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Chapter 5: Brothers Make Good Company

  Chapter 5: Brothers Make Good Company

  Students who excel in both character and learning in school may not necessarily still have a sense of superiority after leaving school.

  On the contrary, being silly in school doesn't necessarily mean you're silly everywhere.

  This sentence is very suitable for both Simu Xian and Lei Dapeng. As far as Simu Xian knows, Dapeng's family background is better than that of most of his classmates, and it's not just a little bit better. Otherwise, with Dapeng's IQ level, it would be hard to explain how he could have almost graduated from university. Don't look down on him for being stupid, he never fails exams. And don't underestimate him either, when dealing with things outside the school gate, he is more effective than ten clever people put together.

  No, he found the public car of his father's urban management team, and then Simu Xian saw him find his mother at the Heroic Platform Market. I guess he cheated his mother out of a few hundred yuan in pocket money under the name of school fees, bought a big bag of drinks and snacks, and set off officially.

  As soon as they hit the road, Da Peng took control and swaggered from East Street all the way to North Suburbs. When they encountered a private car blocking their way, he grabbed the loudspeaker on the car and shouted in a deep voice, "Whoever is blocking the way, move aside and don't interfere with official business!" This worked like a charm, and they drove smoothly without any obstacles. In the car, Simu Xian looked at Lei Ge and thought that this was simply the combination of an official's son and a rich second-generation, and he couldn't help but teach Lei Da Peng...

  "Lei Ge, can't you be more low-key? Your dad is just the leader of a small urban management team, not the head of some big department; your mom is just a small business owner, not some wealthy tycoon. What's with the arrogant attitude? Do you think you're really a rich second-generation official, and someone will always bail you out when things go wrong?"

  "What's going on? The city management and traffic police aren't even stopping this car. Look... it scared away a whole group of people. Haha."

  Lei Dapeng drove the car, intentionally honking a few times. This was good, scaring away a group of vendors and tricycle riders near Guangchang Road. When they saw the law enforcement vehicle marked "Urban Management", the small merchants and peddlers fled in all directions like they had seen a ghost, making Lei Dapeng laugh so hard his whole body shook.

  Lei Dapeng loved playing this game, sometimes even sneaking into his father's urban management uniform to scare the fruit vendors at the school gate, and with a clever trick, he could always get away with a pocket full of apples and pears back to the dormitory.

  Smiling and walking, he glanced at Si Xian's silent brother with a look of displeasure in his eyes. Lei Dapeng knew that his younger brother didn't like his nature, so he quickly changed his tone and said: "Don't be angry, I'll slow down... don't have an opinion about me, although I may seem unruly on the outside, but inside I'm very pure-hearted. Let's just say we're both genuine grassroots people, a pair of miserable souls."

  Si Mu Xian was instead amused by Lei Da Peng, laughing and bowing his head to say: "You're just a weed, at most a poisonous one."

  "A poisonous weed is still a weed, haha. Compared to Boss's gang of thugs, we're all good kids." Lei Dapeng smiled and made nice, isolating the boss.

  Just laugh it off, as usual, and nothing unpleasant lasts more than three minutes. Many times even Simu Xian himself finds it strange that he can get along well with someone like Lei Dapeng who is both greedy and lazy, stupid and foolish. But to tell the truth, in this day and age, those with some knowledge, some family background, and some position are all arrogant, really looking for a friend without any ulterior motives or purposes is not easy, and it's only left to someone like Lei Dapeng who is big and silly, not very bright.

  At this point, Simu Xian smiled and glanced at Lei Dapeng. The two of them happened to be looking at each other, and Lei Dapeng gave a silly smile again, but it was so sincere that even Simu Xian couldn't help but feel a little sorry for disturbing him when he had finally found an opportunity to show off. Usually in school, he was always treated as a second-rate person, and it was rare for him to be able to act cool.

  But as soon as they left the city, there was no chance to even take a break. The highway from Beiguan to Lao Ding Mountain tourist area took over 20 minutes to reach the foot of the mountain. When they stopped at the fork in the road, someone was already waiting for them, smiling and waving. Lei Dapeng and Si Muxian couldn't help but smile when they saw this person.

