Atlanta, Northville neighborhood.
In the small courtyard, Martin dragged out the barbecue grill, his feet softened, and he almost fell into the pit. He shouted to the tool room: "Hall, you idiot, besides destroying the earth, what else can you do?" Can’t make any progress!”
Hall emerged from the tool room, and when he was about to say that it was Lily who did it, he saw the young lady standing at the door of the room, staring at him coldly.
As a younger brother who had been bullied by his two sisters for many years, Hall wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.
The main reason is that the younger sister has been practicing carving, and her hands are particularly strong. Hitting her head with her fist hurts much more than the elder sister's.
Martin was cleaning the barbecue and shouted again: "Idiot, don't just stand there, drag out the charcoal and dry it."
Hall wanted to curse a thousand curse words in his heart, but he didn't dare to say them out. He could only drag out a large bag of charcoal and put it in a place where the sun could shine directly.
Just after finishing it, before she could take a breath, Lily shouted: "Hall, go to the kitchen and cut the meat."
Hall lowered his head, washed the handles again, and went into the kitchen to work.
While others celebrate Thanksgiving, he celebrates Good Friday.
Martin set up the barbecue, and Lily came over and said, "I carved a lot of the materials you sent me. Do you want to go to my room and take a look?"
"What?" Martin asked.
Lily tugged on his rolled-up sleeves: "You'll know just by looking at it."
Martin followed her into the house and went directly to the second floor.
Lily opened the door to the room and invited, "Come in."
When Martin walked in, the most conspicuous thing in Lily's room was the worktable. The table was wrinkled and erected with countless shelves, and the shelves were densely packed with various carvings.
It mainly features horns, stone and wood carvings, as well as clowns, insects and various handicraft shapes.
Martin even saw a smaller version of the kettle.
Lily took out a beautifully carved wooden box as if offering a treasure. After opening it, there were five little figures standing inside with the house as the background.
Martin could tell from their appearance that they were Elena, Harris, Lily, Hall, and him.
Lily pushed it in front of Martin and said happily: "This is our family, do you think it looks like it?"
Downstairs, at the entrance of the yard, a black BMW 7 parked on the roadside. Elena, who had bought a roast turkey, got out of the car and found that there was no one in the yard.
When she entered the house, she saw Hall gnashing his teeth and chopping meat, and asked, "Where are Lily and Martin?"
Hall pointed the tip of the knife upward and said deliberately: "Go upstairs, Lily said she has something good to show Martin."
As soon as she said this, Elena put down the packaged turkey and rushed upstairs. Her boots made a quick thump on the wooden stairs.
"Fake! Two bastards!" She cursed secretly, rushed to the second floor, turned the corner, and found Lily's door open, and her heart dropped halfway.
Elena walked to the door of the room and saw Martin standing in the middle of the house like a model. Lily was sitting in front of the workbench with a carving knife, quickly carving with clay.
Lily heard the rapid footsteps, turned around, and smiled sweetly at her sister: "I'll help Martin make a realistic statue."
Elena came to the door, leaned against the door frame with her arms folded, and said, "You two idiots, hurry up, I got the turkey back."
Lily said: "Harris hasn't come back yet, so don't worry."
Martin pointed downstairs and shouted loudly: "Hall, the meat is finished cutting, marinate it with the sauce I prepared."
Hall was angry: "Am I the only one working in this family? It's not fair!"
Elena shouted: "If you are asked to do the work, do it quickly and stop talking nonsense!"
In the kitchen downstairs, the sound of chopping meat was loud.
Elena had no intention of leaving, and waited until Lily finished carving the prototype before calling Martin to go downstairs with her.
The two prepare Thanksgiving dinner that evening.
Lily didn't move, patiently refining the carving in her hand.
When the footsteps completely disappeared from the stairs, she put down the carving knife and took out a book with an introduction to California Institute of the Arts.
As long as she wants to go, that idiot Martin can help her get a letter of recommendation, and even her grades don't matter.
When he lived in the Clayton community, it was so difficult for Harris to get into college.
Lily glanced at the independent, newly decorated room, and then looked at the green grass-lined courtyard through the window, knowing that something was different.
She also knew very well where all these changes came from.
There was a car door slamming outside again, and Harris rushed back from college.
Upstairs, Lily continued carving.
Downstairs, Elena unpacked and further processed the semi-finished turkey.
Harris and Hall threaded the meat while Martin placed the skewers on the grill, brushing them with oil and seasonings.
When it gets dark, meals such as turkey, barbecue, fruit salad and cold vegetables are placed on the dining table.
The five of Martin and Elena sat around the dining table and enjoyed a sumptuous dinner together.
As usual, Elena picked up the knife and fork and cut up the turkey for everyone.
Lily brought over a box of Coke and placed a bottle in front of everyone.
