Chapter 9: Work

After school that day, Zhang Yu, Zhou Tianyi, and Bai Zhenzhen were having dinner together in the cafeteria.

Bai Zhenzhen, as usual, remained silent and unsmiling, calmly devouring a 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 collection calls had already reached his classmates. Would his 700,000 yuan debt be exposed at school?

Zhou Tianyi looked at Bai Zhenzhen's lavish dinner, complete with chicken, duck, and fish, then at Zhang Yu's 'poor man's meal,' worth just 5 yuan.

He stroked his chin and said, "Based on my three months of observation in 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 jin in one meal wouldn't sit at the same table as someone who eats three jin. Because they're clearly not on the same social tier, they occupy different rungs on the campus's 'pecking order.'"

"Oh, so it's because I'm eating so little," Zhang Yu thought, relieved. He had been worried his 'super poor' identity was about to be exposed.

He turned to Bai Zhenzhen, eyeing the dozen or so chicken drumsticks in her bowl with curiosity. "A-Zhen, those drumsticks look special. Can I try one?"

Without looking up, Bai Zhenzhen simply said, "Scram."

Zhou Tianyi, sitting beside them, smiled and picked a duck drumstick from his own bowl for Zhang Yu. "Zhenzhen had a huge workout today; she's clearly famished. Here, try mine."

"Good man!" Zhang Yu gave Zhou Tianyi a thumbs-up, grabbed the duck drumstick, and started gnawing on it.

Watching Zhang Yu wolf down the food, Zhou Tianyi smiled faintly. "If you're having financial trouble, I can lend you some money."

Zhang Yu waved his hand. "No, thanks. I'll figure it out myself."

Although he was deep in debt, Zhang Yu had no intention of borrowing from his classmates. Besides, borrowing from them wouldn't solve the problem of a 700,000 yuan debt all at once. What he needed was a continuous way to earn money and pay off his debts.

"At the very least, I need to pay the monthly interest to stop the debt collectors from escalating their methods." Zhang Yu knew that as his overdue period grew, the collection agencies' tactics would become increasingly aggressive. From online insults to real-world harassment, each step would be more severe than the last.

"And rent, utility bills, food expenses..." Thinking of 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 exceptionally good to you."

Zhang Yu asked, "Is he?"

Bai Zhenzhen chuckled. "A guy smilingly giving a duck drumstick from his own bowl to another guy—in my sixteen years, I've only seen that happen in two situations. One, they are father and son. The other, *heh heh heh heh*..."

Zhang Yu raised an eyebrow. "A-Zhen, you read a lot of different things, don't you?"

Bai Zhenzhen said, "Yuzi, you don't really need to worry. After all, in this school, you're the one with the upper hand." With that, Bai Zhenzhen pushed her tray towards Zhang Yu. "Ugh, I can't eat any more. You can have these leftovers, my dear son."

"Scram," Zhang Yu muttered, snatching the tray. A quick glance showed the food neatly arranged, clearly barely touched.

Just as Zhang Yu looked up to thank her, he only saw Bai Zhenzhen's back as she left the cafeteria.

Outside the cafeteria, Bai Zhenzhen's expression returned to its usual indifference. She thought to herself, "Yuzi, there's actually a third situation where this happens." Bai Zhenzhen turned to look at the steps outside the cafeteria entrance, where a cafeteria auntie was pouring leftover food from a slop bucket into a cat's bowl.

After leaving school, Zhang Yu began to plan how to earn money.

"My rent is 1,500 yuan, utilities are around 200 yuan a month, and I have to repay 15,000 yuan in loans every month..." "Hiss..." The thought made Zhang Yu's head ache again.

"I need to earn at least 20,000 yuan a month; a regular job definitely won't cut it."

As Zhang Yu's thoughts stirred, the Feather Scroll unfurled before him.

Dao Heart: Level 1Mana: 7.7Physical Strength: Level 0.84Martial Arts: Body Strengthening Thirty-Six Forms Level 2 (17/20), Unarmed Combat Level 1, High School Basic Swordsmanship Level 0Daoist Arts: Health Cultivation Breathing Technique Level 1

Seeing the newly appeared "High School Basic Swordsmanship Level 0," Zhang Yu's mind flashed back to his martial arts class today.

Martial arts classes involved learning various combat and fighting techniques, with 80 out of 100 points for practical combat. For example, first-year high school students were required to learn one unarmed combat technique and one weapon-based combat technique. This High School Basic Swordsmanship was what he had learned in today's class, but because he hadn't truly mastered it yet, it still showed Level 0.

However, Zhang Yu tried it out and found that "High School Basic Swordsmanship Level 0" could also be dragged. He estimated that if he focused on mastering this martial art, he could quickly achieve proficiency and level up, thanks to his potential.

With these thoughts quickly passing through his mind, Zhang Yu continued to stare at his panel, contemplating what kind of work he could do.

"Although I've only recently embarked on the path of cultivation, I'm still a full-time student at Songyang High School..."

A moment later, Zhang Yu started contacting his old cram school on his phone. The original Zhang Yu had attended this cram school for a year after junior high before entering Songyang High School.

"The income from cram schools should be decent, and since I'm a full-time student at Songyang High School, I should have an advantage."

