Chapter 2: Ku Liqiang and Liu Cuicui

  Korosuke came to Hakai and in less than half a year, he had already earned the title of monster.

  Apart from working all day and not visiting the opera house or tea gardens, Ku Lixiang had a few quirks. Firstly, no matter how hot the weather was or how heavy the workload was, Ku Lixiang always wore an undershirt, a habit similar to that of Xiao Shan Sanlang, except that Xiao Shan Sanlang also wore a white cloth band on his head with two Japanese characters written on it that nobody could recognize. Another quirk was that he bathed in secret, although he was a bachelor and didn't live with other bachelors in a large room sleeping on a communal bed, but instead lived alone in a clean and tidy room at Liu Cuicui's place, where he would lock the door to bathe after fetching water. Everyone found this strange, as they were all old men, and when they took off their clothes, they were all just a bunch of old guys, so what was there to be ashamed of?

  It turned out that it was the same room where Shōsuke Koyama used to live. So, the laborers started making wild guesses: "Is Kurosawa also a Japanese?"

  As a result, this guess was met with a scolding from Fan Siye: "Which of those Easterners isn't a short and ugly kid, with small eyes and stumpy legs? Can they compare to Zhang's physique?"

  What Old Man Fan said makes sense. Ku Liqiang is a tall and sturdy man, especially when viewed from behind, his shoulders to hips form an inverted triangle, although he may not be the strongest among laborers, this physique is truly unmatched.

  Those laborers who were scolded by Master Fan asked him: "Then what kind of person is Qiangzi?"

  Fan Siye said with a hint of pride, "Look at Zhang's physique and demeanor. I reckon he was probably a martial artist from some troupe in the past. He must have performed on big stages before, which is why he has such refinement. Later, he probably fell on hard times and ended up in our line of work."

  Fan Siye's words were well-reasoned and convincing, and everyone who thought about it felt that they made sense. Unconsciously, the laborers also gained a few points of respect for Suliang, although actors were not highly regarded, but after all, these laborers who often frequented tea gardens still felt that actors were somewhat capable people.

  Now, an old man suddenly appeared and called Ku Liqiang "Young Master", which shocked everyone again. Since he was called "Young Master", Ku Liqiang couldn't be a down-and-out martial artist, because good actors are usually called "Boss" by others. So someone winked at Fan Siye with their eyes, implying: Fourth Master, you guessed wrong, didn't you?

  Fan Siye's face twisted, pretending not to see.

  At this time, Ku Liqiang was indeed stable and slowly stood up, saying to the old man with a calm tone: "After all, you've found me. Let's talk somewhere else."

  The old man nodded, waved his hand, and the long-following person ran over. Suliang and the old man had only walked a few steps when a black car came over and stopped in front of them. The old man respectfully opened the door, and Suliang also sat in without hesitation.

  This made everyone stunned. After a while, a coolie named Xiaoshunzi asked Master Fan: "Master Fan, what do you think is the route of the strong laborer? This lineup and momentum are not small."

  Fan Siye was still in a daze, unable to react for a long time. Another laborer, Da Shui Niu, chuckled and said: "This is simple, it's probably just the usual 'talented youth and beautiful maiden' cliché. I reckon it's probably... hmm... Young Master Qiang..."

  The laborer nicknamed "Grass Head Snake" sneered, "What a strong young master, he's not even here now, and this flattery of yours is falling on deaf ears." The crowd burst out laughing.

  The water buffalo was ridiculed by everyone, and its face turned red with embarrassment. After everyone had laughed enough, it finally spoke up for itself and said: "You dare to say that now he's back, you won't call him Young Master Qiang anymore, but what about me..."

  "Alright, alright." Fan Siye mediated, "Stop causing trouble and focus on business. If you don't get back to work, what will you use to feed your wives and children?"

  At this time, the sun has indeed risen high, and it's also time to find something to do. Still that old saying, one's own life is one's own affair, watching another couple quarrel is not enough to fill one's belly.

  Cheng Ziqiang's landlord, Liu Cuicui, is not a real widow, and the term has some sarcastic connotations. However, it is an undisputed fact that Liu Cuicui has been living as a widow for many years.

  In some areas of China, there was once a bad habit where if a family had a newborn boy, they would quickly arrange for him to marry an older girl. Sometimes the son couldn't even walk yet and the daughter-in-law would already be living with them. Liu Cuicui's fate was not good, she was also a victim of this feudal leftover system, but in some people's eyes, her fate could be considered pretty good.

  Liu Cuicui was just 19 years old when she married into the Zhao family, and her young husband was also not very young, already 15. However, the young husband was still in middle school, had accepted many new ideas, and naturally wanted to resist this feudal bad habit. The result of his resistance was being tied up by his family and sent into the bridal chamber.

  The next day, as soon as the family opened the door, they saw the young husband rushing out and running away in a flash. He was nowhere to be found after searching everywhere. Some said he had gone south to join the army, others said he had crossed over to Japan to study, and some even said he had gone north to Slovakia to farm. In short, he disappeared without a trace. However, this young husband's resistance seemed not to be thorough enough, because soon afterwards, Liu Cuicui (who was still called Cuicui at that time) discovered that she was pregnant.

  After that, Liu Cuicui's luck seemed to have improved. After her father-in-law passed away, the brothers quarreled and divided the family property. Since no one wanted to be accused of bullying a widow with a young child, Liu Cuicui still received a large set of properties, but in reality, they were registered under her husband's name, and she was just managing them on his behalf. However, this woman herself was quite capable and used the properties to open a small wine shop. The house in the backyard was rented out, and the mother-daughter duo relied on it for their livelihood.

