Chapter 54: A Generous Soldier
It was then that I saw clearly that this colonel had thick eyebrows, big eyes, a straight nose and a square mouth. In his military uniform, he looked truly heroic and upright, which made people feel a liking for him at first sight.
From what the colonel said, it seemed that he was very familiar with Xu Shu, maybe a relative. I asked, "Excuse me, who are you..." The colonel extended his hand generously and said with a smile, "Nice to meet you, my name is Xu Jian, and I'm Xiao Shu's brother."
Seeing that this soldier was enthusiastic and heroic, with a typical military demeanor, I couldn't help but let down my guard against him. To show my respect for him, I pushed open the car door and got out, then I stretched out my hand and shook his tightly, saying, "My name is Tang Qian, nice to meet you."
Xu Shu's brother Xu Jian showed a hint of approval in his eyes, and was very satisfied with my respect for him. He said, "You are a good young man. I admire you as soon as I see you. As a man, there is no man who doesn't smoke! If Xiao Shu asks you to quit smoking in the future, ignore her. I support you!"
I was sweating! It turned out that he admired me only because I smoked, and he seemed to have misunderstood. I was not related to his sister, so why did Xu Shu want me to quit smoking?
So I said, "I... I'm not even Xu Shu's friend yet! Don't get me wrong!" What I meant was that I'm not even an ordinary friend of Xu Shu right now, but the Chinese language is indeed profound and extensive, and the same sentence can also be interpreted as Xu Shu and I just started dating and are not at the stage of talking about marriage.
Xu Jian took a puff of his cigarette and said, "It doesn't matter. I think it's a matter of time! This time my sister's vision is different from before. She has improved. I hate those effeminate noblemen with oily hair and powdered faces. And that Hong Kong actor even advised me to quit smoking! Damn it! What does he care about my smoking?"
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I was speechless at the self-righteousness of this soldier. Moreover, all those with the surname Xu seemed to have this self-righteous problem. Is it hereditary?
Xu Jian threw away his cigarette butt and said to me, "My sister is really a fool. She just left you here and didn't care about you. Come on, since you are here, let's go to my room and have a drink to warm up. It's too cold today." He patted my shoulder and asked me to follow him into the courtyard. I hurriedly declined, "Hey! Maybe next time . Xu Shu and I are just here to get some things. We will return to City B right away. I'm afraid we don't have that much time."
Xu Jian ignored him and shook his head, "What time is it already? Are you going back to City B? Come on, come on, come with me to have a drink. At worst, I can just sleep here tonight. I'll go talk to Xiao Shu. How dare she not give me, her big brother, face? Let's go! Don't tell me you can't drink."
I was dragged by this generous soldier and reluctantly followed him into the compound. Just then, a door to the north opened and Xu Shu walked out. She looked at me and her brother in surprise, and whispered, "Brother, what are you doing?"
Xu Jian smiled and said, "I asked him to come to my room and have a couple of drinks with me. You wouldn't refuse, would you?"
Xu Shu rolled his eyes and said angrily, "Are you kidding me? We have to rush back now. Mr. Tang has to go to work tomorrow morning, and I have to go to the United States tomorrow at noon. How can I have time to drink with a drunkard like you?"
Xu Jian was in high spirits, so he didn't care about anything else and said, "What time is it now? It will be dawn when you return to City B. Are you going to let Xiao Tang sleep? I think Xiao Tang should sleep here tonight. If it doesn't work, take a day off tomorrow. Anyway, you still have to ask Xiao Tang to take you to the airport at noon, right?"
Xu Shu looked at the two of us men with both anger and amusement, and said incomprehensibly: "Xiao Tang? God, I've only been in the room for a few minutes? When did you become so familiar with each other? Brother, let me tell you, Mr. Tang is my benefactor, you must not make him unhappy by being careless, what if he gets drunk and can't get up in the morning? It's not easy for Mr. Tang to have a job, do you want to make him lose his job?"
Xu Jian turned around, looked at me suspiciously, and said, "You...will be laid off again? Is it that serious?"
I felt sad. Laid off? Didn't I tell you I had resigned? How could I be laid off? I am unemployed now. No one cares about me. I am free! I looked at Xu Shu and found that she was trying hard to wink at me, asking me to refuse quickly so that she could leave with me earlier!
I sneered in my heart, thinking that you forced me to quit my job and make me have no way to make a living. Why are you in a hurry to drive me away now after you just apologized to me? I have been insulted so much by you, so what's wrong with drinking a glass of wine from your house? No? I won't leave in a hurry, I must drink this glass of wine!
I turned to Xu Jian and smiled, "What's the point of a job? It doesn't matter if I lose it. What matters is that we are good friends. Brother Xu thinks highly of me, and we get along so well. If I don't drink to my heart's content, won't I regret it?"
Xu Jian was overjoyed when he heard this. He patted my shoulder and shouted, "Great! Well said! I haven't met such a like-minded friend for a long time. I'm so happy! Come on, I have two bottles of top-quality Moutai in my room that I have treasured for five years. I will open them today and drink until I am drunk. Don't pay attention to this woman. If she dares to look at you arrogantly, just tell me. I will support you. Let's see what she dares to do to you!"
As he said this, he put his arm around my shoulders affectionately and took me into his room.
