茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

After serving the noodles to everyone, Xiang Kun didn’t prepare his own, stating that Liu Caifu was looking for him and he needed to go over.

The restaurant that Liu Caifu had specified was quite some distance from here, though Xiang Kun didn’t drive there, instead he hailed a passenger motorcycle taxi by the roadside.

Sitting in the motorcycle taxi, Xiang Kun found himself reminiscing about their return from Chongyun Village that night, and their arrival at the “Youlong Restaurant”. Before they started playing “Werewolf”, under everyone’s “urge” and instigation, he told two more anecdotes, and even had You Meng try to tell a couple too.

In reality, everyone else’s instigations were indirectly guided by him. Testing the “Twelve Yellows” emotional influence again at the “Youlong Restaurant” was his premeditated plan.

His aim was to try to quietly assimilate and influence Old Xia’s emotions by activating the function of the “Twelve Yellows”.

For that, he had even devised a scheme, subtly arranging for Old Xia to be seated within the strongest influence range of the “Twelve Yellows”.

However, when everyone had been influenced by the “Twelve Yellows” and was laughing out loud in response to the anecdotes told by Xiang Kun and You Meng, Xiang Kun received no strong apparent emotional response from Old Xia based on the sensory feedback he obtained.

Even though she too wore a smile, the physiological data feedback—be it heartbeat, respiration, scent, etc.—indicated that she was neither affected by the emotions of the “Twelve Yellows” nor had any reaction to their anecdotes.

This greatly bewildered Xiang Kun and it’s no surprise that it had always been difficult for him to sense or influence Old Xia’s emotions or infiltrate her dreams and peep into the dreamland through the calligraphy he had given her, which established an “Emotional Infusion” connection.

That “Emotionally Infused” object seemed like a special network device that could send specified messages to certain end-device QQ accounts within a certain range—though it seemed as if Xia Libing’s “end-device” didn’t even have QQ installed…

Xiang Kun pondered, deciding that during this time in Tongshi Town, he had to find an opportunity to directly apply the “Emotional Assimilation” on Old Xia.

After all, influencing through objects like the “Twelve Yellows” and “Lyric Calligraphy” that had established connections had certain restrictions and the influence might not be strong enough. Directly applying the “Emotional Assimilation” from Xiang Kun himself might yield different results.

The place where Liu Feibao invited them for a supper was a restaurant that specializes in deep-sea fish.

As soon as Xiang Kun got down from the motorcycle taxi seat at the entrance of the restaurant, a tall man came up to greet him.

This man was also someone he had met before; he was the driver who had driven for Liu Feibao yesterday afternoon.

However, yesterday he had glared at Xiang Kun, whereas today he was exceedingly polite and even a little obsequious, “Mr. Xiang, Brother Bao, Director Liu, and President Chu are in the No. 7 private room. I’ll lead you there.”

Xiang Kun nodded. After arriving here, he had already located them through the scents and sounds of Liu Caifu, and found out their location.

He had also already eavesdropped on their conversation in the private room in advance and knew that there were five people in the private room: Liu Feibao, Liu Caifu, the two brothers who tried to “scam” them in the morning, and the voice of a rather kind and seemingly older man.

When Xiang Kun was taken into the private room by the driver, Xiao Hou, all five people inside subconsciously stood up.

Through sound and other information, Xiang Kun knew, even before the driver knocked on the door of the private room, that the two young men who had tried to “scam” them in the morning had already stood up first. They were clearly waiting for him to come, ready at any moment.

After the door opened, Liu Caifu and Liu Feibao practically stood up at the same time, but the former seemed relaxed with a smile on his face. After all, they had just parted after dinner, and the initial discussions on some matters in the afternoon had been very pleasant, so naturally he was happy to see Xiang Kun again; the latter, although his face was full of smiles, Xiang Kun could clearly sense his tension and a trace of fear, along with suppressed excitement. His expressions and posture were a little unnatural.

The fifth person in the private room, the one Xiang Kun had overheard earlier with the particularly older sounding voice, was a middle-aged man with sparse hair, a friendly face, and a thin figure. Though it was clear he originally had no intention of standing up, when the sudden sound of the other four people getting up filled the room, he rose to his feet in some confusion, to “greet” Xiang Kun.

Other than greeting Liu Caifu by calling him “Brother Fu”, Xiang Kun offered a very slight nod of his head to everyone else, neither taking the initiative to interact with them nor making any effort to introduce himself, maintaining a reserved and modest demeanor.

