Alas, even he didn’t believe himself after saying that—it was just too exaggerated.

……

“So this is Phoenix Settlement? Why does it look like a slum?”

“I don’t think there are neighborhoods like this in Shengtian anymore. Small towns are just small towns.”

As evening approached, a Land Rover stopped at the entrance to Phoenix Street. The car door opened, and out stepped one man and two women—none other than the Carter siblings and Olivia Thompson.

They asked a sanitation worker for the approximate address and eagerly came to pay a visit. When they arrived and took a look, the siblings, for once, found themselves in agreement.

There was hardly any air of wealth here. Forget the Land Rover—even a Chevrolet Cavalier parked here would draw glances from passersby. The three of them struck a pose for a while, then grabbed a passerby to ask for more details.

The area was full of neighbors and locals, so they quickly found out the exact address. They wound their way through the maze-like alleys and finally spotted an old, shabby courtyard, with even a piece missing from the white ceramic tiles above the gate.

The main door was wide open. The three exchanged glances, then walked in while calling out, “Anyone here?”

“Is anyone home?”

William Grant had just returned not long ago and was in the west room preparing dog’s paw grass.

The preliminary steps of incense making are extremely tedious. Depending on the properties of the spices, the process can involve boiling, steaming, frying, roasting, soaking, and more than a dozen other procedures—all to remove unwanted odors.

Dog’s paw grass has a fishy smell, so it needs to be soaked in water—at about 30 degrees Celsius—for roughly two hours.

He had just put the materials into the bucket when he heard people calling outside. Pulling back the curtain to take a look, he couldn’t help but frown. He opened the door and stepped out, standing in front of the house as he asked, “Who are you looking for?”

Oh!

The others didn’t react much, but Yvonne Carter was surprised. She had come with feelings of curiosity, skepticism, and resentment, but at this sight—never mind anything else—even just his looks carried a certain air.

He had long legs and a firm waist, stood straight-backed, with slightly thin lips, and a gentle yet stubborn expression. He didn’t have that typical masculine vibe, but his youthful body radiated plenty of charm.

After all, these days, society’s aesthetic is increasingly leaning toward girls with big dicks—it’s really hard to find a genuine man.

She suppressed her emotions. Sure, being rebuffed was annoying, but her grandmother’s matter was more important right now.

David Carter was also afraid his sister would mess things up, so he quickly said, “I bought your incense yesterday, don’t you remember?”

“I remember. Do you need something from me?”

“Could we talk inside?”

“……”

William Grant paused, then stepped aside: “Please, come in.”

With that, the group entered the house. The siblings weren’t stupid; not only did they not look down on this cave-dweller’s primitive shack, they were actually full of good-natured curiosity.

Especially that kang bed—they sat on it, touching here and there, acting like it was a big deal.

William Grant wasn’t in the mood for small talk and got straight to the point: “What can I do for you two?”

“Let me introduce myself first. I’m David Carter, this is my girlfriend Olivia Thompson, and this is—”

“I’m Yvonne Carter, and this is my little brother!”

She didn’t need anyone else to introduce her. Smiling, she asked, “Handsome, what’s your name?”

“Uh, I’m William Grant.”

“Yu? As in the word for ‘fish’?”

“No, it’s the ‘yu’ from ‘yu fan bu zuo qi’.”

“……”

The two immediately felt reassured. If he could pull out that phrase, he must have some learning.

David Carter decided to get straight to the point and said with a smile, “Mr. Grant, I’ll be frank. Yesterday was my grandmother’s birthday. She likes incense, so I bought a few sachets and showed them to her. She loved them and insisted I come find you. She said she’s old and not very mobile, or she’d visit you herself. We came today to invite you to our home to meet her.”

“Well…”

William Grant was a bit surprised and considered, “I’m honored that your grandmother likes my incense, but there’s no need to meet in person, is there? Besides, I have things to do.”

“It’s fine, we can wait. You don’t know my grandmother—once she sets her mind on something, she won’t let it go. If you don’t come, we’ll have nothing to report when we get back, and she’ll definitely keep asking. If she gets anxious, she might even come herself. Besides, it’s just a meeting and a chat—it won’t take much of your time,” Yvonne Carter added.

“Exactly! We’ll drive you there and back, and even feed you. Our after-sales service is top-notch!” David Carter chimed in.

“You have no idea—we even climbed a mountain this morning and had to ask a sanitation worker to find this place. Just for that, can’t you cut us some slack?” Olivia Thompson delivered the final blow.

Well then!

With things at this point, he couldn’t refuse any longer and said, “Then you’ll have to wait a bit. I have some materials to process.”

“No problem, take your time.”

With that, William Grant poured three cups of water for them, brought out some fruit, and then went back into the room to continue his work. He still found it baffling—what kind of old lady was so bored that she insisted on meeting him?

He worked in the west room while the three waited in the east room—for a full two hours. Yvonne Carter’s butt was about to go numb; she’d done nothing all day but sit in every possible position.

Just as she was about to barge in and drag him out, the door finally opened. William Grant came out, washed his hands, and apologized, “Sorry, that took a while.”

“No worries. Can we go now?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

And so, the four of them got in the car and headed straight for the east side of the city.

Chapter 12: On Incense (Part 1)