Manhattan Reborn 1978

Southeast Texas, Houston.

West of downtown, 19 Piney Point Village, Piney Point Village, Memorial District.

lunch time.

Professor Bartlett was sitting at the dining table, looking at the tomato scrambled eggs, beef and mushroom pasta, brandy cooked red shrimp, and a plate of vegetable salad that David deliberately placed in front of Toby Olga, and asked with a smile road.

"You guys did all of this?"

"No! I did it all by myself!" David pointed at himself proudly and smiled.

"I am a man who once conquered his first girlfriend with the cooking skills I learned from my mother!"

"Hahaha~ That's it!"

"So you used your cooking skills to catch your first girlfriend?" Professor Bartlet joked, holding the tableware.

"Tsk~ You can't exactly say that."

David picked up a red shrimp with his hand, put it on his plate and smiled.

"I moved her more with my pure love and sincerity!"

"Haha..." Toby couldn't help but laughed at David's disgusting-sounding words.

Professor Bartlet also smiled and shook his head: "Maybe you should write a love novel..."

"It is more popular among young people than this somewhat boring economics book."

"what!!"

David, who had never thought about this before, felt as if he had been opened to another "new world" door.

He stopped what he was doing, thought seriously for a moment, nodded slowly and said, "You're right!"

"If I can write a few more best-selling books, I won't have to do anything for the rest of my life and just wait to receive the royalties every month."

"Hahaha~" Professor Bartley laughed even louder when he heard his "daydreaming" thoughts.

"One best-selling book is enough to make a writer rich for half his life."

"How many more books do you want to write?" Toby secretly rolled his eyes with a green face and complained in a low voice.

"..."

After hearing these complaints, David didn't make any excuses. He smiled and began to search through his memory. .

Which classic best-seller in future generations should be "published" in advance! ?

And the "transparent person" sitting next to Toby Olga, short-haired Ada, had a slight smile on her lips, and her eyes were always secretly glancing at David who was lost in thought.

----

On the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii.

Honolulu International Airport.

Giovanni and Jin Ji pushed several large suitcases respectively, chatting and laughing casually as they walked towards the boarding check-in channel. The butler Ackleide and the little Zach walked behind them.

Susan, who was walking at the back, held the hand of her mother Sarah, stroked the head of her brother Johnny, and comforted her.

"I've been away from New York for too long this time. I have to go back and take a look at the bar business."

"You can just stay here with peace of mind and wait for me to come back... okay?"

After this period of recuperation, Sarah has recovered a lot.

She held her daughter with concern, as if she had poured all the words and love in her heart into her eyes, without saying anything.

Susan took half a step forward, hugged her mother, kissed her, and whispered in her ear.

"Do not worry!"

"No one can find you here!"

"When I come back, I will help Johnny go through the transfer procedures."

"From now on, he can study and grow happily here!"

"...Hmm!" Sarah looked down at her son, Johnny, who was gradually becoming more cheerful. The warmth that made her feel warm surged out of her heart again and quickly "occupied" her whole body.

When Susan saw the change in her mother Sarah's expression, she felt slightly relieved and smiled happily at her brother Johnny.

"I will bring all your things for you next time."

"See you in a few days!?"

"Thank you..." Little Johnny raised his head, looked at his sister with his big black and white eyes, and said in a childlike voice.

"Hahaha~ You're welcome!"

This was the first time that Susan heard her brother say thank you to her. She kissed his forehead more happily, hugged her mother, turned around and waved away.

Sarah led her son Johnny to stand in the airport lobby, looking at Susan who was gradually walking away. The two of them held hands together subconsciously a little harder.

Because both mother and son know that without Susan and her boyfriend David, there would be no peaceful and worry-free life now~

For their mother and son, this is like the most realistic dream, and also like the most dreamy reality. .

----

new York.

Wildfire Restaurant, 42nd Street, Manhattan.

"Wooden Man" Rosenlo Sideric and his cousin Alto Sideric were sitting at a table in the lobby on the first floor of the restaurant. They picked up chopsticks that they were not very skilled in using and tasted the carefully cooked food of Mr. Zhang Maochang. Prepared Alaskan King Crab + Queen Crab (Snow Crab), a specialty of Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Restaurant chef Zhang Wenbiao was relieved when he saw the expressions on Alto and Rosenlo's hands as they picked up the peeled crab meat with chopsticks, dipped it in the special sauce and put it in their mouths.

