Chapter 2: How wonderful it is to be alive

  At the same time, in a small town street not far from the village, this was just the beginning of the bustling nightlife of the small town people. On summer evenings, it was unusually hot and humid, especially in such a small town, where mosquitoes buzzed and houses were stuffy, so people would gather in twos and threes on the streets to enjoy the cool evening air, with barbecue stalls and bars everywhere, as well as vendors setting up their night markets.

  After a busy day, the townspeople only feel most comfortable at night. Three or five partners and friends gather around a table, eating loudly roasted and fragrant barbecue, drinking Hans beer or Tsingtao beer.

  In the Guanzhong region, people basically only drank Baoji beer and Hans beer. Later, after the national beer industry underwent continuous shuffling and reorganization, many capital holders emerged wanting to take a share of the market.

  It has formed a situation where Qingdao, Yanjing, Snowflake, Harbin, Carlsberg and Budweiser are all vying for dominance, no one is willing to give in, and everyone is a powerful company with a strong background, only relying on real skills to compete for industry discourse power.

  In the distance, at a barbecue stall in front of the town government building, three or four young people who looked like they were just over twenty years old were drinking Qingdao beer by the mouthful, eating meat by the mouthful, and laughing and crying loudly as if no one was around.

  The town doesn't look very prosperous, the streets are still shabby and dirty, but this won't disturb the enthusiasm of these drinkers at all. They don't care where they drink, what matters is who they drink with.

  "This place is not even worth a bird's shit, if it were in our Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, Third Brother, Heizi, I'd treat you to the best wine, the most beautiful women, and the best cars. Haha, but since there are people like you from this place, it must be a good place, no wonder those emperors wanted to be buried here." The guy speaking was carefree, puffing on a Xuanwu cigarette, which wasn't a common brand circulating in the market, but rather a special internal brand supplied by Jiangsu Tobacco Company for the Nanjing Military Region. This guy's eyes had a hint of disdain, but more so reverence, his body looked robust, with explosive muscles and a height of over 1.85 meters, making people around him dare not approach. His skin was slightly dark, and he wore clothes that were clearly distinguishable from those of the locals, as the latest Dior short-sleeved shirt, jeans, and Armani leather shoes weren't something anyone in this small town could afford. This outfit must have cost a fortune, enough to scare the ordinary townspeople half to death, it's clear he made a lot of money, but how much time did he spend working for it?

  "Get out, can you drink or not? If you can't, hurry back to Zhejiang, don't stay here in this JB." A slightly dark but robust young man was scolded by another smiling young man sitting opposite him. The guy who got scolded didn't get angry, just smiled foolishly a few times, making people wonder if he had some kind of masochistic tendencies.

  "Hei Zi, I'm telling you, you're a complete scoundrel, born to be taken advantage of by San Ge, haha"

  Li Sansheng, familiar people call him San Ge, unfamiliar ones call out San Sheng, male, from Guanzhong, height over 1.8 meters, weight 150, with just a few months to go before his 21st birthday, grandson of Old Man Li, descendant of the Li family, unknown experiences, unknown martial arts skills, unknown intelligence, boss-type big demon.

  Hei Zi, male, from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, with abnormal martial arts skills, has been receiving militarized training since childhood, height 185cm, weight 180 pounds, a strong and powerful character.

  "Lao Meng, our relationship is pretty solid, right? People say that those who have been through thick and thin together, who have been to jail, slept with the same woman, are all sworn brothers. Remember when you went to Xi'an Sunlight Convention Center last time? I was the one who invited you as a guest. Those two music academy girls were really something else, haha! You say that Er Long dared to scold me, shouldn't we beat him up together?" Hei Zi yelled, pulling on Lao Meng's arm, but if he didn't have that somewhat flirtatious smile on his face, it would be hard for people not to suspect that these two guys were a couple, like they'd watched "Brokeback Mountain" one too many times.

  "Haha, you're still daring to mention last time? If it wasn't for my body being okay, I would have been beaten down by those guys. I'm already being nice not settling the score with you, and you still dare to say you want to beat up Er Long? Haha, come on then! I'm looking forward to seeing how you, a nobody from Xi'an, will be chased down by our little Er Long and his gang. Haha... but I can consider helping you collect your corpse." The young man named Lao Meng couldn't help but laugh at himself as he spoke, probably imagining the scene of Hei Zi being chased by a large group of men and bursting into bloom (a Chinese idiom for being beaten badly). That would be quite a spectacular sight.

