Chapter 128 A Bowl of Greasy Chicken Soup

Lawyer An was still asleep. After being woken up by a splash of water last night, he spent the whole night delivering packages. He didn't get back to the hotel to sleep until dawn. Zhou Ze didn't bother to disturb him.

What Zhou Ze didn't know was that when Lawyer An returned to the hotel, he had brought several bottles of baijiu (white liquor). The little boy sat on the bed, watching him pour and drink by himself while putting a cast on the flower fox sable's foot.

Lawyer An felt bitter but couldn't say it out loud.

Out of the group of four, he was the first to come, busy with everything, only to be possessed inexplicably and then beaten up.

Others,

including his own pillow companion, got a Garfield cat, while he didn't even get a consolation prize.

The strong liquor burned his throat, but it was still bitter.

It wasn't until after nine o'clock in the morning that Lawyer An fell headfirst onto the bed, leaning against the little boy and falling asleep.

…………

Zhou Ze and Yingying took the bullet train and arrived in Rongcheng in less than half an hour. After getting off, they took a taxi to the Panda Breeding Base.

Now that the business was done, they naturally had to have some fun.

It wasn't easy to get out for a trip. Last time in Sichuan, the memories were too crowded,

so there was no time to play around.

This time, he definitely had to reward himself.

It was during the Spring Festival holiday, and there were many tourists. After buying tickets, he took Yingying's hand and entered the park.

Originally, the normal way to browse was to take the sightseeing bus in the scenic area directly to the top of the park's mountain, and then walk down while watching the pandas, so you wouldn't feel too tired.

However, the line for the sightseeing bus was really terrifying, so Zhou Ze simply walked up the mountain with Yingying. Both of them were in great shape, and physical strength was definitely not a problem.

Yingying bought a circle woven from bamboo leaves from a peddling old woman on the road and put it on her head, looking very happy.

Zhou Ze restrained the urge to say that wearing this was very old-fashioned,

nodded and smiled,

and motioned Yingying to stand back and took a few photos of her.

Perhaps, there is no such thing as a solid chauvinist or confirmed bachelor; it's just that the love isn't deep enough.

Some of the pandas were outdoors, and some were indoors. Seeing them in reality did give a different feeling than watching them on TV.

Well, the pandas in reality looked a little dirtier, a bit like a woman before and after removing her makeup, but they looked more real and more adorable at the same time.

After spending two hours visiting the pandas, they went out and took a taxi to Jinli Ancient Street.

Actually, there wasn't much to do in Jinli, including the Wuhou Temple next to it. The commercial atmosphere was very strong, not as interesting as Ciqikou in the neighboring mountain city. At least Ciqikou was still on a mountain.

After wandering around, it was just noon. They casually had lunch at a nearby restaurant and then went to People's Park, near Du Fu Thatched Cottage, and found an outdoor teahouse to sit down.

Two cups of tea, a thermos, with some melon seeds and pistachios.

Boss Zhou finally found his familiar feeling, leaning against the river and lying on the reclining chair, holding a teacup in his hand,

whew,

comfortable,

this is the most harmonious posture God created for mankind!

Yingying sat next to Zhou Ze, peeling melon seeds and pistachios for Zhou Ze. The kernels were held in her palm. After accumulating some, she put them on the plate in front of Zhou Ze.

"Yingying, just crack the melon seeds with your mouth, it's faster that way."

"Okay, Boss."

Well, the speed was indeed much faster. The original salty melon seeds now tasted as if saccharin had been added during stir-frying.

"No wonder Zhao Lei's song became popular. This Rongcheng, other than walking on the street with you, there's really nothing fun to do."

"Boss, eat melon seeds."

They sat there for an entire afternoon. The pace of life in Rongcheng was indeed slow. People here were generally open-minded and optimistic. Most people retired as soon as they reached a certain age.

After finally surviving to a certain age, life revolved around the tea table and the mahjong table.

And Tongcheng, close to Shanghai, the pace of life and the pursuit of money and personal insecurity were indeed more driven than here.

"Boss, why don't we open a bookstore in Rongcheng?"

Zhou Ze shook his head and said,

"It's no fun opening a bookstore here."

"Why not, Boss?"

"Think about it, our bookstore is on South Street. When I lie there in the sun every day, what I see are the busy men and women rushing to work in the early morning. They're walking fast and hurrying.

Me?

Holding a cup of coffee and a newspaper,

leisurely watching them,

it's like savoring the past bitterness and thinking about the present sweetness.

There's a contrast, so there's a sense of enjoyment, understand?

If I lie there, and a whole bunch of people lie there with me drinking tea and reading newspapers, what's the point?"

"I understand, Boss."

"Mm."

