Fu Gui and the three Northeast Tiger dagger soldiers followed the address on the letter, and soon arrived at their destination. Jiang Qingdi seemed not to have expected that Chen Fu Gui's younger brother would live in such a mediocre residential area. Lin Ju Xiong's massive and heavy body was intimidating with every step.
At that time, Chen Ergou, who was receiving guidance from Cao Qiujian, still held the materials in his hand, opened the door, and saw a face that was even darker and more radiant than Zhang Jiazhuang, and also more steady as Mount Tai. It was a finally not silly smiling majestic face, with huge contours, extremely masculine. The hardships of the army did not dull his talent hidden for over 20 years, but instead made him rise rapidly to become a prominent figure.
Just as Chen Ergou was relieved that this fierce guy had finally learned to be serious, Chen Fugui suddenly squeezed out a radiant smile like the sun, and his imposing manner of a master immediately disappeared without a fight. Chen Ergou, who had just felt that Fugui had a bit of a heroic role, instinctively got angry, punched Fugui's sturdy chest, pulled at his camouflage uniform, and scolded: "You don't even know that wearing a military uniform with epaulets can reveal your rank when you come to Nanjing."
"Just two stripes and two stars, wearing them out is embarrassing. Moreover, after entering the Northeast Tigers, all signs of activity outside must be torn off, this is discipline." Chen Fugui grinned foolishly.
"Damn it, bring him out and let me wear it for two days, Lieutenant, how narrow-minded! That's not enough to scare our Zhangjiadun village committee secretary." Chen Ergou said with some resentment. Jiang Qingdi's strong heart skipped a beat, and his originally handsome face, which had become even more charming under the influence of family history, was slightly unnatural. Before coming to Nanjing, he had imagined the encounter between Fugui Ge and his brother, and had guessed countless times about the appearance of "Ergou". He didn't expect him to be a slender and refined southern man. Nor did he expect him to have such a dirty mind. Jiang Qingdi was heartbroken because of Chen Fugui's high expectations of Chen Ergou. Lin Juxiong, on the other hand, seemed to take it in stride, as if he identified with Chen Ergou's petty-mindedness.
"Didn't you let your brother and the guests in?" Cao Jing smiled and stood beside Chen Ergou, instantly entering a virtuous wife and good mother state after getting the marriage certificate. She blushed as she looked at Chen Fugui's smile, which was almost dazzling, and said: "Have you eaten yet? If not, I'll go cook now."
"Help you hold the erhu, and the money on your body is enough to buy this." Chen Fugui handed over the carefully protected erhu to Chen Ergou before entering the door. Then he said a sentence that made Jiang Qingdi and Cao Jingyi involuntarily sigh and feel ashamed: "If I had known you liked military uniforms, I would have borrowed one from our 39th Group Army's old commander for you. It wouldn't be too much trouble. Just one star, the deputy commander of the military region has two stars on his shoulder. However, I'm not familiar with him, we just met at the commendation meeting and exchanged a few words. I don't think I can borrow it. Before departure, I asked the old commander if he could use his connections to get a few tanks from the Nanjing Military Region for you as a wedding car. My intention was that even if there were no ZTZ-99 main battle tanks, an armored vehicle could be used instead. Unfortunately, the old commander did not agree."
"If the old general agrees with you, then he's not crazy about fighting, scolding people, protecting his son, or being called 'Wang San Fatty', he's really gone mad." Jiang Qingdi muttered in a low voice, and as a result, she was pulled into the room by Lin Juxiong's thick arm around her neck.
Cao Du Cong entered the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, thinking of Fu Gui and Lin Ju Xiong's large physique, worried that the food he made would only be enough for them to fill their teeth, so he asked Chen Er Gou for the car key and rushed to the supermarket. Lin Ju Xiong wanted to sit on the sandalwood chair after being released by Jiang Qing Di, but was kicked in the buttocks by Chen Fu Gui and scolded: "Sit on the broken chair. Be careful that my brother's wife will take our Er Gou as a vent tonight." Lin Ju Xiong simply sat on the ground, scratching his head, not getting angry. Although Jiang Qing Di seemed to be a free-spirited person, this did not prevent him from being one of the most outstanding talents in his class at the National Defense University. In other words, he not only squandered the remaining water chestnuts of the National Defense University, but also excelled in various hard indicators such as tactical theory research, far surpassing the average standard. Jiang's old man was a famous Chinese military strategist, and the old man from the Red Fourth Army had always been proud of his contributions to the Republic, who knew that he regarded his children and grandchildren as failures. Only Jiang Qing Di was personally taught by him, exceptionally favored, and treated better than Cao Du Cong in the Cao family. This was why Jiang Qing Di dared to join the 39th Army, which was far away from his family. Jiang Qing Di flipped through books quickly, and although he didn't have a photographic memory, his memory was much better than ordinary people. The young generation of the Jiang family almost all studied at Tsinghua University, known for only having two kinds of people: those who worked hard to be inhuman and those who were smart to be inhuman. The younger generation admired Jiang Qing Di as a role model, showing that this young master was quite capable.
