Chapter Thirteen: Lucky Restaurant

  Li Guoting's first time in the city, having lived in the mountains for a long time, as soon as he entered the city, especially at night, those streets with tall and short, unevenly arranged shops on both sides, and the pedestrians rushing to and fro on the streets, gave Li Guoting a strange and fearful feeling.

  Following Zhao Erhu closely, Li Guoting looked around nervously and said, "Brother, where are we? Hurry up and find a place for me to take out that silver dollar."

  Zhao Erhuo said to Li Guoting with a nonchalant attitude: "Big brother, go forward for about one li, and you'll arrive at Yanhe Street. Once there, there's a dock, go onto the dock, down to the banks of the Jialing River, and then you can take out that silver dollar."

  "What's going on by the Jialing River?" Li Guoting asked.

  "Big brother, isn't there still your shit on that silver coin? Don't you want to wash it?"

  "Hmm, that's right. Hurry up, I can barely hold on." Li Guoting said.

  Zhao Erhu smiled and said, "Big brother, just bear with it for a little while longer, we're almost there."

  Zhao Erhuo took Li Guoting and continued walking along the street for a while. What was this street called, Li Guoting wasn't clear, nor did he ask Zhao Erhuo. In his heart, he just hoped that Zhao Erhuo would walk faster. This old man always had his pants half-mast, which was unbearable. Moreover, the smell coming from his crotch wasn't pleasant either. What's more, along this road, Li Guoting was afraid of getting the stool on his buttocks dirty with the silver coins, so he had to tread carefully, keeping his crotch away from his buttocks as much as possible. It was really torturous.

  Fortunately, Zhao Erhu led Li Guoting along the river street for a while and saw an intersection. The two of them turned into the intersection and arrived at a small ferry terminal by the Jialing River.

  There were few people passing by the dock because it was night and no one noticed them. Zhao Erhuo led Li Guoting to the side of Jialing River next to the dock.

  The cool night breeze blows from the opposite bank of the Jialing River, carrying with it the damp and rotten smell of weeds. On the river's surface, waves rise in layers. The water "gurgles" against the fragmented stone riverbank, like playing a discordant nocturne.

  On the dock, the ferryman shouted loudly: "The boat is leaving, the boat is leaving. Those who want to get on, hurry up."

  By the river, Li Guoting put down the pants he was holding and carefully took out the silver dollar stained with feces. He hurriedly washed it clean in the river water, looked at the silver dollar shining with a silver light in the night, and carefully wrapped it in the embroidered cloth package and put it back into his own bosom.

  Zhao Erhu bent down and scooped up a handful of water from the icy river, splashing it onto his face.

  "Ah, the water is so cool!" Zhao Erhu wiped the water droplets from his face and shouted.

  Li Guoting also squatted down, scooped up a handful of water, washed his face, and felt very comfortable. It had been many days since he had washed his face like this. The water was a bit cold, but it was warmer than the spring water in his hometown's mountain valley.

  After washing his face, Li Guoting felt that his stomach was growling again.

  "Two Tigers, we need to get something to eat, can't go hungry for a whole night." Li Guoting said to Zhao Erhu.

  Zhao Erhu stood up, wiped his face with his sleeve and said: "Let's go, big brother, come with me, we're going to eat at a restaurant."

  Li Guoting was stunned, he stared blankly at Zhao Erhu and said: "Erhu, are you kidding me? We... just this... eat... eat out. Where to go?"

  Zhao Erhu smiled mysteriously and looked at Li Guoting, saying: "You have silver dollars on you."

  "What? Use that silver dollar of mine to eat at a restaurant? No way. Can't use it." Li Guoting subconsciously covered his chest with his hands, where the cotton-padded jacket was.

  "Well, in that case, there's nothing we can do. It's not easy to steal in the city, and if we get caught, we'll end up in jail. I guess we'll just have to go hungry for one night." Zhao Erhu said with a shrug of his shoulders.

  The two people didn't speak a word, lowering their heads and continuing along the dock road to Hebin Street.

  On the road, from time to time, someone would turn their face and look at them.

  Two people found a street corner, crouched under the eaves of a silk shop with closed doors, you looked at me, I looked at you, and neither of us had anything to say.

  After a while, Li Guoting felt that his stomach was really hungry and painful, so he said to Zhao Erhu: "Brother, can't you think of any way? I think you're quite experienced and have been to the city. There must be a way."

  "Brother, you're really good at talking. I've been through more than you, but now, without money, what can we do? I'm starving too, let's bear with it. If there's nothing to eat, then go hungry for a night. If we die of hunger, that's fate; if we don't, that's also fate. Sigh..."

  Li Guoting didn't say a word, and after enduring for a while longer, Li Guoting finally spoke up again: "Forget it, brother. I'll take out that silver dollar, and we can go buy some food. We're starving to death, and that silver dollar won't be of any use anyway." As he said this, he reached into his chest and pulled out the silver dollar from his bundle, handing it over to Zhao Erhu.

  "Ah, that's right. Big brother is a sensible person. Alright, we have something to eat now." Zhao Erhu excitedly said: "Let's go to the restaurant! Let's go to the restaurant!"

