Chapter 1471: Reunion Once More

"Brother Yan, are you alright?"

Seeing the crowd grow thicker, Li Kui also noticed the commotion here and forcibly squeezed his way in through the onlookers.

Wang Yan waved his hand and said nothing, because the county police had already arrived.

With the police here, Wang Yan didn't need to say a word, since these two were habitual offenders already known to the authorities; they were dragged away on the spot, and Wang Yan wasn't even required to give a statement.

"Heh, these little thieves really have guts," Li Kui clicked his tongue in amazement.

Wang Yan shook his head with amusement: "Don't think it's only here; even in Jingcheng, not every thief knows me, so they still steal when they get the chance, don't they?"

Li Kui chuckled: "Brother Yan, don't dismiss it; at least half the 'Buddhas' in Jingcheng know you. I heard that ever since that incident, the Buddhas make a point of patrolling your commute route just to recognize you, so they don't steal from you and invite disaster upon themselves."

"Brother Yan is truly imposing," Yu Ming chimed in from the side, playing the straight man.

"Alright, let's go; we shouldn't keep Brother Liu and the others waiting."

So the trio headed toward the previously agreed-upon meeting spot, while Li Kui muttered about the ticket market situation he had gleaned from scalpers.

To be honest, Li Kui was no slouch; he had inquired clearly about the prices of various tickets and remembered them distinctly; with such a jumble of different tickets and varying prices, an ordinary person certainly couldn't chat and memorize them so casually.

This showed that Li Kui possessed some talent in this area, perhaps in memory, perhaps regarding numbers, or maybe a keen perception for transactions.

Shortly after, they linked up with Old Liu and the others.

Wang Yan looked at the shoulder poles they carried; inside were daily necessities like condiments, plus some cloth, cotton, and so on, along with a small amount of meat—pork slaughtered by other communes or within the county and sold off in portions.

Actually, Bai Dian Village also had two pigs, quite fat and plump; according to Old Liu, they were being saved to be slaughtered for meat during the New Year, with some also to be sold off so that every household in Bai Dian Brigade could have a little oil in their cooking and taste a bit of meat.

"Brother Liu, let's head over; I just saw stalls selling mutton soup and stewed dishes over there, the aroma drifting for miles, making one's mouth water; let's go try some."

Old Liu grabbed Wang Yan's arm: "Wang Yan, forget about us; if you want to eat, go ahead yourself; everyone is having a hard time..."

Wang Yan didn't dawdle at all, grabbing Old Liu and pulling him along: "Rest assured, Brother Liu, I know my own limits clearly; if I say I'm treating you to meat and wine, then I have enough; I'm absolutely not putting on a brave face to pretend to be wealthy; besides, I might end up staying in our brigade for life, so I'll inevitably trouble you."

"Oh, right; once Uncle Liu retires, won't you become the brigade leader of our Bai Dian Brigade? I'm just currying favor with you in advance; once you're an official, you must look after us."

"Aren't you just cursing me?" Old Liu laughed and playfully hit Wang Yan, but ultimately he led the villagers to follow Wang Yan over to the stall.

Including Wang Yan's trio, eight people sat at two tables; Wang Yan was extremely generous, ordering one bowl of mutton soup per person, two large basins of stewed dishes, two flatbreads made of a high proportion of wheat flour mixed with corn for each person, and half a jin of white liquor for everyone.

"This..." Old Liu sat there, already feeling as though he were sitting on pins and needles.

"It's fine, Brother Liu; it's only a few yuan either way; I can afford it," Wang Yan said with a smile, taking a sip of the sorghum liquor; "Not bad; this liquor is actually quite good; smooth on the entry, a single line down the throat, with a rich, mellow grain flavor on the finish; not bad, not bad."

"This is liquor from Anping Commune; their wine is better than our commune's; I heard they even supply the county distillery," Old Liu, being a proper source of information who had heard too many rumors, could speak a few words on just about anything.

Wang Yan wasn't speaking falsely; the liquor was indeed good, brewed from pure grain, around sixty degrees proof, quite potent; in fact, as long as it's pure grain liquor, it can't taste too bad even if it's not great.

While talking, the mutton soup and stewed dishes were served; Wang Yan tasted them all; the quality was passable, roughly at the high-end of tier two, not yet meeting the standard for tier three.

Nevertheless, Wang Yan ate heartily, even urging Old Liu to pick up his chopsticks and not hesitate, as Old Liu felt somewhat embarrassed to eat.

"Brother Liu, I must criticize you; since we're already eating, why still stand on ceremony? Eat more; if it's not enough, we'll just order more."

Old Liu waved his hands repeatedly: "Aiyo, this is already enough; we dare not order more; otherwise, my father will scold me when we return."

"Scold you for what?" Yu Ming didn't understand.

