Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

Fourth Brother's stronghold was an unremarkable four-story building, which looked like an ordinary dormitory building, built on the hillside of a low mountain.

However, this low hill is within the camp area of ​​the Second Detachment of the Armed Police. To get to this building, you have to pass through the Armed Police checkpoint and tell the guards that you are looking for someone from the finance company. Under normal circumstances, they will let you through.

An Xiaohai bought a bunch of seafood and took a taxi. When they passed the checkpoint, they were checked for a full 10 minutes, which made the taxi driver panic.

When Fourth Brother helped deal with Zhou Weiguang last time, his subordinates, including Er Mao, all got a great deal of credit.

There's no need to show too much appreciation to Fourth Brother; doing so would seem pretentious. However, it's essential to show appreciation to the brothers under Fourth Brother.

Giving money directly is definitely not a good idea, and Fourth Brother wouldn't be happy if he found out, so let's just buy more seafood and treat everyone to a good meal.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the building was quite large, separated from the armed police camp by a low wall. The interior was messy, with various tools scattered everywhere. The open space behind the building had been cultivated and planted with vegetables.

"Er Mao!" An Xiaohai called out to Er Mao and tossed a small box over to him.

Er Mao took the box, opened it, and jumped for joy.

Inside the box was a Cadillac watch.

An Xiaohai noticed that Er Mao always wore a different watch on his wrist, and they were all brand-name products. It was clear that Er Mao really liked watches, so he simply gave him one as a token of his gratitude.

The Cadillac watch wasn't too expensive, but it wasn't cheap either. It was a bit more expensive than the ones Er Mao usually wore, so it was just the right gift. If it were too expensive, Er Mao wouldn't dare accept it.

"Brother Hai, let me help you carry this!" Er Mao was very excited and rushed over to help An Xiaohai carry the seafood. There were two big baskets, and An Xiaohai really couldn't carry them without help.

"Wow, what huge razor clams! I've never seen razor clams this big before! We're in for a treat today!" Er Mao exclaimed, sucking his saliva exaggeratedly. Everyone else seemed quite happy too.

An Xiaohai took out a few more packs of Hongbaolu cigarettes and threw them to Er Mao and the other guys who had attacked him that day, telling them to divide them among themselves. He was about to go into the building to find Fourth Brother when he was told that Fourth Brother was busy in the vegetable garden behind the building.

An Xiaohai immediately went to the back of the building, where his fourth brother was still hoeing the ground. He was dressed like an old farmer and his movements were very skilled, which was completely different from his usual style. An Xiaohai also saw a flock of chickens and two peacocks in the vegetables.

"Xiao Hai, come help me," Fourth Brother said without even looking up.

"Well... I'm not very good at this. Although I'm from a village, it's a fishing village."

"Hehe, that's true. Come here, I'll teach you how to do it, it's very simple."

"Okay!" An Xiaohai readily agreed. Having shared interests is a shortcut to building a good relationship with someone. Since Fourth Brother's vegetable gardening is clearly not for survival, it falls under the category of a hobby.

An Xiaohai simply took off his shoes and walked barefoot into the vegetable garden.

"Hmm, that's right, not spoiled at all!" Fourth Brother praised An Xiaohai's behavior: "Our elders are all farmers, they've farmed all their lives."

I remember when my brothers and I were very young, we would go to the fields with the adults. Back then, we were so tired every day that our eyes would go black, and we were never full. We would even try to grab the leeches in the fields and take a bite.

Now that life is better, I feel uncomfortable if I don't work in the fields. Don't you think people are just pathetic?

"Of course not. How can someone who has never suffered understand the preciousness of sweetness? Just like only those who have lost their freedom know how wonderful freedom is."

Besides, farming is an ancestral talent of us Chinese. Whenever we see a vacant lot, we think about what crops to plant, unlike those foreigners who only know how to build gardens—that stuff is utterly useless when it really matters.

"Haha, that's an interesting and novel way of putting it. People who read a lot of books are just different, haha."

An Xiaohai stayed with his fourth brother in the vegetable garden for over an hour, his back almost breaking from exhaustion. Thankfully, it was time for lunch, and An Xiaohai was finally free from his ordeal.

"Good job! Xiao Hai, you're very good! Few young people who come here can stick it out to the end. These days, young people have no patience at all!"

They want what they want immediately, and they can't wait to see the results after putting in just a little effort.

But is anything in this world that easy?

Just like farming, it takes several months, or even half a year, of hard work to see results, and if you encounter unexpected events along the way, you may end up with nothing and all your hard work will be for nothing.

It's hard for young people these days to stick with it, and of course, they also find it hard to experience the joy in it.

You're great; you're someone who understands life and knows how to delay gratification.

"Ha, Fourth Brother, you flatter me!" An Xiaohai laughed it off on the surface, but his wariness of Fourth Brother suddenly rose to an unprecedented level.

Who would have thought that a gangster boss who looks like a toad, has little education, and dresses rather plainly could say such things?

Upon entering the canteen, An Xiaohai was immediately startled.

In the corner of the canteen stood a huge glass water tank, clearly custom-made. The tank was filled with water, and floating in the middle was a large, white, unidentified object that looked like a lump of fat, but its shape was very irregular.

Fourth Brother's men were gathered around the water tank, filling their cups and drinking water, each with a look of pure bliss on their faces.

Fourth Brother walked straight to the water tank, filled two cups with water, drank one himself, and handed the other to An Xiaohai.

"Take this, it's good stuff, it's from Tai Sui (a type of rare fungus). Soak it in water and drink it, it will prolong your life!"

……

Helpless, An Xiaohai could only pinch his nose and drink the water made from that unknown substance. He didn't know if it would cause any problems, but it shouldn't be a big issue, since Fourth Brother's men were still alive and kicking.

Lunch began. Fourth Brother's style was quite different from Guo Xiangshui's. The dining hall was rather simple, without any high-end electric rotating tables. It felt like a village banquet, very casual.

An Xiaohai noticed that there was no one coming and going at Fourth Brother's place. Most of the people eating there were his subordinates. Moreover, during the time the two spent together, An Xiaohai did not hear Fourth Brother's phone ring once. He wondered how he managed to do that.

An Xiaohai chatted with everyone in a disjointed manner, desperately trying to gather information from their words. The information was rich, but he couldn't find any information about those two people.

An Xiaohai originally thought he could find some clues through conversation and observation of details, but now it seems unlikely, so he has no choice but to take the risk and take the initiative.

"Fourth Brother, are you familiar with the Tong Sheng Lian in Hong Kong?"

After dinner, while Fourth Brother was making tea, An Xiaohai casually asked a question.

"Tong Sheng Lian? I know them fairly well. What's wrong? Did you get into trouble with them? Do you need any help?"

"Thank you, Fourth Brother, but it's no need. It's nothing, just a small grudge."

"Tong Sheng Lian...you, please leave for a moment."

Fourth Brother's face darkened, and he waved his hand, causing his men to retreat like a receding tide.

"Xiao Hai, don't tell me that you were the one who did that thing at Shenhu Pass more than two months ago."

"Hehe!" An Xiaohai chuckled, neither confirming nor denying.