“I’m 26 now—” he quickly added after saying that, “I repeated a year of high school for eight years.” Finally, he said sadly, “Our current homeroom teacher is my deskmate from back then.”
Tong Yuan couldn't hold back any longer and turned around, giggling. I was amused by her annoyance. Seeing the guy so dejected he was about to cry, I suppressed a laugh, patted him on the shoulder comfortingly, and asked, "What's your name, bro?"
"Fan Jin".
I kicked him and laughed, "No wonder you failed the exam."
Fan Jin said with a pained expression, "Brother, can I leave now? I really don't know that person."
I know what he said is probably true. It seems that the wine-swapping incident and the detention of Liu Bang were done by the same person, with the aim of making things difficult for me. But this person is definitely richer than me, throwing around 100,000 yuan. His opposition to me has made quite a few petty thugs rich first.
Seeing that I didn't respond, Fan Jin quickly said, "How about I give you the money too? But we have to agree beforehand that we have to get the money back for the cheap liquor. The man said that we should exchange the liquor, not dilute it with water, so we bought several cartloads of bulk liquor."
I chuckled and said, "Take it. You must have spent a lot of money over these eight years of repeating the year, right?" Tong Yuan also chimed in with a smile, "Consider it a reward for your persistence over the years."
"Then I'm leaving." With that, Fan Jin turned to leave.
I shouted, "Stop!"
Fan Jin looked at me pitifully, waiting for me to punish him.
"Pour my wine back and then roll around."
Fan Jin obediently picked up the pipe and poured the wine back. Only then did I have a chance to glance at Old Wu. Old Wu grabbed my arm, tears streaming down his face, and said, "President Xiao, please don't fire me. I wouldn't want to do this even with a knife to my throat, but they said if I dared to tell your daughter, I wouldn't have a good life."
I said, "Your daughter?"
Old Wu wiped away his tears and said, "She also attends No. 3 Middle School and is about to take the college entrance examination."
I asked Fan Jin, "Is what he said true?"
Fan Jin smiled apologetically and said, "It was those kids who scared him. Someone as mature and prudent as me would never say such a thing."
I asked Lao Wu again, "Didn't you get any benefit from this?"
Old Wu shook his head repeatedly: "No, no."
I pointed at Fan Jin and said, "Listen up, from now on you'll cover all of Old Wu's tuition, class fees, outings, and snacks, understand?"
Fan Jin said with a long face, "Let's not cut the flesh with a dull knife, I'll just take out 20,000 at once."
Old Wu quickly replied, "We don't need that much."
I patted him on the shoulder and said, "Work hard, and remember to contact the organization if you need anything in the future."
Then the three of us stood with our arms around each other and watched Fan Jin work. Tong Yuan scolded him as she watched: "I'm telling you, why are you pretending to be a gangster instead of studying properly? It would be embarrassing if your classmate became the principal and you still couldn't pass the exam."
Fan Jin chuckled dryly and said, "No, if I still can't pass the exam after two more years, I'm planning to transfer schools."
Me, Tong Yuan, and Lao Wu... "..."
Seeing that the matter was over, I said to Tong Yuan, "Girl, just tell me how much I owe you."
Tong Yuan said, "I don't have time to talk about this with you. I have something very important to do today." As she spoke, she took out her phone and dialed, "Hello, is this Third Sister? Where is that discount mall you mentioned again?"
...
Logically, I should go to the school after this is all over, but today is the day of 300's departure, and subconsciously, I'm afraid of witnessing that kind of farewell scene. Although I didn't have much contact with those young soldiers, I could tell from their eyes that they actually relied on me a lot. Later, Xu Delong also told me that besides reporting to him, the soldiers who went out only asked him about two people: Yan Jingsheng and me.
As for Yan Jingsheng, it would be easy for me to make up a reason to lie to him, but even the best excuse can't stop a person from feeling disappointed. I gave him a small sum of money so he could finish his unfinished university studies, and it seemed that only this could lessen his sorrow.
These 299 soldiers, some in pairs and some in groups of three, radiated outwards across China, reaching as far as Tibet, Xinjiang, Fujian, and Heilongjiang. Upon arrival, they would separate completely and begin their search for Yue Fei individually.
What made me feel quite guilty was that each of them only carried 1,000 yuan. For those traveling long distances, it was barely enough for travel expenses. As a result, in the initial weeks, the soldiers' reports were mostly about things like: accommodations were available under overpasses, waiting rooms were strictly checking vagrants, people were very tolerant of beggars who only wanted food, and the food was good. But as the saying goes, even among the nine sons of a dragon, each is different. A small portion of these 299 people quickly grasped the rules of the game, learning how to make money in a short time. They then gave their unused portions to Xu Delong, who then distributed them equally to support the operation. Even after the 300 were separated, their camaraderie didn't weaken, their strength didn't diminish; instead, they displayed even greater vitality and cohesion. No other unit had ever shown such loyalty and unity; they were practically 300 brothers.