  He is Lao Da Shanyong, and looking at Shanyong's appearance, he is more handsome than Lei Dapeng and Simu Xian. He is a tall and strong man with a height of 1.78 meters, big eyes, thick eyebrows, a prominent nose, and a wide mouth, a standard northern Chinese man. Wearing a military green outdoor uniform, standing at the crossroads, he looks very majestic and handsome.

  However, Wei Wu was indeed majestic, but a bit like he's always ready to cause trouble; handsome is indeed handsome, but handsome to the point of being a bit rogue-like, standing there like a mountain bandit who cuts off paths. As soon as the people got out of the car, Shan Yong shouted with a loud voice and laughed: "Er Lei, not bad! This car matches you perfectly. You can take over your dad's position now."

  "Haha...... Of course, Egg brother, I'm going to die from suffocation. You can stay home and play, we're almost suffocated."

  Lei Dapeng burst through the door with an exaggerated, over-the-top gesture, pouncing on him like a long-lost brother. Simu Xian was more subdued, but as soon as he got out of the car, Lei Dapeng warmly hugged Shan Yong and wouldn't let go. Shan Yong laughed and pushed Lei away, pointing to the four plastic buckets at his feet: "Take them up to the car, what am I playing with? Just busy looking for materials!"

  "Wow, new bait!" Lei Dapeng's eyes lit up. Fishing was a common hobby among the brothers, and every time they made a big catch, it was thanks to Shanyong's specially prepared bait. He squatted down, lifted the lid of a red bucket, and a wave of fragrance wafted out. Lei Dapeng and Simu Xian couldn't help but exclaim: "So fragrant!"

  Most of the rice grains were covered with white flowers and emitted a fragrance that assailed the nostrils.

  "What's this stuff made of?" Lei Dapeng grabbed a handful, but it was just ordinary rice. However, the strange fragrance wasn't something that could be achieved with just rice. The bait relied on its aroma to attract fish. With this thing, he wouldn't have to worry about not being able to lure in big fish. Shan Yong smiled and covered the bucket, saying with a hint of pride: "Musk-scented rice, it took a month to make just half a bucket. Carp and grass carp love this stuff, just wait and see, we're going to break another record this time."

  One explanation is that this is the nest material smoked out by musk, and the workmanship is very intricate. Lei Dapeng picked up the bucket and wanted to put it on the car when he thought of a new problem and asked: "Egg brother, egg brother, no, I think your thinking has a problem?"

  "What's wrong?"

  "The stuff is too delicious."

  "What's wrong with being too good?"

  "Being too good-looking is a big problem."

  Lei Dapeng deliberately made things difficult, usually like this, the less clever he was, the more he liked to show off his cleverness, and most of all, he loved to give Lao Da a hard time. After several rounds of questioning, Lei Dapeng finally expressed his own thoughts: "You definitely haven't thought of it, the nest material is too delicious, what if they only eat the nest material and don't bite the bait? Won't we be blind?"

  "Hmm, that's a problem. Leida Peng is also an old fishing friend, and even Simu Xian feels that it's somewhat reasonable. But unexpectedly, Shanyong burst out laughing and patted Leida Peng on the back to comfort him: 'You haven't been seen for a few days, but have you thought about it... You're so clever, you can think of it, but the fish isn't as clever as you, how could it possibly think of it? Isn't that right?'"

  "Oh, that's true."

  Lei Dapeng was stunned, accepting this explanation. Simu Xian was grinning from ear to ear, laughing loudly. The only one in the whole school who wasn't afraid of Lei Dapeng was Shanyong, and he knew how to talk to him. He often said something that would make Lei Dapeng surrender. Just as this doubt had been resolved, a new question arose. Simu Xian and Shanyong had just put down a bucket when Lei Dapeng picked it up again and asked: "Egg brother, what's the bait for catching turtles? You didn't tell me to take a look, did you? The wild turtles in Zhangze Reservoir have been fished for many years, and it's getting harder to catch them. If you can catch one or two, it's just luck. Those under one kilogram are sold for over 300 yuan."

