Chapter 28: Unexpectedly, being arrogant is just a trivial matter

  Yin Jinghua saw Lei Xiaotian walking towards her with a smile, his face turning whiter and whiter, like a young girl about to be raped, hugging herself and trembling as she said: "What do you want to do? Don't come over here."

  Everyone was stunned for a moment, looking at him with a gloomy face, and didn't expect him to be so timid. Just as Lei Xiaotian was about to walk up to Yin Jinghua's side, he was suddenly blocked by a figure in front of him. Upon closer inspection, the one blocking his way was none other than the fiery woman wearing camouflage combat uniform.

  Lei Xiaotian smiled and said: "Comrade, you're blocking my way. Would you mind letting me pass? I don't have a habit of fighting with women."

  Camouflage uniform ignored him, and said to Xue Xiangdao: "I've long heard of your great name. This matter is not right for Jinghua to do. Let him apologize to you, and this matter will be settled."

  Xue Xiangxiao said: "In this world, if apologies can resolve all conflicts, what's the use of having soldiers?"

  "What do you want?"

  "Leave behind a root"

  Xue Xiangping said calmly, the several people behind Yin Jinghua all changed color, isn't it too much, big brother, just kicked your door and wanted a finger, is that too cruel?

  "That's it, there's no other way? I'm just curious, what qualifications do you have to mete out punishment?"

  "You're wrong, it's not punishment, but penalty. If you've done something wrong, you should be penalized."

  "Punishment? Is punishment cutting off someone's fingers? The law doesn't seem to have a clause about kicking in someone's door, or else I'd be the one having my fingers cut off."

  "You talk too much, and it's gotten me dragged into this nonsense for half a day. You'd better remember that we're hooligans, not cops. Of course, that guy acknowledged our hooligan identities; otherwise, he wouldn't have wanted to be our leader, right? As hooligans, we've got to follow the rules of being hooligans. He can go cry to his parents or the police if he wants."

  Xue Xiang stopped wasting words and signaled Lei Xiaotian to take action. Lei Xiaotian stretched out his palm to brush aside the camouflage uniform in front of him, but unexpectedly, his hand was locked by the camouflage uniform. Lei Xiaotian struggled with force but couldn't break free. Xue Xiang was very curious - although Lei Xiaotian wasn't born with divine strength like himself, he wasn't an ordinary person either. The camouflage uniform in front of him obviously wasn't just a military uniform; it might even be a current soldier. Xue Xiang asked Xie Bianjiang, "Who is the woman wearing the camouflage uniform?" Xie Bianjiang whispered in his ear, "Her name is Xu Cuifeng, she's from the 39th Army Special Forces Unit, and we're from the same compound. This time, she's on holiday visiting her family. Yin Jinghua not only knows her but also seems to be particularly afraid of her."

  Xue Xiang stretched out his hand towards Xu Cui Feng's shoulder, with a force as swift as thunder and as fast as lightning. Xu Cui Feng had no choice but to let go of her grip, take a step back to avoid the attack, and then threw a punch at Xue Xiang's face. Xue Xiang didn't dodge or block it, instead he clenched his fist and countered with a blow of his own. With a loud crash, Xu Cui Feng stumbled backward three steps before she could steady herself. Xue Xiang remained standing in place, not pressing the attack, but smiling at her with a hint of amusement. Xu Cui Feng's face changed color - she was a highly trained fighter, her instructor was a renowned martial arts expert, and among the special forces, she was one of the top fighters. How could she be knocked back by a single punch from a young punk, who seemed to have not even used his full strength?

  Just as Xu Cuifeng was puzzled, Xue spoke with a smile: "How's that? My niece, isn't your uncle's Ba Zi Fist quite good?"

  "Who are you calling Shifu's niece? Your kung fu is just average, but relying on your tall and strong body, it's nothing impressive." Xǔ Cuìfēng said with a scornful tone.

  "Your instructor is Gu Changdao, right? He's my senior fellow disciple. Your Baziquan didn't get his true transmission, did it?"

  "What nonsense are you spouting? I asked the old instructor, his master died in '39, and you weren't even born yet. Besides, the old instructor doesn't have a master's uncle, don't think about cheating me, thinking of being my elder, no way!"

  "You don't know this, but Master Gu is a substitute master who took me as his disciple. He saw that I had an unusual bone structure and wanted to take me as his apprentice, but I refused. He knelt at my door for three days and three nights, and I thought he was pitiful, so I reluctantly became his junior brother."

  Xue Xiang's words were not false, Master Gu Changdao was a military officer of the Nationalist Army's dare-to-die corps who was rescued by Xue An yuan during the Huaihai Campaign. At that time, Gu Changdao was seriously injured and prepared to end his own life, but was saved by Xue An yuan. After recovering from his injuries, Gu Changdao became Xue An yuan's bodyguard and served in the A Army after the founding of the country.

