A hundred flavors of life

Chapter 1471 Billiards Match! (Please Subscribe!)

Hua Shier rode his bike to the night market, found several used bookstores, and picked out two traditional Chinese medicine books to buy: one was "The Essence of Acupuncture and Moxibustion" and the other was "An Introduction to Pulse Diagnosis".

With these two books, he would have a reasonable explanation when using his medical skills, and he could convince others that he was self-taught.

Well, after all, Cui Guoming's persona is that of a top student, so it's normal for him to learn things on his own, and the people around him are already used to it.

After packing the books, I strolled around the night market for a while, then rode my bike to the Songhua River.

Hua Shier wandered around until 9 p.m., but still didn't sense any evil happening. He then rode his bike back to the house of Cui Guoming that he remembered, planning to come back for a visit the next day.

Hua Shier remembered that in the original plot, Guo Dapao went to the riverbank on the night of the 17th and became a suspect in murder and body disposal. So all he had to do was wait until the 17th to make sure that no murder had occurred.

As soon as he entered the house, he saw that the living room light was still on. Li Xiaozhen was dressed in home clothes, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, looking at him with a half-smile. He didn't see his daughter Cui Mengmeng, so she must have been asleep.

Hua Shier changed into slippers and asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Li Xiaozhen asked with a smile:

"Who's going to heat up your food while I'm asleep? Did you eat out? You went to a restaurant!"

"No, didn't I tell you I was going to buy books?"

Hua Shier walked over and casually handed over the two books.

Li Xiaozhen took the book, glanced at the title, and chuckled:
"It has to be you! You keep buying this useless stuff, acupuncture, are you trying to become a veterinarian or something?"

Hua Shier laughed and said, "I'll use you as my first practice subject!"

Li Xiaozhen was amused and kicked him with her foot:
"Who should I practice on? You."

Hua Shier dodged: "Stop messing around! Didn't you say you'd heat up my food? Hurry up, I haven't eaten yet!"

Li Xiaozhen stood up and went to the kitchen to heat up the food, but she joked as she did so:
"You've made a fortune, haven't you? Why aren't you eating out? Why don't you go out to a restaurant!"

Hua Shier sensed something was wrong:
"Let's talk this out. Stop with the sarcastic remarks. When did I become rich?"

He wondered if his wife had found out about hanging the pole.

Li Xiaozhen chuckled: "Didn't you promise our daughter you'd buy her some kind of Fiery Chariot? If you don't have the money, what did you promise?"

Hua Shier leaned against the kitchen doorway, chatting with his wife:

"Hey, you know what this is about? Your daughter asked me for a Xiali car today, saying that several of her classmates' families have bought one. Those sedans cost 110,000 or 120,000 yuan. I tricked her into buying a motorcycle instead, which saved you 70,000 or 80,000 yuan!"

"You still think you're right?!"

Li Xiaozhen retorted irritably upon hearing his words:
"I'm not going to be frugal with you. If she wants a Xiali car, I'll buy it for her too. Now that you've said this, I'll have to spend money to buy a motorcycle!"

Hua Shier smiled but didn't say anything. With women to serve him, he simply went to the sofa to read a book and waited for what was ready.

Soon, hot food was served, with shredded potatoes and a golden scrambled egg on top of the rice.

Hua Shier took the food and sat down on the sofa to eat. He mixed the shredded potatoes and eggs together and ate it as a rice dish.

Li Xiaozhen turned around and got a basin of hot water. She came back, put it on the ground, and started washing his feet.

As she rubbed Hua Shier's feet, she said:
"Why do you agree to everything the child says? If you can't do it for her, then in her eyes, you, as her father, will lose your credibility!"

Hua Shier finished his bibimbap in a few bites before saying:
"I'll think of a way to handle this. Besides, there's a condition to my promise. Didn't my daughter say that she has to come back as the top student in the whole district?"

"You really think highly of your daughter!"

Li Xiaozhen smiled as she wiped his feet, then poured out the foot-washing water before saying:
"Go to sleep, you have to go to work tomorrow!"

Hua Shier nodded, put on his slippers, and went into the bedroom. Before he could even get into bed, Li Xiaozhen followed him and handed him a bankbook.
"Take it?"

Hua Shier looked at the other person with some confusion: "What is this?"

Li Xiaozhen stuffed the bankbook into his hand:
"Our savings, 44,500, are what we've saved up over the years of our marriage. Let's use it to buy a motorcycle!"

She finished speaking and said, still annoyed:
"Don't wait until your daughter is number one in the whole district. If you like someone next time, just say so directly. Don't use your daughter as an excuse!"

Hua Shier was initially surprised. In the original story, Cui Guoming said he wanted to buy his daughter a Xiali car, which led to Li Xiaozhen scolding him. How come his wife's attitude took a complete turn when it came to him?

But when Hua Shier heard what Li Xiaozhen said next, he understood. In the original plot, he said he would buy a car, which was a promise to his daughter. This time, he bought a motorcycle, but Li Xiaozhen misunderstood that he wanted it.