  "What you're holding is a secret weapon, put it steady, take a look yourself." Shuang Yong smiled mysteriously and held up another bucket, sealed tight. Simu Xian was also curious to go and take a look, but was pulled back by Shuang Yong, who turned around and smiled mysteriously at the boss.

  There must be a trick, Simu Xian didn't dare go up, afraid of being teased by the boss.

  Lei Dapeng couldn't hold back his curiosity, put down the bucket, and hastily lifted the lid. He took a fierce glance, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight. His throat let out a "gulps" sound, and with a loud thud, he sat on the ground, covering his nose with his hands, screaming and crawling away, fleeing far away like he had seen a ghost.

  Stinky, extremely stinky, an indescribable stench that even Simu Xian, a few steps away, covered his nose with his hand. The smell was more pungent than a public toilet that hadn't been cleaned for years. Only Dan Yong didn't mind, covering his nose and walking forward to cover the lid, smiling as he watched Lei Dapeng being teased. After putting it in the trunk of the car, Lei Dapeng spat out water for half a day before returning. Before he could even open his mouth, Dan Yong sat down in the driver's seat, gesturing for him to get in, and said while driving: "This is fermented chicken intestine, pig liver, and some animal offal, with some added ingredients... Don't mind the smell, this bait is something I wouldn't normally tell anyone about. You'll know how valuable it is when you catch a turtle. It's not easy to accumulate so much."

  "Is that so? Nonsense! This stinky thing, people don't even dare to approach it, and even the turtle is smoked away." Lei Dapeng was a bit skeptical, and Shan Yong explained with a smile: "Really? I just saw you being smoked away, you're Tianlei Ge, not Wang Ba's brother, why doesn't Wang Ba like you?"

  Uh... Leida Peng, who had been talking non-stop, was suddenly speechless. Simu Xian smiled smugly and said, "Nothing to say now, Da Peng? It seems only Boss can handle you."

  "Cut it." Lei Dapeng raised an eyebrow, skeptical of all authority, but when it came to catching king prawns, Lao Da was the absolute authority and couldn't be doubted. He changed his tone when the car started moving and asked Shanyong, "Hey, Egg Brother, you're feeding the king prawns such smelly stuff, and then we'll eat the king prawns later, doesn't that mean we'll also be eating the smelly stuff from the bucket?"

  Lei Dapeng said, pointing to the bucket of fertilizer in the trunk, "That smell is really unbearable for ordinary people." Si Mu Xian chuckled and was used to Lei Dapeng's sudden strange ideas. Ordinary people couldn't answer his questions, but fortunately, today was an exception. Shan Yong asked Lei Dapeng very seriously, "Wow, what you said makes sense... But have you thought about it, Dapeng? The vegetables you eat every day are fertilized with manure. Following your logic, doesn't that mean you're eating shit every day?"

  Si Mu Xian couldn't help it anymore and burst out laughing in the back seat. Lei Da Peng, who had been talking nonstop, was finally speechless, humming in discontent but unable to come up with a better countermeasure, so he temporarily gave up. As soon as he calmed down, Si Mu Xian knew that Lei Ge had started thinking of ways to give Lao Da a hard time.

  The car is on the road. Three people in one room, and they have been passing time in this meaningless quarrel for almost four years now. Si Mu Xian took a look at Lao Da Shanyong, who he hadn't seen in several days, still with that same old self, wearing faded JEEP clothes, his face tanned to a dark brown color. Every time he sees this roommate of his, he always feels an inexplicable sense of closeness and respect.

  Perhaps this feeling is related to experience, Lao Da Shuang Yong and Lei Da Peng were classmates in high school, it's hard to believe that Lei Da Peng said the two had attended a noble school, but Shuang Yong dropped out halfway. It was faintly learned from Lei Da Peng's mouth that Shuang Yong's father lost money in the hotel business and the whole family returned to their hometown, on this old top mountain. In recent years, relying on the tourism boom of Lao Ding Mountain, they opened a farmhouse in their hometown village, and the family's situation has improved somewhat. For Shuang Yong, who came from a big rise and fall, Simu Xian always felt that he had an extraordinary temperament, different from those guys in the Chinese department who were romantic and poetic, four years of classmates saw Shuang Yong as a tutor, delivering takeout, sending familiar meat, and even his brothers' fishing and catching shrimp became a way to make money, almost half-work and half-study life delayed normal academic work.

