Fang Zhenjiang laughed and said, "No need, they're all rough men, they're not used to formal banquets."
Upon hearing this, Li Kui slammed his fist on the table, making the plates and bowls dance, and roared, "What are you saying? You clearly don't consider us brothers anymore!"
Fang Zhenjiang smiled, unconcerned. He gathered the dishes on the table, packed a few lunchboxes, and prepared to leave. Meanwhile, Duan Tianlang's fellow disciples, already aware that this was the man who had injured their master, whispered amongst themselves, seemingly ready to make a move. Fang Zhenjiang observed this but ignored them. Seeing that the situation was escalating out of control if he didn't intervene, Duan Tianlang reluctantly approached with a bowl of wine. Fang Zhenjiang put down his things, poured himself a bowl of wine, and said to Duan Tianlang, "Brother, I was reckless that day, please forgive me." He then clinked his bowl against Duan Tianlang's and drank it all in one gulp. Turning to me, he said, "Xiao Qiang, who was that big guy on the stage that day? Introduce us sometime, I want to drink with him."
This shows that Fang Zhenjiang ultimately didn't forget the etiquette of the martial arts world. Martial arts people believe in the principle of "killing without striking the head," and since he had beaten Duan Tianlang in their fight, he would say a few polite words to give Duan a way out, but would never mention who was right or wrong. This implies: "I drank with you because we're both fellow martial arts practitioners, but I'm not in the wrong." His direct questioning of me, Xiang Yu, further clarifies his stance on this matter.
Although Duan Tianlang possessed excellent martial arts skills, he wasn't a true江湖人 (jianghu person, a term referring to the martial arts world of martial arts and chivalry), and couldn't react to so much in a short time. Seeing that the others had already drunk with him, he returned to his seat. His disciples had no choice but to sit down as well.
Fang Zhenjiang did essentially two things from the moment he entered: return the money and drink. His extraordinary generosity immediately attracted a lot of attention. One person in particular stared at him intently, unwilling to look away. Hu Sanniang waved her hand in front of the man's eyes and laughed, "Sister, are you mesmerized?"
Tong Yuan then realized her lapse in decorum, lowered her head, blushed, and fiddled with her chopsticks, saying perfunctorily, "I... I drank too much."
Hu Sanniang laughed and said, "What's there to be embarrassed about? Didn't our brother fight with that Duan guy for your sake?"
Tong Yuan exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!" She only learned about Fang Zhenjiang and Duan Tianlang's affair at the tavern after hearing Hu Sanniang's explanation, and her face flushed even more. Actually, she was wearing a helmet during the competition that day, and Fang Zhenjiang hadn't seen her face at all; the cheer was for Xiang Yu.
But women can have serious overthinking problems. Unless they're as timid as a steamed bun, if they see someone bump into a lamppost on the street, they'll definitely think: Was he peeking at me just now...?
Seeing that Fang Zhenjiang was about to reach the door, Tong Yuan mustered her courage, stood up, and blocked his way, staring at her toes as she said, "You... drink this before you leave." The female demon who could smash five bricks in the arena without batting an eye was now acting quite coy.
Fang Zhenjiang was walking along when he was suddenly stopped. Looking up, he saw a tall girl with jet-black, smooth hair that looked like it could be used in an advertisement standing in front of him. Her long eyelashes pointed to the ground, and she was incredibly beautiful. He was stunned. But when he looked at what she was holding, he murmured, "This... I really can't drink it."
Tong Yuan was a little displeased upon hearing this. Forgetting all about being a lady, she frowned and said, "You drank ten or eight bowls of other people's wine, and you even drank one bowl of mine..." She suddenly exclaimed "Oh dear!" and covered her mouth with her hand, her face instantly turning bright red. It turned out she had just realized she was holding a dish of vinegar...
Hu Sanniang laughed and said, "Brother Wu Song, you should drink it. This is for your own good, and I'm here to help you sober up."
Duan Jingzhu mischievously called out, "Let's get jealous tonight, anyone want to borrow some crabs?"
Tong Yuan and Fang Zhenjiang both blushed deeply. Kind-hearted Song Qing replaced their wine bowls, and the two clinked them together, slowly gazing at each other as they drank. Everyone in the hall watched them with smiles, but I felt a chill and exclaimed in unison with someone next to me, "Hero and beauty—how melodramatic!" I reached out to ask that guy, "What's your surname?"
The man shook my hand: "No problem, Zhang Xiaohua."
After the two finished their drinks, Hu Sanniang asked Fang Zhenjiang, "Brother, aren't you leaving?"
Fang Zhenjiang stammered, "I...I still have..."
Even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman; Fang Zhenjiang's resolve has wavered as much as an 80-year-old woman's teeth.
At this moment, Dai Zong pushed open the window and shouted, "Wang Wuhua, Wang Wuhua—"
Wang Wuhua, Dai Zong's apprentice who was passing by outside, asked, "What is it, Master?"
"Go and call the uncles from the construction site over there to have a drink together."
Wang Wuhua placed one hand in front of him as a horse's head, and slapped his rump with the other hand while shouting, "Giddy up, giddy up!" and galloped off in a flash. Dong Ping laughed and said, "This kid is so clever, he knows that a real horse runs faster than a fake one." Dai Zong glared at him fiercely.
Hu Sanniang pressed Fang Zhenjiang into her chair and said, "You two chat. If you find it noisy, go back to the dormitory to chat..." Tong Yuan squinted her eyes, and Hu Sanniang raised her hand and shouted, "I admit I was being nosy, I admit I was being nosy."