Liu Caifu started by introducing the older, thin man in the room, “Brother Xiang, this is Brother Chu Xiuwen. The commercial street where Ah Meng’s ‘Youlong Restaurant’ is located was developed in partnership between his company and one from the provincial capital. When I first started my business with my father, Brother Chu was always there to lend a hand.”

“Brother Fu got it wrong. Back in the day, it was mostly me benefiting from his old man’s kindness,” Chu Xiuwen replied with a polite exchange of pleasantries with Xiang Kun.

Through Liu Caifu’s attitude, Xiang Kun immediately determined that Chu Xiuwen must be the mediator brought in by Liu Feibao and the reason Liu Caifu was here, and contacted him through WeChat, was mainly because of this “Brother Chu”.

Xiang Kun theorized that Liu Caifu felt that this “Brother Chu” could be beneficial for him and You Meng’s future development in Tongshi Town, so he wanted to take this opportunity to introduce him.

What puzzled him was that “Brother Chu’s” attitude towards him was a little odd. Courtesy and friendliness were expected and normal, but there was a carefulness mixed in with his friendliness. This seemed a little off for someone of “Brother Chu’s” status?

After a few pleasantries, Chu Xiuwen pointed at Liu Feibao, a bespectacled man with gold-rimmed glasses and a face full of “kind smiles”, and said, “Brother Xiang, this fat guy had a little misunderstanding with you and wants to apologize to your face. I know he always acts without thinking and tends to cause trouble, so I didn’t want to intervene, but he’s so thick-skinned that when he explained the situation to me, I realized it was just a misunderstanding. I decided to mediate owing to my ice with Brother Fu.”

Liu Feibao immediately said: “Yesterday afternoon, my driver wasn’t paying attention and rear-ended Mr. Xiang’s friend’s car. I am truly very sorry. I also said some inappropriate things at the time. I have to apologize to Mr. Xiang for that as well.” Saying this, he picked up a glass filled with wine from the table.

Seeing Chu Xiuwen ready to pour beer into the empty glass in front of him, Xiang Kun said, “I don’t drink.”

As soon as these words came out, Xiang Kun immediately felt Liu Feibao’s fingers tighten around the wine glass, and his breathing paused slightly, not out of anger or rage, but tension and fear.

In the meantime, Chu Xiuwen, who was holding the beer bottle, also displayed a similar physical reaction, albeit not as noticeable.

Similarly, the brother who had been looking anxious since Xiang Kun entered the room turned ashen.

Obviously, they all interpreted Xiang Kun’s statement as a refusal to reconcile.

“I drink tea,” Xiang Kun said, reaching out to take a teapot from a small table on the side of the private room, filled with spare bowls and chopsticks, and he poured a half cup of tea into his empty cup. He then signaled to Liu Feibao, who was holding his wine, and sipped the tea symbolically.

Xiang Kun sensed that there was a collective sigh of relief in the private room. This puzzled him, as this reaction conflicted with the perception he had initially built.

Next, Liu Feibao pointed to the two brothers, one tall and one short, who were still standing and said to Xiang Kun, “These two kids went to Chongyun Village this morning, making a ruckus under my name and disturbing you and your friends. It was so abominable. When I learned about it, I felt very uneasy. We men of Tongshi are known for our hospitality and goodwill, and this incident has unfairly labelled me, Liu Feibao, and the townspeople of Tongshi, with ‘evil’ and ‘ignorance’. This could also negatively affect our initiative to attract investment, develop a burgeoning tourism industry, and establish a local brand in Tongshi Town. Therefore, I had to bring them here to apologize to Mr. Xiang. Of course, wrongdoings must be punished, and you may deal with them as you see fit.”

The shorter, more robust of the brothers quickly said, “Mr. Xiang, we brothers failed to recognize the important person and offended you and your friends. You can beat us up to lighten your heart.”

The taller brother looked at his own brother, then at Liu Feibao, opened his mouth, as if to say something, but after pausing for two seconds, he could not muster any words. He just nodded hard, agreeing with his brother’s and “Brother Bao’s” words.

Xiang Kun silently watched the three of them, his mind filled with questions — Liu Feibao’s performance was indeed too much, far beyond his expectations.

That Liu Feibao didn’t dare to provoke him was something Xiang Kun had anticipated.

As was evident from the events of yesterday afternoon, Liu Feibao paid great heed to the attitude of Boss Qi Haoguo. Influenced by the deep illusion created by Xiang Kun, Qi Haoguo would definitely have instructed Liu Feibao not to incur the wrath of him and his team.

