Stir-fry the dish again! The spicier the better!

  After pulling out the big red flag and Changjiang 750 from the factory, the sky was already a bit dark. Liu Ziguang shouted to Zhuo Li to go to the banquet together. As for Xuanzi, he had already entered a state of madness and estimated that at least three months would not leave the repair shop.

  Arriving at the entrance of the alley, Deng Yunfeng had already arrived and was sitting at the table without ordering yet. Seeing Zhuo Li also came, he quickly stood up and shook hands with the two, then sat down separately after which they first opened a package of red Nanjing salted fish before starting to order dishes.

  Deng Yunfeng held the oily menu, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Stir-fry some cucumber, make some peanuts, potato shreds, pulled pork shreds, stir-fried dry noodles, and cook a soup. How about winter melon and dried scallop soup?"

  Deng Yunfeng's dishes were all the cheapest, and together they wouldn't exceed fifty yuan. He was a middle-aged man who had been laid off recently and was tight on cash, so it was understandable that he was being frugal. But Zhuo Li was different, as a Mongolian man, he was born to be generous, even if he didn't have much money, he would still drink wine in large bowls and eat meat in big chunks.

  He snatched the menu and said, "Old Deng, what dishes did you order? None of them are hard dishes. I'll do it myself. Stir-fry waist flower, stir-fry pig liver, stir-fry large intestine. Make sure to wash the large intestine clean."

  Looking at his posture and wanting to add more, Deng Yunfeng worried that he didn't have enough money, so he hastily stopped him: "That's enough, no need to add more."

  Zhuo Li put down the menu with a huff and went out, but soon came back carrying a crate of beer, saying: "It's not often that we get to see old classmates, and it's been ages since I've hung out with Old Deng, so let's have a good drink."

  Everyone said it was good, and soon the cold dishes came up. The beer bottles were all opened with their caps off, and the three of them started drinking. They first chatted about the situation at the factory. Liu Ziguang often heard his parents mention these things at home - nothing but trivial matters like leaders embezzling funds, workers being laid off, and medical expenses that couldn't be reimbursed. Thinking about how his uncles and elder brothers, who had watched him grow up, had fallen to such a state, Liu Ziguang didn't feel good in his heart either.

  After some small talk and three cups of wine, Deng Yunfeng got to the point. He said: "Xiao Guang, your father is my master, so I should call you younger brother. Now big brother is in trouble, you have to lend a hand."

  Liu Ziguang said: "Deng Ge, if there's something on your mind, just say it, don't be polite to me."

  Deng Yunfeng sighed and said, "My kid, since you came back, haven't seen him, 14 years old, never comes home, always outside surfing the internet, fooling around, stealing money from home. Yesterday, your sister-in-law was angry about this too, quarreled with me for a while and then went back to her mother's house. I know they both think I'm useless, can't take care of the family well. It's not easy for me either, working in the factory for 18 years, which workshop haven't I worked in? Skilled in all aspects of car repair, electrical work... but can't fight against bad luck. The factory went bankrupt, and I'm finished too. Every day laid off at home, can't even afford to take brothers out for a drink. I'm also a real man, 7 feet tall..."

  Deng Yunfeng's voice choked with emotion, and his eyes reddened slightly. A man has tears but doesn't easily shed them, only because he hasn't reached the point of heartbreak yet. Zhuo Li sat there silently, nursing his drink, seemingly also deeply moved.

  Liu Ziguang patted Deng Yunfeng's shoulder and said, "Old Deng, I already know all this. Now tell me about your plans, let's see how much help I can be."

  Deng Yunfeng said: "I heard that you've been doing quite well since you came back, being a leader in the property company, having a stall at the night market, and business is not bad. I want to ask you to find me a job, doesn't matter if it's as a security guard or maintenance worker, also I want to set up a stall at the night market to sell hand-pulled noodles and stuff, day and night won't be wasted, what do you think?"

  After finishing, Deng Yunfeng looked at Liu Ziguo with eager eyes, fearing that he would not agree and added another sentence: "I'm only 36 this year, in my prime, I can do any job, if maintenance worker doesn't work out, cleaning worker is also okay."

  Looking at Old Deng's expectant face, Liu Ziguang's heart felt a pang of sorrow. Deng Yunfeng was only 36 years old this year, but he looked like a middle-aged man over 45. This was all due to the heavy burden of life weighing him down. A man, a husband, a father, for the sake of his family and dignity, he would rather work day and night without rest, exhausting himself to earn money to support his family. What a tragic grandeur!

  Liu Ziguang thought for a moment and replied, "Let's put the night market aside for now. There are several options for daytime work. Old Deng, take a look at which one suits you better. Firstly, there's the property company you mentioned. It's easy to arrange for someone to go there. You can choose either the security department or the engineering department, but the salary is not high, only 1,200 yuan. Secondly, there's my friend's car repair factory. They pay by the hour, I don't know how much you can earn. Thirdly, there's the sand quarry I'm running in Nantai County. Those sand dredgers, dryers, and other mechanical equipment need people to maintain them. If you're willing, you can go be a technical guide, with food and accommodation provided, 3,000 yuan per month, plus overtime pay, and reimbursement for transportation costs. Take a look at which one is more suitable for you."

  Deng Yunfeng almost didn't think and said: "I'll go dig sand!"

  Money is really too important for this laid-off worker.

  "Alright then, I'll arrange for someone to pick you up tomorrow. It's settled." Liu Ziguang raised his wine cup.

