Chapter 1209

"You must be the guests Hal mentioned? Please, come in." Martin stepped aside and called back into the room: "Jessica, the guests are here. Is dinner ready?"

An elderly lady walked out of the kitchen, followed by another young man. Hal introduced them: "This is my younger brother. You can call him Jim. He is studying at a university in Los Angeles, and his dream is to go to Hollywood to be a big star."

Jim smiled brightly. He didn't look much like Hal and had a face full of freckles, but he looked handsome and refined, indeed having a bit of a star quality.

Lucifer walked up and shook hands with Jim, saying, "I think your dream will definitely come true. I've seen quite a few Hollywood stars, and they aren't as handsome as you."

"Sir, if you keep praising him, his tail will be wagging up to the sky." Martin said this while walking back to the kitchen with Jessica. Then, they followed the small kitchen door into the yard, and after a while, brought back a live fish and threw it onto the cutting board.

Jessica, who was cutting vegetables, turned her head to look at him and said: "It seems you're going to show off your skills to our guests again."

With a "bang," Martin used the wooden stick he was holding to knock the fish unconscious. While taking a knife to cut off the fish head, he said: "Yes, the secret recipe of the Jordan family... Gentlemen, is there anyone who doesn't eat spicy food?"

"Help me make a portion with extra chili!" Hal shouted toward the kitchen.

He took off his thick jacket in a bit of a hurry, wiped the light sweat from his forehead, and invited Schiller and Lucifer to sit on the sofa.

Schiller examined the environment inside the room. This was a very typical fisherman's home. In the center of the living room was a large stone fireplace. The Christmas wreath hanging above the fireplace hadn't been taken down yet, and in front of the fireplace was the sofa used to entertain guests.

To the left of the sofa was a window, and to the right was a staircase. On the wall of the stairwell hung group photos, all of which were photos of Jordan family members holding various large fish. In the closet under the stairs hung a pair of fish bones. Walking past the stairs, behind them were the dining room and kitchen.

"My parents aren't the talkative type. My father is a pilot, and my mother is a fisherman's daughter. However, you have to believe in their hospitality and cooking skills; everyone in the Jordan family knows how to cook."

Lucifer saw a photo hanging on the wall. Among the many photos with fish, this photo looked particularly eye-catching. It was a photo of two young men wearing pilot helmets and an airplane.

Noticing Lucifer's gaze, Hal spoke up: "That's not me, but my father and his comrade-in-arms, or rather, his superior officer."

Hal stood up, walked to the side of the photo, and felt the frame with his fingers: "My father was a pilot recruited during World War II. At that time, he was still very young and almost died in an air crash accident. Fortunately, his superior officer saved him."

Schiller also walked over, looking at the special one among the photos covering the wall. The two young men wearing pilot helmets were smiling very brightly, carrying a special atmosphere of the war era.

Next, Hal pointed to the other photos on the wall and introduced them one by one: which member of their family this was, and where they caught such a big fish, until the steaming hot food was brought to the dining table.

Schiller was somewhat surprised to find that the dishes here were not primarily seafood, but instead had quite a bit of beef, mutton, and staple foods. Hal, while setting the plates, said: "Most of the indigenous people of Coast City have experience in deep-sea fishing. If you stay on a boat for three months and can only eat seafood every day, you won't want to eat any fish for the rest of your life."

Lucifer nodded immediately, indicating his full agreement, and then cut himself a piece of chicken leg meat.

Hal pursed his lips, signaling Schiller to look at the dish in the very center of the table that used fish as the main ingredient, and explained: "My father saw that you aren't a fisherman, so he specially added a seafood dish. This is my father's signature dish, a flavor you can't eat anywhere else."

Schiller glanced at the fish placed in the center of the table. He found that it didn't look like the usual way Americans handled fish. It wasn't a fish fillet or fish steak, but a whole fish that had been grilled first and then stewed with added ingredients, and quite a lot of chili and spices had been added.

"I learned this from a comrade-in-arms of mine. After he luckily returned from a plane crash, he learned the craft of grilling fish from a certain primitive tribe." Martin spoke up: "They stuff the belly of the grilled fish with herbs and then stew it. The taste is quite good, not fishy at all."

Schiller used a fork to pry off a piece of fish meat, speared it, and sent it into his mouth. He found that it was indeed as Martin had said: the fish meat was tender, the skin was crispy, not fishy at all, and that kind of fresh, spicy flavor made one break into a sweat in an instant.

By the end of the meal, this fish dish had become the most popular dish. Hal, Jim, and Lucifer were all squealing from the spiciness, but they still couldn't stop sending fish meat into their mouths.

Schiller's diet was also relatively light, but the Gray Mist seemed to like chili very much. He said that this could provide the symbiote with different neural stimulation, so although Schiller remained calm on the surface, the Gray Mist was squealing in his brain from the spiciness.

