Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 555: Quickly close the case, we are brothers, don't be polite
There are three narrow beds in the lounge, covered with army green sheets and thin quilts. There is a wardrobe on the left side of the door, a washbasin rack and a thermos on the right side, and two small cabinets between the beds with teacups and ashtrays on them. There are three pairs of plastic slippers under the beds. It is a very standard guesthouse layout. Zhang'er said that these rooms were seldom occupied before, unless a major case occurred and a colleague would take a nap there. However, the bedding was changed by her herself, so it was neither dirty nor damp.

Originally, Xu Ning thought that Wan Faqun would arrange them to stay in a guesthouse, but he did not expect that they would live directly in the branch office building, where their safety was quite guaranteed. Unexpectedly, Wang Hu inadvertently mentioned that they came to the provincial capital to sell mallets and leather, so Wan Faqun made such arrangements for their safety.

Zhang'er was a chatterbox. After she, Meng Ziyan and Guan Hua returned to the room, she sat on the edge of the bed and chattered. The topic shifted from Meng Ziyan and Xu Ning to Wang Hu and Guan Hua. She also asked Guan Lei a few questions unintentionally. After learning that Guan Lei was about to get married, Zhang'er did not continue the conversation.

However, the girls always have endless topics to talk about. Xu Ning seemed to hear Zhang Er say that her parents had passed away and she lived in her second uncle's house before graduation. After she joined the Daoli Branch, she lived here, which was extremely convenient for commuting to get off work...

Guan Lei and Li Fuqiang stood by the window smoking, while Xu Ning lay on the bed resting. They were all very hungry at this moment.

At nearly six o'clock, footsteps were heard in the corridor. Zhang Er rushed out of the door and exclaimed in surprise, "Director Wan! Director Liu! Oh my..."

Wan Faqun said helplessly: "Zhang'er, can you be a little more steady? Are they coming over?"

"It's already here! I've made all the arrangements and told the cafeteria to start making the stew."

After hearing the sound, Xu Ning and others walked to the door and bumped into Wan Faqun. Next to him was a middle-aged man in a gray woolen suit, who was about the same age as him. Behind him were Wang Hu, Scarface and Dazhi. There were no other outsiders present.

"Uncle Wan." Xu Ning and others greeted him.

Wan Faqun looked kind and asked with a smile, "Hey, is this your partner?"

"Yes, my girlfriend is Meng Ziyan. She is Guan Lei's younger sister and Hu Zi's girlfriend."

"What a nice name! Your father-in-law is a cultured man. Come, let me introduce you to someone. This is your Uncle Liu! We both used to be soldiers under your Third Uncle!"

Xu Ning quickly extended his hand: "Uncle Liu, I've heard my third uncle mention you before."

Liu Aimin smiled and said, "I'm sure he doesn't have anything nice to say."

Li Fuqiang stretched out his arm and shook his hand tightly, saying, "They were all good things, saying that you are the best drinker!"

Wan Faqun grinned and said, "He is indeed a heavy drinker. The main reason is that he likes to drink a lot. His alcohol tolerance is not good. He gets dizzy after two drinks."

"Get lost! You just keep slandering me in front of the kids." Liu Aimin has a rank of Zheng on his shoulder and is the second-in-command of the branch. However, he and Wan Faqun are comrades-in-arms who have lived and died together, so it is not excessive for them to chat about anything.

So the question is, since Yang Yusheng is the old squad leader of the two, why is his position not as high as theirs? The reason is naturally that he made mistakes...

"Let's go, let's go directly to the cafeteria and talk behind closed doors!"

Afterwards, Wan Faqun and Liu Aimin walked in front, Xu Ning closed the door, Zhang Er took down the padlock and hung it up, took out the key and put it in his pocket.

Liu Aimin took Li Fuqiang aside to chat about family matters. They had met Li Fuqiang's father, because his father was Yang Yusheng's old squad leader. In this sense, Wan and Liu were just new recruits. With this relationship, Li Fuqiang, Liu Aimin and Wan Faqun talked a lot and asked about his father's deeds.

