Chapter 1: Aspiring to be a Rogue

  The autumn wind is bleak, the fallen leaves are scattered, the autumn in the north comes early and suddenly. After a rain, the scorching sun suddenly cools down, no longer shining fiercely on people's skin, and the wind also becomes refreshing. People rushing to and fro all wear long-sleeved clothes, and the elderly start wearing sweaters from morning till night.

  The lazy sun had just risen for a while, and the first bus to Zhaojiabao slowly drove into the small town with a creaking sound. The door opened with a "squeak", and a young man wearing a jacket, carrying a large backpack, holding a travel bag in his hand, and slinging a military bag over his shoulder was the first to get off the bus.

  The young man has slightly dark skin, medium build, and a clear-cut face with a smile.

  "Lao Wu, you've finally come back! I've been waiting for you since early morning and I'm freezing to death!" Zhu Xiao Fei exclaimed as he ran over to say hello to Cheng Hei Zi who had just gotten off the bus.

  Hearing the shout, Cheng Heizi turned his head and saw that Zhu Xiaofei and Yue Xiaoqing were already walking quickly towards him.

  Zhu Xiaofei and Yue Xiaoqing are classmates and friends of Cheng Hezi. During their school days, Zhu Xiaofei and Cheng Hezi lived in the same dormitory, with a total of five people. When reporting for enrollment, Cheng Hezi was the last one to enter the dormitory and was arranged as the fifth elder brother by his brothers.

  In the three years since he became a soldier, Hei Zi had little contact with his brothers, and only wrote a letter to Yue Xiaoqing a few days before his return from retirement, telling her that he was coming back.

  "Little Fei, Xiao Qing, how are you?" Heizi said loudly.

  Xiao Fei took over the travel bag and said: "It's hard on the road."

  "Hei Zi smiled and said: 'Nothing, I'm used to it. Hey, where are those guys?'"

  Hei Zi thought of his dormitory brothers, in school they were as close as brothers, that year Hei Zi had beaten Ouyang Qiang severely and was forced to join the army, otherwise he should also be taking the university entrance exams with his brothers now.

  "They can't come anymore." The three of them walked while Xiaofei said, "Last year Lao Da's dad was transferred to work in the district, and he followed him. Wu Yu killed someone the year after you joined the army, sentenced to five years in prison. If your letter had arrived a day earlier, you could have seen Zhao Bin, Qinghua left three days ago."

  Xiao Fei's father, Liu Pengfei, was the deputy director of the town's finance department. He was a man of great integrity and would often lead his brothers in fights, always charging forward first.

  Xiao Fei said up to here, Cheng Heizi looked at Yue Xiaoqing: "Sister Xiaoqing, what school did you take the exam for?"

  Yue Xiaoqing smiled gently and said, "As for me, I'm far inferior to Zhao Bin. I attend Xi'an University, studying finance. If it weren't for waiting to see you, I would have left today."

  Hei Zi called Yue Xiaoqing "Big Sister" when he didn't think about the time when they got into trouble, and let Yue Xiaoqing go ask about the situation. Yue Xiaoqing joked with him: Call me Big Sister, call me Big Sister and I'll go ask for you.

  Cheng Heizi was still very wronged at that time, he was wronged for the sake of his brothers to settle things down, but unexpectedly got used to it later, and this big sister called him like that for three years.

  Cheng Heizi was thinking on the bus that he would see several brothers soon, but unexpectedly only saw Zhu Xiaofei and Yue Xiaoqing, and didn't see any others, his heart couldn't help but feel some disappointment.

  Three of them entered the small town and Heizi asked: "Xiao Fei, where did you get accepted?"

  Xiao Fei sighed and said: "With my studies, what's the point of taking the school exam? Ah, I might as well just go home and farm."

  Hei Zi patted Xiao Fei's shoulder and said: "What are you sighing about? I'm still worse off than you."

  Xiao Fei knew that Cheng Heizi was telling the truth. His parents had died early, and he had been alone since primary school. His relatives never visited him, and he suffered from the cold eyes of the villagers and the fists and slaps of the village children's elders. He grew up fighting from a young age, starting with his crazy father at six years old, then with classmates and their older brothers and sisters, and later with thugs in society. In the midst of hardship, he gradually grew up, and his heart became stronger.

  A problem presented itself to Hei Zai as he entered the small town. He didn't want to return to Cheng Jia Yu's home, that village no longer held anything worth staying for, and going back would only bring up past sorrows. Even during school days, he only returned on Qingming Festival to sweep the tomb, now he didn't want to go back even more.

  Yue Xiaoqing thought for a moment and said: "Heizi, why don't you come to my house first? I'll be leaving tomorrow, and there's only my dad and mom at home."

  "Hei Zi shook his head and said: 'Let's not trouble Teacher Yue for now. I'll just find a place to stay temporarily, and we can talk about it later.'"

  Xiao Fei said: "Lao Wu, why don't we go to my place first? I'm not busy now anyway. We can discuss what to do next."

  Cheng Heizi thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, I'm not planning to go back home to farm anymore. As for what to do next, I haven't thought about it yet. It's good this way."

  Three people first went to Yue Xiaoqing's home to visit Mr. and Mrs. Yue, Mr. Yue was very excited when he saw Heizi, after calming down, he gave him a lecture again, at noon everyone had lunch in a small restaurant in the town, in the afternoon Heizi and Zhu Xiaofei bid farewell to Mr. Yue's family and came to Zhu Xiaofei's hometown Gejiabao.

  Gejiabao is located in a small basin at the foot of a large mountain, about ten miles away from the town.

