Chapter 32

Chapter 33

I was still considering the possibility of running away when those people were already bowing and nodding very respectfully to Third Brother, their voices quite well synchronized. "Third Brother."

Third Brother grinned. "Why does this feel like I just got out of prison? Who got the news?"

A fat man at the front said, "The owner of Gathering Fate, Brother Wang, told us. Nobody knew you were coming back today, Third Brother. The few of us heard first, so we hurried over."

Gathering Fate was that place combining pool, video screenings, and arcade games. The owner had heard our conversation and seen how excited Guo Zhen was, so naturally he had guessed that Third Brother was back from his treatment. The speed with which news traveled among them surprised me. It looked like I would have to pay attention to where I was and who was around whenever I discussed anything in the future.

Seeing so many people come to meet Third Brother, I actually felt a little contempt for them.

Back when Guo Zhen had swallowed his pride and come to borrow money from me for Third Brother's treatment, he had happened to catch me with money, and I had solved the problem single-handedly. Every one of these people looked respectable enough, but where had they been when Third Brother was in the hospital? Now here they all were, crawling out of the woodwork to fawn over him.

I wanted to see how Third Brother would treat these people who only showed up to flatter him when nothing was wrong.

Third Brother looked them over, then said unhurriedly, "You all still remember what I said before, right?"

The fat man leading them, his face all jowls, wore a humble expression. "We remember, we remember... How could we forget what you said, Third Brother?"

"Good." Third Brother pointed at the crowd before him. "Then listen to it again. I have nothing to say to Old Man. If I can't make a decent living and starve to death, that's my own choice. Tell him to stop putting you in the middle and making you look bad to both sides."

From what Third Brother said, he seemed to have a conflict with an elder of his, someone with greater power and influence, which was why he had always gone his own way. Probably because of that person, he had spent a long stretch barely taking part in any serious moneymaking ventures, leaving him unable to afford treatment when he fell ill.

I admired principled people like that most of all, and my opinion of Third Brother rose another notch.

The fat man said very respectfully, "You must be joking, Third Brother. We came precisely because we knew you'd said those things to Old Master. We're such useless bastards we didn't even know something had happened to you. How could we have the nerve to keep dealing with both you and Old Master after that? So we've decided. From now on, we're following you too."

Third Brother shook his head, looking rather helpless. "Don't. You're all doing pretty well now. Follow me, and you might not even be able to scrape together money for a doctor." His words were full of ruefulness, and everyone's expression dimmed.

The fat man's respect for Third Brother was remarkable. He said quietly, "Third Brother, you wouldn't even let Guozi tell us. If we'd known something had happened to you, which of us could have sat still? We only found out what was going on after you left, and we felt awful. We could still have scraped that money together..."

Third Brother smiled and looked at the fat man. "Old Cannon, I heard you pawned that tank-tread chain of your wife's and wanted to come find me in Beijing. Guozi stopped you, right?"

At Third Brother's words, the fat man scratched his head in embarrassment. "Heh... Don't remind me, Third Brother. My wife nearly took a kitchen knife to me over that..."

Everyone burst out laughing. The fat man grew a little annoyed at being laughed at, turned, and shouted at a tall, painfully skinny man, "Xiaobai, don't you fucking laugh along! Didn't you sell those pups you were raising too? And that full sheet of Monkey stamps..."

The man called Xiaobai started yelling. "Old Cannon, can't you keep your fucking mouth shut? Money can't buy what I feel like doing! I'd been sick of keeping those dogs for ages, and there was no point hanging on to girly stuff like stamps."

Their conversation cleared things up for me. So Guo Zhen had never told them at all. No wonder none of them had appeared when Third Brother needed money. It seemed loyal friends were still in the majority. Compared with the way people treated each other ten years later, this era was much more endearing. I had been overthinking it.

But I still didn't understand what exactly had happened between Third Brother and that so-called Old Master, to make Third Brother unwilling to draw on these friends' help even when his life was threatened.

Seeing how earnestly Old Cannon and Xiaobai spoke, Third Brother apparently knew they really had done those things, and could no longer bring himself to make cutting remarks. He said mildly, "All right. I meant to keep you all out of it, but now it looks like that didn't work. Since everyone's here today, dinner's on me. Let's go to Mountain Wild Home."

