Cheng Ji still underestimated Zheng Haiping's shrewdness.
After Zheng Haiping returned, he did not tell anyone, but posted a picture on his circle of friends. On the picture was the golden sign of "Zhongyi Renyong Noodle House" with the text: I didn't expect that such a small and remote village still retains its ancient style.
He is a man with secretive thoughts. He usually keeps to himself on social media and doesn't say anything unless it is necessary. Only a handful of people can see his circle of friends, which contains boring content. Qi Beisong is one of them.
Qi Beisong was a very busy man when he was not being an asshole, and he never paid attention to others. But it just so happened that day, for some strange reason, the two of them met each other only a few minutes apart.
"Where did it go?" Qi Beisong muttered, and was about to put down his phone when he suddenly saw Zheng Haiping post another status, showing that he had transported the big leather bed that he wanted to give to Cheng Ji last time but didn't send out to Huang Village.
Qi Beisong jumped up from behind his desk and called Zheng Haiping.
Zheng Haiping was very cunning and just refused to answer the call.
Qi Beisong called Lei Jing and asked right away, "Is Brother Hai with you?"
"Not here." Lei Jing said.
"Where did he go?"
Lei Jing handed the phone to Zheng Haiping, who was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed watching TV. The latter took it with a smile and hung up.
Lei Jing criticized: "Tsk, your behavior is not good, you promised not to tell the process."
"You also promised it. Did you say it?" Zheng Haiping asked back.
Lei Jing choked.
"I really didn't say anything." Zheng Haiping emphasized, "I kept my mouth shut."
Qi Beisong called Lei Jing again, but the other party's phone was turned off.
"Fuck!" he yelled, "If Zheng Haiping doesn't order him from behind, I'll take his last name, Lei!"
His heart was pounding and he was walking around in circles in the huge office, feeling all the blood in his body rushing to his face!
It was around five in the afternoon. Huang Village was 45 kilometers away from the main urban area. If he was lucky and the traffic was not too bad, he would definitely be there within an hour and a half! Thinking of this, he grabbed his coat and rushed to the underground garage, got in the car and drove straight to Huang Village.
Zheng Haiping's parents died early for some reason, and he went to live with Mr. Qi when he was ten years old. He and Qi Beisong almost grew up together. To put it bluntly, he is his biological brother with a different surname. If there is one person in the world who will always stand on the same side with Qi Beisong, no matter how fucked up he is, then this person is Zheng Haiping.
At that time, Qi Beisong made a big fuss at home because he liked men. Zheng Haiping was studying at a university abroad. When he heard the news, he bought a plane ticket and flew back to give advice.
If it weren't for Zheng's military advisor, with Qi Beisong Ning's stubborn temper, not only would they not be able to overcome the difficulties set by their elders, but both sides might even suffer losses and end up in a bloody disaster.
Zheng Haiping is smart and Buddhist, so as soon as he graduated from university, he was called back to China by Mr. Qi to accompany him in his old age. Mr. Qi can't live without Zheng Haiping, just like Lady Jia can't live without Yuanyang.
Qi Beisong was stuck on the elevated road out of the city because today is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, which is also a family reunion festival. With many people going home, road resources are tight.
He moved slowly along with the flow of traffic, banging on the steering wheel anxiously. As long as the vehicle in front of him reacted a little slowly, he would swear at it, as if he had never encountered a traffic jam in his life.
It was already past eight in the evening when he arrived at Huang Village. As soon as he entered the village, he saw the sign of "Zhongyi Renyong Noodle House". Unfortunately, the shop was dark and no one was there. Fortunately, the big bed sent by Zheng Haiping was placed across the door, indicating that this was the logistics destination.
The bed was delivered in the afternoon and Cheng Ji was not there, otherwise he would not have allowed the truck to unload the goods no matter what.
Lao Geng was there, and curiously asked the truck driver how much the bed cost. The driver gave an approximate number, and Lao Geng nodded and said, "My son is quite capable. He was able to steal such an expensive bed from the store."
The driver said: "Is it possible for me to deliver goods if I steal them?"
"That can't possibly be bought, right?" Lao Geng said, "My son is so poor that he steals electricity every day."
The driver said, “Send it!”
"Who sent it?"
"Ask your son!"
Old Geng went to find his son. Cheng Ji was sent by him to the back village to change the fuse for an elderly widow. How could Old Geng be so popular? He had a kind of chivalrous spirit that is rare among people nowadays. He looked fierce and ferocious on the outside, but he was kind-hearted on the inside and would help anyone in need.
Cheng Ji was already a half-electrician and could repair anything. When Lao Geng found him, he was riding on a tall bamboo ladder and pulling wires.
Old Geng looked up and said, "Master Xiao Cheng."
"Um?"
"Have you ever dated someone outside?"
Cheng Ji was so frightened that he almost fell down: "What?!"
"Here we only give a bed as a gift when getting engaged," said Lao Geng.
