Chapter 11#

Gang Fight#

Chu Xun followed Shen Bowen to that place, and sure enough, he saw those few Little Shandongs surrounded in the middle by their group of dozens of children.

The leader of the Little Shandongs was Huo Chuanwu.

The injury on Huo Chuanwu’s eyebrow had almost completely healed. The scab had fallen off, leaving a small white mark above the brow bone, making his young face look even cooler, with hard lines.

Huo Xiaoer usually dressed similarly to his older brother. His appearance and posture were clearly a smaller version of Huo Chuanjun. He wore a slightly wrinkled, semi-old Dacron white shirt, a pair of army green trousers, black cloth shoes, and a canvas army satchel slung over his shoulder.

Huo Chuanwu also held a wooden stick about two fingers thick in one hand, with the end wrapped in something like a sheet of iron. Chu Xun understood at a glance: an iron rod was too heavy, and a wooden stick wasn’t ruthless enough to hit people. This kid was really unambiguous, using iron-wrapped wood, the most powerful weapon for gang fights.

Chu Xun didn’t expect that this kid, Huo Chuanwu, actually hid a stick in his schoolbag every day on his way to and from school!

He pondered in his heart that he didn’t understand Huo Chuanwu before and had underestimated him.

The young master rushed all the way here, running wildly, fearing that you kid would be beaten, but looking at you now, you definitely don’t look like you’re ready to stick your neck out and get beaten…

These two groups of people confronted each other on the way home from school. In fact, they had been in a standoff here for more than an hour. Shen Bowen, Wang Xinxin, and their side had a large number of people, an overwhelming numerical advantage, surrounding them, but they hadn’t dared to make a move, also fearing the kid named Huo. Surrounded, Huo Chuanwu stared straight at this group of people without saying a word. He took out the iron guy from his army satchel cleanly and blocked it in front of him. His cold eyes forced out a deterrent force beyond his age, shocking this group of Little Beijingers into surrounding him for more than an hour, just surrounding him, without daring to start the fight.

Compound kids fighting emphasized having many people and great power, putting on a big air, but when it came to real ruthlessness, they weren’t as wild as those from outside.

At this moment, these children could neither advance nor retreat. They were all afraid of being disfigured in the fight and hurting their own faces. But if they didn’t fight, they had been surrounding them for an hour. Could they just withdraw dejectedly?

When the minions saw Chu Xiaoer coming, their momentum immediately rose again. They rolled up their sleeves, ready to go.

Wang Xinxin shouted: “We outnumber them three to one. Three against one, I don’t believe we can’t beat them into submission!”

Wang Xinxin still remembered the loss he suffered the first time he met the Huo family kid. He had provoked him quite a few times these days, but unfortunately, he didn’t gain any advantage.

Shen Bowen leaned over to discuss with Chu Xun: “Say something, are we fighting or not?”

Chu Xun rolled his eyes and asked Shao Jun sideways: “Little Jun, are you fighting?”

Shao Jun shrugged, holding a weapon in his hand too: “If you fight, I’ll fight.”

Chu Xun: “…You also have a grudge against him?”

Shao Jun had always found Huo Xiaoer unpleasant to the eye anyway, and said: “That kid named Huo looks at you wrongly every time. I always feel he wants to beat you up, harboring no good intentions. We might as well strike first and smash him.”

Chu Xun said in his heart, Shao Xiaojun, what kind of eyes do you have? Who is holding back to beat me?

A pair of very nice-looking small, slanted eyes, what are you looking for all day long?

Sure enough, being this commander wasn’t easy. Even if he didn’t cause trouble himself, he couldn’t stand the people under him being more reckless than the last.

Commander Chu wore a T-shirt that day, with a vest over it, and woolen suit plaid trousers matching the vest fabric on his lower body. The cut was very fitting, all custom-made, setting off his slender figure. This was a very fashionable dress in those days; he was different from others anyway.

Chu Xun walked back and forth many times in his own camp. Walking back and forth, his leather shoes made a clicking sound. In fact, his heart was scratching. What to do?

Fight? Definitely not willing.

