“Oh, we were just talking about you. Sit down for dinner— Lan Lan, fetch a wine glass!” His mother pulled a chair next to Jiayi, inviting Xu Ya to sit. The little housekeeper brought a small glass, and Jiayi filled it with Maotai, handing it to Xu Ya.
“I’m also here on short notice; I’ll leave tomorrow!”
“You’re a busy man, unlike me. It’s rare for you to come back, so let’s have a few drinks with your uncle first, and then we’ll go out for a good time tonight!” Xu Ya downed his drink in one gulp, clearly accustomed to such social occasions. Jiayi finished his drink as well, feeling a sense of familiarity seeing Xu Ya, he patted his shoulder and said, “Yeah, let’s go to the old place tonight!”
The so-called old place was a dyke by the Yangtze River, made of cement with grass growing in the cracks. At night, one could sit or lie there, watching the red moon reflect on the river, listening to the “rumble” of passing ships, and observing the river’s endless flow, which had its own unique charm. Jiayi sat on the dyke, knees bent, opened a can of Tsingtao beer, his elbow resting on the cement, ignoring Xu Ya lying beside him, and started drinking on his own.
“Are you still working at the tax bureau?” Xu Ya, with his hands clasped behind his head, looking at the crescent moon in the sky, replied casually, “Yeah, it’s so damn depressing. I want to venture out. If I keep mixing with those people, who knows, one day you might have to send cigarettes to me in prison!”
Jiayi wasn’t very familiar with the internal workings of government departments, but he knew Xu Ya’s reckless nature, so he wouldn’t have an easy time there.
“That’s a secure job, something many people can’t even dream of. Think it through!”
“Whatever!” Xu Ya spat aside, then continued, “People really shouldn’t grow up. Remember when we three sat here, I was full of ambition, saying I’d go out to make big money, and you said you just wanted to go to college, come back with a secure job, and marry Ru Lai. I laughed at your lack of ambition back then, but now, it’s the other way around.”
