It must be said that Wang An's burst of violent output had a significant impact.
Mainly because not only did Wang An face no consequences after beating the man, but Director Wei had even proactively replaced his bicycle with a new one. Most impressively, the arrogant and overbearing salesclerk had actually been fired.
As a result, when Wang An went to buy the splint shafts and rope, the expressions of the clerks selling those items were entirely amiable.
Not only did they not keep a cold face, but they even helped Wang An assemble the pile of things and thoughtfully helped him place them on the rear rack of the bicycle.
One could say that Wang An's actions were a perfect interpretation of the phrase, "A cow stepping on a power line—the cow's balls are flashing with lightning."
When Wang An pushed his bicycle, which was wrapped in rags, out of the supply and marketing cooperative, many of the onlookers who had previously dispersed had not yet left. Seeing Wang An, they proactively came over to greet him.
Praises followed one after another.
One person said, "Buddy, you're too badass!"
Wang An nodded and smiled, but said nothing.
Another person said, "Brother, you're the man! You did exactly what I've always wanted to do."
Wang An smiled again, still remaining silent.
The reason Wang An didn't respond wasn't because he was acting cool, but because he simply didn't know what to say.
An old man said, "Young man, you've vented my frustrations for me! Those bastards, last time I bought something..."
Wang An handed him a cigarette, finally plugging the old man's mouth.
It wasn't that Wang An was being impolite; it was mainly that this old man was too chatty. Besides, talking about these things with Wang An was useless!
Finally, amidst the praises of the crowd, Wang An walked up to the big mule.
The kid who had taken ten cents from Wang An to watch the mule was completely stunned when he saw the large crowd following behind Wang An. He thought Wang An was going to beat him.
With a face full of terror, the kid handed back the ten cents and stammered
"Bi... Big Brother, maybe..."
To be honest, the kid's reaction caught Wang An off guard. However, looking around at the crowd, Wang An realized what was happening. Before the boy could finish, Wang An smiled
"Alright, just get back to whatever you were doing. Don't be scared, it's got nothing to do with you."
As he spoke, Wang An handed the kid a cigarette. He had scared the poor child half to death; what a mess!
Hearing this, the boy felt as if he had been granted a royal pardon. He hurriedly took the cigarette, said "Thank you, Big Brother," turned around, and bolted. He ran so fast he was practically flying.
Under the gaze of the crowd, Wang An tied the rope beneath the bicycle handlebars, to the steel tube on the front fork.
This section of steel tube was actually the outer sleeve of the steering column, integrated with the frame.
Tying the rope here would not affect the bicycle's ability to turn.
After fitting the splints to the big mule and attaching a length of rope from the mule's bridle to the handlebars, Wang An—leaving the crowd dumbfounded—rode the bicycle while driving the mule forward.
In the people's understanding, a bicycle was meant to be pedaled; at most, if it became too hard to pedal, one would get off and push for a while, or have someone push from behind.
As for using a mule to pull a bicycle, this was likely an unprecedented feat for the time.
Even after traveling quite a distance, Wang An could still faintly hear various shouts of "Holy shit!" and "Oh my god, holy shit!" coming from behind.
Of course, the pedestrians and people in horse-drawn carriages passing by reacted similarly upon seeing Wang An's flamboyant display.
Basically, it was either "Holy shit" or "Oh my god, holy shit," with the occasional "Look at that kid, holy shit, he's so damn flashy!"
To be fair, Wang An didn't actually enjoy being watched by so many people. While the looks in their eyes were full of envy, they also clearly looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Thus, Wang An sat astride the bicycle, occasionally shouting "Giddy-up!" or "Yah!" He didn't pedal a single rotation, yet he sped down the road at a blistering pace.
However, Wang An felt deeply that anyone wanting to do this must be tall with long legs, and the mule must be obedient.
Otherwise, on this gravel road, if one were to fall at such a high speed, it wouldn't be "acting cool"—it would be a total disaster.
But truth be told, the feeling was too thrilling; it was just too damn thrilling!
It made Wang An's blood boil and his adrenaline surge.
Racing all the way without any delay, Wang An finally arrived home before dark.
The moment he entered his courtyard, Wang An glanced at his watch. After a quick calculation of the time, his eyebrows shot up.
This speed was great—simply great. It was basically equivalent to riding a horse and far faster than driving a carriage.
Though, to admit something embarrassing, Wang An's legs were shaking slightly, and his heart was pounding wildly. Wang An knew he had simply been over-stimulated.
Seeing the way Wang An returned, the whole family was stunned.
Mainly, no one expected that Wang An wouldn't pedal the bicycle back, but pull it back.
After a moment of stunned silence, Liu Guilan opened her mouth and scolded
"You little brat, all you know is how to show off! What if the mule had bolted? Would it have dragged you along?"
Wang Dazhu also wore a long face and chimed in
"How could you mess around like that? That bicycle is so fast you can't even hold the handlebars, and you use a mule to pull it? You're truly a troublemaker. Luckily this big mule is honest and obedient, otherwise would you have come back in one piece?"
Mu Xueqing also advised
"You can't do this again in the future. Just thinking about it is scary; how fast must that have been!"
Having just arrived home, he was subjected to a round of scoldings from the whole family. Wang An didn't dare talk back, blinking his eyes like a primary school student who had made a mistake, acting exceptionally obedient.
Fortunately, Wang Yi and the two little girls were extremely happy to see the bicycle. Regardless of the verbal assault their big brother was enduring, they pushed the bicycle and ran all around the courtyard.
Indeed, they were pushing it; Wang Yi pushed while the two little girls followed behind. Far from finding it tiring, they were genuinely happy.
After another round of verbal bombardment, the family finally let Wang An off the hook.
This was Wang An's only redeeming quality: you say your piece, and I'll just listen. I won't argue or talk back. Once you get bored of talking to yourselves, you'll naturally shut up.
Early the next morning, Wang Dazhu and his wife, Wang Daliang and his wife, and Shen Wei—these five people—went to the fields to farm.
Wang An tidied himself up briefly and rode his horse toward Yangshu Village.
Because he had agreed with Zhang Shuya, Wu Dong, and the others yesterday to enter the mountains from Yangshu Village.
(End of Chapter)