  Gu Changdao was born in Cangzhou, a place famous for its martial arts, and had practiced Bazi Quan (also known as Baguazhang) since he was young. He had true skills that could split stones and open tombs with ease. Once, Gu Changdao broke a large stone into two pieces with one palm strike in front of Xue Xiang.

  From then on, eight-year-old Xue Xiang began to learn martial arts from Gu Changdao. Gu Changdao insisted on not letting Xue Xiang become his apprentice, saying that he was only taking him as a substitute for his father, because he respected Xue An yuan and did not want to be of the same generation as him.

  Xue Xiang's stubborn and tenacious personality actually got along very well with Gu Changdao, and the two were both master and friend, with a deep affection for each other. Xue An yuan had anticipated that the situation would change in the early years of the Great Movement, so he arranged for Gu Changdao to enter the 39th Army as an instructor for the special forces.

  "You......" Xu Cuifeng was speechless for a moment, unsure whether Xue Xiang was telling the truth or lying.

  Xue Xiang looked at the beautiful girl with a gnashing expression, and thought it was cute, so he didn't tease her anymore. He said: "Since you're not an outsider, let's just drop it for the sake of my junior sister. You'd better get Yin to control his big mouth, otherwise, he'll get himself into trouble. Alright, my brothers are all hungry, let's eat together." After finishing speaking, Xue Xiang shouted at Chen Fosheng again: "Fosheng, tell the kitchen to serve the dishes, it's time for dinner!"

  Suddenly, a table of dishes was brought up from the kitchen behind the side door. Twenty waiters, plus Kang Xiaobao and Xu Xiaofei's two groups, took three or four trips to bring everything up. Xue led Xu Cuifeng into Li Tianming and Hu Baoguo's table, but since Hu Baoguo's table was already full, they moved a few people over to join Lei Xiaotian's table.

  After the dishes were served, no one touched their chopsticks, and they all stared blankly at the four large ceramic basins on the table.

  Cai Guoqing pinched Shi Guang's arm and said, "Stone, I'm not seeing things, am I? How come all four basins are full of meat? Am I dreaming of meat so much that I'm hallucinating?"

  Ishikawa slapped away Cai Guoqing's hand and said, "Is it an illusion? Pinch yourself, why pinch me? You're right, at first I was confused too. It was you pinching me that woke me up. Third Brother is always Third Brother, forever the big spender. Others would be satisfied with just one meat dish, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes would be the best. But not Third Brother, he's got four meat dishes and not a single vegetable dish in sight. It seems Third Brother knows his brothers are starving."

  ………

  There were four dishes on the table, and the layout was no different from that of the gangsters. Four large washbasins were used to hold the dishes. The only difference was that the dishes in this era were sumptuous to an extreme degree. The four dishes included a plate piled high with green peppers and braised pork, a basin filled to the brim with stewed winter melon and spareribs, a basin full of dried and solid pork belly stewed with rice noodles, and a basin overflowing with oily red chili peppers. The last basin was filled with four large and plump roasted chickens.

  Xue Xiang saw that no one was moving their chopsticks, so he stood up and said: "Brothers, are you waiting for wine? Let's eat first, after we're full, we'll drink. There's plenty of wine, let's start!" Xue Xiang deliberately brought up the wine to break the awkwardness. After his words, no one was polite anymore, each person picked up their rice bowl and started digging in.

  The hall was both noisy and quiet. It was noisy because of the sound of hundreds of people eating, but it was also quiet because no one was speaking, and even the sounds of chewing and swallowing were crystal clear at this moment. Xue Xiang and the leaders of the four cities and eight districts sat at a table, where they ate with great elegance, but their speed was not slow at all, and their chopsticks moved extremely quickly.

  "Cai Guoqing, sit down, isn't it embarrassing?" said Shi Chuan to Cai Guoqing who was standing up and getting ready to fight.

  Cai Guoqing couldn't help but sit down and say, "I was a bit too hasty. I also saw that the chicken leg was too fat, and I was afraid that after I added more rice, it would be gone by the time I came back. Shi Tou, how many bowls of rice have you had? This is only my second bowl."

  "I've had my third bowl, and Liu Sanbai at the next table has already had his fifth. It's too delicious, this is the best meal I've ever had since I was a kid, even during Chinese New Year it wasn't like this, the meat can be eaten openly."

  Cai Guoqing listened and found that he ate the least, how could this be, so he quickly scooped up the rice in his bowl, and then said to Shi Chuan: "Yes, even when my parents got married, I didn't eat as well as this."

  "What the heck, your parents got married and you actually made it on time, and even sat down at the table?" Ishikawa hastily swallowed the large piece of meat that he hadn't had a chance to chew yet, asking.

  Cai Guoqing was speechless for a moment, and only then did he realize that he had made a joke. He quickly said: "Just imagine, just imagine. You think about it, even if they get married, I won't go, but I know how bad the food will be. Don't always pick on me, let's not talk about it anymore, hurry up and eat." Cai Guoqing hurriedly covered it up and said: "Shitou, I'll go get more rice, you must help me keep an eye on that chicken leg. Even if you're getting more rice, wait for me to come back before going."

