Zhou Xiaozheng looked at the few people and asked, "Why are you here so late? Can you ask for leave?"
"You didn't ask for leave. We waited until after get off work and drove here. We told our boss that you were back. He let you go and told you to visit him when you are free. He wanted to see you and had a few words to say." Yang Liyang said.
Zhou Xiaozheng nodded after hearing this. "Is the old leader in good health? Should he retire in a few years?"
"It's pretty good. The sound is still loud and scary. There was news a few years ago that it would go up, but then there was no movement." Zhao Chuangguang said to him. He knew more inside information and hoped to provide some information for Zheng Ge's analysis.
"Don't you have to rush back at night? Didn't you say you would wait for me to find you?" Zhou Xiaozheng glanced at them.
Feng Wei chuckled and said, "Brother Zheng, A Guang said that we can't stay here any longer, so we'll find a way out. It's okay, it's very close. We'll be there in a short drive. We'll ask for leave when we get back. Didn't you say you were going hunting the day after tomorrow?"
Zhou Xiaozheng quickly stopped him, "No, business is more important. Stay in there. I'll go to the provincial capital to find you in a few days. Focus on your work and don't cause any trouble. We're all over 40 now. We can only move forward, not backward. Be careful in everything, and discuss things with the others if you have any."
Zhao Chuangguang and the other four nodded seriously. Feng Wei looked at the others and said, "Brother Zheng, don't worry. We have a strong support system now that you're back. We'll listen to you and won't come unless we can get leave. But don't forget to get to the provincial capital early, and it's best to stay overnight. We have a lot to tell you."
Zhou Xiaozheng nodded after hearing this and said, "Okay, we brothers will discuss this in detail later. Let's drink first."
After that, he said to everyone, "Everyone, eat more food and don't put down your chopsticks. Shanshan, please take good care of your sister-in-law and Hongli. Let's all have three drinks first, and then each of us will play a level. When you get drunk, you can rest in the county town and go back tomorrow morning. Xiaowu, please ask the store to send a few jars of wine."
Zhao Chuangguang shouted with a smile: "Let's get through it. Brothers, even if we have to, we can still drive the steering wheel and reach the provincial capital. Don't worry, let's all raise our glasses, the first one, and wish everyone a better life." After drinking, he stood the glass upside down to show it to everyone.
Then he said, "Everyone pour your own wine. For the second glass, let's wish our Brother Zheng has returned alive, without any missing parts, and has returned alive and well."
After saying that, he picked up his own cup and drank it in one gulp. Then, he smiled as he watched Zhou Xiaozheng finish his drink and poured himself a glass. He then looked at Zuo Lin, Zhao Dashan, and everyone else who had finished their drinks and poured themselves a glass before he said, "Here's the third glass. After you finish this, I wish you all more energy as you clear the levels."
Everyone laughed at him cheerfully. It wasn't that out of the ordinary. Shouldn't they say Zhu Zhengge had leveled up and become a generation older? And Zhu Da Da had also cleared the level.
After three cups, it was time to drink. Everyone was busy competing with each other and kept looking for opponents to pour wine for each other. For a while, they were playing finger-guessing games and making jokes. The three jars of wine were soon empty. Zhang Guoqing took two more jars of wine and put them on the table and filled them all up.
Feng Wei drank and held Zhou Xiaozheng's hand tightly, refusing to let go. "Brother Zheng, take us to the courtyard in the county town to familiarize ourselves with the route. When you go to the capital, we can come visit the child more often. It's too late now, otherwise we would all like to go see our little princess."
Zhou Xiaozheng nodded repeatedly, "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future, don't rush. Finish this glass of wine first, and then it will be your turn to clear the level. You kid won't deliberately hold me back, will you?"
Zhao Chuangguang walked over to Zuo Lin, put his arm around his shoulders, clinked glasses with him, and asked him in confusion, "Why are you still here? Didn't your brother tell you to return to Beijing?"
