Lu Junyi raised his voice and said, "Now, let's welcome Xiaoqiang to speak to us."
He clapped first, and everyone from Liangshan joined in. The other tables also stopped what they were doing and started cheering.
I cleared my throat, stood up, and said in a heartfelt tone, "Today, we've gathered here on this fertile land of Yucai..."
Dong Ping whispered, "Stop with the nonsense, let's get serious."
I was stunned for a moment, then said loudly, "...From now on, salaries will be paid on the 15th of every month!"
The restaurant erupted in prolonged applause.
Hu Sanniang said something at her table, and everyone burst into laughter, glancing at Hua Rong with smiles. I knew she was probably telling Hua Rong another embarrassing story. So, yesterday he and Xiuxiu went to the furniture market with the money I gave them. Hua Rong wanted two single beds, but Xiuxiu insisted on a double. Hua Rong couldn't persuade her otherwise and had to agree. But as soon as they got home, Hua Rong grabbed a saw and tried to cut the new bed in half. Xiuxiu was stunned and asked him why. Hua Rong confidently replied, "I know what you mean! Buying a double bed is cheaper than buying two single beds, so we can sleep in the same bed even if we cut it in half!"
This was something Xiuxiu mentioned while chatting with Hu Sanniang. She expressed concern about Ran Dongye's intelligence after waking up.
I tugged at Hua Rong beside me and whispered in his ear with a smile, "That girl is just expressing her determination to you, not trying to save money."
Hua Rong said in a low voice with a bitter face, "I realized it in the middle of the night. The main thing is that girls in our time would not use such a direct method."
"So how did you sleep after that?" I remembered the intact double bed. It seems that Hua Ersha's plan failed.
“I slept on the newspaper. This morning I woke up with a missing person poster printed on my back and the Afghanistan crisis on my thigh. I just washed it off. The Ruan brothers who came with me even said they never noticed you had tattoos before.”
I almost burst out laughing and asked him, "How do you plan to treat her in the future?"
Hua Rong shook his head and said, "I don't know either. Didn't you hear Xiu Xiu say that Ran something-night is good at writing and playing the guitar? Although I like to indulge in some culture in my spare time, I can't compare to her."
I know that Hua Rong is one of the few Liangshan generals who is both a scholar and a warrior. He said that not as an excuse, but because he doesn't know the true capabilities of Ran Dongye, this so-called artistic youth, so he has a self-deprecating mentality.
I said, "Don't think like that. You and he are the same person. Besides, don't bows and guitars both have strings? They're the same."
Zhang Qing shouted from across the table, "What are you two whispering about?" He then picked up his wine bowl and said, "Brother Hua, this bowl of wine is to congratulate you on your safe return."
Hua Rong chuckled and said, "Thank you, brother." He then downed the drink in one gulp. Xiu Xiu quickly said, "You've just recovered, drink slowly!"
Dong Ping laughed heartily, "That won't do. The wine he offered you was wine, and the wine I'm offering you isn't just water." He then took a swig and drank it down, looking at Hua Rong. Hua Rong also said, "Thank you, brother," and downed another bowl. Following their lead, everyone at the table toasted Hua Rong, and then the heroes at the next table. Cheng Fengshou and the others, unaware of the details, only knowing that a friend had recovered and been discharged from the hospital, also reached out with their drinks. Xiu Xiu was almost in tears, saying, "You're not planning to each toast him a bowl, are you?"
Hu Sanniang, holding a bowl, stood behind Zhu Gui and laughed, "Of course not, if one bowl isn't enough, he'll naturally have a second round."
Xiuxiu waved her arms to block Hua Rong, saying repeatedly, "I'll drink for him, I'll drink for him."
Lu Junyi suddenly stood up and said seriously, "You can't drink for him!"
Xiuxiu asked, "Why?"
Lu Junyi held up the wine bowl in front of Xiuxiu and said solemnly, "You are our Liangshan benefactor, how can you say it's on behalf of someone else? This is on behalf of the 109 heroes of Liangshan, toasting you!"
Everyone was startled upon hearing this and said, "That's right." As they spoke, they all raised their bowls towards Xiuxiu, instantly creating a sea of bowls. The top-quality five-star gin was crystal clear and sparkling, making Xiuxiu almost faint. She drank two bowls, her face flushed, and patted her chest, laughing, "I really can't drink anymore. I'll sing you all a song, please spare me."
The heroes, still holding their wine bowls, said, "Let's talk after we finish singing."
Xiuxiu softly sang, "Once when I was very young..." It turned out to be an English song. Her voice was gentle and her tone warm, making the heroes sway their heads. Wu Yong sighed, "She sings so well, but I can't understand a single word."
