A smile crept onto the corner of my mouth, gradually blooming until I couldn't hold it back any longer.
"Good, good, good. Since all you brothers look up to me, Chu Shanhe, look up to me, Chu the Second, I'll drink a cup with everyone today."
"This is the first time I've ever drunk like this. I'm draining it, and I hope everyone drains theirs too. From now on, we're brothers."
I have spent my whole life walking on thin ice, which made my character gloomy, withdrawn, and deeply shrewd. I never showed my joy or anger on my face.
Except for that day, in the courtyard of Chen Qiang's house, where I laughed out loud, radiating boldness from head to toe.
Chen Qiang handed me a bowl of liquor—a bowl, a large soup bowl.
The three southwestern provinces have been remote since ancient times, hidden among great mountains. The mountain roads are rugged and uneven, making trade with the outside world inconvenient.
With many mountains and a damp climate, people love eating chili peppers. Usually, we eat from bowls the size of half a face, filled mostly with rice, topped with a bit of vegetables and chili sauce, shoveling it down in big mouthfuls.
The bowl Chen Qiang used to serve me liquor was exactly the kind used for eating rice.
This bowl held at least half a jin (250g) of sorghum liquor.
Without thinking, I lifted the bowl and brought it to my lips. I didn't taste much when the liquid entered my mouth, but once I swallowed, it felt like I had swallowed a line of fire.
After finishing, I turned the bowl upside down to show them I had drunk every last drop.
"Brother Chu is heroic! Come, come, everyone drain your cups, drain them."
"Right, right, right, we can't let Brother Chu look down on us. Bottoms up, everyone."
...
I am not someone who likes to drink; I hate the feeling of losing my senses after getting drunk.
In nearly fifty years of this life, apart from getting drunk with Xu Muye a few times, the only other time was that day in Chen Qiang's courtyard.
After downing a large bowl of sorghum liquor, my legs stopped listening to me, and I felt like falling straight backward.
Fortunately, Chen Qiang had quick eyes and hands; he supported me and said warmly, "Number Two, go sit over there for a bit. Eat some food later to sober up."
I tried hard to open my eyes wide and nodded with a goofy smile.
"Good, good, good, okay. Big Brother, I'll go sit down first."
With that bowl of liquor down, I wanted to laugh, to laugh wildly.
I was about to have my own fish farm. With a fish farm, I would have money. With money, I could build a big house for my mother. I, Chu the Second, was going to be a somebody from now on!!
The pigs and sheep had been slaughtered. Three large cauldrons were set up in the middle of the courtyard, bubbling as meat boiled inside.
Then, the courtyard gate of Chen Qiang's house was pushed open—or to be more direct, kicked open.
The gangsters in the courtyard were all stunned. Liuzi had been handled by Chen Qiang; who else could be so blind as to kick open the door of the only triad boss in Liuxiang Town?
But after seeing clearly who walked in, everyone obediently lowered their heads again.
Cops (Bukuai).
The four people who entered were all cops from the Yamen.
Leading them were two men: one was Captain Xu, whom I had met before, and the other was an old man with a face full of authority and white hair at his temples.
Captain Xu was extremely respectful to this old man, walking half a step behind him, terrified of getting ahead of him.
"Aiya, Director Wang, Captain Xu, what brings you here? You didn't give me a heads-up so I could prepare."
Chen Qiang trotted forward, bowing and scraping to Director Wang, the old man with white hair at his temples.
Director Wang wasn't tall. If a southwesterner born in the seventies like me says he wasn't tall, that proves he was struggling to reach even 1.6 meters.
But his gaze was incredibly oppressive. Apart from Xu Muye, at that time, I had never seen a second person with eyes like that.
Director Wang merely glanced at Chen Qiang, and Chen Qiang consciously bent his waist even lower.
"Brother Chen, saying things like that makes me afraid to accept your hospitality. Aiya, Liuxiang Town has only you as the Big Brother now. Who knows, maybe we folks working in the Yamen will even have to watch your mood, Brother Chen."
Director Wang spoke indifferently. His gaze shifted from Chen Qiang to the crowd in the courtyard, followed by a cold snort.
"Foul atmosphere. A bunch of social scum."
He didn't speak very loudly, but everyone in the courtyard, myself included, heard him clearly.
None of us arrogant gangsters dared to refute him, or even meet his gaze.