  The more he saw the difficulties, the more Simu Xian had a kind of respect for his roommate. He felt that if he were in his shoes, he might not be able to do better than Shanyong, nor could he live as optimistically as him.

  Not long after, Lezi came again. The car drove onto the second-level road. Shanyong teased Lei Dapeng: "Dapeng, why don't you report to me about your studies and life when I'm not around? Looking at you like this... there's nothing to report, right? When brother is not around, you must be eating poorly, sleeping badly, and having no fun, right? Don't be discouraged, let's have fun today, and tomorrow we'll go back to my place to eat well. I guarantee you'll sleep like a dead pig when you get home... what's wrong? Why are you more solemn than usual? Won't you have taken a fancy to some girl again?"

  No need to mention this, but as soon as Simu Xian was mentioned, he burst out laughing and chimed in, "Wow, wow, great leader is really insightful! Not only did you see through Da Peng's calm demeanor, but also the reason behind it."

  "Who's the big Peng, come and listen to me, you're so down, if you can't handle it, there's still my elegant and handsome brother." said Shan Yong, boasting a sentence.

  "Less came, who lost the air, I formally announced that my idol is no longer Cang teacher, changed to our class flower, Wang Huating... Old big you don't know, Wang Huating said today that I am the most handsome in our class, I guess she likes me." Lei Dapeng said with a bit of self-love, touching his own cheek, feeling slightly embarrassed.

  The car screeched to a halt, startling Danyong, who turned his head to look at Simu Xian, pointing at Leida Peng in surprise and delight: "I wasn't there, what brain food did he eat to come up with this story?"

  Shan Yong estimated that it was probably Leida Peng who had gone crazy after watching that YY video, Wang Huating belonged to the category of well-educated and arrogant people, let alone Leida Peng, even if it were Luyuan, he might not be able to enter her eyes. But unexpectedly, Simu Xian smiled and said: "Shan Ge, after three days, you'll have to look at him with new eyes, this is really true. Wang Huating actually said that Da Peng was handsome, although you're handsome, Lao Da, but it's to set off Leida Peng's existence, right?"

  Lei Dapeng has always been the type to get defensive when someone calls him fat, and he would definitely huff and puff about it. But this time, he was delighted and rushed over, proudly strutting around, exchanging banter with Si Muxian, trying to clear up what happened today. Shan Yong listened in and finally understood that it wasn't Party Flower being overly affectionate, but rather Lei Dapeng being overly sensitive. However, saying this out loud would be too hurtful, so Shan Yong smiled and changed the subject, using an encouraging tone: "Hey, look at you, Dapeng! Remember what they say? 'After the storm comes the sun.' Finally, someone has seen your inner beauty! What do you say? Should we get Brother Xian to write another earth-shattering, ghost-crying love letter for you? You'd better hurry up and confess, graduation is coming soon... right, Brother Xian?"

  "Yes, the saint said, a virtuous girl is hard to find, and a gentleman who misses this chance will regret it later. If you miss this opportunity, there won't be another one," Ci Muxian chimed in, patting his chest and grinning: "Don't worry, I'll plagiarize all the famous love letters from ancient times to the present for you, guaranteed to move the beauty's heart."

  Shan Yong and Si Mu Xian had the same idea, instigating Sha Lei to harass Dang Hua Niang. It was likely that they would add another beautiful story to the Ruan Institute. However, Lei Da Peng suddenly became clever and said with a straight face: "Forget it, your cheesy love letter won't work at all. I've changed my mind, I'll confess to her in person."

  "Wow, awesome, Le Ge is mighty."

  Two people listened and were overjoyed, giving a big thumbs up. If it's going to be like this, the music will probably get even better.

  But unexpectedly, Lei Dapeng suddenly changed his tone and said with a hint of sadness: "However, I'm afraid she'll look down on me. You guys say I should confess to her, but what if she rejects me outright?!"