"Some distant-water fishing boats from island countries will occasionally go to the Bering Strait west of Alaska to catch king crabs and snow crabs."

"So when I was in Xiangjiang, I saw this thing in high-end seafood markets, but I never had the chance to try cooking with it."

"Um.."

Alto nodded with satisfaction and asked "little brother" Rosenlow.

"How about it?"

"Not bad!" Rosenluo picked up the peeled crab legs with his chopsticks and said only one word with care.

"ok~"

Alto directly put down his chopsticks, reached out and grabbed two crab legs, and smiled at Mr. Zhang Maochang, who was standing not far behind his apprentice Zhang Wenbiao.

“This Wildfire Restaurant was invested and opened by David and their friends~”

"We brothers also want to jointly invest in a seafood restaurant with a similar style."

"But the choice of chef is nothing special when we choose it..."

Brother Biao couldn't help but widen his eyes and turned to look at his master Zhang Maochang.

Then he smiled and nodded to Alto, expressed his apology, and translated the meaning of this sentence to the master in a low voice.

After listening to this, Mr. Zhang Maochang, who was very confident in his cooking skills, smiled and nodded gently to Alto and Rosenlot, and asked his apprentice Biao Ge.

“They want me to be the head chef of this new restaurant?”

"Tell me, thank them for their kindness."

"I'm already this old, and I can no longer do the heavy work in the kitchen..."

Of course Brother Biao knew that his master was no longer fit to work in the back kitchen for long periods of time, so he leaned closer and whispered.

"Don't forget my senior brother, Xu Congshan!"

"His cooking skills are truly inherited from you, and they are much better than mine..."

"If you let him open a restaurant in Xiangjiang, it would be better to come to New York!"

Brother Biao saw that the master seemed to be a little moved and remained silent. He quickly smiled and apologized to Alto and the two. He turned around and walked into a deserted place in the back kitchen with the master, and whispered in a low voice.

"You have also been to the embassy and applied for a visa..."

"In addition, what you learned when you chatted with those friends in San Francisco this time should make it clear to you, right?"

"In the eyes of these Americans, we Xiangjiang people are only second-class citizens living in a British colony."

"Because Britain has never regarded the people of Hong Kong as its own, let alone Americans, islanders, and foreign devils in Europe..."

Brother Biao carefully observed that the master's expression gradually became serious. He found a small stool for him to sit on in the back kitchen and continued to persuade him.

"You have also seen many people who have obtained residence status in the United States and returned to Hong Kong to act like they are superior to others."

"I don't know what you think of these people. Anyway, I really can't stand their deliberate display~"

"Because most of them, after trying their best to leave Hong Kong and come to the United States, may not even be able to get out of Chinatown, and they will have to be trapped there for the rest of their lives and struggle to survive."

"Just like me more than ten years ago!"

"If I hadn't been forced to leave New York for Hong Kong due to my youthful impulse, if I hadn't been lucky enough to become your apprentice, if I hadn't entered my uncle Zhang Jinhong's Xincheng Restaurant after I returned from school, I would have spent the rest of my life like this."

"I won't be lucky enough to get the opportunity to go out of Chinatown and own a restaurant where I can make my own decisions!"

Brother Biao squatted down in front of his master, raised his head and supported his knees, took a deep breath and said.

"You may also be aware of the changes that have occurred since junior brother Zhang Jiaan came out this time."

"You also know that senior brother Xu Congshan respects you as a father, and his son's name was given by you."

"If you don't think about yourself, you should also think about them, right?"

"Compared with New York, Xiangjiang is a better choice in every aspect."

"There are also connections here with junior sister Cui Yingying, who can provide them with all kinds of help..."

"Yingying!"

Mr. Zhang Maochang suddenly waved his hand, interrupted Brother Biao, and asked with a frown.

"These two young people are talented because of Yingying."

"No, where did you think you were?!"

Brother Biao quickly explained: "The Sidrich family runs countless businesses in New York."

"Restaurants are one of their favorite businesses to invest in."

"The boy Vitaly Orlov we met in the back kitchen yesterday is also one of the restaurant chefs they want to invest in..."

