No sooner had I finished speaking than Xiang Yu's arms stretched out, grabbing one person and tossing him into the air with a loud laugh. At the same time, his massive figure flashed in front of another, shoving him half a meter into the ground. With a swift kick, he sent one flying, and the other two were knocked to the ground as well.
In the blink of an eye, five people had been sent flying like pieces of paper. The luckiest one was the one Xiang Yu threw into the air at the beginning, because he wasn't actually injured. However, he soon became the unluckiest one—Xiang Yu didn't catch him.
The three people on the field didn't even realize what was happening before their companions disappeared below the half-meter line. Xiang Yu grabbed two more, one in each hand, and gently tapped them together. The two men were like they'd been on a 24-hour rollercoaster, their legs spinning in circles around the small playground, unable to walk in a straight line even with the door right in front of them.
The leader was left standing there all alone, holding a stick, his legs trembling. Xiang Yu didn't even have the heart to hit him.
I walked up to him, held out my hand, and said, "Give it to me." He readily handed me the stick. I started beating him mercilessly, saying as I hit him, "Did Liu Xuan send you here? Did you do what happened at the bar yesterday?" Xiang Yu, who was standing nearby, turned his head and said, "Wow—you're so cruel."
These eight were, of course, the same eight from last night. They weren't familiar with Liu Xuan; they were just doing his bidding for money. I stopped what I was doing, leaning on my cane, and said to them, "You're not getting away with this today. You're being watched. They love killing entire families. If you don't want to be in the newspapers, move out now." Their faces turned pale.
I added, "Also, tell Liu Xuan that I still advise him to run away. Did you all remember what I said?"
Of the eight heads, only seven were on – one had a dislocated neck.
"Get out of here!"
The eight people helped each other walk out. Suddenly, I remembered something and nudged the leader with my stick: "Stop."
His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground. I said, "I've saved so many of you. Besides, even though I hit you, you're actually the least injured. How are you going to repay me?" I was telling the truth. The difference between Xiang Yu's single blow and my dozens of blows was the difference between internal and external injuries.
Seeing that the boss still didn't understand, I simply said, "Give me your car keys." He readily agreed, put the van keys on the ground, and said to me, "There's half a box of Zhonghua cigarettes in the car that we just swindled out of, consider it a token of our appreciation to you. Also, the clutch on that car is high, so it'll be hard for you to use it."
That made me laugh; the kid was quite cute. I took all the money out of my pocket and gave it to him—you know, I'm practically rich now, I always carry a few thousand dollars in my pocket, enough to buy a beat-up van on the black market. Then I threatened him again, making them move out.
In this way, Shi Qian cut off this connection, and I can at least free up a few more days to think of a solution.
I was thinking about my own things, and Xiang Yu was thinking about his own. He snatched the car keys and ran back home. I wasn't going to go crazy like him; I didn't believe he could drive the car by himself.
I strolled leisurely back to the pawnshop and saw Xiang Yu already sitting in the carriage, mimicking my actions by turning the wheel so hard it groaned. His ability to do this already made me look at him with new respect.
I pressed my face against the window to watch him fiddling with it. Xiang Yu, feeling embarrassed, sat in the passenger seat and opened the door for me. Only then did I arrogantly get into the car.
"Release the handbrake first, then turn the key, press the clutch, shift gears, and slowly accelerate." Although I taught him correctly, I deliberately moved the movements very quickly. I didn't want him to learn too quickly; if he actually drove off, the consequences would be unimaginable. I found him a car to drive because I was afraid he would break down; I didn't want him to learn because I was afraid I would break down.
I took the key away: "Practice these for today."
"How can I practice without the key?"
I said, "I don't feel comfortable with the key, so you'll have to make do for now. I'm going to take a nap."
I slept until dark, and Baozi didn't even wake me up for dinner because I was snoring. When I woke up, I felt dizzy, had a stuffy nose, and was short of breath—I was sick.
I guess it's because I've been too tired these past two days, and I even fell asleep on the sofa and got chilled. I think I should get some exercise. The dashing young man in white robes, wielding a brick in hand, is now showing signs of age.
Baozi made me half a pot of dumpling soup, and I slurped it up with a few drops of sesame oil. A phone call came in; it was a very familiar voice. He called me Xiaoqiang affectionately and said, "Got some time? Let's go out for a meal."
I asked vaguely, "Who are you...?"
"I am Liu Xuan, have you forgotten me so quickly?"
