Since we moved here, these kinds of banquets have been happening every few days. Several times, we've even invited all our friends to join us. We're finally living the life Baozi wanted. Her ideal is to eat with lots of people every day. I even suspect that she wanted to join the army back then just so she could eat with so many people. Later, I told her that going to jail could actually achieve the same goal. Baozi thought about it silently for a long time, and I don't know if she had any plans to put it into practice. I regretted it so much that I kept slapping myself.
Sure enough, this woman is drunk again today. Holding up her glass with a wide-eyed expression, she said to us, "It's a pity Fatty isn't here. I really didn't know he was an archaeology major. When do you think they'll finish digging up that grave?"
Liu Bang whispered, "I think we should all leave after we've dug this up." He turned to Xiang Yu and said, "You should have just destroyed everything back then, so we could sit down and drink together today."
I said, "I heard from Fei Sankou that after the tombs in County B were excavated, the government didn't plan to continue excavating the Xi'an Xianyang International Airport site. Anyway, the things are just sitting there and won't be lost. They also said they'd leave this legacy and that legacy for future generations..."
Li Shishi smiled and said, "It's a dual heritage of material and spiritual significance. We can only explore it when we have the technology to do so; that would be a kind of encouragement."
Wu Sangui said, "I remember now. When we withdrew our troops from Shanhaiguan that year, I also buried a lot of gold and silver underground. Why don't I draw a diagram and you go dig it up, Xiaoqiang?"
I quickly said, "Forget it, just remember to take all your personal belongings with you when you leave. Leaving even one thing behind will only cause trouble."
As we were chatting, Zhang Bingxin opened a bottle of wine and poured it for each of us, saying, "It's rare to have everyone here today, so I'd like to toast you all."
Since saving Baozi last time, everyone's attitude towards her had changed, and now they all smiled and raised their glasses. After clinking glasses with us, Zhang Bing held her glass and gazed at Xiang Yu with deep affection, her eyes seemingly about to overflow with tears, and softly called out, "Your Majesty..."
Xiang Yu smiled slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but hesitated for a moment, and ultimately drank it all down without uttering a word. I noticed that Xiang Yu and Zhang Bing were often in this slow-paced and unnatural state when they were together, and I wondered if they were like this back then.
Baozi was exceptionally happy today and had already drunk quite a bit. When Zhang Bing offered him a toast, he couldn't help but stand up and mumble, "Sister..."
We all hummed in agreement. Although Zhang Bing, in front of us, was neither as old as Baozi in terms of historical age nor actual age, she seemed to be Baozi's ancestor by seniority.
Baozi continued, "Girl, to be honest, I didn't like you much before. Xiaoyu is such a nice girl, why are you bullying her..."
We awkwardly stammered, "Let's not talk about the past."
Baozi waved her hand in the air and said decisively, "Let me finish what I have to say—but that day, the day I was kidnapped, when you stood in front of Big Guy (we all hummed in agreement), I knew in my heart that no matter what you do, Big Guy will never have the right to glare at you again. A woman has done enough. I dare say, even if you were to kill him, it would be because you love him!"
Zhang Bing's expression changed slightly as she said, "How could I..."
Baozi, holding onto the table with one hand, said, "I... I want to learn from you. Cheers!"
I was both angry and amused, and told Zhang Bing, "She's obviously drunk, just ignore her."
Zhang Bing smiled and finished his drink in one gulp.
Baozi gave a thumbs-up and said, "Great!" Then he plopped down in the chair and fell asleep.
I went to help her up, but my legs gave way and I fell back down. I couldn't help but say, "Damn, she's really drunk today."
Suddenly, they heard someone outside speaking through a loudspeaker in a booming voice: "Listen up, you inside! You are surrounded! Mr. Xiao, we only care about money, not your lives. We hope you will not put up any futile resistance!"
I was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Are thieves this brazen these days?"
Wu Sangui slammed his hand on the table, laughing and cursing, "Damn it, they've got their hands on me!" But despite his bold words, we saw him halfway up the table suddenly slump down. Wu Sangui's expression changed, "Oh no, we've been tricked! Someone's tampered with the food and wine."
Logically, people like us, who have seen a lot in life, should have taken action long ago in the face of such a situation, but now we were all sitting there dumbfounded. Looking at each other, we all gave bitter smiles. Only then did I realize that my legs hadn't been weak, but rather that I had been drugged sometime during the ordeal. My mind was fully awake, but my limbs just wouldn't obey my commands.
Xiang Yu's face was flushed, and he trembled all over, as if he had a bellyful of pent-up frustration with nowhere to vent. Zhang Bing looked at him with concern. Wu Sangui sat motionless, seemingly resigned to defeat. Liu Bang looked around anxiously, as if still hoping someone would come to his rescue. Apart from the sleeping Baozi, Li Shishi and Hua Mulan were quite composed. Only Ersha calmly picked up a slice of ham with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and then took a sip of wine. We all asked him, "Aren't you poisoned?" Our eyes lit up; if Ersha wasn't poisoned, it seemed he could still protect himself.
Ersha shook his head and said, "I can't move anything except my mouth and hands."
"Then why are you still eating?"
The silly boy, single-mindedly drinking, slowly said, "Anyway, it's already like this, what's there to be afraid of—I haven't even eaten my fill yet."
At this moment, Liu Bang reacted the fastest. The switch for the overhead light was on the wall next to him. He reached out and pressed it, and the room was immediately plunged into darkness.
Those outside dared not rush in, and shouted through a megaphone: "Mr. Xiao, please do not resist in vain. We will not easily harm you."
Zhang Bing's anxious voice rang out in a low voice, "What should we do?"
I said, "Call the police, get the nearest officers here!"
Zhang Bing took out his phone, glanced at it, and said, "No signal. The people outside must have brought a signal jammer."
Li Shishi asked, "If we use a landline, who is the closest?"
Liu Bang said dejectedly, "Does he think they know how to use a signal jammer but also how to cut telephone lines? I think we should use the most primitive method."
Knowing this guy was cunning, we all asked, "What's the plan?"
Liu Bang said, "Shout for help!"
"Tch—" We all gave him a look of disdain, knowing he was just having a pointless laugh. Judging from the other side's preparations, the security guard at the gate of the community should have been taken care of as well. If he were to shout for help now, he would definitely call in the still hesitant enemy.
We were discussing a solution, but they weren't giving us any time. A footstep approached, and someone said tentatively, "Mr. Xiao, I'm coming in now. You'd better not move."
The man poked at the door for a while with something, and as soon as he entered, he turned on his flashlight. He first shone it in each of our faces, then shone it on the dishes on our table, and laughed, "Dinner is quite sumptuous, but why did you all do this?" As he spoke, he reached out and turned on the overhead light, and in that instant we could see his face clearly: a high nose and deep-set eyes; he was a foreigner.
I suddenly realized and said, "It's you again?"
Chapter Sixty-Four Moving Company
Yes, I can't think of anyone other than the Mafia. I'm just wondering, I didn't do anything to them, so why are they so persistent?
The foreigner who came in looked around the room and shouted outside, "Bring one more person in and keep an eye on them. I'm going upstairs to check." He said this to warn us, so he spoke in Chinese.
Someone outside answered, and then another foreigner rushed in, carrying a gun. The first one went upstairs, and I asked the one who came in after him, "How many of you came in total?"
Four.
Xiang Yu snorted and said, "If I hadn't resorted to underhanded tactics, I wouldn't have had to lift a finger against those four rats. Why would I be so arrogant and domineering?"
Wu Sangui also said dejectedly, "Yes, four people, I wouldn't even bother to lift a finger for them."