As the two men came out, two policemen greeted Shao Xiaodong. Shao Xiaodong quickly handed them a pack of cigarettes, treating them like close friends.
Once they were out of the police station, Shao Xiaodong pulled out a wad of cash and shoved it into Chen Chu's hand, saying, "Here, brother, let's split it half!"
Chen Chu looked at the stack of money, which amounted to more than three thousand, and hurriedly declined to accept it.
Shao Xiaodong chuckled: "Take it. From now on, we're brothers. Why be so formal?" Shao Xiaodong insisted on putting it in his pocket, unlike the kind of insincere gesture. Chen Chu understood that this kid had already sensed that Fatty Yin was about to make a move on him, so he was feeding himself first.
Chen Chu pondered it over repeatedly. He decided to take it! Why not? He had no income right now, and these days you can't do anything without money. He'd slept with so many women, and although he hadn't spent any money, frankly, he'd still been cheated! And then there was his manhood—that thing was also his capital!
Without the capital to back it up, and without the sweet talk to fool women, how could they possibly take the bait? Hmm… Chen Chu thought about it and decided to keep the money. He'd have to focus on making money in the future too. If he slipped this over, even the police station chief would be on friendly terms with him. That was way more effective than kung fu…
Shao Xiaodong wanted Chen Chu to go to Hancheng with him for some fun and excitement. After all, he had made a fortune that day. Shao Xiaodong had taken 5,000 from the pig farmer, extorted 10,000 from Liu Laoqi, given over 4,000 to his brothers, paid 3,000 to the police station as a bribe, and split 4,000 with Chen Chu. Of course, he also gave money out of his own pocket to Chen Chu's men. Shao Xiaodong had foresight. Although Chen Chu's group had never been in a fight before, it was precisely because they had never been in a fight that they were so reckless when they did.
If those who frequently fight tend to stay on the sidelines and slip away, and if fighting is done in formations, then those who don't know how to fight will rush to the center, especially in group fights. Well, if you rush to the center, you'll be the first to stick your neck out and get hit by a barrage of sticks!
Those who know how to fight tend to stay on the sidelines. When the two sides start fighting, the fighters shout and yell, but they rush to the edge because there are fewer people there. If things don't look good, they run away quickly.
Shao Xiaodong never suffered a loss in a fight; he always sneaked away and ran away. It was only last time, when Chen Chu betrayed him, that he got that beating for the first time.
Chen Chu took the money and went straight back to school. It was almost 1 p.m. and the teacher still hadn't come. He went to a small shop to buy something to eat and didn't see Liu He until the afternoon.
Liu He had dark circles under his eyes, and although his face was washed very clean, he looked obviously haggard, as if he had been gang-raped.
Chen Chu wondered to himself, "Was Ji Yang really rough with her? Did he make her cry?" But Liu He walked normally, and there was no pigeon-toed or anything like that, so she was obviously still a virgin.
Fang Yangyang walked very unnaturally today. She stood in the corridor for a while and then went back to her classroom to sit down. Liu He, on the other hand, walked fine, but looked listless. Chen Chu thought about it carefully and suddenly laughed.
Liu He definitely wants to be with Ji Yang, she's practically begging for his attention, but Ji Yang isn't willing to put his penis in. That's for sure, because Chen Chu has seen Ji Yang reject Liu He several times. He thinks this little girl is just unhappy because Ji Yang hasn't slept with her.
He couldn't help but chuckle. Upon hearing Chen Chu laugh, Liu He turned around and glared at him fiercely, panting with anger. He thought to himself, "How can someone like this live in this world? Who gave him the courage to live?"
But they're still living a pretty good and comfortable life.
Chen Chu ignored him and leisurely started reading Old Zhang's books. Sometimes he would go to the classroom office. As the head of the student council, he had the key to the general office of the teachers and would go in to find a few books to read. Anyway, there were no teachers around.
He pulled out a few high school algebra books to read. Actually, he was only reading them out of boredom. He had fired several shots yesterday, so he wasn't so pent up anymore and just looked at the books.
Chen Chu used to have no direction in life, just aimlessly drifting through his days. But now he has a new direction—it's all about studying! The ancients were right! "In books, you'll find beauty like jade," truly a well-deserved saying!
If I hadn't been in school, would I have been able to meet such wonderful girls, like Zhu Na, Lu Xiaoqiao, Wang Hongmei, and Fang Yangyang? Maybe I would only be hiding in my dilapidated house watching Liu Cui pee and masturbating while watching her naked butt!
It is evident that the benefits of going to school were evident, and the ancients may have often done similar things while in school, which led to their profound academic theories.
Chen Chu pondered to himself. He felt that he was reading faster and faster. His hand could turn a page in just a few seconds. This speed was astonishing to him. He could finish a book in ten minutes at most, and he could understand the knowledge points in it after thinking about it.
Chen Chu couldn't help but wonder if... if he was born with a talent for math! He had heard his teacher, Wang Xia, say that the brains of science students and humanities students are different. Science students have very strong logical thinking, while humanities students are particularly sensitive and perceptive to emotions.