Cheng Ji suddenly felt something was wrong: "Who... who gave me the bed?"
"I want to know that, too."
Cheng Ji picked up his tool bag and ran back, when he arrived at the door of the noodle shop, he took a look and was scared to death. He remained calm and used Lao Geng's mobile phone to send a message to Lei Jing, saying: Brother Lei, I'm Xiao Cheng, is Brother Hai with you
This time Lei Jing replied: Yes.
Not long after, Zheng Haiping called and said in the same soft voice: "This is a gift for you. It has nothing to do with Beisong."
Cheng Ji said, "Brother, I appreciate your kindness, but I can't accept it."
"You've already bought this thing, and the store says no returns are accepted, so why don't you use it?" Zheng Haiping said, "Considering this as my congratulations on your new home."
Since Zheng Zuzong has said so, wouldn’t it be ungrateful to refuse
Cheng Ji, Lao Geng and their next-door neighbor tried for a long time but failed to lift the bed up the narrow stairs of the noodle restaurant.
The neighbor said: "This person's gift for moving is not good. He didn't consider the actual situation. The staircase is only 60 centimeters wide, but he gave a bed that is 2.5 meters long and 2.5 meters wide! The bed can be disassembled, but the mattress cannot!"
Cheng Ji was also very troubled and had to move the bedside table up first.
Lao Geng said, "Well, just put it at the door. Anyway, no one dares to steal things in my area. Tomorrow we will remove all the windows on the south side and call a crane to lift it!"
The two of them agreed to have a quick dinner and then go to the bar arm in arm.
The bars in Huangcun are different from those in Hongcheng. During the off-season, they are like hometown associations. Everyone is related to each other and you have to recognize your relatives when you enter the door. When the tourists arrive in spring, these people will leave. First, there is a difference between insiders and outsiders and they can't play together. Second, they have to do the business of migratory birds when they go home.
Today is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. After today, the Chinese New Year will be over. Everyone has had their reunion dinner, and there are still quite a lot of people in the bar.
Cheng Ji came in, greeted the bartender, and sat down at the bar to watch TV. Someone was smoking and playing cards in the corner, and asked him to join the table, but he was reluctant to go because of the smoke.
The bartender is also a native of Huang Village. He is only eighteen years old. He dropped out of junior high school because of his poor grades and stayed at home to help out. Every day he longs for the colorful world outside.
The background music was not loud. He poured Cheng Ji a glass of beer. After a while, when he saw that Cheng Ji was almost done drinking, he leaned over to his ear and said, "Chunhong, I want to ask you something."
"Don't yell." Cheng Ji asked, "What's the matter?"
The bartender said, "You are from Hongcheng. Have you heard of Shuiyue Villa?"
Cheng Ji's eyelids jumped. He had heard too much about it. Shuiyue Villa was the turning point of his life in every sense.
The bartender said, "I want to try Shuiyue Villa. I heard they are hiring there."
Cheng Ji said "hmm" but did not comment.
The bartender leaned closer and spoke in a lower voice: "I'm only telling you this in secret. Actually, my friend took me there before, and he gave me some good stuff to come back and play."
Cheng Ji raised his face, his eyes as sharp as a needle.
The bartender was startled by his provocation: "What, what are you doing?"
"Let me see." Cheng Ji stretched out his hand.
"What's so good about it?" the bartender said, "My friend said you can't get it anywhere else, so I got it through connections!"
"If you don't want to go to jail and implicate your uncle, show me." Cheng Ji said. The bartender was the nephew of the bar owner.
The bartender took out a small plastic bag from the drawer and unfolded it secretly: "You can't tell anyone, it's either drugs or medicine."
Cheng Ji didn't touch it. He squinted his eyes to look at it. In the plastic bag were not the colorful small pills or capsules he had seen before, nor were they nitrous oxide, marijuana, or psychedelic mushrooms. Instead, there were several small oral solutions with a capacity of about 10 milliliters. They were unbranded and looked like the cough syrups commonly prescribed in hospitals.
"Given by a friend?" he asked.
"yes."
"Let's cut off friendship with this kind of friend."
The bartender asked in surprise: "Do you know what this is?"
Cheng Ji sneered: "Controlled narcotic drugs, these are enough to sentence you to six months."
The bartender said, "But my friend said that it doesn't matter if you drink it, just sleep!"
"Anesthesiologists use this stuff during surgical operations. In theory, a small amount will cause drowsiness, while a large amount will cause coma. But it is a solvent, and all kinds of things can be added to it. How do you know what your friend added to it?" Cheng Ji raised his eyelids and said softly, "Don't go to Shuiyue Villa. It will harm others and yourself."
“Chunhua, I…” The bartender was also scared.
Cheng Ji put down his glass and was about to leave, but the bartender grabbed him and begged, "I won't dare to do it again. Don't tell your godfather or my uncle!"
"Throw it away." Cheng Ji pointed at the plastic bag.
