Chapter 36: What's a Prostitute Doing with a Little Duck?

  Warm congratulations on adding one more collection and adding another chapter.

  Autumn wind blows over the streets, yellow leaves fluttering, just after National Day holiday, Steel City Railway Station is crowded with people and cars, a bustling scene, forming a sharp contrast with this bleak season.

  Song Hao's Mercedes-Benz was parked in the parking lot in front of the station, but he stood in the cold wind, looking at the exit, as if waiting for an important figure. After a new train arrived, Nong Junting came out with her personal assistant and two young men with crew cuts, all of whom were slender and handsome. Song Dabo, who had dominated the business circle of Cheng Steel City for many years, saw from afar and hurriedly ran several steps to greet them.

  In response to Mr. Song's enthusiastic welcome, Nong Juntian, who looked troubled, nodded slightly in acknowledgement. Her female assistant smiled politely and said: "You must be Mr. Song, I'm Yu Feng, Miss Nong's life assistant. Thank you for coming to pick us up. Miss Nong will probably stay here for a few days this time, she doesn't want to live in a hotel, so we hope you can arrange a suitable place for her to stay, sorry for the trouble."

  Song Hao's outstretched hand was grasped by the female assistant, while the two young men standing beside Nong Juntin gazed at him warily. This made Song Hao feel somewhat strange - he had long been familiar with the haughty airs of the young masters from the Nong family, but he had never seen any scion go out in such a big way, and with his background, he could naturally tell that the two bodyguards were wearing suits adorned with the unique emblem of the Central Guard Corps.

  Song Hao said warmly: "Everything is arranged, how are you, Brother Jia Sheng?"

  Nong Junting suppressed the nausea that was churning in her stomach and forced a pale smile: "Sorry, Uncle Song. I was feeling terrible just now, it's hard to keep my mouth shut without throwing up. Now I'm a bit better. My dad is fine, he often mentions the things you did when you went up to the mountains and down to the countryside."

  Song Hao concerned asked: "Carsick?"

  Nong Junting frowned again, didn't speak, looked a bit embarrassed and sad. She covered her mouth with her hand, shook her head and then nodded hastily.

  The female assistant beside him said, "Mr. Song, would you mind arranging a place for Miss Nong to stay as soon as possible? She needs some quiet rest."

  Song Hao didn't ask any further questions and led a few people onto two cars, quickly driving away from the square.

  In the spacious and bright room, Nong Juntin was leaning alone on a recliner, enjoying the autumn sun's rays. It was good for the baby to get some sunlight. She was three months pregnant, which was when morning sickness was at its worst. Even if she didn't move at all while lying down, she would still feel nauseous from time to time. On this train ride over, no matter how well taken care of she was, and even though the train ran smoothly, she couldn't avoid suffering a lot. Her stomach had been emptied out early on, but for the baby's nutrition, she forced herself to eat something again, only to throw it all up once more on the way to Song Hao's house. Just now, she had just finished drinking a bowl of bird's nest congee and was thinking: Ye Haodong, you despicable little drunkard, I've come to find you! Let's see if you're worthy of being the father of the baby in my belly. Don't think that just because you have an irresponsible sperm, you can become the son-in-law of our Nong family.

  Song's living room, Song Hao had just learned from his female assistant Yu Feng that the purpose of this rustic girl who came to Gangcheng was beyond his expectations. His eyebrows wrinkled involuntarily, and he couldn't believe that the country girl was actually after Ye Haodong, that little guy.

  Yu Feng saw through his expression and asked: "Do you know this Ye Haodong?"

  Song Hao didn't hide anything and told everything he knew about Ye Haodong. He had a reputation for being self-aware, and if Ye Haodong had offended the farmers, they would think it was easier to deal with him than to crush an ant. He himself was also powerless in this matter. However, he also thought that if it was just to deal with that little boy, why did this delicate and inconvenient big sister have to come all the way from afar.

  Yu Feng recounted Song Hao's introduction of Ye Haodong to Nong Juntin, who listened with relish and a thoughtful expression.

  Ye Haodong was currently being driven crazy by Er Xinzi's affairs. This Er Xinzi still remained unmoved, Ye Haodong extended an invitation to him for the second time, and he agreed, but didn't set a date, citing that he was temporarily busy and wasn't sure when he would have time.

  In the billiard hall of Taipingmen Market, a group of young men who graduated this year were playing billiards. Among them was Ye Haodong, who had dropped out of school for two years and made a name for himself on this street, but few people knew him.

  It all started with a gathering of old classmates. A few good buddies from middle school to high school thought of him and asked him out to play together, Ye Haodong thought of his father's serious illness at that time, the family couldn't afford to cook meals, these few guys had once called on everyone in the class to donate money for themselves, out of nostalgia for the simple past years, Ye Haodong gladly agreed.

  Today, six classmates came, all of whom were the most mischievous and playful in Ye Haodong's class when they were in school. They didn't get into college, and re-reading didn't give them much hope. Now, several younger brothers are unemployed at home. Their future is uncertain, but they don't seem to be too worried. Ye Haodong invited them out, and the brothers didn't hold back, eating and playing together in high spirits.

  The game of fifteen balls is the most common play in Northern Billiards, Ye Haodong's ball stinks to high heaven, but he feels good about himself, with a bet of one yuan per ball, in less than two hours he has already lost two or three hundred. Bao Li stands by, pursing his lips and stifling a laugh, watching Ye Haodong make a fool of himself. When they have nothing to do, the brothers chat idly, and Ye Haodong often likes to brag about his ball skills. Today his true form is revealed.

