Despite being incredibly wealthy, I want to be a prosecutor.

Chapter 124 I'm Still That Boy

We arrived in Dongshan late at night and rested at the Lotus Garden Villa for the night. When we went down to Dongning County, we changed drivers to Twenty-One Flower.

In reality, Zhou Hong got up early and left. The girls had traveled a long way, so they should get some rest.

……

Around 9 o'clock, at the airport terminal exit, Zhou Hong watched as a black Audi slowly drove up.

That's just how it is in small cities and small airports; you can easily pick someone up or drop them off at the airport terminal entrance.

Seeing that it was his father driving, Zhou Hong smiled happily. He finally dared to drive out of the county. He would eventually get used to it.

I came here intentionally to see how my dad was doing.

"I'm a little nervous if you sit next to me," Dad said, frantically shifting gears.

"Dad, I told you so. The more you drive, the better you become. The less you drive, the less skill you get. You only drive when something really happens, and look, you've shown your incompetence, haven't you?"

"You always have a twisted logic!" The father scolded his son, but his eyes were full of smiles, clearly seeing that his son was very happy.

Zhou Hong then glanced at his father and said, "Dad, let's go pick up a car first. I've already ordered one."

As expected, seeing my dad frown, he started lecturing again.

However, Zhou Hong really hoped that his father could continue to educate him in this way, forever.

"Let's go into the city first, to a car dealership..." At the turn, one way leads directly to the outer ring road, and the other leads into the city. Zhou Hong still had to remind his father.

"Don't go. You drive this car at home, I won't move," Dad continued to nag.

"My son is financially able now, so it's no problem for the family to have another car. I can just get a Bora, which costs around 200,000 yuan. I don't go home much, so I just drive it around."

Two hundred thousand or so, just driving around aimlessly...

Dad was a little dazed. What was the situation at home a few months ago? He could hardly remember.

Turning to look at my son's handsome profile, a strange emotion welled up inside me—an emotion I suppose was pride…

……

In the afternoon, Zhou Hong appeared at the internet cafe he used to frequent.

After the college entrance examination, Xiao Bao usually spent his time at this internet cafe near the school. Zhou Hong had just arrived home, had a family reunion lunch, and then Xiao Bao invited him to play Counter-Strike in the afternoon.

The internet cafe was packed, almost entirely with students from No. 3 Middle School, including graduates and first- and second-year high school students who were already on summer vacation.

"Zhou Hong, come, sit next to me!" Xiao Bao, who was greeting him at the door, pulled Zhou Hong to his seat, and Zhao Kaifeng's seat was quickly moved aside.

It seems Zhao Kaifeng has been working with the renovation team for over a month, and he's gotten even darker from the sun.

"Oh, you didn't go to the construction site today?" Zhou Hong never shied away from these things, but some people who truly had a sense of class distinctions, like this old classmate who was now a migrant worker, had to think a lot more before speaking to him.

Zhao Kaifeng remained silent.

Zhou Hong then realized that he was different from "Zhu Zi." Zhu Zi didn't care about these things in front of his old classmates, but Zhao Kaifeng was very sensitive.

You can tell from his neatly dressed new clothes that he doesn't want outsiders to know that he's currently hoeing mud and carrying bricks on a construction site.

Zhou Hong thought of "Pillar" Wang Jinzhu. Chen Wanli had arranged for him to be the assistant manager in the materials department of the real estate company. Moreover, the manager was Chen Wanli's brother-in-law. It seemed that "Pillar" would receive special care and might even be promoted to the position of department manager.

A diploma isn't a problem for someone like Chen Wanli, but if Zhu Zi really develops to that level, he'll need to be smart and truly capable.

But now is not the time to ask these questions. Zhou Hong sat down next to Xiao Bao.

"Haha, Zhou Hong, you've come to get wrecked along with Zhang Xiaobao too!" The one shouting on the other end was Gou Dacheng, who was setting up a game room.

Xiao Bao's group and Gou Dacheng's group are currently competing in the game.

Gou Dacheng is a rich second-generation whose family sells roast chicken. He is fair-skinned and clean-cut, and is a native of the city.

Zhang Xiaobao, Zhou Hong, and others are residents of urban villages after the county town expanded; they were originally registered as agricultural households.

Zhang Xiaobao and Gou Dacheng could never pee together.

"Zhou Hong, let me tell you, I have a real expert here today! Don't get wrecked later!" Gou Dacheng chuckled. "I advise you not to be Zhang Xiaobao's lackey!"