Harris opened it first and said to Martin: "Tonight, we first worship the leader."
Elena was the first to pick up the glass and clink it with Martin.
Martin clinked glasses with the four people next to him and said, "I wish us better and better."
Elena echoed: "It gets better and better!"
The five of them drank Coca-Cola and started driving together. While eating and chatting, they all had a tacit understanding. They didn't talk about Hollywood or work, they just talked about the happy things they had in the Clayton community in the past.
Martin was very concerned about the youngest in the family and asked, "How are Hall's grades?"
Elena felt worried: "It's just average. It feels more difficult to get into a good university."
Martin thought for a moment and said, "Let's hire a stricter tutor for him."
Hall wanted to cry, so he put down his knife and fork, drank half a can of Coke in one breath, and said in a sullen voice: "Today is Thanksgiving, can't you be nicer to me?"
Lily clenched her fists: "This is the love your brother and sister have for you, can't you feel it?"
Martin made a joke: "Don't worry, I will find you a beautiful female tutor."
"This is okay!" Hall raised his hands in agreement: "Martin, we have agreed on a beautiful and sexy female tutor!"
Elena looked at Martin and Hall and said, "Do you want people to go to jail?"
Her cell phone rang, she wiped her hands with a napkin, and answered the phone: "Scott, what do you want? Today is Thanksgiving, if you want to come over, I allow it."
Scott on the other side said: "Having a dinner party? Knowing that you are doing well is enough. I won't go there."
Elena said, "May God bless you with everlasting prosperity."
"I'm living a rich life now," Scott said with a smile.
The two didn't say much and quickly hung up the phone.
Lily immediately asked: "Is it him?"
Elena nodded slightly: "Don't worry, he is much better than before and won't bother us."
Harris responded: "He is more reliable than Emma."
Martin knew they were talking about Scott. Maybe Sophia's training was very effective. He had heard from Hart and others that Scott had given up his alcohol addiction and almost stopped taking drugs.
what is this? Some weird power of love?
Lily thought of her mother and said, "I wonder how Emma is doing."
Elena reminded: "I said, don't mention her again." She had already given up: "First, we don't want to know how she is! Second, I don't want her to know how we are doing!"
Lily shut her mouth.
Elena solemnly warned: "If you don't want our lives to be messed up, even if you see Emma, pretend you don't know her."
It's not that she is heartless, but the last time I heard about Emma's situation, she was hanging out with a group of old black men from the south city.
Those old black men represent endless trouble.
The Northville community that Martin chose has a responsible community committee, a well-established neighborhood defense alliance, and extremely frequent APD patrols. The house and custody of her younger siblings are all in Elena's name, so there is no need to worry about those troubles.
If nothing else, when those old gangsters with unfamiliar faces appear in the community, they will immediately be interrogated by the patrolling APD. If they dare to make unnecessary moves, it is not uncommon for their magazines to be emptied.
After dinner, Martin and Elena made an appointment with Robert and went to a bar near the community for a drink.
Maybe because of Thanksgiving, there weren't many people in the bar.
The three of them found a place to sit down, ordered beers and drank slowly.
Robert is a little fatter than before, and his hair is neatly combed back, making his head look bigger.
He clinked glasses with Martin and Elena and said: "More and more Hollywood crews are coming to Atlanta for filming. The company's business scale is larger than before. It is now the largest entertainment agency in Atlanta."
Martin asked casually: "Does Jerome intend to develop outside?"
"He and I have no plans to develop overseas for the time being." Robert is not very ambitious: "The leader said that we are the local snakes in Atlanta. Even if CAA and WMA come, they still have to give us some face. The six major companies The crew also treated us very politely, and that stopped after we left Atlanta."
Elena said: "Similar to me, we live in Atlanta with freedom, but once we leave, we will encounter too many difficulties."
Robert agreed, so he also admired Martin: "Not everyone is like you, willing to leave their familiar hometown and travel so far away."
Perhaps too many things were left in Atlanta. Martin took a sip of beer and said, "When I get old and lose the motivation to continue working hard, I will return to Atlanta to settle down. It's actually quite nice here."
Elena glanced at Martin. She couldn't guess what the other person was thinking, and she didn't bother to guess.
The happy education she received since childhood has always influenced Elena. She cannot look too far ahead and does not think too far ahead. She is very satisfied with her current life.
Robert added: "I have a large collection of the first commemorative Coca Cola. If you need it, just call me and I can send it to Los Angeles at any time."
Martin pointed at Lao Bu at the door of the bar, then looked at Elena and Robert, and said: "The leader, the great protector, the saint, and the high priest, today is also a big gathering of the senior leaders of the Coca-Cola Cult."
Robert is very serious: "Now we are also a relatively loose and large organization."
Elena answered: "The leader's appeal is particularly powerful."
This is also a boost outside of the film industry.
(End of chapter)