However, after his inquiry, the cram school teacher told him they were full and suggested he try other cram schools. So Zhang Yu contacted other cram schools.

"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 school and junior high?"

"No, I'm already a full-time student at Songyang High School!"

"I apologize, but there are many tutors with top high school qualifications. For a first-year student like you, who hasn't even graduated, parents would place great importance on your elementary and junior high school academic backgrounds."

After learning about Zhang Yu's elementary and junior high schools, they stopped replying.

After repeating this conversation five or six times, Zhang Yu gradually understood.

"Darn it! They're really that strict about elementary and junior high school backgrounds? Has competition for tutors become this intense?"

Zhang Yu felt his elementary and junior high school backgrounds were like two unsightly labels deeply branded on his face, making it incredibly difficult even to find a part-time tutoring job.

Consequently, Zhang Yu had to temporarily abandon the idea of tutoring and try another backup plan.

"I'll just have to try odd jobs first."

The original Zhang Yu had actually learned a bit about odd jobs during the first three months of school. Of course, the temporary jobs mentioned here weren't those sought by ordinary people, but by those who had already embarked on the path of cultivation. High school students, for example, made up a significant portion of this group. After all, not every high school student was wealthy; many needed to earn money themselves, either to ease their family's financial burden or to buy things they desired. Since high school students didn't have a high school diploma and spent most of their time in class, they often could only take on part-time temporary jobs.

Zhang Yu had looked into these types of jobs a bit over the past two days. He immediately added an agent and asked if there was any work available.

"You're a bit late. All the jobs for today have temporarily been taken. Why don't you come here and wait? New jobs get snapped up quickly."

Half an hour later, Zhang Yu arrived at a small plaza. From a distance, he saw many people scattered across the plaza, some sitting, some lying down. There were old and young, men and women. Some casually lay down for a nap on the ground, while others, still in their school uniforms, were sitting cross-legged and practicing breathing techniques.

Following the address provided, Zhang Yu found a human resources company in a corner of the plaza. The company was small, its storefront resembling a real estate agency, with various simple job postings plastered all over its grimy windows.

He glanced at the worn sign. As soon as Zhang Yu pushed the door open, a strong smell of smoke hit him, making him frown. Behind a messy desk, a middle-aged man smoking a cigarette looked up, glanced at Zhang Yu, and said, "Are you the high school student who just inquired?"

After Zhang Yu nodded, the man introduced himself as Old Wang, the agent here. He pulled out a few sheets of paper and said, "Fill out this resume. I'll register you in a bit."

Zhang Yu took the papers and saw that besides personal details, he also had to fill in the martial arts and Daoist arts he had learned, their levels, and his school grades.

Handing the completed forms back, Zhang Yu asked, "How long does it usually take to find work? And what's the income like?"

Old Wang scratched his messy hair and casually replied, "At least a few hundred yuan an hour... but it's hard to say how long it'll take to find work. It's normal to go a week without a job if you're unlucky."

Zhang Yu thought, "The pay here is that good? If so, working two or three hours a day would be enough to cover my loan repayments and living expenses, wouldn't it?" A wave of joy washed over Zhang Yu at the thought.

But then he heard the man say jobs were hard to find, so he asked curiously, "Why?" He emphasized his status: "I'm in the top ten of my first year at a key high school. Is it still hard to find work?"

Old Wang chuckled and pointed outside. "See those people in the plaza? Besides high school students like you, the rest are all high school graduates."

Zhang Yu was startled, then disbelieving. "How is that possible? They've graduated high school, they're cultivating immortals, and they're still here looking for temporary work?"

Old Wang shrugged. "They didn't get into university. Not every high school student makes it. If you don't get into university, you'll be stuck at the Qi Condensation stage for life, unable to reach Kunxu's second layer. You'll just drift along on this first layer year after year..."

Zhang Yu was still puzzled. "But they could find a regular job on this layer, couldn't they? Why do temporary work?"

Old Wang explained, "They don't need sleep, so after their day jobs are done—if their companies don't require overtime—they come here for temporary work. Otherwise, how would they repay their loans? And how would they afford to maintain their cultivation?"

These words caused a stir in Zhang Yu's mind. His previous memories hadn't suggested that high school graduates worked so hard. He had only thought that after graduating high school, even if they didn't get into university, they'd still be in an office, in a downtown skyscraper, enjoying air conditioning and tea, earning a decent salary... But wow, it turned out to be 24-hour studying before graduation, and 24-hour work after graduation. It seemed like life just got harder.

Old Wang looked at Zhang Yu's resume and chuckled. "Oh, Songyang High School! We're alumni then. I also attended Songyang High School, but I dropped out in my third year."

Zhang Yu asked, "Dropped out?"

Old Wang shrugged. "Couldn't get into university, so why waste more money? I only just finished paying off my high school loans the year before last. Since we're alumni, I'll give you some advice. In high school, know your limits. If you feel you can't get into university, withdraw early to avoid ending up like some people who get too deep in debt and ruin their lives."

After he finished filling out the information, the man told Zhang Yu to wait outside, promising to notify him immediately if work became available.

Zhang Yu asked, "Competing with high school graduates, will I even get a turn at a job?"

Old Wang replied, "Don't worry, some jobs specifically look for current high school students."