Chapter 33: You Are Not You, He Is Not Him

  As soon as the celebration ceremony was over, Yang Xing hurried to the location of Sanqing Association on Huaxing Street, Yue Lai Tea Garden, to see Meng Yunxian, who had an extraordinary relationship with him in Kangding.

  Sichuan has always been the center of the southwest region. During the Westernization Movement and the late Qing dynasty, Chongqing and Chengdu were also carrying out corresponding Westernization movements.

  In the late Qing dynasty, Britain and France had temporary diplomatic representatives in Chengdu.

  So at that time, although it was in the early years of the Republic of China, there were still many fresh things on the streets.

  Hua Xing Zheng Street is the central area of old Chengdu, which was very prosperous at that time. The street is about 1 meter wide, with shops lined up on both sides.

  Walking on the bluestone-paved road, with tea houses and shops shouting on both sides, I feel very intimate.

  Thinking of Meng Yuxian's angry departure last time, thinking of her grievances at the time, I couldn't help but ponder in my heart how to make the beauty not get angry.

  In front of a jade store, a short and stout shop assistant with a hunched back saw Yang Xing stop at the entrance and bowed repeatedly, shouting in a loud Sichuan accent: "General, what do you want to buy? Come to our small store, our small store is one of the largest jade stores in Chengdu?"

  Thinking that the tea garden usually opens in the afternoon, and it's still early now, he walked in immediately and asked the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, can your store carve a piece of beautiful jade into a heart shape, and also engrave two people's names under the jade pendant?"

  The young shopkeeper was delighted upon hearing this: "Sir, our humble store is actually one of the largest jade stores in Chengdu. Carving and engraving jade stones are our specialties. However, sir, you should know that jade stones are generally very expensive. If we were to have our master craftsman carve a beautiful piece of jade and engrave words on it, it would be even more costly."

  Yang Xing nodded and said: Little brother, you know, I'm just a military officer, not a big shot. What I want is creativity, jade, I don't want Tianyu, just ordinary high-quality jade will do.

  As soon as the carved shape and the words engraved in secret on the back came out, the shopkeeper exclaimed: General, you are Yang Xing Yang Zhen Dong, the hidden hero of the Model Brigade's deputy brigade commander?

  Yang Xing smiled awkwardly and said: This young fellow, I am indeed Yang Xing. But what's this about a hero in hiding? That's just an empty reputation, isn't it?

  Yang Xing, with a face full of admiration, shouted into the inner room: "Boss, come out quickly! The heroic Yang Xing and Yang Zhen Dong have arrived at our humble shop!"

  In an instant, an old man wearing a fur hat and a long gown rushed out with about ten companions. Seeing Yang Xing, he almost knelt down and said: "General Yang's noble presence has brought prosperity to our humble shop." You may not know that more than a month ago, the Sanqing Association performed "Pingcang Ji" several times, telling the story of how General Yang followed Commander-in-Chief Yin to pacify Zangbian and establish an immortal achievement.

  Yang Xing heard that it was Kang Zilin, Meng Yunxian and others who dramatized the Battle of Pianguo Liangzi, the Battle of Kangding City, and the trial of Jia Yicai, compiling a "Pingcang Ji"

  Yang Xing laughed and said: Shopkeeper, you and I, Yang Xing, are just ordinary people with two shoulders and one head, not the three-headed six-armed gods they say we are. If anyone is extraordinary, it's us soldiers, it's us ordinary folks.

  The shopkeeper was shocked and couldn't believe it.

  Yang Xing heard that at the time, the villagers were very superstitious. Even in the 21st century, it wasn't many obvious exaggerations, not after some people's embellishments, although far from the truth, but still someone believed.

  Unexpectedly enjoying a star's treatment here, he expressed his gratitude repeatedly and then made his own request.

  Zhou Zhuanggui listened and asked repeatedly about the shape of the carving, the style of the carving. After Yang Xing explained one by one, everyone was quite surprised.

  Boss Zhou smiled and said: "Captain Yang, I didn't expect you to be so meticulous, thinking of even this kind of thing."

  The shopkeeper stuck out his tongue and revealed a meaningful expression: "Commander Yang, so you're together with Meng Yuxian and Old Master Meng?"

  Smiling but saying nothing, he lowered his head and fiddled with the hat on his head.

  The shopkeeper smiled as soon as he saw Yang Xing, saying: "Commander, this jade pendant will take two hours to make. During this time, can you do me a favor and give my humble shop a good name?"

  As soon as he heard this, he felt it was a hassle. However, in his previous life, he had learned simplified characters and used fountain pens, rarely using brush script. Under such circumstances, the shopkeeper's request was quite difficult for Yang Xing to fulfill.

  What's more, in his previous life, Yang Xing's handwriting was crooked and extremely poor, how could he possibly write inscriptions for others?