  Recently, Bao Li Gang has been inseparable from Ye Hao Dong, and their relationship has evolved from a simple friendship to one where Bao Li Gang positions himself more as a bodyguard, although Ye Hao Dong still treats him as a brother and has never looked down on him.

  Ye Haodong and his friends played a game called "catch the rabbit". Three people played together, using poker to decide who hit which number ball. Whoever got their five balls into the hole first could transform into a wolf and hit other people's balls, called "catching rabbits", catching one was worth one yuan, and hitting someone else's ball into the hole before finishing your own was called "point cannon", two yuan at a time. So far, Ye Haodong had never been a wolf, but he had been a "point cannon" countless times, when playing his own balls, he was extremely lucky, and somehow always managed to get other people's balls in. Every time he lost money, Bao Ligang would immediately cash out, the few younger brothers who played with them were initially very happy, but later gradually felt that something was not right, and they all felt a bit embarrassed to come. In their hearts, their understanding of Ye Haodong was still stuck in the era of the high school freshman who was good at fighting and had a hard fist despite his family's difficulties. Winning money from Ye Haodong made them all feel a little guilty, in their opinion, Ye Haodong's current behavior was a bit like "hitting his face to make himself look fat", Bao Ligang, who was wearing the latest Motorola Elite mobile phone, looked like a usurer, and Ye Haodong borrowed money from him to play, what good result could come of that?

  Mu Yongqiang, the most credible among the five young men, stood up first: "Hao Dong, let's stop playing for today and do something else. He also made a fist at Bao Ligang: This big brother, we are actually all high school classmates, to put it bluntly, we are still kids. The money Hao Dong borrowed from you today may not be a lot for you, but for him, it's not a small amount. His family has some special circumstances and is living a difficult life, so we plan to return the money Hao Dong borrowed from you now. What do you think?"

  Baoli Gang couldn't hold it in anymore, and burst out laughing. Ye Haodong was embarrassed but also moved, his face turned bright red, he walked up to Baoli Gang and whispered: "Laugh your ass off, stuff it back in, smell the fart?"

  Inside the billiard hall, there were several private rooms. Inside each room, there were two tables of different sizes. The environment was much better than outside. There were waitresses serving balls and they could play snooker. It was a high-end consumption place that charged by the hour, fifty yuan per hour, which was unaffordable for these young people. Ye Haodong had just forced Bao Li to swallow back the "laughing fart" he had smelled, when the door of a private room opened from inside. Three young men walked out, led by a young man in his early twenties with long hair dyed yellow, a fierce and arrogant look on his face, and eyes that provocatively stared at Mu Yongqiang.

  "I was just inside and heard a noise that sounded like you, came out to take a look and it's really you, you little bastard. You won't have forgotten what happened on Shuguang Road last time, today I've run into you, so speak up, how do you plan to die?"

  Mu Yongqiang's face didn't look good from the moment these people appeared, Ye Haodong could tell that he was afraid. He asked: "What's wrong? Yongqiang, do you have a grudge against them?"

  Mu Yongqiang nodded: "Hao Dong, Xu Chao, you guys go ahead, this matter has nothing to do with you today. I know Hao Dong, your fists are hard and you have a strong sense of justice, but we can't afford to mess with these people."

  Ye Haodong felt a little moved, but more of it was that he found it amusing: if there was still someone on this street who he couldn't mess with, then Ye Haodong wouldn't have to make a name for himself in the entire Steel City.

  Bao Li curiously asked: "Younger brother, what's going on?"

  Ye Haodong gave him a very dissatisfied look, damn it, he had just let him off the hook, and this kid was taking advantage of him. I'm on an equal footing with Mu Yongqiang, you call him younger brother, isn't that taking advantage of me?

  Mu Yongqiang didn't speak, and Xu Chao took over the conversation, pointing at the long-haired young man: "Yongqiang's sister had a relationship with him, but he was very persistent in pursuing her. Later, when Yongqiang's sister found out that he was involved in all sorts of bad habits, she wanted to break up with him, but he refused and even went to Yongqiang's home to cause trouble, and lay in wait for Yongqiang's sister on her way home from work. Last time, this guy also went to block Yongqiang's sister on Shuguang Road, and got into a fight with Yongqiang."

  Mu Yongqiang's sister is Mu Yonghui, Ye Haodong also knows her, she is a pretty girl, very tall, with two dimples when smiling.

  Ye Haodong whispered, "Gangzi, I remember you haven't had a girlfriend before, right? Mu Yonghui, Yongqiang's sister, is really beautiful. This is your chance to shine, first save your brother, then use this connection to get to know her. Who knows, if Mu Yonghui gets moved, you might even be able to land yourself a girlfriend. Not just anyone gives advice like this, so seize the opportunity."

  Baoli's face turned slightly red as he muttered: "If you want me to take the lead, just give a direct order from the boss, no need for so much nonsense."

  Ye Haodong's inquiring eyes looked at Bao Liang: "Don't you recognize this kid?"

  Baoli nodded. "I want to know every unknown person on this street, I'll spend all day playing with them." His voice was very loud and everyone heard it clearly.

  The long-haired young man was shouting fiercely, but he didn't dare to take action against Mu Yongqiang immediately. Bao Li had just spoken so rudely, and he hadn't dared to lose his temper either, as he couldn't afford to offend the owner of this billiard room.