Chapter 6: Rare Gathering of Brothers

  Out of the village road onto the secondary road, the 30-kilometer journey took less than an hour. Shan Yong, who was preoccupied with worries, didn't say much, while those two jokers couldn't sit still. The closer they got to the city, the more excited they became. Bao Gui had followed the village delivery guy into the city before, but Shi Genwa, that big lummox, looked like a wild man from the mountains, and judging by his accent, he hadn't even been to the city before. Along the way, he was laughing like a little kid.

  "Grandpa... what kind of car is this, it's running faster than a donkey!"

  Genwa let out a cry of surprise, and Shanyu burst out laughing. A woman was riding a fancy electric scooter down the street. Luxury cars like BMWs, Hummers, and Mercedes were common in Shijia Village, but this little electric scooter still surprised Genwa. After explaining for two sentences, Genwa took another glance and exclaimed in surprise again:

  "Grandpa......this building looks like a giant underpants."

  Take another look and say it's a cultural building, but the tower foot doesn't look like big pants, what does it look like? Shan Yong was too lazy to explain, and said it really looked like pants.

  With these two treasures around, the frustration of being rejected by Old Master Shi was greatly alleviated. Not far from entering the city, they delivered the goods to the Jinwei Hotel and saw that it was almost noon. They got in the car and said they would head back to Zhongma Village first. As soon as they started driving, Root Wa and Bao Guizhen simultaneously shouted "Ye!" A young woman with an ultra-short skirt and a midriff-baring top walked by, her jade arms and legs exposed, dazzling everyone's eyes. The two country bumpkins in the car stared with their eyes bulging and tongues hanging out, drooling uncontrollably, unable to express their emotions.

  "How's it going? I'll tell you, the city is great." said Dan Yong with a smile.

  "Good, everything can be seen now, no need to sneak a peek." Little Bao Gui came over, this little guy was a bit precocious, very vague about men and women's affairs, usually liked to listen to that kind of talk with the old men who slaughtered donkeys. When he said this, Gen Wa also laughed foolishly, his big tongue mumbling unclearly: "It is, it is, better than our countryside, our village women are all like covered in donkey skin, can't see anything."

  "Genwa, then hurry up and make money, say a city wife, noisy bridal chamber also let me see what it looks like undressed." Bao Gui raised an unreasonable request, listening to Dan Yong's sudden shock, afraid that Genwa would not be happy, but unexpectedly this guy was generous, nodded directly: "Okay! Let you all see."

  Haha……This time it's Shanyong's turn to scold Ye Ye, after laughing for a while, let these two treasures point fingers at the city, now Shanyong feels that his worry about whether he can convince Genwa this helper to stay is unnecessary, not to mention anything else, just the clothes of the women in the city are enough to attract Genwa, maybe they don't even need to pay a salary.

  Laughing and chatting, they went up the mountain for a while. The place of Zhongma Village was not much different from Shijia Village. They stopped the car and asked two people to get off. Pointing at his own door, those two who came to recognize the door were naturally delighted. However, when Single Courage saw a parked electric vehicle marked "Urban Management Law Enforcement" in the parking lot not far away, he felt a sudden thud in his heart and was a little tense, secretly thinking: "I wonder if that treasure also came?"

  Since graduation, Si Mu Xian has been busy running around the city with the preparation team, and Lei Da Peng has also started working. They haven't seen each other much lately, but when they do meet, it's not like they're meeting at all - he might just find something for you to do.

  What are you afraid of, what's coming, came in the door, washed his face with the water pipe in the yard, shouted "Mom" twice, no one responded, only heard laughter from the kitchen, Shanyong curiously rushed in, saw old mom laughing so hard that she was shaking all over, leaning forward and backward, dad who was stir-frying vegetables was also smiling happily, rarely seen such a happy smile, asked surprisingly what's going on, old mom Tong Hongyu pulled her son tightly, didn't say anything at first, laughed several times before saying: Leidapeng brought back two adopted sons again.

  "That's great, why are you laughing like this?"

  Shanyong also laughed, knowing that Leidapeng wouldn't do anything serious except for making a mess, and it didn't matter what kind of trouble he got into. He called him his godson, but in reality, it was just like playing house with little kids, calling each other affectionate names, being intimate when they saw each other, and always trying to get food and drink from them. His mother had always thought that her only child was too lonely, so she never refused Shanyong's friends. But this time, it was really strange, and she didn't know what kind of godsons these two were. She laughed nonstop, with her eyebrows scrunched up, but couldn't explain the situation, so she just pointed to the door: "Look... go see for yourself."

