area51novel Chapter 236 Come and get me!
Chapter 236 Come and get me!
He placed Xiaoqi on the bench next to him, then took out some of each of the following from his cloth bag: candied hawthorn, Guandong candy, donkey roll, and radish cake. He placed them on a clean, empty plate on the table and pushed it in front of Xiaoqi. The little guy immediately grabbed a candied hawthorn with his two front paws, took a bite with a "crunch," squinted his eyes because of the sourness, and then continued to gnaw on it with satisfaction.
Old Niu looked at Xiao Qi with great interest, then at Lin Yan, and clicked his tongue, saying, "Oh, young comrade, you've come out for drinks with a little dog? Hey, this dog is really well taken care of! Look at its fur, so glossy and shiny, like satin!"
He was a native of Beijing and had seen a lot. Just by looking at the material and style of Lin Yan's coat, he could tell that there might not be another one of the same quality in the entire city. He became even more curious about the young man's background.
"My family kept it for me to keep me company because they were afraid I'd be bored."
Soon, Xu Huizhen brought out the food and drinks. "Please enjoy." Just as she was about to turn around, someone said, "Boss, could you bring three more of these braised pig's trotters?" Xu Huizhen immediately realized, "Young man, you're so generous!"
Little Qi was happily munching on a pig's trotter, her greasy little mouth making smacking noises, attracting the stares of several men at the next table.
"Tsk, saw that?" A man in overalls nudged his colleague with his elbow, lowering his voice, but his eyes were still fixed on the pig's trotter. "Feeding this good stuff to the dogs? That's fucking..."
His companion swallowed hard, staring at the plate of bland boiled peanuts on his table, and said sourly, "What is this? It's a waste! This is enough for the two of us to drink half a jin!"
In the corner, an old man wearing an old felt hat shook his head and sighed to his old companion at the table, "What's that old saying again? The rich feast while the poor feast... Alas, the world..." Before he could finish speaking, his old companion kicked him under the table, signaling him to be careful what he said.
When Xu Huizhen came over to deliver the pig's trotters, she was taken aback when she saw the little white dog happily munching on the ground.
Lin Yan seemed oblivious to the stares and whispers around him. Seeing that there was only a dish of peanuts on the table of Uncle Niu and Uncle Pian'er, he casually pushed the three newly served pig's trotters and the pot of wine over to them.
"It's fate that we met. You two gentlemen, please have a drink with us. Don't be shy."
Old Niu was taken aback for a moment, then his worldly-wise eyes swept over Lin Yan's face, revealing not a trace of pity, but pure indifference to such a small thing. His wrinkles immediately crinkled into a wide smile, and he slapped his thigh:
"Hey! Then I, Old Niu, won't stand on ceremony with you!" He picked up the wine jug, filled Lin Yan's cup first, then filled his own and Pian'er's cups. The clear wine swirled in the rough porcelain bowls. "Young brother, you're a true friend! I, Old Niu, am determined to be your friend! Come on, let's have a drink!"
Pian'er was a little flustered. He rubbed his hands on his cotton robe, looked at the wine in the bowl and the glistening pig's trotters, and said repeatedly, "This...this is too much to ask...it's too much for you..." Seeing that Niu Ye had already picked up the bowl, he quickly picked it up with both hands, carefully touched it to Lin Yan's small wine cup, took a small sip, and felt the spicy aroma of the wine rise up. He smacked his lips, the wrinkles on his face smoothed out, and his eyes were full of gratitude as he looked at Lin Yan.
Lin Yan waved his hand casually, took a sip of wine, and said, "It's nothing. If I can listen to you two old brothers chat about the interesting stories of Beijing, that's better than anything else to drink with."
Upon hearing this, Uncle Niu became even more enthusiastic. He took a bite of the mushy pig's trotter and began to speak at length: "Speaking of those princes of the late Qing Dynasty, they did quite a few outrageous things! Take that one known as 'Prince Rui,' for example. He was particularly fond of pomp and circumstance, especially his purebred mastiff he brought from Mongolia. He took it everywhere he went, and even had a set of prince's attire custom-made for the dog, complete with a small official hat and a yellow riding jacket!"
Grandpa Pian chimed in at the opportune moment, clicking his tongue twice: "That's right, I heard that dog eats better than most people!"
