Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

A fine layer of sweat beaded on Blondie's nose.

The cigarette butt was still burning, its pale ash crumbling and precariously close, only a few millimeters away from his skin.

The intense heat roasted his nerves.

He could even smell the burnt scent of his own nose hairs singeing.

The surroundings were dead silent.

Everyone held their breath, watching this elementary school kid in flip-flops holding a pair of iron coal tongs, pinching the cigarette butt just two or three centimeters away from Blondie's nose.

Chen Zhi's wrist didn't move an inch.

"If you think I'm joking, you can try me."

Chen Zhi's tone was flat, and he pushed the tongs forward by a millimeter.

"Don't! No, no, no!"

Blondie finally broke down.

He jerked his head back, stumbled, and fell hard on his butt.

His floral shirt was covered in dust.

"I won't collect the fee! I won't collect it anymore, alright?!"

Blondie scrambled backward on his hands and knees, looking as pathetic as a stray dog.

If this kid really was Captain Liu's nephew, his few bones wouldn't be enough to be dismantled down at the station.

"Get lost."

Chen Zhi released the tongs.

The cigarette butt fell to the ground, and he stomped it out with his foot.

Blondie, feeling as if he had been granted amnesty, scrambled up from the ground. Not even daring to leave a parting threat, he called his lackeys and slinked away into the crowd, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

The alley was quiet for two seconds.

Then, a low wave of gasps erupted.

The students looked at Chen Zhi differently now.

This boss was a ruthless guy.

"What are you all staring at?"

Chen Zhi tossed the tongs back into the coal box, dipped a brush into the oil bucket, and flicked it onto the iron griddle.

Sizzle—

Oil smoke billowed up.

"Are we not doing business? You want to starve?"

This shout instantly snapped everyone back to their senses.

"Boss! I want five skewers! Extra spicy!"

"Give me ten gluten skewers! I was scared to death just now, I need something to calm my nerves!"

"Me too! Me too!"

Business was even more booming than before.

The students seemed to be using binge eating to vent their recent tension, handing over bills like falling snow.

Lin Wanwan still hadn't recovered from the shock.

She mechanically took the money and gave change, her movements a bit stiff.

The figure that had stood in front of her just now, though small and thin, gave her an unprecedented sense of security.

Was this still the Chen Zhi who only knew how to play video games?

"Stop spacing out, collect the money."

Chen Zhi nudged her with his elbow.

Lin Wanwan snapped back to reality and hurriedly stuffed the money into her fanny pack.

Li Zhiyi squatted on the ground, tightly gripping a palm-leaf fan and fanning rapidly.

Sparks flew everywhere.

She secretly glanced up at Chen Zhi.

Amidst the swirling smoke, Chen Zhi's profile was focused and stern, a few drops of sweat hanging on his forehead and sliding down his cheek.

Li Zhiyi's heart beat fast.

For a moment just now, she really thought they were going to be beaten.

But Chen Zhi had protected them behind him.

From childhood to now, apart from her grandparents, no one had ever protected her like this.

For the next hour, the three of them were so busy their feet barely touched the ground.

Chen Zhi's hands never stopped.

Flipping, seasoning, oiling, bagging.

His movements were so fast they were just a blur.

Two boxes of gluten and one box of starch sausages were completely sold out in the final minute before the evening self-study bell rang.

"All gone, all gone! Come early tomorrow!"

Chen Zhi tossed the last handful of skewers into the trash can and waved his hand at the few students still in line.

"Ah? It's all gone?"

"Boss, you don't last long enough!"

The students who didn't get to buy complained a bit and could only disperse helplessly.

Chen Zhi slumped onto a folding stool and let out a long breath.

His arms ached to death.

Although this body was young and had strong recovery abilities, it hadn't been exercised much, so this kind of high-intensity physical labor was still a bit too much to handle.

"I'm exhausted!"

Lin Wanwan slumped onto another folding stool without any regard for her image, unbuckled her fanny pack, and dropped it heavily onto the pushcart.

"But... that felt so good!"

Her eyes sparkling, she dumped all the money from the bag onto the stainless steel surface of the cart.

The colorful bills piled up into a small mountain.