  He turned his head and Yu Yong let out a snort, almost laughing so hard he fell to the ground.

  Lei Dapeng came out first, followed by two younger and fatter men, all three wearing urban management uniforms. They looked like they were going to enforce the law with their massive bodies, three mountains of flesh. The three mountains of flesh made people's eyes wide with wonder, their plump skin glistening.

  Those three hadn't discovered Dan Yong yet, and they were stunned. At the water pipe mouth, one was a burly man of 1.9 meters tall, and another, although slightly smaller, also had the appearance of a sturdy man. This image was something that Li Xiaoli and Bai Shuguang, two otaku, had never seen before. It was like a beastman from a game. The two brothers followed behind Lei Dapeng, quietly winking at each other. But Lei Dapeng recognized him, excitedly shouting: "Bao Gui, Little Bao Gui... don't recognize me when I'm wearing a uniform? You and your sister came to visit me in the hospital, forgotten?"

  Lei Dapeng tilted his hat, oh yeah, under the crooked city management hat, Bao Gui recognized him and shouted excitedly: "Brother Dapeng."

  She rushed up and hugged him tightly, and Shi Genwa also recognized him, staring at him with wide eyes, pulling Lei Dapeng: "I finally caught you, I won the first round, let's have another match."

  "I won, I judged." Shi Bao said with a smile. Danyong heard it and rushed out quickly. Lei Dapeng also felt a bit uneasy in his heart, and he pulled Genwa along the way: "Genwa brother, don't you hold a grudge? You drank too much and threw up, that's all, I stayed in the hospital for two weeks to recover, you were defeated but still victorious, I was victorious but still defeated, if we say who is more formidable, it's still you."

  "Can't drink, still working in the afternoon, what Dapeng said is right, if we talk about physical strength, can you compare with him?" Dan Yong chimed in, this was indeed the case, looking at Lei Dapeng's robust physique, Genwa's discontent slightly dissipated. Lei Dapeng also said: "We brothers are gathered together, drink well or not, come on, Egg Brother, let me introduce you, this is what I told you about Egg Brother, Dan Yong, behind him is his brother, Genwa, Bao Guizhen... This is my new little brother, Li XiaoLi, Li Zi; Bai Shuguang, Bai Rou."

  Those two fat men, seeing Leida Peng's boastful Egg Brother, said that Egg Brother was so wise and powerful, but they didn't believe it. At this time, seeing the two rascals following behind Egg Brother, their doubts disappeared, and they smiled with a meaty face, nodding their heads to call Egg Brother. As for Shan Yong, he was teased by these three fat brothers and couldn't say anything, just laughing all the time.

  "Come on, everyone, go up to the rooftop. Shanyong, go get a jar of wine... Oh, this is precious! I know your sister Bao Ying, and this one... Ah, Genwa... Everyone come up, Auntie will stew some chicken for you. It's settled, eat until you're full, but don't drink too much and make fools of yourselves. I'm talking to you, Dapeng, stop smiling."

  Another one joins the crowd, Zhong Ma Village is usually quiet, whenever there are guests, Old Mother is more enthusiastic than her own family members, let alone with so many people calling her "Dry Mother", San Bao continues to serve dishes, Gen Wa brings wine, Lei Da Peng shouts "Dry Mother", even Xiao Baogui is infected, chasing into the kitchen and sticking his head out to ask: "Dry Mother, can I also call you Dry Mother?"

  "Alright, I have many sons already, not one more... But can you afford it? Does your dad agree?" Teng Hongyu smiled and agreed. She knew that this person was the most powerful of all, and they were all children at heart, who could bear to refuse? Originally very happy, asked Old Shi, Little Shi scoffed, snorting: "He doesn't care about me, I didn't even tell him when I came out."

  "What? Didn't tell you about home... Dan Yong, come here." Teng Hongyu shouted at her son, Dan Yong rushed over, and his mother slapped him with a loud noise, pointing at Shi Baoguang who was playing upstairs: "You brought someone out without telling their parents... Don't think I don't know how old this kid is. Looks big, but only thirteen years old?"

  "He's really persistent... I'll give his family a call." said Dan Yong with a smile.

  After thinking back, I still called Shi Baoying. On the phone, Shi Baoying was naturally unhappy and scolded a few words. Shan Yong directly promised to send him back safely tomorrow, only then did he stop.

