Chapter 1455: A Carpenter in the Four-Nine City

Wang Yan, covered in wood shavings, rode his bicycle against the biting wind along Chang'an Avenue, merging into the evening rush hour of this era.

Chang'an Avenue was filled with bicycles; acquaintances chatted while pedaling, and some, having collided while riding, immediately engaged in confrontations, cursing each other, making for a very lively scene.

Meanwhile, on Tiananmen Square, some people were still sightseeing; children were jumping around, and others were carrying cameras, taking photos everywhere.

Taking photos at this time was indeed wonderful, with off-duty workers, the setting sun, smiles on people's faces, and an uplifting spirit of striving forward.

After pedaling all the way past Chang'an Avenue, turning toward Xuanwu Gate, passing Caishikou, and arriving at Nanheng Street, he reached his home. At the state-run store, he bought two large Chinese cabbages, got a block of tofu, secured a strip of fatty pork, and purchased a bottle of Hongxing Erguotou.

He dumped everything into a handmade cloth bag strapped to the rear seat, then pedaled his bicycle through the hutongs until he reached the gate of the large courtyard compound where he lived.

Before even entering the courtyard, he saw two young men standing at the entrance, smoking.

"Aiyo, Brother Yan is back."

"Kuiyong, I got some fatty pork; later we'll have stewed cabbage with tofu. Come over to my place for a drink."

"Got it." Li Kuiyong nodded with a smile, then said, "Brother Yan, this is Zhong Yuemin, an old hand from the military compound. Yuemin, this is my good older brother, Wang Yan; he's only moved here in the last couple of years and works at the furniture factory. Let me tell you, my Brother Yan is no simple character; he took me down in just two moves, absolutely top-notch."

He raised his thumb.

"Hello." Wang Yan greeted Zhong Yuemin.

Zhong Yuemin pulled a cigarette from his pocket: "I'll just call you Brother Yan like Kuiyong does; since you're his brother and I'm his brother, then we two are brothers too. Here, Brother Yan, have a smoke."

"Daqian Sect cigarettes." Wang Yan took the cigarette, letting Li Kuiyong strike a match to light it for him. "What were you two chatting about?"

"Ah, you arrived just in time, Brother Yan. Yuemin said he's going to the ballet troupe this Saturday to buy tickets for the public performance of The Red Detachment of Women. They've got some conflict with others; for something this big, all the old hands and ruffians across the Four-Nine City will definitely show up, so he came to ask me for backup. Why don't you come along and see then?"

Zhong Yuemin immediately added, "Rest assured, Brother Yan, I guarantee you won't go for nothing; I'll get a ticket for you too when the time comes."

"Ticket or no ticket, we'll see each other then." Wang Yan waved his hand. "You two keep chatting; I need to hurry and start the fire to cook; I've been starving for a while."

"Got it, see you later, Brother Yan," Zhong Yuemin said with a laugh.

Seeing Wang Yan wheel his bicycle into the courtyard, Zhong Yuemin asked, "Is he really as formidable as you say?"

"Do you think I'm blowing smoke at you?" Li Kuiyong said unhappily. "Back when he first moved into our courtyard, living alone in a seven-square-meter room, eating well every day, I got jealous, so I picked a fight with him.

But Brother Yan let me hit him however I wanted; with just three punches and two kicks, he cleaned my clock. You haven't been around here for the last two years; let me put it this way: from here all the way to Da Qianmen, anyone who looked for trouble with him got thoroughly thrashed."

"That formidable? Then his reputation should be quite significant; how come I've never heard of him?"

"He said that forming gangs to bully people and hanging around the streets harassing Misses to pick up girls is meaningless and quite undignified. Besides, he's doing quite well at the furniture factory; after studying for two years, he's already finished his apprenticeship. In our area, whenever any family needs new furniture, they save up materials and ask him for help; he earns quite a bit. Around here, his life is one of the best; he's living very comfortably."

Li Kuiyong proudly patted his chest. "Being able to go with me to provide backup, I reckon he's just idle and finds it meaningless, so he's coming along to see The Red Detachment of Women too."

"So he's going just for the ticket? Then this Brother Yan is a bit lacking in loyalty."

"Well, isn't that obvious? Who does he know you are? Why should he show you any loyalty?" Li Kuiyong curled his lips.

"Even if not for me, he should do it for your sake, right? He even invited you to eat meat."

"That's just Brother Yan looking out for me; my family has many mouths to feed, and as the eldest, I can't snatch food from the younger ones, right? But I do run errands for him; when he doesn't have enough tickets, I go help exchange them."

Li Kuiyong patted Zhong Yuemin's shoulder, feeling the texture of the woolen coat. "Not bad, this woolen coat is really good. Alright, it's getting dark; you should head back now. I'll definitely go with Brother Yan on Saturday."