Seeing that Hu Sanniang had left, Fang Zhenjiang made small talk, saying, "You look really good when you squint." It was clear that he didn't understand the young lady. Everyone here except him knew that when Tong Yuan squinted, it meant she was about to "go on a killing spree." If he liked watching it, he was in for a lot of trouble later.
I took the opportunity to sit down next to Fang Zhenjiang and said, "Zhenjiang, stop working and come to the school to teach the kids kung fu." Tong Yuan looked at Fang Zhenjiang, wanting to hear what he had to say.
Unexpectedly, Fang Zhenjiang said without hesitation this time, "No, I have to go with those brothers. We came out together, how can I leave halfway and let them continue to suffer?"
I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration: That's what a true hero is! A man as steadfast as iron on matters of principle! Fang Zhenjiang is a thoroughly modern person; he should understand the realities and cruelty of this society. How vast is the difference between a laborer and a teacher? Especially considering he had the woman he loved, to still make such a choice is almost endearingly naive, or perhaps naiveté in a cute way. That's why Wu Song is my idol. What is an idol? An idol does good deeds anonymously, an idol steps forward to block a bullet, an idol lies motionless in flames to protect their comrades, an idol can write 20,000 words a day… In short, we admire what our idols do, but we can't do it ourselves—Wu Song is my idol.
I noticed that Tong Yuan's eyes were already glazed over when she looked at Fang Zhenjiang. This girl is doomed; Fang Zhenjiang will definitely win her over before National Day.
Even others gave him a thumbs up, praising his loyalty. Seeing Fang Zhenjiang's determination, I slowly and deliberately said to him, "My school will need many people in the future, such as plumbers, electricians, and boiler operators. I wonder if your fellow workers would be interested?"
Fang Zhenjiang patted my shoulder hard: "I thank you on their behalf!"
I stood up, rubbing my shoulder, and said awkwardly, "Then I won't bother you anymore, you guys chat." This guy almost slapped me so hard I turned into Yang Guo; if Tong Yuan were to slap me too, I'd become Venus.
After these matters were settled, I kept them drinking while I wandered around the campus alone, hands behind my back. A few drinks had made my mind even more chaotic; I even spaced out for a moment watching the massive construction site bustling with activity. Although Yucai currently appears mostly as concrete and steel, its basic structure is complete, and it will inevitably take off sooner or later. I can honestly say that everyone at our school, except for myself, is a top-tier elite. But who are these elites? Ancient, modern, half-ancient, half-modern, even beings conjured from a vegetative state—I truly don't know how to make them coexist. If Yucai were just a rural village school, things would be easier, but now that state power has infiltrated it, it will inevitably become even stronger. And my clients will arrive in droves. My initial intention was simply to build a haven for them, which means that a more serious crisis awaits me: whether a large number of clients can safely integrate into this society.
I stared blankly at the now deserted old campus for a while, then a thought suddenly struck me: why not completely separate them? Right now, the heroes live in the same building as Cheng Fengshou and Duan Tianlang. Once the new campus is built, the latter can simply move there. From then on, all new clients will live in the old campus, while students and faculty transferred from the government will live in the new campus. We can then fabricate a reason to strictly prohibit all students from entering the old campus, thus significantly reducing contact. And the interaction between the faculty and my clients shouldn't be too much either.
However, there are some minor issues. For example, where should someone like Bao Jin live? Of course, I'd prefer him to live with the heroes. But the most troublesome issue isn't him or people like him. The most difficult thing is: what about Hua Rong and Xiu Xiu? Hua Rong is definitely going to stay with the heroes. Are we going to let him and Xiu Xiu live apart even though they're so close? And what about my son, Cao Chong? He showed up briefly during our meal, but then went off to play with his classmates. He's very popular, and he has a long way to go. I really hope he can forget his current status and focus on being my son.
And what about Fang Zhenjiang, who knows the truth but hasn't regained his memory? What if he lives in the new district and accidentally lets it slip? What if he lives in the old district and marries Tong Yuan?
I have a good tradition: if I can't figure something out, I don't think about it. Like when I used to take math exams, I'd bring a comic book with me, just fill in the answers randomly and call it a day. It's because at that moment, there was almost nothing I could understand. Others would secretly flip through books to cheat, but I secretly flipped through books to kill time—I couldn't find the book even if you gave it to me.
But there's one thing I do understand: I need a wall!
Just then, I saw Cui, the chief engineer of Yucai, appear before me with a protruding belly. We had specially brought him wine and food for our dinner party today, and it seemed that Cui had drunk quite a bit of our Five-Star Juniper wine. He was standing there with his hands on his hips, his face flushed and directing his deputies.
I ran over and said, "Engineer Cui, let's discuss adding something to our school."
When Engineer Cui saw it was me, he raised his arm arrogantly to his deputies and said, "...That's how it's going to be. You can go now."
Engineer Cui, hiccuping from drinking, glanced at me and asked, "What do you want?"
I mimicked his grand and imposing manner and waved my hand: "From here to there, I want a huge wall."
Engineer Cui still didn't understand: "You mean the screen?"
I explained it to him for a long time, but he still didn't understand—that's not his fault, he's an engineer, not a bricklayer.
I pulled the blueprint from under his armpit, unfolded it, and held out my hand to him: "Give me a pen."
Engineer Cui was completely baffled by me. He handed me a pencil and asked in bewilderment, "Didn't you say you couldn't read a map?"
I ignored him, found the old campus on the blueprint, and then roughly drew two lines across it with a red pencil, almost spanning the entire sheet of paper, with one section extending to the ground. I said, "Do you understand? I need a wall like this between the new and old campuses!"
In a trembling voice, Engineer Cui said, "Don't hurt me. What are you trying to do?"