After midnight, many food vendors set up stalls on Yu'er Road in the old town, catering to the decadent young people of Dali who enjoy nightlife. At this time, they've usually just come from bars, accompanied by heavily made-up women who don't seem like legitimate girlfriends. They gather together this night simply to alleviate their loneliness. Anyway, Dali has plenty of guesthouses; as long as there's a bed, it can be their refuge for the night.
Tie Nan said that he used to get by in the same way.
The three of us found a barbecue stall that sold draft beer, ordered a keg of draft beer and a case of "Wind, Flower, Snow and Moon" beer, and then started drinking heavily.
Tie Nan raised his glass to me and Coach Ma first, saying, "I hope to meet a group of brothers like you again when I come to Chongqing in the future... To be honest, I'm quite reluctant to leave Dali, after all, I came here with dreams a few years ago..."
Coach Ma replied, "Stop talking nonsense, let's drink first."
Tie Nan downed a whole glass of beer in one gulp, then refilled it and said, "But after living a life of hedonism, one still has to return to real life, right? Taozi is right, this is all the ability we can have in our lives, but we can't let our child lose at the starting line, and we certainly can't let them follow in our footsteps. So in the end, we still have to plunge headlong into a big city. After all, the educational resources there are incomparable to those in Dali, and our child can be exposed to mainstream society earlier there..."
"Come on... that's not mainstream society, that's just social etiquette, that's all empty talk!"
Tie Nan glanced at Coach Ma, then laughed awkwardly, "It's better to be all talk and no action than to be bullied by others later!"
Coach Ma asked Tie Nan to have another drink, then turned to me and asked, "Michael, what do you think about them going to Chongqing?"
"Chongqing is a big world, Dali is a small world... Actually, they're the same."
Coach Ma slammed his hand on the table, agreeing, "That's exactly right! Who the hell dares to say that Dali can't produce top scorers in the college entrance exam, celebrities, or entrepreneurs?... Tie Nan, listen to me, if your child inherits your genes, even if you feed him magic pills every day, he'll still be a menace... Whether a child is good or bad isn't determined by the city they live in, it's mainly about genes!"
"Look at you, you jerk... You either don't say anything at all, or when you do, you choke me so much I can't even drink my wine!"
Coach Ma poured himself a full glass of beer, downed it in one gulp, and then muttered, "I just don't want the inn to be transferred so carelessly... When I first took over, I thought I would treat this inn as a lifelong career... Now, in this mess, it feels like I've only lived half my life before I died... This feeling is awful!"
Tie Nan sighed, filled his glass, and then silently drank it down.
Seeing them like this made me feel terrible, and then I went into a daze, as if I saw the three of us participating in a war mainly fought with cold weapons, with corpses strewn all around us, and us holding blood-dripping steel knives, facing thousands of enemy troops... Tie Nan was the first to kneel down because of Tao Zi behind him, Instructor Ma raised his knife and laughed wildly, and I was all alone, life and death were the same to me...
The massive army was reaping lives as it rolled over us. Just as I was about to see who would live and who would die, a beam of intense light shone on me. I snapped back to reality and saw a Land Cruiser parked by the roadside.
My heart skipped a beat. This cruiser was exactly the same as Yang Sisi's. The moment the door opened, I even stopped breathing... But what got out was a young man who looked like a rich second-generation and a fashionable girl. Upon closer inspection, I realized that this car was different from Yang Sisi's. The wheels on this car had been modified to be black.
After calming myself down, I poured myself a beer and finished it. Just then, Tie Nan finally spoke to Coach Ma, saying, "Brother, I'm sorry... but I'm not alone anymore. Taozi is a practical woman; she's thinking a bit too far ahead, but I understand her... and I hope you understand me too."
Coach Ma lowered his head, then raised his glass and smiled at Tie Nan, saying, "Since you're determined to leave, I won't say anything more... Consider this a farewell dinner for you, and no one is allowed to compete with me to pay the bill later."
Tie Nan drank three cups in one go. I could tell that he was also tormented by the decision of whether or not to transfer the inn!
I don't know how long it took, but the three of us finished all the beer. Coach Ma swayed as he paid the bill with the owner, then came back and put his arm around Tie Nan's shoulder... He put his arm around him tightly because he knew that this parting might not be the last time they would see each other.
This similar scene reminded me of Yang Sisi, who has already left. I wonder how she spent her first night back in Shanghai.
...
On the shore of Erhai Lake, three grown men unzipped their pants and, under the cover of night, urinated into the grass. Coach Ma shrugged, but refused to put his penis away. He asked Tie Nan, "Do you still remember why you came to Dali in the first place?"
"Build a house by Erhai Lake, live a life of luxury and debauchery... and then watch others live a stupid life in the big city."
Coach Ma then willingly put his thing away. He patted Tie Nan on the shoulder and walked towards the farmhouse where we were staying. But looking at his lonely figure, I felt that the night had only just begun for him.
...
After Coach Ma left, Tie Nan and I sat at the entrance of the guesthouse. Although we were still a bit far from Erhai Lake, the tranquility of Erhai was just as plentiful. I offered Tie Nan a cigarette and then asked him, "How many years have you known Coach Ma?"
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
