Seventy-two fits perfectly right here.

Then came the great escape. He dragged two large dogs and dashed north, not only taking the narrowest alleys, but sometimes forging ahead where there was no path at all. At one point, he leapt over a half-crumbled wall without a second thought. Xingfuli was vast, riddled with winding lanes and alleys, and as he darted back and forth, Zhang Pa wasn't even sure if he was going the right way—he simply ran in a frenzy. Eventually, his phone rang. Turtle was calling, asking where he was.

Zhang Pa shot the question back: “Where are you?”

“At the intersection,” Turtle replied. “Where are you?”

“I’m lost. Don’t hang up,” Zhang Pa said, and kept running.

Meanwhile, Fatty tried to call, found the line busy, and quickly sent a message: “The police dogs just left Zhang Old Four’s house. Be careful.”

But Zhang Pa had no time to check his messages. He squeezed through another alley, finally jumped across a foul-smelling stream, pushed through a patch of scrubby woods, and at last found himself on the main road.

He found a landmark and immediately notified Turtle. Two minutes later, Turtle pulled up in his car. Zhang Pa hustled the two dogs inside.

Once they’d driven a safe distance, Turtle asked, “The police again?”

“Fatty said the guy Zhang Old Four offended just got promoted to district chief,” Zhang Pa replied.

“Damn, Zhang Old Four’s got some nerve. Guys like us, nobodies, don’t even get the chance to offend a district chief.” Turtle glanced over. “So what’s your plan?”

“What plan? To the Fitness Club neighborhood,” Zhang Pa said.

Turtle chuckled. “That’s Hexinyuan neighborhood.”

“Same thing,” Zhang Pa said. “Step on it. I haven’t started work yet.”

“Damn, that crummy job of yours…” Turtle grumbled. “I just don’t get it—what are you so stubborn about every day? Over thirty, nothing to your name except some dream. Is that worth it? Life should be practical. Marry, have kids, take care of your parents. What you’re doing is unfilial.”

“Shut up,” Zhang Pa said.

“See, you don’t want to hear it.” Turtle pressed on, “Honest words are hard to take. I’m telling you, you’re unfilial. If it were up to me, I’d tell you to find a decent job, earn some money, get married, and be good to your folks. What else is there to life but family? Whatever happens, you should have a home waiting for you. Otherwise, when your parents are old and gone, and you find yourself alone—what’s the point of living then?”

After a pause, Zhang Pa repeated, “Shut up.”

“I’m serious, man. I only say this because we’re friends. With your skills, you could be a bodyguard—a top one. Starting salary over ten thousand a month. Do that for a few years, come home, start a little business. Wouldn’t that be good?” Turtle paused, then continued, “Let me lay out a plan for you. Da Zhuang wants to enter the fighting competition. If you compete, just make it to the top four and get some screen time on TV—rich folks will be lining up to hire you as a bodyguard.”

Zhang Pa sighed. “Shut up.”

“Fine, I’ll shut up. You’re just stubborn.” Turtle was quiet for a moment, then asked, “What are you planning to do with those two beasts?”

“Keep them for now. Wait till Zhang Old Four gets out,” Zhang Pa replied.

“What, Zhang Old Four got arrested? For what?” Turtle was surprised.

“Don’t know,” Zhang Pa said.

Turtle let out a long sigh. “Every day it’s something. My house is a mess too. Built a second story for nothing. The authorities ignore it, say it doesn’t match the official plans, so it doesn’t count.”

Zhang Pa didn’t respond.

Turtle glanced over. “My mom wants me to find connections. Where the hell am I supposed to find connections? I’m an unemployed nobody, don’t know a soul except classmates. You’re the most educated person I know, forget about officials... I do know a few cops—especially the ones who arrested me. Damn, if I ever get the chance, I’ll smash them with a brick.”

“How big a place can your family swap for?” Zhang Pa asked.

“As big as we can afford—just pay extra.” Turtle said, “But I’m not living in those resettlement apartments. You haven’t seen them. The sewers clog in less than two years, and whoever lives on the ground floor is screwed. And those circuit breakers—don’t get me started. They’re cheap junk, cost practically nothing to buy good ones, and there’s just one per stairwell. But the developers cut corners. Every summer and winter, the power trips, if it doesn’t trip twice a day it’s not normal.”

“Circuit breakers are for safety,” Zhang Pa remarked.

“Safety, my ass. Swap in a new one, no more problems,” Turtle snorted. “A friend of mine lives in a resettlement building—the septic tank’s always blocked. Luckily he’s not on the first floor, or he’d be in real trouble. And the circuit breakers… hell, the property management ran off. They have no management company—one comes, one goes, nobody cares.”

“That’s just a few cases, right?” Zhang Pa asked.

“It’s a few cases, but only for commercial housing,” Turtle sneered. “Just wait and see—shantytown renovations, the poorer the place, the more trouble. Xingfuli? Ha.”

“With things that bad, can you even sell?” Zhang Pa asked.

“Sell it cheap. It’s rare to get a chance to move,” Turtle said. “Either way, I’m not living in a resettlement building. I don’t even trust myself, let alone some real estate boss. They can all go to hell.”

