The "bosses" present became uncomfortable, and even the younger ones couldn't hold back, showing expressions of shame. An old man, as thin as a dried date pit, coughed and said, "Since Brother Qiang asked you to sit, then sit down."
I pulled out the chair prepared for me and sat down, then playfully rummaged around on the table, making a splash in everyone's teacups. Jing Ke went to get a stool himself, but couldn't fit, so he patted the head of the person next to me. The person glared angrily at Jing Ke, and Er Sha was also dissatisfied: "Can't you move over there?" The person glared at Jing Ke, but Jing Ke looked at him calmly, showing no emotion whatsoever. Moreover, while Er Sha was looking at him with one eye, his other eye was leisurely darting around in its socket. Finally, the person got annoyed and moved his chair forcefully over there. Er Sha sat down and started circling the ground signal with his transistor radio.
I'm quite embarrassed that the atmosphere has become so awkward. I apologized and said, "Everyone, what's the matter with calling Xiaoqiang here?" I had to show some remorse first. If you want money, give me some, as long as it's no more than 500 yuan.
A recruitment worker, dressed in a white thermal shirt and thinking he looked particularly dashing like a young general in a white robe, said in a drawn-out tone, "Did you hit my man?"
At this moment, Jing Ke's transistor radio suddenly received a signal and started making a loud noise: "Please listen to the Henan Opera 'Hua Mulan' excerpt, sung by Chang Xiangyu... Brother Liu's words are too biased... *sizzle* (noise)... Enjoy leisure... *sizzle*... Work hard..."
I frowned and said to them, "Can't we talk this out? What's the point of this charade? I beat up those idiots. They came to my school to recruit students, and I'm not going to beat them up either? You want money..." As I spoke, I slammed my bulging briefcase on the table with a loud thud, and their eyes lit up. I continued, "...I can give you some." I pulled out 200 yuan from the side and placed it on the table. "This is my personal compensation for your medical expenses, not on behalf of the school." I then pulled back another bill. "Also, you broke our teacher's glasses, so this is compensation. That's it. Does anyone have any objections?"
None of the men spoke; they just looked at each other in astonishment: they'd really run into a real thug today.
A voice spoke slowly, "Manager Xiao seems to run a pawnshop, right?" The man was around forty years old, with a face full of wrinkles. He spoke unhurriedly, never glancing at me, his eyes fixed on the eleven rings on his hand—this man also had a sixth finger. His tone was full of threat.
I held the purse in my hand and almost couldn't resist throwing it at him.
Of course, I had a brick in my bag.
I pointed at him and yelled, "You little brat, are you going to say you'll kill my whole family?" He was stunned when I yelled at him. He poked his right sixth finger with his left index finger and said aggrievedly, "I didn't say that..." Then he suddenly raised his head confidently, "But aren't you afraid someone will break your window in the middle of the night?"
That's what I fear most. It's one thing to run into real gangsters or cowardly thugs, but it's this kind of scoundrel: a soldier with a gun, a civilian with it. You're on guard against him? He goes to work on time every day. You're not on guard against him? He might just walk by after his night shift and dump a plastic bag of poop on your window.
I bowed repeatedly: "Gentlemen, you're all ruthless. Just let me, Xiaoqiang, go without. Those 300 students are all orphans. They didn't pay a single penny to go to school with me. If I'm lying, may my son not bear the surname Xiao..."
The old man with the jujube pit smiled and said, "We've heard about what you're saying, and we've checked it out. It seems to be true. So we're not here to ask you for students or to extort you." Seeing my puzzled look, the old man with the jujube pit said something that shocked me: "We're here to give you students. Think about it, since you're not charging money for recruiting, it doesn't matter where you recruit. We probably have over 1,000 students, and we'll give them all to you. Just accept them."
"Then what are you after?"
"We still take kickbacks, but it's only a few hundred yuan more per person than before. Since you don't charge tuition, the children still save money. We've made a small contribution to education and brought good news to students from impoverished families..."
Now I understand what these people are trying to do. I slammed my fist on the table and said, "That's not a place just anyone can go..."
Zaohe asked, "What kind do you want? Students from impoverished families? Students with special talents?" Seeing me shake my head repeatedly, Zaohe became a little anxious, "Do you want to start a private school?"
I was taken aback, but then I realized it made sense, so I immediately nodded.
Zaohe and the others finally realized they'd been completely fooled, and they all flew into a rage. Six Fingers yelled, "Don't think I don't know what kind of school you've run! One toilet per floor and you think you can run a prestigious school?"
At this moment, Jing Ke suddenly shouted, "Stop arguing!" His hair stood on end in anger, and he looked imposing. Everyone present immediately shut up.