Don’t fight? The young master waves his hand directly, brothers, withdraw for me—then this commander should also step down, stop mixing in the yard, really losing face…

Why didn’t Chu Xun want to fight? First, he didn’t like this kind of thing. Second, he estimated that his group of people couldn’t beat Huo Chuanwu at all. Huo family’s second son’s posture showed he wasn’t someone to be trifled with, the same style as Huo Chuanjun. Back then, it was fortunate that his brother didn’t fight with Huo Chuanjun. If they really fought, Chu Yu would definitely have died more miserably.

Of course, there was a third reason. Chu Xun had a good impression of Huo Xiaoer in his heart.

Huo Chuanwu returned to school and didn’t publicize in the grade that his brother had gained status in front of Young Master Chu. He remained taciturn and didn’t like to show off. Many students in the school were from the compound, and within two days, this little gossip spread. Someone intentionally provoked, saying, “Huo Chuanwu, your brother beat Chu Xun’s big brother down. Are you the commanders of the compound from now on?” Huo Chuanwu ignored these people.

Powerful, but not easily letting people see his power, hidden but not revealed. Chu Xun appreciated this a bit in his heart, feeling that this person was like a little man.

Behind Chu Xun, Shen Bowen and Shao Jun stood on the left and right, the bright left and right guardians.

Chu Xun whispered secretly to his two buddies: “Don’t go up yet, wait for me to talk to their boss.”

Chu Xun slowly paced to the open space in the middle of the camp, quickly threw a small look at Huo Chuanwu, and hooked his finger: You come over here!

As if the two had a mutual understanding, Huo Chuanwu lowered his eyes, his thick eyelashes covering his flickering gaze, and silently slipped over.

Chu Xun stepped on a stone stool with one foot, his arm resting dashingly on his knee, quite dashing. The two put their heads together, lowering their voices. Chu Xun questioned: “What’s the matter with you guys? Why are you confronting each other?!”

Chuanwu frowned and said: “They insist on blocking me.”

Chu Xun was angry: “They just want to block you, why didn’t you know to run? Why didn’t you go home quickly after school instead of running around?!”

Chuanwu: “…Then, you hurry up and make them withdraw.”

Chu Xun said: “Our people are all here. How can I make them withdraw now? What should I say?”

Chuanwu said in a rough voice: “Then do you want to fight?”

Chu Xun frowned tightly, putting on the commander’s airs, and scolded: “I want to fight your uncle’s grandmother! What kind of brain do you have? I don’t want to fight. You hurry up and help me think of a way—how do I let you escape?”

Chuanwu hummed a sentence, his tone unconsciously revealing a childish temper: “Oh my, I’m exhausted, holding the stick for a long time.”

The two chattered, burying their heads to discuss countermeasures.

The others were confused and just stood in a silly standoff, waiting for the result of the negotiation between the two bosses.

Huo Chuanwu looked into Chu Xun’s eyes in private, and the hostility just now dissipated at once. His eyelashes flickered slightly, and the iron stick in his hand also hung down.

Their heads were very close. Chuanwu’s face was thin and angular, his sword eyebrows thick and black, but his eyes were not big. His eyelids were thin with inner double folds, and the corners of his eyes did not fly up like Shao Jun’s, but drooped slightly. An indescribable feeling made Chu Xun stare for a long time… It couldn’t be described as pretty, but handsome, a very manly and upright kind of handsome.

After a moment of silence, Chuanwu said: “How about… I let your family hit me a few times. After hitting, you have face, let those people withdraw.”

Chu Xun narrowed his eyes, not believing: “You are willing to let me hit you?”

Chuanwu said: “It’s not possible for me to hit you, right?”

Chu Xun’s heart moved, and he asked a particularly silly question inexplicably: “You are happy to let me hit you? My hands are ruthless.”

Chuanwu glanced at Chu Xun’s appearance, dressed up in this handsome suit and leather shoes. He couldn’t hold back the corners of his mouth, smiling out a dimple, and said: “Just like your family, anyway, you can’t beat me, and your hitting won’t hurt. What am I afraid of?”

