Soon, Auntie finished cooking, and the group began to eat.

At the dinner table, everyone chatted about random things, and the two of them tacitly avoided mentioning Fourth Uncle's matter again.

After dinner, Li Xiangdong didn't mention leaving. As if he had a nail in his butt, he sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) at his second aunt's house and chatted idly.

My second uncle was surprised, but he couldn't show it on his face, after all, they had given him so many things!

It gets dark early on the mountain, and by six or seven o'clock most people are already closing up and going to bed.

Since Li Xiangdong didn't mention going home, his second aunt's husband casually remarked, "Stay home!"

Li Xiangdong was delighted. "Alright, then I'll trouble my second aunt's husband for one night!"

My second aunt's husband's house only has three rooms. Li Xiangdong is a man who is almost an adult, tall and strong, so it was inconvenient for him to live in the same room as Mai Zi. Therefore, he was arranged to live in his son's room.

"You and Dacheng can share a room. Dacheng's wife went back to her parents' house and hasn't come back yet."

"Sure! I'll sleep with Da Cheng!"

Having achieved his goal, Li Xiangdong happily went to sleep in the west room to wait for Gao Dacheng. However, he waited and waited until after 10 p.m., but he didn't see a single hair of Gao Dacheng.

The kang (heated brick bed) beneath him was warm and cozy. In the stillness of the night, the occasional barking of a dog could be faintly heard, all of which made Li Xiangdong drowsy.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and a gust of cool air blew in.

"Damn it! Who the hell slept on my kang (heated brick bed)?!"

Gao Dacheng, wearing a sheepskin cotton-padded coat, sauntered in.

Li Xiangdong, still half-asleep, immediately woke up. He sat up, put on his clothes, and greeted him, "Brother Dacheng, it's me, Li Xiangdong."

Gao Dacheng's cheeks were flushed, and he reeked of alcohol. He plopped down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), took off his dog-skin hat, and scratched his head haphazardly.

"Li Xiangdong? Oh, oh, the one who came this afternoon! I remember now!"

He kicked his right foot with his left foot, flung both shoes off haphazardly, then lay back and started snoring!

have to!

This guy is asleep!

There was no way they could chat today, so Li Xiangdong resignedly covered him with the blanket and then went back to bed himself.

I slept without any dreams.

"Gurgle—"

Outside, a few roosters crowed, and Li Xiangdong rubbed his sleepy eyes, waking up.

The kang (heated brick bed) beneath him had grown cold, and chill seeped in from all sides of the quilt. Li Xiangdong simply got up and put on his clothes.

The noise of him getting dressed startled Gao Dacheng, who was fast asleep. He opened his eyes and saw a man standing in front of him, exclaiming in fright, "Holy crap!"

Why did a man walk into my room?!

Li Xiangdong rubbed his forehead. This guy drank so much last night that he blacked out and completely forgot about himself!

Li Xiangdong had no choice but to introduce himself again.

Gao Dacheng is a very approachable person. With Li Xiangdong's experience, the two became close immediately after only a few words.

The first thing he said was, "Brother Dacheng, you're so handsome, you must be very popular with women. Do you have a lot of admirers?"

The second sentence is, "Brother Dacheng, it's a real waste of your talents to be stuck in this small mountain village. You could say you're a waste of your abilities. If you could go to a big city someday, you'd definitely make a name for yourself."

The third sentence is, "Brother Dacheng, you are a man of great loyalty and righteousness. I could tell from the first moment I saw you."

Men, no matter what kind of men they are, will definitely be right if they follow these three points.

As soon as Gao Dacheng finished speaking, he grabbed Li Xiangdong's hand and said, "Brother, you're my own brother! My own parents and wife don't understand me. I can only drown my sorrows in alcohol every day!"

Of course, his second aunt, second uncle, and his wife didn't hear him say this, otherwise they would have all spat at him!

It was freezing cold, and Gao Dacheng had nothing to do. After the two finished breakfast, Li Xiangdong invited him to drink at a small tavern in town.

After a few drinks, Li Xiangdong brought up Lao Zhang, seemingly casually. Gao Dacheng slammed his wine cup down on the table. "That old bastard is no good!"

Next, without Li Xiangdong's prompting, Gao Dacheng started talking non-stop on his own.

"That old bastard Zhang Yunda used to rely on his position as the deputy director of the forest farm to do a lot of things like reselling timber and seducing decent women!"

"Yesterday, you mentioned Xianglin's mother..."

"Sigh, Xianglin's mother started an affair with this old bastard more than ten years ago, and Xianglin's father was driven to his death by the two of them!"

"Ah, isn't this just like the story of Pan Jinlian, Ximen Qing, and Wu Dalang?!"

"Xianglin's father was a worker at the forest farm. His mother, his five older sisters, and he himself did not have household registration or jobs at the time. The whole family could only rely on Xianglin's father's job to make a living. So, in order to keep his job, his father swallowed his anger and eventually became ill from the resentment."

"It's not easy for anyone!"

"That's right! Xianglin was too young to make the decision at the time."

He sneered, "Hmph, now that's settled. This old codger has retired and doesn't have that much power anymore. Xianglin can do whatever he wants with him!"

Li Xiangdong's heart skipped a beat. It seemed like they were about to take action.

He leaned closer and whispered a few words to Gao Dacheng.

Gao Dacheng sat up straight in surprise, his eyes wide. "How did you know?"

Li Xiangdong pulled him back, leaned close to him, and whispered a few words.

Gao Dacheng nodded repeatedly, then gave a thumbs up, "Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

...

Li Xiangdong returned to Huapi Ridge with Mai Zi that afternoon.

Before they left, Gao Dacheng saw them off for a long time with reluctance. He patted Li Xiangdong on the shoulder and said, "Brother, I'll come to Huapi Ridge to find you as soon as I hear from you!"

"Okay, Brother Dacheng, I'll wait for you!"

Mai Zi watched the two people who were quickly becoming familiar with each other, puzzled. She had been worried the whole way, and after thinking for a long time, she couldn't help but say to Li Xiangdong, "My older cousin has never liked to work, nor does he know how to manage a household. He gambles and drinks."

Li Xiangdong thanked Mai Zi for the reminder and casually mentioned Zhang Guihe's matter as well.

Wheat's expression was inscrutable, and he seemed to listen more attentively than Scarface.

...

On the third night, the sky outside was pitch black, without a single star in sight.

A shadowy figure quickly entered Xianglin's house, which was in the staff dormitory of the forest farm, and then closed the door tightly.

"Old Zhang?"

A woman's voice rang out from the darkness.

"It's me!"

Hearing the familiar voice, the woman felt relieved. She pulled the light switch, and the room was immediately filled with a warm yellow light.

A tall, balding man who looked to be in his fifties or sixties walked in. "It's been so many years, why are you still so cautious!"

The woman offered him her warm quilt on the kang (heated brick bed), saying, "Better safe than sorry!"

The man quickly stripped off his clothes and crawled into bed.

Not long after, the door was kicked open!