Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

While they were talking, Cheng Dong had already placed the soup pot on Ai Min's octagonal table. Then, he took out two plastic bags from the car, containing braised cold dishes, chilled beer, and a stack of gold cans of Jianlibao—it had everything!

"Uncle Hai, please have a seat. Let me pour you some wine, and we'll have a couple of drinks!" Cheng Dong, with his easygoing personality, took the initiative and warmly greeted Qin Yunhai.

"The ewe in the front yard is about to give birth, and Geda can't handle it by himself, so I have to go and keep an eye on her. You young people are having a good time together, so this old man won't get involved. But there's one thing: you're not allowed to get drunk and cause trouble! If you break anything in my house, I'll never forgive you!" With that, Qin Yunhai picked up two large bowls and walked out of the yard.

Just then, Aimin returned from next door. He shrugged and said to Chengdong, "There's nothing we can do. Uncle Shuangling isn't coming either. Looks like it'll just be the three of us for dinner tonight!"

With no elders present, the three of them completely relaxed. They gathered around the table and devoured the food with gusto, thoroughly enjoying themselves!

Cheng Dong gulped down the whole bowl of mutton soup, and beads of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead and nose. He quickly ripped off his shirt, revealing his eight-pack abs, which looked just like Wu Song jumping out of a New Year's painting!

Indeed, Cheng Dong was a wild and unrestrained man. He raised his glass and said loudly, "I'm really happy today! To celebrate our gathering and to celebrate Xiao Chuan'er getting into a top high school, come on! Let's have a toast!"

"Alright! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

After a crisp clink of glass, the three of them simultaneously downed their drinks.

This was Yue Chuan's first time drinking beer, and he found the taste very unpleasant. If it weren't for the atmosphere, he would never have swallowed the "dishwater".

Seeing his younger brother grimacing, Cheng Dong chuckled and teased, "Chuan'er, tell me, isn't ice-cold beer refreshing?"

"I've never had this before, it tastes a bit strong..." Yue Chuan burped halfway through his sentence, which amused Ai Min and Cheng Dong.

"You have to practice drinking to get used to it. Look at me, I used to be just as skinny as you, but after eating a lot of meat and drinking a lot, all my muscles grew, haha!" After saying that, Cheng Dong didn't forget to stand up and show off his muscles. He turned to the side, raised his arm, and his biceps were bulging high. To be honest, his physique instantly outshone the other two pale-faced scholars.

Yue Chuan subconsciously touched his own emaciated belly, his eyes filled with envy. In his eyes, Cheng Dong was as perfect as the Greek sculpture David.

Cheng Dong wasn't one to back down easily; he wanted to keep showing off, but Ai Min stopped him.

"Chuan'er, don't listen to your brother Cheng Dong's nonsense. His abs are from boxing, not from drinking. Let's have a little drink to enjoy ourselves today, don't try to emulate this wild horse!"

A sarcastic remark made Yue Chuan chuckle, while Cheng Dong, unperturbed, scratched his head and said to the two, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if the three of us could be together every day, 'drinking heartily, eating large chunks of meat, and dividing gold and silver by the scales'?"

"Then you might as well join the Liangshan bandits!"

Aimin responded cleverly, and all three of them burst into laughter...

After a few rounds of drinks, Cheng Dong's face turned as red as a monkey's bottom. He picked up a knife, cut the meat off the sheep's head into a flatbread, rolled it up, and stuffed it into his mouth.

After wolfing down his food, Cheng Dong patted his belly contentedly, smacked his lips, and said to the two of them, "Oh, you guys don't know, there are many kinds of soups and stews in Guangdong, but all these years, I've never gotten used to them. Our mutton soup and mutton rolls are still the best!"

Aimin had originally intended to continue teasing Chengdong, but upon hearing this, he immediately changed his mind. He added a spoonful of mutton soup to Chengdong's bowl and then asked, "Dongzi, Guangdong is such a big place, where exactly do you work?"

"I've worked in both Shenzhen and Dongguan," Cheng Dong answered readily.

"Brother Chengdong, what's fun there? Tell us about it!" Yue Chuan immediately became interested as well.

"Guangdong is much more developed than our inland areas. There are skyscrapers everywhere! Those buildings seem to be taller than Shuangling Mountain in the south..." Cheng Dong said, gesturing as he spoke, but a hint of melancholy appeared in his eyes.

Cheng Dong didn't even graduate from elementary school, but his ability to express himself was outstanding. Whether it was the Guomao Building in Shenzhen or the Humen Bridge under construction, after his description, it seemed as if it were right next to him.

From fashionable women in leggings to provocative prostitutes in the red-light district, from biker gangs to the "Sanhe Gods," Cheng Dong vividly recounts his life in a foreign land thousands of miles away, like a storyteller.

Aimin had received higher education, but because he had to take care of his father, he had never traveled far from home. Therefore, he did not have as much information as Cheng Dong. At this moment, he, like Yue Chuan, listened to Cheng Dong talk with great interest.

"As soon as Comrade Xiaoping came to power, the whole country started to develop the economy. I believe that our place will also become prosperous sooner or later!" Cheng Dong said this with a firm tone and a proud gleam in his eyes.

Yue Chuan and Ai Min were already used to Cheng Dong's rambling, so his sudden seriousness caught them off guard.

After a long silence, Aimin started to warm things up, patting Cheng Dong on the shoulder and asking, "Dongzi, you went to Shenzhen in '92, right? What were you doing during Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour?"

"How could I possibly meet him? I only saw his news in a Hong Kong newspaper. It was a long time before the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone started promoting him," Cheng Dong recalled.

Aimin nodded, and then asked some more questions about related topics. The two chatted happily, leaving Yue Chuan standing aside.

While the two were drinking and clinking glasses, Yue Chuan couldn't help but interject, "Brother Dong, it's so nice outside, why did you come back?"

This unexpected question caught Cheng Dong off guard. His expression turned serious, and he stammered, unsure of what to say, as if he had thought of something unpleasant.

Realizing something was amiss, Aimin cut him off, turning to Yue Chuan and explaining, "Dongzi's older brother has leased a farmers' market in the town, and they're short-staffed, so they called your brother Cheng Dong back. That's good, since it's close to home, we can get together more often in the future."

When his older brother was mentioned, Cheng Dong's expression became even worse; he practically had "unhappy" written all over his face.

Seeing this, Aimin quickly changed the subject. He looked up and pointed to the mosquitoes under the light bulb, saying, "The mosquitoes in the yard are practically demons. Come on, let's go up to the roof and cool off. I'll clean up this mess myself later."

After saying that, Aimin led Yuechuan and Chengdong upstairs...