Chapter 79: Drunk and Boasting, the Bottle Bleeds, Lin Yueqiang's Jealousy Burns Him

Approaching the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Wan Gou Zhen was unusually bustling.

Small vendors along the street displayed all kinds of New Year goods, festive red lanterns hung high, and the air was filled with the aroma of fried foods and people's laughter and chatter.

Lin Yueqiang collected the unit‑issued New Year supplies from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, left work early, with several packets of candy snacks, two bottles of locally produced white wine, and a small bag of fine tea leaves.

He tied the items to the back seat of his bicycle, was about to head home, but ran into a few buddies he usually got along with.

"Yueqiang! Over here!" a sharp voice stood out in the crowd.

Lin Yueqiang looked up and saw Wang Er and Lao Xu, who worked with him in the Supply and Marketing Cooperative warehouse.

Two other young men in thick padded coats stood nearby, grinning and waving at him.

"Where are you guys heading?"

Lin Yueqiang grinned, steadied his bicycle.

"What a coincidence, just got the New Year supplies and was looking for a place to have a couple of drinks! Come, Lao Ma's tavern, it's on me!" Wang Er pounded his chest, his face full of bravado.

Lin Yueqiang wanted to decline, but thinking of his brother‑in‑law at home, whom he looked down on and who had recently come into money, made his heart uneasy.

Lately, villagers who saw him kept asking about Lu Qingshan, wondering why his brother‑in‑law had suddenly changed, hunted bears and made a fortune, leaving him, a "regular employee" of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, unable to hold his head high.

"Alright, let's go drink, let's go!"

Without another word, he hoisted his bicycle and rushed toward the tavern at the alley entrance.

Lao Ma's tavern was small, but had a modest reputation in the town.

Upon entering, a strong smell of alcohol and cooking oil hit his face.

Several low wooden tables already held many people, mostly nearby workers and farmers taking the holiday to have a couple of drinks.

Lin Yueqiang and his companions found a seat by the window and sat down.

"Boss! Bring the dishes and the wine!" Wang Er shouted loudly, as if he might flip the shop's roof.

Soon, a simple platter of snacks and two bottles of locally produced sorghum wine were placed on the table.

Lin Yueqiang didn't hold back, took the cup Wang Er handed him, tipped his head back and gulped.

The spicy liquor slid down his throat, a warm current spreading through his chest and abdomen.

Lin Yueqiang exhaled, a flush beginning to spread across his face.

"Yueqiang, I heard your brother‑in‑law is rich now? What bear did he hunt?" Lao Xu picked up a piece of pork head meat and asked unclearly.

Lin Yueqiang's face tightened, lifted his cup and took another gulp: "What wealth? He just chased mountains and killed a few wild beasts, bragging like that."

"I heard bear gall can sell for several thousand! Did he also buy a radio back home?" Wang Er's eyes glittered with gossip.

Lin Yueqiang slapped the table hard: "What radio? Back in the village our family had a radio, given by my second uncle; now Lu Qingshan has one too! I heard it's a new Red Lantern brand, fancier than anything in our Supply and Marketing Cooperative warehouse!"

The young men beside them heckled: "Yueqiang, your little brother‑in‑law is being squeezed! Your brother‑in‑law turned his luck, yet never gave you a hand, ignores you when you meet, so why that look?"

"Get lost!"

Lin Yueqiang cursed, then helplessly downed another drink, "I'll see how long he can brag!"

After three rounds of drinking, Lin Yueqiang's mouth was fully opened.

He began venting, listing all of Lu Qingshan's various "wrongs".

"That kid used to be the village's notorious lazybones—gambling, drinking, beating his wife, all kinds of misdeeds! Now the damn guy hit a streak of bad luck, turned into some mountain hunter, and even Director Liu greets him with a smile…"

Lin Yueqiang grew more agitated, his voice unintentionally rising a few notches.

A few half‑drunk men at the neighboring table occasionally cast unfriendly glances.

"I heard villagers now call him 'Lu Hunter', nonsense! A few months ago he was 'Lu Lazi'!" Lin Yueqiang poured another drink into his mouth.

"Hey, over there, keep it down!" a broad‑shouldered, barrel‑bodied strong man finally couldn't hold back, patted the table, "We're eating, why all the shouting!"

Lin Yueqiang, his mind clouded by alcohol, not only didn't stop but raised his voice: "None of your business! I'm talking with my friends, why are you sticking your nose in!"

"Who are you yelling at?" the strong man snapped up, the stool tipped over with a harsh clang.

