Chapter Sixty

  The shop owner saw us coming over in a group, especially with Muddle Dragon leading the way, and immediately came over with a mix of excitement and nervousness at having stumbled upon a big customer.

  Neither I nor AYi is among them.

  The boss greeted: "Jun Ye is here. Jun Ye said that he would come for the goods today and indeed, Jun Ye is a real gentleman."

  "That's it. Hmph." The dragon had a domineering air about him.

  "Is it still the item from last time?"

  "That's it. Hmm."

  "How much?"

  The dragon took out half of the contents from his pocket and clinked them loudly, "Last time you opened your mouth was today's price. The military officer doesn't like to haggle."

  The boss flattered "General is still a generous person."

  "That's it. Hmm."

  The boss asked again "Where does Jun Ye live? After lunch, I'll find a few vans and seven or eight workers to dismantle it and install it at Jun Ye's place."

  The dragonfly rejected the boss's kindness "No need. I'll just disassemble and move out now."

  "That won't do. It's hard to move once it's installed." The boss shook his head.

  The dragon insisted, "It's better to pack up, it looks like moving. If you don't pack, it looks like fleeing."

  "It's so crowded that even the door can't be closed."

  The dragon king waved his hand and said, "Don't you see I have so many brothers?"

  The boss then made a big decision and said "I'll go find Xiao Gong."

  The dragon king waved his hand and said, "Haven't you seen so many brothers? You can save on both labor and transportation costs."

  The boss laughed so hard he was speechless "General has good relationships, good fortune and wealth are also making great progress."

  "We were born and died for the country's sake, our wealth doesn't need to be measured in how many flowers or how much money." Longwang said with a heroic tone.

  The boss nodded repeatedly "That's right, that's right."

  The boss waved his hand and a group of turtles swam into the store.

  I remained standing at the corner of the alley outside that shop door. The guys had already installed half of the various parts they carried out from the store, which seemed to be a huge bed.

  I was jogging in place to get myself all out of breath. Ah Yi was standing stiffly on the other side of the alley, looking very ill at ease. Dou Bing had stopped his pedicab and was helping Ah Yi carry his couplets.

  A'Yue asked me "Does it make sense for us to do this?"

  "What's going on?"

  A Ya no longer spoke. We were suddenly shifted our attention together in this relatively uninteresting silence.

  A gaunt and spectral figure in a long gown, he was younger than either of us, so undoubtedly a student. He shuffled past us, carrying on his back a portable bookshelf made of wood, which must have weighed dozens of kilograms, a veritable wall of books for his body; we couldn't help but notice the tattered rags wrapped around his feet, the cloth and shoes having long since disintegrated, and amidst the stains and dirt, we also saw bloodstains.

  He looked like he was going to die with just one more step, but he kept walking until he was out of our sight.

  You can see such people everywhere, not a single hair is a refugee, but they repeatedly claim that they are not refugees but students of a certain school, workers in a certain factory. Ants move elephants, and they move the entire factory, the entire library across China.

  I and A Yi seem to see our own shadows reflected on the wall. Some people like staring at their own shadows in a daze. I just wish there were no shadows from the start.

  A Ya was still staring at the figure of the person who had already disappeared, lost in thought.

  I then expressed my attitude with this sentence: "F**k your mom."

  A Yi glanced at me and twitched his cheek, struggling to return to reality. "Uh, mom's a bastard."

  The big bed is almost fully loaded, and it's taking up nearly half the street. Those idiots are still moving the scattered parts out when the street is already congested with people. A handcart is honking its horn, a cow cart's cow is eating a farmer's scallions. The boss is watching them work, wiping his sweat "It's not easy to move it once it's loaded." Mí Lóng gives him a reassuring pill "My brother will finish loading and then we'll leave." "That's right, that's right. But we have to hurry. In these chaotic times, blocking the main street is no good. If things get out of hand, it might even interfere with military affairs." "You call me Military Master, don't you? My family matters are my military affairs." "That's right, that's right. Oh, Military Master, do we have time to settle our accounts?" The boss has been thinking about the most important thing all along. Mí Lóng takes out a half-opened wallet and slaps it on the ground "Hmm, just what you said yesterday, that amount." He carelessly drops the wallet and bends down to pick it up.

  When I saw the signal, Ah Yi gave me a push. I rushed out like launching a surprise attack.

  Just as Mí Lóng had just picked up a few half-open ones from the ground, I was already panting and running like I had run for a long distance.

  "You're still here? Who's the idiot who chose this bed? It's a pigsty! Unacceptable!" I scolded Ming Long as I ran up to him.

  The dragon glared at me, still wanting to cooperate with me. "How can't we want it? I told the boss that we must have it!" "It's too big! Even if we find a haunted house, it's just enough to squeeze in this haunted bed!" The dragon could only glare at me again, while the group of people on the other side were busy nailing down the seams of the bed.