Xu Ning walked in the middle. Wang Hu, Scarface and Dazhi told him what happened in the police station. When they went to sell the hammers, only half an hour later, the group of armed robbers confessed, and recorded their statements and took their fingerprints. The mastermind was the man in the flowered shirt (big head). In addition, the group of robbers also testified that the man in the flowered shirt dragged a girl into the mountains and harmed her.

So the case was solved very naturally and very quickly. The reason why Wan, Liu and others held the meeting was to make this case a typical case and to give it heavy sentences and special attention. They also discussed how to define the behavior of Xu Ning and others. First of all, it must be self-defense, and secondly, they discussed whether to give rewards.

The cafeteria is on the left side of the first floor. There is a casual hall at the entrance with round tables and iron stools neatly arranged. Many people are having a meal there. When they see Wan and Liu, they stand up and want to salute. Liu Aimin waves his hand to indicate that it is not necessary. They watch Liu and Wan lead a group of young people into the small room, and then they start whispering to each other.

"Are they the victims of today's highway robbery?"

"Yes! These six guys are pretty cool. They look so handsome. He used 56 and a half dollars to break the legs of the leader of the robbery gang."

"What do you know? Last time, it was this kid and the older guy who caught Li Quan in Sandahe. Brother Zhao and I went there. Li Quan's shoulder blade was pierced and his hands were deformed. I think they are more powerful than Li Quan."

"Don't brag. If they were so awesome, what would they need us for?"

"I'm not bragging for them, this is the truth. Besides, they have strong connections, otherwise why would they send the case to our branch instead of directly to the city bureau?"

"Ah, that's right..."

There was a lot of discussion in the cafeteria, but the cabin was full of laughter.

Everyone was sitting around a round table. There were two cans filled with white wine on the table. Xu Ning opened one of them and smelled it out of curiosity. He almost choked and made everyone laugh.

"Oh my god, I thought it was boiled water."

"Hahaha, you want to drink boiled water? No, we men must drink something today!" Wan Faqun said with a smile.

Xu Ning nodded and smiled: "Okay, I will sacrifice my life to accompany you."

"Okay, but Lao Wan and I are not gentlemen. At most, we are your uncles!"

Wan Faqun said, "We are all family, so let's not pretend. Zhang'er, go to the kitchen and see how the food is."

"Yeah!" Zhang Er stood up and ran out of the door.

Liu Aimin smiled bitterly and shook his head: "This child is impetuous..."

Wan Faqun took out a cigarette from his pocket and passed it to Liu Aimin. Everyone who could smoke took out a cigarette and lit it up. The room was suddenly filled with smoke.

"Erning, this case has been closed today. Lao Liu and I want to thank you..."

"Hey, Uncle Wan, please don't make this happen. I just happened to do it. I didn't expect to bump into you, but now that I bumped into you, what can I do?"

"Hahaha, that's a nice thing to say! Then let me talk about something practical. The four of you can only be counted as acting in self-defense, not as acting bravely. However, Lao Liu and I have applied for a bonus, and it shouldn't be less than last time."

"Thank you, Uncle Liu, Uncle Wan."

Wan Faqun said with a smile: "Look at this kid, he is so smart, he knows the difference between our positions. Thank you first."

Xu Ning pretended to be shy and said, "Oh my god, Uncle Wan, you are so picky about this. I will toast you two more glasses later."

"Okay! I heard from your uncle that you came to the province to sell clubs? Have you sold them?"

"I sold it. Now the car is empty and the money is under the bed in the house."

Liu Aimin said: "If you leave it in the house, it won't get lost. That's why we let you stay here instead of in the guest house."

"Don't worry, you can stay here. I'm on duty these days. If you need anything, just come to me."

"Okay, my third uncle hasn't reported back yet..."

