After getting completely hammered, I didn't go home. I crashed at Chen Qiang's place along with Xu Rang.
When dawn broke, Xu Rang got up bright and early, taking some men into town to take over the slot machine parlors.
People who mix in the underworld always have a few vices; gluttony, drinking, whoring, gambling, and smoking—they'll always touch a few of these.
Generally speaking, the environment changes the person; rarely does a person change the environment.
Xu Rang's greatest hobby in life was gambling.
From Texas Hold'em and thirteen-card poker to Mahjong, all the way down to electronic games like slot machines and fish-hunting tables—as long as it involved gambling, he loved it.
Those slot machine parlors were Chen Qiang's old business in town. Xu Rang had been eyeing them greedily for a long time.
Now, he finally got his wish.
When I woke up, Chen Qiang had already gone out. strangely enough, he didn't take Mustache Yang with him this time. Instead, he took the man who had arrived with Xu Dawei yesterday.
I still didn't know that man's name; I just remembered he always wore a gloomy expression. One look and you knew he wasn't easy to get along with.
Usually, wherever Chen Qiang went, Mustache Yang was by his side.
Mustache Yang was sitting on the threshold. Seeing me get up, he greeted me with a smile.
"Number Two, not gonna sleep a bit more? You drank a lot last night! Are you sober yet?"
Thinking back to yesterday's drinking, how I grabbed people and spouted off nonsense, calling this one brother and that one brother, and eventually not even remembering how I got into bed, my face felt a bit hot.
"No, no. Brother Mustache, you're up early!"
Mustache Yang smiled faintly. "You guys can get drunk, but I wouldn't dare! I have to go to town to pick someone up later!"
I lowered my head to think for a moment, then realized—today was the day Xu Muye was coming to Liuxiang Town.
Mustache Yang was picking up Xu Muye, so what was Chen Qiang doing?
I wanted to ask, but remembering the rule that a little brother shouldn't pry into the Big Brother's whereabouts, I held my tongue.
Mustache Yang stood up, walked over to face me, and stared straight at me.
This froze me in place. I didn't know why he was looking at me like that.
Mustache Yang seemed to realize his stare was inappropriate, so he turned his head slightly to avoid eye contact and spoke with deep meaning.
"Number Two, from now on we're mixing in the real underworld. Sometimes you need to have a sense of propriety in your heart. You have to know who gave you what you have today, and remember who you are following."
Mustache Yang was dropping a hint, implying that I should be grateful to Chen Qiang.
The scene of deep brotherly affection from last night was still fresh; why was Mustache Yang telling me this so early in the morning?
"Brother Mustache, don't worry, I know. Everything was given to me by Big Brother Chen Qiang. I'll remember he's my Big Brother for the rest of my life."
Ever since Chen Qiang wanted Xu Rang and me to submit that blood oath, a feeling I couldn't quite describe had grown in my heart toward this Big Brother.
It just felt awkward.
Humans are selfish animals, yet they delusionally hope others' kindness toward them is selfless.
I acknowledged Chen Qiang as my Big Brother; I could handle business for him, even handle people for him.
But the fact that Big Brother was always thinking about how to manipulate and hold leverage over me made me uncomfortable.
Maybe my words were too flat, because Mustache Yang knew they were fake as soon as he heard them.
His eyes looked a bit melancholic as he sat back down on the threshold. "Number Two, I want to share a few words from the heart with you. Are you willing to listen?"
I hesitated, but still walked over to Mustache Yang and sat on the threshold beside him.
Mustache Yang fished a pack of white "Huangguoshu" cigarettes from his pocket. A few years later, this brand would release a yellow package—the "Sanded" version—that would sweep across the entire Guizhou province.
Blue Yellow, Sanded, the provincial cigarette of Guizhou.
Mustache Yang took a few fierce drags. "Number Two, you and I have walked through wind and rain and the flash of blades these past few days. Saying a few heart-to-heart words shouldn't count as speaking too deeply for a shallow friendship, right?"
