Chapter 81: A subtle turn of events

The next morning, it was cloudy and drizzling. Despite this, the temperature was stable at a certain value, and the winter here is not cold during the day.

We set off early in the morning, of course with the case of Wuliangye, and Ru Yue and I were not embarrassed by our conversation the night before. We were still laughing and talking as if we had forgotten about the conversation the night before.

The slums are even more difficult to walk in on a rainy day than on a sunny day. The various types of mud make the ground slippery, and because of the mess, there is also a sticky feeling underfoot. Compared to sunny days, the stench here is finally not so pungent.

My memory is always excellent. Since I had been here once yesterday, I was able to find the tin house in the messy slums despite the twists and turns.

It was me knocking on the door, but I couldn’t help feeling a little scared at the same time, because the shabby tin house was so shaky that the whole room shook as I knocked.

“Who is it? It’s still morning. Do you want to keep me awake?” A response came from inside the house soon after, still the same grumpy and weathered voice.

I was speechless. I wanted to sleep in the afternoon, and I was lazy to get up in the morning. Could it be that this person’s life is just sleeping?

Despite this, I answered loudly in English: “It’s us, the people who came yesterday!”

“Damn it, didn’t you understand my request? If you don’t bring the wine, get out of here.” The voice was full of impatience.

“Sir, we actually got the wine you wanted, and it’s a whole case. Would you like to meet us?” I responded loudly, deliberately emphasizing the word “case.”

There was silence in the room. Was it shock?

Just as I was wondering, the metal door suddenly opened. It was so fast that it brought a breeze, which also appropriately released some of the stench from inside the house. I swallowed a mouthful of saliva and endured it!

At this moment, I could see clearly that the person standing in front of me was a pure Indian, with darker skin than Wal-Mart, an ordinary appearance, and skin that already showed signs of aging. The messy gray hair and beard reminded me of my master. The only thing worth mentioning was his pair of big eyes, bright and full of color, just like the feeling of a newborn baby.

I was surprised. How could an adult have such eyes? Could it be that this man’s soul was actually as pure as that of a newborn baby?

I was observing him, and before I could say anything, the man already yelled at me, “Where is the wine? Where is the wine? You’d better not be teasing me. If you are, the consequences will be very serious.”

I didn’t dare to argue, so I quickly took the bottle of wine from Wal-Mart, opened the box, and handed it to the old man.

The old man’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw the wine. He grabbed it and unscrewed the cap, muttering, “You’re quite capable of getting this wine in India, but don’t try to fool me with fake wine. I only need to smell it to tell the difference. In fact, I’m even better than the best wine tasters.”

I was dumbfounded by his “ferocious” appearance and forgot to remind him that in fact, a good sommelier does not drink alcohol in order to maintain his “professional” nose.

“Genuine.” The old man unscrewed the cap, took a deep whiff, and couldn’t help but show a look of ecstasy. Then he picked up the bottle and was about to take a sip.

But at this point, I took the opportunity to grab the bottle from him and sat down on the remaining box of wine, shaking the bottle and saying, “Hey, we’re here to find someone, not to deliver wine to you. If you want to drink this bottle of wine, you have to answer me at least one question, okay?”

“What question do you want to answer?” Seeing that the wine in his hands had been snatched away, the middle-aged man (I don’t know whether to define him as middle-aged or old) looked as if he had a heartache, but he didn’t snatch it like a rascal, and he didn’t say anything threatening.

Just one detail, and I knew that this person in front of me was extremely principled. Even if he had the ability to take by force, he wouldn’t, and he wouldn’t even say a word of the threatening words he had been saying before.

“You know we’re here to find someone. I want to know if you’re Johnny,” I asked seriously. In fact, I was already 80% sure in my heart that the man in front of me might really be Johnny.

Hearing my question, he looked calm and then told me decisively, “No!”

No? He’s not? My heart sank, but I handed the bottle of wine to the middle-aged man and turned away in disappointment. Wal-Mart was behind me, hastily picking up the remaining wine and following me out.

On this rainy morning. Is this the end of a promising clue?

But at this moment, we heard a dispute behind us.

“Do you have to take away the whole case of wine? You look like you’re a rich man, but you’re taking away a case of wine that gives poor people hope for their lives?” It was the middle-aged man’s voice.

“You’d better loosen my pants. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I may be rich, but I know not to waste. Can you loosen your hands? These pants are not cheap.” Wal-Mart’s voice sounded very helpless.

I was disappointed, but I turned around and happened to see that the middle-aged man was holding Wal-Mart’s leg and didn’t want Wal-Mart to leave. His eyes were shining as he stared at the wine box in Wal-Mart’s hand. When he saw me looking at him, he looked at me again and then looked away.

This glance suddenly moved me. I don’t know why, but I always feel that this man’s eyes are pure and irresistible, and contain a kind of true compassion, but also a sad vicissitudes of life. So at that moment I couldn’t help but say to Volma, “Forget it, give it to him. If you don’t mind, I’ll pay for this box of wine.”

“Ah?” Wal-Mart looked at me in surprise and said, “He has already had a free bottle. Chengyi, you don’t understand the slums of India. The people here are self-degraded, which has brought many social problems. You shouldn’t sympathize with them…”

Wal-Mart chattered on, but my eyes were very persistent.

Volma sighed and reluctantly put down the wine, saying, “Okay, as you wish! But I won’t charge you for the wine. After all, you are a little hero respected by my master and uncle.”

I nodded gratefully to Volma, then sighed and watched the middle-aged man hug the wine like a treasure in his arms, and finally turned silently and left.

Everyone was following behind me, not in a very good mood. The most promising time was defeated by the merciless reality. Who wouldn’t feel a sense of defeat?

But before I could take a few steps, the voice of the middle-aged man behind me suddenly came: “Hey, that young man, I want to ask you what you want to do with Johnny?”

I hadn’t turned around yet when I heard this, but I couldn’t help but smile in surprise, and then I turned around and asked loudly, “Do you know Johnny?”

“No one knows him better than I do, if we’re talking about the same person.” The middle-aged man suddenly smiled at me, and his white teeth were unusually shiny. I thought to myself, “It’s true that dark skin makes teeth white.”

But the man had already run over quickly and said sincerely to the old man, “Can we go in and talk? In fact, I am looking for Johnny, and I was instructed by my elders. If you can help…”

Before I could finish my sentence, the middle-aged man interrupted me, saying in a puzzled tone, “Pointed out by an elder?” Then, without giving me a chance to speak, he picked up the case of wine and turned into the house. The sound came from the tin house, “In that case, let’s talk inside first.”

Things took a turn for the better, and everyone was very happy. The middle-aged man extended an invitation, and we immediately swarmed into these crumbling, low-ceilinged tin houses, no longer daring to complain about the strong smell inside.

The inside of the house was as dirty and messy as we had imagined, with old furniture and miscellaneous items strewn about. I even saw underwear piled on the floor with socks.

The old man ignored us and kept walking towards the house, actually towards the other tin houses connected to it. We had no choice but to follow him.

We walked all the way to his messy bedroom and discovered that at the back of the bedroom was a locked iron door that led to the last tin house.

“It’s too messy outside to talk, but fortunately there is still a clean place in this house. I hope that someone in this slum can come here to worship and accept new ideas and beliefs, but unfortunately it hasn’t been very successful. Let’s talk here.” As he spoke, the middle-aged man opened the locked door and walked in first.

We looked at each other in surprise. Could it be that he was a black magician who worshipped the devil? With this curiosity, I followed his footsteps.