The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1458: A Carpenter in Sijiu City
Covered in wood chips, Wang Yan rode his bicycle along Chang'an Avenue in the cold wind, blending into the tide of people leaving get off work in this era.

Chang'an Avenue is full of bicycles. People who know each other chat while pedaling. There are also people who collide with their bikes and directly confront each other, cursing at each other. It is very lively.

And in Tiananmen Square, there were some people playing there, children jumping around, and some people taking pictures with cameras.

It is really good to take pictures at this time. There are workers getting off work, the setting sun, and people with smiles on their faces and high spirits of striving forward.

I rode along Chang'an Street, turned to Xuanwu Gate, passed Caishikou, and came to Nanheng Street, where he lived. I bought two large cabbages, a piece of tofu, a piece of fatty meat, and a bottle of Erguotou in a state-owned store.

He packed all his things into the hand-sewn cloth bag on the back seat, rode his bicycle through the alley, and arrived at the gate of his slum.

Before entering the yard, I saw two young men standing at the door smoking.

"Hey, Brother Yan is back."

"Kuiyong, I got some fatty meat and will stew cabbage with tofu later. Come and have a drink."

"Okay." Li Kuiyong nodded with a smile, then said, "Brother Yan, this is Zhong Yuemin, a veteran of the military compound. Yuemin, this is my good brother, Wang Yan, he has only moved here for two years and works in the furniture factory. Let me tell you, my brother Yan is not simple, he was knocked down by me in just two moves, that must be this."

He gave a thumbs up.

"Hello." Wang Yan greeted Zhong Yuemin.

Zhong Yuemin took out a cigarette from his pocket and said, "I and Kuiyong will call you Brother Yan. You are his brother, and I am his brother. We are brothers too. Come on, Brother Yan, smoke."

"Da Qianmen." Wang Yan took the cigarette and let Li Kuiyong light it with a match. "What are you talking about?"

"Hey, you've arrived just in time, Brother Yan. Yuemin said he's going to the ballet company to buy tickets for the Red Detachment of Women's performance this Saturday. They're having some conflicts with others, and for such a big thing, all the old soldiers and stubborn people in the city will definitely go there, so they're looking for my help. You can go and watch it with them then?"

Zhong Yuemin followed up by saying, "Don't worry, Brother Yan. I promise you won't go in vain. I'll get you a ticket when the time comes."

"What's the point of having a ticket? See you later." Wang Yan waved his hand. "You guys chat. I have to light the fire and cook. I'm already hungry."

"Okay, see you later, Brother Yan." Zhong Yuemin said with a smile.

Seeing Wang Yan carrying his bicycle into the yard, Zhong Yuemin asked, "Is he really as amazing as you say?"

"Do you think I'm bragging?" Li Kuiyong was unhappy. "When he first came to our hospital, he lived alone in a 7-square-meter house and ate good food every day. I got jealous and had a fight with him.

In the end, Brother Yan told me to hit him as I pleased, but he beat me with just three punches and two kicks. You haven't been here in the past two years, so let me tell you this, from this moment until the front door, he beat up everyone who caused trouble for him."

"So awesome? He must be quite famous. How come I haven't heard of him?"

"He said that gangs formed to bully people and that it was meaningless and embarrassing to go around the streets and flirt with girls and women. Besides, he did a good job in the furniture factory. He became an apprentice after two years of training. In our area, anyone who wanted to buy furniture would save up the materials and ask him for help. He made a lot of money. In our area, his life was one of the best and he lived a comfortable life."

Li Kuiyong patted his chest proudly, "He can come with me to help you. I guess he is just idle and has nothing to do, so he wants to join in the fun and go see the Red Detachment of Women."

"So you went there for the ticket? Then Brother Yan is a bit disloyal."

"How surprising! How does he know who you are? What loyalty do you have to talk about?" Li Kuiyong curled his lips.

"Even if I don't look at it, I still have to give you face. He still wants to eat meat with you."

"That's Brother Yan taking care of me. We have a big family and I'm the eldest. I can't compete with the younger ones for food, right? But I also help him run errands. If he doesn't have enough tickets, I'll go and help change them."

Li Kuiyong patted Zhong Yuemin on the shoulder, feeling the touch of the tweed coat, "Don't mention it, this tweed coat is just great. Okay, it's getting dark, you should hurry back. I will definitely go there with Brother Yan on Saturday."