After the scene quieted down, Chang Xiangyu finished singing the last line in a leisurely and melodious voice: "In what way am I inferior to men... sizzle sizzle..."
Chapter Fifty: This Woman is Not Simple
I stood up and said, "Thank you all for thinking so highly of me and treating me like a piece of cake, but my situation is really special. Let's cooperate again in the future."
Six Fingers glanced at Jing Ke, and finally said with dissatisfaction, "You're just leaving like that?"
"I might introduce you to two people who are particularly good at poaching talent in a few days." If Su Qin and Zhang Yi came, I really would have them do that.
Seeing that they were still not satisfied, I called to the waiter, "Bring two dozen Zhujiang Pure Draft Beer here." Then I smiled at them and said, "Consider this my apology to you all."
I led Ersha out quickly, and Ersha suddenly pointed at the bar sign and asked me, "What does this character mean?"
"Reverse Time, what's wrong?"
Ersha scratched his head and said, "That pretty girl during the day seemed to have asked you to meet her at some time..."
I glanced at my watch; it was exactly 10 o'clock. Just then, a taxi pulled up in front of the bar, and a pretty young woman got out. She saw me, smiled politely, paid the fare, shook my hand, and said with satisfaction, "Manager Xiao is such a punctual person." Then, without another word, she led the way inside.
Completely confused, I asked Jing Ke, "Was this the same girl during the day?"
Jing Ke nodded and said, "It's her. She wore more clothes during the day than she does now, and her arms weren't showing—her arms are so white!"
I said, "From now on, except for braised pork knuckles, you are forbidden from praising other people's hands or arms."
This was pure luck, but I felt like I'd seen this woman somewhere before. She was wearing a very cartoonish T-shirt and those wrinkled, flared casual trousers that girls love to wear these days, but she still looked rather dull and serious. She led me upstairs, and the waiters along the way hurriedly bowed and greeted her, some giving a slight nod, others just a snort. Then it dawned on me—I had indeed seen her before, back when Jin Shaoyan was around. One morning, she inexplicably came to my pawnshop, and I was wearing Liu Bang's dragon robe with bare legs. She stared at me coldly for a long time; that aloof and arrogant air was unforgettable.
She led Ersha and me into private room number 4, which was separated from the recruitment team by only one wall. She placed her handbag on the sofa, gestured for us to sit down, and then smiled elegantly, "What would you like to drink? It's on me."
Without hesitation, Jing Ke said, "Two dozen Zhujiang Pure Draft Beer."
I knew I was going to embarrass myself—could I even finish it?
I said, "Don't listen to him, just hit him."
The aloof beauty smiled faintly, looked at Jing Ke, and asked me, "And who is this?"
A little awkwardly, I said, "A friend." I hadn't expected to coincidentally be attending two dates at the same bar. If it were a man and a woman who were strangers on a date, and the woman brought another girl along, that would be more natural. But the situation was that I, a grown man, was there with another grown man, which made things a bit complicated.
The aloof beauty nodded to Jing Ke, then said to me, "Let me formally introduce myself, this is Chen Kejiao. We've already met, I wonder if Manager Xiao remembers me?"
"Oh...hehe...yes, what a coincidence."
That's how people are. When you do something dishonorable and someone sees you, if you're destined never to see that person again, you can just pretend they didn't exist. For example, if you're urinating on a speeding train, even if there's no glass in the window, you don't need to worry about people watching from the side of the railway, even if there are crowds of people outside.
But if you've just finished urinating and are pulling up your pants to walk out, only to find that the train has stopped and all the people who just witnessed your toilet session have boarded, a psychologically fragile person might just break down.
That's how I feel right now. I'd rather she saw me naked that day than relive that scene. I was wearing a yellow dragon robe with golden armor underneath—it was really yellow and violent.
When the waiter respectfully knocked and came in to ask what we wanted, Chen Kejiao ordered, "A bottle of Hennessy with soda water." It seems she's still a self-righteous woman; once she realizes her companion is wrong, she'll act arbitrarily and make her own decisions—she's not the kind of woman who can drink beer with us.
Then I didn't know what to say to her. She kept calling me Manager Xiao, probably wanting to do business with the pawnshop. Judging from her words, actions, and clothing, she didn't seem like someone short of money. Why would she meet me at a place like this at 10 pm? Was she tempted by my handsome and dashing appearance, a lonely and ambitious woman seeking solace in a night out…?
Looking at Chen Kejiao, even though she's wearing a loose T-shirt, you can see her beautiful bust shape—a perfect half-bowl shape. A woman's breasts are truly one of the most eye-catching features for men; even the "Health Education" textbooks distributed by schools say that full breasts are an indispensable part of female beauty.