However, based on Xiang Kun’s temporary cognitive model established for Liu Feibao at that time, he deduced that even if Liu Feibao was hesitant to provoke Xiang Kun and his group out of consideration for Qi Haoguo, knowing the “scamming” behavior of those two brothers in Chongyun Village this morning, the most likely choice Liu Feibao would make was to use his influence to coerce the two brothers into apologizing to Xiang Kun and admit that they were wrong, clarifying that it had nothing to do with him, and all would be settled.

No matter how you look at it, he shouldn’t have taken it to this extreme.

Now, Xiang Kun could even feel that Liu Feibao’s fear or respect for him was even greater than his fear of Qi Haoguo, which was quite odd, because he hadn’t directly affected Liu Feibao psychologically or consciously.

Obviously, between last night and this noon, some “variables” that Xiang Kun could not control occurred with Liu Feibao.

This was also one of the reasons he wanted to come tonight. He wanted to see what had influenced Liu Feibao’s behavior so that he could further refine his cognitive model prediction system. He wanted to know the potential forecast deviation that might occur when a similar “variable” appears in the future and determine the general direction of the “variable’s” influence.

Of course, Xiang Kun would not “beat up” those two foolhardy brothers to “let out his anger”. Towards them, he felt more amusement and helplessness than anger and rage.

However, he didn’t smile genially and say something like “it doesn’t matter, it’s okay, let’s forget about it”. Instead, he turned to Liu Caifu and asked, “Brother Fu, what do you think?”

From his perception, he sensed that Liu Caifu wanted to say something. And he knew, Liu Caifu would definitely consider the problem from his point of view.

“Their behavior was indeed very nasty. Strictly speaking, they were already crossing the line into illegality. These two kids, they’re from our village, and in terms of seniority, they’re supposed to call me Uncle Liu. So, I have the obligation to discipline them. I know that hitting or scolding or apologizing doesn’t mean anything to Brother Xiang, and might even be bothersome. So my suggestion is…Didn’t we just discuss setting up a farm in the village this afternoon? When we start it, let the two brothers work there. Of course, salaries, bonuses, and benefits should all be included, but they have to work steadily for a full year before receiving them. They don’t have to worry about food and lodging anyway.” Liu Caifu slowly spoke, clearly having thought about the issue in advance.

If anyone else had said this, it would seem like the capitalists were thinking about how to exploit the workers, deducting wages and benefits under various pretexts. But Xiang Kun was certain that Liu Caifu suggested this because he genuinely wanted to help the two brothers.

So Xiang Kun said: “Brother Fu’s suggestion is also my suggestion.”

“You should thank Brother Fu and Brother Kun now, shouldn’t you?” Liu Feibao immediately said to the two brothers.

Listening to Liu Caifu saying they will be working in the village for a year, it seemed tough, like a labor transformation. But at this time, in front of Liu Feibao, Chu Xiuwen, Liu Caifu, the three local tycoons, and the mysterious bald man with glasses, they really didn’t dare to say the word “No”.

After confirming a day to visit Liu Caifu in Chongyun Village after the New Year’s, the two brothers left the restaurant first.

Getting on their motorcycle parked on the roadside, the younger brother Liu Gaoshang looked back at the direction of the restaurant and murmured quietly, “Brother, who is that bald guy? Why does Brother Bao seem so afraid of him?”

“You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?” The elder brother Liu Zhengyi replied irritably, “Damn, this time we shot ourselves in the foot! Luckily Brother Fu still feels some kinship being from the same village, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get away so easily.”

Although in terms of seniority in the village, they should call Liu Caifu “Uncle Liu”, Liu Caifu is not that old in reality, not even forty yet, so they were used to calling him “Brother Fu”.

“Brother, after the New Year, are we really going to work for Brother Fu? And in the village?” Liu Gaoshang had a look of despair on his face, “What kind of farm was it? A pig farm? We aren’t going to have to raise pigs, are we?”

The two brothers were originally apprentices at a repair shop, but they found it too hard and tiring, and the money they earned was too little and seemed futile. They went out to drive a taxi, delivered meals, resold some smuggled electronic products, etc. They thought that this time they would be able to ride Liu Feibao’s coattails, but they almost got themselves screwed.

Liu Feibao started the motorcycle, but didn’t leave immediately. After thinking for a moment, he clenched his teeth and said, “Let’s go! No matter if it’s raising pigs, chickens or ducks, we’re going!”

Sitting behind him, Liu Gaoshang had a look of despair and shrieked, “We’re really going? Brother, why don’t we go to Jianzhou City or the provincial capital instead? There must be more opportunities in the big cities than in our small town!”

