Happy New Year! Although my results were far from ideal, I've persevered! Here's wishing all my friends a new year filled with success and resilience!

"Grandma, do I have a villa too?"

"Of course, how could we possibly overlook the two young ladies of our generation?"

"Hehe, thank you, Grandma. I live next door to my mom. That's great."

The three chatted and laughed without any particular direction, saying whatever came to mind, and discussing any interesting plants they saw.

"Annie, come here! I caught a big fish!" Beth's voice came from the other end of the line.

The three of them immediately walked over quickly. By then, Beth had already pulled the fish ashore.

It was a large carp weighing seven or eight pounds. People here don't usually eat carp, but Zhang Hongmei loved it!

"Carlos, if you catch another big fish, we'll have fish balls and boiled fish."

"Mom, what is boiled fish?"

"It's a way of cooking fish. It's both numbing and spicy, and it's especially delicious."

"Hongmei, you can also make boiled fish? I tried it once in Chinatown, and the taste was so much worse."

"Let me make it for you to try. I think it turned out pretty well."

"But there's no Sichuan peppercorns or chili peppers."

"I brought it, don't worry, it all depends on Carlos's luck."

"Hehe, this is a lot of pressure! Wait for me a bit. I'd also like to try boiled fish."

"Go, Dad!" Annie cheered for her father from the sidelines.

Carlos was also very capable; about twenty minutes later, he also caught a big fish, even bigger than the one Bess caught.

"Dad, you're amazing! Mom, tonight we're having fish balls and boiled fish."

"No problem, Mom will make it for you tonight, I guarantee you'll love it."

I spent more than an hour by the stream, and the cleaning was almost done.

The five of them packed up their fishing gear and walked back with happy faces. Annie's cheerful laughter filled the air the whole way.

Zhang Hongmei and Huang Meihua walked behind, watching Annie excitedly talking to Carlos in front.

"We neglected Annie. She's a very sensible child, so we didn't treat her like one."

There's an old saying in our area: "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." And it's really true. Annie is so sensible; she rarely makes demands, so we've forgotten about it.

I'll definitely take her out to play more often in the future, after all, she's only six years old.

"Hehe, it's not too late for you to think of this now. After all, as you said, she's only six years old."

When I got home, all the cleaning was done, and lunch was also prepared.

Anne sat at the table, looking at the steak and bread.

"Mom, I'll only eat a little bit. I want to wait until tonight to eat something delicious."

"Okay, let's all eat less."

After lunch, Huang Meihua coaxed Annie to take a nap, while Zhang Hongmei directed the servants to clean the fish in the kitchen.

There was no rolling pin here, so I had to find a thick wooden stick outside and keep pounding the fish meat to remove the bones. The fish skin from the two fish filled almost a whole basin, which I soaked in the basin. Another dish for dinner.

She demonstrated how to make boiled fish fillets, and then the maid took over.

Everything is ready; now it's time to marinate. To be honest, there aren't any seasonings here. Luckily, I brought some seasonings because I was thinking I might go to the beach and have a chance to grill the fish.

Carlos watched Zhang Hongmei with a smile the whole time. Zhang Hongmei, even in this domestic setting, was quite stunning. She possessed a serene beauty.

After the marinating was complete, Zhang Hongmei left the kitchen. "Carlos, did you need something?"

"Yes, let's talk!"

"Okay, they're still not awake at this hour, let's go to the yard."

The two sat outside, and a servant brought them coffee and milk.

"Hongmei, I plan to personally visit China next month."

"You value it so much? Well, I think this is the most opportune time for you to enter the Asian market. You can go and take a look at the surrounding countries. If possible, you should set up an international trading company."

"So, do you want to participate?"

"Of course I've thought about it, but the language barrier makes it seem like a lot of trouble to get them out. But this really can work."

"International trade sounds incredibly appealing. Is this a collaboration with the family?"

Zhang Hongmei shook her head, "I will still ask Wyattroy. I promised him that I would work with him on all projects as long as I am here."

"He really made a fortune. Just from the combine harvesters, I think the Roy family has made a killing."

"Yes, I received over 300,000 yuan from my 5% share of the profits, so they must have earned even more."

“Hongmei, do you have any other ideas? Our family also has an agricultural machinery factory.”

“Okay, corn can also be harvested with combine harvesters, and potatoes can be harvested the same way.”

“Hongmei, I’ve thought about this problem. But the researchers still don’t have a good design.”

"Find two of my own people and have them come to me during their holidays. We can work together to figure it out; maybe that will give us some ideas."

"Okay, we'll send them over the week after next."

"Sure, Monday is fine."

Are you planning to spend your holiday at home?

"Right now, I really don't have any other ideas. Actually, I want to go to Country Y."

“Then I’ll go with you. You can arrange the company matters this week. The textile factory manager and accountant will both come to see you on Monday. Just take two days to arrange those. The week after next is for agricultural machinery.”

"I want to focus my main energy on the game company right now, since it's really booming. I think other game consoles will appear before the end of the year. So we can only find something special in games."

Also, you two members of the research team absolutely must stay. I don't want to see my hard-earned talent poached by others.

“I’ll keep an eye on it. You should remind Wyatt that the Roy family isn’t as harmonious as it seems on the surface. Although our family has its share of dirty dealings, they don’t affect the family as a whole. Theirs is different; the competition is fierce, and some of them have no bottom line.”

“Carlos, you don’t need to come with me to Country Y. I have nothing to do with it. I just want to go and see it.”

"It's okay, I'll take you and Annie shopping. It'll be nice to experience different cultures. Besides, we speak the same language, so there's nothing to worry about. The three of us can go on a trip for a week."

"You have time? Why don't the four of us, godfather and godmother, go together?"

"I need time to rest too. I want to have some fun too. Is it really okay for you to leave me like this?"

"Aren't you the head of the family? You're extremely busy with your work, how could I dare to bother you?"

"Don't make excuses, okay? Let's go on a family trip together. I'll take care of things at home."

"Hehe, it's up to you to decide. I have no objection, but can I go? I still have temporary identification, right?"