KEIGHTY: Another ko-fi goal reached thanks to Desuma! 🎉 Here’s an extra chapter to celebrate! Seriously, guys, I really appreciate all of your support. I’ll work harder ≧∇≦
The original name of Xiangzhu Street was not Xiangzhu Street. There was an old and rusty road sign at the street corner with the words Tongming Lane written on it. The vast urban transformation seems to have not yet had time to spread here. Both sides of the narrow road are low-rise, light-shielded old-fashioned buildings, the highest of which is only five stories. The first floor is full of shops, most likely selling incense, candles, and paper money.
It was difficult for Qiao Mudong’s car to turn around after driving in. He could only stop it before turning and parking it on the roadside.
He Yu opened the car door and got out, feeling choked with dust. The climate was dry, and the roadside was very dusty. Whenever a car passed by, dust would rise all over the sky.
Qiao Mudong stood next to the car door and lit a cigarette, took two strong puffs, and then said to He Yu, “Follow me.”
He Yu followed him and walked towards the narrow Tongming Lane.
The street is already narrow, and the shops on both sides, without exception, have long stalls. Next to the stalls are tall paper villas and red-faced boys and girls. He Yu had to be careful when walking for fear of bumping into someone else’s stall.
Qiao Mudong took big steps and didn’t stop until he reached the largest incense and candle shop at the end. He Yu followed him, and when he saw Qiao Mudong stop, the three or four young people sitting at the door of the shop suddenly stood up.
He Yu also stopped and began to feel that something was wrong with the atmosphere.
When He Yu was in prison at that time, he came into contact with such people. A young person who had just turned 20 years old had stopped studying after graduating from junior high school and worked in car repair shops. The young man actually didn’t do anything bad. The reason he was imprisoned was because the car repair shop brought his master to fight with others. He helped the master with a stick and knocked the man twice. Although nothing happened, he was still arrested and charged with provoking trouble.
He Yu was helping in the kitchen with him at that time, and he asked him if it was not worth it. He was full of disdain and said, “What do you know? This is brotherhood and loyalty.“
He Yu thought he was stupid for looking down on him. Later, He Yu looked back and realized that he was indeed stupider than him—infinitely stupider.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Just like that young man, there are many such young people in this city. They left school and their families at a young age to work, but they were unwilling to work hard and live in poverty, so they followed the so-called fellow villagers and elder brothers and began to hang out in this society. Those who do not do well may steal or rob, sell drugs or gamble, and be accidentally caught by the police. After a few years in prison, they continue to steal and rob and are trapped in an endless cycle. There are those who do well, and there are also those who make a career out of it. When you make more money, you can buy a house, invest in business, and become a successful person in society.
Of course, the latter are in the minority. He Yu always thought that Qiao Mudong would become one of them, but he didn’t expect that people surnamed Qiao were born with different fates. In the words of the game, they were the kind of people who had no choice and couldn’t be compared to ordinary people.
Yet, Qiao Mudong has always been among these people. This is not only clear to He Yu but also to the domineering young people in front of him.
Qiao Mudong glanced at them coldly and stretched out his hand to He Yu. “Come here. What are you doing, standing so far away from me?” He thought He Yu was scared of them.
He Yu secretly rolled his eyes and decided to stand close to him so as not to be too far away from him.
He Yu took two steps closer and was then held by Qiao Mudong. Qiao Mudong’s palm was big and warm, and he held He Yu with great strength. He Yu felt a little awkward but couldn’t get rid of him.
The young people looked at each other for a few times before one of them asked, “What do you want to buy?”
He Yu couldn’t help but look at the incense and candle shop in front of him. It seemed to be no different from the shops in front of him when he walked along the way. There were incense candles of different lengths and sizes on the stall, as well as all kinds of colorful money. Villa cars made of paper were placed on the ground; one of them is a Mercedes-Benz.
There was an old man sitting in the shop, wearing a dark blue old-fashioned apron. There was a big dustpan in front of him, and he was dividing a large pile of paper money into several small piles and then tying them with white plastic rope. He never raised his head and seemed not to notice the movement at the door.
Qiao Mudong asked, “Is Hong Xiaomao here?”
The faces of those young people suddenly changed, and someone blurted out, “What the fuck do you need?!”
At this time, the old man sitting in the shop suddenly put down everything in his hands and stood up. He dusted off his apron and walked outside. He squinted his somewhat cloudy eyes and looked at Qiao Mudong and He Yu, and then the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth widened. He came and said with a smile, “My, who you say, ah? It turns out to be Dong Wazi from Old Qiao’s family. I haven’t seen him in many years.”
Qiao Mudong’s attitude became more respectful: “Uncle Wang, I haven’t seen you for a long time. How are you?”
Uncle Wang put his hands into his sleeves. “I’m fine, pretty good even.”
After he stood up to speak, the young men stood aside in silence, staring at Qiao Mudong and saying no more.
Uncle Wang said again, “You came here to play with Xiaomao? He hasn’t been here today. Did you, perhaps, go to the wrong place?”