  Holding the silver dollar that Li Guoting had handed over to him, still warm from his body temperature, Zhao Erhu began to dance with joy. The two of them walked along the street and soon arrived in front of a restaurant with a large red lantern hanging at its entrance.

  Li Guoting looked up and saw that in front of the restaurant door, a bamboo pole was inserted horizontally, with a yellow apricot-colored wine flag tied to it, on which were written four big characters: "Fugui Restaurant".

  Looking through the bamboo windows propped up along the street, there are several long tables inside, each with a candle on it. The restaurant is empty and deserted, with no customers eating.

  "Brother, shall we go in?" Li Guoting looked at his own tattered clothes and then glanced at Zhao Erhu, who was similarly dressed in shabby attire. He pulled on Zhao's sleeve with some concern and said.

  Zhao Erhuo carelessly raised the silver dollar that Li Guoting had given him and shook it, saying: "Don't worry, I have this." He then swaggered into the Fulaifang Restaurant.

  Li Guoting followed behind him and stepped up onto the stage as well.

  As soon as Li Guoting entered the Fulaifang Restaurant, he saw a counter about his height by the north window. Behind the counter was a row of wine racks with some wines on them. A man in his fifties sat behind the counter. There were no other customers in the restaurant.

  "Boss, is there anything to eat?" Zhao Erhu walked straight to the long table by the window facing the river, sat down on the long bench with one stride, and waved his hand towards the boss in the counter.

  The boss was busy with his head down, calculating the day's income. He didn't notice the person who came in until he saw someone enter the store and walk towards the table on the other side. Only then did he lift his head from behind the high counter. The boss took a look and saw that it was two half-grown children, and upon taking another look, saw that they were wearing tattered clothes, and immediately walked out from behind the counter.

  Just then Zhao Erhu sat on a bench and shouted at him.

  The boss walked up to Zhao Erhu and grabbed him by the hand, shouting: "You beggar, you're cheating us out of food! Do you have any money? Get out! Get out!" As he spoke, he chased the two of them out.

  Zhao Erhu stretched out his hand, picked up the silver dollar that Li Guoting had given him, and waved it in front of the boss, saying: "Boss, take a good look, what is this? Are you selling or not? If not, we'll go somewhere else."

  "Ah, selling. Selling." The boss saw the silver dollar in Zhao Erhu's hand and immediately changed his attitude, with a smile on his face: "Don't blame me for shouting, there are many swindlers now, we shop owners are all afraid. What do you want to eat? I'll have them make it for you."

  Zhao Erhu smiled and said, "Hey, boss, we're not cheating you. What's good to eat?"

  "What's this? There are stir-fries, rice, and buns. Which one will you have?" said the boss.

  "Is there wine?" Zhao Erhu asked.

  "Wine? Got it. Got it. We have Niang Hong, Shi Li Xiang, and Luzhou Kao. Which one do you two want to drink?"

  Zhao Erhu thought for a moment and said: "Let's have braised pork with two types of soy sauce. Do you have any cooked beef?"

  "There is. There is. Just boiled."

  "Alright, cut two catties of cooked beef. Serve it with some dishes. And bring two more bowls of rice."

  "Alright. Two catties of cooked beef and two bowls of rice." The boss yelled towards the back kitchen.

  Before long, familiar beef and rice were placed in front of them. The boss poured two glasses of wine from behind the counter and brought them over.

  He smelled the aroma of food on the dinner table. Li Guoting could no longer hold himself back, picked up his chopsticks and picked up a piece of braised beef, put it in his mouth, and swallowed before he even tasted it.

  Zhao Erhu quickly stopped him and said, "Big brother, don't be in a hurry, we haven't finished drinking yet. Come on, big brother, I'll toast you with a cup." As he spoke, he took a sip of wine, and Li Guoting also took a sip. He had never drunk wine before and didn't expect it to be spicy, causing him to cough violently.

  Zhao Erhu saw Li Guoting's embarrassed appearance and burst out laughing.

  "Looks like you've never had a drink before, big brother?"

  "I've never had a drink."

  "Haven't drunk yet, drink slowly. Let's eat."

  This meal, Li Guoting ate so much that he almost choked. The two of them each had two large bowls of rice and two catties of beef was not enough, so they added another catty. The boss calculated the bill, which came to exactly one silver dollar.

  Zhao Erhu didn't say anything and handed the silver dollar directly to the boss.

  The two men walked out of the Fulaifang restaurant, and Li Guoting said with some regret: "Brother, we've spent that silver dollar on just one meal. What about the next meal? And tonight, are we still going to sleep by the roadside?"

  Zhao Erhu didn't make a sound, he turned his head around and took a glance at the Fulaifang Restaurant behind him. He found that the boss had come out of the restaurant, grabbed Li Guoting's hand and started running while saying: "Run quickly, the boss is chasing after us."

  As soon as Zhao Erhu's voice fell, he heard the sound of his boss chasing after him from behind, along with curses: "Halt! Halt, you turtle egg, watch me smash your skull to pieces."