Chapter Forty-Eight: Li Tieshu’s Unrivaled Connections

Chapter 48: Does Li Tieshu Have Powerful Connections?

“Nonsense.” Suddenly, the man on the other end of the phone roared, like an enraged lion. “Utter nonsense. Since when have members of the Qian family let themselves be led by the nose? He says something and you follow? Huaming, you’ve truly disappointed me.”

Huaming wasn’t angry. He’d already prepared himself mentally when he spoke those words. He knew better than anyone what sort of people made up the Qian family. They valued their face, their pride, above all else. The dignity of the Qian family was not to be tarnished.

“Uncle, do you know what brotherhood means?” Huaming asked.

“I do,” the man replied coldly. “On the battlefield, the one who’s got your back is your brother. Take your Uncle Wei and me, for example—we’re brothers. But that Tang Zhong you’re talking about, would he have your back? And even if he did, is his back worth relying on? Even if you lean on him, won’t you end up falling all the same?”

“There’s another kind of brotherhood,” Huaming said, his tone calm and measured, as if trying to persuade his uncle. “There’s a person who, even if he only has a hundred yuan, is willing to give all of it to you. That’s also brotherhood. If I’m not wrong, you’ve probably already investigated all my roommates inside out, haven’t you? Tang Zhong doesn’t have any powerful background. He comes from a small place. But he was willing to risk being expelled by the dean to plead on my behalf—uncle, that’s his only way up. He didn’t hesitate to block it for me.”

“As for me, when he needed help, all I had to do was ask my uncle to make a single phone call—just one call. I might even owe someone a favor. What’s the big deal about that? I have ten thousand yuan; all I need to do is take out one to repay his kindness. Is that really so hard? Is that what it takes to avoid disappointing you?”

“Huaming, your logic is flawed. These two things aren’t equivalent at all, and neither are your identities. Do you know that your one yuan might be more valuable than someone else’s hundred?”

“I know,” said Huaming. “There’s a saying: ‘A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude.’ Everyone else thinks I’m an idiot, but he doesn’t. He could have stood by and watched, but he staked his own future for me. He’s the first person to treat me well—I’m willing to do this for him.”

There was a long silence from the other end.

After a while, the man spoke: “Huaming, I can call your Uncle Wei and ask him to let your instructor stay. You should know, that instructor’s life might change because of this call—but your thinking is misguided. You can choose not to bear the Qian name and take your mother’s surname instead. You can choose not to go to Renmin University and study psychology instead—but I won’t allow you to act like an immature child, idolizing others. There’s no such thing as pure friendship in this world; all human relationships are a balance of interests. Maybe that classmate of yours already realized your background—”

“Heh, uncle, don’t you think the surname ‘Hua’ is much flashier than ‘Qian’? Yours is just too tacky. Even ruins my odds with girls,” Huaming interrupted, laughing.

He could judge for himself who treated him well and who didn’t. He didn’t like hearing his uncle disparage Tang Zhong or their friendship this way.

“Insolent!” the man was infuriated again. “Huaming, you’re getting more and more out of line. Your father is already completely disappointed in you—do you want me to be disappointed too?”

“Heaven forbid,” Huaming replied, feigning alarm. “My father’s disappointed because he has another son. Uncle, you can’t pin all your hopes on Miaomiao, can you? Besides, if you stop looking out for me, do you expect me to go beg those aunts of mine? I don’t want to see their cold faces.”

The man sighed. “Come back. Go to Renmin University. Or spend a few years in the army. I’ll make sure you have a good future. Maybe not better than your brother, but certainly not much worse.”

“I’m not going. Politics isn’t for me. Whenever I see someone smiling insincerely and spouting empty words, I just want to slap them. I can’t handle the hardship of being a soldier. A single university military training nearly killed me—if I went to a real camp, I wouldn’t survive. I’ll have a good future at Nanjing University too—who knows, maybe I’ll become a world-renowned psychologist. If you ever need a psychological assessment, I’ll give you a discount—”

Click—

The call was cut off.

Huaming held the phone and forced a bitter smile.

“Uncle, I don’t bear the Qian name—just so I don’t tarnish the family’s reputation.”

“Everyone calls me a fool. I know I’m not—I’m a madman.”

He put the phone in his pocket, shoved both hands into his pants, and whistled as he hurried toward the direction where Tang Zhong and the others had gone.

------------

Li Tieshu was packing his things.

He had arrived with a small bag, and he was leaving with that same small bag. Simple and convenient.

But his movements were slow, his mood oddly heavy.

“Dashu, didn’t you go talk to the company commander? This wasn’t your fault. You were hospitalized yourself—how could you have looked after those students?” Zhang Dayue, Li Tieshu’s comrade, tried to persuade him to stay, regret in his voice.

