Chapter Six: The Goatee

“Hah! Ha ha! Yet another fool who doesn’t know his limits. Instead of enjoying a comfortable life at home, you’d rather come out here and suffer. If I were you, I’d head back right now! But I can see you’re the sort who won’t give up until you hit a brick wall. Since you’ve made it to Tianjin, you might as well stay. Join us—we’ll make sure you eat well and live well, how about it? Come! Let’s go meet my master, and then we’ll treat you to a good meal. Let’s go!” The boy leading the group said this in a deliberately grand manner, pulling Wei Hua along as he spoke.

Wei Hua had already decided to get some funds from these people, so he pretended to be completely unsuspecting and followed the boys. They led him away from the train yard, winding through streets and alleys for a long time before finally arriving at a shantytown. In a small courtyard tucked within a dim alley, Wei Hua saw the so-called master—a man in his fifties with a scar across his face and a goatee. Several boys were in the yard as well, fishing copper coins out of hot water under the master’s orders. Wei Hua was taken aback; he hadn’t expected these boys to be well-trained thieves!

The leader of the boys was named Wang Weiguo. His family had all died in the recent turmoil, leaving him to wander the streets alone until he met his master. Since then, he had become a thief, and by now, Wang Weiguo was a seasoned hand with five or six pickpockets under him. Wang Weiguo brought Wei Hua into the courtyard and told him to wait at the door, then whispered something into the goateed man’s ear. The man looked up, glanced at Wei Hua, and nodded. Wang Weiguo waved him over. Wei Hua stepped forward, and the goateed man asked,

“I hear from Weiguo that you’re from the northeast. Which part, exactly? Do you have any family?”

“My home is in Jilin, in the northeast. I have only a few older sisters—my parents passed away long ago. My eldest sister raised me, and I’m the only boy in the family,” Wei Hua replied.

“No wonder! Listen, kid, city life isn’t as fun as you think. Without money, you can’t survive here. Do you have any?”

Wei Hua shook his head.

“That’s tough, then. Here’s the deal—I can teach you some skills. With what I teach, you’ll be able to make money and survive in this city. But let’s make one thing clear: I don’t teach for free. From now on, you’ll give me seventy percent of whatever you earn; the rest is yours. And one more thing—if anything goes wrong, you must never give us away. Understand?” The last sentence was delivered with a fierce glare and a harsh tone. Wei Hua pretended to be frightened and nodded vigorously. The goateed man seemed satisfied with his reaction and nodded at Wang Weiguo, who then led Wei Hua out of the courtyard. Wei Hua quietly committed the location of the courtyard to memory.

True to his word, Wang Weiguo treated Wei Hua to a hearty meal, then took him on a long walk around the train station area, saying it was to help him get familiar with the layout. That evening, Wang Weiguo brought Wei Hua to another courtyard not far from the master’s, where there were three rooms housing more than a dozen children. Later, Wei Hua learned that most of these children were also victims of the Cultural Revolution, and he realized their fate would hardly be any better. The harsh crackdowns of the 1980s were aimed at people like them. Wei Hua settled into the courtyard, planning to stay in Tianjin for a while, since there was free electricity here, and his bio-computer needed a large amount of energy to repair its core module.

Two days later, Wei Hua began his training under the goateed master. Alongside the boys he had seen in the courtyard, he practiced fishing copper coins out of hot water—an exercise meant to develop their eyesight and dexterity. With his enhanced senses and body, rebuilt by the bio-computer, Wei Hua learned rapidly. In just two days, he felt he was as skilled as Wang Weiguo, though he pretended to be clumsy and slower than the others, practicing with great diligence. The goateed man was pleased with his apparent effort. Wei Hua feigned ineptitude to buy himself time, and within four or five days, he had figured out how many people lived in the courtyard, how the rooms were assigned, and the master’s daily routine. On the sixth night after moving in, he decided to make his move.

Late that night, after everyone in his room had fallen asleep, Wei Hua quietly got up and slipped out to the master’s courtyard. He had already learned that the goateed man slept alone in the easternmost room, while several boys in training stayed in the western room. Using a piece of metal he had prepared in advance, Wei Hua quietly unlatched the door. He had doctored the hinges earlier, so they made no sound as he entered. He made his way to the door of the eastern bedroom but did not rush in—he knew all thieves were cautious, especially an old hand like the goateed master, and there would likely be traps. Wei Hua projected his spiritual sense through the door into the room. At present, his spiritual sense was effective within a meter of his body.

Just as he expected, the old thief was extremely wary—a string was tied from the doorknob to a bell, and the window above the bed was left unlatched. Luckily, the bell was just above the door, within the reach of Wei Hua’s spiritual sense. Carefully avoiding the bell, he gently pushed the door open a crack, then used the metal piece to sever the string attached to the bell. Only then did Wei Hua enter the master’s room.