  Two wine cups clinked together, and the orange-yellow beer splashed out. Upon hearing Deng Yunfeng's question being resolved, Zhuo Li's face also showed a smile. At this time, the dishes on the table had almost been eaten up. Zhuo Li turned his head and shouted loudly: "Boss, stir-fry another plate of waist flowers, don't wash them, the more saucy the better!"

  Deng Yunfeng, who had found a job, was in high spirits and joked: "Zhuo Li, why do you eat so many waist flowers? At night, where will you go to relieve your fire with one pillar supporting the sky? Young people don't have an object."

  This remark really hit Zhuo's sore spot. At the age of thirty, he didn't even have a girlfriend, let alone a wife. He pretended to be nonchalant and said: "What's the use of finding a wife? Nowadays, if you don't have a house, they won't marry you. A decent house costs five or six hundred thousand yuan. With that kind of money, it's better to go to Huaqingchi every day and pick up a new one each time. No repeats, and it's more cost-effective than buying a house and marrying a wife."

  Deng Yunfeng laughed and said: "Marrying a wife is not as good as finding a mistress, this theory of yours is really strange."

  Zhuo Li Zheng Se said: "Old Deng Ge, I'm really not joking. Anyway, your sister has already returned to her mother's house. Next time at Hua Qing Chi, I'll make arrangements."

  Deng Yunfeng hastily waved his hand: "I don't dare."

  Just then, Bei Xiaoshuai lifted the curtain and came in. Seeing that they were all familiar faces, he hastily greeted them with a smile: "Guang Ge, Deng Shu, Shi Xiong."

  Bei Xiaoshuai's father was a colleague of Liu Ziguo's father and also a fellow worker who learned to drive with Deng Yunfeng. They were all neighbors in the same compound, so Bei Xiaoshuai called him according to his identity. Anyway, heroes have no age, and Jianghu has no generation, everyone calls each other familiarly. As for Zhuo Li, although he didn't live on Gaotu Slope, he was both Bei Xiaoshuai's senior and a fellow practitioner of Bajiquan, so they all knew each other.

  Look at Bei Xiao Shuai's excited face, Liu Ziguang knew that his heavily loaded permanent vehicle was back.

  "Is it done?" Liu Ziguang asked.

  "Well, it's not just back, but also a lot more! Everyone come out and take a look!" said Bei Xiaoshuai.

  Everyone walked out of the Erhuang shop and looked, their jaws dropped in surprise. On the side of the road were parked a Santana, two motorcycles, four electric bicycles plus six batteries, and only one bicycle, which was Liu Ziguang's heavy-duty Forever.

  "This is all the work we've done in this area for the past two days. With just one order from me, everything was completed. How's that? I'm pretty good at giving orders, aren't I?" Bei Xiaoshuai said with a pleased smile.

  Liu Ziguang nodded in approval: "Mm, not bad. Send them to the police station later. By the way, where's the person who borrowed my car?"

  "Bring them over!" Bei Xiaoshuai waved his hand, and two young men in their late teens were pushed forward, their faces filled with fear, their legs trembling. As soon as they saw Bei Xiaoshuai, they knelt down on the spot, speaking in a tearful tone: "Bei Shuai, I dare not, I will never dare again."

  Bei Xiaoshuai kicked them to the ground and explained to Liu Ziguang: "These two cowards are students of Mechanical Vocational High School. This morning, they went to the entrance of Zi Di Middle School to extort money from people, but ended up stealing your bike. Now that bicycles are not easy to sell, these two kids actually pushed it to Old Man Guo's place to sell it. As a result, someone saw them and told me about it. I personally led people to the internet cafe to catch these two kids."

  Liu Ziguang said: "Alright, I know what to do now, just go ahead and do it."

  At noon, what had been said was already settled in Bei Xiaoshuai's mind. He pulled out a whip from his sleeve and swung it down, breaking one guy's arm with the first strike. The other guy was scared stiff and was pressed to the ground by Bei Xiaoshuai, who struck again, also causing a fracture.

  Liu Ziguang didn't even bat an eyelid and said, "Take him to the hospital."

  Bei Xiaoshuai pulled out a stack of money from his bag and threw it at the two people, saying sternly: "Get lost! Don't let me see you again, or I'll beat you up every time." Then he turned around with a smile and said: "Guang Ge, Deng Shu, Shi Xiong, you guys eat slowly, I'm leaving."

  Bei Xiaoshuai led the way, and on this side, Deng Yunfeng and Zhuo Li were both stunned. Returning to the wine table, Deng Yunfeng said: "Isn't that Old Bei's son? They say that socializing is just socializing, but it turns out to be true." Immediately after, he came to his senses, looking suspiciously at Liu Ziguang, as if understanding something.

  "Zhuo Li cursed: 'We practiced Ba Ji Quan together with several fellow disciples, Bei Xiao Shuai was the youngest, Old Six, and also learned fancy boxing and embroidery legs, just learning superficially, but unexpectedly he mixed the best, what kind of world is this?'"

  Liu Ziguang said: "Zhuo Li, you need to change your way of thinking. Always staying in the factory and relying on luck is not a solution. With your skills, you should be able to make a name for yourself."

  Zhuo Li nodded thoughtfully and said, "Mm, let me think about it." Then he suddenly raised his head and shouted loudly at the waiter, "Stir-fry another plate of waist flower! The spicier the better!"

  Suddenly, red and blue police lights flashed on the road in front of the door, and a familiar Santana police car drove over.