Hearing Third Brother change his tune, Old Cannon said happily, "No, don't! We're welcoming you back today. That's our job, no matter how you look at it, right?"

Lu Wei returned after finishing her conversation with the girl and smiled at Third Brother. "You've lost weight, Third Brother."

Naturally, Third Brother treated Lu Wei extremely well. "Not really. I was always a scrawny wolf anyway. Sorry for all the trouble lately, Miss Lu."

Someone among the dozens behind us whistled. "Third Brother, she's a looker! Your girl?"

What sort of scene had Lu Wei not encountered? She merely smiled without saying anything. Third Brother felt he had lost face. He stamped his foot and cursed, "Watch your fucking mouths! Take a good look at who this is! Don't you watch TV at night? This is Miss Lu, the general manager of Sun Electric Appliance City. If any fucker shoots his mouth off again, I'll go see how tough he is!"

A few people had joined in after that first shout, but hearing the anger in Third Brother's voice, they all quieted down. The one who had started it blinked, then tried to smooth things over with a cheeky grin. "Heh, my fault for running my mouth. Don't be angry, Third Brother..."

Lu Wei smiled beside him. "Third Brother, they're happy you're back safe and sound. It's getting late. Let me make the arrangements tonight."

Third Brother looked at the crowd before him and waved somewhat helplessly. "Come on, come on, let's all go. Bunch of freeloaders..."

If we don't leave soon, the station security guards will probably come out, I thought. Dozens of people standing around here hardly looked like anything good.

Lu Wei arranged for the others to take taxis straight to Mountain Wild Home. Guo Zhen, Third Brother, Zhang Xiaotong, and I took her car, with Third Brother driving. Lu Wei had a meeting to attend and left ahead of us.

In the car, Third Brother asked me, "Xingwen, there's something I've been wanting to ask you. There are no outsiders around now. Would that be all right?"

The moment I had anticipated finally arrived. I nodded. "Go ahead."

While helping Guo Zhen pay for Third Brother's treatment, an idea had slowly taken shape in my mind.

I wanted to use Third Brother's strength to achieve a certain balance.

I actually felt a strong sense of danger about Sun Group's current structure, and had been looking for a solution all along. Over the past two years and more, I had brought the people around me too many surprises and pleasant shocks. Those surprises had created the illusion that I was almost invincible. But people were impulsive. Given enough time, those pleasant surprises could easily weaken and fade under the repeated impact of competing interests. Someone as straightforward as Liu Mingyao was still trustworthy, but I couldn't trust the others quite so completely. I had always reminded myself never to let my guard down. Right now, I looked too young. Zhang Xiaotong could use a falsified age to handle certain matters, but she might not be able to keep every situation under control. There were many things I couldn't handle personally, so we could only create a balance, use that balance to restrain everyone, and buy time with it.

Third Brother was someone I hoped to bring in to create that balance.

"Xingwen, don't give me any polite evasions. I can see a little of what's going on here. Miss Lu seems to treat you with a lot of respect. Who exactly are you?"

I glanced at Zhang Xiaotong and smiled. "Who else could I be? Guozi's friend."

Third Brother shook his head. "Xingwen, you don't need to joke your way around it. I have a pretty clear idea. I just want you to confirm it. Lu Wei works for you, doesn't she?"

I said nothing, lowering my head in tacit acknowledgment.

Guo Zhen stared at me in shock. "Holy shit, Xingwen, seriously? Sun Electric Appliance City is yours?"

I nodded and dropped several bombshells. "Not just Sun Electric Appliance City. Sun Red Tea and that Chicken Essence that's been popular lately-I came up with those too?"

Guo Zhen didn't believe me and looked to Zhang Xiaotong for confirmation. She smiled and nodded, affirming what I had said.

The revelation hit Guo Zhen hard. He shook his head furiously. "This is nuts, nuts. Fuck, you've scrambled my brain. Xiaotong, explain it properly. Was it Xingwen's doing or yours?"

Zhang Xiaotong's voice was gentle, and her answer simple. "Xingwen's. I'm just playing along with him."

Putting on an act, I threw an arm firmly around Zhang Xiaotong. "Why draw a line between us? We're family..."

