Chapter 7

Le Ge was initially very disappointed with this, as he had high expectations for Wei Qian. He had originally planned to send Wei Qian to university to study law or finance. Le Ge calculated that his business could not always be in the shadows; he wanted to achieve success and fame. For the visible aspects of his business, he needed someone who could navigate legal loopholes and manage accounts creatively. This person had to be clever and completely trustworthy, and there was no one better suited than Wei Qian

There is only a family situation survey form at the beginning of the school year, which includes a section for the parents' workplaces. Wei Qian stared at that blank space for a long time, and in the end, he randomly wrote the two characters "individual"

Wei Qiandong paused for a moment and shook his head

Wei Qian finally found himself at a loss for words. He stood two steps away from the pockmarked man, carrying an old canvas bag on his back, with his hands hanging down, watching his foolish brother wipe away a tear with his hand

His subordinate is an extraordinary person, possessing several remarkable traits such as being cowardly, short-tempered, shameless, and more, making him quite rare in his complete lack of merit

Mazi seemed momentarily taken aback by what he meant, and blankly repeated, "No, no, no, not reading it anymore?"

Thus, Wei Qian merely bent down, using the action of supporting the cart to conceal the fleeting expression of sadness that crossed his face. Then he raised his head and forced a nonchalant, even contemptuous smile at Ma Zi: "Why are you crying? Fool, I'm not dead yet. If you want to drop out, then drop out; haven't you all done the same? It's just a trivial matter, is it really worth it?"

Le Ge had already outlined a grand blueprint for his future, as if he had meticulously arranged his troops, with each person's role clearly defined. However, he did not expect that Wei Qian, whom he had high hopes for, would turn out to be so inept that he could not even get off the ground, ultimately dropping out of high school.

A boy around fourteen or fifteen years old, just beginning to grow taller, his flesh has not yet caught up with his bones, and his face still carries a youthful innocence. He shows the venue to Le Ge, remaining taciturn every day, as he has little to say to those older men who cannot go three sentences without mentioning women. However, when it comes to fighting, he is always fiercer than others, as if he harbors an indescribable anger within.

He rode his bicycle home. The two vendors selling breakfast had not yet packed up. Upon seeing Wei Qian, the vendor, surprised, asked: "Qii—Yi—Qian, you, you how come, come back? Forget, forget, forget something..."

Wei Qian helped her retrieve the twenty kilograms of rice and two barrels of oil recently distributed by the school, carrying them all the way to her office. Teacher Li asked him with a smile, "Have you had breakfast?"

The man with a troubled mind stood dazed in place for a full half minute, his face, which was a mass of large and small bumps, turned as red as a piece of glowing iron, his chest heaving violently. After a moment, his eyes suddenly filled with tears.

Teacher Li pulled out a loaf of bread and a sausage from under the table and handed them to him: "You must have overslept this morning, take this to eat"

Wei Qian seemed to want to take everything in with his eyes, and then he turned around and descended the podium along the stone steps without looking back

Wei Qian smiled a little shyly and expressed his gratitude as he accepted it

During the day, the venue is either staffed by security personnel hired through legitimate channels or by individuals like Wei Qian, who are merely decorative figures placed there by Brother Le. They may appear to be presentable, but when it comes to taking action, their true capabilities are not evident

Teacher Li was unaware of his family situation. At that time, high school students all wore uniforms. The boys, except for a few who were particularly neat, were all similarly disheveled and unkempt. Both branded bags and those bought from street stalls were stuffed to the brim, making it impossible to discern their original shapes. They would ask the girls for an empty potato chip container, and with a quick rinse, it would serve as a pen holder on the table

Wei Qian got off the car, tossed the empty backpack behind him, and calmly interrupted his words: "No, Mazi, I won't study anymore"

Thus, Wei Qian, who was afflicted with a phase of adolescent delusion, merely explained in a nonchalant manner that his family was moving to another place and that he could no longer continue studying here

Teacher Li called out to him: "Hey, just in time to run into a young man, come over and help me move some things!"

