It took me a while to realize that she meant she would never consider selling herself. Damn it, she's almost reduced to prostitution, yet she speaks like a noblewoman.
Chen Kejiao subconsciously straightened her chest, concealing the disappointment in her eyes and brows. She glanced at me one last time, then pushed open the door and left.
I sat there, my eyes drifting unintentionally to the square, and suddenly felt a little uneasy.
Chen Kejiao's outstretched chest seemed to touch a soft corner of my heart. Just then, a lazy figure on the playground caught my eye. I took off running and shouted at Chen Kejiao's back, "Stop right there!"
Chen Kejiao turned around in surprise and asked, "What?"
I pointed to that person and said to her, "Perhaps he can help you!"
Chen Kejiao followed my gaze and saw a thin old man carrying a small stool in his left hand and an erhu in his right, wandering around aimlessly, looking like a charlatan visiting temple fairs.
Chen Kejiao stomped her foot: "You don't have to play me like this if you're not going to help me, do you?"
I cursed inwardly: I'm almost forced to change my name to Xiao Xiaorou, and you slutty little wench still talk to me like that!
Chapter Thirteen Drunken Fist
Chen Kejiao crossed her arms in front of her chest and stood at a distance, looking at me with some doubt in her eyes, but more so with anger.
Then look at Master Gu. He chose a stage with a good fight scene, set up his small stool, unbuttoned his black silk t-shirt, and pulled out a cigarette made of dried tobacco from his thin, bony chest. He then took out a match from his pocket, shook it near his ear, lit it, took a satisfying puff, and squinted at the stage.
These kinds of old men are rarely seen on the streets nowadays, but anyone born in the 70s or 80s will probably still remember them, like figures from an ancient painting. Especially in summer, they would each wear a Panama hat, fan themselves, smoke their own hand-rolled tobacco, their thin frames churning with laughter and conversation, playing cards or chess in the shade. It was a beautiful sight.
The important thing is that they don't have much money.
So it's no wonder Chen Kejiao looked like she wanted to kick me. I couldn't explain to her right away, so I just grabbed her hand and headed straight for Master Gu.
Later I understood another principle: shaking hands with a woman and holding her hand are two completely different feelings. When a woman shakes hands with you, she usually only offers you her finger bones, but when you hold her hand, you can feel her soft palm. Chen Kejiao's hands are so soft.
I pulled her over to Grandpa Gu and said ingratiatingly, "Old man, let me introduce you to a friend." Chen Kejiao angrily pulled her hand away from mine, straightening her clothes until she was completely naked again... uh, naked, before glaring at me. She had originally intended to leave immediately, but after looking at Grandpa Gu, she suddenly changed her mind. I guess that's what they call presence. Wearing the same shaved head and cotton shoes, some people can only look like farmers from Northeast China, while others look like tycoons. Grandpa Gu's head sweeping over her exuded domineering aura; he looked like he'd at least swept floors in the Green Gang.
"Mr. Gu, who is this...?"
Master Gu waved his hand and pointed to the arena in front of him, saying, "Let's watch this match first. There are two good lads on the stage."
I turned my head and couldn't help but laugh, "That red one is from our team." It turned out that the person on stage was Ruan Xiao'er, and the people who came to cheer him on were Zhang Shun and Ruan Xiao'wu.
Ruan Xiaoer's opponent was a young man, whose moves were swift and powerful, clearly showing he had put in a lot of hard work. However, compared to Ruan Xiaoer, he was still somewhat inexperienced. The reason was simple: Ruan Xiaoer had experienced thousands of real battles and possessed incredibly rich combat experience.
Just then, the first round ended, and Zhang Shun and his team took over for Ruan Xiao'er. Ruan Xiao'er fanned his collar and said, "It's so hot! If only I had a bowl of wine." Just then, Ni Siyu's petite figure appeared on the field, carrying a jar of our proudly produced "Five-Star Juniper" wine. Because she ran fast, her leg disability was clearly visible. She came up to Ruan Xiao'er, put a bowl in his hand, broke the clay seal, poured the wine, and said, "I know Second Master can't do without wine, so I came."
In Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) matches, it's against athletes to use supplemental oxygen during breaks, but hydration is normal, so the referee didn't object. The liquor had been chilling in her refrigerator overnight, still emitting a cool breeze. Ruan Xiao'er stared blankly at her little apprentice, tears welling in her eyes, and said, "Master really didn't spoil you for nothing!" She then downed the liquor in her bowl in one gulp, sighing with satisfaction. Zhang Shun and the others, their mouths watering, each drank a bowl, and the aroma of the liquor immediately filled the air. Ruan Xiao'er's opponent sipped his water, watching them expectantly, when suddenly he raised his hand and said, "Referee, I suspect they're using performance-enhancing drugs!"
Because the competition was still in its early stages, there weren't the resources to conduct various checks on each contestant, so the referees could only look at us with a troubled expression. Zhang Shun laughed, "That's easy, brother, come and have a drink with us." The young man had been waiting for this, and he darted over, snatched a bowl, and drank. Zhang Shun poured a bowl for the referee: "You should try some too." The referee looked around, couldn't resist, took the bowl, and took a sip, praising, "Delicious!" The contestants waiting to compete nearby all craned their necks to look, so Zhang Shun simply said, "There's plenty of wine, everyone come on over."
The team members who came to compete were all from out of town, so naturally they had never been to "Reverse Time." After taking a sip, they immediately praised it highly, and our arena instantly turned into a liquor stand. I also went over and got a bowl, offering it to Grandpa Gu. Grandpa Gu took a sip, rolled his eyes, and scolded me, "You have such good stuff, and you didn't even say you'd offer it to this old man sooner." I pointed to Chen Kejiao and said, "This liquor is only available at her bar." Only then did Grandpa Gu look up at Chen Kejiao seriously and smiled at her. Unconsciously, I had done her a small favor again, although whether Grandpa Gu would actually help was still uncertain. Chen Kejiao gave me a grateful look. Grandpa Gu suddenly stood up and said, "Oh dear, there's no way a young lady should stand. Please sit down."