“Once they taste your cooking, they immediately think of opening a seafood restaurant for you.”

"To borrow a word from my brother-in-law David~"

“Business is business, it’s just business!”

"You don't have to feel that this matter will cause any trouble to Junior Sister."

Brother Biao held his master's knees, glanced in the direction of the hall outside, and laughed in a low voice.

“Anywhere in the world where there are people, it’s all about human relationships and relationships.”

“When my brothers and I used to brag in the kitchen, they still didn’t believe it.”

"They all say that American devils care most about money and don't understand what favors are..."

"But when I told them that the top universities in the United States make it easier to get admitted with alumni recommendation letters, they shouted that this was just a special case."

"Hehe~"

Brother Biao shook his head slightly with some self-mockery and sighed to the master.

"Now, the opportunity is in front of you!"

"Do you want my group of senior brothers who have never left Xiangjiang to continue to be frogs in the well and second-class citizens?"

"..." Mr. Zhang Maochang lowered his head and said nothing.

Brother Biao guessed some of what he was thinking, and then said: "When junior sister comes back from the hospital, I will go and talk to her about this matter."

"do not worry!"

"Even if all my brothers and sisters come to the United States, I can't let them all be locked up in a restaurant."

"Don't forget, I have a cooperation with Da Company to mass-produce your secret sauce on a large scale."

"So, when they all immigrate here, they can first learn English in Chinatown and then think about where to work."

"..." Mr. Zhang Maochang silently stretched out his hand and put it on his apprentice Biao's shoulder. His lips trembled a few times, but in the end he couldn't say anything.

Zhang Wenbiao said that, right?

Yes, not right.

But he, an old man who was about to reach the end of his life, caused his disciples to miss this opportunity to leave Hong Kong and find another career because of some concerns in his heart.

He felt that he might regret it when he died. .

And another important reason that made him feel unable to say no was. .

Xiangjiang is too small!

----

Houston, Texas.

West of downtown, 19 Piney Point Village, Piney Point Village, Memorial District.

Under the sunset near evening.

Lilith and Laura, Leslie and Livlin returned together.

David, who was sitting in the study and was working hard on "coding", saw the four "idle" guys and couldn't help but complain.

"Ah oh!"

"Are you back on time before dinner again?"

"Let me tell you, I haven't prepared your share tonight...!"

"Hahaha~" All four of them greeted Professor Bartley, and then burst out laughing.

Livlin glanced at the "transparent person" Ada who was sitting quietly by the window, and asked in surprise.

"Why did you cut your hair?"

"Eh~ That's right!" Lilith also walked up to Ada in surprise, looked at her short hair style, and asked with concern.

"your hair..?"

Ada suddenly glanced at the people in the study with blinking eyes, raised her finger and pointed at herself, then turned to point at David, shook her head, smiled and said nothing.

Laura walked up to David as if in a daze, and asked him "shoulder-to-shoulder": "It turns out it was you again!"

"What am I again?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Ada wants to change her hair style, but I didn't know about it beforehand..."

"Hehe~"

Laura suddenly felt that her movements with David were a little too close, she stood up straight and smiled at Professor Bartley.

"We have already ordered dinner before we come back."

"Someone will bring it over in a moment."

"Yes." Professor Bartley nodded with a smile, took off his glasses, stood up and walked to the door of the study, turned around and shrugged at a few people and smiled.

"You...what are you waiting for?"

Livlin glanced at her boyfriend Leslie, laughed, raised her little fist, and walked towards David, whose face was full of "fear + surprise".

Laura seemed to be shocked by Professor Bartley's "encourage", she opened her mouth wide and subconsciously raised her fist.

Lilith saw the actions of the two of them and immediately stepped forward to hug Ada and gently told her "don't be afraid". .

Leslie, who liked to see her friends in trouble, happily "hid" to the side, preparing to eat in silence. .

Toby Olga, who had been working hard to become a "transparent person", saw Leslie sitting next to him and preparing to eat melon. .

Amid David's "resistance" voice, she slowly relaxed and ate in silence. .

"What are you two going to do?"

"I already told you, her haircut has nothing to do with me!!"

"That's all right!!"

"fxxx!"

"Laura, you can't do this...!!"