The head of the teaching department does not understand the situation of the students; he merely inquired about the reasons in a routine manner. Wei Qian did not want to portray himself as a poor, school-dropout child—there was no point in speaking up. The school might, out of sympathy, manage to provide him with a scholarship after much difficulty, but his main issue does not lie with the scholarship. He needs more money or more time to earn a living for his family

Wei Qian once fantasized that one day, a reporter would discover him and his siblings living like dogs in an old tube building. The reporter would take a few photos and write a touching yet nauseating headline like "A determined youth works to support his siblings' education, young shoulders bearing the weight of a family." Government agencies would come to offer financial assistance, and various wealthy individuals with more money than they knew what to do with would donate to their family. All he would need to do is appear on television, posing with them while holding a large check for a photo.

However, he did not expect that after a year of silence, this young man would actually make a name for himself

The few individuals who have barged in clearly have ill intentions, and no one dares to stop them.

He had no gloves, and by the time he arrived at school, his hands were nearly numb from the cold. He had no choice but to run upstairs with his head down while quickly rubbing his hands together.

He had a large gash on his chest, and blood gushed out like a fountain. It was only then that people noticed that Wei Qian was holding a large cleaver used for chopping bones in the kitchen

The boy, half of his body drenched in blood, was left with only a white tank top. He sat on the sofa, extending his arm for the trembling Sanpang, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, to help him remove the shards of glass from his arm. His hand hung limply, uncertain whether it was dislocated or fractured

If one cannot solve the problem, why bring out his fragile self-esteem for others to gawk at

However, he seemed oblivious to the pain, remaining silent and not even glancing over, simply lowering his head and intently smoking a cigarette

However, the television continues to broadcast reports such as "impoverished university students," "impoverished middle school students," and "impoverished elementary school students" every day, yet none of them have reached out to Wei Qian and his peers

Then, Mazi lunged at him and forcefully pushed against Wei Qian's chest. Wei Qian staggered for a moment, and the bicycle fell to the ground, its wheels still spinning in circles

Wei Qian felt as if his chest was about to explode

Wei Qian carried his heavy backpack to a nearby elderly man who collected waste materials, emptied the books and papers from his bag, and sold them for 2 dimes. Wei Qian then added 80 cents of his own money, using the 2 yuan to buy a carnation. While Teacher Li was in class, he sneaked into her office and placed the flower on her desk. After that, he left the school with his backpack now completely empty

The two words "cannon fodder" were not spoken, and he suddenly changed his tone. The person let out a sharp scream, hurriedly released Wei Qian, and retreated five or six steps, his face showing fear.

Mazi's reactions are always sluggish, perhaps there is indeed something wrong with his mind. Wei Qian sometimes wonders if he were to slap him across the face, would it take him a full minute to realize the pain.

Thus, more than ten individuals were completely defeated on the spot by a reckless person, whose astonishingly superficial appearance and empty substance contributed to the creation of this legend

Perhaps in his long life, dropping out of school was not a significant matter. However, for a boy who had always worked hard in his studies, hoping that this would change his fate, dropping out felt as if the sky he had been struggling to hold up was finally collapsing.

This person pondered for a while and felt that going at night might not be feasible, fearing that he might enter but not be able to exit. However, he did not dare to disobey the boss's orders, so he ingeniously decided to cause a disturbance at the nightclub in broad daylight.

Wei Qian: "Well, I have dropped out of school"

As he was about to step down, Wei Qian stood high on the podium, surveying the entire campus panorama.

Who would have thought that among the thirty-six trades, every trade has its rogues, and even in the realm of true rogues, there are unprincipled practitioners who disregard professional ethics—those few individuals belong to another entertainment venue in this city. The owner is wealthy and influential, wanting to challenge Brother Le, the local strongman, but unfortunately, he is not in the area, making it difficult to reach him. Thus, he dispatched his subordinates to make arrangements.

This long winter began with the howling cries of a little fried dough stick, resembling a bear.

He returned to the classroom before anyone had dispersed, quickly tidied up all his belongings, picked up the withdrawal application he had prepared in advance, and walked towards the academic affairs office

Mazi cried even more fiercely, her voice hoarse and exhausted, lost in her own world

Teacher Li stood on tiptoe to pat his shoulder and advised, "Hurry up, today is Monday. Have you prepared the flag-raising speech? Go back and review it a couple more times, don't forget the words later."

Those who truly cause disturbances generally do so at night; this is a consensus within the industry

A row of ginkgo trees with nearly all their yellow leaves fallen, a standard 400-meter athletic field, red-brick teaching buildings, and those students in uniforms, naive and inexperienced... Additionally, there are several large cherry blossom trees in front of the teaching building, which are said to be a hybrid of southern cherry trees and local varieties. Every spring, the falling petals accumulate to a thick layer, capable of covering a person's feet. Unfortunately, he enrolled in the autumn and has not yet had the chance to see it.

