My Manor

"Hey, Bell, I heard that you taught the boss to fight in the afternoon. How did the boss perform?" A burst of laughter came from Jiang Hai's villa. Jiang Hai was very tired after fighting all afternoon today, and Bell was also very tired. Jiang Hai offered to give him money, but Bell did not accept it. His goal was an X Wave X bought by Jiang Hai. Although this thing was not cheap, it was only a few hundred dollars in the United States. Jiang Hai knew that Bell did this on purpose, so in order to thank him, he prepared to treat him to a meal. Later, he thought that it would be the same whether it was for one person or two, as he didn't know how to cook.

He called Philemon directly and asked Mrs. Philemon to come over as the chef. He invited everyone to have a meal.

These cowboys had not learned the word "politeness" from Jiang Hai. No, after work, they all came.

Everyone was noisy together, and it was quite lively. After chatting for a while, Edward led the topic to Jiang Hai's martial arts learning this afternoon. Sure enough, after hearing what he said, everyone was very interested in this incident.

"Wow, a martial arts genius," Bell said exaggeratedly.

"Haha, stop flattering me. I was beaten badly this afternoon," Jiang Hai replied with a laugh, shaking his head helplessly. He was telling the truth. He had been thrown down at least a dozen times this afternoon.

"At the beginning, before hitting someone, you must learn to be beaten. This is a compulsory course." Hearing Jiang Hai's words, Robbins smiled and encouraged him. Jiang Hai also smiled and nodded.

But his eyes shifted to Bell, standing next to him. Jiang Hai couldn't help but think back to this afternoon when he asked Bell.

Indeed, just as Jiang Hai thought, those who retired from Delta—uh, even those who were expelled, as long as it wasn't for principled issues like treason—must be quite popular. Additionally, Bell had actually performed well, except for the last time he disobeyed orders. So, when he retired, many people threw him offers.

But Bell didn't accept any of them. He was tired of wandering around and killing people everywhere.

Jiang Hai, a foreigner, knew exactly what the FBI and CIA were like in the United States, even if he wasn't an insider.

As for the police stations and special police forces, they had low incomes but still had to kill people.

Bell, on the other hand, had developed a kind of boredom with killing. If he worked as a bodyguard for others, he would inevitably end up in gunfights. He would rather not live such a life, no matter how much money he made, so he turned down all the jobs and returned to his hometown to become a cowboy. It turned out that being a cowboy was good. He didn't have to worry about food and drink. As long as he worked hard, he could earn a lot—at least enough to support him as a bachelor.

Hearing Bell's words, Jiang Hai lowered his head and smiled. He didn't expect that Bell was still a pacifist.

"Okay, guys, no matter how happy you are in fighting, you still have to eat as usual. Come and try my wife's specialty, lemon cod!" At this moment, Philemon's signature laugh interrupted Jiang Hai's thoughts. He walked out of the kitchen with a plate of cod, and a fishy, fresh smell mixed with a slightly sour taste filled the room.

"Haha, I can't wait." Looking at the dishes served, Edward was the first to move.

He picked up the public fork, put a piece on his plate, and began to eat it in big mouthfuls.

Eating in the United States is different from eating in China. Here, it is a separate dining system. In theory, it should be like a Western restaurant, where each person has a set of food. Of course, such a party is not too particular. The main food is placed together on the table, and anyone who wants to eat can use the public fork to serve themselves. Jiang Hai wasn't used to this separate dining at first, but now he had gotten used to it.

Jiang Hai specially put two cod fillets on his plate and started to cut them and eat.

Although Mrs. Philemon looked black and fat, she was really good at cooking.

According to the local taste of the United States, it had even reached the level of setting up a small stall. The last time Jiang Hai went to Huaxia City in Boston, many of the small stalls there had tastes that weren't as good as Mrs. Philemon's.

But Mrs. Philemon didn't have this ambition. In her view, Philemon was the one who made money, and she just needed to take care of the family.

This mentality was not very rare in the United States. Many full-time housewives existed there.

Although people in the United States shout about the feminist movement every day, in fact, according to Jiang Hai's understanding, the feminist routine is this: If I want to go out to work, you must support it. If I want to stay at home, you must support the whole family.

Well, maybe it's a bit biased, but the general meaning isn't much different. At least that's how Jiang Hai saw it.