Zhou Ze put down his tea and reached out to grab the kernels on the plate out of habit, but he grabbed nothing. He looked up and looked at his side.

"Boss, it's really not as cold here as in our Tongcheng."

Yingying said while cracking melon seeds,

and

chewed and swallowed the kernels.

Glug...

Zhou Ze couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.

…………

"Hoo..."

Lawyer An sat up from the bed,

with a stubbly beard,

and scattered eyes.

In front of him,

the little boy sat on the edge of the bed, holding a book titled *Dujiangyan Geology* and reading.

"I said, you little brat, reading such profound..."

"Slap!"

Lawyer An slapped himself on the forehead.

He was dizzy.

The one in front of him was a little brat,

so what was he?

A sissy?

"It's already dark."

Lawyer An looked out the window, smacked his lips, and fumbled on the bedside table.

The little boy threw a pack of cigarettes and a lighter over.

"Thanks."

Lawyer An took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it, took a puff, and habitually tapped the ashes on the "No Smoking in Bed" sign on the bedside table.

"Where are the boss and the others? We should call them for dinner."

"The boss and Yingying went to Rongcheng to play."

The little boy replied.

"Heh."

Lawyer An coughed for a while,

reached out and rubbed his face,

got up,

and went to the bathroom.

Soon,

the sound of running water came from inside.

After a while,

Lawyer An walked out wearing a white hotel bathrobe.

"Are you going to find a prostitute?"

The little boy asked very calmly.

"This is called going for yin-yang harmonization."

"You're not happy, so you find this way to vent. Is that interesting?"

The little boy didn't look at Lawyer An. Even when he was talking, his eyes were fixed on the book in front of him.

"I say, what's wrong with you today?"

"What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you."

"Heh, I'm just bored, talking to you here like we're doing a crosstalk show."

Lawyer An opened his suitcase, preparing to change his clothes.

How could he go out wearing the previous set of clothes that were full of sweat and stains?

"You can't keep going like this. The more you do this, the worse it will be. You'll stifle yourself to death."

The little boy spoke again.

"Then tell me, what should I do?"

"That depends on your own choice."

"Yeah, you're saying such beautiful words, like a prophet in Ultraman."

"Why be in such a hurry?"

The little boy finally moved his gaze from the book and looked at Lawyer An.

"Because everyone is improving, everyone is getting opportunities, everyone is achieving extraordinary things, everyone is moving forward, so compared to that, you feel like you're not only standing still, but also steadily regressing?"

"Steadily regressing?"

That description is really heartbreaking!

"Actually, you're a smart person, but sometimes, being too smart isn't a good thing either." The little boy frowned and continued, "Everyone has their own fate. Maybe you should learn to change yourself."

"I think I've changed a lot."

"That's just what you think."

The little boy walked to the window, opened it,

and looked at the looming mountains under the distant night.

"Look, the mountains in front are always there, no matter how many people in this county town have joys and sorrows, no matter how many families are happy or broken, they are standing there."

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

"The meaning is very simple. Since the mountains are there, and they won't change no matter what, what do we need to rush for?"

"Are you being dried out? Saying such negative things."

"Maybe, perhaps, probably. Last night at the altar, no matter what, I wasn't anxious or even nervous. I was at ease focusing on this..."

The little boy stretched out his foot and gently kicked the Garfield cat lying on the ground with its foot in a cast and raised high.

"Meow..."

"At that time, I just felt that I should focus on doing the things in front of me well. That is, fighting it. I even burned part of my origin to catch it again."

"Hey, I just don't understand how you suddenly became... became like this. You're also a several-hundred-year-old zombie..."

"When I sensed the aura of 'Zu', I understood one thing.

Since that mountain is there, no matter what I do, that mountain is still there."

"This..."

"You always say you have two big legs to hug, but are you really hugging them?"

"Nonsense, I'm not only hugging them, I'm licking them too!"

Resounding!

Serious face!

"No, you're not. Do you know what you've been doing all along?"

"What?"

"You keep saying how lucky you are to have two big legs to hug;

but

you're trying to command these two big legs to go in which direction."

Lawyer An was silent.

"That's not how you be a pendant. If you're a pendant, you're only responsible for jingling, only responsible for being interesting, only responsible for being fun, only responsible for being a little interesting to carry around.

But if you insist on being the thorns on the road trying to entangle the trousers,

then your ending

will only be forcibly torn apart."

"This bowl of chicken soup is really too greasy."

"Yeah, once you see through it, it's just like that. You think you see far, you think you see deep, but who in this world is a fool?"

"Heh heh."

"Take yesterday's matter, for example,

Zu was silent all the time. What do you think he was doing in silence?

The boss seemed to be crazy all the time, but in the end, did he really go crazy?"