Chapter 107: Back to Warehouse Eleven

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After Uncle Two finished speaking, everyone gradually dispersed. Many people hugged me, but I didn't react. All I could think was, is this really necessary? I feel like a seriously ill patient.

I had just learned that I was sick even though I felt like I was in good health. I had no idea what I would face in the future.

There were several famous crawfish shops on Hefang Street. Xiao Hua pretended to leave first and didn't come back until Poker-Face, Fatty, and I were sitting down in one of the crawfish shops. Poker-Face and Xiao Hua didn't normally eat this kind of food, so they ate some cucumbers instead. Fatty and I quickly ate a mountain of crawfish before we calmed down.

We were all quiet about what had happened just now, but the thing that was bothering me was that Uncle Two was always a man who avoided the important things. I wasn't sure if he had told me the real severity of my situation. What he had said just now could have big and small parts. He had obviously told me the small part, but didn't mention anything about the big part at all.

This was his style.

After drinking a few beers, the boundaries and depression in my heart disappeared and I started to relax and joke. Fatty kept saying I might be cured after eating Poker-Face meat. In the future, we'd have to keep Little Brother's bath water to use as soup stock to prolong our lives.

I told Xiao Hua to say what he needed to say. I had been ordered to stay healthy now and I had to get up early to go to work tomorrow. I wasn't familiar with the new work unit, so I had to be on my best behavior.

Xiao Hua looked at the beer in his cup. The seats here were very crowded and he always looked a little uncomfortable on such occasions.

"Black Glasses' situation isn't looking good," Xiao Hua said. "Based on what my men said, he was completely blind on his way to Mute Village."

"Completely blind?" I asked. "Didn't he say that he could see a little no matter what?"

"Completely blind." Xiao Hua took a sip of beer and continued, "What difference does it make to him even if he's not completely blind? You guys are all spread out in different places and I'm the only one in Beijing. I already have so many things to deal with. We need to come up with a plan on how to deal with this matter." Xiao Hua glanced at me, "He made many enemies when he helped you before. If he really can't see, he'll be dead within a month."

"Who the fuck dares to kill him?!" Fatty was furious. "Who, who the fuck are his enemies? If push comes to shove, I'll kill them all first! Spread the word, whoever dares to fucking touch Black Glasses will become my enemy. I'll send their whole family to heaven!"

Xiao Hua was still looking at me, "It's easier to dodge a spear in the open than it is to avoid a stab in the dark."

I pulled Fatty back down, "It won't work for us to say these words now." I then looked at Xiao Hua, who was still watching me, "What's your plan? Just say it. What do you need me to do?"

Xiao Hua looked at his beer and said, "He needs a place like Rain Village. If he won't go, someone has to convince him somehow."

I shook my head. When Black Glasses set his mind to do something, he did it very obviously. Even if he wanted to die, he would do it in an easy and uncomplicated manner. I knew I could never convince him. If Black Glasses really had such severe symptoms, then the best way was to hide his whereabouts before he got treatment or found a better solution.

I already knew that what Xiao Hua was saying wasn't meant for me.

It was very dangerous to enter the blind tomb without Poker-Face. That place was probably the most dangerous tomb in the world and there wasn't any information on it at all.

Black Glasses was now helping Uncle Two investigate Uncle Three, but he couldn't afford to put off his own affairs.

Poker-Face had to participate in everything, yet I couldn't get involved at all.

I was a little dazed and didn't pay attention to what Xiao Hua said after that. When I walked out of the crawfish shop, a wave of tiredness washed over me. For the first time, I felt that our era might soon pass.

I knew that this day would come eventually, but I never understood why so many people were unwilling to quit. I wasn't the nostalgic type, but now that this day had come, the curtain call felt so uncomfortable.

I slept in Fatty's hotel room and then drove back to Warehouse Eleven at eight the next morning.

When I walked in the door, I saw Bai Haotian standing there holding a bunch of flowers. "Little Master Three, hello!"

I nodded and looked at my job title. I was a director, but Bai Haotian had a manager's badge on her chest. I didn't know which one had the higher authority here.

Bai Haotian kept talking, "There's no social insurance [1], wages are paid in cash, there's a gas allowance, and you get one day off a week. Sound good?"

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Note:

[1] China's "social insurance" consists of five different types of insurance, plus one mandatory housing fund. The five "insurances" are pension, medical, unemployment, work-related injury, and maternity.

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