  In the mountains, there are mines. In the mid-1990s, the state did not strictly manage private mining, and people with relatively smart minds seized this opportunity early on to start mining, extracting minerals and selling them to state-owned and private steel mills outside the region.

  After leaving the town, the two of them stopped a mining truck and chatted about what had happened to the brothers after Hei Zi left. After driving for almost an hour on the mountain road, when they were approaching Gejiabao, Cheng Hei Zi asked: "Xiao Fei, are there many people mining now?"

  Xiao Fei looked out the car window at the cliff and said, "That's not it either. The opening of the mine is only in recent years, in the past there were only state-owned mines here, private ones were not allowed."

  "This mine is profitable, right?" Hei Zi asked.

  Before Xiaofei could respond, the driver chimed in, "Of course mining is profitable. Now one ton of high-grade ore sells for over 30 yuan, and the cost of extraction is less than 15."

  "Lao Wu, you're not thinking of opening a mine, are you?" Zhu Xiao Fei said with a smile.

  "I'd like to, but I don't have anything to start with, so just go ahead and take the lead yourself."

  When it comes to mining drivers, there are many stories. Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei were outsiders when it came to mining, and after listening to the driver's story, the two were thoroughly disappointed.

  Mining requires not only capital but also technology, and the government must have someone in charge, otherwise even explosives cannot be purchased.

  Two people got off the bus and walked on the road to the village, Heizi looked at a mine opening in the middle of the mountain and said: "Ah, mining is indeed a profitable business, but we have neither technology nor funds, it's simply impossible."

  Two people discussed what they would do in the future all along the way. They had thought of various methods, but without funds, technology or government support, nothing could be done.

  Xiao Fei's family lives in the easternmost part of the village, a row of three old tile-roofed houses. In front of the door is a piece of vegetable field, now the vegetables in the field have been harvested, and it is empty and bare.

  Xiao Fei's father was very enthusiastic. When his mother heard that Heizi was going to stay at their home, she quickly prepared bedding for him.

  In the evening, they killed a chicken and drank village-brewed liquor. Xiao Fei's enthusiasm moved Hei Zi deeply.

  After a few cups of wine, Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei started discussing again what they would do in the future.

  Xiao Fei's mother is a down-to-earth farmer, and when she heard them discussing this, she said: "Xiao Fei, if you don't get into college, just stay at home and farm honestly."

  Zhu Xiaofei's father had high hopes for his son, but these days he was not happy to know that Zhu Xiaofei didn't get into college. When he heard his wife's words, he snorted and said: "What kind of talk is this? If you don't get in, just take a supplementary course for a year and try again next year."

  "Father, I'm not college material." Zhū Xiǎofēi said as he poured his father a full cup of wine.

  "What nonsense are you talking about? Do you want to be a farmer for the rest of your life?" The old man slammed his fist on the table and said.

  Heizi saw Zhu Xiaofei's father get angry and picked up his wine glass, saying: "Old man, even if Xiaofei doesn't attend cram school, he won't go back home to farm, we will definitely have a way out."

  "What way out is there? Go mining? Several of our villagers have already died, was that done by humans?" Zhū Xiǎofēi's father said angrily.

  "Of course I won't go and risk my life," said Zhuo Xiao Fei.

  "What are you doing?" Zhū Xiǎofēi's father said with his eyes wide open, even bigger than a cow's.

  In this isolated mountain village, there are really not many things that can be done except for farming and mining.

  The three of us thought about it for half the night, and after finishing the wine, we still didn't know what to do for Xiao Fei and Heizi.

  With a full belly and warm body, Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei lay on the kang, Hei Zi had been silent for a long time, Zhu Xiao Fei asked: "Lao Wu, what are you thinking about?"

  Back in his hometown, Hei Zi was excited and kept thinking about what he should do in the future. After drinking wine, Hei Zi gradually recalled past events and thought of Tan Mei. Upon hearing Zhu Xiao Fei's question, Hei Zi asked: "Xiao Fei, how is Tan Mei doing now?"

  "What's she doing? She moved to the county town long ago. I don't know about her recent situation either," said Zhuo Xiaofei.

  Tan Mei was Hei Zi's girlfriend in junior high school, at that time they loved each other like glue and paste, making several brothers envy, later Hei Zi fought many times which made Tan Mei heartbroken, finally left him.

  Actually, Zhou Xiaofei knew about Tan Mei's recent situation, but he didn't want to say it, fearing that Hei Zi would be heartbroken. After entering high school, Tan Mei got together with Ouyang Hui, and later her family moved to the county town, and Ouyang Hui's family also left. Some people said they saw them walking around in the county town a few days ago.

  Silence, neither of them spoke again, deep thoughts crashing against Hei Zi's young and strong heart, as if to crash a hole in it. The familiar voice of Tan Mei gradually echoed in Hei Zi's ears: You're just a hooligan, a hooligan.

  These words were said by Tan Mei after Hei Zi beat Ouyang Hui, which deeply hurt Hei Zi's heart at that time. The unforgettable words left a lasting impression on Hei Zi.

  "He's just a hoodlum," Heizi muttered to himself.

  "What did you say?" asked Zhuo Xiaofei.

  "Xiao Fei, I want to be a hooligan, a top-notch hooligan." Hei Zi said in a low and determined tone, leaving Xiao Fei wondering what was wrong with him.

  It was from then on that Hei Zi set his mind on his career, to be a hooligan, to be the top hooligan. He wanted to let Tan Mei see what it means to be a hooligan and what is a top hooligan, he wanted to make Tan Mei regret leaving him.