Zuo Lin shook his head and pointed upwards. "He himself wants to return to Beijing. Wait for the opportunity. When he returns, I will find a way. Otherwise, a county director will just be running errands if he goes there."
Zhao Chuangguang squinted his eyes at him, "It's okay for you to go to the capital. What's he going to do? Isn't the south better than the capital? I won't move an inch. Go ahead, I'll refuse. They're all crowded together, playing with the crowds. Your brother is now a division commander, why would he go there? He's got a big boss over there."
Zuo Lin spread his hands helplessly, "You all know him, but you don't know his temper. I think it's pretty good here, except that the two brothers are too far apart."
"Let's not talk about this anymore, let's have a drink. Dashan, stop talking to Liyang. The two of you should get up and fight. Can't you see Dawei is waiting for you?"
Zhao Dashan and Yang Liyang were talking to each other, talking about something interesting and laughing from time to time. After listening to it, he turned around to look for Feng Wei and found that he was still holding Zheng Ge tightly. "Dawei, you kid deliberately pulled Zheng Ge to avoid drinking."
Yang Liyang followed suit, "Yeah, Crazy and Dahe caught him and drank him. Every time we cleared a level, he drank the least. They knocked him down first, and his old face was still red."
Cheng Dahe nodded with a smile, listened to their conversation without interrupting, raised his cup and gestured towards them, then drank it in one gulp.
The madman over there had already picked up the cup and poured it into Feng Wei's mouth, shouting, "It's no use calling you Brother Zheng. You have to drink today whether you want to or not. You've been a drunkard ever since we met. Whether you win or not, I'll get you drunk."
Zhou Xiaozheng watched them making a scene with a smile, and ignored Feng Wei's request for help. He poured wine into the madman's empty glass and said, "Drink it. You can't escape tonight. Be honest."
Aunt Zuo looked at her husband and saw that he was fine. She turned her head and listened to Cheng Lihong's gossip, "We were still young then, all girls and boys. Brother Zheng was admired by all us female soldiers. He was good-looking and capable. Every time he won first place in a competition, the whole audience, young and old, would shout "Brother Zheng". The atmosphere was great. He was the pride of our military region. The leaders all called him the Northeast Tiger. He had a dozen or so like-minded brothers, and they had a very good relationship. We often saw them playing around.
When we female soldiers needed help, we would turn to Zhengge's good friend Zhao Chuanguang, and they were happy to help. The most beautiful girl in the art troupe at the time would often find opportunities to get in front of Zhengge. He, on the other hand, was all about training, with a stern face, uninspired, and ignoring our jokes. He was so heartless and boring that I almost thought he was destined to be a monk.
At first, the female soldiers in our communications company didn't dare joke with him to his face. Later, my husband, Lao Zhao, and I started dating, and after interacting with them, we realized the myth was shattered. Zheng Ge was just a sham. They were full of evil intentions. They kept catching Lao Zhao and Daniu stealing melons, confiscating them and eating them themselves, saying they'd keep doing it as long as they didn't catch them. The people in the kitchen all stayed away, leaving Lao Zhao and his friends to happily repeat the same thing.
Even after Zheng Ge left for Beijing, we still heard stories about him. The female soldiers would secretly wonder when they'd see him again. But when the news came, no one believed it. Everyone rushed to the commanding officer to confirm. Later, the female soldiers and the art troupe gathered on the training ground and burst into tears. Several of them fainted. Several medics were busy trying to save him, but only the political commissar came to persuade everyone to disperse.
I heard that Zhao Chuangguang and his men were very depressed, and only after being severely punished by their superiors did they cheer up. Every year on Qingming Festival, they would run to the back mountain and take out large bags of paper money to burn, crying as they did so. Later, the number of people decreased. Some left, some retired, and only Zhao Chuangguang was left with his men, carrying sacks of paper money. Fortunately, Brother Zheng returned alive.
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