Chapter 16: Confrontation
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Cao Yang looked at her with curiosity; she was quite attractive, with very fair skin.
“This is my girlfriend, Amei,” Aliang introduced.
“This is my new buddy, Cao Yang.”
“Hello,” Amei shyly smiled at Cao Yang.
“Hello,” Cao Yang smiled back.
This meal was the best Cao Yang had had since arriving in Guangdong—five people spent over two hundred yuan, which was considered quite a splurge for those times.
After dinner, the five returned to the hotel. The three of them discussed whether to take action that night and if there was a suitable place to do so. Cao Yang listened quietly, while Amei helped Aliang straighten the beds.
After some discussion, they concluded not to act that night.
Hearing this, Cao Yang felt a bit disappointed. At that moment, Aliang gave a subtle signal to the three of them. Cao Yang didn’t understand but was pulled outside by Leidian.
“What’s going on?” Cao Yang asked, puzzled.
Leidian grinned slyly. “There’s going to be a fight. We’re making room for it.”
With that, he and Jiawei pressed against the door, eavesdropping on the sounds inside.
Cao Yang, curious, joined them. Soon, he heard Amei whispering softly, then her voice grew louder—so much so that they no longer needed to crouch to listen.
Inside, Amei was being tormented by Aliang, crying out loudly. Jiawei felt uneasy hearing this and urged the others to go into the village to help some fallen women.
Cao Yang felt embarrassed and didn’t go; Leidian also stayed behind, leaving Jiawei to go alone.
Leidian and Cao Yang went to a convenience store, bought some tokens, and started playing slot machines.
Cao Yang’s streak of good luck seemed to have run out; he lost fifty tokens quickly.
Gradually getting carried away, he exchanged for two hundred more tokens but didn’t last an hour before losing them all.
Just as he was about to exchange again, he suddenly heard Leidian’s furious shout and snapped back to reality.
Damn, he nearly got seriously hooked.
Leidian had also lost all his tokens and was cursing nonstop.
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“Let’s go, let’s go. Don’t get carried away,” Cao Yang said, pulling the cursing Leidian away, then bought some cooked food and liquor.
Back at the dorm, Aliang and Amei had finished, but Jiawei still hadn’t returned.
Amei had just showered; her hair was wet, and she wore a slip dress.
Cao Yang invited them to eat, listening to Leidian’s complaints as they ate.
After finishing the wine, Amei got up to fetch more, opened the bottle, bent down, and handed it to Cao Yang.
Two hours passed, and Jiawei still hadn’t come back. Leidian joked that Jiawei was probably dying in a woman’s arms.
Aliang sent Amei back to the factory and left; only Leidian and Cao Yang remained in the room.
Leidian, likely drunk, soon fell asleep lying down.
Cao Yang went downstairs alone and returned to the convenience store to play the slot machines.
His luck was truly gone; fifty yuan vanished in no time.
His heart ached—he had spent over two hundred on food, lost three hundred gambling, and with the thousand yuan he had brought, only four hundred remained. If Liyan found out, she would surely skin him alive.
He thought of his mother back home, who had borrowed money everywhere just to give him two hundred yuan for the trip. If he could send three hundred yuan back to her, how happy she would be!
That’s the gambler’s curse—losing makes you regret, but then you gamble again, only to regret once more.
Cao Yang was fortunate to have some self-control.
He went to a phone booth and called the small shop back home, asking them to get his mother on the phone.
Half an hour later, he called again, and this time his mother answered.
They chatted a while; Cao Yang lied, saying he had found work and was employed at a factory, and that Liyan was taking good care of him.
His mother told him to work hard and, somewhat enviously, said that Liyan had sent her two thousand yuan just yesterday, urging Cao Yang to learn well from Sister Yan.
...
After hanging up, with nothing else to do, Cao Yang wanted to try the slot machines again. At the gate, he slapped himself and then turned toward the Nightingale Club.
Liyan wanted him to find work, but since he slept during the day and stayed up at night, when would he have time?
If worse came to worst, he planned to find a job at a nightclub.
Outside the Nightingale Club, the scene was bustling and lively, with many food stalls and clothing and accessory vendors. Numerous bright and youthful girls strolled about.
Cao Yang squatted nearby, dazzled by the lively scene.
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Suddenly, the crowd stirred. A line of Toyota Hiace vans roared in, heading straight for the Nightingale Club.
With a clang, the door of the lead van swung open, and about a dozen young men jumped out, each wielding long objects wrapped in newspapers—either machetes or steel pipes.
The other vans followed suit, and the total number approached a hundred.
The food stall vendors jumped back in fright, thinking these men might be there to attack them for blocking the road.
They were mistaken; the men ignored the stalls and headed straight for the Nightingale Club.
“What are these guys up to?”
“They’re from the Hunan gang. Judging by this, they’re going to clash with the Sichuan gang tonight!”
“I don’t think they’re after the Sichuan gang—they’re probably here to smash up the Nightingale Club.”
“First day setting up your stall here, huh? The Nightingale Club belongs to the Sichuan gang.”
“Hmph! Sichuan gang, Hunan gang—they’re all bad news. What’s the big deal?”
“Hey, watch your mouth. If they hear you, you’re asking for trouble.”
“Better pack up early. If a fight breaks out, we don’t want to get caught in the crossfire.”
Hearing the two older men’s conversation, Cao Yang grew worried for Liyan.
At that moment, seven or eight more vans arrived, bringing another hundred or so men, all armed.
“Here come the Sichuan gang reinforcements!”
“No kidding. Let’s pack up quickly!”
Not just the two uncles, but all the nearby vendors started packing up, fearing collateral damage.
Only one uncle selling fried rice noodles lounged leisurely in his chair, unmoved.
“Old Li, pack up quickly!”
“Pack up? They’d have to be crazy to actually fight!”