"Don't worry, I just talked to him on the phone. Your brother said he didn't tell his family because he was afraid your parents would worry about you."

"Let's talk about it when I get home. There's no need to hide this."

Liu Aimin nodded: "I heard that you and Zi Yan are getting married next month?"

"Well, Uncle Liu, Uncle Wan, I cordially invite you to attend Zi Yan and I's wedding, so you can have a drink with my Third Uncle."

Wan Faqun and Liu Aimin looked at each other and laughed, saying, "It's not that uncle doesn't give you face, nor is it that he's afraid that he can't drink more than your uncle. It's just that we're both too busy at work. If we have time, we can spare one of us to go over. If we encounter a case, we can't do without someone, but..."

At this point, they both took out a stack of red envelopes from their pockets, each with a name written on it. Liu Aimin said with a smile, "We've both prepared them. These are for Erning and Ziyan, take them!" Meng Ziyan looked up at Xu Ning, who was slightly stunned, but quickly came to his senses and said with a smile, "These are from Uncle Liu, take them quickly!"

She stood up and took it with both hands: "Thank you, Uncle Liu."

"Thank you, Uncle Liu, but not Uncle Wan? Here, take it."

"Thank you, Uncle Wan."

"Okay, Qiangzi, this is for your child. We haven't visited him in all these years, so don't be picky."

Li Fuqiang stood up and took it, grinning and said, "What are you arguing about? My behavior before made my third uncle angry..."

Afterwards, the two gave it to Wang Hu, Guan Hua, Guan Lei, Scarface and Dazhi.

It's just that Scarface and Dazhi received smaller red envelopes, because firstly, they had no connections and secondly, they had no merit or hard work, so they were given to them purely out of Xu Ning's face. However, the red envelopes of Li Fuqiang, Xu Ning, Wang Hu and Guan Lei contained the same amount of money, all of which were two big unity notes.

The money was paid by the two of them themselves for various reasons, but emotionally and logically, it was right for both of them to give red envelopes, and no one could find fault with it.

"From what I heard from you before, you wanted to open two stalls at home to do business?"

"Well, the contract has been signed, and now all that's left is to pay the money."

Liu Aimin shook his head and said, "It's better for you to come to the province instead of doing business at home. Now is the time for booming development."

"Uncle Liu, I've thought about this, but my parents are getting older, and my brother has gone to work in the city. If I leave home again, my parents will be left alone. But there are indeed many opportunities in the province. I think if I have some spare money, I can find something to do."

"Not really. It's much better to find something to do than stay at home. Think about it yourself. If you want to come to the province to do business, let me know first."

"Hey, okay!"

Afterwards, Zhang Er and several people in white chef uniforms brought in dishes, including tendons, chicken stewed with mushrooms, pork ribs stewed with beans, red sausage and tripe buns, pork head platter, braised pork elbow, and dry-fried silkworm pupae...

There are eight dishes in total, and these dishes were bought by Wan Faqun out of his own pocket, which can be said to be full of sincerity.

After the dishes were served, the glasses were filled with wine. Xu Ning stood up and toasted three times, but he didn't dare to toast three glasses because he was on an empty stomach at the moment. If he drank too fast, he wouldn't be able to finish the wine. Wan Faqun and Liu Aimin didn't care about this either. They just asked them to eat more dishes and drink as little as possible.

"Is there any outstanding young man around Erning? Introduce one to our Zhang'er."

Zhang Er blushed instantly when he heard this and said, "Oh! Uncle Wan, I'm not in a hurry."

"Why are you in such a hurry? You'll be 22 after the Chinese New Year, just the right age to get married."

Xu Ning thought for a moment and said, "Really? No, my sister-in-law's younger brother didn't have a partner before, but he found one after being transferred to work in the city this year. Besides, you can't look for a partner in the mountains. Wouldn't it be better to find someone in the provincial capital?"

