Chapter 284: You Are My Brother
Xiao Luo had a major issue with his behavior and asked, “Donggua, did you invite me over to dine at the banquet or serve the banquet?”
Xiao Qiudong was stunned and replied with great disappointment, “Xiao Luo, we’re childhood friends and even shared the same underwear. n.o.body could match up to us in terms of closeness, right? But your words have hurt me deeply. Are you actually blaming me for making you the servant?”
“Aren’t you making me your servant?”
Xiao Luo gave an ironic smile. He surely knew that he was doing all the jobs of a servant. He was ordered to serve the dishes and tea. He pa.s.sed around bowls and poured drinks to the point of having to act immediately upon the command of the banquet guests.
He was not so selfish that he would not help out with such a small issue, but they both knew the status of their friends.h.i.+p. They were not as close as brothers like how others had described. If he was helping Zhang Dashan, he would have nothing negative to say or hold any grudges even he was tasked with thoroughly cleaning the house from the inside out. However, Zhang Dashan never would have treated him that way. He treated him a whole lot better than everyone else.
“Xiao Luo, I shall not comment on things any further,” Xiao Qiudong sternly said. “I’ll ask you once. Are you my brother?”
Xiao Luo felt suffocated. He wanted to blurt out expletives like Zhang Dashan always did. This felt worse than someone slapping him in the face.
Xiao Luo kept quiet. Xiao Qiudong was secretly happy about it, which showed in his eyes for a fleeting moment.
He patted Xiao Luo’s shoulder. With a gentler tone, he said with all his heart, “I did not want to seek help from others since they are all outsiders. I’m afraid of owing favors to them. Xiao Luo, I would never be discourteous to you since you are my brother. Of course, you don’t have to be discourteous toward me. If you ever encounter any difficulties, tell me and I’ll help you with everything I have!”
Brother?
Xiao Luo only wanted to laugh. Real brothers never needed to mention that word. If he was an immature boy who had yet experienced the rough sides of life, he would have been convinced by Xiao Qiudong’s words. But he was not an innocent boy. He had entered society to work and seen people from all walks of life. Xiao Qiudong was n.o.body. He was one of those people who always paid lip service about being brothers and never treated anyone truthfully as a brother. In other words, he was just a fair-weather friend who excelled at putting up a good show and saying all the good words.
He shook his head helplessly and said, “Donggua, you are treating me like I am an idiot!”
When it came to who was making who feeling disappointed, even the earth and the sky served as witnesses.
Xiao Qiudong reacted with a face full of surprise. His browns turned into a from as he harshly replied, “An idiot? Xiao Luo, how could you take me this way? I…”
“Qiudong, where is your son? Show him to everyone else.”
“That’s right Qiudong, let us have a look at the baby with a Taiwanese mother and decide if he’s more handsome.”
“They say the farther the parents’ birthplaces are, the smarter their offspring is. Your wife’s from Taiwan, and that’s far enough. Your son will definitely grow up to be a genius.”
A bunch of drunk men came over and started talking to Xiao Qiudong.
Xiao Qiudong immediately ditched Xiao Luo and turned over to tend to them with a bright and smiling face.
“Uncle Dizhang, give me a moment, and I’ll bring him out right away.”
He turned around and said to Xiao Luo with a stern face, “Xiao Luo, I’ll leave those tables without fish b.a.l.l.s to you!”
He immediately left and did not give Xiao Luo a chance to reject his order.
However, Xiao Luo was not going to buy that. He took off the ap.r.o.n and mirthlessly smiled, “Xiao Qiudong, I’m sorry. I have something urgent and won’t be able to help you. Get someone else to serve the remaining dishes.”
Xiao Qiudong stopped and looked at him with a complicated look. He had not expected that Xiao Luo would defy his order. He always thought that he could be bossy toward Xiao Luo whenever he wanted.