As smart as Xu Shu is, she naturally understood the complaint in my words. She stood in the yard, biting her lower lip with her teeth, twisting her hands with the scarf she just took out, and whispered: "I know I was wrong, why don't you forgive me? I apologized so sincerely, what else do you want? Must I... Humph! Brother is really something, what kind of trick is he trying to get into? We haven't even met for five minutes, and we're already good friends? God! I can't stand it, I have to go to the United States tomorrow!"
Xu Jian pulled me into the house, and the abundant warmth immediately hit my whole body. Xu Jian took off his military cap and warmly asked me to sit down. Then he opened a cabinet beside the house and took out a pack of cigarettes and two bottles of wine. I saw that the pack of cigarettes was a soft-shell Zhonghua, and the wine was Kweichow Moutai, both of which were top-quality cigarettes and wines.
Xu Jian said, "I don't have , but I have plenty of good cigarettes and good wine. Come on, have a smoke!" He tore open the package, took out two packs of cigarettes and threw them at me. I knew he was a very generous person, so I didn't bother to be polite with him. I took the cigarettes, opened them, took out two, handed one to him first, and then put one in my mouth. With a "click", he lit the lighter and lit up both his and my mouths. Xu Jian smoked a cigarette and said to me, "Wait a minute, I'll go get some snacks."
He ran to the kitchen, but stopped halfway, patted his head and said, "Look at me, I'm almost dizzy, and I haven't even poured you a glass of water."
I hurriedly said, "Don't be polite, Brother Xu, or I can do it myself."
Xu Jian said, "Okay! The kettle is on the cabinet over there. There are disposable paper cups in the cabinet. You can pour it yourself. I'm not polite, and you don't have to be polite either. Just treat it as your own home."
I smiled and nodded, and Xu Jian went into the kitchen at the back. I poured two cups of water and placed them on the small dining table in the living room.
After a while, Xu Jian brought out a pot of roast duck, a plate of peanuts, a plate of preserved eggs, and finally a small bottle of red pepper sauce. He said, "Come on, there's nothing to eat in the middle of the night, so let's make do with some wine."
I said, "It's already pretty good. If it were in my house, I wouldn't be able to find so many things at this time."
Xu Jian laughed, and after sitting down with me, he opened the outer shell of the Moutai liquor, found chopsticks and a small wine glass, and divided it into portions for each person. He opened the bottle cap and poured it into the glass in front of me. At the same time, he said, "Brother! I don't have any hobbies. I just like to drink a little wine and smoke a cigarette. I used to be a regiment commander in the 32nd Army Group, which was quite good. I trained and studied during the weekdays, and when I had nothing to do at night, I would call a few brothers in the group to drink happily. I lived a carefree life. But this year, my father used the excuse that he was old and needed his son to take care of me, and he transferred me from the field army to the military district headquarters to be a staff officer of the training department. I was doing research and investigation all day long, which was boring. The most painful thing is that I like to drink a few cups before going to bed at night, and I like to have fun. I like to chat and drink with a few brothers. But since I came back, I haven't made many friends, and most of them are people with a strict lifestyle and don't want to be as unrestrained as me. Even if there are people who like to drink, who dares to make trouble in the military district commander's house? Brother! I'm depressed these days! I drink alone almost every night, and the wine doesn't taste good. To be honest, you are the first friend to drink with me in my room, and I'm really happy. Come on! Brother! Big brother toasts you a glass!"
After listening to his words, I respected this honest and generous soldier even more. I could see that he was a true man who valued loyalty and would risk his life for his brothers and comrades. Unfortunately, in this military region where power is the center, everyone behaves cautiously and it is impossible for people to really open up to each other. Everyone is on guard against each other. No wonder he, who loves making friends, lamented that he didn't make many friends, and even fewer friends who like to drink.
When I came in just now I just wanted to take a small revenge on Xu Shu's attitude, but now I am overwhelmed by Xu Jian's heroic temperament, and I am wholeheartedly willing to make friends with him and get drunk with him.
I raised my glass and said seriously: "If Brother Xu doesn't mind, I, Tang Qian, am willing to be your close friend and get drunk with you. Cheers!" As I said that, I tilted my head back and drank the glass.
Hearing this, Xu Jian sighed, laughed, and said, "Good brother! I was not wrong!" The speaker tilted his head back and drank the glass.
After a glass of wine, we became more intimate. We started to chat while eating and drinking. Xu Jian asked me, "You don't look like a rich kid, let alone a gigolo in the entertainment industry. How did you meet my sister? Xiao Shu usually has high standards. She usually ignores those rich kids, descendants of high-ranking officials, and pop stars who come to her house to court her. She even said that she would do the same even if the son of the President of the United States came. You are really good! How did you get my sister? I'm very interested!"
I thought that since I regarded him as a good friend, I must not hide anything from him anymore, so while drinking with him, I told him the story of how Xu Shu and I met, how we misunderstood each other, and how I ended up here.
After Xu Jian understood, he drank another glass of wine and said, "So that's how it is. Xiao Shu was wrong. When dealing with a friend, especially a benefactor, you must first trust him absolutely. How can you judge a person's behavior based on appearance? And it's really wrong to suspect him without reason or even insult him. She is not the same as the Xiao Shu I know! Although my sister is young and a girl, she has been sensible, obedient and considerate since she was a child. She is kind and treats people kindly. She would not do such an excessive thing to someone, right? Is there any misunderstanding?"
I thought about it carefully and said, "No way! I've only met your sister once before, and we're not that familiar with each other. How could there be any misunderstanding?"
Just as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door, and Xu Shu's voice came: "Brother! Open the door!"
