand yuan, were jacked up to over ten thousand during the Lunar New Year holiday. A round trip would cost twenty to thirty thousand yuan. I wouldn't even want to pay a few dozen yuan in handling fees, so why would I waste that kind of money just to go home?

Besides, Yang Guofu's construction site needed to be supervised by someone I could trust.

Yang Guofu said, from the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month to the eighth day of the first lunar month, the fee was 1,000 yuan a day!

I calculated it, and it was exactly ten days, so ten days equals 10,000 yuan! Of course, that's in addition to his salary.

Yang Guofu said he'd definitely come before the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, otherwise the road would have to be repaired with all the cement and sand he'd just bought! My fellow continental friends don't celebrate Lunar New Year, so I still have to pay them a salary while giving them a day off. What's the point?

In the end, it was the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, and he still hadn't come!

On the phone, he said something was going on at home, and told me not to worry and to come after the fifteenth day. He couldn't afford to delay!

And then to supervise the construction site? Keep paying! Of course, it wasn't 1,000 yuan a day. By the 15th, there were still eight days left, so I'd get 500 yuan a day, for a total of 4,000 yuan. Actually, 4,000 yuan was a lot, but I still felt that for the same job, I was getting 1,000 yuan a day for the first 10 days, but only 500 yuan a day for the next eight days. Isn't that too little?

How could I be at a disadvantage? Finally, we agreed: 5,000 yuan by the 15th! Yang Guofu didn't argue, saying, "Okay, okay, I'm not going to bother with the 1,000 yuan!"

But on the 16th of the first lunar month, he still hadn't shown up!

After the second day of the second lunar month, the Dragon Raising Day, he still hadn't shown up!

Damn it! I made three international calls that day!

The calls were free!

Only today, that old fox, Yang Guofu, got impatient and finally told me the truth!

Damn it! He never showed up at all.

And he embezzled 90,000 yuan of my wages! Of course, he said it was a loan and he'd pay me back 100,000 in a year!

Damn, do you think I'd still believe him?

"Geng, miss miss miss!" At this moment, the female cook, Fatty, called for dinner.

"Miss miss, you're talking about dinner!" Hearing this fat woman say "miss miss miss" made me furious. Damn, your current employer is a jerk, isn't it?

"Please—eat—dinner!" The fat cook said "dinner" so seriously and solemnly, her eyes filled with apology and worry, and I didn't bother to argue with her.

In fact, this cook and nanny, aside from being a bit overweight, had no other flaws. She was young, capable, spoke Chinese, and cooked delicious food. Of course, it was delicious!

I put on my slippers, got out of bed, and went to the living room to see what I had cooked today!

Big plate chicken? Yes, that's right, big plate chicken again!

Sometimes I think being a cook is really not easy. Ever since I personally cooked big plate chicken on New Year's Eve, this Fatty has been researching how to make it.

How to season it, how to stir-fry it, how long to simmer it, how long to stew it, what toppings to use, can I add their chili sauce? No! I have to use **'s fermented black bean paste! Can I use their tart bread at the end? No! I have to use **'s braised noodles at the end! No! I have to use **'s braised noodles at the end! No braised noodles? Then I have to use other noodles!

Today's big plate chicken looks very authentic, apparently made exactly as I instructed. Even the Sichuan and Ma peppercorns are genuine, bought from ** supermarket.

The chicken is fresh! Tender!

The potatoes are fragrant! The noodles!

The noodles at the end aren't braised noodles, but they are **'s dragon beard noodles, aren't they?

With a wheaty aroma and a chewy texture, dipped in the broth, it's delicious!

Fattty is eating in the kitchen too, and her mouth is also drooling!

Sometimes I think this girl makes a big plate of chicken every other day. Maybe she's trying to please me, but she's also eating it for herself! Well, don't get me wrong, that old pervert Yang Guofu gave her a name. I don't like it, but it feels a bit ambiguous.

But everyone calls her that. What's her real name? I can't quite remember how to pronounce it, but it means something like a small seashell on the beach. Damn, at 1.65 meters tall and weighing over 180 pounds, is that a small seashell?

The village chief, or chief in the area, says she's only 18 this year, but judging by her face, she looks like she's 30.

Seeing her so carefully eating her noodles, I didn't bother to argue with her anymore. I went out to pick my teeth and scold Yang Guofu.

When she heard me leave, she suddenly called me.