There were one-yuan coins, five- and ten-yuan bills, all crumpled and stained with oil and smelling of cumin.

But in Lin Wanwan's eyes, this smelled sweeter than anything else.

"Quick, count it! Count it!"

Lin Wanwan rubbed her hands together excitedly.

Li Zhiyi also leaned in, carefully stacking the coins one by one.

Chen Zhi unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and tilted his head back to take a large gulp.

The cold liquid slid down his throat, taking away the heat from his body.

"Chen Zhi."

As Lin Wanwan counted the money, she asked curiously, "Since when do you have a second uncle who's a captain in the urban management brigade? How come I didn't know?"

Their two families were neighbors and knew everything about each other.

She knew better than anyone what relatives Chen Zhi's family had.

Chen Zhi crushed the empty bottle and casually tossed it into the trash can.

"I lied to him."

Lin Wanwan's hands stopped counting.

She widened her eyes, looking at Chen Zhi as if he were a monster.

"Lied... lied to him?"

"Yeah."

Chen Zhi stood up and began cleaning the residue off the grill.

"It was just a psychological game. That kind of thug looks fierce, but they actually value their lives the most. The calmer I sounded, the more guilty and scared he felt."

Lin Wanwan's mouth gaped open, unable to close for a long time.

This psychological fortitude.

This acting skill.

It would be a pity if he didn't become a movie star.

"What if... what if he actually made a move?"

Li Zhiyi asked quietly, her voice still carrying a trace of lingering fear.

Chen Zhi poured the coal ash into the iron bucket with a loud clatter.

"Then I would have smashed this whole stove of red-hot coals into his face."

He said it casually.

But both girls shuddered in unison.

Chen Zhi wasn't joking.

If Blondie had really dared to attack just now, he absolutely would have struck first.

To deal with this kind of street thug, you have to be more ruthless and more reckless with your life than they are.

"Three hundred and forty-two point five yuan!"

Lin Wanwan finally finished counting the money and excitedly raised her hands to cheer.

"Minus the costs, we made a net profit of over three hundred! My god, this is faster than robbing a bank!"

In this era, three hundred yuan was definitely a huge sum of money.

Chen Zhi didn't feel much emotion about it.

This little bit of money wasn't even enough to cover the tip of one of his past meals.

But for his current initial accumulation of capital, it was a good start.

"Pack up, let's go home."

Chen Zhi folded up the table and placed it on the pushcart.

The three of them pushed the cart, walking on the way home.

The streetlights were dim yellow, stretching their three shadows very long.

Lin Wanwan was still excitedly planning how to spend the money, while Li Zhiyi followed silently behind, glancing at Chen Zhi from time to time.

They arrived downstairs.

Chen Zhi stopped.

"Let's divide the money."

Lin Wanwan immediately took out the money and divided it into three piles.

"We agreed, a forty-sixty split. This one hundred and twenty is for me and Zhiyi, and this one hundred and eighty is yours."

She handed the thick stack of small bills to Chen Zhi.

Chen Zhi didn't take it.

He pulled a twenty-yuan bill from the pile and stuffed it into his pocket.

"This twenty covers my material costs."

Then, he took the remaining one hundred and sixty yuan, along with the share in Lin Wanwan's hand, entirely for himself.

Lin Wanwan froze for a moment.

"Hey? What are you doing?"

Chen Zhi ignored her, turned around, and walked over to Li Zhiyi.

He grabbed Li Zhiyi's hand and forcefully stuffed the large handful of change into her palm.

"Take it."

Li Zhiyi jerked her hand back as if she had been burned.

"No... I can't! I can't take this!"

Her face flushed bright red, her eyes filled with panic.

"I just fanned the smoke, I didn't do anything... I can't take this money!"

"I'm giving it to you, so just take it!"

Chen Zhi frowned, his tone instantly turning cold.

"Why so much nonsense?"

Startled by his fierce tone, Li Zhiyi shrank her neck back, tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn't dare refuse again.

She lowered her head, looking at the heavy wad of cash in her hands.

This money was enough for her and her grandparents to live on for half a month.

"And this."

Chen Zhi pointed to the cart next to them and the full set of equipment on it.

"This cart, the stove, and the leftover seasonings are all yours now."

