Ruan Kaiming was a man with a high alcohol tolerance. He could finish a one-pound bottle of wine in just a few words. Since You Tianfu had been with him for most of the day and they were familiar with each other, he spent most of the time communicating with him. As for Chen Dong and the others, they just drank a symbolic glass of wine and then ran out of topics to talk about.
Zhou Zhengwei had already provided sufficient details about Ruan Kaiming's situation, so the discussion at the table now consisted of superficial and insignificant information. You Tianfu agreed one after another, then shifted the topic to the four adjutants, saying half-jokingly:
"General Ruan, the names of your lieutenants are quite scholarly: Rat, Ox, and Tiger. They are arranged according to the twelve Chinese zodiac animals."
Ruan Kaiming laughed. "That's right, it's the twelve zodiac animals. Their Vietnamese names are too difficult to pronounce, so I gave them these names: Rat, Chou, Ox, Yin, Tiger. Listen, how comfortable they sound! Besides, these animals also fit their images."
As he spoke, he lowered his voice and leaned forward: "If I hadn't already made a name for myself in the outside world, I would have changed my name to Chen Long. How fucking domineering! Hahaha..."
The meal went by quickly, but the drinking was substantial. Ruan Kaiming alone drank a whopping three kilograms of baijiu! You Tianfu also toasted along throughout, and while he didn't drink as much as Ruan Kaiming, he still managed to drink two kilograms.
After three rounds of drinks, Ruan Kaiming led his troops away. Everyone accompanied him to the door and watched the military vehicles go away before returning upstairs.
Without Ruan Kaiming and several adjutants, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, and their tense faces relaxed.
Qi Haitao said, "I thought it was some kind of deity descending upon us, but now I see he's just a fat idiot who only knows how to drink and brag. He's nothing to be afraid of!"
The word "fatty" was clearly meant to mock Xie Jiannan, who immediately rolled his eyes and snorted, "With your big, strong body and simple mind, how can you possibly see anything? Don't look at Ruan Kaiming as a carefree person, but the four lieutenants around him are clearly tough guys, especially those two skinny guys named Zi Shu and Wen An, who are definitely tough guys!"
You better watch your stinky mouth from now on and don't spew shit so carelessly, otherwise if you provoke Ruan Kaiming, he'll fire a cannonball into your entire slum!"
Liu Hui had been sizing up the area since daytime, from Ruan Kaiming to his adjutant, and then to all the soldiers in the army. After comprehensively considering all the circumstances, he expressed his own opinion:
"I think Ruan Kaiming is a very ordinary person. Judging from the number of troops and weapons and equipment, he is not a complete military force at all. In foreign countries, he would be called a warlord, but in China a few years ago, he was no different from a bandit on the hill.
He is a typical person who is neither better than the best nor worse than the worst. If he were to fight against a real army, he would be completely vulnerable. But it is easy for him to bully us poor people.
Zhou Zhengwei said that Ruan Kaiming was a warlord on the surface, but in fact he was just like us, reselling arms to make money.
So I think as long as we keep a good distance from them, don't easily cross the cordon between the military and civilian areas, and don't have any competition in business, peaceful coexistence shouldn't be a big problem! "
Everyone present expressed their opinions, except Chen Dong, who remained silent and sat in a chair quietly drinking tea.
You Tianfu knew he must have something he wanted to discuss privately, so he spoke with a thick tongue, "Anyway, Ruan Kaiming has officially moved in now. It would be best if there are no problems in the future, but if there are, we'll have to grit our teeth and persevere. For now, we can only take it one step at a time... Thank you all for coming to the banquet today. You've all worked hard... I'll see you out..."
As he spoke, he stood up shakily and almost fell to the ground.
Several people hurriedly helped him sit down, waved their hands to indicate that they didn't need to see him off, and then went downstairs one after another. Seeing this, Hao Zhengguang and others followed behind to see him off.
When the crowd dispersed, only Chen Dong and You Tianfu were left in the room. Chen Dong looked at You Tianfu, who was shaking his head, and asked, "Are you drunk?"
You Tianfu leaned on the table, nodded, and waved his hand: "You are drunk physically, but not mentally. I know... Master Dong still has something to say..."
Chen Dong's face suddenly lit up with a smile. He stood up and took an empty cup. While pouring tea, he said, "What I want to say has already been said by Liu Hui. I just want to correct one point. Ruan Kaiming and the four adjutants around him are not ordinary mortals.
You are now in control of the entire civil district, and you have to be involved in all matters, big and small. Just like Ruan Kaiming said, we are all under the same cloud, and no matter how careful we are, it is impossible for there to be no friction!
It's not easy to carry the banner, and it's not easy to be a boss. Lunzi and I have already discussed that we'll be leaving Chinatown next week to find a place to retire and enjoy our lives. I hope you can be like me, weathering all the storms and finally have time to enjoy your retirement."
After saying that, Chen Dong patted You Tianfu's shoulders heavily several times, then turned and left.
After everyone left, the brothers rushed in one after another and surrounded You Tianfu from both sides.
You Tianfu wasn't a big drinker by nature, and despite some deliberate practice, his alcohol tolerance was only slightly better than the average person. Half a pound of wine was fine, a pound was barely enough, and after two pounds, he was still able to stay sober until now, relying entirely on his unwavering willpower.
When he saw the familiar faces of Hao Zhengguang, Lin Lidong, and the others, the tension in his heart finally relaxed. His head sank, his body softened, and he lay down, unresponsive...
Regarding this night, You Tianfu's memory stopped at the moment when Chen Dong patted his shoulder. After that, he completely lost all memory. After being helped to the room, he snored and slept soundly. He lay there for a whole day and two nights, and only opened his eyes again on the morning of the third day.
On the other side, Ruan Kaiming, although he drank three kilograms of white wine, was also supported by his adjutant and staggered out. But as soon as he sat in the military vehicle, his blurred eyes gathered together again, and he looked coldly at his friend Tianfu outside through the dark window.
Wen An sat next to him and said in Vietnamese: "This person is not simple! Keeping him around might be a problem! Do you want to..."
Ruan Kaiming shook his head slightly and responded in a deep voice, "He might be a problem in the future, but keeping him around will save us a lot of trouble... Now that we've settled in Chinatown, we should take our time. We still have a long way to go..."
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