Siheyuan: Why does your brother beat you up every day, Shazhu?

"Remember, when there are a lot of people, you must drive slowly!"

“The slower the better!”

"If anyone comes around to watch, stop the car! Do you understand?"

He Weiguo suppressed his laughter and nodded:

"understand!"

He understood the old battalion commander's energy too well. The fisherman's desire to show off truly transcends time and space and remains unchanged throughout the ages!

No matter which era it is, the operation is the same!

He stepped on the accelerator and the car rushed out.

Zhou Zhenbang’s order was like an imperial decree—drive to where there are more people!

The factory area is deserted on weekends. If you want to see crowds of people, it has to be Wangfujing!

He Weiguo turned the steering wheel and headed straight for Wangfujing.

Sure enough, as soon as we arrived, the streets were crowded with people.

Soon, passers-by were attracted by the large string of fish dangling behind the jeep, and they pointed and talked about it.

"Look, look! What a big fish!"

"Wow! How much does this weigh?"

"My dear, did you catch this or buy it?"

When Zhou Zhenbang saw the effect, he was so excited that he patted He Weiguo's arm repeatedly:

"Slow down! Drive slower! Slow down even more!"

He was so anxious that he was afraid the car was going too fast and he wouldn't be able to fully enjoy the feeling of being the center of attention.

Although He Weiguo found it a bit funny, he still followed his instructions and slowed the car down to a crawl.

The car slowed down, and the onlookers became bolder and surrounded the car in a flash.

Without Zhou Zhenbang's reminder, He Weiguo tactfully braked and stopped the car steadily in the middle of the road.

The crowd immediately gathered more densely.

A young man in his twenties squeezed to the driver's window and asked with envy:

"Brother! Where did you catch this fish? Wow! It's so big!"

Just as He Weiguo was about to speak, Zhou Zhenbang took the lead, rolled down the window, and answered in a loud voice:

"Outside the city! The moat! It's so far away! It takes more than an hour to drive there!"

His tone was full of pride, as if he had gone through a lot of trouble to get this.

An old man next to him was also amazed:

"That's amazing, young man! It takes a lot of effort to catch such a big fish these days!"

The old man's praise was like stirring up a hornet's nest, and the crowd of onlookers started talking at once:

"That's amazing! They've almost cleared out all the fish hair in Shichahai and the moat! It's really something that can be pulled out this big!"

"That's right! I've been in the air force several times!"

"Hey! Man, how many times have you come up empty-handed? I haven't opened a shop in two months!"

At this time, a man in a neat Zhongshan suit stepped forward and said something shocking:

"Comrade! Can you rent this fish...? Let me play with it for a while?"

The look in his eyes clearly showed that he wanted to show off by using the fish.

He Weiguo almost laughed out loud, and exclaimed in his heart, "Wow!"

A pretentious person meets a pretentious person! What a train of thought!

Zhou Zhenbang was amused when he heard this, but immediately waved his hands as if to shoo away a fly:

"Go, go, go! Get out of here!"

After sending away the fish-renting guy, he seemed to feel that just sitting in the car was not enough, so he simply opened the door and got out. Standing beside the car, he started chatting with the onlookers in high spirits!

What special brewer's lees bait, what imported fishing rods, what unique fishing spots, what miraculous fishing techniques...

I blew him all the things that could be blown and couldn’t be blown!

This caused exclamations and applause from the people around who were unaware of the truth.

Zhou Zhenbang stood in the center of the crowd, his face flushed with pride and full of energy. He was even happier and felt more accomplished than when he had made meritorious service on the battlefield!

After enjoying this glorious moment in Wangfujing, Zhou Zhenbang got on the car reluctantly and waved to the enthusiastic crowd:

"Comrades! We're leaving first!"

"I also hope you can catch big fish next time you go out!"

After that, he said to He Weiguo with satisfaction:

"Let's go, Weiguo! We're back!"

He Weiguo slowly started the car and drove away from Wangfujing, the holy land of pretentiousness.