"The large-scale skin is clean and elegant, the music is clear and pure, the phoenix-eye bamboo bow is even and harmonious. This top-grade white horse tail... this thing must be worth a lot of money." Chen Ergou sat in his chair, tapping and slapping the erhu with a satisfied expression, but then his face suddenly turned gloomy, he wiped his face and glanced at Chen Fugui standing beside him: "I've been away from Zhangjiashan for so long, I managed to get my hands on a set of villas and this little nest, and even got an Audi. But in the end, I still couldn't find something suitable for you, and now you're giving me gifts with your meager army allowance."
Chen Fugui stretched out a palm that was exceptionally thick and wide. The calluses on his palms were even denser than Chen Ergou's. He patted the head of his younger brother, who had started thinking about buying him something as soon as he made his first buck in Shanghai, and chuckled: "I don't lack anything, just wait till you and your wife have four big fat sons or daughters, and they can jump up and down calling me 'Uncle', that'll be even more enjoyable than the time we jumped into the Heihe River to catch fish on a snowy day."
"This thing is hard for me to rush alone." Chen Erdou chuckled and casually pulled a few strings of the erhu.
"Your brother's wife has a good eye for people, she can see how great you are, I've thought about it over and over again. And I think she's the most suitable for you." Chen Fugui squatted beside Chen Erdou, propping up his cheek with his hand and smiling foolishly.
Jiang Qingdi's mouth twitched involuntarily as he rolled his eyes. The whole world was talking about why the Cao family woman had been bewitched and had her heart blinded by pig oil, mistakenly boarding a pirate ship. But Rich Brother didn't know whether it was obstinacy or overconfidence in Er Gou, Jiang Qingdi was helpless and didn't dare show any dissatisfaction, otherwise Lin Juxiong, who could wrestle with wild boars, would take him down. Jiang Qingdi's body was inferior to Lin Juxiong's, which made him suffer a disadvantage, no matter how he struggled against Lin Juxiong, whose sword had no edge, but still managed to exert his innate advantage to the extreme, defeating ten with one move. Jiang Qingdi sighed alone, and could only comfort himself by thinking of Yan Ruyu's golden house in the book.
While Lin Juxiong seemed to be interested in the two red carp in the celadon fish tank, his hand was stirring the water non-stop, it's unknown whether he was feeling for the rain flower stone or grabbing the carp. When Cao Guanjia returned with groceries, the whole house became as abnormal as usual, with Jiang Qingdi being the most normal. Chen Erdou played a folk song on his erhu, and Cao Guanjia could almost hear it from downstairs. Fu Gui was squatting on the ground helping Chen Erdou stuff a pinch of his specially collected northeast tobacco into his pipe. As for Lin Juxiong, there's no need to say more, a wild man with a sturdy build was enthusiastically teasing the two small carp in a state of abandon. Whoever saw that scene would be unacceptable. Fortunately, Cao Guanjia had strong nerves and made a sumptuous dinner for the four old men, Lin Juxiong being from Hubei could eat spicy food, so Cao Guanjia who usually preferred light flavors didn't hold back on the chili peppers, her northeast dishes were also becoming more authentic, a full pot of rice was quickly devoured and a table of dishes was swept clean. Fortunately, Chen Fugui who was 60% full sent Lin Juxiong and Jiang Qingdi away to find their own place to sleep, despite Cao Guanjia and Chen Erdou's attempts to persuade them to stay, as soon as the two left, Cao Guanjia's face turned red and said: "Fugui, you sleep in Erdou's study's small bed tonight, it's a bit narrow. Is that okay?"
The underlying meaning of this sentence is that Chen Ergou can sleep in her room tonight. Just as Cao Jing was feeling embarrassed, Chen Fugui, who was clever but very traditional in some ways, noticed her difficulty. He also advocated for men and women not to be too open before marriage, and after Ergou drank the wedding wine with her, it would be like going to a remote mountain to fight a guerrilla war, which had nothing to do with Chen Fugui. So he smiled and said: "Tonight I'll sleep on the floor of the study, and Ergou will still sleep in the small bed. I'm a person who can fall asleep anywhere, even while standing in the army."
