"Beer, drinks, mineral water, peanuts, melon seeds, and grilled fish slices."
"Cucumbers, scallions, dried tofu, sausages, fried dough sticks, and pig's head meat."
He Dazhuang and his group stared blankly at the food on the table, then turned to look at the food bowls of the five little ones.
"Roasted Dragon Leg, Soy-braised Dragon Heart, Fiery Dragon Waist Flower."
"Hmm, no problem, these are all ingredients of the Great Emperor level."
They then looked at the eight types of spirit fruits, eight types of pastries, and eight cold dishes laid out on the table of the five little ones.
Even the little Taoist priest's Husky would occasionally sneak a piece of meat from the food bowls of the five little ones.
However, it was often the drunken Xiao Bao, while petting the dog, who would sing:
"Brother, you look thin and tired,
The dust of the journey cannot hide
The years on your cheeks.
Brother, you have changed, become silent,
Tell me what you've kept in your heart."
What puzzled everyone was, why was Xiao Bao drooling while singing?
And what was Xiao Ji doing, flipping through that cookbook of dog meat recipes?
"Cough, cough, well, brothers, you all know I've been eating too much rich food lately and wanted something light. Since you're all here, it's good to eat this. It's full of memories," Lin Zhan coughed and bragged without a hint of embarrassment.
Wang Er Zhuang glared at Lin Zhan and said, "Boss, I may not be well-educated, but I'm not stupid."
Seeing the others about to nod in agreement, Lin Zhan spoke again, "I asked you brothers to come today mainly to discuss the military expenses and equipment of your major army groups."
The men's eyes lit up at Lin Zhan's words.
Wang Er Zhuang quickly said, "It's still Boss Lin who understands us. I've eaten too much rich food lately, and I was just craving something light."
As he spoke, he picked up the dried tofu on the table, rolled up a scallion, and while eating, said to He Dazhuang, "Big Brother, hurry and take out some of your Guan Dong soy sauce! Without soy sauce, this is not authentic."
Lin Zhan gave Wang Er Zhuang a look that said "you're wise," then waved his hand at everyone, signaling them to eat and chat.
"How is the training of your troops going, brothers?"
Jiang Zheng was the first to shake his head and said, "Currently, except for Zhan Long's First Army Group and your Fourth Army Group, which can maintain over half elite combat power, the other army groups have too many new recruits, and their combat power is far inferior to before."
"Let me put it this way, if our current army levels were to participate in the final battle of the Ten Thousand Races Battlefield, not only would our army groups be wiped out, but we wouldn't achieve the expected combat objectives."
Lin Zhan said helplessly, "There's nothing we can do about it. You brothers all know about the matter of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, right?"
Everyone nodded: "Old Lin, you're too unfair. You didn't even tell us about such an important plan."
Lin Zhan shrugged and said innocently, "It's not my fault. I didn't know the human race had such a contingency either."
"It was the night before the battle that the Yan Emperor Ancestor told me that not only the blood of the ten thousand races but also the blood of the human race would need to be sacrificed in the decisive battle."
"But he told me not to worry, they had made preparations, and no matter how many soldiers of the human race died, they could be recovered. Who knew these ancestors would entrust such an important matter to Xiao Ming, and then let this kid perform a shamanic dance?"
He Dazhuang gulped down a tankard of draft beer, smacked his lips, found it tasteless, and then turned to Lin Zhan and said, "Old Lin, I never thought our brother-in-law was so versatile. Not only can he perform Taoist magic, but he can also dance as a shaman. If this kid can't make it in the future, he could definitely be a shaman leader in my Outer Northwest region."
Hearing this, Zhang Haoran and the others present immediately objected, "Good heavens, could the esteemed disciple of our Heavenly Master Mansion run to your Outer Northwest to dance as a shaman? What are you thinking?"
"Old He, you can't just say such things, or our ancestor will punish Little Junior Brother."
Lin Zhan chuckled and replied, "Don't worry, your ancestor is too busy to punish my brother-in-law right now. A few days ago, your ancestor was beaten up by our ancestor and his two sons and is now lying in the Shennong tribe."
"Besides, what Xiao Ming was doing wasn't a shamanic dance. It was taught by Ancestor Chi You. It's a genuine ancient巫祭 (witchcraft ritual) to summon the souls of the dead human race. If your Old Ancestor Zhang Zhen dares to be unhappy, Ancestor Chi You and his companions will beat him up too."
"Moreover, the passage between our human race and the Netherworld has been reopened, so you all know what the next battle will be about without me saying it."
Everyone nodded and said, "Fight, let's strive to resolve all future turmoil in our generation, so that the human bloodline can prosper peacefully."
Seeing everyone already eating and drinking, Lin Zhan smiled and said, "We are all brothers here, so I'll be straightforward."
"Go ahead, Old Lin."
"Yes, Old Lin, no need to be distant with your brothers."
"We're all family, just say what you need."
"That's right, Boss Lin, please speak."
Lin Zhan saw that everyone had taken the bait and quickly said, "Brothers, I'm out of money. I need to borrow some from you."
Everyone froze for a moment, then they all understood.
"Peh, peh, peh... I didn't drink this alcohol. It ran into my mouth by itself." Everyone descended into chaos.
Wang Er Zhuang stood up directly, gagging, and said, "Boss, watch this. I'll spit out what I ate."
"All of you, stop this nonsense. I'm not joking with you."
"Yes, Big Boss, we are not joking with you either," everyone said in unison.
"You bunch of animals, if we can't get money, we won't even have money to pay the soldiers' wages. Do you think I'm kidding?" Lin Zhan yelled with a dark face.
Everyone was stunned and then sat down honestly.
He Dazhuang looked at Wang Er Zhuang's bulging cheeks and quickly reminded him, "Er Zhuang, don't spit it out yet, just swallow it quickly."
"Gulp."
"Swallowed it, Big Brother," Wang Er Zhuang said with a smile.
"Ugh..."
"Holy crap... ugh..."
"Er Zhuang, you beast, ugh..."
Wang Er Zhuang watched as everyone covered their mouths and ran out, then said disdainfully, "Damn it, it's not the time to lie in a pile of dead people and eat braised pork anymore. How many days have these guys eaten their fill? They're all putting on airs."
As he spoke, he picked up a large green bottle, stuffed two cucumbers and a roasted chicken into it, and carried a plate of pig's head meat out.