Chapter Twenty-Five: Mountain Cannon

  Liu Handong was notorious in the army for his fighting and brawling, having fought with other troops, armed police, local Tibetans, and local thugs. Due to his constant fighting, he only managed to achieve the rank of sergeant after eight years of service. According to his instructor, if he had behaved himself and worked hard, he would have been sent to military school and become a lieutenant long ago.

  These seven or eight thugs were far inferior to the henchmen sent by the Shifeng Group to deal with Liu Handong in the detention center. With his eyes closed, Liu could have handled them easily. He snatched a mountain knife and a steel pipe, charging down like a fierce tiger, as if entering an uninhabited territory. The dog meat restaurant owner also rose up, joining the fight with two young men wielding a rolling pin and a slaughtering knife.

  The thugs fled in disarray, and before leaving, they didn't forget to throw out a sentence: "Alright, you wait."

  Liu Handong said: "Don't go, okay?"

  A burst of laughter around.

  Among the onlookers was a couple of children from the landlord's family, the young man was excited and the girl looked at Liu Handong with admiration.

  "Brother, he's really fierce." The hot girl almost had stars in her eyes.

  "You're all wet now." Brother's malicious teasing.

  "Fight!" The hot girl stretched out her hand and pinched her brother fiercely. Their family's education was like this, bold and unrestrained, the parents' mouths were full of dirty words that didn't avoid their children, so the siblings were immune to this kind of vulgar joke.

  The crowd gradually dispersed, and two small workers and a slender young woman were collecting tables, chairs, bowls and chopsticks. Liu Handong had seen this young woman before, she was the boss of the dog meat restaurant, looked pretty good, and didn't match her husband at all.

  The owner of the dog meat restaurant patted his body, pulled out half a pack of wrinkled Red Plum cigarettes, handed one to Liu Handong, who took it and put it in his mouth, letting the other person light it for him.

  "Brother, I'm Tu Hongbin, just call me Shanpao, thanks. From now on, come straight to my place for meals, it's free." said the generous and straightforward Chēzhóu Hánzǐ.

  Liu Handong looked at him: "I'm not helping you out, I just can't stand them bullying the minority with their numbers."

  Mountain cannon nodded and bowed: "Elegant, righteous, how should I address you, big brother?"

  Liu Handong said: "My name is Liu Handong, that's all, I'm leaving." He walked straight to the noodle stall on the other side of the road and called out: "Boss, a big bowl of pulled noodles."

  The mountain cannon heard this sentence and suddenly became angry, and went to pull Liu Handong without saying a word: "Brother, aren't you scolding me? What are we doing, opening a restaurant? If you have taboos, I'll invite you to eat at the restaurant."

  Liu Handong said: "I don't care about your words, your store is already in such a mess, what's the point of eating anymore?"

  "Easy as pie, Little Moon! Bring up a bundle of chilled Huaijiang, mix it with some cucumber and eggplant, grab a handful of peanuts and soybeans, and don't forget the fried cicadas. Let's have a drink with Big Brother!"

  The young woman named Xiaoyue responded with a soft and fluffy voice.

  In the backyard of Butcher's Dog Meat Restaurant, a simple small square table was set up, with various cold dishes placed on it. A box of chilled beer was fully opened and placed in the middle, along with a large plate of braised dog meat seasoned with Sichuan pepper and sesame oil, which smelled so good that it could kill people.

  Shan Pao helped Liu Handong pour a large bowl of beer, and he also filled himself up. With a serious expression, he raised his cup: "Big Brother, thank you again, I'll drink first to show my appreciation."

  He tilted his head back, gulped down the beer, wiped his mouth, and showed off the empty bowl.

  When it comes to drinking, Liu Handong, who came from a military background, is an expert and can finish a whole bottle in one breath.

  Suddenly someone came in from outside, wearing a police uniform with a big hat, and a walkie-talkie at his waist. The police from the police station finally arrived.

  "Who called the police?" The policeman scanned them.