His tone sounded like that of a kind old man chatting with a child, and He Yu felt like laughing. Qiao Mudong didn’t care and said, “I made an appointment to meet Xiaomao here, and I’ll wait for him here.”
After hearing this, Uncle Wang nodded and said, “Okay, come in and wait.”
Qiao Mudong took He Yu’s hand and walked into the shop. Uncle Wang ordered someone to bring them stools to sit on. He Yu saw a cat running lazily past his feet. The cat was obviously old. The fur on its body was very thick and didn’t look shiny. It curled up to the side and stopped moving.
Qiao Mudong was also looking at the cat and asked, “Is this the cat that Hong Minhang had before?”
Uncle Wang laughed “hehe” twice. “I hope you still remember Old Bear. He won’t live for a few more days without it.”
Uncle Wang’s words were quite emotional, and Qiao Mudong couldn’t help but smile. “How could I not remember? At that time, Hong Mao Mao wore slippers and shorts every day, hugging Old Bear and following his father and his brother around; otherwise, why would we call him Xiaomao?”
Uncle Wang stood up straight and shook his head. “Mudong, you forgot again; Xiaomao is an only child and has no brother.”
Qiao Mudong didn’t care and said to himself, “I just met Li Tang two days ago. I didn’t recognize him. He has changed a lot. I met him two or three times when I was a child. It has been so long that I almost forgot about him.”
Uncle Wang said, “You are the eldest young master now. A noble man is busy with things, so it is appropriate not to recognize him.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Hong Minhang appeared at the door of the shop and shouted, “Uncle Wang.”
Several young people stood up one after another. “Brother Hong.”
Hong Minhang smiled and nodded towards them.
Qiao Mudong and He Yu also stood up. He Yu looked at Hong Minhang. He was wearing a suit and tie and wore gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose. He looked more like a company boss than Qiao Mudong. His facial features were very elegant and handsome, and he was slightly taller than He Yu. His hair was neatly combed back, and he has some smile lines at the corners of his mouth. He is probably a person who loves to laugh.
He came over and patted Qiao Mudong on the shoulder, smiling: “Not bad; you’re getting more and more handsome.”
Qiao Mudong snorted.
Hong Minhang looked at He Yu again and asked Qiao Mudong, “Is he your friend? Why don’t you introduce him to me?”
Qiao Mudong consciously reached out, took He Yu behind him, and said, “No introduction is needed.”
Hong Minhang watched Qiao Mudong’s defense with great interest, but he did not continue to ask questions and said, “I remember that you have no contact with Li Tang, right?”
Qiao Mudong said, “Now, I have it.”
Hong Minhang said, “Oh? How come? Can you tell this brother how?”
Qiao Mudong looked at Hong Minhang and said nothing for a while. He and Li Tang really didn’t have any contact. He often came to play with Hong Minhang when he was a child, and he met Li Tang once or twice. At that time, Li Tang was seventeen or eighteen years old. He was already quite tall and wore a vest in summer, tightly attached to his body, with smooth and tight muscle lines. Qiao Mudong was still of an ignorant age at the time. He only thought that Hong Minhang’s brother was very good-looking, especially his waist and butt. He was so good-looking that people wanted to go up and pinch him. As for what Li Tang’s face looked like, he couldn’t remember clearly, so he couldn’t recognize him when they met in Shiyouwei.
So now, when asked about his relationship with Li Tang, he really couldn’t answer. Just because He Yu came to him for help, he got excited. With He Yu’s current temperament, there were very few opportunities to come to him for help, so he had to seize them. Even if He Yu says now that he wants Qiao Mudong to give Lingyun to him, he might be able to agree on impulse.
Finally, Qiao Mudong said slowly, “You are brothers after all; can you bear to watch them torture Li Tang to death?”
Hong Minhang crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I don’t believe anyone would hide Li Tang from me.” After saying that, he turned to Uncle Wang and asked respectfully, “Is Li Tang here?”
Uncle Wang shook his head. “He’s not here.”
Qiao Mudong said, “Someone saw you bring him here.”
Uncle Wang smiled and said, “He came here once. I heard that today is Xiangfeng’s death anniversary, so I went with my brothers to burn incense for him.”
Hong Minhang made a surprised expression: “Today is the anniversary of my father’s death. It seems that Li Tang feels nostalgic and went to pay homage to his old man.”
He Yu couldn’t help it and said, “Brother Li… Why should he destroy his own restaurant to pay homage to your father?”
Hong Minhang looked at He Yu.
Qiao Mudong held his hand tightly and said, “Okay, let’s go and pay homage to Uncle Hong together and see if Li Tang is there too.”
Mundong doesn’t let go of He Yu’s hand. You’re afraid he’ll run away hahahahah
Thanks for the update
You’re welcomeeee la~
Oh we got more about Qiao Mudong’s back story.
Thank you for the chapter!
Yes, yes~ You’re welcome, Sasha!
Qiao mudong moves fast, already introducing sister-in-law to his brothers 😝
Yey, you finally caught up to the latest chapter 🎉 Thank you for reading~