"Okay, I'll listen to you. Hey, is this a white lion? How come it's grown so big? Those two little mastiffs aren't even half its size."
Zhou Rui agreed, then turned around and saw the white lion behind him. He was startled. The white lion had grown rapidly in the past two months, almost a meter tall, with long, snow-white fur. At first glance, it really looked like a majestic lion.
The white lion still remembered Zhou Rui. After rubbing its big head against Zhou Rui's leg, it obediently lay down at Zhuang Rui's feet.
"Youngest brother, did I sleep outside your door all night yesterday? Why is my whole body sore?"
At this moment, Yang Wei also finished showering and walked over wearing Zhuang Rui's clothes.
"This is my college classmate Yang Wei, and this is my friend Zhou Rui. They're coming to Guangdong with us this time. Please get to know them."
"Brother Zhou, right? I've heard Zhuang Rui mention you before. Welcome to Zhonghai. I'll show you around sometime."
Zhuang Rui had mentioned Zhou Rui to Wei Ge before. Wei Ge was like his mother, outgoing and talkative. He started chatting with Zhou Rui in just a few words, which made Zhou Rui have a very good first impression of him.
Zhuang Rui looked at Yang Wei, who was chatting enthusiastically, and said helplessly, "Alright, you two stop chatting and go get some sleep. We're leaving a day early and will depart tonight. We should arrive in Guangzhou by tomorrow morning."
"Anyway, I don't drive. By the way, Lao Yao, I noticed those two girls earlier didn't look too natural. Did you do anything bad yesterday?"
Wei Ge pursed his lips and steered the conversation back to Zhuang Rui.
"Go to hell! I should have let you continue sleeping outside. Stop talking nonsense. You guys go get some sleep, I'm going out to buy something."
Zhuang Rui felt a little guilty and didn't dare to say much to Yang Wei. He grabbed his car keys and got up to go to the supermarket, as he needed to prepare some food and drinking water on the way.
It's only about 1700 kilometers from Zhonghai to Pingzhou, and it's all highway with excellent road conditions. The two of them can take turns driving, and it should only take about ten hours. Since there's nothing else going on in Zhonghai, Zhuang Rui wants to find a way to get to Guangdong. His fourth brother, hearing that the two brothers are going, excitedly went to Guangzhou today to wait for them. ...
Pingzhou, adjacent to Guangzhou, the largest jade market in China, and connecting with Jieyang, Sihui, Sanshui, Shunde, and Hong Kong in Guangdong, has a long history of jade processing and has been a famous distribution center for raw jadeite for nearly 30 years. In previous years, people from Pingzhou would go to Myanmar or Ruili, Yingjiang, and Tengchong in Yunnan to gamble on jadeite and then bring it back for processing.
Currently, several well-known jade trading groups in Myanmar have set up offices in Pingzhou to meet the growing demand for raw jadeite in the Chinese market. They directly transport raw jadeite to Pingzhou for sale, which not only benefits many Chinese manufacturers but also increases the value and economic benefits of the raw stones.
Therefore, several jadeite rough stone trade fairs are held in Pingzhou every year. These fairs attract raw material merchants from China as well as rough stone merchants from Myanmar and other places. Each fair attracts a large number of domestic jade manufacturers and jewelry companies, making it a grand event for the jadeite industry.
“Brother Wei, call Lao Si. We’re going straight to Pingzhou. We won’t stop in Guangzhou. Tell him to head to Pingzhou now.”
Zhuang Rui was driving on the highway. He had already passed Shaoguan and would be in Guangzhou in a little over two hours. It was just past 1 a.m., and Zhuang Rui wanted to go straight to Pingzhou to find a hotel to stay in, so as to avoid the hassle of going back and forth.
"Youngest brother, are we a bit early? There's not a soul in sight. Where's fourth brother?"
After calling Lao Si, Zhuang Rui rushed all the way and arrived in Pingzhou before 4 a.m. However, apart from a few early-rising sanitation workers, the whole city was quiet.
Just as Wei Ge was about to call Lao Si again, a very flashy red Ferrari silently pulled up next to Zhuang Rui's car. After the window rolled down, a very handsome face popped out and excitedly shouted at Zhuang Rui, "Youngest brother, it really is you! Where's the eldest brother?"
