Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Something sounded off over the phone. I asked Guo Zhen, "What are you doing? Why do I hear that scraping, metallic sound?"

"Sharpening a knife," Guo Zhen answered. "Someone brought a nice one back from Xinjiang a few days ago. It can cut through a small dagger without the edge rolling. I'm going to sharpen it some more and find something alive to test it on."

I shuddered as I listened. Sharpening a knife in broad daylight, and planning to test it on something alive? This guy was a born thug...

Still, I had heard about this knife before. Apparently, it was pretty strange. Possibly because of the unusual metal it was made from, blood was extremely hard to wipe off it. As the old folks put it, it was "sinister."

But sharp it certainly was. One slash through a wooden stool leg as thick as a wine cup, and it sliced through like tofu. A knife like that was rare in the city. Once, when Guo Zhen was at his shortest of money, he had pawned it to help me out, selling it to an acquaintance and lending me the 5,000 yuan he got for a year. A year later, we used that money to redeem the knife.

Thinking back on that, the sound of Guo Zhen sharpening a knife in broad daylight no longer seemed quite so hair-raising.

"What are you planning to cut?" I asked cautiously.

"A rabbit, or maybe kill a dog." The scraping of Guo Zhen's knife continued on the other end. "Working on that sailing game with Yang Yuanzhe and the others these past two months nearly killed me. I didn't even have time to play The Legend of Sword and Fairy. Lately, I've felt like going out and stretching my legs. Want to come?"

I smiled wryly. "Brother, I'm a poor kid facing elementary school graduation. Forget The Legend of Sword and Fairy-I don't even have time for Richman. If you don't help me, I might not survive these last six months."

"What's so serious?" Guo Zhen asked curiously. "Don't tell me your homeroom teacher's giving you trouble?"

Hearing the sharpening stop on Guo Zhen's end put me in a wonderful mood. "Brother, you're too smart... That's more or less it, which is why I need your help."

Guo Zhen was puzzled. "Are you planning to corner her and beat her up a few times, or go after her son? That doesn't sound like you..."

I hurried to explain. "No, no. There's a teacher at our school who got into a fight with her neighbors over the size of their yards. It turned out a cousin of the neighbors was involved with the underworld. He happened to run into the dispute and threatened to go after her whole family. He even came to our school at the end of last semester. The teacher's so scared she doesn't dare come teach now."

Guo Zhen immediately understood what I meant. "You want to settle it peacefully? Then use this to scare your homeroom teacher?"

"Talking to smart people really saves effort." I buttered him up. "Exactly. Word goes from you to our politics teacher, then from her to our homeroom teacher. An indirect threat, while helping a teacher out of trouble. Two birds with one stone."

Guo Zhen drew an audible sharp breath. "That really is one fucking roundabout approach. Think it'll work?"

"I think it will. Our homeroom teacher's the type who bullies the weak and fears the strong. I'm afraid I'd get expelled immediately if I threatened her to her face. Something she hears secondhand is much better. She won't have any evidence, but she'll still be a little afraid. Just the right degree for the best effect," I explained. "Honestly, I'm also just looking for something to do. I'm graduating soon anyway, so I'm not afraid to pull something like this."

At that point, Guo Zhen had nothing more to say. "All right, I'll arrange it. Where does your politics teacher live?"

"The west gate of the Third Textile Factory." I thought back carefully. "That area with all the single-story houses."

Guo Zhen laughed. "Got it. Old Wang's probably the biggest name around there. Give me your teacher's name and details. You won't have to show your face. I guarantee I'll get it done."

"Haha, then I'll treat the guys to a meal afterward," I said with a laugh. "I'm always troubling you."

"No need to stand on ceremony with me," Guo Zhen said. "I can't promise I'd take a knife for you, but call me whenever you need little favors like this."

After hanging up, I said to Zhang Xiaotong, "See? Your brothers are the ones you can count on..."