It took me a moment to realize that we had just talked on the phone yesterday. I said, "I'm really not used to you talking without using 'f***er'."
Liu Xuan smiled awkwardly, his tone sounding very sincere, and said, "Xiao Qiang, why didn't you say earlier that you were Boss Hao's man? We've really let the floodwaters drown the Dragon King's temple."
Old Hao, who runs the pawnshop, naturally deals with people in the underworld, but it's mostly based on mutual benefit. He doesn't have much real power, and Liu Xuan couldn't possibly not know who owns the shop before he tried to smash it up. His statement is simply a way to save face after suffering a loss, because he's no longer sure of my capabilities.
He added, "Do you have time? Come out and sit for a while."
I said, "Not today, I'm sick, I'm having dumpling soup."
He paused for a moment, probably not expecting me to refuse so readily. He reacted quickly, saying, "There was a little misunderstanding before, it's just about a lousy manager's position, right? Take it if you want it."
I think this is the best way to resolve this matter. At least he backed down. Heroes value their reputation, and they may not really care about his arm.
But things weren't as simple as I thought. Liu Xuan started to speak in a high-pitched tone again: "But we're all in this business. If we lose face, we lose face too. I've already invited a few senior figures in the underworld. We'll all come out then. You make a statement, call me 'brother,' so people know I'm a brother who cares about his brothers, and they won't misunderstand me as a coward. This will benefit both of us, don't you think?"
I'm completely fed up with this guy. He's all talk and no action, a hypocrite. His meaning is clear: he's saying that someone of his status can't be bothered with me, he just wants to take me under his wing and then hand over the manager's position to me.
And look at how I treated him? I was wholeheartedly trying to save him. From the very first thing I said to him until just now when I told him I was drinking dumpling soup, wasn't every word true?
I lost my patience and, with tears streaming down my face, said to him, "Forget about dinner. If you're willing to take the job, then keep doing it. One last piece of advice: good luck to you."
"Xiao Qiang!" Liu Xuan said, emphasizing, "I've only called upon some important figures. You don't want to offend them all, do you?"
"That shameless thing is a sea cucumber!"
"You surnamed Xiao, I'll fucking fight you to the death!"
"You should start practicing early!" I'm really afraid that next year all the teachers coming will be this one or that one, and then I'll be completely lost.
After hanging up the phone, I felt a little regretful—I really should have scared him a bit. Today's conversation revealed his fear of me; he's not the kind of ruthless person who would risk his life for someone. Now, what I fear most is him hanging on like this, half-dead, neither quitting his job nor coming back to work.
I leaned back on the sofa like a magnanimous, concerned-for-the-nation figure, when Baozi said, "Hurry up and drink it, it's getting cold!" The magnanimous figure hurriedly continued slurping his noodle soup. I noticed the pearl Li Shishi had given her roll off her chest as Baozi bent over, and I was momentarily stunned. Seeing me staring at her blankly, Baozi followed my gaze, looked down, and muttered, "You're practically dying, and you still have this on your mind?" I then realized she had misunderstood me. I said, "Keep the pearl at home, it's not safe to wear it."
Baozi casually tossed it into her clothes: "I'll just wear it and play with it. Who's going to steal it?"
This bead reminded me that I should hurry up with the villa project. The problem is that now that I've finished building the school and renting out the bar, I'm a bit strapped for cash. If I buy the house and the wind chimes aren't repaired or can't be sold, how am I going to support those hundreds of people?
But then Baozi's words finally solidified my belief: "Do you want me to cut you some more pickled vegetables?" I almost burst into tears. They say that sick people are emotionally fragile and easily remember the kindness of others, and that's exactly how I am.
I think it's time to do something for Baozi. As for the rest, I'll stop thinking about it. I'm not Fan Zhongyan, nor Du Fu, nor Norman Bethune. I'm just a man who's already engaged, and even for that dish of pickled vegetables, I'll still give her a big house.
I called Bai Lianhua, and as soon as she answered, she chatted with me enthusiastically for a long time, talking about her childhood and where clothes were on sale. After a few sentences, she asked me if I remembered so-and-so. As I listened, I realized that she had completely forgotten who I was, but she was afraid of offending anyone if she said it, so she was trying to get information out of me.
I said, "Master Bai, this is me, Xiao Qiang, who is planning to buy a house."
She immediately remembered it and asked curiously, "You really intend to take that house?"