Hearing this, Chu Xun glared fiercely at Huo Chuanwu. The two rolled their eyes at each other, silently, and both laughed.

Huo Chuanwu had a cold face with other boys, very fierce, but only with Chu Xun, suddenly he had no temper. Chu Xiaoer was just different from other wild children anyway…

The minions were all anxious. Why hadn’t those two finished talking?

How could this group of people know that their Commander Chu at this moment wished he could defect to the enemy before the battle?

Chu Xun finally finished chatting, waved his hand, and said to the left and right: “Let’s not fight.”

Chu Xun disarmed Huo Chuanwu conveniently, put the other party’s iron-inlaid wooden stick into his back pocket, and under the gaze of everyone, put his arm around Chuanwu’s shoulder.

“They don’t want to fight with us, surrendered, and will join our team in the future.”

“All our own people, what to fight for? In the future, we will fight wars, play ball, and swim together.”

“No need to fight, grab your stuff, go home for dinner!”

As Chu Xun spoke, he deliberately turned Huo Chuanwu’s chin and pinched his face affectionately, just like he pinched Da Wenzi’s face every time he stood on tiptoe and hung on Shen Bowen’s shoulder.

When Chu Xun said no fight, actually this group of kids all breathed a sigh of relief, but they were not quite reconciled. We have so many people, letting the few people from the other side run away. If we say it out later, we won’t be able to lift our heads in the compound!

Wang Xinxin still shouted reluctantly: “Why? Just let that Huo Xiaoer go? Too easy on him!”

Chu Xun turned his head and replied coldly: “Otherwise, you go one-on-one with Huo Chuanwu? Don’t say I didn’t stop you. What if you get beaten up?”

Wang Xinxin was actually the son of the transport company commander’s family, also a small local tyrant, who had always been unconvinced by Chu Xiaoer, and retorted: “Afraid of fighting? Afraid of fighting, what kind of commander are you?!”

That night, another thing happened, timely rescuing Chu Xiaoer’s trust crisis.

Their two groups of people dragged their sticks back to the compound. Just as they arrived at the gate, several children from their yard ran back dragging their bicycles, dejected, looking like they had been bullied.

Everyone asked hurriedly: “What happened? Got beaten?”

It turned out that those few children from their compound had just learned to ride bicycles and went out to show off, wearing the new military supplies issued in the yard, cashmere hats with ear flaps.

It wasn’t winter, yet they wore hats when going out. Wasn’t this attracting attention? Sure enough, they were targeted as soon as they went out. At that time, sheepskin hats were fashionable and valuable, and everyone liked them. “Flying hats” was popular in the streets and alleys. People who wore good hats to show off would have their hats “flown” away by people around them if they weren’t careful. Several children from the outside yard, riding 28-inch big bikes, surged up from behind, tripped these children, made them fall, and snatched their hats…

Seeing their companions being bullied blatantly, the group immediately exploded with anger.

“Which compound are they from? Did you see the enemy’s appearance clearly?”

“It’s those little bastards from the Ministry of State Security compound, that compound on Fuxing Road!”

“Last time at Longtan Lake, it was them who snatched our ice skates!”

“Damn his uncle’s grandmother, fire on the headquarters! Do they think there’s no one in our military region?!”

Children’s attention shifted quickly, and their temperament was also impetuous. Wang Xinxin and those few people immediately wanted to carry sticks and run to the Fuxing Road compound, ready to smash their big iron gate.

Chu Xun shouted to stop them: “Come back, it’s too late today, it’s dark.”

Everyone looked at Chu Xun unanimously: “Then you say, just let it go?”

Chu Xun thought for a while, glanced at Chuanwu. Chuanwu held the strap of the army satchel in one hand, unblinkingly, also looking at him…

Chu Xun decided: “Tomorrow after school, gather at the coal yard. We will try peaceful means before resorting to force.”

The next day, Commander Chu ordered his minions to issue a letter of challenge to the other party first, asking them to return the snatched hats and ice skates, otherwise the military headquarters would destroy their nest.

The other party ignored them completely, not putting them in their eyes.