Old Niu chuckled and slapped his thigh: "Here's the key point! Once, this Prince Reibail took his 'Dog Prince' to a banquet and was strolling in the garden. They encountered a spoiled Pekingese that barked incessantly at his precious mastiff. Guess what? This Prince Reibail felt humiliated and actually confronted the Pekingese's owner—an old scholar from the Hanlin Academy—forcing the Pekingese to bow and apologize to his 'Dog Prince'! The old scholar was so angry he almost fainted on the spot!"
Grandpa Pian laughed so hard he slapped his thigh: "Wow! This is truly unheard of!"
Lin Yan smiled slightly upon hearing this, and casually fed Xiao Qi another piece of tender tendon.
After a few drinks, the atmosphere in the tavern became increasingly warm and lively.
Just then, the curtain rustled, and a young man in a blue cadre uniform with slicked-back hair walked in. It was Fan Jinyou, an officer from the street office. He glanced around the shop, habitually looking for a target that could demonstrate his "authority," and soon locked onto Lin Yan's "extravagant" behavior.
Fan Jinyou cleared his throat, put his hands behind his back, and strolled over to Lin Yan and the others' table. He deliberately raised his voice, which carried a lecturing tone:
"Hey! Young man! Your behavior is very inappropriate!"
His shout instantly quieted the bustling tavern, drawing many glances.
Seeing that he had attracted attention, Fan Jinyou became even more smug. He pointed at Xiao Qi, who was gnawing on a tendon, and said righteously, "The whole country is advocating diligence, thrift, and hard work! Look at you, feeding such precious meat to a dog here? This is typical bourgeois hedonism! This is the corrupting influence of capitalism! What kind of thinking is this? Huh?"
He was spitting so hard he almost sprayed saliva onto the table, his eyes filled with the excitement of having caught a "typical" example.
Niu Ye and Pian Er Ye's expressions immediately turned ugly. They wanted to say a few words to defend Lin Yan, but they were held back by Fan Jinyou's "cadre" status.
Xiaoqi sensed the malice, stopped chewing, let out a low growl, and its fur stood on end slightly.
Lin Yan didn't even lift his eyelids. He slowly wiped the oil stains from Xiao Qi's mouth with a handkerchief. Then, he slowly raised his head and looked at Fan Jinyou, who had a righteous expression. He was not flustered at all. Instead, he smiled sarcastically.
"You're right—" He deliberately dragged out his words, his gaze sweeping over Fan Jinyou's greasy hair. He suddenly downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, lazily resting his chin on one hand, and said, word by word:
"I am 'capitalism'."
He tilted his head slightly and beckoned to Fan Jinyou with his finger:
"Come and get me then?"
This seemingly casual remark was like a silent thunderclap, exploding throughout the entire tavern!
mad! So crazy!
Everyone was stunned. Even Uncle Niu forgot to smoke, staring at Lin Yan with his mouth agape. In this day and age, who would dare speak to a street-level official like that? And even openly admit to being a "capitalist"? This young man was either insane, or his background was terrifyingly powerful!
Fan Jinyou was completely stunned by this unconventional reaction. His face turned red, and he pointed at Lin Yan, trembling with anger: "You...you...you're arrogant! Too arrogant!"
He wanted to lash out, to immediately call someone to take Lin Yan away, but seeing the other man's arrogant, dismissive gaze, a sudden chill ran down his spine, forcing him to swallow the words he was about to utter. He realized that his usual tactics of labeling and lecturing were completely useless against this young man!
"You...you just wait!" Fan Jinyou said, his words barely concealing his fear, before fleeing in disarray amidst the suppressed laughter that filled the tavern.
The curtain swayed, and Lin Yan, as if nothing had happened, put another piece of meat on Xiao Qi's plate, who was staring at him expectantly. He then raised his empty cup to Niu Ye and Pian'er Ye, who were still in a daze, and said with a smile, "I've disturbed your enjoyment. The wine is gone, I'll order another pot."
Old Niu suddenly snapped out of his daze, slapped his thigh hard, gave a thumbs up, and lowered his voice, but couldn't hide his excitement:
"Young man! You really are something else! I've been in Beijing for most of my life, and this is the first time I've ever seen someone like Fan Jinyou get such a big thrashing! That's satisfying! That's fucking satisfying! You've got the first time in Beijing like this!"