"Hey boss, I'm here. Damn, fourth brother, you're really dishonest. You're driving a Ferrari now, and you used to pretend to be poor in school. Damn it, I'm going to make you pay."
After the eldest brother rolled down the car window in the back seat, he saw the Ferrari driven by the fourth brother and his eyes widened. He immediately opened the car door and climbed into the fourth brother's car.
Chapter 164 The Five Brothers
"The youngest, second, and third brothers will all be coming in a few days. This time, all of us brothers will be gathered in Guangdong."
The fourth brother had already booked a hotel. After checking in, the brothers were so excited because they hadn't seen each other for almost two years that they didn't go to their rooms. Instead, they sat in the hotel lobby and chatted.
Speaking of the five brothers from dormitory 108 of the Accounting Department of Zhonghai XX University, their fame resounds throughout the entire college. From ordinary teachers and deans to the principal, from freshmen to alumni, few people do not know them. The reason is simple: their names are just too famous.
Once, a professor was having dinner with the principal when he casually mentioned these five people. He then sprayed his drink in the principal's face. As a result, all five of them failed the professor's course and had to retake the exam.
The eldest brother goes without saying; although this Viagra is not the same as that Viagra, his fame is just as high.
The second son is a true-blue Beijinger, as Zhuang Rui calls him. He was influenced by Zhuang Rui. The second son's surname is Yue and his given name is Jing. This name was given to him by his mother's grandfather, who came from a cowshed. It is said to be in memory of an old comrade-in-arms who did not survive in the cowshed and died.
Since Yue Jingxiong understood the rich meaning of his name at the age of 12, he fought for more than 10 years to change it. His perseverance was comparable to his mother's grandfather's eight-year war of resistance. However, it is clear that he is no match for the old man in the family.
Even after graduating from university, the second child still used this name. However, his skin had become as thick as a city wall as he grew older. During his self-introduction at the freshman orientation after military training, he once explained in great detail the correct pronunciation and spelling of his name, which shocked a group of girls.
Yue Jing's mother has already retired to a secondary position, but most of his father's generation hold positions in various departments in Beijing. In his own words, he was born under the emperor's nose and grew up under the red flag, so he can be considered a son of a high-ranking official. Young Master Yue lived up to his name, joining the Party in his third year of university. As soon as he got his diploma, he returned to Beijing and immediately transferred his organizational affiliation to a certain ministry. I heard that he is now a section chief and has a bright future ahead of him.
Perhaps it's because Shanghainese and Beijingers are inherently at odds with each other. Yue Jing was only eight days younger than Yang Wei, and in order to be the eldest, Yue Jing had specifically gone back to Beijing to change his ID card. However, he was slapped back by his grandfather, who said, "If you won't let me change my name, can't I just make myself come out of my mother's womb a few days early?"
Under the old man's authoritarian rule, the second son could only say these things in private.
From enrollment to graduation, Wei Ge and Yue Jing Xiong spent four years bickering and arguing, adding a lot of fun for everyone. However, despite their bickering, they still had a deep friendship. At the graduation party, they drank the most.
At that time, the second brother was pulling the eldest brother with tears streaming down his face, insisting that the eldest brother go to Beijing with him to develop his career. He ignored the tissue that Zhuang Rui handed him and wiped his snot and tears on the Montblanc T-shirt that the eldest brother had just bought for more than 3,000 yuan.
Wei Ge secretly took Yue Jing's phone, dialed a "Hong Kong Chat Service," and then stuffed it back into his back pocket. That day, the second brother was drunk, and his phone probably ran out of battery and shut down automatically. Only after returning to Beijing did he discover that his phone bill for that month had exceeded 2000 yuan. Furthermore, a new VIP mainland customer had appeared in the Hong Kong chat service's records.
As for the third brother's name, he is the most famous among the five brothers, but his fame is somewhat unjust.
The third son is from northern Shaanxi. His name is very ordinary, surnamed Liu, and his full name is Liu Changfa. Compared to names like Ergou, Sanmao, and Siyatou, it is relatively normal. The third son comes from a poor family. His parents raised him, a college student, in the barren loess soil of northern Shaanxi. What few people know is that the third son has a set of authentic Shaanxi Hongquan kung fu passed down in his family. According to him, he started practicing kung fu when he was still wearing open-crotch pants.