“It’s not that easy,” Liu Zhengyi shook his head, “This time may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. According to Brother Fu, Xiang Kun seems to have a stake in that pig farm too. If we go to work there, we’ll be working for Mr. Xiang. I’ve told you, for people like us, in today’s era, it’s too hard to make something of ourselves. We have to follow those capable people; if we can be carried along by them, we’ll have the chance to rise. Since even Liu Feibao, President Chu, and Brother Fu all hold Mr. Xiang in such high regard, he must be a big deal.”

Meanwhile, Liu Gaoshang behind him was unable to take in any of this. His mind was filled with the possible future smells of pig dung and sounds of rooster crowing. If he had known life would be this hard, where clinging to power was fraught with perils, he might as well have gritted his teeth, studied diligently, and strived for a diploma in the first place.

While the Liu brothers discussed whether or not to work at Liu Caifu’s farm next year, the conversation in the restaurant’s private room continued among the remaining four.

Liu Feibao was cautiously trying to probe Xiang Kun’s true background and the purpose of his trip to Tongshi Town with Zhang Qian and Liu Chuang. Therefore, when he heard Liu Caifu mention setting aside some land in Chongyun Village for a farming base, he immediately showed intense interest. He clearly heard Liu Caifu say that he had discussed the plans for the farming base with Xiang Kun in the afternoon. Could that be the reason for Xiang Kun’s trip to Tongshi Town and Chongyun Village?

As for Xiang Kun, he was constantly observing Liu Feibao, analysing information and making deductions from what he said and his physical reactions to understand the reasons for his current attitude.

Xiang Kun wasn’t very talkative, displaying his typical introverted or, one might say, antisocial demeanor. He could sense that Liu Feibao was far more eager than he was. Many topics and pieces of information would be voluntarily divulged without him having to probe or lead the conversation.

Indeed, Liu Feibao suddenly said to Xiang Kun: “Mr. Xiang, the man in the same car as me yesterday was Boss Qi from the Haoguo Group. I have some business collaboration with him. We drank a lot at lunch yesterday and got a bit drunk, so after the rear-end collision, we said some inappropriate things that disturbed your friends. I am very sorry. When I had dinner with Boss Qi last night, he kept saying ‘it wasn’t right’ and would like to apologise if he gets the chance to meet you.”

Xiang Kun instantly judged that most of what he said was untrue. He certainly wouldn’t feel apologetic at all, and Qi Haoguo would not say sorry either.

The purpose of saying this was obviously to probe Xiang Kun’s relationship with Qi Haoguo. In other words, Qi Haoguo hadn’t revealed too much to him and Liu Feibao had no idea what Boss Qi was afraid of. He could only infer that the root of all this was Xiang Kun.

Xiang Kun analyzed Liu Feibao’s attitude towards him carefully. One could say it was produced by a sense of awe stemming from a speculation about his background.

Quite clearly, besides the impact of Qi Haoguo, other “variables” contributed to this attitude as well.

But as for what this “variable” was, Xiang Kun couldn’t deduce it from the information given by Liu Feibao. From his perspective, it wouldn’t be hard for Liu Feibao to find out information about him, and his own track record was very clear and simple, unlikely to cause any misunderstanding. Liu Feibao’s attitude made him wonder what Liu had conjured up in his mind.

Even Chu Xiuwen and Liu Caifu were influenced by his peculiar attitude, and seemed to hold a certain inexplicable awe of Xiang Kun.

But this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for Xiang Kun, so he didn’t feel the need to correct their perceptions.

Just as Xiang Kun was checking the time and preparing to leave, a topic brought up by Chu Xiuwen caught his attention.

“Brother Xiang, I heard from Brother Fu that you planned to visit the Wushu Mountain Scenic Area today?”

“Yes, but then a friend told me there was some trouble at the scenic area and it was temporarily closed. So I made a last-minute trip to Chongyun Village to visit Brother Fu instead. Guess I’ll have to visit the scenic area tomorrow or the day after,” said Xiang Kun. “I heard from my friend tonight that someone fell off a cliff at the scenic area?”

Liu Feibao interjected: “I heard that a group of tourists were attacked by giant eagles, and while fleeing in panic, two of them accidentally fell off the cliff.”

On the other hand, Chu Xiuwen shook his head and said: “The staff at the scenic area told me a different version. First, some small birds attacked tourists on the mountain path, causing some to fall off the cliff. Then a giant eagle came along and chased the small birds away.”

A giant eagle?

At the mention of this key element, Xiang Kun immediately pictured the large bird he saw from the plane.

Could it be the same bird?