The Great Worm Lich

“My dear date, are you ready to go to my extravagant birthday party?”

“I’m at the construction site at the moment but I’m heading back to New York soon. I’ll appear in front of you by 12 p.m….”

“You went to the construction site, oh god, baby, you should be trying on some suits right now…”

“Did you forget Tina? I’ve tried on the suits and shoes yesterday… Don’t interrupt me, there’s something I want to talk to you about. There’s a fella claiming that he’s a farm owner from California. He came to the construction site all of a sudden a while. He wants to sign an agreement with me for 10,000 cows, 20,000 pigs and 15,000 lambs per year with the price of $50 per pig, $50 per cow and $40 per lamb. He also agreed to pay a 30% deposit right away and will pay the remaining fund on the spot every time he sends in a batch of livestock to slaughter. I think the condition he gave is just too good to be true. The harbor isn’t built yet and he wants to sign such an agreement, that’s just ridiculous.”

“Wait Lisheng, let me think about it carefully… Oh oh, why didn’t I think of this before? Don’t worry, he’s not deceiving you. That person is just a businessman who loves to gamble. Of course, his tolerance is much worse than my dad’s but maybe he has insufficient funds…”

“What are you talking about Tina? Get straight to the point.”

“I’m saying that you can sign the agreement with him without worrying that he would deceive you. With the agreement, the National Farmers Union in the villages around New York City will soon understand that LS Slaughterhouse is not someone that they should mess with. You will break even very soon with the snowball effect. In a nutshell, this is great news.”

“Okay, I’ll go back to New York City to meet you once I’m done with the agreement.”

“Baby, this is a three to four million dollar agreement after all. Moreover, the person’s paying you tens of thousands of dollars as a deposit. You can handle it like nothing but not everyone has the same attitude as you do. Come to the Hilton Hotel in Apple Street with him. Tell him that he doesn’t have to bring his lawyer, I’ll introduce you to a great lawyer by then. You can’t be using Kaiserland Town’s National Farmers Union’s lawyer when you’re expanding your business.”

“Alright then, wait for me.” Zhang Lisheng hung up the phone and spoke to the farm owner from California afterward. The both of them then drove to Hilton Hotel on New York’s Apple Street. A beautiful attendant welcomed them with a smile on her face as soon as they walked into the hotel. “Welcome to the Hilton, Mr. Zhang. Ms. Tina’s waiting for you at the viewing restaurant at the rooftop, please follow me.”

“Thanks,” Zhang Lisheng said and stepped on the stone floor which had a rough texture but the surface was neat. He passed through the sophisticated lobby, entered the elevator and reached to the top floor. Walking out of the elevator and turning into a bright viewing restaurant, the young man saw Tina sitting by a table by the window with a gray-haired old man wearing a brown suit. They were chatting and chuckling. Seeing Zhang Lisheng walking towards her, the girl introduced them immediately. “Lisheng, this is lawyer Edward Wills from Dickens & Wharton Law Firm. Wills is one of the best business lawyers in New York. He can tackle any difficult situation you might have with your business in the future.”

The gray-haired man sitting across Tina stood up from his seat as soon as she spoke. He turned around and extended his hand. “Hi, Mr. Zhang Lisheng, nice to meet you.”

It was not an old man but a chivalrous middle-aged man.

“Hi lawyer Edward Wills, just call me Lisheng. Tina, this is the farm owner from California that I told you about on the phone, Mr. Hamilton.”

“Hi Mr. Hamilton, I heard from Lisheng that you’re a very courageous ‘adventurer’.”

“Yes, beautiful lady,” Hamilton widened his eyes and spoke with a smile, feeling surprised. “New York’s really a magical city. In California, girls your age can only count how many cows are there in the barn and you’re already an experienced businesswoman.”

The four of them chatted and took their seats. They divided their seating arrangement, naturally, Zhang Lisheng sat with Tina while Hamilton and lawyer Wills sat across them.

“Mr. Hamilton, I roughly learned about the condition you stated from the phone call I had with Lisheng. I’ve gotten lawyer Wills to come out with an agreement, please take a look.”

“Sure Ms. Tina.” Hamilton grabbed the document and took a good look at it. There was a sly vibe reflecting on the crude features of this Californian cowboy as he basked under the bright New York sun that shone from the window. “I’m totally satisfied with the conditions but there’s one more thing that I want to add. I would like to increase the livestock slaughtering delivery quota by 15% per year.”

“You can add that but you must decide whether you’re submitting the added quota at the beginning of the year as well as whether you’re going to pay the slaughtering fee for the extra delivery quota.”

“You’re not backing down huh. Sure, I agree.” Hamilton fell into silence for a moment before agreeing.