After the meal, the Jordan couple went out for a walk, taking the dog for a stroll by the way. Jim went to town to purchase things needed for the start of school. Schiller, Hal, and Lucifer sat around the sofa by the fireplace. Hal took a bottle of wine and several glasses out of the cabinet next to them.

"I heard you want to open a bar in Coast City? That's a good idea, but do you want to face the locals, or are you targeting tourists?"

"I don't know. Do you have any suggestions?" Lucifer leaned on the sofa, resting his hands on the back of the sofa, and asked.

"Between these two customer groups, you can only choose one, because their consumption styles are completely different. Among the cities on the West Coast, Coast City belongs to the more conservative ones. Most of the indigenous people here work at sunrise and rest at sunset, and the nightlife is not rich."

"If you want to satisfy their preferences, you can't just sell alcohol in the bar; you also have to sell snacks, desserts, and even pet food. You can understand it as a comprehensive convenience store."

"Of course, to sell these things, you must have all kinds of permits. Getting the permits isn't difficult, but you have to go through audits every year, and people will come to inspect."

"And to survive locally, you have to maintain a good reputation. You can't go against the citizens here. You have to talk about some trendy topics, and it's best to understand the fishing industry. For an outsider, this is still quite difficult."

"Targeting tourists is much simpler. Whatever nightclubs are like elsewhere, that's what they are like here: alcohol, revelry, dance floors, rock and roll. Tourists run thousands of miles to such a distant city, but they still like these things."

"If you can invite a few hot West Coast singers to be residents, and then get a cool graffiti wall, students from universities in nearby cities will all be attracted to you."

Hal originally thought Lucifer would be afraid of trouble and would choose the latter model, but Lucifer touched his chin and said: "I just want to know, which of these two styles of bars will have higher turnover, and be more stable?"

"During the peak tourist season, of course, the kind of nightclub targeting tourists is more popular. Tickets can be sold at a price, and alcohol can also be sold very expensively. But if the peak season passes, it might be very deserted. The advantage is that you can take this time to go traveling."

"And the bar targeting locals is much more troublesome. The annual cash flow will be very stable, which means you have to constantly stock up, replenish, and manage goods."

"Then let's go with this one." Lucifer agreed immediately.

Hal took a sip of wine, looked at him with some surprise, and said: "I couldn't tell, you're actually that kind of old-school person. This kind of tavern is not easy to open. You have to deal with all kinds of locals, and you have to make people like you."

Schiller shook his head and said: "It's clear, you don't want him to choose this one."

"Because this kind of bar is indeed thankless work. The money earned in a year might not be as much as that kind of nightclub earns in a quarter." Hal seemed to disagree, so he looked at Lucifer again and persuaded: "And that kind of tavern isn't something one person can handle. When going to stock up, someone always has to watch the store, and locals will trust a boss with stable family relationships more."

"It doesn't matter." Lucifer waved his hand and said: "I can let Maize come over to watch the store. Oh, she is my girlfriend... well, you could also say ex-girlfriend."

"Haven't you noticed yet? What he fears most is being idle." Schiller smiled and shook his head: "His bar in Los Angeles couldn't stay open, and it wasn't because of losing money, but because no one came during the off-season, and he was bored to death."

"Then why not use that time to travel?" Hal asked.

"I have already been traveling for tens of thousands of years." Lucifer said helplessly: "My footsteps have measured every inch of this planet. I know the grandfathers and great-grandfathers of every tree and every stone here."

"Forget it, let's not mention this. Schiller, you said before that you and Hal collaborated on a business that might be helpful to my bar. What is that?" Lucifer asked with some confusion.

Schiller and Hal looked at each other. Schiller leaned on the armrest to the side and said: "You should also know. Hal has another profession: Green Lantern, who maintains peace in the universe. Of course, you have stayed on Earth for so many years, so you should also understand that every Earthling has an extremely strong sense of civil responsibility and collective honor."

"Therefore, even if he could become the greatest Green Lantern, Hal still chose to stand firmly on the side of humanity, seeking welfare for all mankind, and actively took a series of actions."

"What did you do?" Lucifer had a bad premonition.

"At the same time, Hal's good social image allowed him to make many friends in the Green Lantern Corps. His righteousness inspired his friends and also stimulated their sense of racial honor."

"So the Green Lanterns carried out some cooperation. Without endangering the security of the universe or affecting their official duties, they invested Green Lantern energy and Green Lantern rings into the use of a more microscopic level..."

"Speak human language."

"We are stealing electricity."

Lucifer widened his eyes. He let his gaze linger on Hal's and Schiller's faces for a while. The bad premonition in his heart became stronger and stronger, so he asked: "... How much did you steal?"

"Not much." Schiller revealed a smile.

"How much is 'not much'???"

Hal snapped his fingers.

Lucifer saw that outside the window opposite the sofa, on the calm sea, a green mountain appeared out of thin air.