"Livlin, you bastard!!"

"Hahaha.."

. . .

more than an hour later.

The afterglow of the setting sun completely disappeared into the distant horizon.

in the living room.

Everyone who had eaten and drank enough was sitting relaxedly on the sofa, chatting without a word.

Only David was rubbing his chest with his hands, staring at Livlin and Laura who were chatting together in a low voice with "hateful" eyes, muttering to himself silently. .

Lilith, who was responsible for finishing the table, brought out a fruit platter from the kitchen and placed it in front of several people. Seeing David's "wronged" look, she couldn't help but smile and sit next to him, holding his head. Kissed and comforted.

"never mind!"

"It's all over~"

David, somewhat dumbfounded, rolled his eyes and muttered to Leslie, the "melon-eating crowd".

"Are you sure you are comforting me?"

"What do you mean...it's all over?"

"Hahahaha~" Livlin and Laura hugged each other and laughed together.

Leslie, who had her legs crossed, was also made to laugh.

With a smile on her lips, short-haired Ada quietly approached Toby, who was looking at the fruit platter and was secretly troubled.

David "struggled" out of Lilith's arms, looked at the laughing people, rolled his eyes violently, and changed the topic.

"Laugh! Just laugh!"

"When my new book is published, none of you will be able to read it!"

"what?"

"What's your book... on monetary finance?"

"We don't like to watch it! We don't want it for free!" Laura raised her neck arrogantly and said sarcastically.

David looked at Laura sideways, opened his arms and put his arms around Lilith beside him, kissed her hard a few times, and pretended to show off in Laura's eyes that wanted to "kill someone."

"I want to write a... story about love!"

"Love story?" Lilith had two blushes on her face, smiled at Laura and winked, and then asked.

"What do you want to write?"

Seeing how cooperative she was, David simply ignored Laura's "provocation" and shrugged: "A sad and yearning love story!"

"Huh?" Several people who had nothing to do, felt their curiosity aroused when they heard David say this.

Leslie knew very well that David was deliberately trying to whet everyone's appetite, and waved his hands.

"You want to tell a story again?"

"Yes~"

David pulled Lilith beside him and let him lie half on her lap. He smelled the fragrance emanating from her body with his nose, and his eyes gradually became blurred and wandering as he whispered.

"This story doesn't happen in the past... but in the future!"

"In 1992, two modern ocean research submarines and a large research vessel discovered a huge sunken ship that had sunk for many years during a joint scientific expedition in the Atlantic Ocean."

"After many rounds of exploration on the seabed, they determined that this ship was the Titanic that sank on its maiden voyage 80 years ago!"

"what?"

"Titanic, hasn't it been discovered at the bottom of the sea a long time ago?" Livlin, who found a comfortable position in Laura's arms and curled up, asked doubtfully.

David reluctantly turned to Leslie and said, "Don't you care?"

"Haha~" Leslie didn't want to upset his girlfriend by talking nonsense, so she shrugged helplessly.

"Asshole..." David glared at him fiercely and explained with curled lips.

"There are many rumors about the Titanic~"

"But the movie called "Shipwreck" in the 50s made those who like to spread rumors shut up."

"The plot of "Shipwreck" is adapted from the memoir "A Night I'll Never Forget" written by Walter Lord, a survivor of the Titanic."

"Walter Lord was just a child when he sailed on the Titanic..."

"After he was rescued, he could always hear his mother telling people about the story of the shipwreck..."

"So when he became an adult, he visited many shipwreck survivors and slowly compiled "A Night I'll Never Forget: The Sinking of the Titanic" based on their memories, and it was officially published in 1955."

After listening to David's introduction, Leslie couldn't help but interject.

"An uncle of mine became completely obsessed with scientific research and exploration because he watched the movie "Shipwreck" and read "A Night to Forget: The Sinking of the Titanic" many times."

A "fire of gossip" flashed in Laura's eyes, and she thought for a moment and asked: "Is it your uncle who unfortunately died during the expedition?"

"Yes..." Leslie nodded.

David looked at the sadness on his friend's face, adjusted his posture, and continued.

"The Titan in Titanic's name comes from the ancient gods who ruled the world in Greek mythology."

"When the Titanic was built and launched, there had been no large-scale war in Europe for nearly 100 years since Napoleon's defeat."

