Chapter 38: Zhou Ke

On the other side.

After the meeting dispersed.

Xu Damao leaned in close to Li Aiguo, cracking sunflower seeds, and said with a beaming smile, "Aiguo, how was it? My performance in that double act was smooth, wasn't it?"

"In this courtyard, if we're talking about smart people, Brother Damao, you're number one," Li Aiguo said, giving him a thumbs up.

"Of course. With the limited brainpower they have, even combined, they're no match for me, Damao."

Having received praise, Xu Damao could hardly close his mouth from grinning.

Li Aiguo took out some cigarettes and tossed one to Xu Damao, smiling. "Just got these from our Section Chief; they haven't even warmed up yet."

"You kid are something else, smoking 'Big Swords' now."

Xu Damao took the cigarette, took out a match to light it for Li Aiguo first, and then lit his own.

Taking a deep drag, Xu Damao gave a thumbs up, his face full of envy as he praised

"Division officers go to Taihang, Regimental officers ride in the front, Battalion officers ring the golden bell, Company officers wield the Big Sword, and Revolutionary soldiers are sunflowers."

"You're already at the standard of a Company officer, kid."

When it came to good cigarettes, Xu Damao truly didn't lack them.

Usually, under the guise of caring for his elders, he could scavenge half a pack of Chunghwa from Lou Zhenhua's office.

However, "Big Sword" cigarettes were not sold to the public; if your rank wasn't high enough, even if Lou Zhenhua had the money, he couldn't buy them.

Xu Damao took several deep drags and made a decision

"Come on, let's go to my place for a drink. My old man managed to get two catties of sweet potato liquor from the commune below."

"No thanks, I still have some things to do."

Seeing that it was getting late and remembering his plan to visit Zhou Tiehu's house, Li Aiguo declined.

Xu Damao seemed to realize something and patted Li Aiguo on the shoulder. "If you're busy with serious business, I won't delay you. Next time, we'll have a proper drink, brothers."

When he returned to the room, Xu Jixiang happened to be coming back from showing movies in the countryside.

His canvas bag was bulging.

Seeing Xu Damao enter, Xu Jixiang opened the bag and said proudly, "Son, look at the good stuff I've brought back."

As he spoke, he began pulling things out of the canvas bag.

Red dates, wild walnuts, millet, sweet potatoes... and bright red underwear.

The bright red underwear was a woman's pair; it was snagged, stained, and looked utterly filthy.

Xu Damao:...

Xu Jixiang:...

Nearby, Xu's mother, who was preparing to cook, stopped in her tracks, her face darkening visibly.

Xu Jixiang looked at the red underwear, fell silent for a moment, and then looked up at his wife.

"Old woman, if I said I picked these up on the road, would you believe me?"

"What do you think!"

Xu's mother reached out, grabbed Xu Jixiang by the ear, and hauled him up from his chair.

"You scoundrel, Xu Jixiang! I told you to steal things while you were showing movies, not to steal people!"

"Ow, ow..." Xu Jixiang grimaced.

*Slap!*

As soon as the words left his mouth, he received a heavy slap to the face.

"Xu Jixiang, you're already in your forties or fifties, how can you still be so indecent!"

"Old woman, I was wrong! It's all those young women's fault; they seduced me."

"Them? And it wasn't just one?" Invisible flames seemed to rise from Xu's mother's head.

Xu Jixiang:...

Xu Damao watched the spectacular solo performance by the woman while snacking on the mountain goods from the bag.

*Crunch!*

Wait, why do these red dates taste a bit fishy?

***

The night wrapped around the entire capital like a velvet blanket, and the streets appeared exceptionally tranquil.

Riding his bicycle and carrying five catties of high-quality flour, Li Aiguo arrived at Zhou Tiehu's house.

Seeing the flour, Wang Cuie's eyes went a bit blank.

Once she snapped out of it, her expression turned sour. "You child, we're family, what are you doing this for!"

"The Section awarded dozens of catties as a prize. I can't finish it all by myself, so I brought some for everyone to try," Li Aiguo chuckled.

Wang Cuie wiped the corner of her eye and gave him a gentle nudge. "You child, I really don't know what to do with you."