The third brother was about 1.8 meters tall and had the typical appearance of a man from northern Shaanxi. He always had a simple and honest smile on his face. At least this honesty helped him bring home a beautiful wife when he graduated, something the others had not done, and they were indignant about it.
It is said that one should become famous as early as possible. The third brother became famous the earliest among the five brothers, and it should be said that he was also the earliest among the students of his class.
It was the first day of freshmen military training after enrollment. The emergency assembly whistle that rang at 6 a.m. without prior notice filled the large playground of Zhonghai XX University with college students who were disheveled and sleepy-eyed.
However, the boys quickly regained their senses. The sight of so many girls with their buttons askew and clothes mismatched made them incredibly alert, their eyes darting around, searching for targets. With far more girls than wolves, Zhuang Rui and his group of five were already completely mesmerized by the 40-plus girls. The boys from other departments looked at them with a mixture of jealousy, envy, and a desire to take their place.
The military training instructor was a second lieutenant from a certain armed police detachment in Zhonghai. It was rumored that he was an outstanding soldier who won first place in the Zhonghai Armed Police Corps' competition last year and was promoted to officer on the spot. However, after meeting them, the second lieutenant gave this group of testosterone-fueled elites a hard time. The boys first ran 10 laps around the large parade ground, while the girls tidied up their personal belongings and clothes.
One lap on the school track is 400 meters. After running 10 laps, which is 4000 meters, the tough guys, who were all panting and looking like stray dogs, were exhausted. Before they could even catch their breath, they immediately gathered to listen to the instructors' instructions.
"Hello everyone, for the next month, I will be your military training instructor. I myself have never attended university, not even high school. In my mind, university is sacred, and university students are the pride of heaven. In ancient times, they would all be top scholars in the imperial examinations, but..."
Although the second lieutenant had only been promoted to officer for a short time, having undergone three months of intensive training at the Nanjing Armed Police Academy, he already possessed the art of public speaking as a leader, using a technique of praising first and then criticizing, and speaking in a very simple and straightforward manner, without any "buts."
The turn after those two words made the speech a success, but there was a "but".
The accident stemming from these two words led to countless discussions about XX University in the future, and was also the culprit behind Professor XX spraying wine all over the president's face.
"But what I saw was a group of disorganized, undisciplined, pampered college students who would answer 'Present' instead of 'Oh,' when their names were called. If this were the military, you people would all be unqualified trash, and on the battlefield you would all be cannon fodder..."
The instructor's words drew boos from the girls on the playground. The boys hadn't caught their breath yet, and having been slapped and beaten many times since childhood, they were relatively thick-skinned and could withstand this level of verbal abuse.
"What, you're not happy about it? The regulations were issued the day before yesterday. Girls' hair must be ear-length, and boys' hair must be buzz cut. Look at you all, so sloppily dressed and with long hair..."
At this point, the second lieutenant paused briefly, displaying great confidence.
"arrive!"
A loud, clear voice interrupted the lieutenant's speech.
The sudden sound brought the instructor's speech to an abrupt halt, greatly displeasing the lieutenant who was in the midst of a rare opportunity to discipline the college students and was in the climax of his lecture. More importantly, the abrupt "Here!" also made the lieutenant forget the words he had been memorizing for several days that he was about to say next.
"Who is speaking?"
"The second lieutenant shouted sternly."
"Reporting, instructor, it's me!" Lao San's voice rang out from the first row of the team. His voice was so loud and his posture so upright that the other guys, who hadn't recovered after running four kilometers, were very impressed by Lao San's stamina and courage.
"Damn it, this is a troublemaker. I specialize in dealing with troublemakers..."
Seeing the third brother's calm and composed answer, the second lieutenant, who had a lot of experience working in the company, immediately thought of the troublesome soldiers in the army.
The instructor, who hadn't fully transitioned from a platoon leader to a second lieutenant, instinctively walked towards the third soldier. He raised his right leg, bent it slightly inward, and delivered a straight kick to the third soldier's abdomen. The force wasn't very strong; the second lieutenant probably just wanted to give the third soldier a good whack on the backside. If it were one of his own soldiers, the second lieutenant would have slapped him across the face long ago.
Unexpectedly, the third brother didn't move his feet at all, but just slightly turned his body to the side, thus dodging the instructor's right leg kick. While dodging, the third brother's right hand seemed to pull on the instructor's right foot (it was just a feeling, because the third brother later denied that he had made a move). The instructor's body immediately flew forward, grazing the third brother's body, and had a close encounter with the hard cement floor.