Zhang Xiaotong pouted. "Tch. Who uses their friends like you do? One day you ask them to beat someone up, the next you ask them to settle a dispute. Are you thinking of changing careers?"

I corrected her with a smile. "You're right about a change, but it's not me changing. I want them to change."

Zhang Xiaotong looked puzzled. "Them?"

I nodded. "Yes. Just as some people like taking in beggars and orphans, I want to help them change paths. Most so-called thugs are just society's abandoned children. Given a chance to head somewhere better, they want a better life too. Which would you choose: a life free from worries about food and clothing, or one spent in constant fear? Most people wouldn't choose the latter, would they? Some people want to give the unemployed opportunities, but I want to give opportunities to people who've never had any. No one is inherently worse at things than anyone else. Everything you and I are doing now could be done by someone else. We just had opportunities they didn't."

I said, "I'm setting up schools because I want to give some children hope, and I approached Third Brother because I want to give some adults hope. Most of these thugs value loyalty, but they're also very suspicious. If you offer them excellent conditions and treatment right from the start, they might not appreciate it. But if you already owe them plenty of favors, they'll accept whatever you give them without unease. Chinese people are like that: repay kindness, and don't accept rewards you haven't earned. Maybe the next generation won't think that way, but for now, most people still do."

Once again, Zhang Xiaotong nodded as though taking a lesson. "There's some sense in that, but don't you think there are too many uncontrollable factors? With good and bad people all mixed together, it'll be hard to manage."

Zhang Xiaotong had put her finger right on the problem, making me see her in a new light yet again. This girl was getting shrewder and shrewder, without showing it at all. Only with me did she bare her claws. She really was developing the qualities of a capable, supportive wife.

I didn't really think Zhang Xiaotong's concerns were necessary. I shrugged. "That depends on how we handle the specifics. It's like how you can stay hidden at home and still run into a gas explosion, a home invasion, or an earthquake. Don't we also have to watch out for all those corporate spies and so-called talents who treat a company as a stepping stone when we recruit normally? It's really all the same. Some people just look better on the outside, like the ones we find through recruitment. Others are more like roasted sweet potatoes-you have to peel them open to see."

As I spoke, I mimed taking off my clothes, making Zhang Xiaotong choke on a mouthful of water and cough repeatedly.

Great, I'd caused trouble. I hurried over to pat her back and help her catch her breath. Once she recovered, Zhang Xiaotong pressed a hand to her chest and said, "I'm never drinking water while talking to you again."

I gazed at her with exceptionally innocent, harmless, kind eyes. "Big sister, I was wrong..."

Zhang Xiaotong laughed and patted my head. "Don't make that face. It's too cute."

I lowered my head and put on another expression, biting the hem of my shirt. "I knooow..."

Zhang Xiaotong gave me a hard rap on the head. "Again? Stop copying Taiwanese TV dramas."

"Nonsense! I'm copying Hong Kong ones..."

"..."

Asking Guo Zhen for help reminded me of something. I realized I was no longer really suited to attending an ordinary school. Yet I had been so reluctant to leave Zhang Xin that I had unconsciously kept lingering there. Lately, many things had been delayed while people waited for me, including decisions and suggestions. Often, those one or two days were precisely what everyone was fighting for. My status as a student was gradually becoming an obstacle to managing the current situation remotely.

In other words, it was time to make a painful decision. Whether to continue this life or give myself ample room, I had to choose.

Fuck, I hated choices where I couldn't have it both ways...

I fretted for over a week. Only when Lu Wei brought me some materials related to the Public Welfare School did it occur to me: since I could build schools myself, why not attend my own school? Wouldn't that give me the most freedom?

Guo Zhen was efficient. Within a week, our politics teacher returned to school to teach. Comrade Guo merely remarked casually over the phone, "They only meant to scare her in the first place. These teachers are too sensitive."

Through the politics teacher, my homeroom teacher learned that the person who had settled this matter was actually me. The way she looked at me began to change, and she stopped making trouble for me. I sneered inwardly. Her habit of bullying the weak and fearing the strong really had carried through to the present. Apparently, I should have used this trick sooner and enjoyed some peace earlier.

