Chapter 61

  "Look! Open the door and save me!" The pale yellow face said, "The air is bad at this corner. Walk a bit further to that side, it's fresher." So Wang Er foolishly moved the bean pancake a few steps away from the gate again. The pale yellow face said, "Alright."

  The dragon was slapping the bean pancake's face, "Alright? Not even a bit of anger?" "Alright, that's not my family's land, so it's none of my business. Whether you're really dead or just pretending to be dead, once you leave your hometown, you can't count on anything. Don't you even understand this, you bamboo clapper?" Cold Huang's smile didn't look like a smile, and his gloomy tone made people angry. "Northerner, when playing tricks, you need to first show off your skills. My old man was like the head of the prison in Chendu, saving lives and taking lives as if it were child's play. You think you can come here and play with me? You can't even handle my watchdog."

  The bean pancake was thrown to the ground by the furious dragon, but it was still strong and pretended to be dead. The furious dragon jumped up and down, "Open the door! I want to beat the dog!" Cold Huang's face sneered, "Military officer, if not for your uniform, we would have already sent a note to Yu Shi Zuo to deal with you. It is our master who always says, 'Dangerous city, accumulated eggs, war horses are not easy to ride.'" "Call out your master!" the furious dragon said. Cold Huang's face said: "The master doesn't want to live here, the master has nine mansions, this is the oldest and most broken one." The furious dragon shouted loudly and rushed up, I believed he could break open the door, which would be absolutely forbidden. I made a gesture, we swarmed up and pulled him back. Cold Huang's face hummed: "Not many military officers, eh? My family doesn't even have a piece of Japanese flower cloth, so it's not worth troubling you all to come in and clean up."

  The dragon roared: "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

  We dragged him away from the door with all our might.

  I warned the confused dragon: "If you continue to make trouble, you'll be handing over your handle!"

  "The Mourning Gate Star said: 'The sea is vast and the sky is wide, the sea is vast and the sky is wide.'"

  It's too late to show off your cleverness now, "You've lost from the very beginning."

  The dragon struggled, jumping up at the cold yellow face, "I'm going to live here!" The cold yellow face, not a single dirty word, but enough to make you angry: "I think you're a vagrant. Go live on the streets, soldier."

  "Really?"

  That guy is absolutely an old-timer, I guess when he was young, Mi Long still wore open-crotch pants: "I'm telling you. You eat, drink, shit, sleep all on the outside road, one year, and the house is yours to live in." Mi Long shouted at us: "Give me a bed to sleep in!" I advised him: "What nonsense! He's cheating you! A soldier, training every day, marching and fighting. One year? In just one week he'll have you chopped up here."

  "You don't chop, I'll rot here too!" Ming Long himself clanged and clattered as he made his bed.

  I could only wipe away sweat, "Veterinarian, can he be saved?"

  Hao Shouyi also wiped away sweat, "Terminal illness."

  The dragon was on the roadside, clanging away at that bed frame, and we were all buzzing around. Some were helping, some were causing trouble, and a few were hesitant to intervene with someone who insisted on doing things his own way. I thought of Dou Bing and gently kicked him awake, "Get up!" Dou Bing opened his eyes, "Ming Long?" "Die already!" Ming Long said. So Dou Bing continued to play dead. He was still lying there playing dead. We had long since given up trying to persuade him. We sat, stood, and leaned against each other, watching the absurd scene: Ming Long had already assembled the bed frame, and on the road, he had set up a huge, empty bed. On the bed lay the most stubborn fool in the world, with some broken junk arranged around him like a still life from a painting by Qi Baishi. We tried to persuade Ming Long, that river which had long since dried up. Ming Long's wife asked him, "What do you want to happen before you come down?" Ming Long said, "When the watchdog opens the door and invites me in, I'll come down."

  Hao Shouyi tried to persuade him: "The owner is not here. The owner has gone in, you're competing with the doorway."

  The pale yellow face inside the door shouted, "Ah. Drinking tea now. The old master's reward Pu'er. Does the military officer on the bed want some?"

  The dragon was not polite at all, "Want it? Come and get it!"

  Then a small window handed out a cup of tea, "A bright person doesn't do dark things, the old guy has a lot of phlegm, just cleared it up in the cup. I came out to mix and make sure to speak clearly."

  The dragon yelled at his wife: "Go get it for me. The turtle has already spoken clearly, you just have to say thank you to people."

  We watched as Mrs. Mi Long went into the doorway and took that cup of tea, I really admired her calmness.

  The dragon's wife didn't forget to say thank you.

  Leng Huang said, "Alright. A thousand-year-old turtle and an eight-thousand-year-old tortoise, I should thank him for wishing me a long life instead. The deal is made, my belongings will be smashed by him. But every tile and stone here, even this smelly body of mine, belongs to the master. Two men settling their scores shouldn't harm innocent people, he's had his drink, no need to smash the cup."

