Old Factory Street covered a vast area.
To the east lay a large number of dilapidated abandoned factories, while the west was a bustling residential district.
Further south, markets for vehicle repairs and goods clustered together, filled with all sorts of people and the greatest disorder.
Qin Shi turned left after leaving home and went to the neighboring Xin Xin Convenience Store to buy two packs of cigarettes, slipping them into his pocket.
Then he headed north.
Along the narrow road, the signs of restaurants, card rooms, inns, and barbershops were bright red and green. Every now and then, several little electric scooters zipped past at high speed.
"No wonder everyone wants to get into the Metropolitan Area. Old Factory Street barely has any decent schools. What will happen to the worker's children in the future?"
By the dirt road with yellow dust blowing everywhere, Qin Shi stood beneath the shade of a tree.
Before him was a far-from-grand entrance with a crude school sign hanging above it.
The gold paint was peeling, revealing the weight of time.
Just like the former glory of this Old City District, long gone and carried away by the years.
"In a few more years, even the Cadre School sign might be abolished."
He rubbed his young face, put on the obedient smile he usually wore at work, and approached the guard booth.
"Sir, I used to be a student at No. 11 Middle School. I'm here to see Teacher Liang."
The storytelling program on the radio in the guard booth came to an abrupt stop, and the elderly guard in reading glasses looked up.
The kid looked unfamiliar.
But he seemed like a well-behaved, sensible child!
"No. 11 Middle School? This is No. 9 Vocational Middle School."
The old man found it strange.
No. 11 Middle School enrolled junior high students, while No. 9 Vocational Middle School enrolled high school students.
Both bore the name of Cadre School so that local workers' children could complete compulsory education.
But their campuses were not in the same place.
Qin Shi smiled shyly.
"Teacher Liang taught me for a while before. Since it's summer break, I thought I'd come visit him. Has his leg stiffness on rainy days gotten any better?"
He had specifically asked Uncle Zhou about that detail.
"Him? Same as always. He likes to have a drink after work, and when it flares up, he slaps on a medicinal patch and calls it a day. He refuses to go to a big hospital. How could he ever fully recover?"
Hearing that, the guard's last trace of wariness vanished and turned into approval.
"It's rare to see a student who knows gratitude these days. In recent years, nobody who left the Cadre School has been willing to come back, much less visit a teacher.
Kid, the school isn't open to outsiders during summer break. Some teachers use the grounds to run tutoring classes, so don't make a scene..."
Qin Shi nodded and casually pulled a pack of hard-pack Liming Cigarettes from his right pocket.
"Sorry for troubling you, sir."
"Ah, why be so polite! You don't smoke, right? You're still so young. Don't get into that habit!"
The old man accepted the cigarettes but did not forget to remind him.
"I don't smoke. The teachers at New No. 1 Middle School are very strict about it. Besides, smoking as a minor affects Life Force improvement."
Qin Shi waved his hands repeatedly, fully playing the part of a good student.
After saying goodbye to the old man, he quickened his pace and carefully examined No. 9 Vocational Middle School.
Perhaps because it was summer break, the campus was quiet, with only the piercing chirping of cicadas.
The doors and windows of the red-brick, black-tiled teaching buildings were shut tight. Only when he reached the field behind them did he hear some activity.
"Train properly!"
"Stand straight! Don't sway!"
"Starting the timer now. Hold it for twenty minutes! If anyone does it wrong, everyone trains five extra minutes..."
A rough, vigorous voice echoed across the empty field.
Qin Shi looked over and saw seven or eight shirtless high school students sweating profusely as they underwent Physical Training.
They were practicing basic combat movements: guarding stances, punches, and advancing steps.
Then a middle-aged man in a military-green short-sleeved shirt personally adjusted each of their postures and had them hold a Standing Post without moving.
"Over thirty degrees, baking under the sun like this... they'll practically lose a layer of skin."
Just as Qin Shi was thinking that, he suddenly sensed someone watching him.
He turned his head and met the gaze.
Hiss!
Qin Shi suddenly sucked in a breath. Every hair on his arms stood on end, as though he had been struck by static electricity!
"Hey, what class are you from?"
The middle-aged man frowned and called out.
"Teacher Liang, I'm from Baogong Street on West Second Road. I used to attend No. 11 Middle School. Uncle Zhou introduced me."
Qin Shi jogged over and quickly introduced himself, afraid that a Sun-Character Punch would beat him half to death.
Teacher Liang did not look particularly large. He was of average build, nowhere near as strong or imposing as the coaches at Silver Horse Gym.
Yet the pressure he gave off was no weaker—if anything, it was even stronger.
"Your sister is Qin Xiao, right? She studied at No. 9 Vocational Middle School for a year. I remember her."
Only after approaching did Qin Shi realize that this PE teacher named Liang was not the savage monster rumored to be, but rather completely ordinary.
He had a buzz cut scattered with gray hairs, bronze skin, and several days' worth of unshaven stubble. He did not care much about his appearance.
Men like him could be found all over Old Factory Street; toss ten bricks and you would hit seven or eight of them.
"A true master hides his skill."
Qin Shi did not dare underestimate him.
At the Silver Horse Gym where he worked, the top gold-medal coaches had Life Force Development levels of around fifteen to nineteen points.
That was roughly Amateur Eighth Rank.
If Teacher Liang had truly participated in the Stellar Cup and gone from the Tai'an Education Commission to a proper government post, then even at the very least, his Life Force should be above thirty-five points.
After all, the minimum entry threshold for the Stellar Cup was Amateur Seventh Rank.