  A woman running a tavern is a face-losing business, it can't be done for long. Liu Cuicui seems to be born with charm and does things carefully, after so many years of running the tavern, she has managed to live a peaceful life, even sending her son to study at a foreign school. Recently, she was thinking about finding a wife for her son, which would also settle one of her heart's desires and make up for what happened with the Zhao family. However, now that more than ten years have passed, the custom of small husbands and big wives has gradually faded out of people's lives, and the idea of finding a wife for her son has been put off day by day.

  But her good luck ended today. I don't know which bold thief, in broad daylight, broke into the house and stole only from Kuliang's room.

  Liu Cuicui has recently been looking for excuses to run into Kuli Qiang's house, helping with washing clothes one day and serving some leftover dishes that are said to be useless in the kitchen the next. Although everyone in the city treats Kuli Qiang as a monster, Liu Cuicui thinks he is not ordinary as a man. She noticed that even when no one else was around, Kuli Qiang's room was always spotless and his bed was neatly made. Moreover, Kuli Qiang's speech and behavior were very elegant, clearly different from those rough men, and there were several books on his bedside table, two of which were foreign languages. Such a person should be a teacher or something, it's really unknown why he wants to be a laborer.

  Liu Cuicui appears to be a strong and independent woman, but in reality, she is still a traditional woman at heart. Although she has been widowed since the age of 19 and has been shouldering the responsibility of taking care of her family alone, it doesn't mean that she doesn't think about men anymore. However, there are two problems: firstly, the Zhao family's property is left to her son, and according to the clan rules, whoever inherits the property must take the surname Zhao. If Liu Cuicui remarries, not only will she lose the property, but also her son, who bears the surname Zhao. Moreover, the current clan still holds some power, and Liu Cuicui, as a woman, cannot afford to provoke them. Secondly, the wine shop she runs is not high-end, and the people she comes into contact with are all rough and unrefined. Even if she wants to find a man, it's hard for her to find someone suitable. Flirting with customers is one thing, but finding someone to entrust her life to is another matter altogether. The appearance of Hu Liang has been like a flash of lightning in Liu Cuicui's dark life.

  The tenant was robbed, and the landlord always had to take some responsibility, let alone it was Kuai Liqiang's room. Thinking of the man she admired working hard every day, saving money was not easy, Liu Cuicui felt guilty and quickly notified Bai Jingchang from the local police station to come and investigate the scene.

  At night, Xiao Shunzi and Cao Toushe, two single laborers, returned drunk. Bai Jingchang had already finished examining the scene and was savoring two small dishes and a platter of food with relish. On one side, Liu Cuicui was carefully serving him.

  Bai Jingchang was a man who never visited without a reason, and he was also the local police officer in this area. Xiao Shunzi and Cao Toushe naturally spoke to him with respect. When they heard that Ku Lixiang's room had been robbed, Cao Toushe pinched Liu Cuicui's waist with a hint of teasing and said: "I think it's no big deal. Ku Lixiang was taken away by a large car early on, and he was even called 'young master'. He wouldn't care about this little bit of money."

  Liu Cuicui was annoyed in her heart and didn't want to flirt with others, so she slapped her waist and scolded: "Get out of here, go home and touch your mother!"

  Officer Bai was startled by Cao Tou She's words, his hand shook, and a piece of five-flavor meat fell onto the table. He instinctively wanted to pick it up, but halfway through, he felt it wasn't suitable, so he put down his chopsticks and asked: "Young Master? What Young Master?" Although both rich and poor people lose things, the way young masters from wealthy families and laborers lose things is different. As a police officer, he was considered someone in front of these poor people, but compared to those rich people, a small police officer like him wasn't even worth mentioning. However, since Cao Tou She had become a young master from a wealthy family, it was indeed unexpected, so Officer Bai was half-believing and half-doubting. But looking at Xiao Shunzi and Cao Tou She's expressions, they didn't seem to be lying, and Officer Bai believed that these two poor laborers didn't have the guts to deceive him.

  Xiao Shunzi and Cao Tou She hurriedly retold the events of that morning, adding a lot of embellishments.

  The white-haired constable listened and asked several more times, forcing Xiao Shunzi and Cao Toushe to swear an oath, finally saying: "If you don't believe me, go ask Master Fan Siye."

  The white police chief thought for a long time, stood up and took the belt from the chair to tie it up, saying he wanted to go back to the bureau to report, and hurriedly left.

  After Officer Bai left, Liu Cuicui asked Xiao Shunzi: "Were you guys telling the truth just now?"

  Xiao Shunzi hadn't spoken yet, when Cao Tou She said: "Of course, at that time we were standing right next to them, and we heard it all clearly."

  Liu Cuicui didn't say anything after hearing that.

  Actually, everyone could see that Liu Cuicui had a special look for Kulisheng. People often joked about it too. Seeing Liu Cuicui's distracted appearance, Cao Tou first glanced at the inner room and said: "What? Kulisheng hasn't come back yet? I think he won't be coming back either, he's gone to enjoy his life as a young master."

  Xiao Shunzi, being still young, didn't have a smooth tongue, so he pulled Grass Head Snake from behind and told him to shut up. Grass Head Snake rubbed his hand and said: "What's the matter? Originally, I was just saying that if someone called me Young Master... Ah..." As he spoke, he hummed a little tune and went back to the backyard to sleep.

  Xiao Shunzi originally wanted to comfort Liu Cuicui, but didn't know where to start, so he hesitated for a few seconds and went back to the backyard.