Chapter 103: The First Training Session

“What do you mean by ‘similar situation’? What situation?” Han Xue spoke to Hong Tao with extreme caution now, for if you were even the slightest bit careless, he’d take advantage or make you uncomfortable, and he never tired of it.

“I mean girls who want to turn over a new leaf, stop wandering aimlessly in society, but can’t find the right path.” Hong Tao explained himself.

“What do you mean, turn over a new leaf! Are you saying I’m bad? What’s bad about me?” Han Xue’s face darkened immediately.

“Hey, didn’t we settle this question before? Look, whenever the police show up, who hides behind their clothes? Whoever hides is the guilty one!” Hong Tao never missed a chance to tease Han Xue; he couldn’t talk to her without making her uncomfortable.

“Are your ears itching again? I haven’t pulled them in a while, want to try?” Han Xue threatened, raising her hand.

“Hey… A gentleman uses words, not fists! Fine, fine, I take back what I said, let me start over!” Hong Tao knew he was no match for Han Xue, so he backed away.

“I’m not listening. You never say anything serious. Just keep messing around! You get a kick out of teasing me all day. One day, when I lose my temper, I’ll find someone to strip you naked and toss you onto the street—then you’ll see how much fun that is!” Han Xue couldn’t catch Hong Tao, so she stood with hands on hips, scolding him.

“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you. I really am talking about something serious. I want to hire two more helpers for the shop, but I don’t know anyone. You know lots of people—are there any girls who fit the criteria I mentioned? Bring two over.” Hong Tao covered his ears and came closer again, looking as if he was ready for a proper conversation.

“Why do you need to hire more people? Are you unhappy with Han Yan’s work?” Han Xue thought immediately of her younger sister.

“You’re guessing. Even if I fired myself, I wouldn’t let Han Yan go. She’s the only one who can actually work. If she left, I’d have to rely on you and my cousin—two lazybones whose butts would rot if you sat too long. I might as well shut down the shop.” Hong Tao’s quirky remarks returned.

“That’s your cousin! Don’t lump me in. I do plenty of work. Look—my nails are worn down from washing hair all day. I’ve scrubbed them away!” Han Xue protested, showing him her fingertips.

“Let me see. Wow, your hands are so cold. Let me warm them up…” Hong Tao wasn’t really looking at her nails, but took her hand and started rubbing it.

“Go away, you rascal! I’m not helping you find anyone, even if I could. You’re up to no good—I wouldn’t drag my friends into your little pit!” Han Xue realized she’d been taken advantage of again and quickly pulled her hand away.

“Come on. Look, at my place, food and drink are taken care of, the pay is good, and they can chat with female customers about clothes, jewelry, perfumes, whatever. It’s better than running around outside. Even if you’re young now and enjoy fighting, what about when you get older? You can’t live that way forever. I’ve heard of old ruffians, but never old lady gangsters. Isn’t that the truth? If you bring them here, you’re helping them out, and one day they’ll thank you!” Hong Tao, having had his fun, settled down to talk seriously about life and ideals.

“Aren’t you afraid you’ll end up hiring a bunch of troublemakers, and the neighborhood committee or police will hassle you? Aren’t you worried about your reputation?” Han Xue was taken aback by his words. She herself was in this predicament: wanting to return to normal society but unable to find the chance. People like her were always spoken ill of behind their backs, and no proper workplace would accept her. That’s why she preferred staying at Hong Tao’s shop—no one looked down on her there, at least not openly.

“Ask around at my school. Aside from a handful of students and teachers who’ll talk to me, everyone else avoids me like the plague. I’m famous for being a troublemaker in my neighborhood. Parents tell their kids: Don’t run across the street! Go home right after school! Don’t hang out with Hong Tao! If that’s how things stand, do you think I still care about reputation? Reputation isn’t given—it’s earned. Why you ended up wandering the streets, I don’t know, but there’s always a reason. But just because you were a thief once doesn’t mean you’ll always be one. At least, that’s not how I see it. If you still want to return to the fold, let me be the first to welcome you on behalf of the people.” Hong Tao spoke sincerely at first, but ended up joking, spreading his arms wide as if waiting for Han Xue to throw herself into them.

“I’ll give you a hug!” Han Xue didn’t dodge this time, but stretched out her hands and moved closer. Just when Hong Tao thought his speech had moved her, she grabbed both his ears.

