Chapter 92: A Thousand-Yuan Deal

Xiaocheng’s home was far away. Even by bicycle it usually took fifteen minutes; before, he had walked because he was afraid Qiu Hui would wreck the bike. But now it was simply to get some exercise. Taihu said his physical condition was his weak point, especially his stamina.

He cinched the straps as tight as they would go, pressing the backpack hard against his back. Inside were four bricks wrapped in plastic bags, so the pack served as a makeshift sandbag. Zhang Peiyue’s books and workbooks, which they had seized, had all been dumped in the classroom; no one dared touch them now. Whoever did would get beaten by Zhang Peiyue.

From the school to Old Well Village, that was exactly five kilometers with a load on his back.

He jogged along the road. It was already four or five in the afternoon, but the sun still had no intention of setting. The sky had only a faint red tinge. With the slightest movement, sweat broke out all over him. Twenty pounds of brick bit into his shoulders until they ached. After crossing Source River, he kept heading east along the road. The fields on both sides were already lush and green. In previous summers, catching frogs and fishing for eels had been Xiaocheng’s favorite pastimes, but this year would likely be different. This summer, Xiaocheng would be very busy. Very busy indeed.

Five kilometers without stopping. Looks like he would have to take a break.

A broad figure blocked his path: Lu Qi, Invincible Lu.

Lu Qi had been squatting by the roadside for quite a while, his bicycle leaning against the big willow tree there. Only when he saw Xiaocheng running up in the distance did he stand.

A fitness vest, dark shoulders, a body built with solid muscle. The moment he rose, he was like a wall, instantly swallowing Xiaocheng in shadow.

"Wen Xiaocheng, I’m here to beat you up," Lu Qi said, anything but polite, getting straight to the point.

Xiaocheng gasped a few times, set down his backpack, and asked, "Can you tell me why you’re beating me this time? Still because of your brother?"

Lu Qi looked a little awkward, but he still answered seriously, "This time it’s because of money, okay? Someone paid me to beat you up."

Xiaocheng nodded. He did not need to be told who had hired him. Looks like Zhang Peiyue still hadn’t been beaten hard enough.

"That’s a perfectly good reason. Last time I said it already: my Wen family owes your Lu family. If you’re here to vent your anger over your father and beat me up, I won’t lift a hand against you..."

Before Xiaocheng could finish, Lu Qi cut in, "You don’t owe us anymore. I know about what happened last time, when you and your grandmother came to my house to pay back the money, so now we’re even. But you and I aren’t exactly close either. I take a man’s money and do his work. If I’m beating you up for money, then you should hit back if you want. If I can’t beat you, then it’s only my own fault for not earning that money!"

This kid was brutally honest.

Xiaocheng smiled faintly and tested him, "Can I ask how much Zhang Peiyue promised you to beat me up?"

Lu Qi did not even think about it. "He gave me five hundred first, and another five hundred after I’m done with you. A thousand in all."

Xiaocheng nodded. Damn, he was worth quite a bit.

"A thousand bucks. More than your father made five years ago. Back then he only gave a hundred, right?"

Mentioning Lu Songyan made Lu Qi’s expression darken.

Five years ago, Lu Songyan had had the same idea: take a man’s money and do his work.

You can’t make friends with people like that at all. They only treat you like a dog. A thousand yuan was nothing more than a meaty bone.

Seeing that Lu Qi said nothing, Xiaocheng stepped closer and said, "I said it before. Your dad swings a sledgehammer at the labor market, my grandmother sells candied hawthorn at the night market. We’re the same kind of people. That’s why we can be brothers. As brothers, I can’t stop you from making money, and you have to earn this thousand. But let me ask you: for a thousand bucks, how badly do you have to beat me before it counts as done? Surely you’re not planning to beat me to death or cripple me over that kind of money?"

When they made the agreement, it was only to give Wen Xiaocheng a beating to blow off steam. As for how far to take it, they had never actually said.

Lu Qi thought for a moment. "Until you’re convinced."

"I’m convinced!" Xiaocheng said without the slightest hesitation, then blinked and asked Lu Qi, "How about that? Is that enough?"

Lu Qi hesitated again. In the end he let out a long breath, as though making up his mind. "A promise is a promise. Since I took the money and agreed to do it, I can’t just go through the motions. Whatever happens today, I’m still going to give you a beating. You don’t need to be polite. Hit back if you want. If you can beat me up, then it means I wasn’t capable enough to earn that money. Wen Xiaocheng, sorry."

Lu Qi, Lu the Tyrant.

Six feet one, a hulking two-hundred-pound brute. During school breaks he helped Lu Songyan haul cement and carry sand; even grown men could not outwork him. When he charged, he was like a wall, oppressive and overwhelming. His fist came flying in, and Xiaocheng hurriedly turned and covered his head.

That sandbag-sized fist slammed into Xiaocheng’s backpack, and then both of them cried out at the same time.

"Ah—mm!" Lu Qi’s shout was lower and deeper; halfway through the first sound, he clenched his teeth and forced it down into a grunt.

"Ah—ah—ah!" Xiaocheng’s scream was much more dramatic. Because he had collapsed backward, the cry came out in broken bursts; he gulped down another breath and kept it going.

Lu Qi’s eyes were almost watering. It felt as though he had punched a wall. Why was this kid’s back so hard? Was he some kind of turtle monk? The backpack was pretty flat; even if there were a phone book in it, it should not have been this hard.

Xiaocheng lay on the ground begging for mercy. "Seventh Master, spare my life! If you hit me again, I’m going to die!"

Lu Qi’s hands were trembling. He stared as Xiaocheng sat up on the ground, took off the backpack, and pulled out four bricks. The outer two had already shattered into four pieces.

——

This is a book that can recharge your intelligence, so next time you run into this kind of situation, do you know how to handle it? If somebody punches you, punching back serves no purpose at all—make him understand how expensive that punch really is! A minor concussion starts at five days of detention, and a compensation claim of ten or twenty thousand is not the least bit exaggerated. I’m not teaching you to extort people; I’m teaching you how to use the law as a weapon to protect yourself! What a positive book this is!