The reputation the Public Welfare School had earned Liu Mingyao and Lu Wei had already exceeded anything I could have imagined. By comparison, the Private School's debut hadn't gone very well. Enrollment was less than 65 percent of the projection, apparently determined to leave me crying for my parents over my losses in the first year.

I was mentally prepared. At most, I could plead poverty to my colleagues at the Roundtable Meeting, but they all knew exactly how things stood and barely paid me any attention, leaving me thoroughly frustrated.

Back in 1994, when the futures business was booming, we had bought large quantities of Microsoft stock. It ought to start skyrocketing this year, right? With that thought, my crying became a little less miserable...

After calculating my available funds and struggling painfully for a long time, I finally made up my mind to open another Public Welfare School in Anhui, while also working with Dongda to open a Private School in Beiguan City. I decided to attend middle school at my own school. Fuck key middle schools, and fuck No. 13 Middle School. I'd do things my own way!

Zhang Xiaotong wasn't particularly surprised by my decision. She only asked, "Why not open it in a county-level city?"

It dawned on me. Why open it in the city proper? It would cost more and wouldn't conceal things very well. A county-level city would be better, with more space and a reason to board at school. While I was at it, I could also do some construction and development in a relatively untapped area.

With that more or less settled, I examined a map of Beiguan City and the surrounding areas, checked the distribution of nearby businesses and factories, and decided to invest in Yulin County after all. First, we already had assets there and were familiar enough with the government to make discussions easier. Second, it was within the sphere of influence of Third Brother's Old Master. The Old Master had probably known about some of Third Brother's affairs for a long time, and certainly wouldn't put obstacles in the way of Sun Group's businesses.

Many major events still took place in 1995: the extraordinary sales of certain concept-driven brands made concept marketing popular in China's marketing world; the advertising auction's top bidder saw significant results, ushering in an age of frenzied advertising; the planned economy transitioned toward a market economy; the Santana 2000 appeared; China Telecom began building CHINANET; the Advertising Law came into effect; the age of brands arrived; cold medicines became all the rage... In short, I still had to prepare and respond proactively.

Of course, I wouldn't forget that Windows 95 went on sale on August 24, 1995. DOS began leaving the stage of history, and Microsoft vaulted into becoming the world's most profitable and most vilified company.

Hmm... I had bought enough Microsoft stock without arousing suspicion. Microsoft's operating system wasn't my target. I just needed to hold on and wait for the stock splits.

After arranging the work for the first quarter of the year, I invited Zhang Xin and Xu Jiajia out for a meal.

Both readily agreed.

Before treating them, I told Zhang Xiaotong. Her reaction was quite calm. "What is it? A farewell meal?"

I scratched my head. "We've been classmates, after all. I don't have many friends at school. Those two are the only ones I talk to regularly."

Zhang Xiaotong smiled. "I'd better not go. It wouldn't be quite right."

I hesitated a little. "Why not? You could come have a look. Didn't I tell you because I was afraid you'd be upset?"

Zhang Xiaotong tilted her pretty face upward. "Aren't you afraid telling me will make me upset?"

I smiled shamelessly. "You're so clever and perceptive. How could you be upset because I told you? If you were upset, it would only be because I hadn't told you. The way I see it, your face has 'secretly delighted' written all over it..."

Zhang Xiaotong poked a slender finger against my forehead. "You should just switch careers and become a psychologist."

I rolled my eyes. "So, are you going or not?"

"No." Zhang Xiaotong hugged me and said, "It would feel strange if I went... Since you've already made this decision, go say a proper goodbye to the classmates you're leaving. Don't worry, I won't get jealous."

I laughed. "I'm afraid you won't. Being jealous means you care about me."

And so I went to the meal alone, while Zhang Xiaotong went to consider sites for the new school with Lu Wei.