"Fine, then I'll leave first; see you on Saturday."

Zhong Yuemin agreed, mounted his bicycle, and rode away into the distance.

Li Kuiyong turned and entered the courtyard, passed the spirit screen, crossed the second gate, headed toward the east wing room, bumped into his mother, and told her he was going across the street to Wang Yan's house for dinner.

Without lingering, he went out again and headed to the west wing room opposite.

There, in the room on the southern side, an iron pipe protruded from the doorframe, billowing black smoke with a gurgling sound. In the open space to the south, a considerable amount of wood and various tools were piled up, covered with plastic sheeting.

The door of the house wasn't closed; Wang Yan had just lit the stove and was there scrubbing the wok with a large ladle.

"Brother Yan, let me, let me." Li Kuiyong, being sensible, stepped forward, took some water, and scrubbed the wok meticulously.

Wang Yan washed his hands, took a wilted cabbage, peeled off the outer withered leaves, chopped the inner tender leaves on the cutting board, and used a knife to slice the thick cabbage stems.

"Just now, Yuemin and I were saying that we became friends through fighting, but that guy still didn't believe it."

"Believe it or not, it's just like that," Wang Yan said cheerfully. "I've never heard you mention such a person before."

"He's the child of a high-ranking cadre; if we hadn't attended the same school together for two years back then, the two of us would never have met. What's the attitude of those high-ranking cadre children like? Their eyes are set on the sky, acting as if they conquered the world themselves; they're so pretentious. However, this Zhong Yuemin isn't bad; at least he doesn't look down on us poor peasants."

Wang Yan said amusingly, "Your family does have quite a few members, but your mother is a worker, and with your father's pension, it's not a small amount. If you said that out loud, the peasant brothers would hang you up and beat you."

"But we still can't get our fill, can we?" Li Kuiyong chuckled.

"Going off topic; since he doesn't look down on us, why didn't this Zhong Yuemin come looking for you earlier? It's been two years; this is the first time I've heard of such a thing."

"We just couldn't hang out together," Li Kuiyong said. "Naturally, the military compound has its own group of brothers."

"Not anymore?"

"Certainly there still are, but his father got locked up; within the compound, those whose parents are locked up and those whose aren't naturally form separate factions."

"So he's fallen on hard times and remembered a friend like you."

Li Kuiyong thought for a moment, then shook his head. "It's not exactly that; the military compound isn't close to our place; if there's no matter to attend to, it's not worth him traveling all this way."

Wang Yan shook his head with a smile and didn't dampen his enthusiasm further.

Regardless of whether they are old hands or ruffians, they are all hooligans. These mid-tier small hooligan gangs are just like the problematic youth of a few decades later; they simply have good stamina, can walk and run, and their range of activity is quite large.

Moreover, there aren't many entertainment activities now, not so much neon lights and red wine; apart from some landmark locations, they just wander all over the streets, proper Taiping Hutong drifters.

"Alright, alright, it's scrubbed enough; go dump the water."

"Yes."

Li Kuiyong offered no second words; possessing the awareness of someone mooching a meal, he immediately lifted the dirty water bucket spliced together from wood, went out of the courtyard, and dumped it onto the garbage pile.

Wang Yan placed the large ladle on the stove, cut the fatty pork into large slices, and put them in the pot to render lard. However, he didn't render it all away; he only rendered a little more than half, leaving behind meat that had shrunk by nearly half its size.

Then, using the same pot, Wang Yan stir-fried green onions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant, added the cabbage and stir-fried it back and forth, poured in hot water, and added the tofu. Afterwards, he set up a steamer, placed rice mixed with millet inside, and by the time the dish was ready, the rice was cooked too. Midway through, he opened the lid and, when the rice was nearly done, placed solid corn cakes inside to heat up.

At the same time, as the stove fire rose, connecting to the heating pipes, although the old house leaked wind from all sides, there was finally some warmth.

There was no dedicated dining table; only a familiar large solid wood table. After clearing off the drawings and scattered books on top, it became the dining table.

Taking a sip of liquor, Li Kuiyong picked up a corn cake, took a loud crunchy bite, then picked up some cabbage with his chopsticks, eating with great relish.

He muttered, "Your life is certainly much more joyful."

"Eh, there are good points and bad points," Wang Yan said. "I'm full when I eat, and the whole family doesn't go hungry. I'm only eighteen, not yet at the age for illnesses; everything tastes delicious. Relying on my parents' glorious legacy, I muddled into a job where I can learn a trade and earn quite a bit, so isn't it natural to focus on eating and drinking? Besides, it's not that great; I'm just barely filling my stomach. I still have to work hard."

"You have high aspirations, Brother Yan. Isn't that good? In my family, we only smell meat once a month; day after day, no one eats their fill. My mother only eats until she's seventy percent full; the whole family depends on her to earn money. If it weren't for my father's compensation... Look at this mess: I can't advance in my studies, and I have no job. Sigh..."