  "It's nothing, just a misunderstanding." Shan Pao hastily explained, offering cigarettes.

  The police stopped him and said, "It's okay if nothing happened, be careful."

  "Yes, yes, yes." The mountain gun nodded and bowed, "I'll definitely pay attention next time."

  The police left, and the mountain gun was still behind, shouting: "Officer Zhang, come and have a drink when you're free."

  After returning, Liu Handong showed a face of disdain: "Mountain cannon, why didn't you tell the truth when you called the police?"

  Mountain cannon way: "I didn't call the police, it was the neighbors who called 110, and the police station is just on the other side of the bridge. It took so long to come over, do you think it's useful?"

  Liu Handong said: "Who are these people smashing your store? What did you do to provoke them?"

  The mountain cannon bowed his head and took a few fierce puffs of smoke, saying: "It's a hoodlum from Huahuo Village, led by Zhao YuFeng. At noon, he came to my store for lunch, touched my wife, and I punched him. In the afternoon, he brought three cars of people to smash my store."

  "With your skills, beating them up shouldn't be a problem, and you've got two helpers too. You were so fierce when you threatened me with a knife this morning, what's wrong now that you're chickening out?"

  "Brother, I'm not hiding it from you, I'm an outsider, doing business on someone else's turf. If the dragon gets angry, I'll be in trouble; if the tiger gets angry, I'll be in even more trouble. My two young brothers-in-law are only 16 or 17 years old, they just use knives to scare people, and when it comes to really fighting for their lives, they're still a bit lacking... If something happens, I won't be able to take responsibility..."

  After finishing speaking, he picked up his wine bowl and gulped it down, as if he had also swallowed his frustration in one mouthful.

  Liu Handong said: "If I don't make a move, how are you planning to end this?"

  "Let them smash it, and they'll be relieved..."

  Liu Handong pushed the table and stood up: "I understand, you don't dare to offend someone with the surname Zhao. Tu Hongbin, I look down on you, you're a coward. Someone is flirting with your wife, smashing your store, and you can still tolerate it? Are you even a man?"

  The wine bottle fell to the ground and shattered, Shan Pao's breathing became urgent, his fists clenched, and his two younger brothers pushed open the door curtain to look over.

  "Scram!" The mountain cannon let out a loud roar, and the two young men hastily retreated.

  Liu Handong stood up and wanted to leave.

  "Hey, big brother, wait a minute." Shan Pao seemed to be hesitating. "To be honest with you, I'm a fugitive from my hometown. I stabbed someone in the past and there's still a warrant out for me. I don't dare cause any trouble, I'm afraid of being caught by the police. If they investigate, it'll all come out. I'm already over 30 years old, I've left my hometown and can't even go back home for Chinese New Year. What about my wife? What about our unborn child?"

  The hillbilly hung his head and puffed on his cigarette.

  Liu Handong sat down, poured a bowl of wine and said: "I understand you, you are helpless, forcing yourself to hold back this breath. I read a sentence in the book, for one thing, it's not a true brave man to die without hesitation, but to live on with humiliation is a real hero."

  The words were somewhat obscure, but the mountain man understood them. He raised his head and said: "You're right, when I was young, I could fight with someone just by arguing a few words, now I really don't dare to do that anymore. I have to live on for my wife, for my parents, this life of mine is not something I can easily risk fighting with others."

  Liu Handong said: "Today's matter is not over yet, Zhao Yufeng will come back again, what are you going to do?"

  Shan Paodao said: "Zhao Yufeng is just a small hoodlum, he relies on his brother-in-law Hua Bao, Hua Bao has more than a dozen dump trucks under him, and all the construction sites around here transport soil and sand, he has a monopoly, and he's a local from Huahuo Village. So today Zhao Yufeng smashed my store, no one on the whole street dared to make a sound. I reckon if I'm not wrong, tonight they'll come and set fire to my store, this is their usual practice, can't be mistaken."

  Liu Handong said: "Since you've already guessed it, you must have a countermeasure."

