Xu’s driving skills were extremely steady. Li Xiao barely felt any vibration from the yacht beneath him.
The yacht slowly sailed out of the bay as the sun gradually set in the sky. The clouds had been dyed into fiery clusters by the setting sun. The ocean rippled with orange-red waves, resembling a beautiful painting. Li Xiao leaned against the railing of the flybridge.
Suddenly, Wen Yaqian’s voice came from behind. “This is the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen. It’s simply like a fairyland.”
As soon as Wen Yaqian finished speaking, Li Xiao turned to look at her and found that she was also gazing at the fiery clouds on the horizon. Her eyes were filled with awe and a reluctance to look away from nature’s breathtaking beauty. The tangerine sunlight fell on her flawless profile, leaving Li Xiao momentarily mesmerized. After a good while, he nodded and replied, “Indeed. You can only see this kind of scenery out on the ocean.”
At this time, Wenchu People and Zhou Shishi also came up from the first deck to join them in admiring the view. The four stood together on the flybridge, enjoying the gentle sea breeze and the afterglow of the sunset while feeling the peace and tranquility brought by the ocean.
The yacht continued to move forward steadily. Amidst the cheerful laughter of the four, the sun gradually sank below the horizon. The clouds in the sky became even more resplendent, and the entire surface of the sea was dyed in breathtaking shades of gold and orange. Li Xiao and Wen Yaqian leaned against the railing together, silently admiring it all, while Wenchu People and Zhou Shishi discussed their plans for tomorrow.
The sunset process was actually quite brief. They had only been on the yacht for less than an hour, but the sun had already completely disappeared below the horizon, and the sky began to darken rapidly. Before it grew completely dark, the lights on the yacht lit up one by one.
Right then, Xu walked out of the helm station. He approached Li Xiao and asked in a low voice, “Where would Mr. Li like to dine later?
“There is a lot of good food on South Australia Island. If Mr. Li has a destination in mind, we can dock directly at a nearby pier and take an electric cart over.
“Of course, if Mr. Li doesn’t want to eat at a restaurant, you can also cook yourself. The villa has a kitchen and a BBQ grill, fully equipped with seasonings and tools.
“There is a market near the hotel. Mr. Li can go buy ingredients yourself or entrust us to buy them for you.”
Hearing Xu’s words, the four immediately began to discuss. Li Xiao turned to look at the others. “What do you guys think? Should we eat at a restaurant or cook ourselves?”
As Li Xiao’s faithful sidekick, the little assistant immediately raised her hand to be the first to express her stance. “I fully support all of Brother Li’s decisions.”
Seeing that Zhou Shishi had directly abstained, Li Xiao turned to the other two. “What about you? What do you want to do?”
Wenchu People rubbed her stomach. “I still feel a bit full right now. It’s been less than four hours since we finished lunch. Eating dinner now feels like it’s at an awkward time.”
Hearing her cousin’s words, Wen Yaqian chimed in with a suggestion. “We don’t necessarily have to go for a full meal. I remember there should be a lot of snack shops on the island. If we aren’t hungry, we can just grab some light snacks.
“Then we can buy some seafood from the market, and it would be perfectly fine to have a barbecue a bit later.”
Hearing Wen Yaqian’s suggestion, Li Xiao’s eyes lit up. This was indeed a great idea. The lunch they had at noon was quite hearty, so he wasn’t really that hungry now. However, if he didn’t eat anything, his stomach would feel a bit too empty. Finding some local snacks to fill the void was certainly a solid choice. He turned to look at Xu. “Are there any good snacks nearby?”
Xu was very familiar with the situation on the island and began to introduce options without hesitation. “There are quite a few delicious shops.
“Jialu Beef Shop serves beef hot pot.
“Jiexin Milk Desserts has a lot of snacks and sweet soups.
“Langzi Raw Marinated Seafood has raw marinated crab that can be considered a masterpiece.
“Shengji Beef Offal makes all their beef offal fresh, and the beef meatballs inside are also incredibly tasty.
“Bingji Kway Teow Noodles serves very authentic kway teow.”
Xu introduced over a dozen different types of food stalls in one breath. The four whispered among themselves and quickly reached a consensus.
“Then let’s go to Bingji Kway Teow Noodles,” Li Xiao said. “By the way, what time does the market here usually close?
“Do we need to buy the seafood first before going to eat noodles?”
Xu smiled and explained, “Rest assured, sir. The market here usually stays open until past nine o’clock.
“There will still be plenty of time to buy seafood after you finish dinner.”
With the itinerary confirmed, the yacht soon set off again. There were over thirty large and small piers on South Australia Island. Xu was extremely familiar with the locations on South Australia Island and quickly found the pier closest to Bingji Kway Teow Noodles.
After docking the boat at the pier, Xu immediately rented an electric cart right next to it. Five minutes later, the cart stopped at the entrance of an alley. Xu parked the cart and led the four inside. Soon, a kway teow shop appeared in front of them.
Li Xiao had originally thought that Xu would bring them to a time-honored establishment, but he didn’t expect the shop before him to have such a new interior, looking more like a modern chain restaurant. Seeming to notice the doubt in his eyes, Xu hastily explained, “They are indeed an old brand on South Australia Island. It’s just that the boss’s son took over a few years ago. Not only did he renovate the storefront, but he also opened several branch locations.
“That’s why this shop looks relatively new. However, please rest assured, Mr. Li, the taste is quite excellent. Many of my colleagues from the hotel come here for breakfast and late-night supper.”
Li Xiao also didn’t think that such a professional butler would deceive them over such a trivial matter. The five of them soon walked into Bingji Kway Teow Noodles. Xu briefly introduced the shop’s situation and then found a corner to sit down by himself. Although Li Xiao had invited him to eat together, as a professional butler, not disturbing the guests’ meal was one of the most basic requirements. Naturally, Xu couldn’t agree. Seeing his firm refusal, Li Xiao didn’t force the issue.
After taking a quick look at the menu, the four of them finished ordering. Following its renovation, Bingji Kway Teow Noodles had adopted an open kitchen concept, allowing the entire cooking process to be clearly visible.
Kway teow was a traditional specialty snack in places like the Chaoshan Region of Guangdong Province, the Min Nan area of Fujian, Taiwan Province, and Hainan. It belonged to the same category of food as the rice noodles in southern Zhejiang and the ho fun in Guangzhou.
The four ordered different types of kway teow for a very simple reason. Li Xiao wanted to try every kind, but it was impossible for one person to eat that much. The best solution was to split the four bowls of noodles equally among them. This way, they could sample a wider variety without wasting any food. Naturally, the others didn’t refuse his request.