After school that day, in the cafeteria.
Zhang Yu was sitting with Zhou Tianyi and Bai Zhenzhen, having dinner together.
Bai Zhenzhen, as usual, was cold and silent, calmly devouring the large plate of food in front of her.
Zhou Tianyi glanced at Zhang Yu and said, "Your financial situation seems a bit rough lately."
"Is it that obvious?" Zhang Yu was slightly taken aback, wondering if the debt collectors had already called his classmates.
If so, wouldn’t his debt of 700,000 yuan be exposed to the entire school?
Zhou Tianyi looked at Bai Zhenzhen’s lavish meal, filled with chicken, duck, fish, and meat, then at Zhang Yu’s meager 5-yuan "poor man’s special."
He stroked his chin and said, "Based on my three months of observing the cafeteria, what a person eats here can effectively reflect their financial situation and even their cultivation level during that period."
"For example, someone who eats ten pounds of food in one sitting wouldn’t sit at the same table as someone who eats three pounds."
"Because they’re not in the same social class, one at the top of the campus hierarchy and the other at the bottom."
"Oh, so it’s because I’m eating less," Zhang Yu thought, relieved that his identity as a super poor person hadn’t been exposed yet.
He turned to Bai Zhenzhen, eyeing the dozen chicken legs in her bowl, and asked curiously, "Zhen, those chicken legs look special. Can I try one?"
Bai Zhenzhen didn’t even look up.
"Get lost."
Zhou Tianyi chuckled and handed Zhang Yu a duck leg from his own bowl.
"Zhenzhen had a lot of exercise today and is starving. Try mine instead."
"Good brother!" Zhang Yu gave Zhou Tianyi a thumbs-up and immediately started devouring the duck leg.
Watching Zhang Yu wolf down the food, Zhou Tianyi smiled slightly.
"If you’re having money troubles, I can lend you some."
Zhang Yu waved his hand.
"No need, I’ll figure it out myself."
Although he was deep in debt, Zhang Yu didn’t plan to borrow money from his classmates.
Even if he did, it wouldn’t solve the problem of his massive 700,000-yuan debt.
What he needed was a way to earn money consistently and pay off the debt over time.
"At least I need to pay the monthly interest to prevent the debt collectors from escalating their tactics."
Zhang Yu knew that as his overdue time increased, the debt collection company’s methods would become more aggressive, from online harassment to physical confrontations.
"And there’s rent, utilities, food expenses…"
Thinking about all this, Zhang Yu felt a headache coming on.
After Zhou Tianyi left, Bai Zhenzhen suddenly spoke up.
"Based on my three months of observing you and Zhou Tianyi, he’s been unusually nice to you."
Zhang Yu: "Really?"
Bai Zhenzhen chuckled.
"A guy smiling and giving another guy a duck leg from his own bowl? In my sixteen years of life, I’ve only seen this happen in two situations."
"One, they’re father and son."
"The other, heh heh heh…"
Zhang Yu raised an eyebrow.
"Zhen, you’ve been reading some weird stuff."
Bai Zhenzhen: "Yu, you don’t need to be afraid. In this school, you’re the one with the upper hand."
With that, she pushed her plate toward Zhang Yu.
"I’m full. You can have the leftovers, my dear son."
"Get lost."
Zhang Yu grabbed the plate and noticed that the food was neatly arranged, clearly untouched.
Just as he was about to thank her, he saw Bai Zhenzhen’s back as she walked out of the cafeteria.
Outside, Bai Zhenzhen’s expression cooled again.
She thought to herself, "Yu, there’s actually a third situation where this happens."
She turned to look at the steps outside the cafeteria, where a cafeteria worker was pouring leftover food into a cat’s bowl.
...
After leaving school, Zhang Yu started planning how to make money.
"My rent is 1,500 yuan, utilities are around 200 yuan, and the loan payment is 15,000 yuan a month…"
"Ugh…"
Just thinking about it made his head hurt again.
"I need to earn at least 20,000 yuan a month. A regular job won’t cut it."
As Zhang Yu thought this, his cultivation book appeared in front of him.
Zhang Yu
Dao Heart: Level 1
Mana: 7.7
Physical Strength: 0.84
Martial Arts: 36 Healthy Moves Level 2 (17/20), Freehand Level 1, High School Basic Sword Technique Level 0
Dao Techniques: Basic Breathing Technique Level 1, Basic Heart Refinement Technique Level 1
Seeing the newly added "High School Basic Sword Technique Level 0," Zhang Yu recalled today’s martial arts class.
Martial arts class was where students learned various combat techniques and fighting skills.
Out of the 100 points in the class, 80 were based on practical combat.
First-year students were required to learn one unarmed combat technique and one weapon-based combat technique.
The High School Basic Sword Technique was what he had learned in today’s class, but since he hadn’t truly mastered it yet, it still showed as Level 0.
However, Zhang Yu tried dragging it and found that he could still manipulate it.
He estimated that if he focused on this technique, he could quickly master and level it up.
With these thoughts in mind, Zhang Yu continued to stare at his panel, thinking about what kind of work he could do.
"Although I’ve just started on the path of cultivation, I’m still a formal student of Songyang High School…"
A moment later, Zhang Yu started contacting his old tutoring center on his phone.
The original Zhang Yu had attended this tutoring center for a year after graduating from middle school before entering Songyang High School.
"The income from tutoring should be good, and since I’m a formal student of Songyang High School, I should have an advantage."
