Du Jiu understood why Su Ping Nan had him lead the team. Su Ping Nan had an aura of a dominant leader, and this was like Du Jiu's pledge of allegiance.
Su Ping Nan looked at Du Jiu's reaction and smiled. "Don't overthink it. Have you read Water Margin?" Du Jiu nodded.
Su Ping Nan said, "I have a very strong-willed sister. She said I'm acting like Chao Gai."
Su Wen Wen nodded and chimed in, "Those words must have come from Ding Bei. Only she would say something like that."
Su Ping Nan turned back and said, "Guess how I responded?"
Su Wen Wen thought carefully and said, "I guess you said yes."
Su Ping Nan chuckled, shook his head, and said, "I said being a bandit leader is not something to be proud of." He reached out and patted Du Jiu's shoulder, his tone serious. "I only want to be Su Ping Nan. I don't need pledges of allegiance. I asked you to come because you're the right person. If you don't do things, the people below won't respect you. If they don't respect you, how can I promote you?"
Du Jiu remained silent for a long time before speaking, "Red Robe Brother, I don't do things for your promotion. I just want to show them that only I am worthy of being your driver."
Su Ping Nan smiled, "Being a driver is easy, being a good one is hard."
Du Jiu said, "I'm not eloquent, but I'm not stupid. I can learn. I can only guarantee that I'll live, and you will definitely not die."
"Good."
Su Ping Nan ended the topic, "You'll leave after the fifteenth. Make sure things go smoothly." From then on, Su Ping Nan never changed drivers. Du Jiu drove for him for the rest of his life.
Seeing Su Ping Nan's black SUV enter, some young men who were up to no good had already lit firecrackers. The sound was loud and lively.
Su Ping Nan got out of the car and was taken aback. He glared at Su Zhen Dong and said, "Your idea? Is this the bride's return visit?"
Su Wen Wen grew up in the Su family, so she was practically considered family. Seeing the eldest brother become flustered under Su Ping Nan's glare, she said, "I don't think so. Those guys are all from Jin Xiu, they're just happy to see you."
Su An Xi saw his second brother and immediately greeted him with a smile, taking Su Ping Nan's arm and scrutinizing him for a long time. "Second brother, you've lost weight."
Su Ping Nan was busy with his work most of the time. He was surrounded by tough men, so he was really surprised to hear someone express concern for him. Feeling warmth in his heart, he said, "I'll make sure to eat more from now on."
Su Ding Bei watched from afar as Su Ping Nan and Su An Xi were close, she curled her lips and muttered softly, "Stupid Su An Xi."
Formally introducing Du Jiu and his sister to the family, Su Father and Su Mother's kind nature quickly put Du Ruo Yun at ease. Soon they were laughing and talking together. Du Jiu looked at the simple Su Zhen Dong and then at Su Ping Nan, and finally he couldn't help but ask, "How did such a family raise someone like you?"
Su Ping Nan smiled, "You haven't met my grandfather."
Su Zhen Dong, who was nearly two meters tall and looked like a bear, was initially a little uncomfortable around Du Jiu. No one knew his younger brother's character better than he did. Anyone who could get along with him and even be brought home had to be a tough guy.
After some time, he realized that Du Jiu was a man of few words. Everything he did was meticulous and he was willing to work hard. Su Zhen Dong gradually felt comfortable enough to ask Du Jiu for help, and the two became familiar with each other.
Dinner time arrived, and red lanterns lit up the houses. The laughter of children and the occasional sound of firecrackers already had a festive feel.
Su Wen Wen and Du Jiu led some young people to go door to door handing out fireworks, Su An Xi and Du Ruo Yun whispered together, and Su Ding Bei found Su Ping Nan.
"Here."
Su Ding Bei handed Su Ping Nan a thin sheet of paper.
"What's this?" Su Ping Nan asked.
"Report card." Su Ding Bei's face was full of pride. She had gone from being in the four hundredth place in her year to the seventeenth place in one semester. She had every right to be proud.
Su Ping Nan looked at Su Ding Bei and nodded. "Very impressive. I'll be very wealthy in the future, more than you can imagine."
Su Ping Nan spoke these boastful words, but Su Ding Bei simply nodded, as if it was a given. "You told me about the power of money last time, so what do you mean?"
"Suppress your aggression and be the best."
"I will. I'll be your best helper in the future. It's been too short a time. Next semester I'll be first."
Su Ding Bei's delicate face had a defiant look.
"Show me this. What reward do you want?" Su Ping Nan asked with a smile, looking at his younger sister with affection.
"I want to go to Wu City."
Su Ping Nan thought for a moment and said, "You and I are destined to be nomads in the future. We'll be nomads, but we'll always have one home, and that's here."
Su Ping Nan pointed to the simple yard and continued, "So come back often."
"Okay." Su Ding Bei nodded.
"Do you still smoke?" Su Ping Nan suddenly asked.
"Ah!"
Su Ding Bei was caught off guard, she didn't know how her second brother knew that secret.
Su Ping Nan only learned later about his rebellious sister's early smoking habit, he suddenly remembered and asked.
"Yes." Su Ding Bei's defiant expression hid a hint of anxiety.
Su Ping Nan originally intended to scold her, but the image of Su Ding Bei dying from a gunshot in the future, with her cigarette never extinguished, flashed in his mind.
He sighed, got up, went to the trunk of the car, and grabbed a pack of women's Su Yan Shen Xiang cigarettes and threw them to Su Ding Bei. Su Ding Bei froze, staring straight at Su Ping Nan.
"Girls should always be refined, even when they smoke. Smoke these from now on."
Su Ding Bei looked at the exquisitely packaged women's cigarettes in her hand, and for a long time she didn't speak.