  "It really can't be helped? The brothers have left!" Ming Long waved his hand. Published on

  Here is the translation:

  Just then, a swarm of people made a big show of dismantling and moving things, causing the old boss to jump up in anxiety. "Hey! What's going on again? You're taking it apart and moving it out and putting it back together... do you want to sell or not?" Mí Lóng said to him, "Didn't you hear? The house is too small!" ài Yì also came out from behind the military truck with a mischievous look on his face. "Who's running this shop? Are they making a profit off the national crisis? They're obstructing traffic! Traffic is the lifeblood of defense, obstructing traffic is like being an enemy of the state!" He was acting poorly, but he had on a military uniform and was blocking the truck, so people were getting impatient. Even though Xiū Shī was usually gentle with the common people, now that there was a military officer backing him up, the horn was honking loudly and it was annoying even to us. Mí Lóng finally started smiling slyly. "Boss, there's an officer looking for you." Except for Hǎo Shòu Yī, who looked a bit embarrassed, all the others were smiling wickedly. Now the boss finally understood what was going on. "Officer, please, I beg of you, just take it away!" So Mí Lóng finally showed his familiar sly merchant face. "Now let's settle accounts. This bed is probably something some refugee sold to you at a low price. You say it isn't? If you don't admit it, we won't bother the civilians and will leave." The boss glared at Mí Lóng, wiping away sweat. ài Yì was hitting the big bed with a malicious look on his face, and the horn of the car behind him was honking loudly. That unlucky bed was dismantled again by us, divided into parts and carried on each person's shoulder. Besides the bed, there were also many other household items: a child's stool, a woman's chamber pot, and various broken household goods. Fortunately, Mí Lóng didn't take advantage of us too much in terms of household goods, so we could still breathe a sigh of relief. The chamber pot was assigned to ài Yì to carry, although he had never used one before and looked unhappy about it. Mí Lóng should have taken many things, but he honestly didn't take much and just piled everything onto the flatbed truck. And he himself almost had nothing in his hands. Xiū Shī strictly forbade disturbing the civilians or causing any trouble. But that day, the shops that were visited by Mí Lóng probably wouldn't think so. We ran all over Chán Dá because the autumnal rules of not offending anyone were something that Xiū Shī's military police couldn't catch wind of, while Mí Lóng's fair trade was to distribute the losses among various households.

  We once again brushed shoulders with those ants that could move an entire school or city, this time a whole platoon of them but A-Yi and I have already managed to successfully blend in with a group of illiterate white people.

  Although we moved so many homes, we are still amazed at the surroundings. We are now on the edge of Zenda, a city without walls. It's beautiful with green tiles and white walls, stone roads winding up the mountain, and the air is filled with greenery. As we measure the road, the fields and mountains are already in sight. We didn't know that Zenda had such a beautiful place.

  "Are you looking for a house here, Long?" Dr. Hao asked.

  The dragon didn't answer, it just kicked me because I was staring at the scenery in a daze and had already dragged one end of the furniture on my hand to the ground.

  "Stop dragging it! My family's stuff is going to be ruined!"

  "Take it apart and reassemble it. We've worked hard to earn our pay, but it's not worth the price of firewood... However, I think this puzzle is quite suitable for your status." I said.

  The dragon was very pleased "Mm-hmm, exactly."

  "You've been treating us like slaves. You're almost a wealthy master now. This place was originally the residence of Zen Master's wealthy owner."

  The dragon also understood "That means I don't live here."

  Hao Shouyi was carrying a small table on his back, panting heavily. "This is where the rich live, it's very expensive." Mi Long protested, "Why can't I be rich too?" He La and She Pi Gou lifted up a bedhead together, scolding with their faces hidden, "Because you look just like us, with a face as dark as soot!"

  "I am auspicious in every fold." said Mi Long with a smile on his face.

  "Not spicy, big cry 'Brothers one two three. Everyone scatter!' 'Grandpa crooked!' Ming Long hurriedly begged. We all burst into laughter 'Look at your cheap appearance, not honest to admit defeat.'"

  We walked up the stone path surrounded by green tiles and white walls, and Mizhong Laopo and Lebao'er were already waiting for us at a family temple. Mizhong Laopo pressed down on Lebao'er to make him bow to us one by one.

  "It's all because that fleeing rich man was taken advantage of by the dragon. The dragon should be doing well, but now it's doing too well to the point where it doesn't seem like one of us anymore. As we step up one by one, our hearts are also gradually becoming sour."

  Everyone gradually fell silent. Only Hao Shouyi was still touching Lei Bao's head, and then he reached into his own pocket and pulled out a few things that the child had no interest in. "Oh, good kid, Grandpa is so poor that all I have left are medicine tablets, and even these can't be given to you." She Bi Gong continued, "That's great. Doctor, I've had some diarrhea for the past few days."

  The old man was really anxious and scratched his head "Alas, that medicine is hard to get, I have to search for it slowly."

  "Snake fart butt is laughing at you for teasing him. Then don't show off your wealth."

  The old man was so angry that he stared with wide eyes "Am I showing off my wealth?"

