20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 840 Friendship
The Jiang family mansion is located in the north of Fengtian City.

Just after dusk, the restaurant was filled with the clinking of cups and plates.

Five or six military officers from the Jiang family arrived; they were all comrades-in-arms from Beifeng or classmates from the military academy.

The group had a close relationship, and out of respect for him, they came to give a gift.

As the head of the family, Jiang Lianheng naturally dared not be negligent. He had already ordered a banquet to be prepared and personally served the several bosses at the table.

There weren't many people in the restaurant; women and children all stayed out of the way.

Hai Xinnian led his men to stand guard outside the courtyard gate; Zhao Guoyan was busy counting the men at various counters, preparing to select a few capable men from the "Zaibang" brothers to temporarily supplement the Jiang family's shortage of "Xiangzi"; Wang Zhengnan had made an appointment for a dinner party to investigate the situation of the seventeen shops, so he did not attend.

As a result, apart from Bei Feng, only Zhang Zhengdong and Li Zhengxi were present to accompany him at the banquet.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

The officers, their faces flushed from drinking, gradually became more talkative.

There was a regimental commander surnamed Liu who, when drunk, liked to rub people. He grabbed Jiang Lianheng's shoulder, forced his eyes open, and slurred, "Boss Jiang, Zheng Bei and I—hiccup—have a life-or-death bond. You're his brother, so you're my brother. Come on, brother, let me toast you!"

Jiang Lianheng dared not accept such an offer and hurriedly said, "I dare not accept such an offer!"

But Commander Liu was a man of strong emotions. After he finished speaking, without waiting for anyone's response, he picked up his wine glass, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp. Then, with his eyes tightly closed, nose twitching, and mouth wide open, he held it in for a long time before finally making a sound: "Hey—ah!"

Seeing this, Zhao Zhengbei and the others couldn't help but shake their heads: "They're pulling this stunt again!"

Commander Liu didn't mind, turned around and continued, "Boss Jiang, please accept my condolences! Life and death are unpredictable. We soldiers are always risking our lives, so we've long since become accustomed to it. No matter who's gone, we still have to live our lives. Let's live for today and not think too much!"

Jiang Lianheng nodded in flattery, "That's right, that's right. Compared to you soldiers, this little bit of fighting in the city is really nothing."

Commander Liu sighed and said, "Let's not go back too far. Just a couple of days ago, at the Julu River position, one of my company's brothers was killed by the Japanese devils' artillery. One of them was right in front of me. A shell came flying, and shrapnel flew past him—" He gestured to his neck, "and the brother fell to the ground. In less than a few seconds, he was gone!"

Someone chimed in, "That's considered a good death. If you can't be saved, and you die a miserable death, suffering through a living hell, that's truly tragic!"

Everyone quickly echoed his sentiments, and for a moment they were filled with emotion.

Lin Zhidong looked around and suddenly interrupted, "Hey, Lao Liu, the Jiang family is having a funeral, so stop talking about death. Let's change the subject and talk about something else, so as not to upset the Jiang family!"

Jiang Lianheng hurriedly said, "Hey, it's alright, it's alright. Just like Commander Liu said, no matter who's gone, everyone has to live well. It's been quite a few days since then, so we have to look forward, right? Now that the war has subsided, the commanders can finally take a proper vacation and enjoy a peaceful New Year!"

"Peace?" Commander Liu scoffed. "What peace? Guo's remnants have all been taken to Beidaying for reorganization. Only now have we managed to free up some time. Peace is out of the question. I reckon we'll have to keep fighting after the reorganization is over!"

"Do we still need to go through customs?"

"Of course! What kind of temper does the old marshal have? Would he suffer in silence? He'll definitely pay for this, and the first one will be Feng Jishan!"

Jiang Lianheng nodded, then flattered, "You executives have really worked hard!"

Lin Zhidong muttered under his breath, "Although the war has ended, the matter of Guo Guizi's defection is not over yet!"

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"Boss Jiang, think about it! Did Guo Degang's rebellion happen on a whim? He must have contacted all sides beforehand. If no one was fanning the flames behind him, he probably wouldn't have dared to rebel. Now that Guo Degang is dead, how can the old marshal sleep soundly if the forces behind him aren't eliminated?"

Lin Zhidong, after all, had switched sides from Guo Jun, so he seemed to know some inside information.

Jiang Lianheng thought for a moment and said, "I read in the newspaper that he joined forces with Feng Jishan to rebel against Fengtian."

Lin Zhidong pointed to the ceiling, puzzled, and said, "Feng Jishan is not the source. The real source is in the north."

"Russians?"

"It's hard to say, really hard to say..."

Lin Zhidong pondered for a long time, then sighed softly, "Anyway, I estimate that the old marshal will probably start a thorough investigation, not only within the Fengtian Army, but also possibly the entire Fengtian region, and even the Beijing-Tianjin area."

