Chapter 24: Thump, Thump, Kicking the Wall!

Qian Bin pushed away Li Xiangdong, who was leaning in close and staring at his eyes, and said helplessly, “I’m really not drunk.”

Li Xiangdong smiled, “Then let’s the two of us clean up the table.”

“It’s… it’s fine… don’t worry about it… I’ll… I’ll clean it up when I wake up tomorrow.”

Ah Zhe suddenly propped himself up on the table and stood up unsteadily. He swayed a couple of times and almost fell. Li Xiangdong quickly supported him, “You’d better sit down.”

He pressed Ah Zhe back into the chair, made him sit properly, and then picked up the thermos to pour a glass of water for him and for Xiang Lin and Zhang Sen, who were already drunk and confused.

“Little Linzi, San Mu, drink some water. We should go home after sobering up.”

In his previous life, Li Xiangdong would have just patted his butt and left, not bothering to take care of these drunkards.

But he couldn’t do that now. After all, he had lived for several decades longer than others, and he understood these social niceties.

Besides, the room was a mess, with bones scattered all over the floor. If they didn’t clean up the mess, they couldn’t let Ah Zhe’s father come and clean it up, could they?

Hearing the sound of the water faucet in the courtyard, Ah Zhe’s father came out of the east wing room. He saw Qian Bin washing dishes and said, “Just leave it. You don’t have to do it. If you’ve finished drinking, hurry home. Don’t let your families worry.”

Li Xiangdong came out of the main house and threw the rag for wiping the table to Qian Bin, “Uncle, don’t worry about it. The two of us have to wait for Little Linzi and San Mu to sober up anyway. We’re just idle, and it’s not much work. We’ll be done in a moment.”

Qian Bin followed up, “Uncle, you go back to your room and rest.”

“Then I’ll go and find the flashlight for you guys. You can take it with you when you leave.”

In a short while, Ah Zhe’s father came back from his room with a flashlight. He pressed the switch a couple of times to make sure it had power, then handed it to Li Xiangdong, “Dongzi, you take this. You can use it for light on your way back.”

“Alright, thank you, Uncle.”

Li Xiangdong and Qian Bin, one sweeping the floor and wiping the table, the other washing the dishes. It looked like a lot of work, but it didn’t actually take much time.

Back in the main house, the two of them waited for Xiang Lin and Zhang Sen, who were slumped in their chairs drinking water, to sober up.

Ah Zhe’s father helped his unconscious son back to his room, then came over to sit with Li Xiangdong and Qian Bin in the living room. The three of them smoked and chatted.

Ah Zhe’s father was a little happy today. He was very satisfied with Li Xiangdong and the other young men. Thinking that they would find out about some things sooner or later, he told them about his plan to go abroad with Ah Zhe.

As the conversation led to this, Li Xiangdong tactfully gave a few reminders.

Ah Zhe’s father might have been in a state of panic before, but now that he had been enlightened, his mind immediately became clear. “Dongzi, you have a point. I should indeed write a letter first and ask about Ah Zhe’s mother’s situation abroad. Otherwise, we’ll be completely in the dark when we get there.”

Qian Bin said, “Uncle, I don’t think there’s anything good about going abroad. Aren’t they all talking about reform and opening up now? You don’t have to have any more worries. It would be great to go back to school and continue to be a teacher.”

“I’ll think about it again, I’ll think about it again.”

Ah Zhe’s father waved his hand. A couple of days ago, his former colleague from the school had told him that his work arrangement was about to be finalized, but he actually didn’t want to go back to the school.

Thinking about being dragged off the podium by his own student back then, he no longer had the courage to stand up there again.

Li Xiangdong saw Ah Zhe’s father’s hesitation. In his previous life, he had heard Ah Zhe say that his father had seen a psychologist abroad and was said to have some kind of psychological disorder.

Li Xiangdong couldn’t say exactly what was going on. A rough person like him didn’t know what a mental illness was. He only understood things like diarrhea, but he knew that Ah Zhe’s father didn’t dare to go back on the podium.

He suggested, “Uncle, I don’t think you necessarily have to go back to school. You taught economics at the university. You can totally think of a way to transfer to a government department to work. Isn’t reform and opening up about developing the economy? This is right up your alley.”

Ah Zhe’s father’s eyes lit up, but then he became a little indecisive. He still decided to wait and see. “Let’s not talk about my matters. Let’s talk about you guys. You’ve all been married for these past few years. How old are your children…”

The three of them chatted for more than half an hour. After drinking several glasses of water, Xiang Lin and Zhang Sen sobered up a lot.

“Uncle, we’ve troubled you today. We’re going back now.”

Li Xiangdong remembered the square stools that Ah Zhe had promised him and said, “Ah Zhe said he doesn’t want these stools in your house anymore. Can you give them to me?”

“My family doesn’t want them anymore, but Dongzi, why do you want these ‘Four Olds’ things? Uncle, I don’t want to harm you. We should just throw them away.”

Ah Zhe’s father now had no good feelings for these things at all, afraid that they would bring disaster.

Seeing Ah Zhe’s father’s expression, Li Xiangdong found it a little amusing. “You don’t have to live in fear like before. It’s all in the past. You can put your heart at ease.”

He called Qian Bin and the other two over to help, each of them helping him carry a stool.

There was no moon in the sky tonight. It was pitch black outside after leaving Ah Zhe’s house.

The country’s power generation was insufficient now. In order to prioritize industrial electricity, even in Beijing, residential homes would often have power outages. Candles were still a necessity of life.

Under such circumstances, there was no need to even think about streetlights. Even if there were any, they would just be for show.

Li Xiangdong led the way, holding the flashlight that Ah Zhe’s father had given him.

The silent alley made him, who had just returned from the bustling future, feel a little scared and flustered.

In order not to let his imagination run wild, he said, “Little Linzi, San Mu, are you two okay now?”

Zhang Sen said, “I’m fine. I feel much better after taking a piss.”

“Then you two better hold on to the plates in your hands. Be careful not to drop them and get scolded by your wives when you get home.”

Li Xiangdong and the others had all added a dish to their family’s meal. After drinking, they definitely had to take the plates back. A broken home is still worth a fortune; every needle and thread is money!

“I’m taking back so much meat. So what if I drop the plate? If she dares to make a fuss, I’ll slap her!”

Xiang Lin swayed as he walked. The alcohol had given him courage. Anyway, his wife wasn’t around, so he could say whatever he wanted.

“Tch, what are you bragging about?”

“I think it’s your wife who’s going to slap you.”

“Hahahaha, Little Linzi is a head shorter than his wife. He can’t even reach to slap her.”

The group’s laughter grew louder, and a nearby resident opened a window and cursed at them.

They were all married with children now and knew to be more mindful of their reputation. They quickly lowered their heads and ran.

“Just leave the stools at my door. You guys go back. Remember to return the flashlight to Ah Zhe’s family tomorrow.”

Li Xiangdong stood in front of his own gate and handed the flashlight to Qian Bin. His house was the farthest away.

Looking at the tightly closed gate, he pushed it but couldn’t move it. Everyone in the family was asleep at this hour, especially his grandparents, who were old and light sleepers. It wouldn’t be good to wake them up.

Li Xiangdong squatted at the gate, took out the last Daqianmen cigarette he had left, and lit it. He watched as Qian Bin and the others turned into the alley and disappeared.

He stood up, walked to the back wall of the west wing room where he lived, and kicked the wall where the heated brick bed was with all his might.

He pressed his ear against the wall to listen for any movement inside, then took a drag from his cigarette and slowly walked towards the door.