Lawyer Wills came up with a new agreement on his laptop after a few taps on the laptop’s keyboard. The deal was completed after Zhang Lisheng and Hamilton signed the agreement. Very soon, $93,000 was transferred to his account. After Tina opened a bottle of champagne on behalf of Zhang Lisheng, the cowboy and lawyer took the hint and left.

“Lisheng, congratulations on the first business deal of your new place,” the girl said while smiling when Zhang Lisheng and Tina were left alone. “Looking at the progress, you’ll soon become a new rich person of the New York business industry. The 18 million population in New York consume tens of billions of meat every year. As long as your little pets have enough stomach space, you’re invincible in the slaughtering market. Also, it’s very possible for you to make hundreds of millions of net profit per year when it’s fully developed.”

“Really? If that happens, I’ll build the world’s most advanced biological lab deep in the Amazon jungle…”

“A lab in the Amazon, don’t expect that I’ll visit you there. By then, I’ll be living in New York or Boston with my new boyfriend. I’ll be watching the floating clouds outside the window, reminiscing the happy times I had with you. When you come back from the Amazon, I might have an affair with you for a few times without him knowing… Oh my god, I think I’m going to cry. Zhang Lisheng, what kind of spell did you cast on me exactly? You have so many strange abilities, do you also have a spell that makes ladies fall head over heels for you? I was just joking, why am I… I…” Tina hit Zhang Lisheng’s head hard as she spoke.

“Stop fooling around Tina. I wouldn’t have to hire a date to go to prom with me back then if I really had such an ability.”

“That makes sense, I’m sorry Lisheng. You know I’ll leave New York soon and go to university in Boston so I’m anxious and emotional. I’m really popular in Fordham but I’ll be among the young elites in all of America when I get to Harvard Business School. I’m not sure if I’ll stand out.”

“You definitely will. I heard most young people who were born in a wealthy business family would go for arts and literature while above 90% of business school students come from middle-class families. You’re already an experienced businesswoman right now, how could they compare with you.” Zhang Lisheng gestured the waiter to come while smiling. “Get me a plate of seafood chowder and a glass of Coke.”

“You’re teasing me. I’m just like my dad, we’re born experts in business. There’s something wrong in my head if I go for arts which is definitely pretentious. Just like you drinking Coke wherever you go, doing what suits you is the best.”

Zhang Lisheng smiled and said nothing more. Soon, the seafood chowder was served. He hastily finished it and got into the hotel limousine with Tina to the real New York Harbor in New York City. Among the three big harbors within the New York metropolis, Queens Harbor and Port Newark were usually called the New York Harbor. However, there was only one real New York Harbor. Compared to the other two harbors, most of the cruises parked there were passenger liners and yachts. The Fordham Sisters’ birthday party was held on one of the luxurious cruises called the Queen Elizabeth Holiday.

The Queen Elizabeth Holiday carried 90,000 tons with 1,257 lifejackets. It could cruise around the world with 2,514 tourists. As a luxurious holiday cruise, the ship could totally be named the mobile wonderland on the Atlantic Ocean. People would see the huge ferris wheel erected on the deck as soon as they get onto the cruise. The space next to the ferris wheel was vast, it could host 300 to 400 people for an al-fresco movie theatre at the same time, giving the passengers an unlimited surprise.

On the first floor of the cruise cabin was a dreamy, magical and beautiful lobby. There were four transparent elevators within the lobby that went through the cruises’ four floors of cabin patios with the sky as the view. Following the patio, there was a business center, a shore tour desk, a cigar bar, and various massage parlors on the second-floor lounge.

The third floor was an exclusive music lounge. When the night came, there would be live music covering the entire cruise. The highest floor which was the fourth floor was an open-style structure. There were various casual dining facilities on the half mile long corridor. There were sunbeds, umbrellas and a man-made beach outside for the tourists.

There was many young boys and girls as well as journalists who were screaming by the shore when Zhang Lisheng and Tina arrived at the harbor in a limousine.

“What are these people doing?” Zhang Lisheng, who was sitting in the limousine’s backseat, unintentionally saw the insane crowd outside of the window. He asked, thinking it was ridiculous.

“They’re Sheila’s, Trish’s and my fans. There are also journalists from some fashion magazines and newspapers. It’s been like this at our birthday parties since we were 14, that’s why I’m taking the hotel limousine here. Baby, you can get off the car first if you don’t like being photographed. Run with your hand covering your face. They still don’t know who you are, they won’t be interested in you. I’ve spoken to the security guards before, they’ll let you on the cruise right away.”

“I should’ve sneaked into the cruise last night if I found out about this earlier.” Zhang Lisheng was stunned, he opened the car door and ran off while covering his face.