The instructor, feeling deeply ashamed, immediately reported the incident to the school, which caused a huge uproar. The fight between the freshman and the instructor attracted the attention of many bored students from freshman to senior year. Although an investigation revealed that it was a near-bloody incident caused by a misunderstanding about names (in fact, the third student was also wronged; he was first in the running and had the best posture, so why was he criticized and almost beaten up? It was purely bullying of honest people). After this incident, Liu Changfa became one of the most famous outstanding figures in the history of Shanghai XX College. Furthermore, in an unexpected incident after the military training ended, the guys in dormitory 108 fully realized that his motto was "playing dumb to fool others."
As for the fourth brother, judging from his appearance, he was a rather thin but handsome young man, about 1.75 meters tall, and wearing glasses. He seemed like a typical refined gentleman, which was what everyone initially thought. When the fourth brother introduced himself, he never mentioned his family. It wasn't until the five brothers went out to celebrate after their first group fight that this guy, who had drunk too much, spilled everything without anyone pressing him for details. If this had happened during wartime, there would have been no need for any seduction tactics; just a little alcohol would have made him confess everything.
The fourth brother's name is Bi Yuntao. He said that he was sickly when he was a child, and his family was afraid that they would not be able to raise him. So they specially asked Wong Tai Sin, a famous fortune teller in Hong Kong, to give him a name. I don't know if that Wong Tai Sin is still alive. Anyway, the fourth brother, who has been cursed with the nickname "Condom", has been cursed for more than ten years.
The fourth son is from the coastal area of Guangdong. Since the reform and opening up, the small town where he was born has been the most famous automobile, motorcycle and clothing trading center in the country. To put it bluntly, it has vigorously developed trade between Hong Kong and the mainland, and exchanged goods. The fourth son's family has been engaged in this trade since the late 1970s, from electronic watches to bell-bottoms to televisions and cars.
Over the course of more than 10 years, the Bi family accumulated a large amount of wealth. Because the fourth son was in poor health from childhood and could not work at sea, the family also consciously cultivated the next generation with knowledge and culture. Therefore, the fourth son became the only college student among the many brothers in the family.
Although he was on the fringes of the family business, the fourth brother, who had seen and eaten pork since childhood, was definitely the most ruthless among the five brothers. On the thirty-second day after the start of school, which was the first day after a month of military training ended, the fourth brother broke the ice with a beer bottle.
Men's friendships are nothing more than going through thick and thin together, going to jail together, fighting together, and even visiting prostitutes together. Zhuang Rui and his friends' friendship started with fighting.
It was the day after the end of military training. After a month of arduous and outstanding struggle, Wei Ge, who finally defeated the second-place winner and won the title of the leader, decided to treat everyone to a meal at a restaurant outside the school to celebrate the end of military training. When they arrived at the restaurant, to their surprise, a group of girls who were always crying and shouting about losing weight had arrived earlier than them and had already ordered their food and were ready to eat.
The second and fourth brothers, being the most shameless, went up to the girls and started calling them "sisters" in a roundabout way, which actually got the girls to agree to celebrate with the five guys. After a few rounds of drinks and a variety of dishes, the atmosphere became even more lively. Some other students were very envious, but since they didn't know them well, they were too embarrassed to go up and join in the fun.
Since military training had just ended and the freshmen had been cooped up for a month, the restaurant was packed with customers, mostly freshmen coming to indulge in some new experiences. Unfortunately, seven or eight members of the junior sports department's basketball team also came to eat. There weren't enough seats to begin with, and as the basketball team members were arguing with the owner and preparing to leave, they saw the second-in-command smugly toasting everyone among the girls. Suddenly, they had the idea to teach the younger students about the glorious tradition of respecting elders and caring for the young, and also to show off in front of the girls.
It was easy to pick a fight. A burly senior brother, who was over 1.9 meters tall, deliberately kicked the second brother. Then he began to warn everyone not to be too flamboyant and not to stretch their legs out too far. He warned that if they tripped the senior brother and injured him, the consequences would be severe. However, he did not expect that these junior brothers, who were more hot-blooded, had really bad tempers. Just as the second brother was about to reach for the beer bottle, the fourth brother, who was sitting next to him, had already stood on the chair and used the half-empty Tsingtao beer bottle in his hand to crack open the senior brother's head.