Zhang Pa smiled. “By your logic, there isn’t a decent person in the world.”

“A thief sees everyone as a thief,” Turtle declared. “To me, everyone’s the same. People can be summed up in four words: selfish and self-serving.”

“One sentence, and you wash away thousands of years of traditional virtue,” Zhang Pa said. “There are still more good people in the world.”

“Good people? Fine.” Turtle changed the subject. “How’s that woman of yours? Is she sticking with you? Bring her out one day.”

“We’ll see,” Zhang Pa replied.

“There’ll be plenty of chances. Bandit’s birthday is coming up. He’s broke and can’t say no anymore, so Fatty and I are chipping in to buy some meat and grill it ourselves. It won’t cost much, but a birthday’s a birthday. Bring your girl.”

“You’re pretty thoughtful,” Zhang Pa said.

“Hell, Bandit once took a knife for me,” Turtle said. “If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t care if they lived or died.”

“Took a knife for you? Bandit never said, you never said, not even Fatty. Why keep it secret?”

Turtle sighed. “It’s not something to be proud of. We’ll talk about it another time.”

“So you guys have stories like that? Interesting,” Zhang Pa said, grinning.

“Interesting, my ass,” Turtle muttered. “Sometimes I regret it. If only I’d had some sense as a kid… No use, I still don’t have any sense now.”

He cursed himself, then focused on driving. Soon, they arrived at Hexinyuan neighborhood.

Zhang Pa brought the two big dogs inside. Old Meng, Liuzi, and a few others were gaming. They glanced over. “Why’d you bring the dogs? Old Four in trouble again?”

Zhang Pa gave a short grunt, untied the rope, and patted the dogs. “Go play.”

The two black dogs looked at him, but stayed by his feet.

Zhang Pa gave a wry smile. “Fine, follow me then.” He returned to his room, turned on the computer, plugged in the USB drive, and got to work.

Typing was his unchanging life. Chasing a dream was really just repeating the same routine. Only those who could endure loneliness and persist might get a glimpse of their dream. But even then, all you’d see is a glimpse—possessing it required more than endurance and persistence; it took talent as well.

He closed the door. Apart from the clatter of keys, there was no other sound. The two big dogs were equally quiet.

That night, the two big dogs stayed over. When Zhang Pa finished working, he sat in a daze with them for a while, then they all went to sleep together. The dogs were calm, whether out of trust for Zhang Pa or resignation, he couldn’t tell. In any case, they neither barked nor fussed.

The next morning, Zhang Pa called Yun Zheng, exchanged a few words, then went out to buy food.

He was buying for the dogs—went to the market, bought beef, cooked it, and set it out on a plate on the floor. He fed them so well because he was going to school.

He wouldn’t be home, and with Zhang Old Four whereabouts unknown, he could only comfort the dogs with good food.

He set out a basin of water, and earnestly told the dogs to be quiet and stay put.

Sissy lived there, along with many others. Zhang Pa went to remind them, “Don’t open the outside door. Don’t mess with the dogs. Be careful.”

The two big dogs were fierce—they really would bite.

Sissy frowned. “You’re leaving the door open?”

“What else can I do?”

“Damn, with the door open, what about us?” Sissy complained. “Those two are deadly.”

“I have to go to class. Or you could call Old Four?” Zhang Pa suggested.

“This is a mess,” Sissy grumbled, picking up his phone.

“Call Old Four’s wife,” Zhang Pa reminded him.

“You know her number?” Sissy asked.

Zhang Pa shook his head.

“Damn, I don’t even know Old Four’s number,” Sissy called out into the living room, “Anyone know Old Four’s number?”

“I do,” Zhang Pa said.

“And you didn’t say?” Sissy snapped.

Zhang Pa recited the number. Sissy dialed, but the phone was off.

Sissy cursed, glanced down the corridor, and sighed. “I give up. When are you leaving?”

“In a bit,” Zhang Pa replied.

“I’m leaving when you do. I’m not risking my life with those dogs.” Sissy went to wash up, then changed his clothes.

“No one’s staying home?” Zhang Pa asked.

“Whoever wants to, can. I’m done.” Sissy finished getting ready, checked the time, and left first.

Zhang Pa looked at the two big dogs. “Behave yourselves. I’ll be back soon.” He thought it over, closed the door, then opened it again, tied the ropes to the dogs, and took them for a walk to the entrance.

There was a flowerbed out front. The dogs climbed up, relieved themselves, first a little, then a lot. Zhang Pa lingered to make sure they were comfortable, then brought them back inside.

He untied them, said goodbye, and closed the door.

He went out to clean up after the dogs, then headed to school.

Everything was normal when he left. But once he was on the bus, an inexplicable anxiety crept in. Would all forty-three troublemakers show up? Would any skip class?

Given the reality of these students, just getting them all to school was Zhang Pa’s biggest hope—at least for now.

Taking care of the dogs had delayed him, so for once he arrived at school after seven-thirty. He entered the building, walked down the corridor toward Class Eighteen. As he drew closer, a flutter of nerves hit him—a feeling like waiting for lottery results. He wondered, would all the monkeys be there?