Because of the extra Cao Jing, there were only four small stools in the room. After Zhang Sanqian finished cooking, he took a bowl of rice and squatted at the door, burying his head and eating wildly, giving up his seat to the four adults. In his eyes, the adult world was like this: Uncle San played the role of an all-knowing and all-powerful genius, Wang Hu was a self-proclaimed "Great General" who liked to show off, Wang Jiefang was a bit pitiful and was just a small follower beside him, Wei Duogong was a smiling tiger who would eat people without spitting out bones. But when it came to Cao Jing, she suddenly became a woman with ulterior motives, like a snake that had bitten him once before. The more Zhang Sanqian paid attention to Cao Jing's words and actions, the more he felt that she might be a wild chicken neck that had become a spirit, just like the old man in Zhangjiacun said, this kind of snake could live for 70 or 80 years, grow a crest on its head, have colorful stripes, and be deadly with one bite. So Zhang Sanqian ate his rice while carefully observing Cao Jing, afraid that this beautiful wild chicken neck would suddenly pounce on his uncle. But when he finished his second bowl of rice, the woman hadn't swallowed his uncle whole, but instead seemed to be looking at Master Wang Hu and his follower Wang Jiefang with a mixture of admiration and reverence in her eyes. Zhang Sanqian was good at reading people's expressions, so he found it strange that three big men couldn't even match the aura of one quiet woman eating dinner. After dinner, Zhang Sanqian cleaned up all the pots and pans, but when Cao Jing tried to help, she was refused, and the woman didn't insist either. Zhang Sanqian cursed her as a hypocrite in his heart.

  It's hard to imagine that these four vagrants from Shanghai to Nanjing would still play basketball from time to time, two on two, Chen Er Gou and Zhang San Qian in one team, Wang Hu Sheng and Wang Jie Fang, the difficult brothers, in another. Although Zhang San Qian was small, he was as agile as a loach, running with the ball with cunning, plus Chen Er Gou had built a simple basketball frame with Fu Gui in Zhangjia Village, so they played for a while whenever they had nothing to do, and on the court, they took the initiative. Cao Jing Jie was the referee, seeing two bald men splitting a traitor's head and a three-seven split, she couldn't help but take out her camera and snap a few shots. She really didn't expect Chen Er Gou to shoot so accurately, almost every time he shot without interference. When Cao Jing Jie blew the final whistle, Chen Er Gou, who was covered in sweat, rubbed Zhang San Qian's head hard, laughing heartily, his face as rosy as a peach blossom. The little kid made a face at the two defeated players sitting on the ground panting heavily.

  "Hey, Er Gou, want a father-son photo?" Cao Jiuqian joked, holding up the camera.

  "Done!" Chen Ergou laughed and squatted down, letting Zhang Sanqian sit on his shoulders. Zhang Sanqian, who had just won the game, rode on Chen Ergou's neck, smiling with his eyes narrowed, revealing two small dimples, looking extremely cute. Even though he had been influenced by Wang Hu's philosophy of life and his inferior knowledge system, and had seen and heard all sorts of people's joys and sorrows at Ah Mei's restaurant, this child was still as clean as a white birch tree in the vast snowy wilderness.

  Two flat heads, one big and one small, with two identical smiling faces, frozen in time.

  Even Wang Jiefang, a thoroughbred cold-blooded animal, showed some warmth when he saw this scene. Since following his brother Wang Huren out of the village, he had been making a living under the nose of King Yan, and because there was no guarantee that one meal would lead to another, women were always seen as tools for release. Just two days ago, he had slept with a woman whose husband worked as the chief operating officer at a foreign company in Shanghai, and according to Wang Huren's words, this beast not only couldn't afford to buy an apartment but also made those women take out money from their piggy banks to compensate him for his physical labor. This unadulterated animal suddenly had a ridiculous idea when looking at Zhang Sanqian and Chen Ergou: finding a beautiful woman to have a pretty son wouldn't be bad either. Wang Jiefang lit a cigarette for Wang Huren first, then lit one himself, sat on the ground blowing smoke rings, and muttered to himself: "I don't know who gave Zhang Sanqian's father in Zhangjiashan a green hat, but it's not easy to raise a son with such a character."

  "A dog's mouth can only have dog teeth."

  Wang Jiefang heard Wang Hu's muttering and scolded with a smile, kicking him away. "You can get on the bed, but don't have kids with those sluts. I hate it when they pretend to be noble women under the bed, but are like wolves on top of the bed, eager to devour men. In fact, they're just a bunch of whores. That woman is just a promiscuous person, and you're willing to have a distant conversation with her."

  "Little brother, she's got a lot of tricks up her sleeve, and it's not just anyone who can be a public outlet. This time, it was her husband in Suzhou who kept a mistress from Soochow University, and that's why she cheated on him to get revenge. I'm not like Zhang Shengli, who thinks every roadside prostitute is a treasure. Don't worry, I won't embarrass you. If I want to play, I'll definitely play with women who have a good figure, education, and money."

