A girl who had gone out earlier pushed the door open and came in, carrying a tray with the meal prepared for me.
I didn't stand on ceremony, sitting on the sofa and wolfing down the large tray of food.
Jing Lei poured me a glass of water and brought it over, gently patting my back. "Eat slowly, no one is snatching it from you."
I smiled sheepishly, wiped my mouth with a napkin, and said indistinctly, "It's so delicious, food from home always tastes the best."
"If it's delicious, eat more. But you say food outside is bad, how come I see you've gained weight?"
"You don't know, we disguised ourselves and went to Brother Hui's place. He made us train and fed us a lot of chicken, duck, and fish every day, which expanded our stomachs. We had to eat several pounds of beef and over ten eggs in one meal, plus high-intensity training. My arms and legs got thicker."
Lan Ya became interested and ran over to pinch my arm. "It's true, what is Brother Hui trying to do, training his enemies to be so strong."
"He didn't recognize me. I said we were from Northern Myanmar, and he wanted us to work for him, so he force-fed us. You don't know, those days of training almost broke us. It was simply a perverse training method, I guess it was similar to West Point in America."
"That harsh? But it seems effective. It's just that Brother Hui didn't expect you were here to take his life. Wouldn't he die of anger when he found out later?"
"Yes, when he found out, he didn't expose us on the spot. Instead, he locked us in a room, calling it our final exam – defeat three death row inmates and you'll graduate. When we went in, they weren't death row inmates at all, but three killers, far stronger than us. By the time we realized, there was no turning back, so we had to be brutally beaten by three big black killers, almost being reduced to meat paste."
Lan Ya asked nervously, "Didn't you come back safe and sound?"
"At first, we were beaten like sandbags, completely defenseless, with no room to resist. We couldn't even resist, and our punches had no effect on them. Their mistake was underestimating us. They only attacked relentlessly without any defense, because in their eyes, we were mere ants, not worth their caution. Later, the three of us changed tactics, suddenly attacking one person with all our might. While they attacked his left and right sides, I used a dagger to stab that person in the abdomen. No matter how strong he was, he was still made of flesh. With one stab, he sat on the ground clutching his stomach. After dealing with him, we did the same to the second, and then killed the third, thus saving our lives. Many more things happened later, I'll tell you when I have time. I'll finish eating the rest now, it would be a waste."
Jing Lei clutched her chest, looking terrified. "But I'm here safe and sound, look how scared you are."
"Hua Zi, can you not risk your life like this anymore?"
"I don't want to either. Remember, before I went to find him, he sent assassins to find me several times. Wasn't it a narrow escape every time? Instead of waiting to die, it's better to take the initiative. Look, I won the gamble."
"Now it's good. You sent him to prison, and it'll be hard for him to get out in this lifetime."
"Honestly, Brother Hui was indeed a worthy opponent. With him around, I felt like I had a goal every day: to get rid of him. Suddenly sending him away, I feel a bit unaccustomed, like I have nothing to do."
At this moment, Lan Ya walked over and grabbed my ear. "Kid, if you have nothing to do, hurry up and go to the garden. I have the Great World at night, and the construction site during the day. I also have to go and flatter those departments that manage us in my spare time. Are you trying to work me to death!"
"Alright, alright, I'm going, I'm going. Hurry up and let go, it hurts, it hurts!"
Lan Ya let go and looked at Jing Lei, who was still recovering from the shock. "My good sister, men are meant to conquer the world. Wasn't Hua Zi in danger that time he went out? Wasn't his head on the line? The matter is over. Now that we finally have some free time, let's focus on developing our garden in the suburbs. That's where our roots are."
Jing Lei hummed, gathered my bowls and chopsticks, and stood up to ask the girl outside to take them away.
I stood up and said to them, "I'll go back first, and I'll check out the Great World tonight."
"Won't you spend more time with Uncle and Aunt?" Jing Lei asked me.
"I'll just see them. Lan Ya is right, we really have a lot to do. I'll go understand the situation of our industries tonight. It's time to do some real work. All this fighting and killing has filled my head."
Jing Lei turned and took out a stack of money from the drawer, handing it to me to buy something for my parents and Nana.
Taking the money and stuffing it into my pocket, I hugged them both and turned to walk out of the room.
Before dinner, I called Wen Siqiang and asked him to pick me up. I'm waiting downstairs now.
Getting into the car, I asked him if Abeh's condition had improved.
Wen Siqiang shook his head, saying he was still in a coma, in the intensive care unit, with tubes all over his body and an oxygen mask, looking quite frightening.
His respiratory system had suffered severe damage, so these measures were necessary. What I cared about was whether he had woken up.
"We can only look through the glass. They don't allow entry into the ICU. Even if he regains consciousness, we can't see clearly."
"I hope he recovers soon, so I can feel better. That bastard Brother Hui, to lure us over, he hung Abeh upside down on a gantry and set a fire underneath, making him inhale smoke for over half an hour, torturing him into this state! Abeh was originally our captive, and he promised to stay with us through thick and thin, helping us a lot in the enemy camp. That day, knowing Brother Hui's men were targeting you, he volunteered to go to town to find our elders to inform you. When he returned, he was recognized and beaten severely. He didn't utter a word of surrender. If he had spoken then, none of us, including the two Taoist brothers, would have escaped and we would have been captured on the spot. But he insisted he was going to town to buy medicine and didn't say a word about us."
The car stopped at the entrance of a shopping mall. Wen Siqiang asked if I wanted to buy anything to take back. I thought for a moment, not knowing what to buy, so I went down to the first floor and bought some fruit, two packs of good cigarettes, and two bottles of Maotai, putting them in the trunk with Wen Siqiang, and then we drove back.
"Qiang Zi, you've never talked about your family. Why don't you take some time off to visit your elders? I'll give you leave."
"I don't have a family."
Wen Siqiang's words startled me. No family, where did you come from?
"I don't have a family, nor is there anyone I need to look after. Work is my everything."
He said it very calmly, as if talking about someone else's affairs.
I sensed that behind this calmness, there must be an untold story.