  Apart from the two foreign guests, another table of dry children was added, and his own son couldn't be idle, helping in the kitchen, big plates of braised chicken, large chunks of donkey meat, several kinds of colorful seasonal vegetables, a jar of old wine, filled with a full table to entertain the guests, under the sunshade on the balcony, Lei Dapeng became the host, treating a group of brothers to eat and drink.

  "How's that, hazelnut, white meat, what was it, my godmother and godfather are the most hospitable, whenever you come to eat, it's always ready." Lei Dapeng said with a smile, and the chubby, cartoon-like Bai Shuguang nodded repeatedly, saying: "Good, good, generous, it's still Brother Lei who is righteous, Godmother is even more righteous. Those guys in our team are so stingy, they're like that when they see people."

  While saying that, he couldn't help but glance at Shi Genwa a few times. He really wanted to know how Lei Ge could not only eat, but also drink and win against this kind of person. Lei Dapeng was born with a talent for getting along with people, and he put his arm around Shi Genwa, introducing him: "Don't look at Brother Genwa's fierce appearance, he's actually a kind person. They're all from the donkey farm, I'll take you there to try the big donkey feast sometime, that red soup braised abalone with golden money, once you eat it, you'll remember it for a lifetime."

  Li Xiao Li heard that his younger brother had so many benefits, and naturally nodded repeatedly, sticking up his thumb and saying: "That's great, if nothing else, hurry up and eat one, it won't be wrong."

  "Hey, I'm talking to Da Peng... you guys are all working, how can you still be so arrogant and boss people around? What benefits did he bring to you two, that you'd follow him as underlings?" Dan Yong placed a dish of scallion beef in front of them, asking with a smile the chubby guy sitting next to Lei Da Peng on the left, whose cartoon-like appearance earned him the nickname "White Meat". The chubby guy replied sternly: "Not underling, but brother... we acknowledge and obey."

  "Right, Brother Lei is wise and powerful, we acknowledge him as the big brother." Lì Xiǎolì chewed on the freshly served beef, flattering Léi Dàpéng with a sentence. The two brothers took turns speaking, and unexpectedly brought up the matter of acknowledging Léi Dàpéng as the big brother while eating the meat pie. This shocked Sān Yǒng into staring at Léi Dàpéng like an alien. Even Liáng Gēnwá couldn't believe it, touching Léi Dàpéng's protruding belly and saying that he was even more impressive than the village's grass bag, incredible.

  "Look, look, I told you so, it's my charm that has influenced them." Lei Dapeng grinned. As soon as he said this, Genwa looked puzzled and asked honestly: "What is... charm?"

  This remark nearly made the two cultured fat men spit out their food. Xiaobao felt unappreciated in this gathering, so he held up his bowl and invited everyone to drink, generously inviting a few people to come to my house at Lu Yuanyang's residence another day... Gen Ge is the one who slaughters donkeys, we'll eat whole donkey whip with Mongolian donkey meat.

  Good, good, good... Lei Dapeng took the lead, and the two chubby little brothers assisted. A burst of cheers and applause, this chaotic scene was so noisy. One moment it was you toasting me, me toasting you, and the next it became you forcing me to drink, me forcing you to drink. Even the host, Shan Yong, was forced to drink several cups. To say nothing of others, just Lei Ge and Genwa's two men's capacity for alcohol made the newly recruited chubby little brothers gasp in amazement. At this moment, they felt that Lei Dapeng being called "brother" was truly well-deserved.

  Shan Yong put down the food tray and smiled as he went downstairs to help his parents with their work. The restaurant was easy to manage, just add more dishes for the guests, and a pot of food would be enough to serve them. Unexpectedly, they met a few guests who were also full, and there were over a dozen cold and hot dishes on the table. After sending off two tables of guests, Shan Yong couldn't hear the loud calls of his friends anymore. He quickly went upstairs, worried that something might have happened again. As soon as he went upstairs, he was shocked to see only Lei Dapeng and Shi Genwa still sitting there, with Li Zhi and Bai Rouxiao lying under the table. Bao Gui had already gone to his attic and fallen asleep. The two remaining guests were also excited from drinking and called out to Shan Yong to bring another jar of wine.

  Shan Yong was so frustrated that he couldn't help but cry and laugh at the same time, he was really speechless. He simply brought up two more jars of wine, poured them onto the table, and mixed the white and dark beers together. All he wanted to do was drink them down and have a good sleep, rather than being half-drunk and half-awake, acting like a fool. After hastily finishing dinner, he sent some pickled meat to the neighboring farmhouse of Lao Ma's family. When he came back upstairs, he saw that the two jars of wine had indeed been drunk as expected. Lei Da Peng was lying on the table, having a seizure, while Gen Wa was still awake with his eyes open, but his brain wasn't very clear. He kept calling Shan Yong "Uncle" and even called out to his parents, pulling them towards home. With great difficulty, they finally managed to throw everyone onto the bed and sofa, where they all fell into a deep sleep.