Liu Aimin took a sip of wine and said, "That's what I thought too. She doesn't want to find someone in the same industry and wants to find someone who is honest. Alas, it's difficult to deal with."

"It wasn't so complicated to find a partner for my child before, I never thought..."

Zhang Er pouted and said, "Uncle Wan, if you say that again I'll turn my face away, so stop talking about it."

"Oh, okay, okay, just take your time."

The topic ended, Wan Faqun turned around and asked, "Erning, what are you going to do tomorrow?"

"I have to go see my uncle tomorrow and meet up with some friends in the evening."

"You guys should stay in the province for a while, don't rush back home, you can stay here as long as you want."

"OK."

The meal lasted until 8:30. Everyone drank three kilograms of white wine, but no one drank too much. Wan Faqun and Liu Aimin were also very relaxed, and it was not as tight as a meal with colleagues.

Scarface and Dazhi were very restrained. They had never seen such a scene before. They didn't say a word while drinking. When Xu Ning talked about the trouble he had caused outside in the past, they became a little nervous, fearing that Wan and Liu would slam the table and glare at them.

After dinner, Wan Faqun and Liu Aimin took them to the bathhouse. Although there was no scrubbing, it was very comfortable to rinse with warm water and then lie down to sleep.

Although Xu Ning and others live in the countryside, they go to the river five or six days a week in the summer, or wash themselves in a water tank at home. Even if they have a few chapped skin, it is not a big deal...

In the evening, after Wan Faqun and Liu Aimin returned to their respective lounges, Wang Hu, Scarface and Dazhi gathered in Xu Ning's room.

Scarface sat on the bed and patted his chest, "Oh my god, I almost peed myself! Brother, you don't know what's going on in the interrogation room. You were gone for less than ten minutes, and the rectangular-faced guy confessed everything."

Dazhi said: "This time we have really seen the world. We have never been here before, and we even drank at the same table with two leaders. I never dared to think about it."

"What's there to be afraid of? You two aren't guilty of anything, so what are you afraid of? Scarface, your little sister's problem has been solved. Have you told your family?"

"I told you that Director Wan specifically asked me to call home, and my second aunt cried after hearing it. Oh, if I hadn't met you, we would have made a mistake."

"If you have any problems in the future, just speak up. Don't be impulsive. We are living in a harmonious society now. If you use knives or guns, won't you be punished?"

Li Fuqiang laughed and said, "My brother can use a gun, but we have to ask before we do so, don't put ourselves in it!"

"Yeah, Brother Qiang."

Xu Ning said: "If you two have nothing to do in the winter, you can come to my house to work. I will pay you some money every month."

Scarface and Dazhi were stunned for a moment, then looked at each other and Dazhi said, "We don't want money!"

"How can we do it without money? I'll hire anyone I want, and I don't mind your salary. Shitou, wait until winter when they come to the field, and you can take them to work, starting with felling trees!"

Guan Lei grinned and said, "Okay! Brother Zheng, felling trees is not an easy job. I want to train you two..."

Scarface said with a smile: "Okay! I just need some practice now! Brother, how much do you want to pay us?"

"First count the items, then calculate by month after the work is done. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"No problem! We will definitely do a good job."

Dazhi said, "Erning, are we going out with you tomorrow? Otherwise, let's go home first."

"Why go home? It would be much better to just take a bus back. Let's go do something tomorrow morning. You two can find a restaurant for lunch..."

As Xu Ning spoke, he took out a wad of change from his pocket, grabbed a handful at random, and said, "Take this and eat."

"No need, brother, we have money!"

Xu Ning threw the money on Dazhi's lap and said, "You two must keep the red envelopes given by Uncle Wan and Uncle Liu. Don't spend them carelessly. Spend this first. Since you are in the provincial capital, buy something for your family. Don't let your family members always say that you are not well-off. We are brothers, don't be polite."

Dazhi looked down at the money on his lap, put it away with both hands, and said, "Okay..."

(End of this chapter)