Siheyuan: I just came across and wanted to chase me away

Li Jianjun felt he wouldn't get any more definitive advice from his father-in-law; he'd only hear the same old platitudes about "keeping to one's place" and "taking things long-term." Staying any longer would be a waste of time. He stood up and said to Zhang Li, who was holding a teacup, "Dad, please enjoy your tea. Zhang Xue and I will head back now."

Zhang Li nodded, raised his hand and waved, a hint of fatigue in his eyes: "Alright, go back. Get some rest too. You've had a tough time these past few days. Get home and rest well, and stop overthinking things."

Stepping out of his father-in-law's house, the evening breeze, carrying the chill of early autumn, swept over him, making him shiver. Li Jianjun stopped and turned to Zhang Xue beside him, saying, "You go back and be with the children first. I'll go talk to a few friends and ask about things at the factory, see if there's any new development."

Zhang Xue immediately frowned, her eyes filled with deep worry: "Didn't Dad just tell you to stay put and not run around? What are you going out to do this time? Gu Nan is watching us right now, so don't cause any more trouble."

Li Jianjun waved his hand impatiently, his tone suddenly becoming sharper: "What do you know? Women shouldn't meddle in these things. I'm asking my friend to inquire about Gu Nan's situation and see if there's anything we can use against him. Some things can't just be left unresolved; we need our friend's help to solve them."

Zhang Xue pursed her lips, swallowing back the words that were on the tip of her tongue. Li Jianjun was always like this; he liked to keep things to himself and didn't like to tell her details. If she pressed him for details, she would only get a scolding. She nodded, her voice as soft as the wind: "Then come back early. The child is waiting for me to tell her a story. She was saying it before she left, that we agreed to tell her the part about Sun Wukong defeating the White Bone Demon three times in 'Journey to the West' today." After saying that, she turned and walked towards home. The streetlights cast a long shadow of hers, making her look somewhat frail.

Li Jianjun watched her figure disappear around the alley corner, a strange unease rising within him, making him restless and uneasy, as if scratched by cat claws. What true friends could he possibly have? The few "brothers" he'd made at the steel mill were, frankly, just fair-weather friends. They'd been eating and drinking together, calling each other brothers, and back when he was deputy factory director, they'd fawn over him, practically calling him "Brother Li" all the time. But now that he was in trouble, those who'd profited from him were already arrested; the remaining few avoided him like the plague, terrified of getting involved in anything. How could he possibly rely on them?

He stood by the roadside, the evening wind blowing harder, carrying the stench of garbage from the alleyways, making his heart ache. He racked his brains, but had nowhere to go, no one to talk to. Finally, he gritted his teeth, turned, and walked towards the small tavern with its dim, yellowish light at the alley entrance—forget it, only drinking could quell his anger and frustration. At least if he drank too much, his head would spin, and he could temporarily forget Gu Nan's smug face, forget his own fall from deputy factory director to ordinary worker, forget his wife and children waiting for him to eat, forget this tangled mess of troubles.

Li Jianjun, clutching the few crumpled bills he had left in his pocket, stood at the corner of a small shop with a faded wooden sign that read "Old Place Tavern." He hesitated for a long time before finally stepping inside. You see, in the past, he wouldn't have even glanced at a run-down tavern with peeling walls and empty bottles piled up at the entrance—back then, he was the deputy factory director, frequenting fancy restaurants with private rooms, surrounded by either customers or subordinates trying to curry favor. But things were different now. He was no longer at the factory, his former glory was gone. If he went to one of those bigger taverns, and happened to run into a former colleague or drinking buddy, and someone pointed at him and said, "Isn't that Deputy Factory Director Li?" he would lose all face.

He walked in with his head down. The tavern was filled with a thick, smoky haze that made him wince. At a table against the wall, several long-haired thugs were playing cards, smoking and slamming the cards on the table with a loud thud, while cursing under their breath. In a corner, two men were arm wrestling, surrounded by a crowd that cheered and jeered, spittle flying far and wide. The people who frequented this place were all downtrodden, aimless individuals; it was a chaotic mess, like a refugee camp.

Li Jianjun frowned, his stomach churning, but he still forced himself to find an empty table by the window and sit down. The table still bore the stains of the previous table's wine; he took out a tissue and wiped it again and again until it was barely presentable. "Boss, a bottle of the cheapest baijiu, please," he called out in a hoarse voice, his voice almost inaudible in the noisy environment.

The owner was an old man missing a front tooth. He came over carrying a chipped enamel mug and slammed the mug on the table: "Three yuan and fifty cents, pay first." Li Jianjun reluctantly took out his wallet, counted out three crumpled one-yuan bills and one fifty-cent bill, and felt as if he had been pricked by needles in his heart—back in the day, the money he spent on a meal here could have been enough to drink for half a month.

He unscrewed the bottle cap, and a pungent smell of alcohol wafted out, far worse than what he used to drink. But he didn't care about the quality at the moment, tilting his head back and taking a big gulp. The spicy liquid burned his throat, but strangely, it suppressed the indescribable suffocation in his heart. You see, Li Jianjun was in a terrible state right now—he had lost his position as deputy factory director, his house was in constant chaos, and he even had to avoid people when he went out. Only this cheap liquor could make him temporarily forget his troubles.

He drank glass after glass, as if the surrounding noise had drifted away from him. Everyone else was making a ruckus, playing cards, drinking games, and bragging, but he was the only one drinking alone in front of an empty bottle, his back view exuding an indescribable loneliness, completely out of place with his surroundings.

Just as he was feeling dizzy and about to finish his drink, a girl in a tight red dress walked over. Her hair was dyed a trendy yellow, and she wore heavy makeup. She looked at the empty bottle in front of Li Jianjun and gave a cryptic smile: "Hey buddy, drinking here all alone? Sounds boring, huh? Want me to have a couple of drinks with you?"

Li Jianjun looked up, his eyes slightly unfocused from the alcohol. He squinted at the girl in front of him; her face was fairly pretty, but the smell of perfume was overwhelming. He hiccuped, waved his hand, and nodded, saying indistinctly, "Okay... another bottle of wine, something... something good."

The girl, named Lili, glanced quickly behind the bar upon hearing this—a man with tattooed arms was standing there, nodding slightly at her. Lili looked away, her smile growing even sweeter: "Okay, then you wait here, I'll go get the drinks."

She turned and went to the bar, whispered a few words to the owner, and came back with a bottle of wine in slightly nicer packaging, along with two clean glasses. "Young man, judging by your manners, you really have a high alcohol tolerance." She placed the wine on the table, unscrewed the cap, poured herself half a glass, and glanced at Li Jianjun's face.