"Guozi, hear me out first." Third Brother spoke at just the right moment, while Guo Zhen was speechless. "Xingwen, I could tell you were more capable than the other boys around you, but I never imagined you were this capable. Looks like I still misjudged you. Heroes really do come young... Back then, I... Ah, never mind the past. Let's speak plainly. You've done me such a huge favor this time, and I have to repay it. I originally thought Miss Lu was the one who helped. But after spending these past few days in Beijing with the young lady looking after me, and seeing Miss Lu's attitude toward you two, I guessed she might be working for you. I can't repay the wrong person, so I thought I'd better ask."

I gave a few dry chuckles. "Then how did you guess it was me? My sister's the one holding the reins at the company."

Third Brother smiled and shook his head. "Don't try to fool me. Maybe you could if I'd only met you once or twice. But I've seen you so many times, and whenever you speak or make a decision, the people around you never object. If you're not the person behind it all, who is?"

It dawned on me. I had been far too careless about hiding things around my own people. Being so fond of showing off was definitely a fault, and I needed to fix it.

I said to Third Brother, "All right, then. I've always been pretty selfish, always hoping to get something out of things myself. Once we've finished dinner today, I'll tell you what I have in mind. How does that sound?"

Third Brother swung the car's tail around and parked neatly outside Mountain Wild Home. "Sure. We'll talk tonight. I really couldn't tell. Guozi's got himself one impressive friend."

I chuckled. "Just a little kid dabbling in things... How could you survive out in the world without a few friends..."

As we got out, Third Brother smiled and patted my head.

We thoroughly enjoyed dinner. Third Brother caught the deeper meaning in my remark about not surviving without a few friends, and was much more courteous to the others over the meal. He also made it clear that Zhang Xiaotong, Yang Yuanzhe, Ge Jinqiu, and I were all his friends, his family-in short, people nobody was to touch. If anyone touched us, he would personally show up at their door with a knife. Each of them thumped his chest and made grand promises too, guaranteeing that if we ever needed anything, a whistle would bring them right before us. I only smiled at that. Who believed promises made over drinks?

I hadn't known before, but this drinking session made me realize that Guo Zhen could really hold his liquor. His face turned red after the first glass, then stayed that way as he drank nearly a kilogram of homemade, pure-grain liquor at sixty-eight percent alcohol. The four of us sipped iced black tea and watched the fun while Guo Zhen toasted everyone from one end to the other, delivering one polite phrase after another. He drank his way through all three tables until, one by one, their eyes and mouths went crooked, their limbs twitched, and they spouted nonsense, stopping just short of hitting people and smashing things. Third Brother sat across from us, watching with a cheerful smile.

When Guo Zhen returned to my side after making three rounds, I asked quietly, "Hey, you all right?"

Guo Zhen grinned. "Practice. I could probably drink another half kilo..."

I said nothing, muttering inwardly, Fuck, Yu Chunrong should hire you. Even an immortal would have to lie down and stay put after drinking like that...

After dinner, the few who still had some awareness left were responsible for taking away those who had none. Third Brother went to settle the bill. I surveyed the messy tables and smiled wryly. "We should wrap things up too. It's getting late."

It was dark by the time the meal was over. I lowered my head and gave Yang Yuanzhe a few instructions, telling him and Ge Jinqiu to find a ride home first. After all, their families were still fairly strict. Seeing there was nothing left for him to do here, Yang Yuanzhe pulled Ge Jinqiu along and headed back.

Third Brother came back after paying and, seeing that everyone was gone, asked me, "Xingwen, shall we go to my place?"

I didn't mind, so we changed locations again and went to Third Brother's home.

Third Brother's home was the typical single-story house found in the corners of small and medium-sized cities in the nineties. It looked dreadful from outside, but inside was another world. Though Third Brother had been away for nearly a month, the rooms were still clean and tidy, probably thanks to Guo Zhen. I could more or less picture him cleaning the place all alone, and once again felt a little moved.

All my friends had strengths I lacked.

After we brought over chairs and sat down, Third Brother made us tea. The fragrance of Tieguanyin drifted up, and Guo Zhen's face was no longer as red as before. Third Brother began telling us why he had been so unwilling to show those people any consideration.