Chen Hao walked into a game arcade holding the box.
Today, in Toyokawa City, only a few game halls, billiards halls, and video halls are open all night.
This game arcade is divided into an inner and outer room. There are more than 20 game machines placed against the wall in the outer room. There are several people standing in front of each game machine, all of them young.
They stared at the screen attentively, rocking the joysticks, pressing buttons, sometimes shouting excitedly, sometimes scolding in annoyance, not paying attention to Chen Hao who walked in.
Chen Hao put down the iron box.
The stuffy room was filled with the smell of sweat, and the sounds from games such as "Dinosaur Island", "Three Kingdoms" and "Street Fighter" were intertwined with the shouts of the players, making it noisy and noisy.
This familiar environment often appears in Chen Hao's dreams.
At this moment, he faced all this as if in a dream.
"Are you looking for Brother Mengzi?"
The tattooed young man sitting behind the cashier desk seemed to know Chen Hao.
"yes."
Chen Hao nodded.
Mengzi, Liu Meng, Chen Haofaxiao.
The two have had a great relationship since childhood.
The tattooed young man got up and walked to the door of the back room, raised the curtain and shouted: "Brother Mengzi, your brother is looking for you."
The door curtain was lifted by the tattooed young man, and Chen Hao saw a group of people in the back room crowded in front of several game consoles, each holding a handful of game coins.
Chen Hao knew that these people were playing gambling machines, and the coins they won could be exchanged for money. One coin could win up to 999 coins, and five coins could be exchanged for one dollar.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine coins, converted into two hundred yuan, is almost one or two months' salary for ordinary people.
Chen Hao looked at those people in the back room like fools.
Nine out of ten gambles and cheats.
It can be as large as a five-star casino in Haojiang or as small as a game hall like this. It is absolutely unparalleled.
For example, the gaming machines in the back room have adjustable motherboards. It seems that luck determines the outcome, but in fact they have already been set. The final winner will only be the arcade owner.
Liu Meng walked out of the back room.
This kid is nearly 1.9 meters tall. Perhaps due to years of martial arts practice, he is extremely strong and has an evil aura about him that is intimidating.
"Recovered?"
Liu Meng stared at Chen Hao and asked.
Chen Hao smiled and nodded.
"Very good!"
Liu Meng patted Chen Hao on the shoulder, feeling really happy.
Chen Hao was equally happy when he faced the living Liu Meng.
For the reborn Chen Hao, the two had not seen each other for twenty-seven years.
In the last life, in 1995, Mengzi died on the execution ground.
That year, Mengzi had just turned twenty-two.
"In the next life, we will still be brothers."
Chen Hao was moved and sad when he thought of what Mengzi said to him before the execution, and tears filled his eyes.
"You came to see me so late, what's wrong?"
"Can you find me a long-distance car and take me to Zhongzhou tomorrow? When I get to Zhongzhou, I'll pay for the car after I finish my errands."
Chen Hao sent a message to Xiao Dao to explain his intention.
In order to avoid long nights and many dreams, he must enter Beijing as soon as possible.
"You are my brother, how can I let you spend money? This matter is all mine." Liu Meng picked up the phone on the cashier table and quickly dialed the number.
This phone costs money for outsiders to use. Local calls cost one yuan per minute, and domestic long distance calls cost three yuan per minute.
"Datou, when are you going to Zhongzhou? Tonight...an hour later..." Liu Meng, who was talking to someone on the phone, frowned and turned to look at Chen Hao.
"Tonight is fine too."
Chen Hao made a prompt decision.
"Then you come here and I will pick up my brother. He is going to Zhongzhou for business...My brother and I are in the game arcade...Okay...see you later."
Liu Meng hung up the phone and said to Chen Hao: "It's done."
"Thank you."
Chen Hao subconsciously thanked him.
"You thank me and treat me as a brother?" Liu Meng pretended to be unhappy.
"I often say thank you in school, so I'm used to it." Chen Hao explained with a smile.
"You didn't have this habit in front of me before. Remember, we will always be brothers, don't play tricks." Mengzi patted Chen Hao on the shoulder again.
"good."
Chen Hao felt warm in his heart.
Liu Meng sat behind the cashier desk, opened the locked drawer with the key, took out a stack of money, and said: "I went back home in the afternoon, and my grandma said that someone came to your house at noon to collect debts. You can take these three thousand yuan."
.”
The Chen and Liu families are neighbors.
So Grandma Liu Meng knew that someone went to Chen Hao's house at noon to press for debts.
"Mengzi...I..."
"Take it!"
Liu Meng forced the money to Chen Hao.
"Although my monthly income is much more than those who have a serious job, you also know that I usually spend a lot of money on eating, drinking and having fun. I don't have much money left, so I will collect this much for you first."
Chen Hao didn't know what to say.
"Don't be embarrassed. You have been my brother since childhood, and your father is my benefactor. Last year, my house had a fire. If your father hadn't rushed in desperately to carry my grandma out, my only relative would have been gone.
There is something wrong with your family, and I must help."
Liu Meng's parents died young and he was raised by his grandmother.
For so many years, the grandfather and grandson have depended on each other.
In Liu Meng's heart, his grandma's life was more important than his own.
This was also the reason why he felt so deeply for Chen Hao.
There is not only deep friendship but also kindness between the two.
"Brother, I will settle the account tomorrow and I will pay back the money."
Chen Hao accepted the money.
Now that he is penniless, there will be a process for selling silver coins, and he will need the three thousand yuan.
Liu Meng said: "Didn't we agree before that if you get into a good university, then you and I will work together to create a world together and share wealth and wealth? Now you want to settle accounts with me even for three thousand yuan, what else will you do in the future?"
Sharing wealth?"
Chen Hao remembered that he had indeed said something similar, and said very seriously: "Okay, we will be rich and powerful together from now on."
In his last life, he couldn't save Mengzi.
In this life, he can no longer lose this affectionate and righteous brother.
"This is a good brother."
Liu Meng laughed.
The two chatted for half an hour.
Drop! Drop!
Car horns honked outside the door.
"Coming."
Mengzi stood up and walked out.
Chen Hao picked up the iron box and followed Mengzi out of the game hall.
A covered Jiefang truck was parked on the side of the road. On the door it was written that the vehicle belonged to... Toyokawa City State-owned Department Store.
"Datou, take care of my brother on the road!"
Mengzi shouted into the truck cab.
"no problem."
The driver confirmed the ticket with a big smile.
The department store buyer was sitting in the passenger seat of the truck. Chen Hao could only sit in the truck bed. Fortunately, the truck bed was covered by a rainproof awning, so he didn't have to worry about wind and rain.
The truck starts.
Chen Hao said goodbye to Mengzi and embarked on the road to Beijing.