Someone online was deceived.

Old Pi and Yun Zheng went out to buy food, while Madman rushed into the room to play on his phone. Da Niu said, “Brother, can you teach me how to fight?”

Zhang Pa sighed, “Are you crazy?”

“If you teach me how to fight, I’ll do anything you ask.” Da Niu spoke with utter seriousness.

“Anything?” Zhang Pa frowned. “Did you get into trouble with someone?”

Da Niu gritted his teeth. “Just teach me.”

Seeing he wouldn’t say more, Zhang Pa nodded. “Alright. You know our class is full of trash. If you get first place in the midterm, I’ll teach you to fight and give you a bonus.”

“Midterm?” Da Niu hesitated.

“It’s not that hard,” Zhang Pa said. “You’re up against forty-odd good-for-nothings. Is it really so difficult to take first place?”

“Fine, it’s settled.” Da Niu turned and went out.

Watching the door slowly close, Zhang Pa pondered for a moment. Da Niu was willing to study for the sake of learning martial arts. What about the others? Everyone has something they want. Take Gao Fei, for instance—he just likes basketball… No, that guy can’t be coaxed. Those basketball types don’t care for studying.

Then what about Wang Jiang, Li Shan, and Yu Yuan?

After thinking for a while, he went back to writing the story’s ending.

Twenty minutes later, Yun Zheng and Old Pi returned, having spent fifty yuan on a mountain of food and even a bottle of baijiu. Zhang Pa couldn’t help but laugh. “Your math is impressive.”

Old Pi asked, “What are you talking about?”

Zhang Pa said, “You really have the brain of a pig, dumb enough to kill. Look at all this food for fifty yuan, plus a bottle of liquor—of course your math is good.”

Old Pi replied, “We’ve been holding out for days. When you’re not home, we just eat noodles. Plain noodles.”

Thinking of Lao Niu, Zhang Pa perked up and grinned, “How about this: if you get first place in the monthly exam—not even first, just seventy points… No, wait, out of a hundred and fifty, if you get a hundred, you’ll get meals like this every night. Deal?”

Old Pi shook his head. “Quit trying to trick me—I’m not doing it.”

“You don’t want to?” Zhang Pa chuckled, then said to Yun Zheng, “He’s out, so I won’t be in charge of your meals anymore.”

Yun Zheng sighed and turned to Old Pi. “We go way back. I’d rather not come to blows with you.”

“Damn it!” Old Pi yelled at Zhang Pa, “Brother, you’re setting me up!”

“That’s right, just you. Serves you right for being broke.” Zhang Pa laughed heartily.

Old Pi thought for a moment. “No, you can’t just screw me over. There are five of us, not just me eating.”

Zhang Pa clapped. “Excellent. I admire your sense of fairness and justice—such noble character.” He winked at Yun Zheng. “I won’t make it hard for you. For the monthly exam, Old Pi’s target is one hundred, yours is eighty-five. Whoever doesn’t reach it… is no longer my problem.”

“You’re something else,” Madman sighed.

“Count yourselves lucky. Don't say I didn’t give you a choice. It’s either daily meals and drinks, or a daily beating. Which one will you pick?” Zhang Pa smiled.

“What kind of choice is that?” Yun Zheng swore, then said, “Eighty.”

“Haggling?” Zhang Pa shook his head. “Eighty-five. As the one making the deal, I’ll keep feeding you until the monthly exam, then whether you eat noodles or drink liquor depends on your scores.” He paused, then added, “Don’t be ungrateful. I’m even paying your rent. Even if you’re just putting on a show, shouldn’t you at least try?”

Yun Zheng rubbed his nose and said firmly, “Fine, we’ll put on a show. You win.”

Zhang Pa held out his right hand. “We’re all men here. A promise is a promise. Let’s seal it with a handshake.”

Yun Zheng glanced at him, then slapped his palm against Zhang Pa’s, followed by the others. After five crisp slaps, Zhang Pa laughed, “Good. I believe in you.”

That meal was a joy. Zhang Pa had suddenly found a breakthrough. Just forty-five kids? With the right approach, he could tackle them all, one by one.

Only when he returned to his room did something feel off. Why was he the one paying for their meals just to get them to study? Fifty a day, that’s fifteen hundred a month… Good heavens, what have I done? They say impulse is the devil—think twice before you act. He simply hadn’t thought enough, and now, in a moment of impulse, he’d dug himself into a hole.

With that thought, he lost all interest in writing. The day’s work was already done, so he just sat on the bench in a daze.

Helping Zhang Old Fourth hide a dog—well, that was just an impulse, and it didn’t cost much. The Fatty and his crew wanted to film a web series, and he impulsively covered two thousand for rent. Then, on a whim, he rented a place for five monkeys. Now, another impulse, and he’s even feeding them...

The more he thought, the more frustrated he became. It wasn’t too late yet, so he considered going out to sell books. He hadn’t done that in ages. But when he looked down, he remembered—all his books were at the new place. Even the stock in Fatty’s basement had been moved.

Just then, Long Xiaole called. “Where are you?”

Zhang Pa replied, “We’re not that close. Don’t pretend otherwise, alright?”

Long Xiaole said, “By internet standards, I’m a rich guy. You should be angling for a sugar daddy. I call, you should cheerfully ask, ‘Boss, where are we eating tonight?’”