As they were talking, he suddenly asked, "Mr. Jiang, how old is your daughter this year?"

Jiang Lianheng was taken aback, then frowned and said, "My daughter is already in middle school. Why is Mr. Lin suddenly asking about this?"

"Oh, it's nothing!" Lin Zhidong said. "I just wanted to remind you to keep a close eye on your children. These students nowadays are simply lawless. They believe anything they hear and are easily swayed. They can't be fooled at all. The old marshal was tricked by the Russians this time, so he will definitely be much stricter in the future. Don't let our niece cause trouble everywhere!"

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter, saying, "Little Fatty, you're worrying about useless things. What kind of status does Boss Jiang's daughter have? She'll be a rich young lady in the future. Why would she believe in those crooked ways? They're the Poor Man's Party, they have nothing to do with the Jiang family!"

"Hey, I just can't talk to you bunch of roughnecks!"

"What, aren't you in the military?"

"My ancestors were among the imperial examination graduates!"

"Give me a break! The Qing Dynasty is finished, where do you think you're headed?"

"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Lin Zhidong said seriously. "Even Manchus have turned against the Qing Dynasty. How can you be sure that those rich young men don't believe in the doctrines from the North? Anything is possible. This is called taking precautions!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lianheng quickly smiled and came to Lin Zhidong's rescue, saying, "What Mr. Lin said is right. My daughter is indeed a handful. She was even arrested and imprisoned this summer!"

The crowd was skeptical and quickly said, "Mr. Jiang is joking. With your family's power, who would dare to kidnap your daughter!"

Jiang Lianheng waved his hand and said, "The bosses are just teasing me. I don't have any power. It's true that my daughter was arrested. In the end, I had to beg and plead with everyone to get her out!"

Zhao Zhengbei found this strange and whispered to Xifeng, "Third Brother, is that true?"

Li Zhengxi nodded and said, "You weren't home at the time."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Hai Xinnian suddenly walked into the restaurant.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and asked with a smile, "Young man, what's wrong?"

Hai Xinnian paused for a moment, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. After thinking for a while, he looked at Jiang Lianheng and asked, "Godfather, do you have enough wine? If not, I'll go get you two more jars."

Jiang Lianheng nodded and said, "Take as much as you can, we'll talk about it later if you can't drink it all."

Hai Xinnian didn't turn around and leave immediately. Instead, he took the opportunity to get close to Xifeng, leaned down, and whispered, "Third Uncle, someone outside is looking for you."

"Who is it?" Li Zhengxi put down his chopsticks, looking quite puzzled.

"It seems to be related to the Fan Gang. I'm not very familiar with them. He said his name was Lai Zi and he wanted to say a few words to my godfather. I didn't let him in, so he asked if you were there."

"Okay, I understand. Go get the bar first!"

Li Zhengxi remained calm and continued to pour wine for the officers around him. After a while, he finally found an excuse to get up and leave the table.

A gust of north wind blew outside, and a chill ran through me, sobering me up considerably.

Li Zhengxi strode through the courtyard to the front gate, peered out, and saw Lai Zi indeed shivering in the alley. "What brings you here?"

"Third brother?"

Lai Zi blew his nose and hurriedly shuffled over, first peeking into the courtyard on tiptoe, and asked, "Third Brother, did the soldiers come to the house today?"

Li Zhengxi nodded and asked him in return, "Is there something you need?"

"It's nothing," Lai Zi said, his gaze still fixed on the Jiang family mansion. "Third Brother, who are all those people inside? Could you introduce them to me?"

"Are you kidding me!" Li Zhengxi waved his hands repeatedly and said, "In that room, I was always the one serving tea and water, I didn't dare to talk casually, why would I introduce you?"

"Let's get to know each other, I'm not going to embarrass you."

"This isn't about being ashamed, what are you here for? Tell me!"

Lai Zi was a little disappointed, but finally came to his senses and said in a low voice, "I heard that the maintenance committee is still running rampant in the city, so I came to see if there is anything I can help you with, boss."

Li Zhengxi frowned: "Tsk, didn't I tell you that when the boss needs you, he will naturally send me to find you? Didn't the boss send you to guard the sand and gravel pit before? It's only been a few days, why are you here again?"

"Third Brother, there's not a soul in sight for two miles around the gravel pit. What am I supposed to do there?"

"What's it to you!"

Li Zhengxi patiently advised, "Go wherever your employer tells you to go. Why are you being so picky? If everyone acted like you, wouldn't everything be in chaos?"

Lai Zi was speechless for a moment, stammering, "I...I was doing this for the Jiang family too!"

Li Zhengxi looked around, then suddenly pulled him aside and whispered, "I know you're doing this for the Jiang family, and I know you're eager to make a name for yourself, but you can't do this. Hanging around in front of the boss every few days, don't you think you're annoying people?"

Am I annoying?