  "Cut the crap! I'm not a woman, what's with throwing cups?"

  Leng Huang said: "Alright. Then I'll treat you to dinner tonight, Qinglong Guohai soup and ham fried rice cakes, do you like to eat?"

  "I'm not picky about food anymore!"

  "Then I'll go cook dinner. Good friends don't leave, let's take it easy."

  "The sky could fall and I would still die at your doorstep." said Mi Long.

  We watched as Huang Lian's face disappeared through the window, while Mi Long's wife handed him back his cup of tea. Mi Long straightened his neck and drank it all in one gulp, carefully placing the cup to one side.

  Hao Lao Tou's eyes widened in surprise, "Little rascal met an old scoundrel, it's a terminal illness indeed."

  I hereby declare: "The old rascal has won for sure."

  "A few words and he's stuck here, can't even touch a single brick. He just needs to add a bit more to his dinner," said Not Spicy.

  "Alas, people of the jianghu."

  Hao's diagnosis was: "Terminal illness."

  "Uncles and aunts, brothers of the dragon, who can take Bao'er for a walk around? He wants to go for a walk every day at this time."

  Hao Shouyi suddenly slapped his forehead, "Oh dear! How could we let a child see this scene?"

  It wasn't his turn, but Ai Mo quietly stood up and said, "I'll go."

  The dragon lady handed over Lebao's hand to him, and A Yi gave Lebao a heavy-hearted smile, "Call me uncle."

  "Beep beep."

  A Yi didn't know what that was, so he pulled Lei Bao'er and left. Before leaving, he looked at the dragon on the bed with Da Ma Jin Dao, "Miguo, a person lives with a breath of air, not just any air, but the spirit of ambition. With a crippled body, establish a great career..."

  The dragon glared at him. "What did I call you here for?"

  The translator is stuck there.

  "Go." said the lost dragon.

  A Yi led Lei Bao'er away, dejectedly going down a path we had never taken before, until they disappeared from our sight.

  We sat there, watching, not as lively and noisy as before, because now only the wife of Mi Long was talking about Mi Long.

  "If I say that Bao'er and I, since living together with you, feel much better than before. Isn't it? Is that right?"

  "It's useless."

  You think it's good or bad, I've always been like this. Haven't done anything. Still drove you all out onto the streets. Now I'm doing it. The men from our place dislike this kind of thing the most."

  "Are you going to do it like this?" asked Longwang's wife.

  "This is all I can do for now, so I'll just do it this way. Later on, when I'm capable of more, I'll do it that way. That's for later. I'm a simple person, and that's all I have to say."

  "You're amazing. I knew it at first sight."

  "It's comforting to hear you say that."

  We watched with bated breath, but no one went over because those two were simply affectionate. Moreover, our hearts started to feel sour again, and we felt that the smile on Miao Long's wife's face made our hearts feel even more sour.

  "You don't think this is our home? I was going to say that finding a small house would be good, it's better than the current dormitory, isn't it?"

  "What's wrong? I'm just asking if you like it or not."

  "Of course I like it. You're really good at finding places."

  The dragon was pleased, "I know your family is well-off, so I won't let you and Bao'er live worse than before."

  "This is much better than before. Where in Myanmar can you find such a beautiful place? - said Mrs. Mi Long."

  "What's going on?"

  "Zen Da has the largest bed, it's probably all been bought by you, there is a place, just let go."

  The dragon inexplicably allowed us to, and we stared in shock as the dragon's wife took off her shoes and got into bed with a dignified posture. Lying beside the dragon, we were speechless, and the dragon was also speechless, while the dragon's wife simply lay down calmly and elegantly.

  "...... I'll chop you up!"

  The dragon's wife said: "It's not glorious to beat your wife, you're a big man who stands tall and upright, it's not good for you to shout so loudly."

  "What are you doing?! You should just stay at the inn with your kid! I'll come tell you when it's time to move. Just move over and that's it! If you keep acting like this, I won't even bother taking you away! Don't you know how shameless people can be? They're squeezing me in here?! You don't know what 'squeezing' means? Squeezing... it just means squeezing! Everyone's squeezed in, and if you run away with that, then you're not a real man!"

  "No one wants you to leave. I'm just accompanying you."

  "Don't come!" the dragon roared.

  "Can't you just keep your voice down? Even if someone gives you a place to live, you and Bao'er can still turn the whole courtyard upside down."

  "Don't go!" The lost dragon was still shouting.

  We burst into laughter, and that vigorous dragon lying on the bed really made us unable to help but burst into laughter.

  The dragon's wife said gently, "I told you that Le Bao'er changed his surname to yours. You said no. Bao'er calls you Dad. You want him to call you Long Dad. You told me that Long Dad would be more loving than his own father."

  "Don't be like that...... What are you talking about?"