“Xiao Luo, you have been serving dishes and tea for a while,” a man middle-aged man said. “You haven’t eaten anything, right? Get some food before you leave.”
Xiao Luo smiled and replied, “It’s alright Uncle Dizhang. I have an urgent case and need to leave right away.”
It was completely fine to not eat at this banquet. Xiao Luo had been interacting with Xiao Qiudong with all his heart. He had hoped to rekindle the friends.h.i.+p they had as kids. However, Qiudong’s actions were like leaving him alone on the road during a rainy night. He had invited him to a banquet in celebration of the birth of his son, which turned out to be a joke. Instead, he was treated like a servant who needed to do all the ch.o.r.es. He was not even granted a sip of tea, let alone any food.
He suddenly realized he had done it wrong. He was wrong about treating Xiao Qiudong with honesty, which was returned with nothing from Xiao Qiudong. He even used the perfunctory way of dealing with things to handle him.
“Xiao Luo, you… Ugh…”
Xiao Qiudong wanted to say something but kept quiet. He let out a long sigh and said, “Alright, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have asked you to help. I’m so selfish and didn’t consider your feelings. I can understand that you’re holding grudges. Could you please have some food before you go?”
Have some food before you go?
Xiao Luo smiled bitterly as he glanced at the banquet on the enormous field that was used to sundry the grains. Every table was a mess, and the dining was about to end. Many people were picking their teeth with toothpicks. What would it mean if sat down and dug in? Was he just a pig that cleaned up the junk or a stray dog that fed on leftovers?
Xiao Dizhang was the secretary of the Luo Village. He was a smart man with a quick mind. He had quickly understood the entire matter upon hearing Xiao Luo’s words. Xiao Luo was probably unhappy with Xiao Qiudong’s bossy att.i.tude toward him, as well as him ordering him to serve food and tea. He wanted to leave with the excuse of having something else to take care of.
He seriously tried to persuade Xiao Luo by saying, “Xiao Luo, you’re so close to Qiudong, so don’t fall into bad blood with such a small issue.”
“Uncle Dizhang, I’m not falling into bad blood with him. We’re very close.” For once, Xiao Luo pretended their relations.h.i.+p was more than it was.
“If you’re still close to him, have some food before you leave,” Xiao Dizhang said.
Xiao Qiudong excelled at seizing the opportunity. He had brought over two gla.s.ses of Chinese white wine. He spoke to Xiao Luo with a smiling face. “Brother, I’m at fault today since I didn’t consider your feelings. Come, let’s have a toast and forget every unhappiness tonight!”
In Xiao Luo’s eyes, regardless of how he viewed it, that smile was fake. By showing how he was being very reasonable and generous in front of the seniors, it smoothed the contrast of him being unbearable. Xiao Qiudong had already mastered the ability to trick people into corners. He could make one feel extremely enraged, yet one could not burst out due to the circ.u.mstances he had created. He was more than double-faced. His words were very different from his actions, which was also different from what he did de facto.
Xiao Luo decided to play along with this forced script and acted as an antagonist.
He smirked and replied, “Fine. We shall do as you say but not this way.”
He grabbed a tube of horseradish and wasabi pastes from the table beside as he spoke. These were all new things that Xiao Qiudong had brought back with him. He squeezed out half a tube into Xiao Qiudong’s gla.s.s and stirred it with a chopstick.
With a beaming smile, he said, “We shall drink it this way, Donggua. You aren’t against it, right?”
Xiao Qiudong’s face changed a little. His eyes were wide open. He replied, “Xiao Luo, do you actually think that this is meant for human consumption?”
“This is definitely meant for consumption. It is very helpful making one feel refreshed. Donggua, we’re brothers, so I wouldn’t harm you. Besides, horseradish and wasabi are great things. Is that what you told everyone before the banquet started? Didn’t you say mixing them with soy sauce could greatly enhance a person’s appet.i.te?” Xiao Luo wore a bitter smile the entire time he spoke.