  He smiled and said: "Zhou Zhanggui, this is too troublesome for me, a soldier. Besides, I usually use a pen, rarely use a brush, so let's forget about the calligraphy."

  Boss Zhou was slightly disappointed, Yang Xing knew that the jade pendant he had carved for himself used top-grade blue田jade, but Boss Zhou was charging as if it were ordinary jade. He smiled and said: "Boss Zhou, you can do this, I'll use a steel pen to write some characters for you, how about that?

  The shopkeeper was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately wrote a few words on paper, leaving his name behind.

  Afterwards, leaving behind a deposit for the jade, Yang Xing went to other shops and got a feel for the local customs of Chengdu during the Republic of China era.

  The craftsmanship of He and Tian's jade carvings is already impressive in the afternoon, with the intricately carved jade pendants shining brightly and exquisitely detailed, including tiny characters in the corners that are barely visible to the naked eye, leaving one in awe.

  During the Republic of China period, Chinese handicrafts reached their peak, and many things were made with exquisite craftsmanship that far exceeded those of past centuries. Wearing this jade pendant, Yang Xing repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

  Just now I had already inquired clearly that Sanqing was at the Yue Lai Tea House, and when I really arrived at the tea house, I sighed with emotion.

  Yue Lai Tea House is a three-story wooden structure with an extremely grand momentum. As Yang Xing walked closer, he saw that there were over a hundred guests dressed in different attire sitting at the tea tables outside, either seated at the tables or waiting outside to hear the bosses sing opera.

  As soon as he arrived here, Yang Xing couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia, perhaps similar to those song fans in his past life, who were actually all deceived people.

  The shopkeeper came out to greet him from a distance, and Yang Xing was surprised to find that in this Republic era, the service consciousness was so strong. Just as he was about to feel pleased, he suddenly realized something was off - the shopkeeper had led him to a tea seat outside the door.

  Unexpectedly in this Republic era, the first time I came out to spend money, I was actually led outside the door. I immediately laughed and said: "My friend, I'm here to find someone. I'm looking for Meng Yuxian, is Mr. Meng around?"

  The thin shop assistant smiled and said: "Old brother, who isn't looking for someone here? Ask around, isn't that person looking for Old Man Meng? Or Yang Boss? Or Liu Boss?"

  Everyone was shocked, and an old man wearing a long shirt with a long braid on his back also said: Little brother, don't make up stories. When did I say that Liu Laoban is my daughter? This shopkeeper didn't even let me in! You, little guy, this uniform should be for a military officer, but it can't be like this either?

  Yang Xing was greatly embarrassed, especially now that winter was approaching, the wind carried rainwater, cold and biting. He rubbed his slightly icy hands and said: "Young man, how about this? I'll go find Boss Kang, can't I? I met him in Kangding before, isn't that enough?"

  The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "Brother, forget it. You were just looking for Old Man Meng, now you're looking for Old Man Kang, your lies are too big."

  Hurry up, thinking of the respect received at He Tianyu's shop, smiled and said: Little brother, I am Yang Gang Yang Zhengdong, deputy captain of the model team, can you believe it now?

  The shopkeeper burst out laughing and laughed at the crowd, saying: "This brother, since the performance of 'Pingcangji', we have been here, that is not Yang Zhen Dong, such a heroic figure, at least more handsome than Lin Kang, the old boss. You, dressed as a soldier, with wrinkled clothes, are you Yang Xing or Yang Zhen Dong? Or am I Yin Chang Heng?"

  Everyone burst out laughing, Yang Xing was furious. He thought of the movies he had seen before or some villainous characters from his past life, and with a swift motion, he slapped the waiter twice. The slaps were extremely loud and forceful, and they landed very cleanly. Not only did the waiter get slapped twice, but he also lost a tooth. Moreover, a table was overturned, two stools were broken, and over ten tea trays were smashed.

  Several companions rushed over, just about to take revenge on Yang Xing with a flurry of punches and kicks, when suddenly the figure in front of them flickered, and some people shouted: Boss Meng has arrived, everyone, Boss Meng has arrived.

  A sedan chair was pushed open, and Meng Yuxian, dressed in a theatrical costume, arrived in a rickshaw with another woman. Yang Xing was shocked, but he furrowed his brow and came up with a plan.

  Knock down a thug, run towards Meng Yuxian's carriage, suddenly fall to the ground in the midst of everyone's astonishment, and then get up again.

  At this time, Meng Yuxian saw Yang Xing, and Yang Xing also saw Meng Yuxian. Everyone was stunned, including the servants who were chasing after them.

  Yang Xing pretended to be very generous and laughed: Old Meng, it's finally your turn.

