Chapter 70: The Filial Son!

The sky slowly darkened, and more and more mosquitoes came out to play. Li Xiangdong couldn’t stand it either.

He got out of bed to light a mosquito coil. When they checked in, the hostel staff had been stingy, only giving them one coil of the locally produced “Zebra” brand.

With the mosquito coil lit, he began to wash the tea mugs on the table.

Hou San, leaning back on his bed, asked, “Brother Dong, where’s Ah Zhe? Didn’t we agree to have a drink when we got back? Why has he disappeared?”

Li Xiangdong, busy with his hands, replied without looking up, “He went back to his room to get the peanuts.”

Hou San said anxiously, “How long has it been? Does it take that long to go back to his room?”

“I’m not sure either.”

Li Xiangdong finished washing the tea mugs, placed them on the table, then opened the lunch boxes and set out the chopsticks.

“I’ll go look for him.”

Li Xiangdong turned to leave. Just as he opened the door, he ran into Ah Zhe, who was about to enter. “Where have you been? What took you so long?”

“Nowhere special. I went back to my room to get the peanuts and changed my clothes on the way.”

Ah Zhe waved the oil-paper package in his hand. His face was red, and he stammered as he spoke.

“Is that so?”

Li Xiangdong noticed that Ah Zhe had only changed his pants. He looked him up and down, and seeing that Ah Zhe didn’t want to talk about it, he didn’t press the matter.

Everyone was present, and the food and drinks were laid out.

It was Hou San’s first time drinking, and he stood up in excitement. “Brother Dong, Ah Zhe, let’s have a toast.”

The other two stood up as well. Li Xiangdong raised his tea mug, which already had two liang of liquor in it. “Then let’s wish for our friendship to last forever.”

Ah Zhe smiled, “Let’s all get rich together!”

Hou San followed, “Make big money!”

*Clang!*

The three tea mugs clinked together.

Li Xiangdong saw Hou San tilt his head back and down the drink in one go. “Drink slowly, don’t drink so fast!”

“Hiss~ So strong.”

After sitting down, Hou San stuck out his tongue, making “hiss-ha, hiss-ha” sounds.

Li Xiangdong and Ah Zhe also sat down. Seeing Hou San’s state, he quickly called out, “Hurry up and eat some food to chase it…”

Before he could finish his sentence, with a *thud*, Hou San’s head tilted, and he fell onto the bed.

Li Xiangdong and Ah Zhe’s half-extended chopsticks froze in mid-air. The two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

After coming to his senses, Ah Zhe clutched his stomach and started laughing loudly. “Hou San is a real piece of work. It’s his first time drinking, and he dares to down it in one go. I’ve never seen anyone pass out on the bed before even eating a bite of food.”

Li Xiangdong laughed along for a moment, then got up with Ah Zhe to position Hou San properly, so he wouldn’t wake up with a stiff neck from sleeping in an awkward position.

The sky outside had darkened. A gentle night breeze blew into the room. Li Xiangdong sipped his drink and ate peanuts, his thoughts drifting to his wife, children, and grandparents.

Ah Zhe raised his tea mug and took a sip by himself. “Dongzi, how are we going to get the crickets on the train? What if they start chirping?”

Li Xiangdong came back to his senses and replied, “It’s fine, I’ve already thought of an excuse.”

Ah Zhe asked curiously, “What is it?”

Li Xiangdong said with a smile, “Crickets are used in Chinese medicine. When mixed with other herbs, they can invigorate the kidneys. If anyone asks, we’ll just say your dad’s body is weak, and you, as his son, want to show your filial piety.”

Ah Zhe said angrily, “Dongzi, why don’t you say you want to show your own filial piety!”

Li Xiangdong glanced at him, “My family has three brothers. Your family only has you, the sole heir. Think it through before you speak.”

“You… damn it!”

The words Ah Zhe wanted to say were immediately blocked.

Li Xiangdong tossed a peanut into his mouth. “I come up with the money-making idea, so naturally, you’ll take the blame. Besides, this isn’t even taking the blame.”

After swallowing the peanut, he continued his spiel, “In ancient times, there was ‘lying on ice to get a carp’ and ‘selling oneself to bury one’s father.’ You know these stories about filial piety, right?”

Seeing Ah Zhe nod, Li Xiangdong continued, “Well, today we have you, Ah Zhe, who, for the sake of his old father’s health, travels a thousand miles to Shandong to find crickets! Your deed is comparable to those virtues of filial piety.”

“If this story gets out, you’ll even earn the title of ‘The Great Filial Son.’ Who wouldn’t give you a thumbs-up when they see you?”

After listening to his rambling, Ah Zhe got up, walked over, and grabbed him by the neck. “Dongzi, you’re really good at bullshitting. Why are you so bad now!?”

Li Xiangdong pried Ah Zhe’s hands away. “How am I bad? You just don’t know what’s good for you.”

The two wrestled for a bit before Ah Zhe sat back down on the long bench. “Can you think of another excuse?”

Li Xiangdong took a sip of his drink. “I’ve given you the chance to become famous throughout Beijing, and you’re really useless. I can’t think of anything else anyway. If not, you can think of something yourself.”

Ah Zhe scratched his head and thought for a while but couldn’t come up with any good ideas. Finally, his gaze fell on the soundly sleeping Hou San.

“Dongzi, what do you think if we change the protagonist of the story to Hou San? We’ll call it ‘Hou San Travels a Thousand Miles for His Father to Find Crickets!'”

Li Xiangdong smiled, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. You dare to make up stories about Hou San’s dad?”

“My dad is off-limits, and Hou San’s dad is also off-limits.”

Ah Zhe sighed, “So in the end, my dad has to be the one to suffer.”

Li Xiangdong clapped his hands in encouragement, “That’s the right way to think. It’s all for making money, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“You make it sound so easy!”

Ah Zhe grumbled, then suddenly slapped his thigh. “Wait, that’s not right. What if someone asks why we have to go to Shandong to catch crickets when there are crickets in Beijing too? And why do we need to catch them alive? What do we say?”

Li Xiangdong thought for a moment. “We’ll say that a doctor from Tongrentang specifically instructed it. They must be alive, and they must be from Shandong. Otherwise, the medicinal effect will be different. It won’t invigorate the kidneys, it’ll just be a diuretic.”

Ah Zhe was stunned for a moment and only came back to his senses after a long while.

He downed the rest of the liquor in his tea mug. “Dongzi, your mind is truly dirty~ It’s getting late, I’m going back to my room to sleep.”

Li Xiangdong said, displeased, “How is my mind dirty? Go back to your room and laugh secretly under your blanket, you great filial son!”

After seeing him out, Li Xiangdong tidied up a bit. He lay on the wooden plank bed, listening to the chirping of the cicadas outside, and slowly fell asleep.

*Knock, knock, knock!*

A series of urgent and forceful knocks on the door sounded.

Li Xiangdong, who was sound asleep, was startled awake. “Who is it? Why are you knocking on the door in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?”

“What’s there to sleep for? Stop sleeping! The conductor told me to notify everyone for a meeting. Get out here, quickly!”

“Got it!”

Li Xiangdong responded. He found the bedsheets unclean and hadn’t even taken off his clothes before sleeping. He rolled right off the bed and walked to Hou San’s bedside.

He grabbed Hou San’s arm and glanced at his watch. Damn it, what kind of meeting is being held at three in the morning