The senior students, used to being arrogant and domineering in school, had never suffered such a loss before. To make matters worse, they were humiliated in front of a group of attractive female students. Immediately, seven or eight people surrounded them. Lao San and Zhuang Rui tried to say a few words of advice, but after taking a few punches to the face, they gave up on trying to reason with them. Of the seven or eight senior students, five were taken down by Lao San alone. Wei Ge and Yue Jing worked well together and took down one of them. Zhuang Rui, who had been in many fights since childhood, also took down one by wielding a wine bottle.
After the girls left, the group, having won a great victory, went to another place to drink. The next day, they faced disciplinary action from the school. Fortunately, the fight took place off-campus, and the school knew that the freshmen would not provoke the upperclassmen. In addition, the leader was a local, and his family pulled some strings. In the end, the group only had to pay for medical expenses and the third member, who had knocked down the most people, received a demerit.
After this battle, the five brothers became famous throughout the school. In addition, the third brother even found love. A girl from Shaanxi who was present praised the third brother's kind act of striking back and his powerful fighting skills. A year later, the two somehow got together. This made the fourth brother depressed for a long time. No one appreciated his cool and smooth action of standing on the chair and smashing the bottle.
After four years of being classmates, the second brother wanted to return to Beijing to inherit the family tradition of entering officialdom, the third brother wanted to accompany his girlfriend back to his hometown, and the fourth brother was even the family's designated accountant. Only Zhuang Rui was repeatedly fooled and coaxed by the eldest brother to stay in Zhonghai. He was stuck in a limbo, neither good enough for high positions nor good enough for low ones. Zhonghai is a Fortune 500 company, but no one else looked up to Zhang.
Fortunately, Zhuang Rui's hard times have finally come to an end. Although he doesn't have the same wealth as his brothers, he has the most money at his disposal.
The fourth brother and Zhuang Ruiwei hadn't seen each other for almost two years since graduating in 2002. They talked about their school days, feeling nostalgic and wide awake. They chatted from a little after four o'clock until six o'clock, when it was already getting light outside.
After chatting for a while, Zhuang Rui learned that the second brother would be coming in a few days under the pretense of a business trip, while the third brother had taken leave to come. The fourth brother paid for all the airfare and other expenses, and they might even bring their families. Now all five brothers would be together.
"The youngest is doing pretty well now, he even has bodyguards with him when he goes out, impressive."
After Zhou Rui returned to his room to rest, Lao Si gave Zhuang Rui a thumbs-up and said...
"Don't annoy me. Your Ferrari could buy two of my cars. Brother Zhou is my friend, so please don't say anything like 'bodyguard'."
Zhuang Rui quickly corrected Lao Si's words. It was fine for them to talk here, but it would be bad if Zhou Rui overheard them.
The fourth brother pointed at Zhuang Rui and laughed, "You don't know what humor is. You're still the same old you. By the way, youngest brother, are you really planning to make a living in the antique business now? I've heard that there's a ghost market before every raw stone trade fair in Pingzhou. Don't you want to go check it out?"
"Is there a ghost market here?"
Zhuang Rui was taken aback when he heard this. After following Uncle De for the past few months, he had learned a lot about the ins and outs of the antique business. Hearing what Lao Si said, he was really tempted.
Chapter 165 Ghost Market
Ghost markets were most prevalent two or three decades before the liberation. After liberation, a planned economy was implemented, and before the reform and opening up, few people dared to set up stalls on the street. Therefore, ghost markets disappeared from people's sight for a time, and only slowly reappeared in people's view in the 1990s.
However, antique ghost markets are extremely rare. Apart from a few major cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing, and Xi'an, even Guangzhou does not have a ghost market. Although there is a term "走鬼" (zou gui) in Cantonese, it refers to some unlicensed vendors and has nothing to do with antique ghost markets.
Even in cities where antique ghost markets exist, these markets don't occur every day. This is because the vendors in these markets often come from all over the country, are highly mobile, and have diverse backgrounds, encompassing all sorts of people. Therefore, in those cities, antique ghost markets only appear for one or two days a week.
"Fourth Brother, are you telling the truth? Is there a ghost market in Pingzhou?"
Zhuang Rui found it hard to believe that an antique ghost market, which is rare even in major cities, could exist in a small place like Pingzhou.