Of course, some things are best left unsaid, such as the rise of certain individuals. Wei Tiezhu, that simpleton, started as a long-distance train escort and eventually, without realizing it, founded his own bodyguard company. Li Jingshui, on the other hand, kept a low profile, got a pair of non-prescription glasses, and became the personal secretary of a young, beautiful, and elegant female CEO. Later, she became her driver, and then her full-time personal assistant. When the CEO, who was smitten, wanted to take their relationship further, a somewhat panicked Li Jingshui sought instructions from Xu Delong. Xu Delong's reply was: Absolutely not. If she has any ill intentions, you can knock her unconscious if necessary. This infuriated me, and I scolded him for days. Then, I secretly texted Li Jingshui asking for the CEO's phone number…
In short, the story of 299 is 299 YY novels, and extremely YY ones at that. If readers are willing to read them, I can start writing from the first one. In that case, even if the book has to end badly, it won't be until after 5 million words.
There's been no progress on the bandits' side yet. These bandits haven't given up on this small setback. Every day they go out in groups to scout, each one spirited and disciplined. Early in the morning they go to Lu Junyi's place to listen to Wu Yong's instructions before setting off in turn. I've never seen them like this before. I imagine they were probably like this when they were fighting. They've been so bored lately.
Everyone else is so busy, so I've found myself a job too, and it's not an easy one—I'm going to find Deng Yuanjue with Li Shishi.
Chapter Forty-Five: The Night Banquet (Part 1)
I don't know much about Deng Yuanjue, and I didn't even know he existed before. It was only these past few days, with the appearance of the Eight Heavenly Kings, that Wu Yong and the others told me about him.
Deng Yuanjue, one of the Eight Heavenly Kings, nicknamed Baoguang Rulai, was tall and strong. He once fought Lu Zhishen for more than 50 rounds without a clear winner before being killed by Hua Rong's arrow.
To find such a formidable man, I think it's best to have two options and be prepared for both. Two options: either gather Lin Chong and Zhang Qing, and only go if you're absolutely certain of victory; or be a bit reckless and go alone to meet him. As for being prepared for both—from the very first day I became a candidate for becoming a "god," I bought two life insurance policies and placed them in the most prominent place in my house, with my parents and Baozi as the beneficiaries respectively…
Given that the person we are looking for may not be Deng Yuanjue, I decided to take only Li Shishi with me and quickly devised a battle plan: we can just let her show up!
Li Shishi is incredibly busy these days. The group of five seems to have been having fun ever since they arrived, but she's the one who's doing it all the most comprehensively and in the most sophisticated way. Li Shishi now carries all sorts of shopping cards, gym memberships, and club memberships in her wallet. Before going out, she puts on makeup, applies foundation, draws eyeliner, and applies lip gloss. Sometimes, if a fashion show requires it, she can even create a smoky eye look—it really looks like she's wearing smoky eyes.
In short, if it weren't for her angelic face and devilish figure that betrayed her, she would have been just an ordinary modern person walking down the street.
This young woman was dressed casually in a T-shirt, looking as fresh and clean as if she had just stepped out of a TV commercial, attracting the attention of passersby. However, she seemed really busy; she was talking on the phone as she walked towards me.
She walked up to me just as she finished her phone call. I looked her up and down and couldn't help but exclaim, "So beautiful! No wonder they say you love a beautiful woman more than your country." I patted the dirty van and said, "Cousin, if you agree to elope with me, I'd rather not even need this van."
Li Shishi glared at me: "Let's go, stop joking around."
I'd already inquired about the route; Shenguang Machinery Factory was in the southern suburbs. I'd never heard of it before, but surprisingly, it wasn't hard to find, even though I kept asking around. When I arrived, it was a dilapidated factory; the character "Guang" in the factory name was missing. The yard was spacious, with precast concrete slabs piled up everywhere in the corners. The glass of the small, dark gatehouse was completely covered up, so we couldn't see anything. I don't know who scratched a small observation hole about the size of a hand on it, but as soon as we got out of the car and took two steps inside, an old man rushed out of the gatehouse, shouting gruffly, "Who are you looking for?"
Without thinking, I said, "Let's find Master Deng."
The old man casually picked up a ladle of cold water, drank it, and said, "There's no one here with the surname Deng."