"What the hell did you say?!" Zhang Xiaobao immediately exploded.

"Are you kidding me?" Gou Dacheng rolled his eyes.

Zhou Hong tugged at Zhang Xiaobao and laughed, "Why are you getting so easily agitated now?"

"That's right!" Gou Dacheng immediately chimed in.

"Just torture them until they call you daddy!" Zhou Hong's next words froze Gou Dacheng's smile; he felt that these words were incredibly insulting.

They sat on opposite sides, with Gou Dacheng sitting across from them. A row of computer screens in the middle separated them, with their backs to each other, so they couldn't see each other's positions.

"Ah Hong, Big Dog is pretty good at acting like his cousin..." Zhang Xiaobao never backed down when facing Zhou Hong, but when he got close to Zhou Hong, he had a bitter face, obviously he had been badly beaten just now.

"That academic genius cousin?" Zhou Hong had heard of him because Boss Cheng boasted that he got into Donghai University from No. 1 High School, which is a top-tier 985 university. He got in several years ago and is almost graduating.

"Yeah, that damn bastard, he seems to have found a pretty good job. He was bragging for ages, saying his salary is over three thousand, which is half a year's salary for someone working in our county. He even said that's just his starting salary and that it will increase a lot in the future."

Gou Dacheng suddenly shouted, "Hey, you guys are too scared to come? Hurry up! If you don't come, I'm starting!"

Zhou Hong made a gesture, entered the password, and joined Gou Dacheng's room.

There were twelve people in total. Gou Dacheng's side had six people, who were police officers; Zhang Xiaobao and Zhou Hong's side also had six people, who were bandits; they chose the classic warehouse map.

The game started quickly.

Initially, Zhou Hong felt that using the mouse and making movements in the computer were very clumsy, mainly because the computers in this internet cafe were not good enough, though they were sufficient to fool students in the county town in the past.

Just as Zhou Hong was getting used to it, bang! He was shot in the head by a sniper rifle.

In the first round, the bandits were quickly wiped out.

Looking at the results list, one of the police officers, nicknamed "Justice Sniper," killed four people by himself.

Without a doubt, "Justice Sniper" is Gou Dacheng's cousin.

Sure enough, Gou Dacheng became smug, "My brother's sniper rifle is amazing, isn't it? Zhou Hong, are you impressed?!"

"Sigh, this is boring. I'm just playing with a bunch of kids like you, and I'm the one who ends up comforting them..." A slightly arrogant voice came from beside Gou Dacheng, and it was spoken in Mandarin, not the local Dongning dialect.

"Show-off, he's turned into a bumpkin when he gets back..." Zhang Xiaobao muttered under his breath.

Zhou Hong's lips twitched. Every time he returned to China, he had to adjust to the language, otherwise he would blurt out foreign words at any time. This was even more true when he returned to Dongning.

The "local language pack" is not just a translation tool; it also helps you gradually learn a foreign language.

When I return to my hometown, I turn off the "local language pack" function to avoid others hearing that I speak fluent Beijing dialect. However, this has a drawback: it makes it easier to accidentally use foreign words.

"Who are you calling a brat?" Unexpectedly, Gou Dacheng's cousin had sharp ears and suddenly stood up. He had triangular eyes, wore glasses, and although he was thin, he was not short. He looked like a mean-spirited person.

"What's wrong with talking to you?!" Zhang Xiaobao never backs down when it comes to a direct confrontation.

"You son of a bitch!" Gou Dacheng's cousin was about to go around and hit Zhang Xiaobao.

"Dacheng, we're all classmates. It's not right for your brother to act like this!" Zhou Hong frowned slightly. "Xiaobao is wrong. I was just about to say something to him, but are we really going to take it out on him?"

Gou Dacheng also hurriedly grabbed his cousin and whispered something to him.

"I'm not playing with them anymore, it's no fun!" My cousin hadn't really been in a fight before, and when he saw that there was a guy on the other side who was particularly tall, he immediately felt uneasy.

"No, let's play one more round." Gou Dacheng pulled his cousin back to his seat, then said to Zhang Xiaobao, "Xiaobao, let's play another round, but this one's not for nothing. If you lose, you're treating everyone to KFC, whether you play as the cops or the robbers. If we lose, it's on me!"

The biggest event in Dongning County this summer was the opening of KFC. The day before yesterday, KFC officially opened for business, and it is now the hottest topic in the entire county.

"Okay!" Zhang Xiaobao easily fell into Gou Dacheng's trap.