Mustache Yang didn't offer me a smoke, but I didn't mind. I pulled a pack of "Blue Gui" from my own pocket and lit one.
"Brother Mustache, I treat you as a brother. Just say whatever you want to say, I'm listening."
Mustache Yang opened his mouth, looking like he wanted to speak but found it difficult.
His expression gave me a weird feeling, and I started to get impatient.
"My Big Brother, hey, I call you Big Brother. Just say what you need to say. You have to go pick someone up soon, and I have to go to the fish farm in the countryside."
Mustache Yang threw his cigarette butt away in agitation and spoke softly, "Number Two, actually, the one Big Brother and I have the highest hopes for is you. You are more suitable to be a Big Brother than Xu Rang, Xu Dawei, or Zong Bao."
"If you don't get processed by the Yamen or crippled by some triad boss for ten years, sooner or later you will stand out."
"But don't rush. At least, you can't rush right now."
My scalp tingled. I never expected Mustache Yang to say these things to me, nor did I expect Chen Qiang and Mustache Yang to have such a high opinion of me.
Mustache Yang's eyes turned cold. "But you're still too young. Sometimes, society isn't mixed the way you're doing it. There will be a time for you to shine, but it's not now. Do you understand?"
I was confused. "Understand what?"
Mustache Yang stood up and patted non-existent dust off his clothes.
"Number Two, there are plenty of people who can handle you right now. Don't be in such a hurry to make your mark. I won't tell Big Brother what you said last night."
"I hope I can still drink and chat with you, little brother, in the future. Sometimes, greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant—it will get you killed."
Mustache Yang walked out of the courtyard gate and drove away in that Bluebird. I sat on the threshold, dazed.
What did I say?
When did I say something that would make a man like Mustache Yang come specifically to warn me?
Mustache Yang was a very smart man. He didn't have the aura to be a Big Brother, but Chen Qiang being able to be the Big Brother was half due to him.
Xu Dawei rode his motorcycle to the gate and greeted me while I was still in a trance. "Brother Chu, let's go. I already sent the brothers to the countryside ahead of time. It should be mostly cleaned up by the time we get there."
I nodded absently and hopped onto Xu Dawei's motorcycle.
"Brother Dawei, did I say anything wrong when I was drunk last night?"
Xu Dawei drove much more steadily than Xu Rang. He shook his head. "I don't know. Last night you were drinking with Xu Rang and Mustache Yang. I don't know what the three of you talked about."
My heart scratched with irritation. Xu Rang drank like a dead pig; I didn't even remember what I said myself, so I certainly couldn't count on him remembering.
Only Mustache Yang wasn't drunk and remembered what I said.
What exactly was that sentence that made Mustache Yang warn me so bluntly?
...
At the end of 2002, I returned from Vietnam. I successively settled Xu Rang, Zong Bao, and Li Dawei, and handled the man with the triangular eyes. In the end, only Mustache Yang was left by Chen Qiang's side.
I cornered Mustache Yang in the largest hotel in the county seat. Facing the dark muzzle of the gun pressed against his forehead, Mustache Yang acted very calm.
"Chu the Second, I knew this day would come. From the moment you shouted that sentence in the twelfth lunar month of that year, I knew you and us wouldn't be brothers forever."
I used my right hand to push the gun barrel away from his forehead and asked him softly: On that night in 1995, when I was drunk in Chen Qiang's courtyard, what exactly did I say?
Mustache Yang looked into my eyes and said, word by word:
"You said back then that one day, you would be a bigger Big Brother than Chen Qiang, and when that time came, you'd make all us brothers follow you."
"You said you'd let us live the high life—eat better food and drink better booze than what we had that day."
I was stunned for a moment. I didn't expect I had been young and arrogant to that extent.
Right in the home of the Big Brother I followed, saying I would be a bigger boss than him and taking his men for myself.
I looked at my left hand. Perhaps this was the price of youthful recklessness.
"So, am I a bigger Big Brother than him now? Are you willing to follow me?"
The answer I got was a mouthful of spit, sprayed onto my collar.