  Wang Jiefang had never seen Wang Huzi use that kind of deep, profound talk before. Zhang Sanqian thought this man was quite skilled at fighting, but he was just a small fry. That's because he had seen the humility that came from deep within Wang Huzi when he was in front of him. But there was only one little brother who could make Wang Jiefang submit and obey, and that was because this kind of person had seen it all, been through bloodshed and killing, and was wild and fierce, yet extremely good-looking. When they went to the wealthy ladies' gatherings, they would naturally be popular, and to a large extent, they would even surpass those who wore famous brands from head to toe, applied perfume, and didn't forget to take care of themselves every day. Even when they were with big shots like Wei Duan Gong, they wouldn't look down on Wang Jiefang. This was Wang Jiefang's skill. In this world, there were many men who could fight, and not a few who were handsome and could fight. But those who could fight with their lives on the line, who would dare to pull the emperor off his horse and say "I don't care about my life", those kinds of men were rare.

  "I don't care if she's a virtuous woman or a shameless slut, but if you dare to cause trouble for me and drag Er Gou and San Qian into the mess in Nanjing, I'll chop off your little bird and feed it to the dogs." Wang Hu remained shirtless, smoking with his arms bare.

  "It's a big bird." Wang Jiefang chuckled and said.

  "Old man."

  Wang Hu leapt up and started punching and kicking Wang Jiefang, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. As he beat him, he cursed and even took the time to smooth out his hairdo, "Big Bird, I'll make you big. I'll beat you to death, Dead Bird!"

  Cao Cao was stunned, Chen Er Gou smiled and said: "Nothing to worry about, get used to it, one is willing to hit and the other is willing to be hit. The matter of Zhou Yu hitting Huang Gai, just treat it as watching a show."

  After playing basketball, the four of them went to a public bathroom one after another to take a shower. Chen Ergou asked Zhang Sanqian to practice playing the erhu, seemingly unsure how to entertain Cao Jingjian. He thought about going to buy her some fruit, but she put down the book "The Cambridge Illustrated History of War" and smiled: "I'm also almost ready to head back to the hotel in the city. Tomorrow I'll be leaving Nanjing. From now on, nothing will be as certain as it was before. My life is full of unknowns, and I only have a 60% grasp on things. But don't worry about wealth and status, even if he makes a huge mistake, he won't lose his promising future. This is my promise to you."

  Zhang Sanqian played "Er Quan Ying Yue", immersed in it, ignoring Cao Jing's words, the erhu was simple and played naively, but like the first white lotus flower blooming in a pond, not dazzling, even a bit monotonous, but winning in that subtle and implicit spiritual connection.

  Chen Ergou listened to Cao Jing's words, lowering his head, unable to see his face clearly.

  He was the only one who walked out of Zhangjiadun, even when he bumped into Wang Hu and got his eyes scratched. He took on a role similar to that of a father for Zhang Sanqian, even if it meant getting into bed with Mu Xiaoyao and taking her virginity. But in reality, this young man who had never won any respect or admiration in his life was always lonely at heart. No one ever lent him a helping hand when he was down on his knees, nor did he plan to tell anyone about the humiliation, including Xiaoyao. When he got into trouble with Zhao Kunpeng, no one helped him out either, and he didn't plan to share the thrilling experience with anyone else. He came to Shanghai alone and left Shanghai alone, feeling lonely, isolated, and worn out. Chen Ergou was not a literary person or an artistic youth; he didn't have many feelings worth writing about in a big way. He also couldn't find elegant words from his limited vocabulary to embellish what he thought was still a very ordinary life. Occasionally, when he thought of the woman in front of him who seemed within reach but actually wasn't, he would feel motivated to climb higher and talk to her at a higher level. He wanted to invite her to the Oriental Pearl Tower and take her out for a meal at Huangpu River. But now she was leaving, and it was highly likely that they would never meet again. As a result, some of the hard places in his heart that had been taken for granted suddenly collapsed.

  Chen Ergou's heart was tied in a knot, twisting and turning, seemingly endless, yet he couldn't say a word. He remained silent for a long time, until he thought she would definitely leave. Just then, Chen Ergou finally lifted his head, only to see a calm face gazing at him. The knot in Chen Ergou's heart tightened instantly, and he forced out a smile, saying softly, "How about I play a tune for you?"

  "Good."

  Cao Jingyue still said this word.

  Chen Ergou's smile was bitter, he took a deep breath, pulled over a small stool, glanced at the old pipe on the wall, and took the erhu from Zhang Sanqian. "This tune, both the lyrics and the melody were composed by myself, you are the first person to hear it."

  Close your eyes.

  The erhu is played.

  Chen Er Gou opens his mouth to sing, no longer the desolate flower tune on the small mound of Zhangjia Village, but a vast and sorrowful song of the Northeast's snowy land, hoarse and mournful.

  Riding a white horse among thousands of people, holding yellow on the left and blue on the right. With one heart thinking only of Wang Baochuan.

  Clothing as white as snow returning to the Central Plains, breaking through the vast wilderness, shooting at the heavenly wolf. Putting down the Western Coolness, not going to care...

  The song is over.

  Cao Jing asked in a soft voice, tilting her head: "What's your name, miss?"

  Chen Ergou gazed at Cao Jingzhu with an almost reckless abandon, but ultimately shook his head and said, "It still doesn't have a name."

  Cao Cao did not believe him, but he didn't pursue the matter further.

  She thought and thought with her extremely clever brain, thinking as she walked out the door, still thinking after leaving the neighborhood, and even checking into the best hotel in Nanjing city.

  One sleepless night, lying in bed thinking, when the sky brightened, Cao Jing's eyes turned red, not knowing whether it was due to exhaustion or something getting into her eyes, she muttered: "Oh, it's 'Jing'. (If you want to know what happens next, please log in, more chapters available, support the author, support the official version!)