"A group of pigs is easy to deal with, but a lone pig is hard to fight. This is the rule in the mountains: if one pig runs, they all run, and they only charge in one direction. So when autumn comes, it's safest to encounter a group of wild boars that are harming crops. But remember, don't attack a bear from behind, and don't confront a pig head-on."

  "What does it mean?"

  "Pig brain, I mean to say that fighting in a group is easy, catch the thief first and take down one, most of the rest will be scared, it means when you are surrounded, you have to act fast, don't give them a chance. Also, don't rush to have a one-on-one death struggle with someone, a cornered dog will jump over the wall, even the most insignificant rubbish can have a moment of fierce strength."

  "What kind of hero is this?"

  "Got it, didn't you? Then hurry up and choose a spot to die, so I can bury you directly and set up a tombstone for you, saying it's the grave of some hero?"

  "It's not like I didn't do it your way."

  It's hard to imagine that this is a 25- or 26-year-old man lecturing a third-grade elementary school student on such grand principles. This kind of conversation has been going on between the two for half a year, and almost every day Li Sheng has to accept his indoctrination. His academic performance remains poor, but he has also established a reputation in school as a tough guy with a Northeastern flavor, all thanks to Xiamin Chen Erdog.

  Li Sheng walked alongside Chen Ergou, carrying a nearly empty backpack. He glanced sideways at the adult who was even more cunning than him and said, "Ergou, make it clear whether you're after my sister or Teacher Guan. You can't have your cake and eat it too." Seeing Chen Ergou's reaction, Li Sheng's still youthful face broke into a sly smile as he swung his lightweight backpack, which only held a few comic books. "My sister likes the intelligent and refined type, you're not her match, you're just a country bumpkin. And with your character, like a dog and a toad, how could you possibly impress Teacher Guan? I've seen her fiancé, he's tall and handsome, whereas you look like a pork butcher in front of him, there's no comparison."

  Chen Ergou sneered: "Do you think your little bit of Taoist skill can intimidate me? Go back to your mother's place and cultivate for another ten or eight years."

  Li Sheng pouted, feeling a bit resentful but helpless. After all, most of the things he could do were taught by Chen Ergou, and besides, this madman was brave enough to take on seven JX guys at once. Although Li Sheng didn't say it out loud, he still admired him deeply in his heart.

  This kid has always been puzzled as to why Chen Erdog never nagged him about studying hard and striving upwards, asking: "Erdog, you don't like reading books either, do you?"

  Chen Ergou continued to stare at the crumpled newspaper and said, "I've told you before but you don't understand."

  Li Sheng put his hands behind his head, gazing up at the sky, wondering if he had been tainted by too much of the boss's wife's worldly calculations. This child had a depth and maturity that surpassed his peers.

  Back at Ah Mei's restaurant, Chen Ergou first tidied up the tables and chairs, then helped out in the kitchen for half an hour before finding time to tutor Li Wei in math. The boss's wife had long ago promised that if Li Wei could get into a key high school, she would reward Chen Ergou with five months' salary. In reality, Chen Ergou secretly thought that this boss's wife could easily hold her own as the head of a large company.

  Recently, Chen Ergou had taken to visiting a waste paper recycling station to pick up scraps. He bought back old magazines and books by the pound, taking them back to his rental house. Comparing them to an economics textbook, Chen Ergou discovered that the boss's wife possessed all the excellent qualities of a business owner. This made Chen Ergou feel like he had discovered a new continent, and he began secretly studying the boss's wife's management methods.

  After returning home, he even took notes and refined his thoughts, striving to elevate them to a theoretical level.

  ————————

  Grandpa Sun is dead.

  Completely unexpected, leaving people unprepared.

  The old man's death was considered a peaceful passing, and the person who handled his funeral arrangements was a taciturn middle-aged man with dark skin and a sturdy build. The man's wooden expression easily reminded Chen Ergou of the wooden stick that had once killed Wild Boar King. Men like him seemed to never be the main characters in life, but rather stood quietly behind someone, doing things without speaking.

  Chen Ergou heard several elderly neighbors say that this man was Sun Lao's adopted son. It is said that the children of Sun Lao, who was from Northeast China, did not survive the three-year famine and the Cultural Revolution. However, these old residents who only knew a little about it could not say what exactly happened during that time. Some people claimed to have seen Sun Lao with a pile of medals, saying he had made great contributions in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Others even said that he was once General Peng Dehuai's personal bodyguard and had become a general, but unfortunately, he was later implicated. Chen Ergou didn't have much feeling about these stories. In his impression, this old man who taught him chess was just a wise and unsophisticated person.