"Old Zhou? The one from the Billiard Hall? We're drinking buddies, I guess."
Teacher Liang thought for a moment and barely remembered such a person. His attitude softened somewhat.
"Are you still in school?"
"I didn't drop out. I got into New No. 1 Middle School."
Teacher Liang's eyes flickered, and his expression turned strange.
"You got into a good school in the Tai'an Metropolitan Area, yet you came all the way to No. 9 Vocational Middle School on Old Factory Street? Do you know No. 9 Vocational Middle School is practically unable to keep operating? These days, there are fewer students, and fewer people willing to study.
The Education Commission and the school administration have already come to an understanding. They plan to turn it into a Sports Academy."
That was no secret.
Qin Shi had heard about it long ago.
He looked sincere.
"Uncle Zhou said you were very capable. I want to train under you and build a solid foundation, Teacher Liang."
Teacher Liang suddenly sneered.
"You want to raise your Life Force and take the Rank-Placement Exam, right? There are as many training centers and gyms in the Metropolitan Area as there are hairs on a cow. Why come all this way?"
Qin Shi remained sincere.
"My family can't afford that."
Teacher Liang seriously examined the boy before him. His short-sleeved shirt and long pants had been washed until they faded white, and his running shoes were obviously cheap no-brand street-stall goods.
Aside from looking clean and fresh, he was dressed exactly like an ordinary student from Old Factory Street.
"My fees aren't cheap either. Besides, you aren't a student of No. 9 Vocational Middle School..."
Teacher Liang paused, then walked beneath the shade of a tree and pointed at the high school students training under the blazing sun.
"Do you know why they attend my tutoring class?"
Qin Shi shook his head. It was summer break, and most workers' children on Old Factory Street chose to go out and work.
Things like summer camps, outdoor trips, or specialty training classes were activities reserved for wealthy families in the Tai'an Metropolitan Area.
"These students don't plan to continue studying. Their Life Force is between six and seven points. If they train with me and raise it to ten, they can work in the mining district."
Teacher Liang's tone was hard, and his face was taut.
"The Life Force Development taught in high school textbooks emphasizes gradual progress. It's beneficial and harmless, so results come slowly.
What I teach digs out potential by ruining the body, so it produces results quickly.
You can endure it when you're young, but once you pass forty, you'll age rapidly and suffer frequent injuries and illnesses."
Qin Shi fell silent. He usually enjoyed reading and knew Eastern Xia history quite well.
Against the backdrop of the Great Pioneer Movement, every Administrative Star incorporated into the territory underwent several waves of massive development.
Among them, the industry with the greatest demand for workers was mining.
In the early years, management was lax and mining was rampant.
There were no requirements for miners. Even women, children, the elderly, and the weak were accepted.
Because of the terrible underground environment, as well as hazards such as intense thermal radiation and mutant viruses.
Those with Life Force below ten points could at most last three to five years. It was difficult for them to survive.
That situation did not improve until the fifth millennium, at the beginning of the Eastern Xia New Calendar.
The Mining Bureau was reorganized, and clear laws were enacted forbidding Eastern Xia citizens with Life Force below ten points or without nine years of compulsory education from working in mines.
However, in frontier Administrative Stars, the recruitment of child laborers and school dropouts who were still minors remained common.
"Go back. Since you managed to get into New No. 1 Middle School in the Metropolitan Area, your grades must be decent.
Most of my students lost their parents and were raised by elderly relatives. They can't continue studying, so this is their only path to make a living."
Teacher Liang sighed.
"You don't need to ruin your body just for the few extra points on the Rank-Placement Exam. The Life Force raised through such extreme methods is like gambling debt. You'll have to repay it in the end."
Qin Shi raised his head and looked steadily at the PE teacher from No. 9 Vocational Middle School.
"I still want to try, Teacher Liang."
Could this kid not understand a word of good advice?
Teacher Liang froze, then frowned at him.
Qin Shi did not evade his gaze. His eyes were calm and resolute.
How was he any different? He had no other road to take.
In his previous life, he had braved gunfire to charge into Northern Myanmar. Now, he faced the hard reality of graduating into unemployment, perhaps becoming nothing more than disposable labor.
If he did not struggle upward, how could he ever crawl out of the mud?
The workers' children of Old Factory Street even fought for dangerous jobs down in the mines.
If I drain my family's savings to attend some second- or third-rate school, how much better will things be after graduation?
No connections, no talent—what else can I rely on but risking my life?
Qin Shi clenched his fists. Before summer break ended, he had to raise his Life Force and complete the Rank-Placement Exam.
Only then would his life have other options!
"Why put yourself through this?"
Teacher Liang was helpless. Seeing Qin Shi standing straight without the slightest intention of backing down, he said irritably.
"Fine, for Old Zhou's sake. If you want to learn, I'll take you in.
Did you bring money? Let me make this clear first: the tutoring class costs four thousand a month. No credit!"
Qin Shi nodded.
"Wait a moment, Teacher Liang. I need to use the restroom."
Huh?
Where the hell had he hidden the money?
The vein at Teacher Liang's temple twitched slightly.
A moment later, Qin Shi held out the bundle of brand-new banknotes with both hands and respectfully offered it to him.
"Forget it. Pay two hundred first and train for two days. We'll see if you can endure it.
Also, if I think you can't handle it, you leave whenever I say so!"
Teacher Liang turned his face away and did not take the hundred-yuan bills, an amount that counted as a huge sum for most families on Old Factory Street.
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