After the song was finished, the heroes playfully said, "Have a bowl of wine to moisten your throat." "Once the bowl is picked up, it can't be put down; that's the rule..."
Seeing that Xiuxiu was in a difficult position, I said loudly, "Brothers, how about this, whoever can tell what she meant in the song she just sang will drink a bowl."
The heroes looked at each other, then pointed at me and said, "Then tell us!"
I laughed loudly, "I don't know either!"
I do know one English song, and this song can be said to be the ancestor of all English songs. The lyrics are as follows: ABCDEFG (pause) HIGKLMN (pause again) ... The last line seems to be I-CAN-SING-SONG-ABC.
To punish me for sabotaging them, these guys got me thoroughly drunk before leaving. By then, the entire restaurant was a mess. Bao Jin and An Daoquan were arm in arm, Cheng Fengshou was being pressured to drink by Duan Jingzhu and his group, and Duan Tianbao and Shi Qian were sitting on the chandelier discussing something—
As Hu Sanniang and Tong Yuan were talking, Duan Tianlang suddenly walked over with a bowl of wine and said to Tong Yuan, "Team Leader Tong, you barely managed to catch me on stage that day. If I hadn't hurt you badly, I would have definitely lost. Please forgive me."
His words were incoherent, sounding like both an apology and a sophistry, and Hu Sanniang's eyes widened in disbelief. Tong Yuan, however, was a perceptive girl. Through her observations over the past few days, she had noticed that Duan Tianlang was not good at socializing. She knew that his insistence on presenting the facts to others stemmed from his regret and his desire for understanding of his predicament. Moreover, she understood that his actions were entirely motivated by a desire to revitalize martial arts. So, she smiled sweetly at Duan Tianlang, clinked glasses with him, and said, "Let's not dwell on the past. It's my fault for being so opportunistic that day. In terms of kung fu, you can be my master."
Duan Tianlang nodded gratefully to Tong Yuan, forgetting even to drink his wine, and walked back. He was truly amusing, causing Tong Yuan and Hu Sanniang to giggle behind him.
Seeing so many martial arts heroes and social elites gathered together, I felt a surge of satisfaction, and involuntarily, my eyes welled up with tears. I don't think I've ever been such a sentimental person before. I looked down and immediately yelled, "You bastard, Xiao Liu! I ordered tofu with scallions, where's the tofu?"
Chapter 81 The Berlin Wall
As they were eating and drinking, a man walked towards them from outside. Someone with sharp eyes called out, "Brother Wu Song!"
Fang Zhenjiang lifted the curtain and entered, and the heroes stood up abruptly, immediately launching into a frenzy of drinking. Fang Zhenjiang, all smiles, accepted all the drinks, and only stopped after drinking about ten jin of liquor. He came up to me, tossed a card into my arms, and said, "It's settled then, I've saved you 500,000."
Seeing him holding a hard hat, I asked, "You're back at the construction site again?"
Fang Zhenjiang nodded: "I can't lose my job; I still have to take care of my mother in her old age."
I handed him the card and said, "Here, take this money."
Fang Zhenjiang didn't answer, glanced at me, and said, "Who do you take me for?"
At this moment, Hua Rong stood up and asked in confusion, "Brother Wu Song, where did you come from?"
Someone whispered in his ear, "Brother Wu Song hasn't regained his memory yet. The pill you took was actually his." Similarly, someone else told Fang Zhenjiang that the person in front of him was Hua Rong. Fang Zhenjiang took a bowl and drank a cup with Hua Rong, saying, "Good brother, I've heard about your story. It's good that you're alive. Everything else is nonsense."
Hua Rong said with difficulty, "Brother, I will definitely find a way to restore your identity."
Fang Zhenjiang waved his hand: "What does it matter if it recovers or not? I'm doing very well now. I have no debts, an old mother at home, and brothers all over the world." Fang Zhenjiang stuffed two steamed buns into his mouth, ate a few bites of vegetables, stood up and said: "You guys drink, I'm going back to the construction site—hey, pack up the rest of the food and I'll take it with me, those brothers over there are still hungry."
The heroes felt uneasy hearing him say this, firstly because Fang Zhenjiang was now living in dire straits, and secondly because his tone suggested he was closer to his former coworkers than to his former brothers. But this was precisely Wu Song's heroic nature; if he had only sought comfort, he wouldn't have been the upright and indomitable man he was.
Lu Junyi grabbed his hand and said, "Don't go. Let's call those brothers over for a drink too."