Chapter 197: The Situation of Childhood Friends
"Uncle, what's wrong with you now?"
"You weren't like this before."
Sha Zhu looked puzzled.
I feel that Yi Zhonghai has changed. He is no longer the Yi Zhonghai who was decisive and energetic before.
"Silly Zhu, if you have nothing else to do, go ahead and get busy."
"I have to eat."
Yi Zhonghai turned his head and looked at the dining table, too lazy to continue arguing with Sha Zhu.
Sha Zhu left Yi Zhonghai's house with a disappointed look on his face.
"Jianye, Jianye, your friend is here."
"Look, the house with the smell of meat is Chen Jianye's house."
Yan Fugui brought three young men into the central courtyard.
Talking loudly.
Sha Zhu stopped and looked at the three people in front of him.
Seeing that one of them was wearing a police uniform, Sha Zhu quickly withdrew his gaze and went back home.
Not to be offended.
The three people who followed Yan Fugui into the Intermediate Court were Ding Kegang, Qiu Jibin, and Hu Haoran.
"Jianye, here we come."
Ding Kegang arrived at the door of Chen's house with ease and shouted inside.
"You've come just in time. My food will be ready soon."
"Find a place to sit by yourselves."
Chen Jianye was busy in front of the stove.
He took out a big front door from his pocket and handed it to Yan Fugui from a distance: "Uncle, please bring my friend here."
"What are you doing? It's just on the way."
"Jianye, the food you cook is so delicious."
Yan Fugui walked up to Chen Jianye, took the cigarette, and couldn't help wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth.
"Today I am entertaining my childhood friends, so I have to prepare some hearty dishes."
Chen Jianye chuckled.
He did not respond to Yan Fugui's words.
He also knew that if he asked Yan Fugui to stay and eat with them, Yan Fugui would definitely go to the table without saying a word.
"The food is really hard, you guys eat and drink well."
Yan Fugui put the cigarette behind his ear and left with a smile.
"Jianye, your cooking skills are really good, no worse than the chef of a state-owned restaurant."
Ding Kegang took a deep breath and took out a bottle of wine and a small bag of rations from his cloth bag.
"Jianye, I heard from Ke Gang that he ran into you, and I couldn't believe it."
"I didn't expect you to be so close to us."
Hu Haoran also took out a bottle of wine and a small bag of rations.
"Today I put all my partners aside and came to see you."
"You have to drink with me."
The supplies Qiu Jibin brought were also a bottle of wine and a small bag of rations.
Since Chen Jianye said he would not charge any money, they would naturally listen to their master.
I won’t give him any money, but I definitely won’t let Chen Jianye suffer any loss.
So everyone brought drinks and rations.
Originally they thought that a meal cost only two or three dollars.
They brought drinks, so there must be enough.
Unexpectedly, Chen Jianye prepared two hard dishes.
I'm afraid this table of food would cost more than five or six dollars.
They brought wine, but it was still not enough.
"It's not easy for the four of us to get together, we really should have a drink."
"Kegang, come and help me serve the dishes."
"Jibin, help me serve the rice."
"Haoran..."
Chen Jianye gave instructions one by one.
We were all childhood friends, there was no barrier between us, so the arrangement was done.
The three of them started working, and soon three dishes, a soup and four bowls of rice were placed on the table.
Chen Jianye poured the rations brought by the four people into the rice jar, put the cloth bag on the table, then unscrewed the bottle cap and poured wine for himself and the other three.
"It's been over ten years now. I never thought the four of us would still be together."
Chen Jianye looked at the other three people.
"Yeah, I didn't expect that either."
Qiu Jibin sighed.
"When I met Jianye the night before yesterday, I thought it was a duplicate name."
"I shone a flashlight on him from behind, and the more I looked at him, the more he looked like Jianye. When I asked him, it turned out to be him."
Ding Kegang laughed.
"Don't be so nagging, the flashlight hurts my eyes."
Chen Jianye joked.
The four of them burst into laughter.
"Jianye, I heard from Kegang that you are working in a steel mill now and have a girlfriend."
"You can."
Hu Haoran said with a smile.
"What can I do? I'll just live my life."
Chen Jianye waved his hand and said, "My parents are gone. Do you know that?"
