Big Brother / Da Ge / The Unknown

Chapter 20

Her determination was so high that it gave Wei Qian a headache. So when he returned, he fiercely pounded Xiao Pang.

It was all because of this idiotic fatty and his nonsensical ideas. They had backfired, and now they were left to deal with the consequences.

Wei Qian didn't return to the nightclub, not even bothering to inquire about what happened to Le Xiao Dong's assets after his death.

"Little Brother Wei" had vanished along with the deceased Le Ge, washing his hands of it all. He was just a hired thug, and although he had a fierce reputation, nobody paid him any mind. They had other things to worry about, things that could easily turn violent.

Through Xiao Pang's father, Wei Qian managed to secure a job as a warehouse stocker at a factory-essentially a manual laborer.

It was a temporary job, paid by the piece, pure physical labor, with lunch provided at noon-two steamed buns per person. Wei Qian hadn't been working long before his hands were covered in blisters, and he was constantly dirty, always at the mercy of someone else's mood.

The days of being the feared "Little Brother Wei" seemed like a distant dream.

On the third day of his new job, as he squatted by the roadside picking at the blisters on his hands with a needle, he was surprised by how calm he felt. He had once thought that this kind of life would crush his youthful spirit, that the vast gulf between his current situation and the lofty goal of "making it big" would torment him endlessly.

But it didn't.

The desire to "make it big" still burned within him, unchanged. He was still a dreamer, chasing after wealth to support his family. Yet, perhaps having witnessed enough glamour and experienced the harsh realities of life and death, his heart had unknowingly become much heavier.

Someone who found joy in this change was Grandma Song.

Even though Wei Qian worked tirelessly every day, enduring the same hardships as her grandson, she took comfort in seeing him finally "turning over a new leaf." Coming from a farming background, she saw nothing wrong with physical labor-earning one's keep through hard work was only natural. To her, working as a laborer, even if it meant scrimping and saving, was better than the flashy but morally dubious lifestyle of the nightclub.

Grandma Song, in her subjective view of Wei Qian's bright future, finally realized that this young man, not yet eighteen, was already shouldering the responsibility of a household, so she began to treat him better.

She somehow obtained some ointment for bruises and secretly placed it on Wei Qian's bedside table. Additionally, to help supplement the household income, she woke up before dawn every day, boiled a pot of tea eggs and corn, and went out to sell them during the time when people were heading to work. In the afternoon, she would collect cardboard boxes, paper, and bottles to sell.

Even Wei Qian had to admit that this quirky old lady was quite remarkable-rising before dawn to work tirelessly, managing to provide three meals a day for the children at home, and engaging in spirited battles with the neighboring cranky old lady every day, exchanging insults with gusto.

The cranky old lady had been scared off by Wei Qian wielding a kitchen knife when he was a child, so she dared not confront Grandma Song directly. Both households locked their doors, leaving just enough space for voices to pass through, before commencing their verbal warfare.

These two old ladies had developed their own unique style and level of proficiency, with their profanity-laden exchanges even causing Wei Qian, a seasoned thug, to cringe.

When Xiao Pang wasn't out procuring goods, he would sit in the corridor, munching on sunflower seeds, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. When the battle ended, he would discard the sunflower seed shells and loudly applaud, his voice booming enough to create a "standing ovation" effect on his own.