I sat by the fish pond all night, replaying everything that had happened during the day.
Why, exactly, had Yang Huzi and Chen Qiang's attitude toward me shifted so drastically all of a sudden?
By normal logic, Chen Qiang was the Big Brother, and I was his little brother, someone who followed him. If I caused trouble, even if I was in the wrong, he should have protected me first.
A society Big Brother runs on "face." We are hooligans, not judges deciding right from wrong.
If a Big Brother doesn't protect his own little brothers, he loses face—especially in front of another Big Brother.
When Liu Zi was alive, he didn't try to reason with me when he tried to handle me!
In the conflict with Song Jiawen, not only was I not in the wrong, I was the one in the right.
Yet Chen Qiang disciplined me first, showing he didn't even care about a Big Brother's most important asset—face.
And that sentence Yang Huzi said afterward made me feel like I had fallen into an ice cave.
If Xu Rang says one word for me today, I'll be handled tomorrow.
If anyone among us understood Chen Qiang best, it was definitely Yang Huzi.
Me, Xu Rang, Dawei, and that guy named Zong Bao—we were the ones who held the knives and did the work for Chen Qiang.
But Yang Huzi was the one who gave Chen Qiang ideas. There were things Chen Qiang wouldn't tell us, but he would absolutely discuss them with Yang Huzi.
Yang Huzi's words proved that the feeling I had in the courtyard—that Chen Qiang wanted to handle me—wasn't an illusion.
The thought of it made me tremble all over.
Liu Zi had been handled by Chen Qiang, left dead in the weeds outside Liu Xiang Town.
I was just a hooligan who had barely stepped into the underworld, no different from those petty punks. If Chen Qiang wanted to handle me, I could only stretch out my neck and wait for the blade.
It didn't matter that I couldn't figure out the reason. What mattered now was my life—how could I make Chen Qiang drop the idea of handling me?
The cold wind of the first day of the New Year was like a knife, cutting into me painfully.
...
On the second day of the New Year, every household goes to sweep the graves of their ancestors. I hadn't slept all night, but I had to force myself to stay awake and ride my motorcycle home.
When my mother saw me return, she didn't say a word to me, treating me as if I didn't exist.
With Chen Qiang ready to handle me at any moment, I couldn't find any words to comfort her in this situation.
I forced a smile. "Mom, you rest. I'll go sweep the graves today."
My mother just glanced at me, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
I took it as a yes, lowered my head, went out, and rode to town to buy some paper money and firecrackers.
Just as I started the motorcycle's ignition, a hand landed on my shoulder.
"Brother, hold on."
The voice was vaguely familiar. I turned my head and realized it was the middle-aged man who had come with Xu Dawei to drink at Chen Qiang's house that day.
I only knew his name was Zong Bao.
Zong Bao looked incredibly honest and simple, but in his slightly narrowed eyes, a sharp glint would occasionally flash, like a hidden knife.
"Oh, Brother Zong Bao. What's up?"
Zong Bao rubbed his hands together and gave a simple, honest laugh. "I don't have anything up, surely. It's Big Brother who's looking for you. You're free right now, right, brother?"
My heart sank. Chen Qiang was looking for me. Could it be that Xu Rang and Dawei really spoke up for me yesterday, forcing him to make a decision?
To handle me?
The thought of this possibility made my whole body go numb, as if I'd been electrocuted.
My mouth felt dry and bitter, but I still answered, "I'm free, definitely free. Whenever Big Brother looks for me, I'm free."
Zong Bao didn't stand on ceremony. He pulled the key right out of my motorcycle ignition, didn't give it back, and shoved it into his own pocket.
"Good, let's go. The car is parked outside the alley, waiting for you."
I followed Zong Bao numbly. The moment he took my key and didn't return it, I knew things were truly wrong.
I had very little contact with Zong Bao. Even though we were brothers of the same sect under one boss, we hadn't exchanged a single sentence before this.
If Chen Qiang wanted to find me, he could have sent Xu Rang, Dawei, or Yang Huzi. The only person he shouldn't have sent was Zong Bao, whom I didn't know at all.
In the box tied to the back of my motorcycle was a three-edged scraper blade. I couldn't help it; doing too many guilty deeds makes you uneasy, and I was always afraid of running into trouble without even a needle on me to defend myself.
Just as I was hesitating about whether to grab the three-edged scraper and fight Chen Qiang to the death if necessary, Zong Bao, who was walking ahead, turned around.
Seeing I was still standing there, he smiled. "Brother, let's go. You're not going to make Big Brother come invite you personally just because I couldn't move you, right?"
As Zong Bao spoke, he casually slipped his hand into his jacket.
He was packing heat.
I closed my eyes, swallowed hard, and spoke with difficulty. "Alright, sure. But can I go back and tell my mom?"
Zong Bao's smile didn't change, but his constantly narrowed eyes opened a bit wider, staring at me fixedly.
He didn't say a word.
After a stalemate of a few seconds, I compromised and stepped forward to follow him.
The familiar Nissan Bluebird was parked at the alley entrance. Chen Qiang was in the passenger seat. I didn't recognize the driver.
Zong Bao opened the rear door and made a "please" gesture.
Yang Huzi was sitting in the back seat. He didn't look at me, staring constantly out the window.
After I got in, he and Zong Bao sandwiched me perfectly, one on the left and one on the right.
I put my hands on my knees. "Big Brother, what did you want to see me about?"
Chen Qiang raised a hand to rub his bald head and said indifferently, "Nothing. Just afraid that yesterday's business left you unhappy, so I wanted to have a chat."
I hurriedly said, "You're my Big Brother, how could I be unhappy with you?"
Chen Qiang was very perfunctory. "Is that so? Got it."
Then, without waiting for me to speak again, he said to the driver, "Let's go. To the construction site."
The Bluebird navigated through a few small alleys, drove past the only two main streets in Liu Xiang Town, and arrived at the far east end of town.
This was where the Liu Xiang Town Bus Station was being built.
I didn't know how much Chen Qiang was paying them a day, but work was in full swing even on the second day of the New Year. A group of workers was laboring enthusiastically.
The general site had been cleared, and they were currently reinforcing the foundation, preparing to lay down gravel and cement to harden the ground.
Chen Qiang got out of the car on his own without greeting any of us.
Zong Bao opened the door. After getting out, he didn't even bother pretending anymore. He grabbed my arm directly and dragged me out of the car.
As if he were afraid I would run.
After Yang Huzi got out from the other side, he sighed softly, came to my side, and grabbed my other arm.
My vision went black, and my head felt light while my feet felt heavy.
Chen Qiang was for real. He was going to handle me.
"Let's go, Number Two."
My lips trembled. "Hu... Brother Huzi... Big Brother is..."
Yang Huzi lowered his head and didn't answer me.
Zong Bao applied force to his grip, dragging me toward the construction site.
Chen Qiang exchanged a few words with a middle-aged man at the site, then pulled a few red bills from his bag and gave them to him.
The man waved his hand and shouted for the others to stop what they were doing.
He said Boss Chen was treating everyone to drinks, and work was done for the day.
The workers immediately shouted that Boss Chen was generous, put down their tools, and left with the man holding the money.
The massive construction site was now empty, leaving only the four of us.
Zong Bao and Yang Huzi propped me up and brought me behind Chen Qiang.
"Number Two, do you know what 'driving a live pile' is?"