Ding Kegang and the other two suddenly stopped talking.
Apparently, on the way here, Ding Kegang had already told the other two people about the situation at Chen Jianye's home.
Otherwise they would come to Chen's house and ask about Chen's parents, which would make Chen Jianye unhappy.
I didn't expect Chen Jianye to bring it up on his own initiative.
"I am now alone, but at least you have both parents and a hot meal at home."
"You are much happier than me."
Chen Jianye said calmly.
"Jianye, we are four together again today, so happy."
"Here, take a sip."
Ding Kegang quickly changed the subject.
"Yes, I am happy."
"Drink a sip."
Qiu Jibin and Hu Haoran responded.
"Drink a sip."
Chen Jianye raised his glass.
The four of them took a sip of wine and sipped it non-stop.
"Come, come, eat some food and try my cooking."
Chen Jianye invited everyone to start eating.
Four adult men started eating meat at the table.
Take a sip from time to time.
"Let's each talk about our recent situation, Ke Gang, how about starting with you?"
Chen Jianye proposed.
"I served in the army for three years. I was injured in the buttocks during the war, so I was demobilized and joined the Public Security Bureau."
Dink just stood up and pulled down half of his pants, revealing his buttocks covered with hideous scars.
"Shit, your butt was blown off by a cannonball?"
Qiu Jibin asked in surprise.
"That's about right. The shrapnel rubbed my butt at an angle, directly removing a piece of flesh."
Dink had just put on his pants, his expression full of pride.
Scars are a warrior's medal.
If he came back from the battlefield intact, he would not dare to say that he had fought in a war.
"No wonder you said you suffered before. This is not suffering at all. This is simply risking your life."
Chen Jianye raised his glass: "Kegang, I toast to you. You are defending our country and you deserve my toast."
"I'll toast you too."
"Brilliant!"
Qiu Jibin and Hu Haoran raised their glasses together.
Everyone took a sip of wine.
Qiu Jibin started to speak: "I'm not as good as Ke Gang. I'm not good at studying and I don't like hard labor. In order to support my family, I became a trader."
"Hidden during the day and out at night, like a mouse."
While Qiu Jibin was speaking, he glanced at Ding Kegang.
The police catch traffickers like a cat eats a mouse.
If they were not childhood friends, and if they were not drinking together, Qiu Jibin would never have said that he was a trader.
"What do you see me doing?"
Ding Kegang felt confused.
"You are a police officer, and I am a trader. I am afraid you will arrest me and take credit for it."
Qiu Jibin smiled bitterly.
"Don't worry, no one will arrest anyone at today's drinking party. Just let everyone speak freely."
Chen Jianye tried to smooth things over and looked at Ding Kegang: "Kegang, don't you agree?"
Chen Jianye believes that a person who strives to climb up the social ladder must have very flexible moral bottom line and law enforcement standards.
"That's right, I only recognize you as my childhood friends, nothing else."
Ding Kegang nodded.
"Jibin, a trader can still find a partner. Your business is pretty big, right?"
Chen Jianye's eyes lit up slightly.
The so-called "diggers" are a group of people who specialize in reselling materials.
They are often active in the black market or pigeon market, relying on the basic principle of buying low and selling high to make a profit from the difference.
They are targets of official crackdown.
It is also because of their existence that the flow of materials in the market becomes more active.
Chen Jianye was not averse to profiteers. When he learned that his childhood friend Qiu Jibin was a profiteer, he was even a little happy.
If Qiu Jibin is reliable, I can give the supplies in my personal space to Qiu Jibin in the future.
"It's not a big business. I just make a living."
Qiu Jibin said implicitly: "If you want to buy anything, you can come to me and I will try my best to arrange it."
"Can I buy cigarettes, alcohol, and meat?"
Ding Kegang asked excitedly.
"That's definitely no problem. If I didn't have access to even the most popular supplies, I would have starved to death long ago."
Qiu Jibin said with a smile.
"That's fine. I'll come to see you during the holidays."
Dink just grinned.
Qiu Jibin felt relieved.
He was worried that Ding Kegang would despise his identity as a trader, but he didn't expect that Ding Kegang was so open-minded.