Hua Shier was immediately moved and turned around to hug the woman:
Why do you spoil me so much?

Li Xiaozhen smiled and rolled her eyes at him: "You're my man, if I don't spoil you, who will?"

These words warmed Hua Shier's heart, and he returned the passbook to Li Xiaozhen.

"Keep the money. I'll find a way to buy a car!"

He took off his coat and lay down on the bed. Li Xiaozhen quickly sat down beside him and asked:
"What's your plan? Steal the machines from the factory, sell them, and buy a motorcycle?"

Hua Shier was speechless.
"Can't you think of me in a good light? What era are we living in now? We've entered a period of reform and opening up, a market economy. Smart people are making tons of money. With my intelligence, why would I be afraid of not making money? Just you wait and see. Now turn off the lights and go to sleep!"

Li Xiaozhen placed the bankbook on the bedside table and turned off the light, plunging the bedroom into darkness.

She lay down on her side next to Hua Shier, pulled the blanket over herself, and after a while, seeing no movement beside her, couldn't help but bump herself backward:
"You're just sleeping like that? Hurry up and hold me!"

Hua Shier placed his hand on Li Xiaozhen's waist and tightened his grip.

"Give me a kiss!" Li Xiaozhen's demands were gradually escalating.

Hua Shier leaned over and kissed the other person's cheek, *smack*!
"Pah!" Li Xiaozhen spat, then turned around contentedly: "Alright, go to sleep!"

Hua Shier wiped his face, speechless. So, all this was just to spit on me, huh?

The next day, Hua Shier went to work at the factory. When he entered the office, he saw that Zhao Hailong and Liu Ye were already there. They greeted him warmly as he came in.

Good morning, Brother Cui!

"Good morning!" Hua Shier nodded and was about to change into his work clothes when he noticed that a stack of documents neatly arranged on his desk was missing.

"Hey, has anyone seen those files I put here?" Zhao Hailong said with a smile.
"Secretary Zhao took it. Brother Cui, it really comes down to you. The new factory director asked us for suggestions and proposals. I suggested the canteen food, Liu Ye suggested the factory give us two sets of work clothes, but when it came to you, oh my god!"

"I've taken a quick look, and it's probably over two hundred pages. If the factory manager wants your opinion, it'll probably take him a week to read it!"

Liu Ye said, "But Secretary Zhao seemed quite pleasantly surprised!"

Hua Shier poured himself a cup of hot water, sat down, and said:

"How could he not be overjoyed? We're mortal enemies. The moment the new factory director took office, he was probably thinking about how to make trouble for me. Now, he's got something on me. I'm just waiting for him to add fuel to the fire and make the factory director cause me trouble!"

Zhao Hailong and Liu Ye both realized what was happening, and the former said:
"Yes, that's a scoundrel!"

Liu Ye asked, "Brother Cui, if you knew this, why did you write so much?"

Hua Shier held the teacup and blew on the tea leaves:
"I just realized what was going on, and I was even thinking of not handing it in anymore, but I didn't expect him to take it!"

Zhao Hailong and Liu Ye were both quite anxious: "What should we do? Why don't you invite him to Dingqinglou for a meal, Brother Cui, to ease the tension?"

"Grandma!"

Hua Shier displayed an expression of complete confidence, mimicking the tone of a storyteller:
"If he doesn't cause trouble, fine, but if he dares to cause me trouble, I'll let him know why the flowers are so red!"

Zhao Hailong and Liu Ye both laughed: "That's right, let him know why the flowers are so red!"

Around noon, Hua Shier received a call from his high school class monitor, who said that they hadn't had a proper get-together in over a decade since graduation, and that they were organizing a class reunion next Friday night, and that Hua Shier should definitely attend.

Hua Shier casually agreed, slept in the office until the end of the workday, and then rode off on his bike.

He went to that billiard hall again and asked someone to hang up the cue sticks as soon as he entered.

The expert who was in charge of the game was also there, but he didn't dare to play. However, there is never a shortage of opponents in a billiard hall. In just over an hour, Hua Shier kicked out another 500 yuan and left.

This time, Hua Shier took out a fishing rod from his storage space and fished by the river. When nothing happened at nine o'clock, he put away his fishing rod, whistled, and went home.

He went to the billiard hall again the next day. After several days, he didn't catch the murderer, but he became familiar with the billiard hall owner.

The day was the 17th. Once tonight was over, Hua Twelve wouldn't need to go to the riverbank anymore. As soon as he arrived at the billiard hall, the owner smiled and offered him a cigarette.
"Nobody around here dares to challenge you anymore. Xiao Cui, you're so good at billiards, haven't you ever thought about participating in a competition? There's a billiards hall in Tiedong that's holding a competition recently, with a prize of 1,000 yuan for the champion. If you go, you'll definitely win!"

The competition the boss mentioned, Hua Shi Er knows, has nothing to do with the official organizers. It's all organized by the billiard hall itself, inviting top billiards players from various districts to participate, all in an effort to attract more people.

