Withdrawing his consciousness, Owen Sutton felt a wave of fatigue, and he was especially hungry.

He hadn’t found any cod, and Owen Sutton was too lazy to cook carp again, so he simply drove into town and found a restaurant called ‘Old Hickson’s’ to have a ready-made meal.

From the outside, the restaurant looked a bit shabby, but inside it was very tidy. An old white man with a little beard-braid on his chin was bustling about cleaning, and the oak tables gleamed from years of polishing, clearly having a rich patina.

“Hey, buddy, what can I get you?” Seeing Owen Sutton, the old man asked with a smile.

Just as Owen Sutton was about to speak, the old man sized him up for a moment, then suddenly strode over and gave him a light punch to the chest: “You’re driving old Auerbach’s car. I heard that old guy brought Qin’s grandson to town—are you him?”

Looks like my grandpa is really popular, Owen Sutton thought with a smile. “Yes, I’m Little Owen. The Qin you mentioned is my grandfather.”

He was hoping the old man would give him a discount like the innkeeper had—better yet, treat him to a meal.

But the chubby old man just laughed heartily: “That’s great, kid! Your grandpa still owes me over a thousand bucks for meals, so remember to help him pay it off someday.”

Owen Sutton was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, but then the old man affectionately patted him on the shoulder and said, “But the first meal’s on me. I promised Qin that when his descendants came to take over the fishery, I’d treat them to a meal.”

The bearded old man was quick and efficient. After seating him, he dashed into the kitchen. Owen Sutton stared blankly as his figure disappeared, and after a while, muttered, “Sir, I haven’t even said what I want to eat yet.”

Four or five minutes later, a plate of fragrant fried rice was brought out. On top of the snowy white rice was even whiter, tender salmon, dotted with golden drops of oil and slices of golden omelet. Around the edge, the fried rice was topped with a layer of bright red meat sauce, making it look incredibly appetizing.

Owen Sutton scooped up some rice and meat sauce with a spoon and took a bite. The tender meat juices and warm rice exploded on his taste buds. He gave the old man a thumbs up and said with his mouth full, “Amazing, this is the best fried rice I’ve ever had.”

Hearing his praise, the old man’s eyes crinkled into slits as he smiled. He took out a pipe, clamped it between his teeth, and after puffing out a cloud of smoke, said, “This is my specialty—Old Hickson’s spicy fried salmon rice. Your grandpa used to love this dish, so I figured you’d like it too.”

“A delicacy of the mortal world,” Owen Sutton praised.

As soon as he said this, Old Hickson suddenly fell silent. He looked Owen Sutton over carefully, and there seemed to be a faint mist in his eyes.

Owen Sutton didn’t know what was going on. After a long moment, Old Hickson said softly, “Kid, the first time your grandpa ate this fried rice, he used those exact words—‘a delicacy of the mortal world.’ Back then, it was my father running this restaurant. In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed.”

Old Hickson didn’t say anything more. He stood by the window, biting his pipe and gazing out at the azure sky, smoke curling around him. Perhaps he was reminiscing about his younger days.

The blue sky remains, but old friends are gone.

After finishing the meal, Owen Sutton tried to pay, but Old Hickson insisted on refusing and even apologized: “I was just reminded of some things from the past, so maybe the atmosphere got a bit heavy. Come back tomorrow at noon, and I’ll make you another meal, okay?”

Owen Sutton thanked him and returned to the fishery. With nothing to do that afternoon and feeling a bit tired, he lay on the bed and watched TV.

Canada and the United States are closely connected, and as the latter’s little brother, Canada gets access to almost all American TV shows. Owen Sutton watched a series that hadn’t been imported back home, called ‘X Killer.’

X Killer was a bit of a knockoff of X-Men—the protagonist was also a mutant with special powers. His ability was that after coming into contact with someone’s DNA, he could transform into that person. The plot revolved around him using his superpowers to punish evil and uphold justice.

In the evening, Auerbach called to say that his old friend from the Li’s Auction House had already flown to Newfoundland and would help appraise those paintings early the next morning.

Chapter 0009: Three Pieces of News

Still getting up at six-thirty in the morning, Owen Sutton had stopped by the supermarket after leaving Old Hickson’s restaurant yesterday to buy some rice, and in the morning he made a bit of fish and rice porridge.

The rich aroma of rice blended with the freshness of wild fish, the snowy grains and translucent fish pieces complementing each other in color, fragrance, and taste.

Owen Sutton was happily eating breakfast when the bedroom window was knocked on—bang, bang. He opened the window, and the red squirrel Little Jack jumped in, its little paws clasped to its chest, looking up at him with big, dark, dazed eyes, its tiny tongue licking away.

“You’ve gotten addicted to my fruit salad, haven’t you?” Owen Sutton laughed. He put down his bowl and chopsticks, took out some blueberries and black grapes, mixed them with syrup and salad dressing into a small bowl, and set it on the table.

He picked up a blueberry, tapped the table, and said, “Little Jack, come up.”

The little squirrel didn’t understand, hopping around on the floor, reaching out its paws and squeaking hungrily.

Owen Sutton called again, and the little squirrel blinked its black eyes, climbed up the table leg, and ran to the spot Owen Sutton indicated.