Chapter 21: Daily Life
The lamb pieces were cut large, making the skewers of red willow wood heavy.
Golden fat dripped onto the glowing red willow wood charcoal, sizzling and releasing the aroma of meat.
Tang Song held a handful of skewers, flipping them a few times before sprinkling on cumin and chili powder.
Next to the temporarily set up earthen stove, a large pot was bubbling.
Inside, fresh Dolan lamb was stewing, the most tender front leg meat chosen.
The chef had already blanched it once and added green onions, ginger, and garlic.
Kane was squatting in front of the earthen stove, adding firewood to it.
Not far away, on the artificial turf costing several hundred US dollars per square meter, half a lamb hung from two iron racks. Frank held a chef's knife that looked quite sharp, slicing down the lamb.
Honestly, his knife skills were indeed good. In no time, slices of lamb as thin as cicada wings piled up on over a dozen plates.
An old-fashioned red copper hot pot sat there, filled with high-quality fruitwood charcoal.
The boiling water rolled. Several plates of lamb were poured in, swished in the boiling water six or seven times with long chopsticks, dipped in seasoning, and then put into the mouth. The freshness lingered on the lips and teeth, and crucially, there was no gamey smell.
Fish and lamb are considered fresh. Compared to ordinary lamb, this lamb was tender, juicy, and without a gamey smell, making it particularly refreshing to eat.
One had to admit, you get what you pay for. This lamb was air-shipped from abroad, called Dolan lamb, costing six thousand US dollars per head.
Tang Song swished and ate two or three plates of lamb rolls before stopping his chopsticks. He slowly peeled a head of sweet garlic, savoring the sweetness and spiciness of the sweet garlic along with the delicious freshness of the lamb.
Skye was next to him, holding a plate and imitating Tang Song's way of eating. However, she really couldn't get used to the taste of sweet garlic, so she used sesame paste as a dipping sauce, getting it all over the corners of her mouth. From time to time, she would pick up a chopstick full of lamb dipped in sesame paste and feed it to Tang Song.
Beside them, Lane skillfully used a pair of long chopsticks, nimbly picking meat from the copper pot to eat, occasionally adding two more plates of lamb for himself.
His movements were practiced, and looking at the dazzling array of dipping sauces in front of him, it was clear this wasn't his first time eating like this.
Kane and Frank, on the other hand, were focused on the red willow skewers in front of them. They held skewers in their right hands and a can of German black beer in their left hands.
A bite of meat, a can of beer, they drank happily. On the ground next to them lay a pile of discarded beer cans.
"What kind of organization is the Foot Clan? What's their connection to The Hand?"
Tang Song finished the chopstick full of meat in his hand, put it on Skye's plate, picked up two red willow skewers, and handed one to Lane.
Lane quickly put down his chopsticks and took it.
"The Boss of the Foot Clan is called Shredder. He's a very mysterious person. Currently, we haven't found any connection between the Foot Clan and The Hand. The Foot Clan is a small Gang, and there isn't much intelligence about them!"
Foot Clan, Shredder. Tang Song chewed the delicious lamb, feeling the juice burst forth. Hearing Lane mention Shredder, the Boss of the Foot Clan, he finally remembered the origin of this somewhat familiar, bizarre Gang.
The Foot Clan, this was the Gang from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) movies. Such a bizarre Gang name had left an impression on Tang Song.
Turtles in the Sewer... New York really did have all sorts of monsters and demons.
"Later, have Frank make a trip. The Hand still has so much manpower in New York, it's ultimately a hidden danger!"
"Understood, Boss, I'll arrange it immediately!" Lane gnawed on the lamb skewer but didn't stop talking.
His mutant ability was super intellect. A brain comparable to a supercomputer gave him the ability of photographic memory and super recall.
This also made him Tang Song's most reliant subordinate.
"Right, how's the recruitment going?"
"We've recruited sixty people for the first tier, two hundred for the second tier, and the outer tier has expanded to around six hundred people currently!"
