Chapter 27: Aunt, do you like her?

Luo Bingrun gave a grand wave of his hand and declared domineeringly, "Don't you worry about the mainlanders; I have my own plans! As for that bunch of losers, as long as they dare to make a move, our Dongsheng will have the perfect excuse to start a war! If it comes to tearing off the masks and fighting Hong Le, I, Camel, am not afraid of them!"

Wanchai, safe house.
On the table, a radio was playing Huangmei opera, and Old Wan was humming a little tune in the kitchen, feeling quite content. In the living room, Yang Mi pouted, patted her belly, and shouted, "Old Wan, is the food ready yet? What on earth are you doing?"

"Coming, coming."
Old Wan beamed, carrying out a pile of items along with a clay jar of aged liquor, and placed them merrily on the table.

"What is this?"
"Hehe." Old Wan raised an eyebrow. Drinking by himself was dull, but having a great beauty to keep him company suddenly made life seem much brighter. He mysteriously spread out a sheet of wax paper and laid out a series of aromatic, braised delicacies: beef tendon, pig snout, pig head meat, lamb eyes, small lamb shanks, and spiced peanuts for drinkers. There were also crunchy cucumber sticks, peeled raw garlic, neatly cut scallion segments, and a handful of whole, spicy bird's-eye chilies, filling the table to the brim.

Following that, Old Wan set out two antique-style small bowls and brought over the jar of aged liquor, clearing away the mud seal. The moment the oil paper was lifted, an intoxicating aroma of spirits permeated the entire room, stirring the senses. Yang Mi looked on with a dazed, dreamy expression.

Meanwhile, in Liu Family Village.
"You're not coming?"
"Hehe, I'll pass. I don't really know them that well; you guys go ahead."
"It's no big deal. If Brother Zhu were here, you'd just be reacquainting yourselves anyway. You're not involved in that life anymore; you're running a martial arts gym and walking the straight and narrow, so what are you afraid of?"

Song Xiaole glanced at the man but didn't say much more.
"Next time, how about that?"
"Fine, we're heading down then."
"Go ahead. I'll take a nap in the car and wait for you."
"Sure."

Inside the driver's cab, the burly man rolled down the window and lit a cigarette. He squinted his eyes, his expression somewhat complex. Song Xiaole and Yang Peng carried their gifts and walked into the courtyard.

After having some tea, Yang Peng looked at Second Aunt and then at the frowning Xiaole beside him. He laughed, "We thought Brother Zhu might have come back?"
Second Aunt seemed a bit distracted. "You haven't been able to reach him either?"
Song Xiaole shook his head. "The phone hasn't gone through since the second day. I went to his office to ask. Officer Dan said he didn't know anything, but I suspect Director Zhan knows something he isn't telling me."
Yang Peng said in shock, "I was wondering why that old guy had such a strange look on his face; so he knew all along."

Song Xiaole looked at Yang Peng as if he were an idiot, then turned back to Second Aunt. "Director Wu is back. Haozi invited him to dinner today to see if we can pry anything out of him. By the way, Aunt, has Zhu really not contacted you?"
"No, he's just off playing somewhere wild, I suppose."
Second Aunt felt some worry, but not much. She knew exactly what her nephew was capable of. Otherwise, where did all the banners hanging in the room come from—did he pick them up at the village entrance?

Song Xiaole, keeping his wits about him, analyzed, "I reckon Zhu is just busy with something, but he's fine."
Second Aunt waved her hand, dismissing the thought. "Never mind that brat. Since you two are here, let me ask you something."
"Go ahead," Yang Peng grinned. "We're listening."
Second Aunt tilted her head, staring into their eyes. "Do you two think Zhu and Zhizhi have a chance?"
"That's a definite yes!" Yang Peng shouted. "Little Dong is so lovely. Looking across all of Huang'an, besides Brother Zhu, who else is worthy of her?"
"And you? What do you think?"
Hearing Yang Peng, Second Aunt still felt uneasy. She stared intently at Song Xiaole. She knew that he and Haozi had been close with Zhu since childhood. Guo Minghao was mature for his age, and Yang Peng was a bit of a goof; only Xiaole was quick-witted and reliable.

"Hehe," Xiaole chuckled evasively. "Aunt, how come we haven't seen Little Dong?"
Second Aunt wasn't easily fooled. Seeing Xiaole dodging the question, she was immediately displeased. "I'm asking you a question. Give me a straight answer."
Song Xiaole asked, "Aunt, do you like her?"
"Of course I do," Second Aunt suddenly brightened. "The girl isn't pretentious. I can tell she genuinely wants to settle down with Zhu. And another thing, we sleep in the same bed every day; I've felt it—tsk, tsk, that wide hip, that's definitely a build for bearing big, healthy boys."

"And look, these days she's been busy with everything inside and outside the house. She's truly a capable homemaker. If Zhu ends up with her, your uncle and I can finally enjoy some peace."
"As long as you like her, that's what matters," Song Xiaole successfully steered the conversation away. "By the way, where is Little Dong?"
Second Aunt replied, "The girl is just like I was when I was young—proud and fierce. The night before last, she was crying and telling me she wanted to go to Hong Kong to find her grandfather. Her mother wasn't feeling well, so she went back for a couple of days."
Song Xiaole asked, "Is it serious?"
"Not really, just a headache and a fever. I went over to check; nothing major. She'll be fine in a few days."
"That's good." Song Xiaole patted Yang Peng, stood up, and said, "Aunt, we have to go to work this afternoon, so we won't bother you anymore."
Second Aunt said, "Why leave so soon? I was hoping to keep you for dinner. With Zhizhi gone these past two days, and Wudi being as quiet as a stone, it's been so dull. Oh well, never mind. If you have to work, I won't keep you. In two days it's the weekend; you two bring Haozi over, have a few drinks with me, and make some noise. If you get drunk, just sleep in Zhu's room."
"It's a deal."
"Sure thing!"

Watching them drive away, Second Aunt sighed, "Xiaole is really making something of himself now, even driving a private car."
Back inside, she pulled the curtains shut, picked up the phone, dialed, hesitated, and then dialed another number.
Beep... beep... beep...

On the other side.
Old Wan was chewing on raw garlic, tipsy and swaying. He hummed a bawdy little tune, making Yang Mi, whose face was flushed red, giggle and scold him for being an old rascal.
"Your phone, your phone!"
Yang Mi, also quite drunk, tapped Old Wan and pointed at the vibrating phone on the table.
Old Wan blinked hard, trying to sober up. He picked up the phone, held up a finger, and whispered, "Shh, don't speak. It's from back home."

"Hello, it's me... No, I'm not drunk. What's up, sister-in-law? ...Ah, you're asking about that? ...Well... how should I put it? He's like your grandfather now; do you understand what I mean? ...Right, that's his pride. And I'm with him, so don't worry... Yes, I'm in Hong Kong too! ...Don't sigh, he's doing just fine... What? You and Zhizhi want to come to Hong Kong? ...Come on over then. Do you think your brother can't afford to feed you two? ...The paperwork? Don't worry about it. I'll have Little Chen go find you. ...That's it then, I'm drinking... No, I'm not, I'm not."

Immediately after, Old Wan squinted and scrolled through his contacts. He found a number saved as "Criminal, Little Chen" and dialed it.