Zhang Pa said she was crazy and hung up.

Long Xiaole called again. “Don’t hang up. Why do you snap like a lunatic after just a few words?”

“If you’ve got something to say, say it. If not, goodbye,” Zhang Pa said.

“There is something. I’m at Da Hu Barbecue—can you come?”

“What’s it about?”

“You’ll know when you get here. And don’t bring anyone. I’m alone, too.” Long Xiaole said.

Zhang Pa thought for a moment—he wasn’t in the mood for writing anyway—so he agreed and hung up.

Before leaving, he peeked into the next room. The five of them were actually reading?

Zhang Pa knocked and went in. “Have you all lost your minds?”

Yun Zheng threw down his book. “I must be crazy. Never thought I’d see the day I studied willingly.”

“Can you even read?” Zhang Pa asked offhandedly.

“Are you trying to insult us?” Yun Zheng thought a moment. “Hey, could you help my mom find a job? She’s on the phone all day, or at the job market. I ask, but she won’t tell me anything.”

Zhang Pa went over and patted Yun Zheng on the shoulder. “Not easy, is it? You’ve finally grown up.” In that moment, he was a little moved—maybe his impulsiveness had been worth it. More than worth it.

Yun Zheng was silent a while. “But I can’t focus on the book.”

Old Pi said, “Me neither.”

“No one can, at first. If you can’t read, just copy—one character at a time. Do it carefully, and it’ll even improve your handwriting,” Zhang Pa suggested.

Old Pi said, “Before you became our teacher, my dream was to be a street boss in Copper Gong Bay. Now that’s gone. Guess I’ll just have to go to Tsinghua University. What a headache.”

Zhang Pa laughed. “If you get into Tsinghua, anything you want, I’ll give you.”

Old Pi shook his head. “Forget it. I’d feel bad cheating you. For that promise, I’ll switch to aiming for Peking University.”

Zhang Pa chuckled, closed the door, and left.

Long Xiaole was sitting at the outermost table of Da Hu Barbecue—a small iron table with a grill, a few skewers of meat and fish, a crate of beer at his feet, two skewers of grilled heart in his hands, staring blankly into the flames.

Zhang Pa sat opposite him. “What’s wrong?”

Only then did Long Xiaole notice him, and handed over a bottle of beer. “There’s something driving me insane.”

“Is it about the other night?” Zhang Pa asked. The other night, after treating the principal to barbecue, he had seen Long Xiaole sitting on the roadside, lost in thought.

Long Xiaole grunted, “I don’t know who to talk to. There’s no one I can tell. It’s nothing good, but keeping it bottled up is even worse. Damn.”

“Hold on,” Zhang Pa said. “I have something to ask you as well.”

“You? What is it?” Long Xiaole asked.

“You called me out, which means you need something from me, right?”

Long Xiaole looked at him. “You could put it that way.”

“So, as an exchange, I can ask you for a favor, too?”

“That depends what it is. If it’s money, forget it.”

“It’s not money. I have a friend, in her thirties, a woman. She’s not bad looking, but she’s been doing hard labor for over a decade, so she looks a bit older,” Zhang Pa explained.

“Just get to the point,” Long Xiaole said.

“She’s not related to me—we’re neighbors. She got sick at work, was hospitalized, and after she got out, her job let her go. She doesn’t have much education, has a child to support—a ninth grader. Your dad is Long Jianjun; can you help her get a job? She’s a hard worker, but the pay needs to be a bit higher. She’s had a rough life, never enjoyed much.”

Long Xiaole said, “There are plenty of people worse off.”

“So, will you help or not?” Zhang Pa pressed.

Long Xiaole looked Zhang Pa up and down. “This woman—really nothing to do with you?”

“Her son calls me brother!” Zhang Pa snapped. “I’m his teacher. Do you think there’s anything going on?”

“You’re a teacher?” Long Xiaole asked. “I thought you were a writer?”

“I got tricked… Let’s not get into that. Just tell me—can you help?”

“If she’s not picky, yes. My dad has a property management company, oversees a bunch of residential compounds. I can arrange something. Give me her number, I’ll ask right now.”

“Now?” Zhang Pa was a bit surprised.

“Enough talk, hurry up.” Long Xiaole began making calls.

Getting someone a job at the property management company was nothing for Jiulong Real Estate. Under Jiulong, there were construction firms, hotels, malls… If Long the Young Master said so, the staff had to find a solution, and it didn’t even need Long Jianjun’s approval.

Zhang Pa made a call too. “Sister Yun, it’s Zhang Pa.”

Yun Yun asked, “What is it? Did Yun Zheng get in trouble again?”

“No. I have a friend at Jiulong Real Estate. Their property management is hiring, and I mentioned your situation. Would you like to go? The pay should be a bit better.”

“I’ll go, thank you.” Yun Yun was clearly anxious to earn money, not even asking what the job was.

“The details you’ll have to discuss. I’ll give them your number—just wait for their call, okay?”

“Yes, yes, thank you so much.”

“No need for thanks. Just wait for the call.”

She agreed and thanked him again before he hung up.

Long Xiaole looked at him with the phone. Zhang Pa quickly gave her name and number, which Long Xiaole relayed on his end. After hanging up, he told Zhang Pa, “The salary and position will be discussed after they meet her. Everything’s up for negotiation. I’ll let you know when I hear something.”