  Lao Meng, Li Sansheng Tie Ge men, 21 years old, IQ is abnormal, physical strength is average, and Li Sansheng are separated by several villages, junior high school classmates, relationship can be entrusted with life.

  Two Dragons, Li Sansheng are from the same village, a group of thugs who don't care about their lives. They have been best friends since childhood and dropped out of elementary school to start hanging out in society. From small towns to big cities, they've been through it all - cutting people, getting cut, killing people but never being killed themselves. They've cried, sweated, and even knelt down for others. Now, they're considered to have made a name for themselves, earning the respect of many who appear wealthy and powerful, addressing them as "Dragon Brother". With a smile on their face, they're like a tiger - loyal but not foolish. If someone tries to play tricks on them, Two Dragons will surely make many people stunned.

  Li San Sheng, who had been drinking beer at a steady pace, would take three sips of wine and eat one bite of meat, then look up to see his three sworn brothers, with whom he had shared life and death experiences, scolding each other on the side. Whenever they got excited from scolding, they would pick up their almost empty beer glasses and down them in one gulp.

  Thinking of myself who has already lived for 20 years, I have experienced no major ups and downs but many extraordinary and heart-wrenching small stories. After struggling to get to where I am today, it's already a blessing from heaven that I have a few close friends with whom I can drink and fight together. No matter what time it is, even when Er Long was at his lowest point, being beaten on the street and having to be bailed out by others, my blood was boiling or I was young and ignorant, and in front of a group of Inner Mongolian men who had already experienced life's hardships, I was humiliated to the extreme. When I was finally beaten to the ground, covered in blood from head to toe, Er Long screamed "don't" as he crawled forward with all his might. At that moment, Li San Sheng also knelt down without hesitation, under the disdainful and mocking eyes of those Inner Mongolian men, kneeling firmly and decisively, never regretting it...

  Because Li Sānshēng from childhood to adulthood heard the only person who could be considered his own family, his grandfather, say the most often, whether sober or drunk, was "Being alive is good"

  That nameless old man, called Li Lao Tou by everyone in the village, had been raising himself for twenty years with hardships and bitterness. The struggles he faced were heart-wrenching to watch. Grandfather once told me that no matter what others ask you to do, as long as you think it's worth doing, then go ahead and do it. The saying "there is gold under a boy's knees" is just nonsense. If there really was gold, I'd give it to the old man and let him dig for it himself. If he's lucky, maybe he'll even find some. But if he collapses from exhaustion, the chances of finding gold will be even higher.

  Li Sansheng never complained or grumbled, nor did he blame heaven and earth, because nearly twenty years of experience and the harsh reality of society had told him that even the most insignificant people have their own bitter times.

  Shook his head, and with a sweep of his hand, he downed the beer he had opened for himself, gave Erlong a chestnut, and bellowed at everyone to drink together and finish off another bottle.

  The wine was drunk with gusto, the four big men blowing bottle after bottle, meanwhile many of the town's street urchins who looked like they were up to no good came running over to fawn on Li San Sheng and Er Long, offering them cigarettes, and even the town's police officers who were out on patrol at night smiled and waved when they saw Li San Sheng and Er Long.

  Four people were walking unsteadily on the road back to their village, with everyone except Li Sansheng already drunk. Li Sansheng had never been drunk a few times because his capacity for liquor was not exaggerated, and he had secretly drunk his grandfather's old wine from a calabash gourd since childhood. Later, his grandfather intentionally or unintentionally began to cultivate Li Sansheng's drinking capacity, and in the end, Li Sansheng had indeed never been outdrunk by many people after so many years of drinking. Moreover, his grandfather had required him that even when drinking with close friends and sworn brothers, he should always remain sober, because you never know who might stab you in the back or kick you from behind.

  But seeing these big guys next to him rushing back to accompany him for a last drink before he leaves tomorrow, Li Sansheng was actually quite moved. Lao Meng is that kind of freakishly talented guy, from young to old, no matter if it's studying or doing other things, he's always the genius and center of attention in everyone's eyes, handsome, good at basketball, good at soccer, even playing chess and checkers, there's no one among his peers who can beat him, freakishly talented to the point of being infuriating.

  Bi Xuzhi is one year older, and last year he entered the Renmin University of China as the top scorer in the science section of the Shaanxi Provincial College Entrance Examination. He vowed to control the country's finances in the future. In Renmin University, Bi Xuzhi was very popular, his abnormal IQ and unparalleled talent, as well as his insight into finance, economics, and the market, made him a treasure among the older professors at Renmin University.