For example, someone like Lin Daiyu could cry tears of joy at the sight of flowers blooming and falling, and could wipe a handkerchief full of snot. How rich must her literary talent be?
Those who excel in science have strong logical thinking skills, which translates to quick reactions and exceptional intelligence.
Before he knew it, Chen Chu had read several books, and then he went to find other books to read. He basically spent the whole day reading.
High school courses are incomparable to junior high school courses. In 2000, the national education system was roughly like this: elementary school students didn't study much, junior high students were taught but not really, high school students studied to the point of exhaustion, and university students studied while having fun, living together, and having children.
Chen Chu also sensed the difficulty of the high school textbooks, but he didn't feel much pressure. The textbooks were left in the office by Wang Xia and the other homeroom teachers because every teacher was thinking about transferring.
Who wouldn't want to be transferred to a high school, or even a university? The higher the place you're transferred to, the more extra income you'll earn.
Chen Chu first went home and walked around for a while, then went to Old Man Zhang's place.
Old Zhang seemed to have aged even more. Chen Chu laughed and said, "Old man, have you been pent up lately? How about I take you to a hair salon to find a prostitute to cool off?"
"You bastard..." Old Zhang, trembling with anger, pointed at his nose and cursed, "How can you talk like that? Do you have any conscience? Find me a prostitute! One prostitute isn't enough! At least three!"
Chen Chu chuckled: "Old man, you're really going to risk your life!"
"Hmm... Why are you here so early today? Aren't you going to see Zhu Na, Fang Yangyang, or any of your lovers?"
"Tsk tsk tsk... You're so rude. What we did was called a relationship, okay?"
"What a load of rubbish! You've had your fun and now you want something new, haven't you? Men, they're never satisfied." Old Zhang sighed, "You donkey, there's no end to playing the game, but there's always a shore to return to! You should learn something useful from this old man..."
Chen Chu pursed his lips: "Old man, I keep thinking about that policewoman today. Do you think I could possibly sleep with her?"
"Sigh! Sometimes you need to have self-awareness, and sometimes you shouldn't give up on yourself! Do you understand?"
Old Zhang sighed and said, "What I mean by 'a person should know his place' is that you're still just a young boy, a country bumpkin, from a poor family, and... you're not as handsome as I was when I was young. You're already doing well to have achieved what you have. Don't try to do too much at once. You want to mess around with a policewoman? Bah!"
Old Zhang paused for a moment and then said, "Don't give up on yourself. We're all human. Why can others do it, but you can't? People look down on you, saying you're a country bumpkin, a half-grown kid, that you're out of touch with reality, that you're not worthy! Are you really not worthy? Everyone eats one bite at a time, and walks one step at a time. Why should they look down on you? If you do well, you deserve all of that! What's self-awareness? Bullshit!"
After thinking it over, Chen Chu realized that Old Man Zhang had gotten himself into a bind.
Old Zhang chuckled: "Donkey, everything in this world is a double-edged sword. When you're poor and down on your luck, people will say you need to be self-aware. But when you grow up and stand tall one day, they can only look up to you. It all takes time..."
The process... Chen Chu seemed to understand a little.
"You need to be strong yourself to succeed. Once you have the ability and have made it, others will see it, and women will flock to you. Like Zhu Na asked you, do you have a brick house? Ma Huaqiang's family has a van and a greenhouse! You don't need to argue. When you have these things, you don't need to say it or explain it to others. Everyone can see it. Nobody's stupid..."
Chen Chu bit his lip and sighed, "Yeah, old man, I understand. I'll try my best. By the way, I seem to remember things faster today than ever before. Look..."
"Hmm..." Old Zhang grabbed the jade thumb ring on Chen Chu's chest, his hand suddenly trembled, and after a long while, he shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes, his lips trembling with excitement.
Seeing that he seemed to be out of his mind, Chen Chu hurriedly asked, "Old man, what's wrong with you? You...you can't be dead yet!"
Old Zhang was initially very excited, but upon hearing Chen Chu's words, he became so angry that he gave Chen Chu a sharp rap on the head, making Chen Chu's head ache, and he rubbed it.
"I'm not going to die!"
After cursing, Old Zhang burst into laughter, saying, "Haha... I... I can't even die now..."
Chen Chu, not understanding what he meant, stared at Old Man Zhang.
After he calmed down, Chen Chu gave him a push: "Old man, have you been through some kind of mental breakdown? Should I call Dr. Yuan?"
"Sigh, you rascal!" Old Zhang sat down, still holding his jade thumb ring in his hand, and said, "Chen Chu, let me ask you, if there were a chance for you to become a strong person, would you take it? I'm talking about now, there's a chance for you to become a strong person!"
Looking into Old Zhang's staring eyes, Chen Chu grinned: "What's with all this talk about strength? I just want lots of wives so I can fuck that cop..."
"Sigh... You have no ambition and waste such a precious thing! You're just a spendthrift! Chen Chu, I'll give you a chance. I'll take you away. Do you know what's inside this jade ring?"
"Is it heroin inside?" Chen Chu asked.
"Heroin...you damn heroin!"