"How can this be?" Cao Qiang frowned and said.
"No problem, I also want to talk to Fugui. We're a family, no need for formalities. We're all rough and simple people, sleeping on the floor is nothing big, it's very normal." Chen Ergou said with a tone of finality, with an air of being the master of the house.
At night, after the lights were out, Chen Fugui lay down on a straw mat on the floor. He was bare-chested and only wore a pair of large pants, not even needing a pillow, he just put his neatly folded camouflage uniform under his head. The light from the window shone on his body, which was much more robust than Chen Ergou's, with a dark bronze color, without an ounce of excess flesh, every muscle proportionate and containing explosive power, like a god.
His strong and handsome face, clean-shaven, looked even more profound in the dim light, quietly gazing into the distance.
"When are we going back to Shenyang?" asked Chen Ergou, who was only wearing a pair of underpants.
"The latest is that I have to return to the troops by the day after tomorrow. Once I arrive at the military district, I'm afraid I'll be heading straight to Xinjiang for my mission." Chen Fugui's mouth curved into a gentle smile, and only when he was with this brother who had been by his side for over 20 years would he not just have a silly grin or be completely serious. In this modernized army where cold weapons were gradually becoming obsolete, he was able to stand out time and time again, earning the reputation in the Shenyang Military District as the future "First King of Soldiers". He couldn't help but be like a wolf, a tiger, or a demon, for only the strong could command respect. Chen Fugui had understood this principle from the moment he entered the military, and he had always adhered to it, advancing forward like an untiring king of the Changbai Mountains. But when he returned to Chen Ergou's side, he seemed to still be just that simple older brother who ate small pieces of meat and wore thin clothes, simple to the point of foolishness.
"Going to Xinjiang... I know it's a military secret, so I won't ask." Chen Ergou smiled and gazed at the ceiling, sighing in admiration. "It's only been this long, and you're already a lieutenant colonel! By the time you're 40, you'll probably be a general, and when that happens, we'll all go to our graves together, with our families in tow - Old Man and Mother will be overjoyed!"
"You're more successful than me, with a car and a house, and you've even got a beautiful wife." Chen Fugui grinned from ear to ear.
"What kind of achievement is this? It's just good luck, bumping into a few influential people, being clever in small ways, and after killing two people with one blow, I somehow managed to climb to this position. But until today, I haven't even left Nanyang, and next I'll have to deal with a woman named Zhū Yè Qīng, whom I'm not confident I can defeat... it's giving me a headache."
Chén èr Gǒu crossed his arms under his head and chuckled: "But don't worry about this. You focus on completing your task well. We're just ordinary people without any background, so we need to work harder and be more careful if we want to stand out. When you become a general, I'll also bask in the glory... two words: prestige. Six words: that's really prestigious."
Chen Fugui smiled but did not speak.
"Alas, tomorrow is the banquet, unfortunately Sanqian can't come. I also mentioned to you in my letter that Sanqian and I fled from Shanghai to Nanjing together. That kid can endure hardship and has talent. Who knows what kind of person Master Zhuge will bring up in the future? It seems that the Feng Shui of our Zhangjiazhuang is not bad." Chen Ergou couldn't help but think of that stubborn child who turned back at every step when they parted ways.
"That child is closer to you than me." Chen Fugui smiled and said.
"Who says I'm less handsome than you?" Chen Ergou said with a thick face, extremely shameless. Chen Fugui couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, and could only remain silent.
"Wealth and honor, tomorrow at the wine table you say a few words for me to my wife and old man." Chen Ergou slowly said with a heavy sigh.
"Good."
Chen Fugui paused for a moment and said: "When I entered the army, I realized that the barrel of a gun is harder than a fist. With a gun in hand, one can speak loudly with a straight waist. Er Gou, give me a few more years, and when the time comes, I will transfer out the Northeast Tiger and ask to enter the Nanjing Military Region. Whoever dares to touch your hair, I will lead the army to destroy him."
"Do you still have discipline?" Chen Ergou scolded with a smile.
"Discipline is great, but it can't be greater than brotherhood," Chen Fugui said in a deep voice. "I'm just an uneducated farmer, and you're my only younger brother. When our family members are bullied, who among us farmers doesn't take up a hoe or a shovel to fight back? If we can't even do that, what's the point of being Chen Fugui?"