But after inquiring, the tutor told him they were fully staffed and suggested he try other tutoring centers.
So Zhang Yu contacted other tutoring centers.
"Hello, I’d like to work as a part-time tutor. I’m a first-year student at Songyang High School…"
"May I ask where you graduated from elementary and middle school?"
"No, I’m already a formal student at Songyang High School!"
"Sorry, but there are many tutors with high school diplomas from prestigious schools. Parents are very particular about the first and second degrees of tutors who haven’t graduated yet."
After learning about Zhang Yu’s elementary and middle schools, the other party stopped responding.
After repeating this conversation five or six times, Zhang Yu gradually understood.
"Damn it!"
"Are the requirements for first and second degrees really that high?"
"Is the competition for tutoring jobs this fierce?"
Zhang Yu felt like his elementary and middle school diplomas were ugly labels deeply imprinted on his face, making it incredibly difficult to find even a part-time tutoring job.
So Zhang Yu had to temporarily give up on tutoring and try another backup plan.
"I’ll have to try odd jobs for now."
As for odd jobs, the original Zhang Yu had some understanding of them in the past three months since starting school.
Of course, the temporary jobs here weren’t the kind ordinary people looked for, but rather temporary jobs for those who had already embarked on the path of cultivation.
High school students made up a significant portion of this group, as not every high school student was wealthy.
Many needed to earn money to ease their family’s burden or to buy things they wanted.
Since high school students didn’t have high school diplomas and most of their time was spent in class, they often could only take on temporary jobs.
Zhang Yu had also looked into this path in the past two days and immediately contacted an agent, asking if there were any jobs available.
"You’re a bit late. All the jobs for today have been taken."
"Why don’t you come over and wait? You can grab new jobs as soon as they come up."
...
Half an hour later, Zhang Yu arrived at a small square.
From a distance, he saw many people scattered around the square, sitting or lying down.
There were old and young, men and women.
Some were napping on the ground, while others in school uniforms were meditating.
Following the address given, Zhang Yu found a human resources company in the corner of the square.
The company wasn’t big, and the storefront looked like a real estate agency, with dirty glass covered in simple job postings.
Looking at the old sign, Zhang Yu pushed the door open and was hit by a strong smell of smoke, making him frown.
Behind a messy desk, a middle-aged man smoking a cigarette looked up and said, "You’re the high school student who just called?"
Seeing Zhang Yu nod, the man introduced himself as Lao Wang, the agent here.
He took out a few sheets of paper and said, "Fill out this resume, and I’ll register you."
Zhang Yu took a look and saw that besides basic information, he also needed to fill in the martial arts and Dao techniques he had learned, as well as his grades in school.
After handing in the completed form, Zhang Yu asked, "How long does it usually take to find a job? And what’s the pay like?"
Lao Wang scratched his messy hair and said casually, "The lowest pay is a few hundred yuan an hour… But how long it takes to find a job is hard to say. It’s normal to go a week without work if you’re unlucky."
Zhang Yu thought, "The pay here is that high? If that’s the case, working two or three hours a day would be enough to cover my loan and living expenses."
Thinking this, Zhang Yu felt a surge of joy.
But then he heard that jobs were hard to come by, so he asked curiously, "Why is that?"
He emphasized his status: "I’m in the top ten of my first-year class at a prestigious high school. Is it still that hard?"
Lao Wang smiled and pointed outside.
"See those people in the square? Besides high school students like you, the rest are high school graduates."
Zhang Yu was shocked and didn’t believe it.
"How is that possible? They’ve graduated high school and are on the path of cultivation. Why are they looking for temporary jobs here?"
Lao Wang shrugged.
"They didn’t get into university. Not every high school student can get into university."
"If you don’t get into university, you’ll be stuck at the Qi Refining stage for life and can’t ascend to the second level of Kunxu. You’ll just be stuck on the first level year after year…"
Zhang Yu still didn’t understand.
"But they could still find a proper job on the first level. Why do temporary work?"
Lao Wang explained, "They don’t need to sleep. After finishing their day jobs, if their company doesn’t require overtime, they come here to do temporary work."
"Otherwise, how would they pay off their loans? Or have enough money to maintain their cultivation?"
This explanation stirred up a storm in Zhang Yu’s mind.
In his previous memories, he had no idea that high school graduates had it so tough.
He had thought that after graduating high school, even if they didn’t get into university, they’d be sitting in offices in downtown skyscrapers, enjoying air conditioning and tea, earning a decent salary…
But it turns out, before graduation, it’s 24 hours of studying, and after graduation, it’s 24 hours of working.
The hardship just keeps increasing.
Lao Wang looked at Zhang Yu’s resume and smiled.
"Oh, Songyang High School. We’re alumni. I also went to Songyang High School, but I dropped out in my third year."
Zhang Yu: "Dropped out?"
Lao Wang shrugged.
"Couldn’t get into university, so I didn’t want to waste money. I just finished paying off my high school loans last year."
"Since we’re alumni, I’ll give you some advice."
"In high school, do what you can. If you feel like you can’t make it, quit early. Don’t end up like some people, drowning in debt and ruining their lives."
After filling out the forms, Lao Wang told Zhang Yu to wait outside, and he’d notify him as soon as a job came up.
Zhang Yu: "Competing with high school graduates, will I even get a job?"
Lao Wang: "Don’t worry, some jobs are specifically for high school students."
(End of Chapter)