  The mountain cannon smiled bitterly: "I'm just a dog meat seller, what can I do to fight with the underworld? After dinner, I'll let my wife and younger brother-in-law go out and hide. I'll stay alone and talk to them. It's not for anything else. This shop is rented by me. They smashed my things, but burning the landlord's house is not a big deal."

  Liu Handong said: "You're quite righteous, but in my opinion, it's better to take the initiative to attack!"

  Mountain cannon was startled: "Big brother, is this okay?"

  Liu Handong said, "Don't pick a fight, but when trouble comes, you can't be afraid of it. Passive defense and compromise will only make them look down on you more. Believe me, the best defense is to attack! Because this is a jungle society that only recognizes strength and wealth. We don't have much money, so we can only compete with others in terms of strength!"

  The mountain cannon thought for a moment, then slammed the table: "Do it! I'll bring a knife tonight and slash all the tires of their dump trucks."

  Liu Handong said, "You're a country bumpkin with no common sense at all. The tires of a loaded truck are high-pressure, if you stab one with a knife, the wheel will explode and kill you first. If you want to set it on fire, use some gasoline to ignite the car, the police won't be able to figure out who did it."

  Mountain cannon way: "Big brother, you still have experience."

  Liu Handong said, "This is a real solution, but it's not necessary to use it now. Zhao Yufeng has someone come to smash your store, and there's no fundamental conflict of interest between you two. You don't have to risk your life with him. The underworld is like sticky candy, once you're stuck, you can't get rid of it. Fighting back and forth will cost you a lot, so why not find Zhao Yufeng's backing and make things clear? That guy who's called Flower Leopard or something, I'll arrange for your sister to hide at my place first. I'll go with you to take care of this matter."

  "Hey you two, come in!" shouted the mountain cannon at the entrance.

  Two young workers walked in, with downy hair on their upper lips, slender and tall, about 1.7 meters, looking no more than sixteen or seventeen years old.

  "These are my two younger brothers-in-law. The older one is Sun Jikai and the younger one is Sun Jiatao. Pour a glass of wine for Liu Ge." Mountain Cannon ordered.

  Two young men took turns serving Liu Handong a bowl of wine, and after drinking it, he said: "Tonight, you two don't sleep, take the stick and guard at the back of the store. I estimate someone will come to make trouble. If there are few people, just knock them down. If there are many people, report to the police. Can your mobile phone take videos?"

  "Can."

  "Alright, take a photo of the evidence, and remember don't force it, you two are still young and lack experience."

  "Listen up, you two little rascals! Got it memorized?"

  "Understood." they replied in unison.

  Xiao Yue brought over a bowl of dog meat soup and two hard cornbread-like mantou.

  Mountain cannon glared: "The wine hasn't been drunk well yet, and it's already on the rice. There is no eye color at all."

  Liu Handong took a look under the table and saw that there were already six empty bottles, so he said: "We've had enough to drink, if we have any more it will be counterproductive, let's eat."

  "Alright, let's eat first and then go fight after we're full."

  Xiao Yue was frightened: "Hong Bin, never fight with others."

  "Hillbilly Dao said: 'You women don't understand anything, mind your own business when it comes to men's affairs.'"

  Liu Handong furrowed his brow and didn't say a word.

  After eating and drinking enough, Liu Handong asked the Sun brothers to send Xiaoyue to his rented house to avoid trouble for a while, then asked Shanpao: "Is there anything handy?"

  "There's nothing else, just a lot of guys." Shan Pao pushed open the kitchen door, and inside, the air was thick with the smell of blood. The walls were hung with all sorts of knives and axes: bone-choppers, bone-scrapers, skinners, meat-cutters... A large, cold-looking cleaver was stuck in a heavy wooden chopping block, reminding Liu Handong of the divine knife from "Domestic 007" that had been inscribed by Comrade Ping.

  "That's it." Liu Handong pulled out the kitchen knife, and the killing intent filled the kitchen.