The three tiers were the talent tiers set by Tang Song. The first tier initially consisted of Kane's former special forces team. Each person received a monthly salary of ten thousand US dollars, with extra bonuses for missions. There were also some small leaders from various venues; their fixed salary was also ten thousand, and of course, they had some gray income of their own.
Commissions from escorts, prostitutes, and so on. They would hand over a portion and keep the rest for themselves.
As long as they didn't go too far, Tang Song generally wouldn't interfere much.
The second tier were the gunmen responsible for guarding the venues. Most of these people were also Federation veterans, and some were Gang members. Although they were venue guards, they were all ruthless characters who dared to raise guns and fight.
The salary for this group was eight thousand, which was considered high pay in any Gang in New York.
Often, the work of the Cleaners was also led by the small leaders and carried out by them.
As for the outer tier, it consisted of a group of people who relied on Tang Song and his group for their livelihood, including some escorts, thugs, prostitutes, and small Gangs.
"The newly recruited people need some tempering first. Let Frank lead them to handle the Foot Clan matter and see what they're made of!"
Eating skewers and hot pot, Tang Song decided the fate of a small Gang in just a few words.
When the skewers and hot pot were almost finished, the large pot of stewed lamb was also ready.
For clear stewed lamb, just add some ginger slices and green onions, sprinkle some salt, and no other seasoning is needed. The stewed lamb is delicious and tasty.
Tang Song held a piece of lamb bone meat in his hand. With his left hand, he opened a clay pot. Inside were lees with rice grains floating.
The somewhat cloudy liquid was poured into a small bowl, with rice grains still floating on top. This was the oldest type of Oriental rice wine.
Tang Song tilted his head back and downed a bowl. It was slightly sweet, very smooth, and the taste was indeed good.
...
Four jars of old wine dug from an earthen cellar in an old house in the northern part of the country, and a hundred-kilogram Dolan lamb.
After a simple and unpretentious lunch, Lane went to prepare the gifts Tang Song needed for tomorrow.
Frank went to the venue to gather manpower, preparing to deal with the remaining members of The Hand.
Kane sat at the cleared dining table, holding a black-skinned watermelon the size of a human head, aiding digestion.
On the stone table, a small black snake about a foot long was coiled in a snake formation, lazily raising its head, waiting for Tang Song to feed it.
Tang Song pulled out a small porcelain bottle from somewhere, opened the stopper, and poured out vermilion pills into his palm.
The pills were pearl-sized, carrying a spicy aroma, and upon closer smell, there was also a hint of blood.
Tang Song picked up a pill. The small black snake eagerly raised its head.
Tang Song casually tossed a pill. The small black snake quickly sprang up, opened its mouth, and swallowed the medicinal pill. Its snake scales trembled, emitting a metallic friction sound.
"Boss, want to go shopping with me on Fifth Avenue today?" Tang Song was feeding the snake when Skye hugged him from behind.
Fifth Avenue was a street with a long history, lined with famous shops and brands. Almost all the world's top brands could be found there.
Large brands like Dior, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Tiffany, Gucci, Cartier, Chanel, and so on.
In the past, with Skye's empty pockets, it would have been absolutely impossible to shop in such a place. But with Tang Song as her Boss, Skye had basically achieved clothing freedom now.
Shopping... Tang Song showed a hint of a troubled expression. Seeing this, Skye immediately kissed him on the cheek.
(Today I met a playboy. He looked average, but his skills at picking up girls were amazing. From eighteen to over thirty, he could get fifteen in a month. He didn't have much money, but due to the nature of his work, he came into contact with high-end things and was very good at packaging himself. His social media showed luxury cars and four-star hotels. And girls actually fell for this. He had a huge collection of recordings, photos, and videos, all of very high quality. Girls who studied dance, nurses... Wuwuwuwuwu, if I weren't married, I'd really want to become his disciple.
His general idea was, when pursuing girls, never be a simp. Package yourself well, never spend money on girls, but you must make them think you have money. They are really proactive. (I saw the videos and recordings he left, he really deserves to die!)
He had seen the chat apps of many girls. A slightly attractive girl would have at least fifty people actively adding her, and twenty or thirty simps.)
(End of Chapter)