Chen Kejiao looked at the dirty little stool and said awkwardly, "No need, please sit down." I pressed her down on the stool: "Just sit down when I tell you to."
Chen Kejiao asked Mr. Gu a little shyly, "And what about you?"
"I'll just sit on the ground." With that, Grandpa Gu actually plopped down on the ground, then immediately jumped up again. "Damn it, my butt's burning hot."
Chen Kejiao finally burst out laughing and put the Gu Zi bag in her hand on the ground without hesitation: "Then you can use it as a cushion."
So that afternoon, a very bizarre scene unfolded at the venue: a stylish and beautiful urban white-collar woman sat on a small stool with a military-style water bottle strap, while a seasoned conman sat cross-legged on the ground, with a limited-edition Guzi handbag worth 6800 yuan under his buttocks. Standing beside them was a towering rogue—Xiao Qiang.
Over there, the referee, seeing that his little patch of ground was almost turning into a tavern, blew his whistle and said, "Keep playing, keep playing. You've been on halftime for almost 10 minutes."
Seeing that more than half of the wine had been gone, Zhu Gui hurriedly hugged it to his chest and shouted, "Not much left, not much left! If everyone wants to have a good time, let's go to the Reverse Time Bar tonight and have a competition!"
I said to Chen Kejiao, "See? Isn't the manager I found for you good? Not only does he know how to be like Kong Yiji, but he also never forgets to promote the company."
The second round began. Both Ruan Xiao'er and his opponent had drunk quite a bit, and it was cold wine at that. As they moved around on stage, the alcohol kicked in, and they were both unsteady on their feet. After a while, everyone could see that Ruan Xiao'er, who had initially held the advantage, was now finding himself struggling against the young man. It was highly unlikely that he was drunk. The Ruan brothers were heavy drinkers, usually downing entire jugs of alcohol at a time, and the exercise had quickly neutralized the alcohol, even giving him a jolt of energy. Ruan Xiao'er's movements were surprisingly nimble, yet he simply couldn't overcome his opponent.
His opponent, on the other hand, was clearly intoxicated. He staggered and swayed as he moved, his upper body wobbling unsteadily, which was definitely not an act. But his moves were surprisingly fierce, yet his footwork was much more agile. He dodged many punches unintentionally while swaying, and was still able to calmly beat Ruan Xiao'er.
As soon as the second round ended, Ruan Xiao'er rubbed his face and slumped onto the stool, shouting, "Hurry up, bring the wine! I've realized that the wine is scarce; you need a bit more wine to show your skill!" Zhang Shun poured him some wine while saying disdainfully, "Do you think you're Wu Song?"
The young man, a little embarrassed, leaned closer and chuckled, "Could I have another bowl?" Everyone could tell he'd had quite a bit too much; although his speech was still relatively normal, his steps were unsteady. Zhang Shun said, "Brother, it's not that we're stingy, but how can you fight on stage if you drink like this? We don't want to take advantage of you." Ruan Xiao'er added, "Yeah, you and I are different. I've built up my drinking capacity; I rely on it to get into the water in winter."
The young man said shyly, "It's nothing, I'm just thirsty."
Zhang Shun had no choice but to force-feed him another dose.
When the young man returned to the stage, he was swaying like a flower in water. Ruan Xiao'er looked at him, too embarrassed to throw a punch. The young man, with his drunken eyes glancing sideways, chuckled, "Ye on!" He was completely drunk. Ruan Xiao'er threw a punch, but before it even touched him, the young man collapsed onto the stage with a thud. He immediately spun to his feet, kicking Ruan Xiao'er over. According to the rules, this is called "actively attacking the opponent while on the ground and immediately getting up," and just like that, he inexplicably scored 2 points.
Then it was just the young man beating up Ruan Xiaoer. Fueled by alcohol, he threw wild punches and practiced somersaults, leaving Ruan Xiaoer dizzy and disoriented. Ni Siyu shouted, "Go, Second Master!" I tapped her on the forehead and said, "Just call me Master, don't use the 'second' part."
In the third round, Ruan Xiao'er lost by a landslide. But it was a truly humiliating defeat; everyone admired the young man's fighting spirit and congratulated him without any reservations. Ruan Xiao'er walked back dejectedly, everyone following behind him, occasionally offering a word of comfort. Ruan Xiao'wu caught up from afar, shouting, "Second Brother, you lost unfairly! I just found out that kid's mother practices drunken boxing!"
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, then burst into laughter. What Ruan Xiao'er drank was just wine, but for this person, it was nothing short of a stimulant—they'd walked right into a trap. However, they couldn't hold it against him yet; the person hadn't drunk any wine before the competition, which showed their generosity.
Ni Siyu almost burst into tears, grabbing Ruan Xiaoer's arm and repeatedly saying, "Second Master, I'm sorry." Ruan Xiaoer scratched her head and said, "It's not your fault, it's Master's fault."
Old Gu was very happy watching this unique match. After savoring it for a while, he asked me, "Hey, by the way, what did you want to see me about?"
"Let's talk somewhere else."
As I walked, I quietly told Chen Kejiao about Grandpa Gu's situation.
...
In the office, I explained what had happened. Mr. Gu listened very carefully and said to me and Chen Kejiao, "I have the money, but I don't run a pawnshop."
Chen Kejiao immediately said, "That's easy. We can sign an agreement. I'll leave my things with you for 10 years, you lend me money, and I'll redeem them with three times the amount after 10 years."