"For taking advantage of you educated youth comrades," Old Liu said with a simple, honest smile.

"Hey, Brother Liu, you're overthinking it; come, have a drink; this liquor is really spicy," Li Kui said, wiping the oil from his mouth with his hand before clinking his large mug against Old Liu's to drink.

Just as Wang Yan and the others were eating meat and drinking wine under an open-air shed, a group of people swaggered in, scanned the area, and fixed their gaze on Wang Yan's party.

"Brother Yan! Kuiyong!"

Hearing the loud shout, both Wang Yan and Li Kui looked up to see Zhong Yuemin, wearing his cap tilted and covered in dirt, along with Zheng Tong and several other unfamiliar people looking their way.

"Aiyo, Yuemin! Zheng Tong! You guys came here too?" Li Kui stood up happily.

"Yeah, hahaha..."

Zhong Yuemin dashed over and hugged Li Kui tightly, both slapping each other's backs so hard that dust flew up from their clothes; Wang Yan simply couldn't bear to watch, turning his bowl in a circle to protect it from the falling sand and dirt.

"I was assigned to Shichuan Village in Tucheng Commune; which commune were you assigned to?" Zhong Yuemin asked.

"Hechuan Commune, Bai Dian Village," Li Kui replied, then paused; "Wait, that's not right; how come I didn't see you at all along the way?"

"I'm in the neighboring Qing County, not the same county as you, but our commune is closer to this county town, so I come here more often."

Seeing Li Kui look at him, Old Liu put down his wine cup, nodded, and said: "That's right; what this comrade says is correct; however, there's something you don't know: Shichuan Village is just not far beyond our back mountain, only a few dozen meters away; it's just that there's a deep gully there that we can't cross; to walk over, one has to travel more than thirty li."

"Aiyo, what a coincidence then," Wang Yan said with a smile, nodding toward Zhong Yuemin; "Have a seat; this meal is on me."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony, Brother Yan," Zhong Yuemin said with a wide grin, turning to introduce him to those beside him; "See that? This is the Brother Yan I've told you about so often; he's loyal and generous."

Wang Yan nodded toward those educated youth as a greeting; Zhong Yuemin and Zheng Tong dragged stools over to squeeze in, while Brother Liu moved to sit with the villagers at their table.

Wang Yan continued to be generous, adding another large bowl of stewed dishes for Old Liu and the others, and doing the same for himself and the educated youth who had come with Zhong Yuemin.

"Kuiyong, I truly envy you; following Brother Yan is really living life," Zhong Yuemin said contentedly, drinking the mutton soup and grabbing mouthfuls of vegetables without any hesitation.

"Truly, Brother Yan," Zheng Tong also spoke up; "The journey here was miserable; this place has nothing but dirt and sand, leaving one with no hope at all; even fetching water requires walking five li."

"Be content, buddy; we have to walk ten li," Li Kui snorted; "And we have to carry two buckets back today."

"Then yours is indeed a bit worse," Zheng Tong nodded solemnly, then added; "But coming to the county town is about the same for all of us; nearly a hundred li round trip; it's truly life-threatening."

"Enough; too much complaining risks breaking your intestines; stop talking about this; does it make you walk one li less or something?" Zhong Yuemin said; "Since things are already like this, we just have to adapt."

Wang Yan said with a smile: "Your awareness has improved."

"Isn't that because I've known you, sir, for so long that I've made some progress too?" Zhong Yuemin chuckled; "But I really didn't expect us to be this close, and to reunite after only two days; hey, Kuiyong, our side has seven men and three women; truly too many wolves and too little meat; how about your side?"

Li Kui laughed: "Brother Yan, don't dismiss it; there might actually be something to this matter."

"What is there to it?"

"Our side has seven women and three men; everyone can have two, with one left over."

"Aiyo-wei, then we must exchange resources, good brother," Zhong Yuemin said; "This place is truly wearing; I spent all day yesterday walking through the entire village, and there was really nothing worth seeing; tomorrow I plan to take stock of our brigade's assets to see what we have; just imagine how boring it is; I estimate it won't be long before I'm squatting on the ground watching ants."

Zheng Tong snorted: "Ants don't come out of their holes in winter."

"Hey, are you looking for trouble here?" Zhong Yuemin slapped Zheng Tong.

So Zheng Tong fell silent, obediently eating large mouthfuls of vegetables; when Wang Yan and the others drank, he drank along; when Wang Yan and the others smoked, he smoked along...

After eating and drinking their fill, the time for parting had arrived.

"Brother Yan, let's shout and chat on the mountain later," Zhong Yuemin said cheerfully, walking away in a daze.

