He Daqing, do you know how I've lived these past years?

"Great Qing, do not forget what I said."

Drunk, Jia Gui and the chubby man helped each other out of the courtyard gate, not forgetting to give some instructions to He Daqing, who came out to see them off.

Just then, a fat man walked in from the alleyway in the distance.

"Ding-dong, ding-dong, I'm a junior worker at the steel mill..."

She was seen hopping and skipping while singing, carrying a small bundle in her hand.

"Haha, I've finally graduated! Tomorrow I'll be a junior master, and my wages will double!"

I'm buying some good food to treat myself today. My wife has worked so hard, taking care of Guangtian and taking Guangqi to school at the same time.

The obese man, with his head down and not watching where he was going, bumped directly into the drunk Jia Gui and the chubby man.

The small bundle in her hand fell to the ground, making the sound of shattering porcelain.

"Ah, my food, my one dollar, my roast duck, you owe me money!"

The obese man, enraged, scrambled to his feet and roared at the two men in front of him.

Jia Gui let out a burp, his anger blazing as he glared at the man before him.

"You fat, big-eared bastard, you bumped into me and now you want me to pay you back? You must have a death wish!"

The obese man was not a coward either. People who survive years of war always have some tricks up their sleeves. At least humans have humanity, and rats have their own code of conduct.

He grabbed Jia Gui by the collar and punched him in the stomach.

"what"

Jia Gui let out a scream and vomited the wine in his stomach, but he became much more sober.

Seeing this, the chubby man quickly lunged at the fat man and shouted:

"Quick, I'll hold him down!"

Then, to their surprise, the obese man became an apprentice of a blacksmith at the steel factory. Because of his honesty and willingness to help, and his willingness to answer any questions, the master blacksmith passed on nine-tenths of his skills to him. After years of blacksmithing, his two arms were incredibly powerful.

With a flick of his wrists and a kick of his right foot, he shoved the chubby man aside. Just as he was about to pounce and deliver a follow-up punch, he stopped.

Upon regaining consciousness, Jia Gui saw that the man was incredibly brave and pulled out a pistol from his waist, pressing it against the man's forehead.

The obese man also knelt on the ground and repeatedly kowtowed:

"Sir, please have mercy on me! I've had too much to drink. I have an eighty-year-old mother and a four-year-old child to support. I beg you!"

Jia Gui kicked the fat man in the head and shouted:

"You think you're so tough? Aren't you afraid of dying?"

"Don't you remember how I charged in and out of the Japanese army seven times back in the day? Today I almost fell into a ditch here."

The chubby man next to him shook his dizzy head, then scrambled to his feet and smacked the man several times with his nose.

The obese man kept begging for mercy.

Jia Gui rolled his eyes and said to the chubby man:

"Forget it, I have things to do tomorrow at noon. Who knows, I might even get a position there. Let's not cause trouble. Let's go."

The chubby man nodded and said:

"Well, a new broom sweeps clean; we can't afford to cause trouble."

Then he kicked the fat man over and said:

"The grandpas are in a good mood today, so they'll let you off the hook. Next time you see us, you'd better greet us as 'Sir,' remember?"

The obese man was also kneeling on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing and shouting:

"Yes, sir. Good morning, sir."

Jia Gui and the chubby man also burst into laughter and walked towards the alley entrance.

A moment later, the fat man who had been calling out "Greetings, sir!" looked up at the now-deserted alleyway entrance and muttered to himself:

"Sir?"

I, Liu Haizhong, swear today that I will definitely become an official in the future! I will definitely become an official!

I will repay tonight's humiliation tenfold, and I will make those who offended me pay double the price.

Touching her aching face, her bangs also showed signs of confusion.

"So what if you're strong? So what if you can fight? Seeing a gun is useless."

Oh right, didn't our elementary school teacher say, "It's never too late for a gentleman to take revenge after ten years? You should learn that kind of strategy..."

……

Sijiu City Mansion

"Haha, Brother Leyou, welcome, welcome!"

"Hello, boss."

Leyou and a man in military uniform shook hands and hugged, saying...

"Tonight is a welcome party specially hosted for you by the merchants in the city. Tomorrow I'm also leading my troops east; I've heard the fighting situation there isn't very good."

Upon hearing this, Le You's expression stiffened as well. All the regimental and battalion commanders who had helped Shan Chu at Hongxianglu Port were there.

"Hey boss, be careful on your way there."

The man in military uniform nodded and said:

"Soldiers obey orders, all for the sake of Great Xia."

"Let me introduce these merchants to you. They have provided a lot of assistance to our Party in the past."

"This is Lou Zhenhua. He owns many businesses and is known as 'Lou Half-City' in Beijing."

Lou Bancheng immediately nodded and bowed, saying:

"It's just a title, Commander Yue. I hope you'll take good care of me since it's our first meeting."

Leyou nodded and said:

"If you support us, we won't treat you unfairly."

The man in military uniform continued walking and introduced:

"This is Chen Daoran, the largest cloth merchant in Beijing and the surrounding area."

"This is Hou Chuqing, who has numerous businesses overseas."

"Who is this……"

……

In another corner of the mansion, a large group of wealthy women and young men and women were chatting.

One of the young ladies, dressed in a dark blue cheongsam, stared blankly at an elderly man with white hair and a long beard in the corner, holding a wine glass.

"Yali, what's wrong? Why are you spacing out? Why don't you go and say hello to the new officer later?"

Yali also came to her senses and laughed, saying:

"No need, Zhenhua is already there. You go and have some fun. I have something to do, I'll come find you later."

After saying that, he walked towards the old man.

And in the corner,

"Sister Xian, Sister Mulan, please eat! The food here is so delicious, I've never tried anything like it before. Everything is laid out there, just take what you want!"

Huang Ying bit down hard on the palm-sized steak in her mouth and mumbled indistinctly,

Mulan shook her head and said:

"This is how they cook beef abroad. You have to cut it with a knife, otherwise you can't eat it, and it's not even cooked through."

Huang Ying hurriedly spat it out and said:

"I didn't know until you told me, there really is a strong smell of blood in my mouth."

Jingxian was also hugging Jianguo and giggling.

"Huang Ying, take Nianmin to get some more food. He can eat after he finishes his homework."

Mulan stopped Huang Ying and was about to take Nianmin's hand to get something to eat when she saw a tall, slender, curly-haired, wealthy woman in a cheongsam and high heels walking over with a wine glass.

Yali ignored Mulan's question and went straight to her master, who was still doing her homework.

"Master Dao?"

However, her master did not respond, so Yali simply sat down beside him and began shaking him with both hands.

"Master Dao? Grandpa!"

Mulan was about to step forward to stop him when her master opened his eyes and looked at the woman shaking him beside him.

After a few breaths, the master said in confusion:

"Are you Yali? Are you Tan Yali?"

Yali, crying, knelt on the ground, hugging her master's waist and shouting:

"Grandpa, it's so good to see you!"

……