"Okay, I'll go first. See you on Saturday."

Zhong Yumin responded, got on his bike and rode away.

Li Kuiyong turned and entered the courtyard, dodged the screen wall, crossed the second door, ran to the east wing, met his mother, and said he was going to Wang Yan's house opposite for dinner.

Without stopping, he went out again and went to the west wing opposite.

In the room on the south side, a sheet metal pipe was sticking out of the door frame, emitting black smoke. In the open space on the south side, there were a lot of wood and various tools piled up, covered with plastic sheets.

The door of the house was not closed. Wang Yan had just lit the stove and was using a large spoon to scrub the pot.

"Brother Yan, let me do it, let me do it." Li Kuiyong walked forward sensibly, got some water and scrubbed the pot meticulously.

Wang Yan washed his hands, picked up a wilted cabbage, peeled off the dry leaves on the outside, chopped the still tender leaves inside on the chopping board, and cut the cabbage with a knife.

"Just now I told Yuemin that we didn't know each other until we fought, but this guy didn't believe it."

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

"He is the son of a high-ranking official. If he hadn't gone to the same school as me for two years, we wouldn't have known each other. What kind of people are those high-ranking official's sons? They look up to the sky, as if they were the ones who conquered the world. They are so pretentious. But Zhong Yuemin is not bad. At least he doesn't look down on us poor peasants."

Wang Yan said with a smile: "Your family does have a lot of people, but your mother is an employee, plus your father's pension, it's not a small amount. If you tell this to others, the farmers will hang you up and beat you."

"But you still can't eat enough." Li Kuiyong laughed.

"You're wrong. I don't look down on you. Why didn't Zhong Yuemin come to see you earlier? It's been two years, and this is the first time I've heard of such a thing."

"We can't play together." Li Kuiyong said, "They naturally have a group of brothers in the military compound."

"Not anymore?"

"Of course there are, but his father has been put in jail. In the compound, those who have been in jail and those who have not will naturally be divided into gangs."

"I'm down and out now, and I remember you as a friend."

Li Kuiyong thought about it and then shook his head: "That's not the case. The military compound is not close to us. It's not worth it for him to run so far if there is nothing wrong."

Wang Yan shook his head and smiled, not trying to discourage his enthusiasm any further.

Regardless of whether they are veterans or gangsters, they are all hooligans. The gangs of small hooligans who are neither too good nor too bad are just like the problem youths decades later. They are physically strong and can walk and run, and their range of activities is not small.

Besides, there aren't many entertainment activities now, not so many bright lights and wine, except for some iconic places, there are people hanging out all over the streets, serious alley urchins. "Alright, alright, we've almost finished brushing, go pour the water."

"Hey."

Li Kuiyong didn't say anything. He was determined to make a living, so he immediately carried the dirty wooden bucket out of the yard and dumped it at the garbage dump.

Wang Yan placed a large spoon on the stove, cut the fat into large pieces, and put them into the pot to make lard. However, he did not make all of it, but only made more than half of it, leaving the meat that had shrunk by half.

Then Wang Yan sautéed the scallions, ginger and garlic in the pot, added the cabbage and stir-fried it, poured hot water in, and added tofu. Then he used the steamer to put the rice mixed with millet in. As the dishes cooked, the rice also cooked. He opened the lid halfway through, and when the rice was almost cooked, he put in a solid corn cake to heat it up.

At the same time, as the stove was lit up, the heating was connected. Although the old house was leaking air everywhere, it was still warm.

There was no special dining table, only a familiar large solid wooden table, which became a dining table after the drawings and scattered books on it were cleared away.

After taking a sip of wine, Li Kuiyong picked up a corn tortilla, took a big bite, then picked up a piece of cabbage with chopsticks and ate it with relish.

He muttered, "You still live a happy life."

"Hey, there are good and bad things." Wang Yan said, "I am the one who feeds the whole family. I am only 18 years old and I am not sick yet. I enjoy everything I eat. I got a job with the glorious inheritance of my parents. I can learn a skill and earn a lot. But I work hard on eating and drinking. Besides, this is not that good. I can just barely eat enough. I still have to work hard."

"You are too ambitious, Brother Yan, isn't this bad? My family can only smell meat once a month, and no one has enough food every day. My mother can only eat until she is 70% full, and the whole family depends on her to make money. If it weren't for my father's compensation, you can't imagine what happened. I can't go to school, and I don't have a job. Hey..."