The meal was a happy one for both the host and the guest. After all, in a sense, these people were also the owners of the manor.

After everyone finished eating, they all volunteered to help Jiang Hai clean up and then left.

Jiang Hai returned to his room, teased the two big dogs, and watched TV. But in his mind, he kept thinking about the situation when he learned martial arts during the day. The Israeli fighting technique seemed quite useful.

The next morning, Jiang Hai woke up early for a rare occasion. In fact, on a winter morning, nothing was more nostalgic than a warm bed. At least before he slept with a girl in his arms, Jiang Hai thought so.

Usually, Jiang Hai slept until he woke up naturally. Even if he woke up, he stayed in bed and played with his phone, not getting up before about ten o'clock. But today, he got up at a little after seven in the morning, which made the two dogs next to him a little uncomfortable. However, when Jiang Hai got up, they followed him, yawning. He opened the door to let the two dogs out for a bathroom break, then washed his face and brushed his teeth in the bathroom before having a simple breakfast. Of course, there was also breakfast for the two dogs. After everything was done, Jiang Hai changed into a sports outfit and walked out of the room.

According to Bell, although Jiang Hai's physical fitness was very good, he still needed to do necessary exercise. Morning jogging every day was good for the body and also had benefits for lung capacity and the like. Of course, what he called morning jogging was at four or five in the morning. Jiang Hai had just gotten up at seven, and by the time he ran, it was almost eight, which wasn't really considered a "morning jog" anymore.

However, Jiang Hai's running was mainly for exercise and warming up, so it didn't matter.

Starting from the villa, Jiang Hai ran all the way to the beach. His villa was not far from the beach. From the second floor, he could clearly see the coastline and the golden beach in the distance.

However, there was still a distance to run. On a road specially made by Robbins, Jiang Hai ran toward the beach.

Robbins hadn't been idle all these years. He paved several roads on the manor. After all, the grass on the manor was all forage grass and grew very tall. When it was at its fullest, it could even grow to waist height.

Although a pickup truck or other large vehicle could drive straight through, it would be inconvenient to walk or drive an all-terrain vehicle. The grass on the manor was the main food for the livestock, so it couldn't be cut like a lawn.

So, Robbins deliberately opened several roads in the weeds. None of them were wide—about three meters wide, so only one pickup truck could pass through, and two all-terrain vehicles could fit. One of these roads led to the dock, one to the cowshed, and one to the plantation—namely the vineyard and vegetable garden. But since it was late when Jiang Hai came, there were no vegetables planted in the garden, so he would have to wait until next year. There was also a road leading to the gate.

Originally, these roads were just gravel paths, and it wasn't realistic to expect Robbins to have the money to pave them properly.

But when Jiang Hai renovated the house this time, there were many leftover stones and wooden boards. He used them to improve the roads, which was definitely better than gravel. It was smoother to run on and didn't feel precarious.

Jiang Hai adjusted his breathing while running at a constant speed toward the beach. The two big dogs, seeing Jiang Hai run, were a little puzzled but followed along.

After walking and running for more than half an hour, Jiang Hai finally arrived at the beach. Standing on the soft sand, with the cold sea breeze blowing, Jiang Hai took a deep breath, did some warm-up exercises, and began practicing the moves Bell had taught him yesterday. Although the coordination between hands, eyes, body, skills, and steps was still a little unfamiliar, Jiang Hai fought seriously and practiced for more than an hour. At nearly ten o'clock, he finished his punches, rested for a while, and then began running back home.

On the way back, he turned to check on his big horse at the cowshed and gave it some food. Then he went back to rest, took a shower, and had lunch at Mrs. Philemon's house. In the afternoon, he stayed at home playing computer games and watching TV. He went out for dinner in the evening, and the day ended just like that.

This kind of life was basically the lifestyle of semi-retirement.

For the rich, young people, and even gold-collar and white-collar workers, this kind of life would seem boring. In their eyes, what's the point of staying home all day? It's better to go out and find excitement—luxury cars, beautiful women, fine wine, and delicious food—there's always something to stimulate you. But for Jiang Hai, this was his natural lifestyle. If you're not a fish, how could you understand the joy of fish? For Jiang Hai, this kind of plain life, without conflict with the world, was the most comfortable.