Zhou Hong shook his head helplessly. Looking back now, it's clear that the maturity of thinking during adolescence is quite obvious.

"What's so good about KFC?" my cousin said disdainfully, but still picked up his headphones and put them on.

It was still a warehouse map, and soon everyone's game characters appeared on the map.

"Cigarette, cigarette..." Zhang Xiaobao held an empty cigarette box; there wasn't a single cigarette left.

"When did you learn to smoke?" Zhou Hong asked in surprise.

"Sigh, I have to light a cigarette before I can even play the game..." Zhang Xiaobao not only had a smoking habit, but he also seemed quite superstitious. He hurriedly called out, "Boss, give me a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes!"

"Let me see if I have any left." Zhou Hong picked up the handbag next to the computer screen and unzipped it. "Oh, I still have some."

He pushed aside the thick wad of red banknotes, casually took out a pack of cigarettes, and tossed it to Zhang Xiaobao, "Have this."

The cigarette pack was open, but only two cigarettes were missing. Zhou Hongping did not smoke, but he was always prepared to talk to smokers.

He Tianxia Zunshang cigarettes, a brand only available to a select few, cost 1500 yuan a pack, and Zhou Hong's branch company had stocked up on quite a few.

The current Zunshang is completely different from the Zunshang 5000 that was launched during the period when cigarette prices were restricted and the maximum price per pack was 100 yuan.

Zhang Xiaobao, of course, didn't recognize what kind of cigarette it was, but he immediately chuckled, "I almost forgot! You're a good smoker, so you'll have to supply me with my cigarettes from now on!" He casually took out a cigarette, lit it, and with the cigarette in his mouth, he was already skillfully manipulating the keyboard with both hands to pick up guns in the game.

In fact, let alone cigarettes that only the truly wealthy can afford, even cigarettes like "Jiuzhizun" which cost over 100 yuan a pack are unheard of by most people now. It's only when a few years later, when a corrupt official displays "Jiuzhizun" at a meeting on television and it's widely reported, that the public will be amazed and exclaim, "Wow! There are such exorbitantly priced cigarettes?" They'll think that the legendary "Soft Zhonghua" is the pinnacle.

"Support you my ass! You better quit smoking!" Zhou Hong was a little annoyed, wondering if it was his excuse about supporting Da Jin and Lao Tian's smoking that had caused Xiao Bao to suddenly become a smoker.

Xiao Bao isn't the type to take advantage of others, but as his best childhood friend, is he secretly competing with her?

Shaking his head, Zhou Hong slowly immersed himself in the game.

Although the various gun skill cards cannot be used in the game, after getting used to the game controls, the in-game character "Bandit Hong" is already as easy to use as an extension of his own body. He can even accurately determine the location of the slightest footsteps coming from the headphones.

Sure enough, if you really take it seriously, the "Gun Enlightenment" skill does work in the game.

"Bang bang bang bang..." "Bandit Hong" suddenly turned around and fired his Glock pistol in quick succession.

The police officer holding the MP5 behind him immediately had blood splattering from his head, then he bent backward and fell down, having been shot in the head by the criminals' small pistol.

"Bandit Hong" rushed up, picked up the MP5 on the ground, and quickly hid behind a nearby box.

The deep, drawn-out sound of a sniper rifle came through the headphones.

Zhou Hongli immediately determined the location of the enemy sniper.

Half a minute later, "Justice Sniper" was riddled with bullets by "Bandit Hong" who had circled around to his back.

After "Bandit Hong" easily eliminated the nearby enemies, the bandits won the game.

"Haha, that was awesome!" Zhang Xiaobao took a deep drag on his cigarette. "Gou Dacheng, are you impressed?"

"Zhou Hong, are you the bandit Hong?" Gou Dacheng stared at Zhou Hong with a lot of frustration.

Zhou Hong smiled and said, "Yes!"

"One more round!" my cousin suddenly said.

"Come on, come on! If you don't come, you're a dog!" Zhang Xiaobao was unusually arrogant, and Zhou Hong, watching from the side, wanted to beat him up.

In the second round, my cousin was even more frustrated. Before he could even find anyone, he was sniped to death by "Bandit Hong".

The game ended, and all the bandits were still alive.

"Gou Dacheng, that's two KFC meals already!" Zhang Xiaobao grinned slyly. "Want another one, Dacheng?"

"Zhou Hong, you've become so good at CS now!" Gou Dacheng kept praising Zhou Hong.

If it were in the past, with his high school mindset, Zhou Hong would naturally feel smug, but now Zhou Hong shook his head and said nothing.