Even Lin Wanwan was stunned by this.

"Chen Zhi, are you crazy? This is our money-making equipment!"

Chen Zhi ignored Lin Wanwan's yelling and stared at Li Zhiyi.

"You memorized the recipe, right? The ratio of chili powder to cumin is 3:1, brush the oil twice, and sprinkle that special powder from the bottle right before serving. That's the core technology; don't use too much, or it'll taste bitter."

Li Zhiyi looked up blankly, tears finally spilling from her eyes.

"Chen Zhi... what... what are you doing?"

She didn't understand.

Why was he giving her so much money?

Why was he giving her these things?

"I'm quitting."

Chen Zhi yawned, looking at his greasy hands with a look of disgust.

"All this smoke and fire is too tiring. Plus, I'm too lazy to run to the school every day."

"But..."

Li Zhiyi sobbed, her tears falling like broken strings of pearls.

"I... I can't... I can't do it by myself..."

She had never run a business on her own before.

She was afraid of facing strangers, afraid of miscalculating the bills, and afraid of running into bad guys like Blondie again.

"Why can't you?"

Chen Zhi interrupted her with a hint of impatience.

"You saw it yourself just now, how profitable this thing is. As long as you're not stupid and cook the food thoroughly, you can sell it."

He paused, and seeing Li Zhiyi's pitiful appearance, his tone softened slightly.

But it still carried an unquestionable bossiness.

"Li Zhiyi, listen to me."

"No one in this world can protect you forever. If you don't want to be bullied, and if you want your grandparents to live a better life, you have to stand on your own two feet."

"This stall is your first step."

Li Zhiyi bit her lip, clutching the money in her hand tightly.

Her knuckles turned white.

She knew Chen Zhi meant well.

But this kindness was too heavy; it weighed her down so much she could barely breathe.

"I..."

She still wanted to refuse.

But Chen Zhi gave her no chance at all.

"Alright, stop crying and whining, it's annoying."

Chen Zhi waved his hand and turned to walk into the apartment building.

"It's settled then. Tomorrow, take your grandpa to restock and set up the stall together. If I see this cart collecting dust in the hallway, I'll throw it in the dump."

After taking two steps, he stopped and glanced back at Li Zhiyi, who was still frozen in place.

"Oh, right."

A playful smirk curled the corners of Chen Zhi's mouth.

"I'm not just giving it to you for free."

"I'm an investor, got it?"

"From now on, when you make money, you have to give me twenty percent of the profits from every shift. If you dare to pocket it all, I'll come and flip your stall over."

Li Zhiyi froze.

Looking at Chen Zhi's slightly roguish face, she suddenly understood something.

He was giving her a way out to save face.

And giving her a reason to accept it.

If he hadn't said that, given her personality, she would never have dared to accept these things.

"Did you hear me?"

Seeing her stay silent, Chen Zhi pressed her fiercely again.

Li Zhiyi sniffled and nodded vigorously.

"I... I heard you."

Though her voice still carried a crying tone, it was firmer than before.

Chen Zhi finally snorted in satisfaction.

"I'm leaving."

With his hands in his pockets and dragging his flip-flops, he sauntered into the pitch-black hallway.

Lin Wanwan stood there, looking at Chen Zhi's back, then at the huge sum of money and equipment in Li Zhiyi's hands.

She suddenly felt as if she was meeting Chen Zhi for the first time.

This guy...

When did he become so handsome?

"Zhiyi, stop crying."

Lin Wanwan walked over, put her arm around Li Zhiyi's shoulders, and helped wipe away her tears.

"Since that profiteer said so, just accept it. We'll go restock together tomorrow! I'll help you haggle!"

Li Zhiyi looked at the money in her hands, then at the cart that still held some residual heat.

Under the streetlight, the shabby little cart seemed to be coated with a layer of gold.

That was her hope.

And the confidence Chen Zhi had given her.

"Yeah."

Li Zhiyi nodded heavily and carefully tucked the money into her inner pocket.

She looked up in the direction Chen Zhi had disappeared.

She silently swore in her heart.

She definitely had to get this stall running.

She definitely had to make money.

And then... share it with Chen Zhi.