Chapter 368 - 368: Let Me Treat!
“Hoo, I’m exhausted!” As soon as Li Yang stepped onto the yacht, he removed the oxygen tank from his back and collapsed directly onto the deck.
“Are you okay?” Shen Lan walked over to Li Yang with a worried expression.
“I’m fine, darling, just a bit tired. 1’11 be fine after a rest!” Li Yang gently pinched Shen Lan’s pretty face, causing laughter from Zhou Chao and others nearby.
Seeing Zhou Chao and others laughing, Shen Lan gave Li Yang a couple of big eyerolls and muttered, “It’s all your fault, making me the subject of their jokes.” “Don’t mind them, my dear. They’re just envious!” Li Yang shamelessly replied, looking at Shen Lan with a mixture of love and exasperation.
“Zhou, you’re truly amazing. Even the big sharks willingly serve as your ride. Are you a descendant of the sea god or something?” Abdullah approached Zhou Chao and praised him.
“Hahaha, Abdullah, if that were the case, I should be a dragon’s descendant, not a servant of the sea god!” Zhou Chao replied with a laugh.
“Right, a dragon’s descendant!” Abdullah nodded in agreement.
By now, everyone had changed out of their diving suits and into their regular clothes.
“Boss, should we head back now?” Miles emerged from the captain’s cabin.
“Yes, let’s go back. It’s getting late!” Zhou Chao checked the time; it was already 430 in the afternoon, and several hours had passed without them realizing.
“Understood!” Miles returned to the captain’s cabin to prepare for their return.
“Boss, here’s your giant lobster!” At this moment, Angie walked into the lounge carrying a net bag.
“Angie, you’ve worked hard today!” Lin Wu, who was standing next to Zhou Chao, quickly took the net bag from Angie.
“Boss, you’re too kind. Serving you is my duty!” Angie nervously looked at Zhou Chao.
“You should also take a break!”
Seeing Angie leave, Abdullah finally let go of his companion and looked at Zhou Chao with a puzzled expression. “Zhou, how come the people on these islands all call you ‘boss,’ especially that Miles guy? I’ve seen him on the island several times, and sometimes he’s even accompanied by the island’s executives!”
“Wow, Abdullah, how did you know that the person with Miles is the executive of Lanai Island?”
“I visit Lanai Island several times a year, and I’m familiar with their boss, Elson. We’ve met a few times, and we’ve gotten to know each other!”
Zhou Chao also knew that Abdullah’s identity was not simple, but he didn’t expect him to know Elson. Nevertheless, he could understand it; after all, the circles of the wealthy were often similar.
“Hahaha, Abdullah, what if I told you I’m the new owner of Lanai Island?” Zhou Chao looked at him with a smile.
“The new owner? Zhou, you didn’t actually buy Lanai Island from Elson, did you?” Abdullah looked surprised.
“Yes, 1 did. Is there a problem?”
“Of course, there is! You don’t know how many times I’ve talked to him about buying the island, and he has always refused, saying he wants to keep it for retirement. 1 can’t believe you actually made him willingly sell Lanai Island to you. Zhou, you’re extraordinary!”
“Hahaha, I just have a little money, Abdullah. You’re the same; you wanted to buy Lanai Island too.” Zhou Chao smiled at Abdullah.
“All, it’s a pity he didn’t sell it to me!” Abdullah sighed.
Time passed slowly as the two chatted, and the yacht slowly entered the harbor of the bay.
“Zhou, how about having dinner together tonight?”
“Abdullah, let me arrange it. You know I have quite a few friends joining us.”
Abdullah pondered for a moment and nodded, “Sure, let me treat you next time.”
“No problem, let’s meet at 630 in the evening at the One Forty restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel!”
“Sounds good, 1’11 be there!”
Zhou Chao nodded in response.
The group disembarked from the yacht and went their separate ways, preparing to return to their rooms to freshen up and rest.
“Miles, can you arrange dinner at One Forty for tonight? Also, I’ll need to use their kitchen later. Give them a heads-up, and feel free to join us for dinner!” Zhou Chao’s words surprised Miles a bit. Did the boss plan to cook himself? Hearing Zhou Chao’s last sentence, Miles’ face lit up with a smile.
“Thank you, boss, I’ll arrange it right away!” After saying that, he hurriedly left, leaving Zhou Chao and the other two somewhat stunned.
“All Li, did I say something to upset him?” Zhou Chao turned to Jiang Li beside him.
“But you invited him to dinner!” Jiang Li also seemed a bit uncertain.
“Well, it’s just dinner, there’s no need to get so excited,” Zhou Chao shrugged it off after some thought.
“Lin Wu, you carry these two giant lobsters and bring them to the restaurant later. I’ll cook some dishes. I haven’t been used to the food lately; I want some spicy Jianghu cuisine tonight!”