"The second industrial revolution allowed oil to replace coal, the traditional energy source, and become the darling of the new era."

"Lights, telephones, phonographs, etc., a series of new technological industrial products, make people's lives more and more colorful, and make people gradually feel that they are living in the best era in history."

"So, the Titanic was not just a huge cruise ship that brought together all the technological products of that era~"

"In the eyes of us modern people, it has become a cultural symbol of that period of history."

"It represents the peak and decline of an era."

"It also marks the end of the peaceful era, and the fuse of war that will almost sweep the world has been lit~"

"Dang, Dang, Dang..." Just when David's voice just "fallen", the old-fashioned clock in the living room rang the hourly chime.

At the same time~

There was also a knock on the door.

"Clang clang clang!"

"..."

Several people in the living room looked at each other and felt that all these things "crash" within ten seconds. Is it too much of a coincidence?

Leslie blinked and looked at David who was lying on Lilith's lap without any thought of moving. He stood up helplessly and walked to the door and opened it.

Outside.

Marvin Pushk, the brother of short-haired Ada Pushk, greeted Leslie with a smile.

"Good evening~ I didn't disturb you, did I?"

"I'm here to take Ada home..."

"Oh~"

"Please come in." Leslie moved away from his seat and waved to Marvin.

"We are listening to David telling a story. Do you want to go back after listening together?"

"Listen to a story?"

Marvin walked into the living room with a curious face. He saw several people "staggering around" and looked at his sister Ada leaning on the "elastic cushion" Toby. He couldn't help but laugh and asked.

"Can I... join?"

"Of course~"

David remained lying down and pointed at the fruit plate to Marvin: "We have just finished telling the historical background of the story, and the excitement will begin soon!"

"Hahaha~ ok!" Marvin sat directly on the carpet without any hesitation, took off his coat and put it beside him, picked up a piece of apple from the fruit plate and put it into his mouth, waiting.

David glanced at Laura seemingly intentionally, pondered for a moment, and spoke slowly in a low voice.

"The heroine of our story is an aristocratic lady named Rose Dewitt Boucott."

"The male protagonist is not the second-generation rich American Carl whom her mother is looking for to arrange a marriage for her."

"But a young painter, Jack Dawson, who won a ticket for the Titanic's maiden voyage by gambling in a port bar."

"Karl?!" Laura frowned very sensitively and shouted directly.

"What name are you using? Does he have to be called Carl?"

"Tsk!"

David stared and said directly: "Karl, what's wrong?"

“There are millions of Karls around the world!”

"I'm not talking about Carl J. Mellon!"

"What are you in a hurry?"

"A story is a story, that's how I want to tell it... Any questions?"

"Are you still listening?!"

"..." Laura pursed her lips and looked at Lilith, who lowered her head in silence, and stopped talking.

Of course David knew that Karl, who once chased Lilith, was one of the people that little tail Laura hated the most. .

Because he didn’t want Laura to continue to be so willful.

It turns out that since she is young, people will think that when she grows up, she will naturally become mature.

But she is in college now!

If she continues to let her emotions run wild, David must seriously consider whether they should keep a proper distance from each other.

Livlin, who was curled up and clinging to Laura, "understood" David's intention clearly. She leaned into Laura's ear and whispered a few words to her, which made the little girl look better and pursed her lips. He whispered softly.

"You... go on, I want to hear it."

"Ok!"

David turned to look at his "good teammate" Livlin, smiled and cast an "envious" look at his bad friend Leslie, and continued.

"Our story begins on the day of Titanic's maiden voyage~"

Ps:

I won’t write out all the specific plot of the movie “Titanic” later.

If you are interested, you can find the 236-minute uncut version and watch it yourself.

It is hailed as one of the best love movies in film history.

It held the global box office record for more than 20 consecutive years until "Avatar" was released. .

The first time I watched it, it was the abridged DVD version I watched with my first girlfriend. .

The second time I watched it, I learned to be smarter!

The uncut version I watched, the wonderful scenes of Roux dedicating herself to art, always made me feel tears welling up in my eyes. .

The music and atmosphere in the movie were so coaxing that I couldn't help but be "jealous"!

You said that, right?

hahaha~

Refill! !