Chapter 29: Bang Geng's Cellmates

"Is this the place, Sheng Ge?" A round-headed child turned back with a puzzled look on his face, looking at a horse-faced youth.

The horse-faced youth, who was the so-called Sheng Ge, Goushengzi, looked arrogant and overbearing. With a toothpick hanging from his mouth, he gave a light hum and said, "What is it, Changfeng? Could I possibly get something like this wrong?"

Behind them followed a pair of scrawny twins, also looking arrogant and overbearing.

The most prominent feature of the four of them was their clean-shaven heads; one look and you could tell they weren't children from decent families.

"How could that be, Sheng Ge? So, shall we just go in like this?" The round-headed Sima Changfeng began to smirk.

"What are you afraid of? Just go in. Don't act like a petty thief; we aren't here to steal anything." Sheng Ge subconsciously shook his head, though unfortunately, his long hair no longer existed.

As it turned out, these four were Bang Geng's cellmates at the Shaojiansuo. At the time, there were forty youths in one large room, and the four of them, plus Bang Geng, had become playthings for the other robust youths because they were thin and small...

The chrysanthemums are ruined, the ground is full of wounds, your smile has already faded to yellow...

Not many days later, they were all released. They had agreed inside that once they got out, they would gather together, and from then on, brothers would be of one mind, their sharpness enough to cut through metal.

"Jia Geng, is Jia Geng here?" Changfeng puffed out his chest and walked into the Siheyuan, taking the lead.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you shouting for? Where are you all from?" The Third Master was watering his flowers. Seeing a few bald-headed ghosts sneaking in, he couldn't help but put down the watering can and ask loudly.

"We, we... uh..." Questioned by the Third Master, Changfeng became tongue-tied, as if he had been caught red-handed, which immediately made Sheng Ge look dissatisfied.

"Trash, move aside. We're here to find Bang Geng's old man. Where does he live?" Sheng Ge carelessly pushed Changfeng aside, picking his nose without a shred of politeness while looking sideways at the Third Master.

"Don't know. Go stay wherever it's cool." The Third Master adjusted his glasses and turned to walk into the house. He had never seen such impolite children; looking at those heads, they didn't look like good people. Was that kind of head shaved just for fun?

"Sheng Ge! Should we take him on?" The twins stepped forward, looking fierce.

"No rush. Find Jia Geng first. We still have to rely on you two; Changfeng is a piece of trash, can't count on him. Can't do anything right, can't finish anything he eats. Let's go." After complaining a few times, Sheng Ge ignored Changfeng, who was standing there with a red face, and shouted as he started looking for Jia Geng.

"Jia Geng, Jia Geng?!"

"Who is it?" Bang Geng's voice came from the middle courtyard. He was seen shuffling in cloth shoes, rubbing his eyes with one hand while yawning.

Qin Huairu was often not home, Jia Zhangshi had suffered a stroke, and the school wouldn't take him back. Spending his days at home guarding his foul-smelling grandmother couldn't have been more "delightful."

"He's in the back! Let's go. Why are you still standing there? Move!" Sheng Ge was delighted. He turned back to call out, and Changfeng let out an "ah" and revealed a smile, hurriedly following along.

"Jia Geng!"

"Sheng Ge? Why are you guys here?" Jia Geng was stunned. Remembering their experiences inside, a flash of pain crossed his face.

"Hey, we just got out, didn't we? Did you forget what we said inside?" Sheng Ge patted Jia Geng on the shoulder, revealing a smile.

Their family situations were even worse than Bang Geng's. Because of their time inside, their families were annoyed the moment they saw them. They couldn't attend school, couldn't find work, and as half-grown boys eating their fathers out of house and home, they were a nuisance wherever they went.

"No... I didn't forget. Let's go outside to talk." At the mention of "inside," Bang Geng's body trembled uncontrollably.

"Why go outside? We came all this way, aren't you going to invite us into the house to sit for a while?" Sheng Ge's smile dropped. Like an adult, he pushed Bang Geng aside and went to push the door open to enter.

As the door opened, a foul stench rushed out, nearly knocking Sheng Ge over.

"Damn, this is a bit stinky~" Gousheng gagged, hurriedly covering his nose and retreating several steps, looking shocked.

"Jia Geng, did you get played with until you have anal leakage? Did you crap in the room? No wonder you wouldn't let us in." Changfeng hurriedly leaned forward, helping Gousheng fan the air.

"Changfeng, you dog-brained idiot, get out of the way. Don't you know you have body odor?" Caught between two kinds of stenches, Gousheng's face turned green.

"No, no, that's not me." Jia Geng hurriedly explained, but Goushengzi turned his head away in disgust.

"Let's go. Since we're on your turf, you have to treat your brothers to a meal, right?"

"Sheng Ge, I, I don't have any money..." Jia Geng lowered his head in embarrassment. Qin Huairu hadn't returned, and he didn't have a single cent. Feeling he had lost face in front of his friends, he was suddenly mortified.

"How is that possible?! Living in such a nice courtyard, how could you have no money? You aren't looking down on us brothers, are you?" Suddenly, the few of them sneered and surrounded him.

"What's going on, what's going on, what's going on?" Xu Damao walked out from the Back Yard, spraying spit as he spoke.

"Uh, and what kind of onion are you?! None of your damn business!" Sheng Ge looked arrogant.

"I'm about to be his uncle-in-law, so what, you little brat?"

"Oh?" Goushengzi's eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his face.

"What?"

"Nothing. So you're the uncle-in-law. Nice to meet you, nice to meet you. We are Jia Geng's friends. Hello, hello." Goushengzi smiled and leaned in.

"Uncle-in-law, look, we came to find Jia Geng. He wants to treat us to a meal, but he doesn't have any money. Could you lend it to him first, and he can pay you back later?" Goushengzi rubbed his hands together, constantly moving closer.

"What?" Xu Damao stepped back twice. Looking at the few big bald eggs, he understood where they came from.

"Jia Geng, come over here quickly, your uncle-in-law agreed." Goushengzi kept smiling, turning back to call out to Jia Geng.

Bang Geng's face was flushed red. He kept his head down, not knowing what he was thinking, and was pushed over by the twins, stumbling as he went.

Bang Geng looked up with difficulty at the wary Xu Damao and said nothing.

"Bang Geng, it's not that your uncle-in-law wants to lecture you, but you should associate with some decent people! Always hanging around with these riff-raff, what kind of future can you have? You'll just end up back inside! If you want to make friends, make friends with someone like the author of this book—loyal, upright, and handsome. That's the only way to have a future, you understand?" Xu Damao curled his lips and lectured Bang Geng at length.

The mention of "ending up back inside" made Bang Geng tremble with fear.

"What the hell do you mean? Huh? What's wrong with us? Do you think we want to go inside? It's because we're too poor to eat! Brothers, get him, beat the hell out of him." Gousheng angrily shook his bald head, and the twins let out a howl and pounced.

"Black Tiger Steals the Heart." The twins coordinated with each other, one rising and one crouching, attacking Xu Damao.

"Monkey Steals the Peach!" The older twin, Jincheng, lowered his body and grabbed upward. Although he grabbed with a look of suspicion, he looked up in confusion, staring at the pained Xu Damao.

"What's wrong, brother?" The second twin, Jingong, grabbed Xu Damao's chest hard and asked, looking down.

"No... didn't steal it. This is impossible!" Jincheng didn't believe it and grabbed again. There really was nothing...

Xu Damao fell to the ground in pain.