Zhou Chao had never been abroad before, mostly staying in China, so he hadn’t encountered too much unfamiliar cuisine. However, the past few days had been filled with Western dishes and other cuisines, and his palate had grown a bit bland. He was looking forward to improving his meals tonight.
“Understood, boss!” Lin Wu looked at the two giant lobsters in his hands; they were indeed quite large, weighing at least six or seven pounds each.
“You should also go and rest!” Zhou Chao said as he took Jiang Li’s hand and headed towards his ocean-view villa.
“All Li, we’ll take our wedding photos tomorrow!”
“Really?!” Jiang Li’s face lit up with excitement, her eyes filled with anticipation.
“Absolutely!” Zhou Chao lovingly stroked Jiang Li’s head.
“Yeah, that’s awesome!”
Seeing Jiang Li’s excitement, a smile spread across Zhou Chao’s face.
“Tomorrow, we must take some beautiful photos, lots of them. We’ll hang them all over the house. After all, our home is so empty right now, Brother Chao, what do you say?”
“Okay, we’ll hang them all!”
“Hehe, too many might not look good. Let’s hang one batch on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and then another batch on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays!”
“What about the weekends?”
“We’ll give them a day off on weekends!”
Zhou Chao was momentarily taken aback and then burst into laughter as he looked at Jiang Li’s earnest expression.
“Alright, we’ll give them a day off on weekends!”
For a moment, the garden villa area was filled with their laughter.
On the other side, Miles had already arrived at the One Forty restaurant.
The restaurant’s manager naturally knew his background, as he was the person who could determine whether they could survive on Lanai Island.
“Mr. Miles, is there anything you need?”
“Manager Muir, tonight, the boss will be hosting a dinner here. 1 hope you’ve made the necessary arrangements.”
“The boss? Are you saying that the owner of Lanai Island wants to dine here?”
“Yes, the boss has dined here before and had a good experience, so he asked me to inform you. Additionally, he might want to use the kitchen tonight, so please let your kitchen staff know. We wouldn’t want to upset the boss later.” Miles spoke calmly, without a hint of a smile on his face.
“I understand, Mr. Miles. Thank you for the advice. I’ll make sure everything is ready.”
“Good. Please arrange everything as soon as possible. The boss is expected to arrive at 630, so be prepared to welcome him.”
“Rest assured, we won’t disappoint the island owner,” Muir said with a serious expression.
“I hope so.” With that, Miles turned and left the restaurant.
Muir Ali watched Miles leave, a smile on his face, but a hint of worry in his eyes. He then walked toward the kitchen.
“Chef Mike!”
“What’s up, Manager Muir!” Mike Gors, as the head chef of One Forty restaurant, held a position that was almost on par with Muir.
“Here’s the deal. Tonight, a distinguished guest wants to host a dinner for friends at our restaurant. I hope you can personally take charge. Additionally, this guest may want to use the kitchen, so 1 hope you can cooperate when the time comes.”
“Manager, who is this guest, and why would they want to cook themselves? Do they think my cooking isn’t good enough? Isn’t this an insult to my skills?” Mike felt a bit insulted at the thought of someone wanting to cook in his kitchen. After all, he was a top-class chef with two Michelin stars to his name.
Muir could tell from Mike’s tone that he was getting upset about having to share his kitchen. He quickly explained, “Calm down. It was the guest’s request, and considering his status, 1 couldn’t refuse. Besides, he insisted on cooking himself.”
“Heh, you’ve been talking in circles, Manager. You haven’t even told me who this guest is. Why are you so nervous?” Mike was perplexed, wondering who could make their manager so anxious.
“The island owner!”
“The island owner?!” Mike was taken aback.
“Muir, don’t joke with me. When did the new island owner arrive on Lanai? 1 haven’t heard anything about it!”
“I don’t know either. Mr. Miles mentioned that the island owner has dined here before and had a good experience, so he chose this place. Please cooperate with the island owner tonight. You know what I mean, right?”
Mike hesitated for a moment and then said, “Don’t worry. Even if the island owner’s culinary skills are lacking, with my touch, the dishes will still turn out delicious.”
“Okay, get prepared. I’ll go handle some things outside. I hope nothing goes wrong tonight!” Muir said before heading out.
In the kitchen, a chef in a white chef’s uniform walked over to Mike, who still seemed a bit dazed.
“Chef Mike, what do you think the island owner is thinking? He’s so wealthy, yet he wants to cook himself. Isn’t that odd?”
“I think you’re the one who’s odd here. This is his hobby. Do you even understand what a hobby is?!” Mike looked at his assistant chef with a touch of annoyance.
The assistant chef nodded quickly and agreed, “Sorry, Chef.”
“Don’t gossip behind people’s backs. If the island owner’s entourage hears you, you might as well go back to your hometown and stay in a small village!” Mike gave him a stern look and then went to prepare in the kitchen, leaving the assistant chef standing there. It took him a while to come to his senses after someone called him..