"Do you want to get rich?"

"You have an idea?" Li Kui's eyes widened. "Brother Yan, whatever you say, just speak. I, Li Kui, will absolutely not hesitate. Whatever you say to do, we'll do it."

"You trust me that much?"

"We're like biological brothers. If I don't trust you, who do I trust?"

"We might get hacked to death, or we might get caught and thrown in prison. You..."

"Even if I die, I'll stab them back twice! Just say it, Brother Yan. What exactly are we doing?"

Li Kui's eyes were extremely determined, shining with the light of a starving wolf.

Wang Yan waved his hand amusingly. "Let me ponder it a bit more; I haven't figured it out myself yet."

"Alright, I'll just wait for your word, Brother Yan. Come, take a sip." Li Kui raised his cup and clinked it against Wang Yan's.

The two took a sip of wine. As Li Kui ate some dishes, he glanced at the large bookshelf behind Wang Yan. "Whoa, there are even more books now. There aren't any bad books among them, are there?"

"No. Apart from history books, they're all reference books."

"You really are cut out for studying, Brother Yan. If it weren't for this whole incident, you would certainly have passed the university entrance exam by now."

Wang Yan said, "It's not about that. Reading enriches oneself. For problems you can't figure out, read more books; maybe then you'll understand. You should read too when you have nothing to do. My room isn't locked; it's good to while away the time. Don't go out fighting all day long; what's the point in that?"

"Especially that so-called 'Little Bastard.' I heard he actually dares to stab people? With no grievance or hatred, why take someone's life? That's purely mental illness."

"Hey, Brother Yan, you can't say that. The Little Bastard and I grew up together. Regardless of how he treats others, towards me, he's impeccable. I can't be disloyal."

"You're a fool too."

"I'm just willing to be foolish, Brother Yan. A person, while alive, must speak of loyalty and righteousness! That's the most important thing!"

Seeing Wang Yan shake his head with amusement, Li Kui became displeased. "Brother Yan, don't disbelieve me. Let me tell you: a person lives for a single breath of air. Once that breath is gone, the person is finished. Betraying trust and abandoning righteousness, having honey on one's lips and a sword in one's belly—they can do all sorts of low-down things."

These words carried even more of a preachy tone than Wang Mou's own fatherly lecturing.

Wang Yan asked with a smile, "Then tell me: is robbing property a low-down thing?"

"It's utterly rotten, but the Little Bastard has been impeccable towards me."

"Very good. You have this understanding. Although I don't approve, there's no fault in it."

"There's absolutely no fault! The Little Bastard harms others, but he has never harmed me!"

Wang Yan nodded, ignoring the silly boy's stubborn insistence.

"You should read more books; study a bit."

"Alright. When I have time, I'll take a look."

The two fell silent for a moment, each eating dishes and drinking wine. Seeing Li Kui hesitating with his mouth moving, Wang Yan said, "You have something on your mind?"

"You noticed?"

"If I don't ask, you're going to end up entering the palace to become a eunuch."

"Scram, scram, scram." Li Kui waved his hand irritably. After falling silent for another moment and doing some mental preparation, he finally spoke. "My second brother is fifteen now. I was wondering if he could learn the carpenter's trade from you, so he'll have a livelihood to feed himself in the future."

"Alright. What kind of matter is this? Later, when I make furniture at home, just let your second brother come over and follow along." Wang Yan raised his cup. "Is this even worth calling a matter? Even if your second brother came directly, would I stop him? Every time I'm there planing wood, isn't there a crowd of children gathering around?"

"Gathering around is one thing; learning is learning, and teaching is teaching. I haven't read many books, but I can still distinguish matters clearly."

Wang Yan shook his head. "Your loyalty and righteousness are misplaced. You already said we're like biological brothers; why dawdle over such a small matter like a woman? You should have said, 'Brother Yan, my second brother is not young anymore; let him learn a trade from you.' You need to be more natural about it."

"I was being overly sensitive." Li Kui laughed heartily. "Come, Brother Yan. No more words; let's drink, let's drink."

The two continued drinking wine, chatting idly about this and that. Mostly, Li Kui did the talking, speaking entirely about the underworld of Jingcheng.

Regarding these matters, Li Kui could be described as reciting them like family treasures. He knew every gang and group of little hooligans. He knew what prominent figures had emerged over the years, when fights resulted in deaths, and all such events. His mouth was full of terms like 'veteran soldier,' 'stubborn master,' 'Buddha,' 'old cannon,' or 'lackey'; truly, his mouth was full of smooth rhymes...

Daily thanks to the good brothers who generously donate, cast monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and silently read the book for their strong support!

(End of Chapter)