  Shanyong and Simu Xian exchanged a glance, both of them sneering. If that scene really happened, it would be more interesting than Ah Q chasing Wu Ma, and even more worth expecting. It's not encouraging at all, so the two of them, one on the left and one on the right, egged each other on. Simu Xian said seriously: "It won't happen, how can you say you're handsome if you look down on me?"

  "Exactly! My brother said it well, we may be a bit more handsome than you, but that's to set off your existence. How could she bear to spit in your face?" Dan Yong fanned the flames.

  Si Mu Xian continued, "You'd better think carefully, Da Peng. Even if you can't catch up, it'll still be a wonderful memory in the future. If you do catch up, it'll be even more beautiful, right?"

  "No, no, it's not possible to catch up." Dan Yong corrected, looking at Lei Dapeng who was getting more and more anxious in his heart, feeling a bit embarrassed but also a bit unsure of what to do. So he suddenly came up with an idea and incited Lei Dapeng: "You can't think like that, you have to change your way of thinking. Just like the artistic videos stored on your MP5, they're always about beautiful women paired with ugly men or pretty girls paired with foolish guys. Good cabbage isn't meant for pigs to bump into, who else would it be for? Good girls aren't meant for my brothers to sleep with, who else would they be for? Haven't you seen those blonde beauties in your videos, all of them were... by black men? Maybe Wang Huating is also expecting to be... by you, just like you're expecting to... her."

  He was extremely tempted, lowering his voice, with a sly and mysterious tone, saying that Lei Da Peng was so flustered that he didn't know what to do. Looking at Lao Da, then looking at Lao San, under the expectant gaze of the two, it really seemed like there were many, many encouraging signs, and there were also numerous precedents of pigs winning over white cabbage. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and his confidence suddenly surged. He nodded vigorously, saying: "Alright, when I get back to school, I'll go find her."

  "Great, impressive, worthy of being my second brother." Ci Mu Xian praised.

  "Hmm, indeed you have great potential, you don't seem like a second-in-command at all, you're material for being the boss."

  Dan Yong smiled and said, turning around to start the car. Lei Da Peng's dream lover often changed every three days, and neither of them took it seriously. This is a person who would jump into the Yellow River and still not give up, so there's no use trying to persuade him.

  But Lei Dapeng was excited, talking about Wang Huating, saying that her skin is whiter than a carp's belly, her lips are redder than small chili peppers, and her figure is more slender than a mountain potato. Some parts of her body are shaped like an abalone... just thinking about it makes him almost die from beauty... This description went on and on, describing until Lei Dapeng himself was almost drooling. All his vocabulary came from food, it seemed that the only things he could describe were delicious ones. As for beautiful women, he really didn't have any better experience.

  Lei Dapeng's eyebrows flew with excitement as he spoke, and Shanyu and Simu Xian couldn't help but laugh and chime in. As they joked around, the conversation turned to the topic of the canteen food again. Lei Dapeng easily launched into a vivid description of how Shi Zhuchang and the department head had been utterly ridiculous in the 222 dormitory. From his account, it seemed that Lei Dapeng might have been exaggerating a bit. Simu Xian, on the other hand, said that the school was being too unreasonable - not only did they not improve the canteen food, but they even went so far as to suspect that the three of them were behind the trouble, which was completely unfounded.

  At this point, Shanyong suddenly smiled mysteriously and replied with a sentence: "They didn't suspect wrongly, who else would take the lead if I don't?"

  "Ah!?" The two were left stunned. Lei Dapeng immediately complained: "How could such a good thing happen without notifying me?"

  "You're a celebrity in the Lu Institute, it's not suitable for you to do this, right?" Shanyong explained. This explanation made Lei Dapeng quite satisfied, and he said with pride: "That's true." However, Simu Xian couldn't help but cry and laugh at the same time, saying: "Really? It turns out that our efforts to reason and persuade were all in vain, and we ended up covering up for a bad person."

  Shan Yong smiled and said, passing by, not fully participating in the whole process. The problem is that some people's names and trees' shadows have some things that you don't look for, but they find you anyway. This matter involves another celebrity among the school girls, surnamed Song named Siying. Because of the internal unhappiness during the student union election, she thought about finding trouble for the student union and the school. Her background is not small, being the niece of a TV station director, and her reputation is also considerable, at least on par with Lei Dapeng.