  "Deng Gong had three rises and falls, I can barely say that I've had two rises and falls. Of course, compared to Deng Gong's achievements, the ups and downs of my life are not even worth mentioning. After living a futile life for 80 years, I have come to understand one thing: even small people must live with dignity. A man without money, women or power is nothing, but without dignity, even a stray dog on the street won't look at you straight in the eye."

  "Two dogs, when young, do more wrong things, the older the better. This way, when you're old, the more regrets you have, the less you want to die. You can eat a few more meals and drink a few more cups of wine."

  "To live and see our enemies fall one by one, this is the greatest pleasure in life."

  This was the last time Old Man Sun played chess with Chen Ergou. The old man spoke out of emotion, and it was also the only time he mentioned something about his past to this young bumpkin Chen Ergou. However, before Chen Ergou could think deeply about it, the old man who had won a game of chess said he wanted to go to the vegetable market to buy some vegetables and two or three catties of pork to make a dish to go with wine. The image of a transcendent being that had just formed in Chen Ergou's mind suddenly vanished into thin air. After playing chess for more than half a year, from start to finish, Chen Ergou never won a single game against Old Man Sun, which made him worry about his future wife.

  It wasn't until later that Chen Ergou saw the wreath with "Sun Yao Mian" written on it, and only then did he know the old man's name. He had wanted to help out a bit, but looking at the man's icy and rigid face, Chen Ergou ultimately gave up the idea. Since they were not related, it was indeed not good to intervene in such matters.

  After finishing the funeral of Old Sun, the middle-aged man found Chen Ergou before leaving and handed over the chessboard and the pair of walnuts to Chen Ergou, saying it was the old man's intention.

  "Did you brew both the wine and the snake wine?" the man asked before leaving.

  Chen Ergou nodded, when he came to SH, he brought a four-piece ginseng with a root of Sanqi, Chen Ergou had been reluctant to take it out, later seeing that Sun Dajie's body was not particularly good, and liking to drink wine, he simply took out BJ Er Guo head to soak a bottle of ginseng wine for the old man. As for the silver ring snake in the snake wine, it was said that someone had seen a large snake with a diameter as big as a bowl on a certain construction site, Chen Ergou specially went to find it for a long time but didn't catch the big snake, instead catching the silver ring snake and soaking it in wine together to give to Sun Lao. These two bottles of wine took up a lot of Chen Ergou's thoughts, just finding nearly seventeen kinds of Chinese medicinal materials, then soaking them according to the local recipe. Although this ginseng wine and snake wine couldn't be sold for much money, they were considered great supplements. Chen Ergou didn't expect anything in return, subconsciously he always treated this old man as a wine-loving crazy grandfather, being able to compensate him a little was good enough.

  "The flavor is just right, and the ginseng is also authentic Changbai Mountain wild ginseng. Are you a Northeasterner?" The man standing at the door of Chen Ergou's room seemed to have casually glanced at the scattered old newspapers and books on the floor, his expression as calm as an ancient well, and indeed his demeanor was just like that of Old Sun, as if they were carved from the same mold.

  "Uh, I'm from HLJ, a small village by the Egunna River. The river is small, so you probably haven't heard of it." Chen Ergou said with a smile, although not as foolishly rich and noble as some people, but indeed showing sincerity.

  "No wonder, you can be considered half a fellow townsman of my father."

  The middle-aged man, wearing a uniform similar to that of a security guard, finally revealed a slightly less rigid and kind expression, and said in a low voice: "My grandfather never owed anyone a favor, even if his feet were crippled and rotten, he would not let others help him when walking, this is his temperament, and he has never changed all his life."

  Chen Ergou was puzzled by this stranger's words and didn't think deeply about it, just looking at the chessboard made him feel sad.

  The middle-aged man finally said something irrelevant: "If anything happens in the future, come to NMG and say you know Sun Manyu."

  Chen Ergou felt that Sun Dage's adopted son seemed honest and down-to-earth, but when he said this, it inexplicably gave people a sense of being domineering and overbearing, like every time they saw Fugui pulling out that massive cowhorn bow in the mountains, it would make people feel shocked and amazed at the disparity.

  You still think I'm useless, Chen Ergou, don't curse me.

  Chen Ergou looked at the man's back, lowered his head and looked at the walnut that had been played with by the old man day after day, year after year, grinding off its edges, and sighed: "Dead?"

  To what height of invincibility must a man reach in his lifetime to avoid dying namelessly? The current Chen Ergou doesn't understand, but the silhouette he just saw might.