Chen Qiang hurriedly bowed. "Director Wang, my Director Wang, saying that is roasting me on the fire. Please, come in, come in."
Director Wang didn't make things harder for Chen Qiang and followed him toward the inner room.
Chen Qiang didn't bring anyone else, and Director Wang only brought Captain Xu; the remaining two young cops were left outside.
Chen Qiang swept his gaze around and finally landed on me.
"Number Two, keep these two officers company for me. I'll come out to talk in a bit."
I forced myself to stand up and waved my hand. "Okay, okay. Big Brother, you go ahead, I know what to do."
Mustache Yang wasn't here, so I was the only one who counted as his confidant. Naturally, the job of entertaining the remaining two cops fell on my head.
One of them happened to be someone I had met once in Zhou Family Village.
I walked forward with a face full of smiles. "Come, come, you two, please sit. Your leader and my Big Brother probably have business to discuss; they'll be done in a bit."
One of the cops was slightly older; he smiled kindly at me, sat down by the table, and poured himself a cup of tea.
The other one, the handsome young cop I had met once, waved his hand with a face full of disgust.
"Go away. People like you, stay away from me."
My mouth twitched. I hadn't been enjoying my prestige for long, and he was publicly slapping my face!
I steadied myself on a chair, the smile on my face fading, my voice no longer warm. "Oh? What kind of person am I?"
The young cop's face was very handsome and very young, so he couldn't hide anything.
He showed his disgust plainly on his face and said loathingly, "Someone like you who does all kinds of evil, goes against nature and reason, and builds your happiness on the suffering of others."
I chuckled. Having drunk too much too quickly, I was a bit unsteady, so I just held onto the chair and sat down.
He wasn't from the Southwest. His Mandarin was standard, and he spoke in a refined, bookish manner.
Since ancient times, poor mountains and vicious waters breed unruly people. The Southwest was too poor back then; everyone carried a bandit-like air about them, but he didn't.
I pulled out the chair next to me and said softly, "Sit. You sit down. Sit down and let me tell you."
The young cop hesitated for a few seconds but still sat next to me.
Maybe liquor gives a coward courage. After he sat down, I hooked my arm around his shoulder and pulled him toward me.
I whispered in his ear, "That's right, you're right. I'm not a good person. I go against nature and reason, and I hurt others. That's because I have no money."
"Poverty breeds wicked schemes; wealth grows a conscience. Believe it or not, when I have money, I will definitely build bridges and pave roads (xiu qiao pu lu). I will definitely be a good person, a good person that everyone gives a thumbs-up to when mentioned."
"The problem is I don't have money right now. I've eaten this meal, but I don't know where the next one is coming from!"
"I can't even afford to eat, and you want me to be a good person?"
The young cop obviously hadn't expected me to say this, nor that I would hook his shoulder. His face flushed red, and he shouted loudly, "Let go! Let go of me right now! I don't care if you have money or not; that's your business."
"People like you, even if you had money, would be heartless rich folks (wei fu bu ren)."
I saw a flash of displeasure on his colleague's face and tactfully let him go.
The others in the courtyard stared at me, surprised that I dared to get physical with a cop.
In this moment, I once again became the center of everyone's attention.
Half-lying on the chair, I pointed at the young cop and laughed loudly, "Fine, you wait. Wait until I become a Big Brother, until I have money. Watch and see if I build bridges and pave roads."
This was my first encounter with Sir Niu. It wasn't exactly pleasant.
But it was enough to make a deep impression on both him and me.
...
Fifteen years later, in 2010, Sir Niu was transferred from South China back to Guizhou to serve as the Number One in the Yamen system. He asked me to go fishing under the Qianjiang Second Bridge.
He said he never believed the words of those mixing in society or walking the black path (hei dao). But in that twelfth lunar month of 1995, he believed my words about building bridges and paving roads—and for his whole life, he only ever believed me.
Traffic was dense on the Qianjiang Second Bridge. I clumsily pulled the fishing rod with my right hand, never able to reel in the hooked fish.
Sir Niu stepped forward and reeled it in for me.
The Qianjiang Second Bridge had a total investment of fourteen million, solving travel difficulties for nearly six hundred thousand people.
It was fully funded and built by Shanhe Group. Chu Shanhe's Shanhe Group.