It's easy for billiard halls to do this, especially since it's only 1993 and there isn't even a billiards association yet. Everything is not very standardized. All you need to do is report to the local police station.

Hua Shier countered, "Your billiard hall is quite large, why haven't you thought about hosting a competition?"

The boss lit a cigarette for him: "I've done it twice before, but it was just for show, not very profitable. Besides, my business is doing well, so I'm too lazy to bother with it."

Hua Shier smiled, a cigarette dangling from his lips: "That's because you haven't found the right method. I'll give you a tip: we'll split the profits 50/50, how about that?"

The boss became interested upon hearing this: "Tell me about it!"

Have you seen Andy Lau's "A Moment of Romance"?

The boss nodded: "Yes, I've seen it. What's wrong?"

“I can get an exact replica of that ‘Chariot of Fire’ from the movie and put it in your shop. You can then organize a billiards tournament, and the champion prize will be this chariot. Charge 100 yuan per person for registration, and promote it well. There are plenty of people in Donglin who love playing billiards, so it’s guaranteed to be a hit and make you money!”

After Hua Shier finished speaking, the boss's eyes lit up, but then he seemed to remember something:
"Wait a minute, Donglin has plenty of experts too. You played well, but there are definitely people stronger than you. What if someone else takes the championship?"

Hua Shier waved his hand: "Then I'll accept the loss and give the car back to the owner! Otherwise, wouldn't it be a scam? But I'm confident in my skills. If something goes wrong, I'll take responsibility for the loss, and it has nothing to do with you."

The boss was somewhat relieved: "Your idea... does sound promising. But you're not just trying to fool me, are you?"

Hua Shier laughed: "Okay, I'll bring the car over tomorrow, and we'll sign a contract in black and white. You'll be responsible for providing the venue and spending money on advertising and promotion, and I'll be responsible for providing the prize car. We'll split the registration fees 50/50. If you think it's okay, let's do it!"

The boss pondered for a while and finally nodded:
"Okay, let's do it!"

The next day, as soon as he got off work, Hua Shier found a secluded spot to put away his bicycle, took out the "Fiery Chariot" from his storage space, and rode all the way to the billiards hall.

In Northeast China, these motorcycle racing bikes are called "big races," and almost every man likes them. Hua Shier rode along, attracting attention almost unanimously.

The billiard hall owner was already waiting, and as soon as he heard the roar of the engine, he hurried out to greet it. His eyes lit up when he saw the "fiery chariot":
"This car is so cool!"

He carefully touched the car body: "Is this brand new? I specifically asked around yesterday, and a new car like this costs over 40,000! You're really willing to use it as a prize?"

Hua Shier patted the car seat: "This is it. I brought the vehicle registration too. All the paperwork is complete and it's legal. Now it's up to you to make the arrangements."

He showed the boss the vehicle's documents to prove its legitimacy, and then personally drafted a contract, clearly listing the terms they had agreed upon beforehand. Two copies were made, signed, and kept by each party.

Hua Shier gave the boss a few more instructions about advertising, then left the billiards hall and went straight home.

Now that the 17th had passed, he figured that the incident probably wouldn't happen again.

Two days later, he saw an advertisement in the newspaper from the billiard hall owner, which detailed the rules of the competition: there were five rounds in total, namely the first round, the second round, the quarterfinals, the semifinals, and the finals.

The competition has awards for the top three winners, with the first prize winner receiving a photograph—the very same 'Fiery Chariot' from Huashi Twelve.

In addition, the boss personally funded the addition of second and third prizes, with prize money of 1,000 yuan and 500 yuan respectively, as a consolation for the second and third place winners so that they would not go home empty-handed. Of course, the main purpose was to use the first prize to attract people to participate.

I went there after get off work to inquire about the registration process, and the boss excitedly said:

"It's only the first day, and the number of people signing up has almost overwhelmed the store's phone lines. There are just too many people; there are over two hundred today alone. If this continues, the first round will take several days to complete!"

The more people sign up, the more the two of them earn, which naturally pleases the boss.

Hua Shier nodded. Donglin City was the provincial capital, and in 93 it had a population of over six million. At that time, there were few entertainment options. If men didn't play mahjong, then the only options were arcades and billiard rooms. There were plenty of people who liked playing billiards. It was normal that so many people signed up because of the attraction of "Fiery Chariot".

After chatting with his boss for a while, Hua Shier returned home and slammed the newspaper in front of Li Xiaozhen and Cui Mengmeng: "See? The Fiery Chariot is here! I'll go collect the award on the appointed day!"

Li Xiaozhen knew Cui Guoming was good at billiards, but she didn't believe he could win the championship, and just chuckled:
"Okay, then I'll wait for you to push this motorcycle back to me!"

Cui Mengmeng's attitude was completely different. She had heard Erpang brag about her father at school, saying things like he could win in one go, and the girl was overjoyed.

Thank you to 08a and Little Tiger of the Demon Realm for the donations, and thank you to all the brothers who voted with monthly tickets and recommendation tickets. Thank you so much!