  When it comes to this girl, Si Mu Xian suddenly thought of that one who often drove a red MINI to school. She was the type who existed solely for rumors, changing boyfriends more frequently than clothes. This kind wasn't something the three miserable brothers could aspire to. However, after hearing about the reason behind the incident, it turned out that the internal conflicts within the student council had transformed into external conflicts. The sports department's people weren't fighting for justice, but rather they were being manipulated by others. Hearing this made me feel quite disinterested.

  Lei Dapeng didn't think so, listen to the reason, it turned out that Lao Da was in charge, first surprised and then admired. Thinking about today's lively scene, thousands of words were condensed into one sentence: "Lao Da, I admire you too much, you have successfully upgraded from doing bad things yourself to teaching others to do bad things, congratulations on your promotion."

  "Haha……when things are not fair, someone will take care of it; when the road is not flat, someone will step on it. If you can't eat well or don't dare to speak out, and wherever you go people don't treat you as a human being, living like that is so uninteresting. My starting point is different from theirs, I just think, making some trouble might improve the food situation, which isn't a bad thing. Lei, do you think this is a chivalrous act?" Dan Yong asked, turning his head to the side. Lei Da Peng bit his finger, listening intently, feeling envious, and nodded: "Of course it counts."

  "This is something to brag about. Single Yong proudly said: "I didn't tell you before, our Single family was famous in the history of Lüzhou. Erxian Zhuang is only 20 miles away from my home. I heard my dad say that we moved there. My ancestors and Qin Qiong were buddies... In the Shangdang clapper opera, there is a play called 'The Legend of the Resounding Horse', which is about our Single family's story..."

  Luzhou indeed has Erxian Zhuang, where Qin Qiong sold horses and got to know Shan Xing. Lao Da often boasted that he was related to Shan Xing because of their shared surname, but Sima Xian interrupted with a smile: "Stop it, Brother Shan, don't turn rule-breaking into heroic chivalry. The world view of the Big Peng is just messing you up like this."

  Shan Yong and Si Mu Xian were both smiling, looking at Lei Da Peng, but Lei Da Peng was unable to find a relative with the surname Lei to boast about, so he grumbled discontentedly, saying: "What's there to brag about? Your family is just an ancient black society, if you try it today, even the street administration can take care of you... If you want to talk about being powerful, my dad's city management team is the one. I was reading online yesterday and saw that the Diaoyu Islands issue still hasn't been resolved. I think the main problem is that there isn't a city management department set up locally... Let's just say it as it is, you're trying to scare people with historical bandits? Just now when we came in, my brother Si Mu Xian and I were saying that we are from the grassroots, but you're not on the same path as us. You're a bandit."

  Three people were both flattering and belittling each other, with bursts of laughter, as the car drove smoothly along the second-class road. Along the way, you could see the turbid waters of the Zhan River, like a yellow dragon stretching through the green mountains and trees. Occasionally, you could see the distant cliffs standing upright, blocking the view. That was the Tianji Mountain range, known as "being on par with heaven". After driving for over an hour on the old dirt road, we stopped at the foot of the mountain pass. Looking out, the endless water surface was right below our feet. This was the famous Zhangze Reservoir in the three Jin regions. The ring-shaped mountains and the dam body over ten meters high surrounded tens of thousands of acres of water surface, making it a breathtaking sight. As the sun set, the entire water surface turned into a deep red transparent color, with the surrounding mountains occasionally reflecting ripples on the water, making it feel like we had entered a fairy tale world.

  Out of the dull learning life and the depressing campus environment, three people came out with excitement. After resting for a while, the two brothers abandoned their vehicle and walked on foot, each carrying equipment and buckets, bypassing the designated tourist area and fishing area in the reservoir area, walking for more than half an hour, climbing over several rough wooden iron wire obstacles, heading towards the Beikou District of the reservoir. These three people never took the usual route, where they arrived was a former reservoir immigrant district that had been flooded for over 20 years, because the water was deep and there were many reefs, frequent accidents of capsizing and death had occurred, and the last wooden iron wire net had several big characters written on it:

  No fishing or hunting allowed.

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