"Hongshen, this cigarette tastes different, it's good, it's good. Let me see, He Tianxia? We don't have the He Tianxia brand here. Oh, Su cigarettes..." Zhang Xiaobao, however, didn't have as many tricks up his sleeve as Gou Dacheng and went to examine the cigarettes.

Gou Dacheng was full of cunning, but he was just throwing flirtatious glances at a dog.

"I'll try a Hongshen cigarette too." Zhao Kaifeng joined in the fun. After a month of working on the construction site, he seemed to have changed a lot.

While he might get upset if Zhou Hong mentioned his work, it seems he's learned to say nice things and flatter people.

Sigh, life… Zhou Hong shook his head. If he could, he would rather Zhao Kaifeng were still the same guy who didn’t think much of him.

"Hong Shen, give me one too..." The big, goofy guy with the smirking face was named Liu Tie. He dropped out of high school in his second year and worked in the city. His latest job was as a security guard in a factory, but the factory was going out of business and everyone was on holiday.

"Get out of here!" Zhang Xiaobao quickly put away his cigarette. "You're not worthy!"

"Boss, five packs of Yuxi cigarettes, please," Zhou Hong called out. This was the most expensive cigarette sold in internet cafes in the county.

As he spoke, Zhou Hong subtly pulled a red banknote from his bag, and no one could see how much money was inside.

"Long live Hongshen! I don't smoke, I'll take this cigarette back to my dad!" Another chubby guy among the six bandits immediately chimed in.

"You're a big spender!" Zhang Xiaobao grinned at Zhou Hong. "You're not going to have your graduation celebration in the capital, are you? Chartering a car for everyone?"

When Gou Da was established, he perked up his ears. Before Zhou Hong came, he had boasted for a long time that his graduation banquet was held at the Dongning Hotel, where he smoked Yuxi cigarettes and drank Langjiu liquor.

"No, it's just displayed at home, only for close relatives." Zhou Hong didn't want to say more; the cigarettes were premium cigarettes, and the liquor was Wuliangye.

"Dacheng, you haven't been back for a year, and everyone in the village has gotten rich!" Cousin's sarcastic voice rang out.

Gou Dacheng smiled and said, "Yes."

"Look, all LV, tsk tsk..."

My cousin was referring to Zhou Hong.

Zhou Hong is now wearing a black and white embroidered T-shirt, casual mid-length dark patterned shorts, and leather slippers, all from LV.

And it's quite obvious that the T-shirt has a large LV logo embroidered on it.

Zhou Hong had no choice; it was a gift from the three pink girls. Before coming to Donghai, he spent a night with these three pretty girls, and when they left, they gave him a bunch of clothes, including ties, belts, and so on.

In the eyes of ordinary people, apart from Hermès, LV is indeed the ultimate luxury brand.

These three beautiful young women, in their very essence, possess a taste that rivals that of many vulgar female celebrities.

I need to broaden my horizons and improve further.

But I accept this sentiment; summer in China is just the right time to wear it.

The value is indeed considerable. Just look at the outfit right now. In RMB terms, the T-shirt is 9,500 yuan, the shorts are a special edition with some kind of collaboration embroidery, costing 23,000 yuan, and the leather slippers are also said to cost 18,000 yuan.

Wearing this outfit, I actually felt like a nouveau riche. Fortunately, it was a small county town, so I wasn't afraid of anything, but I didn't expect to be recognized.

Gou Dacheng asked, "Brother, LV is a brand, it must be quite expensive, right?"

My cousin gave a disdainful smile: "Yeah, it's expensive, but LV sells bags, you know?"

Zhou Hongzheng was embarrassed, and his cousin's words made him almost spit out his drink.

Gou Dacheng laughed: "Oh, Zhou Hong's story is all fake? But we wouldn't know anything about these things here, would we?"

"Alright, let's go eat KFC, what's with all the nonsense?!" Zhang Xiaobao stepped in to help Zhou Hong out of the predicament, his face full of kingly disdain. What do you know? Xiao Hong is the king of real estate in the county, owning a two-story villa and dozens of shops, but he just doesn't want to be so high-profile!

Gou Dacheng scoffed, "Fine, I'll go. Can't afford to hire you?"

"You guys go ahead, I have some things to take care of, I'll be there shortly." Zhou Hong also stood up.

"You absolutely have to come!" Zhang Xiaobao said, sounding like a wronged little wife.

Zhou Hong smiled and said, "Definitely!"