The Lantern Festival is also known as the "Big Year" in the Southwest.
There's a saying that the New Year is over after the seventh day, but in the Southwest, the New Year isn't truly over until after the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth.
During these few days, I stayed at the medicine shop, learning the pharmacological properties of various herbs from Old Man Li.
Old Man Li was a very capable man. As the old saying goes, Taoism and medicine have been inseparable since ancient times.
I always felt that he didn't just have deep attainments in herbal medicine; he even carried a mystical, Taoist aura about him.
For the first day or two, I was constantly restless, wondering what choice Jiang Qingbo would make.
The more I thought about it, the more I felt that if I were Jiang Qingbo, there was a high probability I wouldn't voluntarily reveal that my brother had done him a favor.
At most, he might just help me out a bit when I was in trouble.
Over the next few days, my heart slowly calmed down. Sometimes, I would go a whole day without thinking of Sir Niu, Jiang Qingbo, or those people back in Liu Xiang Town.
In those fleeting moments, I even forgot that I was a hooligan from the underworld.
Old Man Li didn't teach me earnestly; he just had me identify herbs every day, letting me idle my time away.
I suspected he had long seen through me—that my goal wasn't to be an apprentice—but for some unknown reason, he didn't expose me.
The two of us maintained this tacit understanding. On the day of the Lantern Festival, after an early dinner, he told me to watch the shop while he went out with a basket to gather herbs.
I was happy to have the leisure, so I nodded and agreed without thinking.
But as the sky turned dark, Old Man Li still hadn't returned. This added a layer of anxiety to my heart.
Old Man Li didn't return, but Jiang Qingbo, that Old Scarface, arrived early.
He was supposed to come tomorrow, on the sixteenth.
This time, Jiang Qingbo didn't bring any men. He came alone, hands behind his back, swaying in leisurely as if he were just taking a post-dinner stroll.
I was sitting on a small stool, sorting through a large pile of various herbs.
"Chu Lao Er."
My hand froze. Only people from Liu Xiang Town called me "Chu Lao Er."
The fact that Jiang Qingbo called me this proved that in the past few days, he had sent people to Liu Xiang Town in Guizhou to dig up my background.
I secretly rejoiced. Thank god I hadn't tried to be clever and lie when he asked why I was hiding out.
I kept my head down, managing my facial expression. After a second or two, I lifted my head, feigning a look of panic and confusion.
"Jiang... Brother Jiang, what did you call me?"
Jiang Qingbo smiled with a hint of self-satisfaction. This time, he acted very familiar with me.
He reached out and pressed my shoulder, keeping me seated, and then sat down beside me.
"Heh, didn't expect I'd call you that, did you?"
I maintained the fear and confusion on my face. "Brother Jiang, how do you know that nickname?"
Jiang Qingbo lit a cigarette. He didn't offer me one, and even turned his head away to blow the smoke further from me.
"This is 'flower smoke.' You shouldn't touch it."
Flower smoke meant tobacco mixed with narcotics. It was considered a method of drug use that was slightly less harmful to the body.
"It hurts right here! Old Man Li's medicinal baths aren't as effective as they were a few years ago. No choice. I usually have to smoke a couple of these flower cigarettes to get by."
Drugs actually weren't that rare; any slightly larger hospital had them, though in hospitals they had a more proper name: controlled substances.
Mostly used for pain relief.
Highly addictive.
I pulled slightly away from him. Eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling won't kill you, but once you touch this stuff, you really will die.
I coughed lightly. "Brother Jiang sent people to Liu Xiang Town to investigate me?"
Jiang Qingbo didn't shy away from it and said directly, "Yeah. I didn't expect you to be so formidable at such a young age. Even Liu Zi got handled by you and Chen Qiang."
I showed just the right amount of dissatisfaction on my face. "Brother Jiang, you're a Big Brother here in Lincang. Why investigate a little punk from Liu Xiang Town like me?"
Jiang Qingbo raised his hand and slapped the back of my head—not hard, just like swatting a little brother.
This made me feel a bit dazed, because there were times when Chen Qiang had affectionately slapped my head like this too.
I just never imagined Chen Qiang and I would reach the point we were at today.
"You little ma pi, what kind of bollocks are you thinking? You're unkillable, aren't you! I went out of my way to investigate you—do you know what kind of relationship I had with your brother, Chu Jianghai?"