Lai Zi's eyes widened, and he said, "Third Brother, you know that Lao Dou and the others are afraid of me. Now the Jiang family is short-handed. If I don't step up, who will?"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhengxi nearly fainted. He patted Lai Zi on the shoulder and asked, "Lai Zi, can't you really tell?"

"What do you see?"

"Hiss, don't you think that Old Dou and the others' reaction that day at Xiaoxiguan... was a little abnormal?"

Lai Zi thought for a moment and said, "It is indeed a bit abnormal, but no matter what, the maintenance committee was scared away by our brothers. Also, on the day of the great chaos in Guanxiang, our fan gang made great contributions. Why was I assigned to that wretched place, the gravel pit?"

“This is only a temporary arrangement!” Li Zhengxi sighed. “Tell me, we haven’t settled things with Qin Huaimeng yet, the old lady hasn’t had her funeral, and there’s a mountain of debts waiting to be settled. How can you be so clueless?”

Lai Zi suddenly fell silent. After a long while, he asked in a muffled voice, "Third Brother, can I meet with the master?"

"No way!" Li Zhengxi refused decisively. "The master is entertaining guests inside and doesn't have time to see you. What's going on? Just tell me directly, isn't that the same thing?"

This time, the silence lasted even longer.

Lai Zi's shoulders slumped, and he shook his head listlessly, saying, "Nothing's wrong, Third Brother, I'm leaving."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the alley entrance, his footsteps making a "rustling" sound.

Seeing him all alone and dejected, Li Zhengxi suddenly felt a pang of sympathy and called out to him, "Lai Zi—"

The leper turned around, glanced back at him in the darkness, and did not respond.

Li Zhengxi sighed, a thin mist dissipating before his eyes, and softly advised him, "Work hard, don't be impatient. Nobody can become fat overnight. Everyone has to get to where they are step by step. I'm doing this for your own good, really."

In the dim light, Lai Zi's expression was unclear, but he said, "Third Brother, you are the person I admire most in my life. I believe what you say."

"Go home early!"

Li Zhengxi waved to him and said, "It's cold at night. If you really can't make it, you can stay at my place for the night and leave tomorrow morning."

Lai Zi didn't respond, but seemed to nod. Footsteps sounded again, but they weren't heading in the direction of Xifeng Mansion.

"Third uncle——"

In the courtyard, Hai Xinnian came out, gestured with his chin towards a spot not far away, and asked, "Who was that person just now?"

Li Zhengxi said, "He's a good friend of mine, we've known each other for over ten years."

"Really? I haven't seen that often!"

"Yes, he doesn't come often."

Hai Xinnian opened the courtyard gate and said, "Third Uncle, you should go back inside quickly. My godfather just asked you to come and drink with those bosses!"

Li Zhengxi nodded, turned and walked back, but when he reached the courtyard gate, he suddenly stopped and looked back.

Lai Zi can no longer be found in the alley.

Li Zhengxi remained silent and finally stepped back into the mansion.

By this time, the officers in the restaurant were already quite drunk. They were shouting and talking loudly, seemingly having a lively conversation, but they were all talking to themselves and their conversations were completely unrelated.

During the mourning period, Jiang Lianheng should not have been drinking, but since several officers wanted to drink, he couldn't stop them. So he slowly sipped his wine and drank with the officers for three to five hours. Whenever he couldn't refuse, Beifeng would come to stop him from drinking, while Dongfeng would probably have to be looked under the table.

As mentioned earlier, Commander Liu is a man of strong emotions, and he started again at this moment. His face was as red as a riding horse, and he grabbed Jiang Lianheng's arm, moving it up and down, calling him brother. Judging from the implication in his words, he seemed to feel a little guilty.

"Boss Jiang, I had a few drinks today and lost my temper... but you can't take it out on me, because I consider you a brother..."

"Commander Liu, you flatter us. You are all soldiers who protect the peace of our Fengtian people. It is only right to have a drink to reward you, especially since you are Xiao Bei's friends!"

"Good! You said it so well... What did you just say... Never mind, it doesn't matter anyway. I'll just say it again—hiccup—Zhengbei and I have a bond forged in the battlefield. Your business is his business, and his business is your business. No, his business is my business. If there's anything we brothers can do for you, just ask. If we brothers refuse even a little bit, I'm a son of a bitch!"

Fueled by the alcohol, everyone chimed in, "That's right, just say what you need to say!"

"Gentlemen, please don't say that!"

"What's wrong?" Commander Liu leaned back. "Boss Jiang, you don't think I'm drunk, do you? I am a little tipsy, but I'm feeling a bit... I need to go to the bathroom first!"

He had just stood up and taken two steps when he bumped into Xifeng returning. He suddenly stumbled and fell straight at him.

Li Zhengxi quickly caught it, tilting his head and asking, "Brother, what do we do now?"

Jiang Lianheng felt rather helpless, so he waved his hand and said, "Find a few empty rooms and let them sleep here tonight!"

(End of this chapter)