  "Third brother, although you're younger than me, I still want to call you 'brother'. From young till now, I, Er Long, have never thought that I've wronged many people, but I, Er Long, have wronged you. This life of mine belongs to you, and if anyone dares to harm you, I'll fight them to the death, even if it means my own family is destroyed...". Er Long might have really had too much to drink, as he said this, a big, tough man like him burst into tears, only in front of Li San Sheng did he allow himself to be so unguarded.

  "Three lives, Heizi has never owed anyone, but I still owe you Li Sansheng." Heizi seemed to have been infected by Er Long's emotions, and while supporting the crying and shouting Er Long, he also started complaining. The abnormally strong Heizi could even carry Er Long on his back for a few miles.

  Li Sansheng listened and didn't say a word, only gazing faintly with a smile that wasn't quite a smile at the starless night sky, because the scar on his back was left by Heizi.

  Several old men walked on the highway in the middle of the night, crying and shouting as they moved forward. The crickets in the weeds by the side of the road chirped incessantly, as if watching the commotion. Only Li San Sheng remained sober.

  Tomorrow, Li Sansheng will have to leave his elderly grandfather once again. He feels a bit uncomfortable in his heart, always with a sense of entanglement and helplessness. He is moved that his three sworn brothers can come see him off, as well as those guys who called him on the phone at night.

  I recalled a sentence and read it silently in the depths of my heart, then smiled and looked up at the dark night sky, saying to myself with a hint of self-mockery: "Being alive is so good."

  The bumpy road was particularly uncomfortable to walk on, and as they approached the village, Hei Zi, who had a drinking capacity second only to Li San Sheng, carried Er Long on his back, while Li San Sheng carried Lao Meng. Lao Meng, who was from an older generation, kept shouting out a girl's name, and Li San Sheng thoughtfully looked at the obviously mismatched Lao Meng on his back, coldly recalling that enchanting girl who had left Lao Meng severely injured.

  Sometimes the motivation brought by sadness is much greater than that brought by happiness. Lao Meng's story was a bloody one, Li San Sheng cursed in his heart. The life of being fed and clothed by his mother, with his cold-blooded reality, slapped Lao Meng hard when he was only 18 years old. If Lao Meng's family background were to be pulled to the present day, controlling half of the wealth in the southeastern coastal region, it would not be considered anything special, but in relatively backward central and western regions, it was still considered to have some money.

  The overbearing old Mong walked into Xi'an Jiaotong University Affiliated High School, which is backed by the prestigious Xi'an Jiaotong University, with the identity of the city's number one. Although Xi'an Jiaotong University Affiliated High School may not be as famous as other top schools in Shaanxi such as Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School and Xi'an No. 1 Middle School, which have produced the province's top scorers in liberal arts and sciences year after year, old Mong chose this school because he had his eyes on the university behind it - Xi'an Jiaotong University. This way, old Mong would have more time to study what he likes at the university, read books and materials that interest him.

  It was during the second semester of his sophomore year that Lao Meng fell in love with a freshman girl from Jiaotong University. At that time, Lao Meng was already a dazzling figure in school, even more famous than the principal, and he looked down on girls who were about the same age as him. One day, he met this girl who made his heart skip a beat at the library of Jiaotong University, but in the end, she hurt him so badly that he was left with no dignity intact.

  Lao Meng always shouts the name of this girl after drinking, everyone knows but no one mentions it. Lao Meng doesn't hate that girl and that man, but hates this damn society.

  Li Sansheng sneered, imagining the day when Old Mong ascended to the altar and met that girl again. What would Erlong be like? Grandfather said he had the ability to turn his hand into clouds and cover his hand with rain. In the end, what level would he mix to? And Heizi, who will graduate from National Defense University next year, will smoothly enter the Lanzhou Military Region arranged by the family. What would it be like when he walked out of the Lanzhou Military Region after achieving success and fame?

  When he saw the village near at hand, Li Sansheng asked himself with a self-deprecating smile.

  I was admitted to a private university with ordinary grades, becoming the laughing stock of my entire high school, except for the old principal who still looked up to me without hesitation, and I smiled wryly.

  I recall what Grandpa said when he was drunk again: I raised you for twenty years, accumulating wealth and then spending it lavishly. I suppressed you for twenty years, letting you fly high and act recklessly, just to let you slap everyone in the face one day.