  "You said we should have three more, one named Long Bao, one named Hu Bao, and one named Ci Bao. I said it's too noisy, you said because you've been hanging out with the brothers for too long, you like to make noise."

  We burst into loud laughter, although we already felt it wasn't funny at all.

  The dragon urged his wife: "Can't say it, can't say it. You'd better go quickly and dig up my ancestor's grave, grandma."

  "That's a long story," said Mrs. Mi Long gently but firmly.

  "If you don't leave now, I'll really... what?" Mí Lóng was taken aback.

  His wife said: "Four treasures, born with a big one, very long, we are all old, the two of us will pass this life together."

  "Is it that long?"

  "You don't even think about it. I have no choice but to think about it. A child needs two people to give birth to and raise, for a very long time. I believe you can let our family of six move into this house, will you let me accompany you?"

  "It's not... necessary." The dragon was quiet for a while, also lowering its head and eyes, observing with its nose and mouth, then looked up at the sky above the bed again. We were still laughing, our jaws almost aching from it.

  "Really want to carry this bed and parade it through the streets!"

  The snake's butt responded: "Lift it up, lift it up."

  Although he didn't lift it, the snake's butt and Not Spicy stuck that couplet on the bedpost.

  "It's just like a pair..." I didn't finish speaking, when Hao the veterinarian gave me a knock on the back of my head, so I changed the subject, "What was that?"

  The dragon's wife said: "Adulterer and adulteress."

  We burst out laughing again, but I couldn't laugh. The woman spoke of her happiness in such a casual tone, while the dragon was proud and embarrassed by his own happiness, like a dogtail flower that bloomed with abandon, without shame.

  I stepped out of the crowd, rubbing my sore jaw.

  The snake's butt asked me: "Such a good show, why don't you watch it?"

  "Little rascal, old scoundrel, plus a female vagabond, dead end." I said.

  I looked around at the scenery brought by the dragon and walked away.

  Hao Shouyi anxiously asked: "What's wrong, is everything okay?"

  I don't know how bad I looked that he asked such a question. I just shook my head and walked away.

  I still run into those who carry books on their backs, half-dead and stumbling through all of China. They are so tired they're almost dying, without even the heart to look at such good scenery around them, but one is younger than the other.

  I stumbled through them like a blind man.

  I, Meng, am fed up, with grand ambitions, all battles lost, nothing accomplished, a lone star in the sky, alone and unaccompanied. In this autumn of war, I copied out over ten farewell letters to send to all relatives and friends, from then on pretending to be a living dead man.

  I turned around and looked at them, now I was alone, staring blankly at their backs like Ah Yi.

  You're all so annoying, I'd rather gouge out my own eyes than look at you people.

  Happy people, strong people, free people, broad-minded people, living people, I'd rather gouge out my own eyes than not see you.

  Lei Baoer was dodging A Yi's pursuit and rushed over, charging out from the slanting stab. He wasn't much taller than a dog, and his head happened to hit my vital spot. I took this painful blow in a daze, immediately squatting down. Fortunately, my arms and legs were long, and I was able to grab him with one hand. The little guy used a drumstick to hit me, but that thing wasn't there originally, it must have been bought by A Yi for him, but now it's being used as a golden hammer.

  I started yelling: "Are you a bunch of dead war cannons?!" Ah Yi was not angry, but instead happy, "Hold on tight! Hold on!" The little brat kicked and punched me, and also cursed at me with words like "sparrow, loach, duck" that only he would use as curses. Luckily I still had the ability to deal with a little kid's physical attacks, so I grabbed him and looked at Ah Yi who was busy buying candy from a street vendor. Our esteemed leader was in disarray, his hat was crooked, his collar was torn open, and he was sweating profusely, while picking up candies and trying to find the fallen change on the ground. I asked him: "Have you ever fought against Japanese tanks?" Ah Yi angrily complained: "Fight with him! He doesn't listen!" Whether or not he listens, he's still got a butt! Beat him!" I said.

  "Hit?" He scratched his head, as if pondering an inexplicable truth, then coaxed me with a piece of candy, "Good boy, eat the candy." Lebao was obedient and ate the candy, while Ah Yue carefully peeled off the wrapper and handed him the whole stick of candy. Lebao's hands were clumsy, and Ah Yue's military cap was pulled askew again, but he thought it looked good that way, so Ah Yue left it that way. Some people might find this scene warm and fuzzy, but I think it's hopeless. Ah Yue's surname is Lin, his name has the character "Yue" which means translation, yet he can't recognize a single foreign word. He became a supervisor, but can't even manage a small child. He always wants to intervene, but his interventions are always separated by seven or eight layers of window paper. The fact that he's still alive today is thanks to his two skinny legs that can never take him to the battlefield in time. I almost suspect that Tang Ji appointed him as supervisor just to set him up for failure, but thinking carefully, there's not a single hair on his body worth the effort of setting him up.