Chapter 151 Shameless

The combined monthly salaries of Chen Liang and Xiaoyu now exceeded one hundred yuan, which meant they had long achieved financial freedom in this era.

Moreover, Chen Liang had pointed out that they weren't eating like this every single day; indulging in a fine meal on occasion was something nobody could object to.

Hearing Chen Liang's explanation, Xiaoyu didn't dwell on it further. Since they weren't short on money either way, she let him do as he pleased.

Picking up a steamed bun, Xiaoyu took a dainty bite, popped a piece of Liubiju pickled vegetables into her mouth, and finished it off with a sip of rich, fragrant rice porridge.

Instantly, Xiaoyu's large eyes narrowed comfortably, resembling a little kitten whose forehead was being scratched, making her look utterly adorable.

Watching Xiaoyu, who had been completely conquered by the delicious food and now looked as charming as a spoiled kitten seeking affection from its owner, Chen Liang used his chopsticks to pick up half a fried egg and held it to her lips.

"Baby, come and try the fried egg I made especially for you. Tell me if it's delicious!"

Chen Liang might not have excelled at many things, but frying eggs was truly his specialty. He fried the eggs so that the outside was crispy while the inside remained tender, and the runny yolk, in particular, tasted out-of-this-world good.

"Mmm! Brother, the egg you fried is simply too delicious! You should have a bite too!"

Good grief, these two were utterly shameless. They could even use eating an egg as an opportunity to flaunt their affection and sprinkle dog food on everyone, truly unmatched.

And Comrade Xiaoyu, why on earth were you so forgetful? Was Chen Liang—the ultimate playboy—such easy prey for loving affection? Had you already forgotten about studying acting until late last night?

This woman truly learned nothing from her lessons and only remembered the pleasure, beyond saving!

After finishing breakfast, Chen Liang completely kicked back as a hands-off boss. He brewed a pot of tea and sat inside the room watching Xiaoyu wash the pots and bowls, as she bustled about busily without him lifting a finger to help.

Once everything was tidied up and Xiaoyu had changed into her work uniform, Chen Liang escorted her to the library before strolling back to the Red Star Rolling Mill.

Tomorrow was Sunday, and Chen Liang needed to finish a week's worth of accumulated work in a single day, which was why he had rushed to work early in the morning.

Using just the morning's time, Chen Liang wrapped everything up, then walked into the section chief's office holding the documents that required his uncle's signature.

"Uncle, these items all need your signature. Go ahead and sign them." Without standing on ceremony, Chen Liang picked up the teacup on the desk and took a large gulp.

Lighting a cigarette for his uncle, the two men began puffing away in the office, the old man and him chatting back and forth casually.

As they chatted, the conversation drifted onto the topic of having children, whereupon half a sentence too many led to a complete disagreement, and Chen Liang was booted out with a couple of kicks.

Patting the footprint off his clothes, Chen Liang wore a completely nonchalant expression, already well-accused to the old man's temper flipping faster than the turning of a book.

"At your age, your temper is still so explosive. Whether to have children or not isn't something decided by me alone. The timing isn't right, so what's the use of throwing a tantrum at me?" Standing at the doorway, Chen Liang muttered a couple more complaints to his uncle before hurrying away.

If he didn't run, the old man would come chasing after him. Inside the office with no outsiders present, getting kicked was just getting kicked; but outside, as the dignified deputy chief of the security section, being beaten up would look utterly disgraceful—he still cared about his pride, after all!

Since his uncle always held down the fort for any major affairs in the security section, Chen Liang had plenty of idle time and drafted Cao Dawu as manual labor to go home and lay concrete.

Laying concrete on the ground didn't require any special technical skills either. Chen Liang and Dawu were both quick-handed workers, and the two of them finished the job in less than an hour.

Stepping inside the house out of Dawu's sight, Chen Liang retrieved two packs of Pagoda Mountain cigarettes and handed one to Dawu. "Dawu, brother won't keep you for a meal. I'm going to drop by Little Bastard's place later to check on him, are you coming?"

Taking the cigarettes, Cao Dawu waved a hand while speaking shamelessly, "Hey, Brother Liang, what are you doing this for? I don't want liquor, you definitely mustn't give me Moutai, that stuff is way too expensive!"

Some people simply didn't know when to be content. With a dark face, Chen Liang snapped, "Get lost! Do you think the Moutai distillery is run by my family, where I can just produce some whenever I want? Furthermore, don't ever mention the word 'liquor' in front of your sister-in-law again, or else when I'm kneeling on the washboard tonight, I'll make sure to save a spot right next to you!"

"Fine, you guys are all a bunch of living bandits. Moutai is out of the question, so can I get some Xifeng liquor instead?"

"Extravagant! Whatever Brother Liang rewards me with, even if it's a pile of dog shit, I'd still have to hold it with both hands!" Hearing there was no Moutai, Dawu figured grabbing a bottle of Xifeng liquor wasn't bad either!

Subsequently, Chen Liang went back inside and fetched a bottle of Xifeng liquor for Cao Dawu. "Are you going to Little Bastard's place or not?"

"Of course I'm going! He got his head cracked open, and I haven't even gone to mock him yet. Who would've thought that punk would have a day like this, haha!"

Carrying the cigarettes and liquor, Cao Dawu followed right behind Chen Liang, wearing a look of schadenfreude and looking thoroughly delighted.

Such was the nature of childhood friends who grew up together: if a brother made a call for help, he would genuinely show up.

But the moment someone made a fool of themselves, it was game over—they could just wait to be mercilessly mocked into oblivion with nowhere to run.

Little Bastard, wrapped in gauze, was lying at home feeling bored when he suddenly heard Chen Liang calling out from outside the door, prompting him to scramble up and open it.

"Yo, Brother Liang, Brother Wu, why have you guys come?" Without a word, Chen Liang pushed the door open and walked right in, placing the cigarettes on the table.

"Just came to see if you were dead yet..." Cao Dawu chimed in from behind, but Little Bastard didn't wait for Dawu to continue, knowing full well there wouldn't be any kind words waiting for him.

Interrupting him immediately, Little Bastard wore a fawning grin. "Aish, Brother Liang, Brother Wu, you guys are far too polite. Coming is enough, why bring things along? This is way too extravagant!"

With that, he smoothly intercepted the cigarettes and liquor from Cao Dawu's hands before the latter could even react.

The moment the cigarettes and liquor left his grip, Dawu finally snapped back to his senses, clutching at the goods without letting go. "Gang, don't do that. This was given to me by Brother Liang! If you want some, go find Brother Liang yourself!"

"Brother Wu, you're not being right here. Who takes back something they've already given away? Brother Liang, come judge this, am I making sense or not!"

"Exactly, Little Bastard makes sense here. Dawu, seriously, brother has to say—there's truly no reason to take back a gift once it's given!"

Chen Liang loved watching the commotion and kept fanning the flames from the sidelines. "I'm telling you, Little Bastard, you better thank your Brother Wu quickly. These Pagoda Mountain cigarettes and Xifeng liquor are rare and wonderful things!"

Bolstered by Chen Liang's support, Little Bastard used a burst of force and snatched them away. "Hand it over, you!" After grabbing the cigarettes and liquor, he chimed, "Thanks, Brother Wu, for coming to visit your little brother!"

Facing Little Bastard's shameless display, Cao Dawu was left on the verge of tears. "Dagang, you simply can't do this!"

How did the old saying go? Men act while heaven watches; retribution isn't a matter of if, but when!

The items Dawu had shamelessly scraped together from Chen Liang had barely been in his possession for a moment, not even warm yet, before they were snatched away by an even more shameless Little Bastard.