  ………….

  About a dozen large wooden barrels, each over one meter high, were filled with white rice and lined up in a row. From time to time, someone would come down from the table to refill the rice, and in front of some of the barrels, short queues had even formed. Everyone was eating enthusiastically, and the temperature in the hall gradually rose, with groups of shirtless men appearing here and there. Xue put down his bowl and excused himself to the seated elders, getting up to go to Kang Tong's table.

  The people sitting at Kangtong's table were all familiar faces, including Chen Fosheng, Hao Yunlai, Ding Weidong, Kang Xiaoba and Xu Xiaofei, in addition to several young people who had moved over from Hu Baoguo's table next door. Kangtong's table had the most dishes left over, as Kangtong and his two companions had been eating big fish and meat with Xue Xiang for several months and were not particularly hungry for meat. Chen Fosheng also had a constant supply of meat dishes at home, and the young masters from the large courtyard who had moved over would not be too hungry for meat either, so this table was also lively, but their fighting power was actually not good.

  Xue Xiang patted Kang Tong's shoulder and asked, "Has the food for Xiao Wan and the others been sent over? Is the little one throwing a tantrum again?" Xiao Di knew that Xue Xiang was hosting a grand banquet tonight and wanted to come see the excitement. But Xue Xiang wouldn't let her come, with four or five hundred guests, it would be too hot and noisy, and he would have to divide his attention to take care of her, which would be too much trouble. Besides, he would definitely get drunk tonight, which would be even more troublesome. The little one made a fuss for a while, but Xue Xiang didn't agree, so she got angry, turned around and ran back to Xiao Wan's room, not even returning to the bedroom she shared with Xue Xiang every day, clearly meaning to draw a line between herself and her "bad" brother.

  Kang Tong said: "I've sent her off, Xiaowan will pick her up later, and it seems like Xiaodi has fallen asleep."

  Xue Xiang knew that the little guy was still sulking, and thinking about it gave him a headache. Xue Xiang greeted Chen Fosheng, Hao Yunlai, and several others, and also invited a few "immigrants" to eat well, saying that he would come over later to toast them, before turning around and going to Hu Baoguo's table.

  "Uncle Ma, Director Zhang, the hospitality is not good enough, it's too slow."

  Zhang Pangzi looked up and saw that it was Xue Xiang, so he quickly put down his bowl and smiled: "Third brother, where are you going? This table is very rich, I usually can't eat like this. Come on, sit here." Zhang Pangzi's third brother called out even more smoothly, he had already explored that none of the families present were simple, at least they were all hall-level cadres. These children of cadres treated Xue Xiang with such respect, wasn't it worth him trying to curry favor? Seeing Xue Xiang say that the hospitality was not good enough, he immediately said that the food was too good and that he usually couldn't eat like this. Zhang Pangzi sat in the logistics director's seat, specifically in charge of the kitchen and supplies, what good things hadn't he eaten before? Just looking at his body, you could tell what standard his food was.

  Xue Xiangxiao said: "I won't sit down now, I'll come over later and toast you."

  Ma Liang was also shocked, feeling fortunate to have been able to attend the dinner party today. Even that gloomy young man sitting alone on one side wasn't ordinary. Just now, when he saw no one paying attention to him, Ma Liang chatted with him for a few sentences and found out that this kid's father was actually the newly appointed Deputy Director of the General Logistics Department. Now, seeing Xue Xiang come over to apologize specifically to Ma Liang and himself, his heart was even more excited. As soon as Zhang Pangzi sat down, he stood up and said: "Xiao Xue, if you and Uncle Ma continue to be so polite, I'll really get angry! We're family, what's there to entertain or not? Later when the wine is served, I'll take care of entertaining everyone at this table for you, just relax!" At this point, Ma Liang became even more affectionate, as if he wanted to transform into Xue Xiang's own uncle.

  Zhang Pangzi cursed in his heart, shameless, too shameless, how dare you be more shameless than me? You're still one of the three brothers' family. When I arrived, I saw that I had brought things, and you didn't even hurry to buy things. Is this what a family is like? It seems that I'm just too proud, and the Thick Black Theory only got a superficial understanding. How did I take on this task? What a mistake! No way! Later, I must get my hands on the wine bottle, and I'll take charge of pouring the wine. Zhang Pangzi was full of regret for his own slowness.

  You young people are also making sarcastic remarks, we came to drink with Third Brother, you let Third Brother ignore us and make us accompany you to drink, who do you think you are? Damn it, looking at Third Brother calling out "Uncle Ma", it's not good to turn against you, wait a moment and I'll drown you in drink.

  "Yin comrade, how's the taste of the dishes? Which bowl are you on?" Xue Xiang asked with a hint of concern, looking at Yin Jinghua who was focused on eating.

  Yin Jinghua's face suddenly turned white.