A few men at the same table also set down their bowls and chopsticks, eyes like tigers fixed on Lin Yueqiang's group.

Wang Er and Lao Xu, seeing the situation turn sour, hurriedly grabbed Lin Yueqiang: "Enough, enough, let's just keep drinking."

Lin Yueqiang wouldn't relent, broke free from Wang Er's grip, pointed at the strong man's nose: "What are you staring at! Never seen a person? My second uncle is Li Jimin, the town deputy secretary, those who know better would…"

Before he finished speaking, the strong man lunged forward in a single stride, grabbed Lin Yueqiang's collar: "Who the hell are you? Thinking you can run wild because someone in your family is here? I'm the production team leader of Lu Jia Tun, you can…"

Lin Yueqiang was stunned by the man's imposing presence, but emboldened by alcohol, he retorted with a forced grin: "Let go of me! Believe it or not, I can have my second uncle deal with you!"

"Ha, you scared me!" the strong man sneered, casually shoved Lin Yueqiang, causing him to stagger, "With your conduct, you still compare brother‑in‑law here and there, see what you're capable of!"

At the tense moment, a few of Lin Yueqiang's 'friends' tried to separate the sides, but were shoved aside by the strong man's companions.

In the shoving and pushing, the situation completely spiraled out of control.

Lin Yueqiang was caught off guard, fell clumsily to the ground.

Wang Er and Lao Xu also took a few punches, their noses bruised and faces swollen.

Seeing a big loss looming, Lin Yueqiang snatched the wine bottle from the table, sprang up and hurled it at the nearest man's head.

"Crack" a crisp sound rang, the bottle shattered on impact.

The man staggered, then crouched, clutching his head.

Fresh blood gushed from his fingertips, quickly pooling on the floor into a small puddle.

"He's hitting someone! He's hitting someone!" someone shouted loudly.

Lin Yueqiang stood dumbfounded, still holding a half‑shattered bottle, looking as if struck by lightning.

The intoxicating effect of the mishap faded quickly, a chill surged up his spine.

What made it more desperate was that Wang Er, Lao Xu and the others, who moments ago were brotherly, had already vanished, leaving him alone, held tightly by several of the opponent's companions.

"Call the police! Quick, call the police!"

The injured man's companion shouted, someone already dashed out of the tavern toward the town police station.

Lin Yueqiang struggled to escape, but was pinned to the ground by several strong men.

He suddenly recalled his brother‑in‑law Lu Qingshan's words from a few days earlier: "Yueqiang, stay away from those shady people; a place where you can drink isn't necessarily a good place." At the time he dismissed it, but now it seemed utterly ironic.

Soon, uniformed police officers arrived at the scene and escorted Lin Yueqiang and the injured man back to the police station.

The wounded man was rushed to a hospital for treatment, while Lin Yueqiang was locked in an interrogation room.

The cold iron chair pressed against Lin Yueqiang's buttocks, waking him up considerably.

Cold sweat kept streaming down his forehead, and his limbs trembled.

He recalled the blood on that person's head, and panic surged in his heart.

"It's over, it's over, completely over…"

He kept muttering, and images of prisoners locked up in jail on TV flashed before his eyes.

"Yueqiang, big nephew, you've really dug a big mess this time."

At the police station, Old Lin, who is from the same village as Lin Yueqiang, sighed and handed him a cup of hot water. "The injury isn't minor; they stitched him up several times! I heard the culprit is a relative of the squad leader from Lu Jiatun, and they've already called the county."

Lin Yueqiang, as if clutching a lifeline, hurriedly asked, "Uncle Old Lin, could you… could you notify my second uncle, Secretary Li, Li Jimin!"

Old Lin nodded, "I called early; he should be arriving soon."

Not long after, Li Jimin rushed to the police station.

He wore a stern expression, brows knit, and the first thing he said to Lin Yueqiang was, "What trouble have you gotten into this time!"

Lin Yueqiang fell to his knees with a thud, clutched Li Jimin's leg and pleaded, "Second Uncle, save me! Those guys started the trouble; I just… I was just in a hurry, didn't think—"

Li Jimin's beard trembled with anger, yet he was helpless and could only go to the police station chief to negotiate.

But the person who received him was an unfamiliar young officer, who said nothing, only that a superior was inspecting the station and the case must be handled impartially.

Just as Li Jimin was about to invoke his position as deputy secretary of the town, a familiar voice came from behind:

"Secretary Li, what wind has blown you here?"