  His voice trembled and after a long while he said: Captain Yang, what's going on? You... you've come to see me?

  A loud voice laughed and said, "Boss Meng, you know that now that the war is over, we soldiers are useless. Do you have money? Today, I'm going to beat up this little servant here, smash two stools and a table."

  With a look of astonishment, the little waiter who was just beaten looked puzzled for a long time before bursting into laughter: "This, this is nothing, it's my fault. Why didn't he use compensation? You know, Old Man Meng is also one of the bosses of Yue Lai Tea House."

  Meng Yunxian, who was still in a daze, and the woman beside her, asked in unison: "Boss Meng, who is this? Why is he being so rude, as if we owe him something?"

  After a long time, Meng Yunxian said with a complex expression on his face: "Boss Meng, it's been several months since we parted ways in Kangding. I didn't expect Boss Meng to still be so elegant, but as for me... well, let's not mention it. Can I invite you to the noble tea house?"

  With a tense face, he finally blurted out a few words: "You come with me."

  Shaking off the dust from his clothes, he followed Meng Yuxian and others into the teahouse. Seeing people coming and going greeting Meng Yuxian and the middle-aged woman beside her, Yang Xing only then realized that the middle-aged woman was actually Yang Sulan, the head of the Sanqing Association.

  At this time, he probably also knew Yang Xing's identity and pointed to the people inside the teahouse, saying: Do you know that everyone who comes in here is either rich or noble? Each seat requires half a dollar.

  Yang Xing said with a smile: Mr. Yang, I know this one.

  Led into a room, he felt very strange for a long time. The waiter did not even come to serve tea, and Meng Yuxian was nowhere to be seen.

  After waiting for about two quarters of an hour, Yang Sulan, the master of Sanqinghui, finally arrived with Meng Yuxian.

  Yang Xing laughed and said: "Boss Yang, everyone can't write two Yang characters at once, how come I came to your gathering and there's no good tea served? This is unacceptable!"

  With a stern expression, he scolded: Do you know? In this tea garden, each seat costs 50 cents. If you don't pay, we won't serve the tea!

  A sly expression appeared on his face as he said: "Boss Yang, you're not unaware of my relationship with Boss Meng. This tea money, however, can't be lessened by your contribution."

  Yang Sulan smiled and said: Do you think you are Wang Kui in "Qing Tan"? Think carefully, how did you treat Meng Jia's sister in Kangding? Even Wang Kui is not much better than that.

  Lowering his head, Meng Yunxian saw that there were tears hidden in her eyes and smiled: "Everyone knows that when we meet, three points of affection are already present. In the past, I just hoped that everyone would have a good talk about love. What's the use of right or wrong?"

  So what about today?

  A faint smile appeared on his face and he said: Ah, old friend, is everything all right with you?

  Yang Sulan smiled and said: You say you got it lightly, everyone knows that Yin Dadaifu has already fallen out of luck, many people know that after he arrives in Beijing, he will probably be put under house arrest by Yuan Shikai. As his confidant, aren't you worthless now?

  Yang Xing was shocked, staring at Yang Sulan and Meng Yuxian with wide eyes. She continued to say: "You, a military school graduate, if General Yin wasn't unlucky, you would have had a future. Now what kind of future do you have? Do you know that Sanqinghui is one of the largest clubs in Sichuan? Those who come here are either rich or noble. Any one of them has more money and power than you. What did you come here for?"

  Yang Xing was surprised and looked down at Meng Yunxian and said: Miss Meng, is this also your opinion?

  Yang Xing's face was filled with complex emotions as he said, "You bullied me that day in Kangding. Afterwards, you ignored my pleas and ruthlessly rejected me."

  Today, you yourself are so down and out, yet you still come to find me. What do you take me for?

  It's a bit heart-wrenching, but also full of curiosity. There were many unusual women in the Republic of China era, how come the one I met is different from what I imagined in the past, and it turns out to be similar to people nowadays.

  Xiao Dao: Boss Meng, so you're saying that "Qing Tan" only exists in our dreams and not in reality?

  Everyone was speechless, and unexpectedly, they came with excitement but left in defeat. With a sorrowful smile, he said: "Miss Meng, this is what I carved earlier at Yue Lai Tea House. This is the sachet you gave me that day. Let's give it to you together as a keepsake."

  He immediately put down the jade pendant and sachet together, turned around and left.

  Don't go thinking about it, why is it so similar to the Republic of China and the previous life? Many girls are very powerful.

  Especially those who live by their looks, especially so.

  In this way, in the control of the model group, we should not give in to Hu Jingyi, otherwise we will become mediocre, and there will be no hope. (This section is dedicated to Xie Tingfeng and Zhang Ziyi who are making a big fuss. Actors have no emotions, it has always been this way. True human feelings can only be found among ordinary people.)