  "Oh dear, you poor brothers, haha……" Teng Hongyu found a blanket to cover the cheap sons, and went downstairs to wipe away her son's tears. Shan Yong laughed and said: "Aren't they also your adopted sons?"

  "You only have a few friends like this, your mom can't not recognize them, right? Besides, you're my only son, it's so lonely. The old mother said, this old mother who has been in the theater troupe since childhood and doesn't have much culture actually has some advantages, managing what kind of friends her son makes, now she thinks that even adopted sons are better than biological sons, asking her son: "Is Da Peng doing well? Has he become a city manager? Son, why don't you ask your Uncle Lei to say something, and you can also go be a city manager?"

  The son immediately vetoed this shortcut and advised straightforwardly: "Mom, do you know how much the monthly salary is? One thousand yuan, not enough for him to drink wine?"

  "Isn't that too low?" Mom asked.

  "It's not fake, don't believe me ask him, others are not relying on that salary, maybe his dad is thinking of mixing for a few days to stuff it into that unit." said Dan Yong.

  "Alas, my son is so handsome, how come he didn't get a good family?" Teng Hongyu said with some disappointment as she hugged her son on the way downstairs. But Dan Yong countered: "No need to be depressed, this family may not be great, but we got a good son, who earns several thousand yuan a month, maybe even tens of thousands this month... Mom, what else are you not satisfied with?"

  "That's it, but I've said it before, if you can't do it and get tired of it, just let me know, we can still open a decent shop in the city. By the way, son, didn't I tell you that the girl from the Shi family came to our house last time? Mom hasn't told you yet, has she? The Shi family's girl specially came to our door, is it...?" Old mom gossiped and pulled her son, with a peach blossom glow in her eyes. Danyong smiled and asked his mother in a low voice: "Mom, why don't we just marry her back as our daughter-in-law?"

  "No, no..." The old mother shook her head like a drum, saying: "This girl is not bad, but she looks just like her father, that old donkey Shi. I thought this girl's family was quite good, and when they came in, I took the young master of their household to be..."

  Dan Yong squeezed his eyes and laughed, clearly seeing that his mother was wavering between her daughter-in-law and the betrothal gifts. He laughed and intentionally asked: "Mom, you're not just after their family's wealth, are you?"

  "Hasn't he come yet? Is your mother that kind of person who dislikes the poor and loves the rich?" Teng Hongyu said disdainfully, pushing her son away. However, she also said with a bit of reluctance: "But to be honest, this family is actually not bad. If we can establish a relationship with them through marriage, the betrothal gifts will be enough for my son to spend for the rest of his life."

  "Mom, if you mention this again, I'll go to someone else's house as a live-in son-in-law and ignore you two!" Dan Yong was furious. Teng Hongyu waved her hand in annoyance, not saying anything more. With my son's ability, do we still need to rely on others for food?

  But looking back, it's all come full circle again. I couldn't help but say that actually, being a freeloader isn't so bad either - at least you don't have to work so hard anymore, right?

  Shan Yong was scolded by his mother until he hastily bid farewell and left the house. As he was about to leave, his mother rushed out again, handed him a bottle of water, and even wiped the sweat from his forehead with her sleeve, as if she feared he would get thirsty. She treated him like a child who hadn't come of age yet. Shan Yong felt embarrassed and hastily escaped.

  Afternoon, going down the mountain, another day of hard work is about to begin.

  Perhaps hardship is nothing to San Yong, from a rich family to a poor one, seeing his parents struggling, he doesn't mind taking on the family burden early. However, for the heart that has been secretly yearning to move forward, it's unbearable to see no future in the hardships. Living like Xian Di with all sorts of ideals to hold onto, San Yong knows he's not at that level; living like Lei Da Peng, idly waiting for death, San Yong knows he doesn't have that foundation; and living like the villagers of Shi Jia Cun, or his classmates, in a mediocre way, San Yong's heart has a thousand, ten thousand willing thoughts.

  It's hard all over because of the unyielding heart.

  What's most frustrating is that I saw an opportunity in the donkey farm, and after trying countless times, I felt it was feasible, but couldn't grasp this opportunity. If I were alone, I could make several thousand yuan a month with just an empty car. If there was a production base like Shijia Village and a well-organized sales team specializing in wholesale and retail, the amount of money that could be made in this city where donkey meat is consumed at an astonishing rate would truly be astronomical.