"By the way, Zhou Ke is back from his day off today."

At that moment, a voice came from inside the house: "Is that Aiguo?"

A young man of about seventeen or eighteen rushed out from the inner room.

He was tall, about 1.7 meters, wearing a railway police uniform and a peaked cap.

Unlike the yellowish-brown uniforms of the local police station, the railway police uniform was deep black, making the wearer look even more spirited.

This young man was Zhou Tiehu's son, Zhou Ke, who currently worked at the Railway Police Station.

Seeing Li Aiguo, Zhou Ke appeared extremely excited. "Aiguo, I heard from my dad that you got a double hundred?"

"Of course, look at who I am!"

The original owner of this body had a very good relationship with Zhou Ke; they had grown up together. In Beijing terms, they were childhood friends, so he didn't need to act formal around him.

Zhou Ke seemed to remember something and mysteriously fetched a dark object from the room.

"Aiguo, look, I was issued a gun today."

Under the light, the black pistol emitted a faint, cold glint. Li Aiguo's eyes widened.

"Come, let me take a look."

"Be careful, don't hit the safety catch."

Li Aiguo took the gun and weighed it in his hand.

The pistol was heavy, giving him a sense of security.

No wonder people often said a pistol is a man's courage.

Holding this thing in hand, one's courage certainly grew significantly.

Seeing Li Aiguo's interest, Zhou Ke became even more boastful.

"Aiguo, do you know what kind of pistol this is?"

"Type 51 semi-automatic pistol, 7.62mm caliber, 8-round capacity, rate of fire 25 rounds per minute, effective range 50 meters."

Zhou Ke was stunned. "How do you know so much?"

Li Aiguo looked at the system panel: *Pistol Shooting Skill: 70*. For a moment, he was speechless.

He had originally thought the original owner's pistol shooting skill was just a figure of speech, implying a basic level of proficiency like threading a needle.

After all, how could a vocational school student have the chance to touch a pistol, let alone raise their shooting skill to 70?

The moment he held the gun, many things came back to Li Aiguo.

He had misunderstood the original owner.

This pistol shooting skill was for actual shooting.

In the physical education classes at the Railway Vocational School, live-fire shooting and grenade throwing were important subjects.

The original owner seemed to have a natural talent for military matters, scoring high in both.

"Hah, I'm older than you, I'm your big brother, so naturally, I know more than you," Li Aiguo teased.

Zhou Ke took the pistol back and rolled his eyes. "You're only two months older than me."

"Two months is still older. Hurry up and call me Brother!"

"Go play somewhere else! I am now a glorious member of the Railway Police!"

As the two were joking around, Zhou Tiehu returned, cradling a large watermelon in his arms.

"Aiguo is here too? Perfect. The logistics department issued some benefits today, come and have a taste."

In this era, the benefits from the railway department were quite good.

You didn't need a ticket to ride the train; you just had to show your work ID.

In winter, they issued coal briquettes and firewood; in summer, they issued popsicles and watermelon.

If you were a female comrade, you could even receive toilet paper.

The watermelon was a local "Old Silly Melon," with a green rind and dark green stripes.

Once sliced, the juice flowed freely, and it tasted like honey in the mouth.

After a few pieces of watermelon entered his stomach, Li Aiguo, who had already eaten dinner, felt a bit full.

Wang Cuie brought out another plate of sunflower seeds and placed them on the table.

"Here, Aiguo, have some seeds."

Zhou Ke pouted beside her. "Mom, I've craved these seeds several times, but you always hide them so I can't eat them."

"Why is it that as soon as Aiguo comes, you bring them out! Am I even your son?"

Wang Cuie glared at him. "Right, you're not my son, you're my daughter, alright?"

Zhou Ke:...

Watching the bickering between mother and son, Li Aiguo ate the seeds, feeling a warmth in his heart.

This was what people called a "family atmosphere."

Once he officially started working, perhaps he should consider his personal life.

By the time Li Aiguo returned to the courtyard, it was already past ten o'clock at night, and the compound was pitch black.

Returning to his room, he washed up briefly and lay in bed, but he found it a bit difficult to fall asleep.

Heh.

The Golden Dragon Coils the Pillar!

(End of Chapter)