When Jiang Qingbo spoke this time, it was in authentic Guizhou dialect.
Although I already knew he was someone who had followed my brother, I still had to pretend to be surprised and confused.
"Brother Jiang, you're from Guizhou too? And you know my brother?"
Jiang Qingbo nodded with a smile. "Not only do I know him, but he was my Big Brother. I, Jiang Qingbo, haven't respected many people in my life, but your brother, Chu Jianghai, is the one I respect the most."
I lowered my head and said nothing, truly not knowing what to say.
Everything about my brother was blurry to me.
I was only five when he was shot at the public sentencing rally.
Jiang Qingbo didn't dwell on that topic. Instead, he asked seriously:
"Shanhe, do you want to follow me?"
I froze. I didn't expect Jiang Qingbo to be so direct.
Straight to the point, without any snake-like probing.
"I... I... I don't know if I'm really suited to keep hustling in the underworld."
Jiang Qingbo raised his hand, cutting me off. "Shanhe, don't give me that bullshit about being tired and wanting to be an apprentice in this medicine shop, living an honest life forever."
He extended two fingers and pointed at his own eyes. "Besides this scar on my body, I, Jiang Qingbo, am most famous for this pair of eyes. I don't misjudge people."
"Someone like you—either you don't come out to hustle, or if you do, there will always be Big Brothers wanting you to follow them. And sooner or later, you will rise to the top."
I opened my mouth, not knowing how to answer. This time I wasn't acting; I was genuinely stunned.
Many people had said this sentence. Chen Qiang said it, Yang Huzi said it, and now Jiang Qingbo was saying it too.
But half a year ago, I was just a useless waste who didn't dare fight back when slapped.
Why did all these society Big Brothers think that as long as I hustled, I would inevitably rise?
Chen Qiang was even so afraid of me stepping on him to rise that he thought of handling me.
Jiang Qingbo patted my shoulder and stood up.
"Shanhe, some people's fates are destined from birth. There's a saying: 'once you've tasted the marrow, you know the flavor.' You've hustled in the world. If I told you to go work a regular job or farm the land now, I don't think you'd be willing."
"Your brother did me a favor. I, Jiang Qingbo, can swear a poison oath: as long as you don't turn against me, no matter how big you get, I won't handle you like Chen Qiang did."
"If you really can't swallow that anger, I'll give you men and guns right now. We'll go back to Liu Xiang Town, handle Chen Qiang, and at worst, go hide in Myanmar for a year or two."
Lincang is on the border. The Big Brothers here operate even more recklessly. Compared to typical society bosses, they are more like ruthless bandits.
Just then, Old Man Li returned with a basket full of herbs on his back.
Jiang Qingbo didn't say anything more. He greeted Old Man Li and strode away.
After walking a distance, he stopped and shouted loudly, "Number Two, if you've made up your mind, find me at Wentong Teahouse. My door is always open to you."
I sat on the threshold and didn't answer him. Old Man Li didn't ask what Jiang Qingbo and I talked about; he just busied himself with his own work.
The night grew deep. Old Man Li sat down to smoke. Every night before bed, he would smoke a pipe of dry tobacco.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, he said, "If you're willing, starting tomorrow, I can teach you properly. You can look after this medicine shop for a living. If you're not willing, then go with him."
My whole body shuddered, and I trembled.
"Old man, just how much do you know?"
Old Man Li smiled without speaking, puffing on his dry tobacco pipe, one breath after another.
I closed my eyes, a trace of struggle appearing in my heart.
In that split second, I felt like I really might have fallen in love with these peaceful days of looking at herbs, far away from the killing and fighting of the jianghu.
But it was only for that split second.
I stood up and said softly, "Master, I'm going out to make a call."
At a newsstand, I dialed Sir Niu's number.
"Hello. I've gotten close to Jiang Qingbo. Starting tomorrow, I'm officially following him."
There was a hint of excitement in Sir Niu's voice. "Good. be careful in everything."
Hanging up the phone, I looked at the deserted street and the red scraps of firecracker paper left over from the Lantern Festival.
I pulled my jacket tighter around me.
Some people's fates are destined from birth.
I, Chu Shanhe, am destined to roll on the edge of a blade and walk this path of the underworld until the end.
For those with thin lives in the jianghu, there is no such thing as letting go or turning back.