  Many things start from taking solid steps, one footprint at a time. Shuang Yu felt he had done enough, having worked for four years, yet still hadn't taken that crucial step forward. This made him feel somewhat disheartened, and the whole afternoon was spent listlessly pondering what the head of the Shi family meant by his ambiguous attitude, wondering if there was still a chance to get back in, but he just couldn't figure it out - what did Old Man Shi's non-committal stance really mean?

  While thinking and doing things, the wholesale business is also difficult to channel, transportation is tiring, but when it's done smoothly, I don't feel very tired. On Jiefang Street, there are two orders, on Yingxiong Road, one order, on Zijin Road, three orders, on Fuhou Street, three orders, and on Chang'an Street, there are still two orders... They are all local businesses, with at least 30 kilograms of goods shipped out every day. Generally, within two or three days, an order can be placed. I know more than a hundred households, so almost every day, there is something to do. After delivering these orders, I can basically rest. Usually, at this time, Xian Yong would find a shady place to put down his seat and take a short nap, waiting for the night when those mobile stalls come out, walking along two city districts, combining ordering and selling, and basically finishing the day's work.

  The car drove past the West Avenue Sports City, and at five o'clock in the afternoon, many boys and girls rushed out of the Youth Palace nearby, walking and looking around. Dan Yong couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic for his school days at this moment. At that time, he thought it was a hellish life, but now it seemed like paradise. For four years in college, everyone said they were living like pigs, but who would have thought that after graduation, most people lived worse than pigs.

  At the very least, you can't play as freely as this anymore. At the very least, you can't sleep with your head down like in school and not wake up even when called; at the very least, you have to constantly check how much money is left in your pocket to see if it's enough for expenses, unlike in school where you don't need to consider these external things.

  Admired for a while, walking and looking and thinking but was a bit distracted, drove to the lotus pond where I usually stopped to rest, just tapped the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road, heard a "bang" sound, then felt a shock all over my body, and suddenly my chest hit the steering wheel.

  Damn, rear-ended! San Yong turned around and saw a red Audi, with what looked like a woman inside. No need to say, another road killer who just learned how to drive. San Yong got out of the car, fuming, and shouted while pointing: "Do you know how to drive? Such a wide road and you still crashed into my car!"

  Lowering my head to take a look, the rear trunk was dented and the taillight was broken. At this time, the driver of that car also came out, wearing a red skirt and high heels, with a crisp voice, but without any apology, saying: "What's there to be angry about? It's not like I won't compensate you. Your car isn't even worth the paint job on my car, is it?"

  "Hey, you're quite sharp-tongued, huh? So, just because you have a good car, you can hit others?" Shanyou was called out for being unreasonable, and he straightened up his waist. The red-clothed girl in front of him turned around to touch her phone, talking about something on the phone, saying that the car had been hit, what to do, looking like she was in a hurry. Shanyou didn't care about those things, leaning against the car body, watching the girl's slender figure with satisfaction, thinking to himself, "Even if we did hit each other, you'd still have to compensate me."

  "Hey, I have something urgent, let's discuss it..." She turned her head and spoke.

  "No way, report it, handle it officially..." Dan Yong shook his head, no longer interested.

  "What's wrong with you, fine, I'll give you the money...". The girl turned around to find her bag in the car, shooed away the onlookers, and stood in front of Shanyong again. She pulled out a wad of cash and asked Shanyong to name his price, but hesitated for a moment... In that instant, Shanyong also hesitated, feeling a very familiar sensation, like one he hadn't felt in years, the kind where you see someone and can't quite recall their name. Suddenly, both of them remembered at the same time.

  Shan Yong's lips parted in astonishment, and the name almost slipped out. The girl called out in surprise: "Shan Yong!?"

  Dan Yong's proud demeanor suddenly deflated, as if he had run into a creditor. He turned his head and said, "Mistaken identity, let's go, let's go, I'm just unlucky."

  "Even if you turn into ashes, I can still recognize you."

  She looked like an enemy meeting, her eyes were exceptionally red, she directly pulled Xuan Yong, her phoenix eyes were full of anger and warning, standing in front of Xuan Yong, word by word, she spat out:

  "Dare to say one more sentence, mistaken identity!"

  Dan Yong's eyes rolled around, and a guilty expression appeared on his face, as if he was the one who owed someone money...

  ……