Chapter 251: Chapter 243: Harboring Evil Intentions
After dinner, everyone sat together, shooting the breeze. With Huang Xiaoguang, Mr. Kan himself present, the room never ran short of laughter. Tian Sisi laughed so hard that her stomach hurt, groaning in pain, while Tian Xinhua also couldn’t stop laughing. At least he could bear it, occasionally massaging Tian Sisi’s stomach for relief.
Huang Xiaoguang continued with the story of the "outside Liang officials." The educated youths from Inner Mongolia loved telling stories about these officials, just like people from Xinjiang enjoy telling A Fan Ti’s tales. "Liang" refers to the Daqing Mountain in Inner Mongolia, and the "outside Liang officials" are the production team cadres outside of Daqing Mountain, who are not worldly and often make fools of themselves when they come to the city.
"One time, an outside Liang official visited Baotou City during the Lantern Festival and saw many people eating sweet dumplings. He decided to try them out as well. The official saw that the dumplings were steaming hot and dubbed them ’heart-burning eggs.’ Others ate the dumplings slowly and carefully, but after he blew on them a few times and waited for the outer skin to cool, he swallowed one whole. The dumpling scalded him so badly that he tossed and turned in agony, swearing never to eat ’heart-burning eggs’ again. Later on..."
Huang Xiaoguang paused, noticing everyone, including Tian Sisi, staring at him eagerly. Feeling quite pleased with himself, he left them hanging a little longer before continuing: "Some days later, the outside Liang official went back to Baotou City on business and returned to the same restaurant. This time they were selling dumplings. He went over, fuming, and said, ’Your restaurant is quite the scammer! Last time I had your heart-burning eggs, which burnt my heart out. Now you’ve just let those heart-burning eggs grow ears. I’ll have you know, even with ears, I’m not falling for this again!’"
"Ha ha ha!"
"The sweet dumplings are heart-burning eggs, and the dumplings are heart-burning eggs with ears—the official is truly hilarious!"
Everyone laughed uproariously, and even though Hu Weiwen and the others had heard these jokes before, they still cracked up at Huang Xiaoguang’s lively storytelling.
"Isn’t it funny? I have a whole bellyful of jokes, brother. If you want to hear them, just come around more often. And of course, it would be even better if you bring along some meat buns and hand-pulled meat like you did today!"
Huang Xiaoguang shamelessly wheedled Tian Sisi and the others while Liu Yongsheng frowned, appearing to want to say something. But thinking of the license plate number on Tian Xinhua’s car, he decided it was unnecessary.
"Alright, next time we’ll bring more delicacies, and Brother Guang, you’ll have to share even funnier jokes."
Tian Sisi agreed promptly. Partly because she wanted to improve Hu Weiwen’s life by bringing him delicious food, and partly because she wanted Tian Xinhua to socialize more with these people. Since Tian Xinhua was working so hard for their future, she felt she should contribute too.
Hu Weiwen glared at Huang Xiaoguang and told Tian Sisi, "Ah Nan, your Brother Guang is just joking with you, don’t take it seriously. It’s quite far from your Third Uncle’s place; you don’t need to come again."
"It’s no trouble at all, we can drive here easily. Brother Wei Wen, we’ll head back now then." Despite his young age, Tian Xinhua spoke with a convincing authority, and Hu Weiwen didn’t object any further.
After sending Tian Xinhua and the others off, Huang Xiaoguang laughed and slung an arm over Hu Weiwen’s shoulder, "Bro, you’ve kept it really low-key, to think you have such impressive relatives in Beijing!"
"What do you mean, Guang? When did I ever have relatives in Beijing?" Hu Weiwen appeared genuinely confused.
Seeing Hu Weiwen’s convincing expression, Huang Xiaoguang and Liu Yongsheng exchanged glances for a few seconds before Huang Xiaoguang hah-ed it off, "Nothing much, just that your younger brothers and sisters are no ordinary folks!"
"Of course, the brothers and sisters of Hu Weiwen have to be smart and agile."
Huang Xiaoguang chuckled to himself, although he didn’t know why Hu Weiwen was unaware of his own cousins’ family background, kids from families like theirs naturally knew what should be said and what shouldn’t be. So, he didn’t bring it up again.
In some office at the paper mill, a man was whispering on the phone.
"Cousin, let me tell you, there’s a youth corps girl here today who is really beautiful. I, Li Zhuangzi, have lived for almost forty years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen such a stunning young lady. Just looking at her makes your heart itch. Although she’s a bit young, her figure is fully developed, and she’s definitely going to be fun to play with."
The man on the other end of the phone was clearly tempted.
"Is she really that beautiful? Your taste isn’t that great, you know? The last female youth corps member you brought in was just average-looking and had a stubborn temper, nearly kicked the commander’s junior to the sky! If there’s another slip-up this time, I might as well go back home and start farming potatoes."
"It’s true, I’m not kidding this time, it’s not just me who saw her, Zhuangzi and the others saw her too." Li Zhuangzi was anxious, swearing to heaven for fear his cousin wouldn’t believe him.
The man on the other line thought to himself, the commander has been feeling bored recently, and all the slightly attractive women in the battalion were either tired of playing or had gotten married, or had sought death. If there really was such a beauty, the commander would definitely be thrilled, and once the commander is happy, his own position can be pushed up a notch.
"Alright then, find a way to bring that young lady to me for a look. If she’s really that beautiful, send her to the commander."
"Cousin, for sure you won’t be disappointed, but this girl has some background. She is Hu Weiwen’s sister, and Hu Weiwen is that southerner Tian Aiguo’s nephew. You think we should still go through with it or not?" Only then did Li Zhuangzi cautiously reveal Tian Sisi’s background.
"Fuck, knowing that she’s a relative of Tian Aiguo and you’re still bothering me with this bullshit, do you think I don’t have enough trouble?!" Cousin was infuriated by Li Zhuangzi.
"Hey, cousin, don’t be angry, I’m also trying to help you out here. As long as you can make the commander happy, what’s one Tian Aiguo? Even if it were ten, we wouldn’t give a damn! Maybe we can even bring Tian Aiguo down to take revenge for you!"
Cousin was clearly swayed, what Zhuangzi said made sense. In this battalion, the commander is the Emperor, and even Luo Zhigang wouldn’t interfere with the commander’s affairs. As long as the commander is happy, wouldn’t it be possible to take down Tian Aiguo for him?
Tian Aiguo was temporarily untouchable, but taking his niece down a notch to vent was also feasible—two birds with one stone! The more cousin thought about it, the happier he became and ordered Li Zhuangzi: "Then it’s settled, find a way to bring Tian Aiguo’s niece to me. I warn you, don’t you dare have a taste. If I find out she’s not a virgin, I won’t let you off!"
"How could I do such a thing! It’s enough for me to drink from the washbowl of my cousin!" Li Zhuangzi thought gleefully, a beauty like that, even her washbowl water must taste sweet!
Cousin and Li Zhuangzi both laughed lasciviously, excited about the prospect of enjoying a beautiful young girl, unaware that this time they were not just kicking at an iron board, but at a sharp sword ready to kill.