“Yeah, Tieshu, go talk to the company commander. We’ll go with you. Don’t be rash—just swallow your pride. If you leave like this, what will you do in the future? There goes your shot at promotion. If you waste all this time and end up retiring, you’ll still be just a soldier—what else could you do? The most you could hope for is being a security guard in a factory.” Chen Tao, Li Tieshu’s fellow townsman who knew his family was poor, added. Promotion through the army was his only way out. Now, with this incident, he might still retire as an ordinary NCO.

Zhang Jinzhong snatched the bag from Li Tieshu’s hands. “Stop packing. Come on, let’s go see the company commander. We’ll all plead for you together—maybe he’ll let you stay.”

Li Tieshu hesitated for a moment, then said, “Alright. I’ll try one more time.”

The highest-ranking officer in charge of this freshman military training at Nanjing University was Company Commander Tang Zhenghu. He didn’t reside with the instructors but stayed in the guest house specially arranged by the university.

When Li Tieshu, Zhang Jinzhong, and the others arrived, Tang Zhenghu was sitting in his room drinking tea and watching TV.

His expression darkened when he saw Li Tieshu enter. “Li Tieshu, why aren’t you gone yet?”

“Sir, I’d like to ask you to give me one more chance,” Li Tieshu said quietly. For men of their mettle, begging was never easy. “I promise you, I won’t make any more mistakes.”

“Li Tieshu, a soldier’s duty is to obey orders. Are you trying to disobey?” With a clang, Tang Zhenghu set his enamel mug down, displeased. “Do you have any idea how bad this incident looks? Out of all the squads sent out from the 135th, only Nanjing University had something like this happen. The whole thing’s spread—it’s become a laughingstock at other schools. What about our honor as soldiers? What about the honor of our squad?”

“Furthermore, the Nanjing University leadership is very dissatisfied. If we don’t give them an explanation, it shows our own lack of discipline. Do you think I want to send you home? Changing officers halfway is a disgrace, too—but if we do nothing, how will the people at Nanjing look at us?”

Zhang Jinzhong was about to speak up for Li Tieshu, but Li Tieshu stopped him.

He saluted. “I’m sorry, sir. I am willing to obey orders.”

“Good. Go back, then,” Tang Zhenghu waved.

“Yes, sir.” Li Tieshu drew himself up and answered crisply, then led his friends out before they could plead for him further.

Tang Zhenghu snorted and picked up his mug again, eyes returning to the television.

Just then, the phone on the table rang abruptly.

He glanced at the caller ID. It was an unfamiliar number.

“Hello. Who’s this?” Tang Zhenghu answered. When the man on the other side introduced himself, Tang Zhenghu shot up from his chair, standing ramrod straight and shouting, “Yes, sir!”

His demeanor was instantly respectful and deferential, as if the man was right there in the room.

“Yes. Yes—guaranteed to complete the task!” Tang Zhenghu answered loudly.

The man on the line had only said three sentences, but Tang Zhenghu was already drenched in sweat.

After hanging up, Tang Zhenghu was still reeling from shock and the strangeness of the moment.

The second-in-command of the entire unit had called him personally—just to keep a soldier from being sent home?

“Li Tieshu? This bastard actually has connections that high up?” Tang Zhenghu’s heart was pounding. “Why have I never heard anything about this before?”

Thinking of how coldly he’d just refused, sweat poured down his forehead.

He remembered how Li Tieshu’s comrades had wanted to plead on his behalf, but he had stopped them—making Tang Zhenghu wonder if his own inflexibility had offended someone. Since he couldn’t get things handled through him, had he gone straight to the second-in-command?

“But if he’s got connections like that, why is he still just an ordinary NCO after all these years?”

Tang Zhenghu knew that people with backgrounds like that climbed the ranks as easily as drinking water. Even a rookie could be his equal in a few years. Li Tieshu had always kept a low profile. Though Tang Zhenghu had never checked his records, he’d heard Li Tieshu was a farmer’s son from Xiangdong.

No matter what information he’d received before, he had just taken that call from that person.

He even considered calling back to confirm—just to make sure he hadn’t been tricked.

“Only an idiot would do that,” he muttered.

He’d heard that man’s voice from afar before; it was exactly the same as on the phone. He knew he hadn’t been mistaken.

After thinking for a moment, he grabbed his phone and hurried out.

When he reached the temporary dormitory where Li Tieshu and the others were staying, he saw Li Tieshu coming out with his bag.

Tang Zhenghu walked over, smiling. “Tieshu, you’ve worked hard these last couple weeks with the training. Come on, let me buy you a meal as a reward.”

“Thank you, sir,” Li Tieshu replied first, then added, “No need. I’ve already eaten.”

“Then come have a drink with me.” Tang Zhenghu grabbed Li Tieshu’s hand warmly. “Put your bag down—you might be coming back soon.”

“Coming back?”

Li Tieshu was overjoyed. Had the leadership changed their mind?

He didn’t know what had happened to him, or what might happen next.

A kind-hearted soul receives help from heaven!

(P.S. Old Liu is a kind-hearted soul, too—please help, support, and cherish me.)