"Want to get rich?"

"Do you have any ideas?" Li Kuiyong's eyes widened. "Brother Yan, why are you talking? I, Li Kuiyong, will never be vague. Whatever you say, we will do it."

"Trust me so much?"

"We are brothers, if I don't trust you, who else can I trust?"

"You might get hacked to death, or you might get arrested and put in jail. You..."

"Even if I die, I will stab him twice! Just tell me, Brother Yan, what are we doing?"

Li Kuiyong's eyes were determined and had the look of a hungry wolf.

Wang Yan waved his hands in amusement: "Let me think about it, I haven't made up my mind yet."

"Okay, I've been waiting for you to speak, Brother Yan. Come, have a sip." Li Kuiyong raised his glass and clinked it with Wang Yan.

The two of them took a sip of wine, and Li Kuiyong ate his food while glancing at the large bookshelf behind Wang Yan: "Wow, there are so many books here again. There aren't any bad books, right?"

"No, except for history books and reference books."

"You are really a good student, Brother Yan. If this hadn't happened, you would have definitely been admitted to university by now."

Wang Yan said, "It's not about that. Reading enriches yourself. If you have any puzzles, read more books and maybe you will figure it out. You can also read when you have nothing to do. I don't lock the door, so it's good to kill time. Don't go out fighting all day. What's the point?"

Especially that little bastard, I heard he really dared to stab someone? There was no grudge between us, why would he want to kill someone? Isn't that just a mental illness?"

"Hey, Brother Yan, you can't say that. This little bastard and I are childhood friends. He doesn't care about others, but he is always nice to me. I can't be unrighteous."

"You are also a fool."

"I'd rather be stupid, Brother Yan. This man, as long as he's alive, he has to be loyal! This is the most important thing!"

Seeing Wang Yan shaking his head in amusement, Li Kuiyong was unhappy, "Brother Yan, don't disbelieve me. I tell you, this person lives on a breath. Without this breath, the person is finished. He is treacherous, sweet-mouthed, and can do all kinds of despicable things."

These words sound more like Wang's father than his own.

Wang Yan asked with a smile: "Tell me, is robbing property a despicable thing?"

"It sucks, but the little bastard has nothing to say to me."

"That's good. You have this understanding. Although I don't agree with it, there's nothing wrong with it."

"There's nothing wrong with you. You little bastard has done harm to others, but he's never done harm to me!"

Wang Yan nodded and ignored the silly boy's stubbornness.

"You should read more books and study."

"Okay, I'll take a look when I have time."

The two of them were silent for a while, eating and drinking. Seeing Li Kuiyong stammering, Wang Yan said, "What's the matter?"

"Did you see it?"

"If I don't find out the truth, you will become a eunuch in the palace."

"Get lost." Li Kuiyong waved his hands in annoyance, and then remained silent for a moment. After some mental preparation, he spoke again, "My second son is already fifteen, and I was thinking if I could let him learn carpentry skills from you, so that he can have a way to make a living in the future."

"Okay, what's the big deal? I'll make furniture at home later, and I'll just ask your second child to come over and follow me." Wang Yan held up the cup, "Is that a big deal? Your second child would just come over, how could I stop him? When was there a time when I was planing wood, wasn't there a bunch of kids around me?"

"Gathering is gathering, learning is learning, and teaching is teaching. I don't have much education, but I can still understand things clearly."

Wang Yan shook his head: "Your righteousness is not in the right place. You said that we are brothers, but you are still hesitating like a woman about such a small matter? You should say, Brother Yan, my second son is not young anymore, let him learn the craft from you, you have to be more natural."

"I am being hypocritical." Li Kuiyong laughed, "Come on, Brother Yan, let's not talk too much, let's drink."

The two of them drank and chatted idly, with Li Kuiyong mainly talking, all about the underworld in the capital.

Li Kuiyong knows all about these things. He knows all the gangs of hooligans. What famous figures have emerged in recent years, when people were killed in wars, and so on. He always refers to them as old soldiers, stubborn leaders, Buddha masters, old guns, or nagging. He is really full of rhymes...

I would like to thank the good brothers who give rewards, vote for monthly tickets, recommend tickets, and read books silently for their strong support!