  I didn't pay attention to their commotion, I did what I always wanted to do, put the chair I was carrying on the side of the road and sat down to enjoy the view - I also noticed the subtle movements of Miao Long and his wife on one side. Miao Long kept secretly massaging his wife's shoulders, you can call it a reunion or intimacy, but my direct feeling is that he has been thinking about his wife's body until he's crazy.

  The wife of the dragon expressed the same confusion as us "Want me to come here and wait... can we afford it?"

  "In any case, I can let you and Bao'er move in."

  We are not in a grand mansion, but it is clean and quiet. The residents are at least well-off, and even the chairs and stools are readily available. We put our furniture on the ground and the scenery is good. You can breathe in the freshest air and watch plays.

  The dragon pulled away from us, and the bean pancake was outside the courtyard, trying to explain a complicated matter in the simplest way. "Lean against the door, I'll knock on it, and as soon as the door opens, you'll fall straight down. Once you're down, don't say anything else, just pretend to be dead." The bean pancake nodded silently, "Got it." "Even pigs can do that!" The dragon still had some confidence in the bean pancake's abilities. "I'll say it one more time, for the last time." We watched with smiles.

  Very soon, the lost dragon became one of us again. Because we found that the lost dragon hadn't found a good house at least he didn't have the ability to pay for it. Like the fresh sugarcane juice that Zen masters love to drink, it must be squeezed on the spot.

  Hao Shouyi was still puzzled "How come he didn't even find a house yet but went to buy furniture first?"

  "He's always been unclear about whether the chicken is the mother or son of the egg," I said.

  "What does it mean?"

  To be honest, I don't know what it means either.

  "That's what he does! — I'll go take a look." I got up and went to see Dr. Hao nodding his head in approval.

  The dragon is still entangled with the bean paste outside the human door - perhaps it's the bean paste that's entangled with him.

  The bean pancake asked "Where to pour?"

  The dragon was so angry that he waved his hand and said, "You'd better pour it inside, or you'll bring disaster upon yourself! You want to pour it on me?" He showed Dou Bing his fist. "Do you recognize this thing?" "...It's going to knock you silly." "Are you very smart?" "It's going to make you even sillier." The dragon showed Dou Bing both fists. "Have you become so silly that you don't even recognize this?" Dou Bing fell silent. I couldn't help but laugh at the scene beside me. I reminded the dragon, "Dragon, didn't you swear an oath to treat him well?"

  "My wife and I have never gambled on this curse." Long Wu denied.

  "That day when Dou Bing came back, you said with your bare butt that he was going to die and you didn't want to squeeze in beside him pretending to be good to him. You said later you would be good to him."

  "I wouldn't say something so cheesy." Ming Long denied it firmly.

  "You're so shameless you've already been shamed to death, what other shameless things haven't you done yet?" I said.

  But Dou Bing was beside him, blinking his small eyes "Brother Mi Long, you really said that?"

  "Not true!"

  "Douban said, 'I'm going to fall. Actually, I've already understood what Mílóng Gē said. I just don't want to cause trouble.'"

  "Wait..." But before the dragon could finish, Beanpaste had already fallen and hit the back of his head on the door. It was as if he had kicked the door. From the other side of the door came a footsteps getting closer, and the dragon got angry and started waving his fists, wanting to pull Beanpaste up for another try, but it was too late. Luckily, I and the dragon were two cunning guys, so when the dragon knocked on the door again, I quickly put Beanpaste, who was pretending to be dead, in front of the door that was about to open. But our efforts were all in vain. The creaking sound was not from the door opening, but from a small window on the door, where a pale yellow face appeared, staring coldly at the dragon, who was standing right in front of the door. "What are you doing here again? I told you this house is not for rent." I quickly moved away from the small window's blind spot and shouted back at the person, "You're finished! You can't even clean the moss on the doorstep properly! My brother slipped and fell because of it! And there's even a sharp stone left here to harm people! Beanpaste, don't lose consciousness! Say something!" Beanpaste almost made a sound but I quickly covered his mouth. Then I retreated from the small window's blind spot and watched as Beanpaste stood in front of the door, staring blankly with his eyes wide open, while the dragon jumped up and down, still making faces at Beanpaste during the intervals - until finally, Beanpaste closed his eyes peacefully. The pale yellow face was still expressionless, "Where is he? I don't see anyone."

  "Open the door and take a look!" But he refused to open the door, instead sticking out a small mirror from the window to take a peek. "It's fine." The dragon was still jumping up and down, "How can it be fine?! It's over, no air is coming in!" Cold Huang said coldly, "Just prop him up and walk two steps, his breathing will come back." "There's not even any air left!" "Listen to me. If he doesn't get better, I'll open the door and save him." Anyway, the dragon also wanted to open the door again, and Dou Bing's expression was strong enough that we all thought he was dead. So the dragon hummed and hawed, propping Dou Bing up. "You said so, you said so." He dragged and carried Dou Bing for two steps, and Dou Bing listened obediently, not even making a half-hearted struggle.

  ———————————————————————————————