He asked as he drove:

"Brother, where are we going next?"

Zhou Zhenbang leaned back in his chair and waved his hand:

"Where are we going? I'm going to take you home, of course! Then I'll drive back to my place. No more shopping, just pretending for a bit. There's no point in pretending all the time!"

"Okay!" He Weiguo didn't ask any more questions, turned the steering wheel and drove straight to No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

As they were almost at the gate, Zhou Zhenbang pointed behind the car:

"Weiguo, take two of the three big ones! We'll split the rest of the small fish in half!"

He Weiguo quickly shook his head:

"No, no, no! Bro! One big one is enough for me!"

"One fish weighs over 30 kilograms! It's enough for the three of us siblings to eat for several meals! Even if you give me so many, I can't finish them all!"

Zhou Zhenbang looked at him and said earnestly:

"Hey! You kid! You still don't understand! My brother's family situation is different from yours!"

"Since I've been back, I've already made clear arrangements for the guests I should invite, the gifts I should give, and the relationships I should manage!"

"My family doesn't need that! What about you?"

He paused and continued:

"You just came back, shouldn't you treat me to a meal in the courtyard?"

"It's so lively, it can be considered as a welcome for you!"

"Isn't your brother the chef at the steel mill? Take these two fish back and let him show off his cooking! Invite everyone in the yard who's close to you to have some fun together! How wonderful!"

When He Weiguo heard that he was going to treat the people in the courtyard to a meal, his brows furrowed:

"Old Battalion Commander, you don't know the people in our yard!"

"Those guys... are such beasts in human clothing! Feeding them? It's a complete waste of good food!"

"Especially those old guys, they are so disgusting!"

"Feed them? I'd rather feed them to the dogs!"

Zhou Zhenbang glared at him with dismay:

"When we were fishing this afternoon, I heard you tell me about all the shit going on in your yard! I believe those old guys are no good!"

"But there are no young people in your yard? No children? No other residents?"

"You treated them to a meal, what's wrong?"

"Your sister Yu Shui is still young, right? If you invite those children to your home for dinner, can they not take care of Yu Shui in the yard from now on?"

"More friends, more paths! For a lively and auspicious future!"

"After ten years of fighting, I'm back in one piece. This is a great joyous occasion! We should celebrate!"

Zhou Zhenbang's words, especially his mention that treating the children to a meal could help with the rain, gave He Weiguo an idea.

He pondered for a moment, felt that what the old battalion commander said was indeed reasonable, and nodded:

"Okay! Brother! I'll listen to you!"

Chapter 44 He Weiguo Returns to the Courtyard

The jeep stopped steadily at the gate of No. 95 Courtyard.

Zhou Zhenbang got out of the car and quickly distributed two heavy grass carps and a bunch of small crucian carp to He Weiguo, and he himself carried the remaining big fish and half a bunch of small fish into the car.

"Weiguo, don't forget the family dinner tomorrow night! Let your brother be tough!"

Zhou Zhenbang gave a final instruction, started the car, and left with the engine roaring.

He Weiguo weighed the spoils in his hand - two large grass carps that probably weighed sixty or seventy kilograms in total, and a string of small crucian carps that were still flapping their wings - took a deep breath, and walked into the courtyard.

As soon as they entered the front yard, the third uncle Yan Bugui, who was tending to his pots of precious flowers, and the two half-grown boys Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang beside him, all six eyes were fixed on the two huge things in He Weiguo's hands!

Yan Bugui was so frightened that his glasses slipped to the tip of his nose and he stuttered:

"Wei...Weiguo! You...you...are you catching...catching fish?"

The biggest fish he had ever caught in his life was no more than half a pound!

The two in front of us are simply the legendary river gods!

Not to mention the string of small crucian carp, that string alone was enough to make him covet for half a year!

He Weiguo was about to say that he bought it at the vegetable market, but then he changed his mind and nodded with a mischievous smile:

"Yes, I went fishing with my friend today. We had some good luck."