Wei Qian smiled lightly, then took two steps back and handed the microphone to the host

The other party brought over a dozen imposing figures, who, with great bravado and confidence, arrived at the sparsely populated nightclub to challenge.

The flag-raising speech has been a long-standing tradition in the school, with students from each class taking turns to go on stage. Before Wei Qian stepped onto the podium, he couldn't help but straighten his back—not out of nervousness, but because he had received a blow to his back during a scuffle last night. When he got up in the morning and looked, it was all bruised and quite painful.

The final exams are approaching, and the weather is getting colder. When Wei Qian leaves in the morning, it is still dark. He rides his second-hand bicycle, setting out under the stars.

On that day, as he was going upstairs, he happened to encounter his homeroom teacher. The homeroom teacher was a middle-aged female teacher, surnamed Li, who was usually very kind to him. For students like Wei Qian, who studied diligently, had good grades, and maintained a low profile without causing trouble, if he happened to be relatively good-looking and the teacher was female, it essentially determined that he was among the type of students who were particularly favored by teachers at school

The biting, dry cold wind and the salty tears broke open the frostbitten cracks on the pockmarked hands, revealing the young and bloodied flesh beneath.

Leaving the academic affairs office, he passed by the basketball court where the basketball athletes were training. A ball flew towards him, and he deftly reached out to catch it, whistling as he tossed it back. A boy on the field waved at him from a distance, saying, "Thanks, buddy!"

Wei Qian is after all a youth, and his physical strength cannot be compared to that of a true adult, so he does not have much advantage in physically demanding tasks like fighting. Brother Le does not place much importance on him, usually only assigning him to daytime shifts—Brother Le's establishment is essentially a nightclub. Although it is open during the day, it merely serves as an ordinary dining venue, with the main events occurring at night.

It is said that "those who are dazed fear the bold, and the bold fear those who are reckless." These individuals avoid the peak hours of foot traffic at night and choose to create disturbances during the quiet hours of the day, which indicates that they are not truly bold.

The lobby manager frowned slightly and quietly instructed his subordinates to call Brother Le.

Wei Qian smiled at him for a moment, but soon, his smile became dry. He no longer lingered and quickly lowered his head to walk past.

Wei Qian embarked on his career as a professional thug, becoming an obscure henchman under the command of Brother Le.

Although he does not speak fluently, he possesses a remarkably mournful voice.

At that time, there was an unexpectedly high level of equality among people; a mere glance would not reveal who was the mayor's son and who was an orphan struggling to make ends meet through odd jobs

Before the younger brother could arrive, Wei Qian, dressed in the uniform of the entertainment city, walked over with a blank expression. A troublemaker, mistaking him for a security guard sent to intervene, grabbed his collar without any regard for him, saying: "Call your boss over, smart kid, don’t come out to be cannon fodder..."

The leader sat down heavily in the hall, clearly intending to cause trouble, loudly uttering foul language and harassing the young girl carrying the plates. The wine bottles shattered all over the floor, and the few diners, already scarce, were frightened and stood up to leave

For a period of time, Le Ge no longer paid attention to Wei Qian, as it was no longer of any use

Ma Zi opened his mouth and shouted "Ah ah woo woo" in a flurry, the more anxious he became, the less he could articulate. He was so worked up that his face turned red and his neck thickened. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he cried out, his voice piercing and his sobs grating on the ears

However, even if the sky were to fall, Wei Qian did not want to weep bitterly with Ma Zi in the middle of the street, as it would be utterly disgraceful

Wei Qian stood on stage without notes, delivering his speech filled with dreams and a main theme in a fluent and effortless manner. Below him, as usual, were all the students, yawning and offering polite applause.

Around that time, there were too many poor people, and getting on television required queuing and drawing lots, much like buying a car later on

Wei Qian showed no mercy in his attack, striking down with his knife without even wiping his face. With one hand holding the cleaver and the other picking up a broken half of a wine bottle, he charged forward without a greeting or a word, as if he were confronting a sworn enemy.

In any case, no one asks whether he is a living individual or a deceased one

When Brother Le heard about this matter and hurriedly brought people over, the battle had already concluded, and he was met with a scene strewn with blood and spilled liquor.