Baijiu over sixty degrees proof wasn't given for nothing; one was already dizzy while drinking, long before finishing. Zhong Yuemin was holding up fine, but Zheng Tong had a much lower tolerance; already possessing a bit of a scholar's spirit, he was beginning to feel cynical about the world.

Clearly, Zheng Tong's scholarly spirit was not the kind that boldly criticized the powerful...

Old Brother Liu and the others were all pillars of society in their thirties with good alcohol tolerance, but their already loud voices grew even louder.

"Wang Yan, you really spent a fortune today."

"Old Brother Liu, you are all too polite; we are all one family," Wang Yan said with a smile, still fiddling with his camera and taking random shots. He had already exposed three rolls of film—one black and white, two color—and the one he was currently using was also color.

Just as he was walking, he stopped in front of a large iron smithy.

There, a man in his forties, wearing a sheepskin coat, guarded a stove. On the stove sat a small pot containing tea leaves, red dates, and other ingredients, with the water inside already bubbling vigorously. He poured the liquid from the pot into a small cup beside him, took a bite of hard corn flatbread, then a sip of hot pot-pot tea, feeling utterly delighted.

Wang Yan snapped a photo with a click, then stepped forward to chat for a moment, acquiring a small clay pot and a lidded bowl for himself. Wang Yan turned the items over and over to inspect them; the lidded bowl turned out to be a blue-and-white piece from the Kangxi era. Wang Yan spent one yuan...

He had practically forced the money on the man; otherwise, the fellow would have only wanted the photos Wang Yan had taken earlier. Developing and enlarging didn't even cost one yuan; this was an era brimming with wealth.

However, Wang Yan had pulled this trick before, and now he had no interest in dealing in antiques...

Subsequently, Wang Yan bought some tea leaves, dried dates, longans, rock sugar, and so on; he even specifically purchased another small stove, an extravagant move that left Old Liu and the others clicking their tongues in astonishment, calling him too wasteful.

Having drunk alcohol, their heads felt dizzy, and when they walked, it was as if wind generated beneath their feet, truly striding forward in great leaps.

However, not long after Wang Yan and the others had left the county town, they were surrounded by a group of more than ten people, all wielding knives of varying lengths, looking quite terrifying.

"Who are you people?" Old Liu glared, took down the baskets he was carrying on a shoulder pole, gripped the pole with both hands, and assumed a posture ready to fight at the slightest provocation.

Just as the leader opposite was about to open his mouth to act tough, Wang Yan cheerfully removed the camera from his neck, handed it to Yu Ming, and sauntered forward.

"Old Brother Liu, no need to ask; earlier, two thieves tried to steal from me, so I beat them up and handed them over to the police. This lot is clearly their accomplices, coming here for revenge. Rest assured, Old Brother Liu, these petty thieves wouldn't dare touch you; they only bully us educated youth from out of town who are unfamiliar with the place."

"If you know that, then why don't you..." The leader's threatening words were cut off before he could finish, as Wang Yan slapped him flying, then proceeded to beat the rest of them senseless.

"You brats didn't even bother to ask around..."

Li Kui charged forward, kicking a man to the ground. He had wanted to act tough, but realizing they were already in northern Shaanxi where no one would know his reputation anyway, he felt somewhat listless and bored, so he beat the man even more viciously.

Just as Li Kui, after some maneuvering, fell to the ground together with the second thief, and was taking the opportunity to straddle the thief and punch left and right, Wang Yan had already ended the fight, having broken an arm on every single one of them.

These people were now destined to be crippled for life.

In fact, not just them; even Li Yuanzhao and the others back in Jingcheng had limbs that were far from fully functional. Medical conditions at the time had not yet developed to that level, and since Wang Yan had intentionally inflicted comminuted fractures, the whole bunch were now cripples.

By the time the eighties and nineties arrived and technology improved, or if they managed to go abroad, treating these old injuries would be even more troublesome, making it nearly impossible to set everything right again.

"It's nothing, just minor issues," Wang Yan said with a kind smile to Old Liu and the others, who had been ready to jump in or were still mentally preparing themselves when he had already finished the fight...

Ignoring the stunned crowd, Wang Yan walked over, patted Li Kui on the shoulder, and said, "Dayong, that's enough, stop torturing him; give him a quick end and break his arm."

"Got it."

Li Kui grinned; he couldn't match Wang Yan's ease and grace, casually breaking bones. Instead, he twisted the thief's arm, using joint-locking techniques, grimacing as he snapped the thief's arm.

This method would yield better results after recovery, allowing the bone to be set properly. Wang Yan's approach was far more cruel; he had shattered the forearms of these men...

"Come on, come on, dig out all your money and ration coupons."

Watching Wang Yan 'robbing' them there, Old Liu and the others stood dumbfounded, at a loss for words.

Was this an educated youth?

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

? (End of Chapter)