The bar grabbed it and threw it into the corner bin.
Cheng Ji treated him as a friend and advised: "You have to be obedient. Do you know how many people from various police forces, including the armed police and border guards, sacrifice every year for this?"
"You police?"
Cheng Ji blinked and changed the subject: "As long as you listen to me, today's matter will end here, and I promise not to tell anyone, okay?"
"Okay, okay, okay!" the bartender agreed repeatedly.
Cheng Jifu sat down again. Lao Geng had drunk too much elsewhere. He stumbled over and put his arm around his shoulders: "Son!"
Cheng Ji smiled and patted the back of his hand, saying, "Dad, what did you drink?"
Lao Geng grinned: "Haha, they brought their own. I drank four grenades!"
"Hand grenade" is the slang used by the old drunkards in Huang Village. Mix a cup of strong liquor in the middle of Sprite, two cups is called a "rocket", three cups is called a "shallow water bomb", and four cups is called a "deep water fish mine". A small cup of liquor is only about half a tael. Although it is not a lot, mixing liquor with carbonated drinks is no joke. The alcohol will come on very quickly and it is easy to lose memory.
Cheng Ji said: "Just be kind to your liver. Why are you drinking so much for no reason?"
"Your father can drink a lot... He's fine!" Lao Geng said, "He can drink four more... It's fine!"
Cheng Ji said to the bartender, "Give him a glass of honey lemonade to sober him up."
The bartender said, "Oh!"
Old Geng picked up Cheng Ji by the waist and shook him: "Son, you will take care of daddy in his old age!"
The bartender said, "Why do you two look like those characters in some cartoon... a panda and a goose or something..."
Cheng Ji was just about to ask if there are Kung Fu Pandas in this world, when he caught a glimpse of a person standing at the door of the bar!
He would rather see a talking and walking upright panda than see this man, but this man had already locked onto him, and the moment their eyes met, he rushed towards him like an arrow!
Cheng Ji suddenly slipped off Lao Geng and pounced on the bartender. The bartender was stunned and didn't move away. After a while, he realized that the other party was not trying to pounce on him, but was trying to hide behind the bar!
That one also jumped onto the bar, lowered his head and yelled, "Why are you hiding? Will I eat you?!"
Cheng Ji subconsciously tried to hide, and only when his forehead hit the bottles of liquor scattered behind the bar did he sober up a little. He stood up slowly and said, "... I didn't hide."
"Didn't dodge?" Qi Beisong narrowed his eyes in displeasure, looking at the mess on the ground, "You didn't dodge, so you treated your head as a bowling ball?"
Cheng Ji rubbed the painful spot, trying not to look at him, thinking rapidly in his head.
Qi Beisong stared at him, and he was furious. He wondered what was wrong with him? Did he eat? How come he had lost weight in a few days? His little face was gone!
In fact, Cheng Ji did not lose weight, and even gained two kilograms during the Chinese New Year. It was Qi Beisong who was just being idealistic.
Lao Geng was pushed aside by Qi Beisong's move just now and fell on his butt. He stood up straight and patted Qi Beisong on the shoulder: "Hey!"
Qi Beisong turned around and was immediately furious.
He had just seen it all! This old man held Cheng Ji in his arms, without even considering his own age and whether it was appropriate!
Qi Beisong didn't hear the conversation between Lao Geng and Cheng Ji. After all, he was standing far away, and there was a table of people playing cards loudly near the door of the bar.
Old Geng asked with a big tongue: "Who... who are you?"
Qi Beisong came down from the bar, leaned over and asked, "Who are you?"
Lao Geng asked Cheng Ji inside: "Who is this? Your buddy?"
Before Cheng Ji could even say "he...", Old Geng's fist hit Qi Beisong's face: "Are you f*cking blind? Don't you see whose territory this is? How dare you push me, Geng Chunbiao?!"
Qi Beisong came in prepared to fight with Cheng Ji, but he didn't expect that the real enemy didn't move, and the old monster introduced himself and took the lead!
He retreated quickly.
But who is Lao Geng? An old scoundrel who has been in prison three times for violent assaults, he even disowned his own mother when he lost his mind. He grabbed a beer bottle and smashed it on the bar, using the long and short glass shards to point at Qi Beisong: "If I let you walk out of this door standing today, I, Geng Chunbiao, will have lived my life in vain!!"
The bartender quickly shouted: "Fight!!"
The people playing cards and drinking at the door all stood up and craned their necks to look over here. Someone shouted, "Oh no! Brother Biao is drunk!"
Someone asked, "Who is that person?"
Someone shouted, "Hurry up and pull it up, don't let anything happen again!"
Before they could move, Cheng Ji had already jumped out of the bar, stopped in front of Qi Beisong and said, "Dad! This is my friend!"
"..." Qi Beisong leaned over to Cheng Ji's side and asked, "Dad?"
Cheng Ji looked ahead and said, "You called me that, so don't accuse me of taking advantage of you in the future."