That night, the children of the compound each took their weapons. The majestic “Three Young Masters of Yuquan Road” took the lead in front, mighty and magnificent, heading straight for Fuxing Road. Shen Bowen wore a hat covering his ears, Shao Jun wore a pom-pom hat, Chu Xun didn’t wear a hat, and changed into a pair of military trousers under his suit vest, agile for running.

By the roadside of the coal yard, the Little Shandongs were waiting for them.

Chu Xun asked: “Why did you come?”

Huo Chuanwu was cool, tilting his head: “Fighting.”

Chu Xun had a fresh memory of Huo Chuanwu’s appearance that day. The setting sun sprinkled a string of golden spots through the branches and leaves, falling on this person’s shoulder. Huo Chuanwu’s eyelids were thin, his eyes indifferent, and he only said those two words. The implication was, fighting, brothers fighting is of course together, otherwise can we be considered buddies?

The two groups of people quickly merged into one. Some things were funny to talk about. A few days ago, the Beijing gang and the Shandong gang in the yard were like enemies, snatching milk and puncturing tires from each other. At this moment, foreign enemies invaded, not putting our compound children soldiers in their eyes, riding on our heads. We will teach you a lesson! Everyone’s mood was filled with righteous indignation and hatred against the common enemy. The anger held back these days found a reasonable channel to vent.

Chuanwu also had two buddies beside him, the very close kind.

Daqing said: “Xiao Wu, are we really going to fight?”

Jixiang said: “What are we doing, playing with them?”

Chuanwu buried his head and walked, saying in a rough voice: “They can’t win. I’m following to see.”

Huo Xiaoer was actually very honest, sincerely feeling that Commander Chu was not good at fighting at all. You bullshit commander, definitely can’t beat others. At this critical moment, it still needs Master Huo to hold the line. Those thin arms and legs, getting beaten by wild children from other yards again… Master Huo has to protect that clumsy child.

So, this evening, the children of a certain military compound on Yuquan Road and the children of a certain ministry compound on Fuxing Road fought a battle on a nearby school playground.

Chu Xun usually didn’t like to find people to go out and fight, rarely doing this. This time, for some reason, his interest rose, his heart seemed to be burning with fire, and he suddenly felt this matter was very exciting.

He didn’t let his brothers use sticks. Fighting with knives and sticks was too rude. Chu Xiaoer was usually gentle and loved decency. Two groups of people hacking at each other with knives was not his style. All of them prepared rubber bullet simulation guns, slingshots, water guns, and water bombs, tomato bombs in advance… He also didn’t let his brothers rush in with weapons to fight. Our commander fights wars, paying attention to strategy and tactics, never fighting blindly in a swarm.

Commander Chu arranged troops for several buddies, with a clear mind and orderly manner.

“Wang Xinxin, you take ten people, rush in from the main entrance, shout fiercely, and bomb them with guns and tomatoes.”

“Bowen, you take ten people, ambush at the small door on the right. After seeing them start fighting, you drill in from the small door, outflank the rear, and kill with rubber bullets!”

“Jun’er, you take ten people, ambush in the building next to it. If they are beaten, they will definitely run into the building. Surprise attack, block them, use water bombs!”

…

Several groups of people were sent out. Shen Bowen ran out excitedly, but after a few steps, felt something was wrong, and turned back: “Xun’er, we are all going to fight, what are you doing?”

Chu Xun rolled his beautiful eyelids: “I can’t move, I’m guarding the headquarters.”

Shen Bowen listened and felt it made sense. Carrying a rubber bullet gun and a bag of tomatoes and so on, he took people to ambush.

Chu Xun turned his head and found Huo Chuanwu standing behind him with hands in pockets, not moving.

Chu Xun asked: “Hey, aren’t you going to fight?”

Chuanwu said: “Aren’t you guarding the headquarters?”

Huo Xiaoer’s eyes were a bit different, his eyeballs bright, seeming to start looking at Commander Chu with new eyes.

Chu Xun laughed, quickly hooked his finger, his eyes mysterious: “Go, let’s move the headquarters to a safe area, and then annihilate the enemy…”