“Hey! I thought we were having a serious talk, why are you getting physical again?” Hong Tao couldn’t escape, so he protested indignantly.

“I haven’t even started yet, no need to yell! I’ll trust you once more and help you find two girls. They’re a bit older—do you want them?” Han Xue didn’t pull, just held his ears, ready to act.

“Older? How old? If they’re over thirty, forget it—they learn too slowly!” Hong Tao thought Han Xue was offering to bring him some middle-aged women, and he couldn’t handle fierce types like that. One is enough to turn the shop upside down, and they’re hard to get rid of.

“They’re not that old, just barely over twenty. They joined us this year and used to be my neighbors. They just returned from Inner Mongolia last year. Their families have lots of kids, nowhere to live, no jobs, so they had to hang out with us—staying a couple days here, a couple days there. They used to be decent girls, only recently started mixing with us. If they had a choice, they wouldn’t follow me. How about letting them work for you?” Han Xue briefly described their situation.

“Alright, bring them by tomorrow night. If they don’t have a place to stay, I’ll buy two folding beds and they can sleep in the shop with Yan. If there’s no room in the salon, there’s the tailor shop. By the way, if girls just over twenty are considered old, how old are you? I’ve asked Han Yan several times, but she won’t tell me. You know how old I am—let me in on your age, it’s only fair!” Hearing they were young educated women, Hong Tao felt reassured. People who’ve suffered appreciate sweetness.

“Keep guessing, I’m not telling! Hahaha!” Han Xue finally managed to win a round verbally and was quite pleased.

“Suit yourself. I’ll find out eventually. Whatever I want to know, there’s no hiding it from me. Why don’t you come work here too? Wandering around gets you nowhere. After a few years here, you’ll calm down, and I’ll set you up with someone—a family of your own, wouldn’t that be great? Then…” Hong Tao barely let Han Xue laugh for five seconds before she got annoyed again and twisted his ears painfully.

“You’re like a dog, turning on people in a flash! Tonight, when you leave, I’ll crawl into Yan’s bed and let her pull my ears! You bully me, I’ll bully your sister! Hahahaha…” Having finally escaped Han Xue’s clutches, Hong Tao darted away, then started teasing her again. When Han Xue gave chase, he rushed into the salon, where customers were present, so she didn’t dare cause trouble.

The next day at noon, after lunch in the salon, Hong Tao boarded bus 116 and headed to the sports school. It was his first visit, so he put on the tracksuit and sneakers he’d won at the school’s sports meet. The sports school was just outside the east wall of Tiantan Park, with a small stadium and gymnasium, about the size of the Ditan Sports Field.

The judo class Hong Tao joined was on the second floor of the gym. Judo, Chinese wrestling, and gymnastics all shared a large room; boys’ and girls’ teams trained together but separated during practice.

Coach Pang was a straightforward man. He opened with a single statement, then had a senior student lead warm-ups. His words were memorable: “If I ever hear of anyone using the techniques I teach to fight outside, you’ll be expelled immediately!”

This batch of new judo students, recruited from various elementary schools in the east city, totaled eleven. They hardly knew each other. Only one was a girl; at first glance, Hong Tao thought it was Zhang Da Jiang’s sister—the physique and build were nearly identical, though not as fair-skinned. Hong Tao figured she was being groomed as a future heavyweight champion. If she grew up equally wide and tall, she’d be unbeatable—no matter how you threw her, it’d be hard to tell if she’d fallen.

The other ten ranged in age; the oldest was in fourth grade, the youngest—Hong Tao himself—only in second grade. Yet in terms of stature, Hong Tao was no less developed than the fourth grader.

After warm-ups, the first lesson was on basic judo etiquette and rules. Hong Tao, as usual, drifted off mentally. He watched the senior judo students on the other side paired up for training—one attacking, one defending, sparring energetically.

“Get up!” Just as he was engrossed, Hong Tao felt a sudden tightness around his neck and was lifted into the air. When he came to, Coach Pang was gripping his collar.

“Where was I just now?”

“Uh… I didn’t hear…” Hong Tao replied honestly, for he truly hadn’t listened.

PS: Thanks to all the readers for your support—I can finally strongly recommend this book for launch. This Friday, the 12th, at noon, I welcome everyone who likes this book to subscribe and help boost my stats a bit. Of course, all I can give back is… more chapters!