教父的诞生

Part 5

Xie Wendong was walking home alone. It was past ten in the evening, and there were few pedestrians on the street. The night wind rustled through the grass by the roadside. The city was exceptionally quiet at this hour, interrupted only occasionally by cars speeding by. Xie Wendong kicked stones along the road as he walked, lost in his thoughts. What would his future be like? Would he spend his life as a small-time thug, neither fully in nor out of the underworld, or would he take the plunge and join the mafia? Neither path was what he wanted; the deeper he got, the more he realized both paths were endless roads to nowhere. A thought suddenly flashed in his mind, startling even himself. Shaking his head to dispel it, Xie Wendong reminded himself that sometimes one's fate could be decided by oneself, while other times it was destined by heaven.

The following month was the most painful for Li Shuang, Gao Qiang, and their younger gang members. There was no freedom, only oppression; no enjoyment, only studying. Under Xie Wendong's pressure, these students, once deemed future societal scum by their teachers, saw their grades improve significantly. The teachers were astounded, wondering if their dedication had finally moved these troubled youths to change. The school even held a meeting to commend the homeroom teachers of the ninth-grade classes. These students were deemed much better than previous batches, contributing significantly to the cause of education. The homeroom teachers also vowed to work even harder for the future generations of the nation, dedicating themselves to teaching the students well (with many words omitted).

Finally, the day of the high school entrance exams arrived. The day before, Xie Wendong gathered all the brothers who were to take the exams and asked how their preparations were going. Everyone lowered their heads in silence, fully aware that it wasn't easy to make up for three years of neglect. Seeing no one respond, Xie Wendong shook his head and said, "No matter what, tomorrow during the exam, each of you needs to have a pager!"

Li Shuang asked, "Dong Ge, why bring those things?" Gao Qiang was initially puzzled but quickly caught on, slapping Li Shuang on the head, "You're such an idiot, Dong Ge is going to send us the answers!"

Li Shuang, pretending to understand, loudly said, "Get lost, I knew that!" Then he turned to a younger member and quietly asked, "How do you use a pager to send answers?" The younger member, feeling helpless, thought Gao Qiang was right; Li Shuang was indeed clueless but didn't dare say so and explained in detail.

Seeing everyone discussing with smiles, Xie Wendong raised his voice, "Who can't borrow one now? Raise your hand, and I'll help you find a way!" (At that time, pagers were still a novelty in the Northeast and not as common as mobile phones today.)

Several members raised their hands. Li Shuang looked around, blushed, and lowered his head, then raised his hand. Gao Qiang nudged him, "Old Fatty, don't embarrass yourself. I'll help you borrow one."

Li Shuang lowered his head further and shyly said, "I'm poor!" The surrounding brothers laughed. Xie Wendong smiled, "If you can borrow more, do so to help your brothers get through this. Got it?" Some wealthy members loudly responded, "Got it, Dong Ge!"

Xie Wendong nodded in satisfaction. Li Shuang asked, "Dong Ge, did you plan this method to help us pass a long time ago?"

"Sigh! This is called preparing for a rainy day. What use is the little knowledge in your heads?"

"Then why did you make us study for a month?" Li Shuang voiced everyone's doubt.

Xie Wendong, with a serious face, said, "Because I don't want you to be clueless in high school. Remember, without education, you're nothing in society! No matter where you go, no one will respect you. Even if you join the mafia and become a boss, it's the same." Everyone realized Xie Wendong's true intentions were for their own good, feeling touched, they responded in unison, "Got it, Dong Ge!"