Chapter 18: Borrowing Flowers to Offer to the Buddha

Xiao Qiang burst out laughing. "You're pretty sharp, huh? Fine, you can tag along—but don’t go blabbing about this to anyone else." Zhou Dafu nodded so vigorously it looked like a chicken pecking at grain.

Around 5:30 a.m., Xiao Qiang dropped Zhou Dafu off at the auto repair shop, then drove home. He went straight to the rooftop, did his three rounds of exercises, came down, ate breakfast, and crashed into bed. Around 9 o’clock in the morning, Yingzi’s voice sliced through Xiao Qiang’s sleep. “Qiangge, are you awake? Someone’s here looking for you.”

That was unusual. Xiao Qiang crawled out of the basement and saw Zhou Dafu standing at the door—his face had already improved quite a bit. Yingzi stood beside him, sneaking glances like she’d just spotted her dream guy. “Hey, Yingzi, the hopeless romantic—did you finally fall for someone?”

“Got something to talk about?” Xiao Qiang yawned wide, stretching like a cat.

Zhou Dafu stepped forward quickly. “Brother, I want to follow you. Can you take me on?”

Xiao Qiang blinked. “Follow me doing what?”

“You’ve got brains, brother. Your ideas are different from everyone else’s. The world’s gone to hell now—I think if I stick with you, I can at least keep my family fed.”

Xiao Qiang smirked. “I knew you were sneaky. All day long, scheming about people, huh?”

“Come on, Qiangge, just take him,” Yingzi chimed in. “It won’t cost you anything.”

Xiao Qiang turned and flicked her on the forehead—hard. She yelped. “You’re not even officially in yet, and already you’re turning your elbow outward? Girls should be more reserved.”

“I’m not!” Yingzi protested, her cheeks flushing red.

Xiao Qiang stopped teasing her. He turned to Zhou Dafu. “You want to come with me? Fine. But you gotta listen. Do exactly what I say. I don’t tolerate nonsense. If you can’t handle that, we’re not a team.”

“Brother, trust me—I’ll do whatever you say. Point me, I’ll shoot. No hesitation.” With that, he pulled out the car keys from his pocket.

Xiao Qiang narrowed his eyes. “You’re giving me back the keys like a gift?”

“No, no, no!” Zhou Dafu hurried forward. “You misunderstood. I figured you must have a big reason for needing that car. The owner’s unreachable. So I thought—you could use it for now. If they ever come back, we’ve got around 150,000 yuan saved up—meant for my wedding dowry. I’ll pay them back with cash.”

Xiao Qiang gave a small nod. “Alright. Keep the keys. First thing—paint that car some camouflage color. That white is too flashy.”

“Got it. I’ll do it right away.” He slipped the keys into his pocket.

“Stop calling me ‘brother’ all the time. I’m only a few years older than you. You can call me Qiangge or Qiangzi. And stop standing there like a statue—go do whatever you need to. I’ll reach out when I need you.”

“Right! I’m off, Qiangge.” Xiao Qiang nodded as Zhou Dafu walked out the door. He glanced back—and there was Yingzi still staring after his retreating figure.

“Stop gawking,” Xiao Qiang said dryly. “He’s home. Go get the kids out.”

Yingzi stomped her foot in frustration and disappeared back into the basement.

Xiao Qiang washed up—face, teeth, mouth rinse. When he returned, the kids were already lined up in the yard. Locked in the basement for days, they’d been pent up like caged animals. Xiao Qiang stood before them. “Starting today, I’ll teach you how to train. Everyone learns. Master it, and there’s a reward.”

The kids lit up instantly. This was their age—curious, eager, hungry for knowledge. Xiao Qiang sat cross-legged on the ground and began demonstrating each move one by one.

Old Wang brought out a stool, lit a cigarette, and watched through the smoke. The kids wobbled, giggled, half-played, half-tried. It wasn’t training—it was fun. If it weren’t for the war hanging over them like a storm cloud, this moment would’ve been pure peace.

After three rounds, Xiao Qiang handed it off to Old Wang and called out, “Everyone up to the second floor! Time for benefits!”

The women gathered, curious, peering over each other’s shoulders. Xiao Qiang tossed two large canvas bags onto the table. “Pick what you like. Take it.”

He unzipped the first bag—and instant gold light exploded into the room. Three women gasped, pupils dilating like they’d seen heaven itself.

“Ah!” A scream pierced the ceiling.

Women, faced with glittering gold, lose all self-control. That’s why the term “gold-digger” exists. In seconds, they were clawing at jewelry, swapping rings, whispering secrets, trading pieces like children at a toy fair.

Xiao Qiang stood in the doorway, shaking his head. “Honestly… no matter how old they are, women always love to look fancy.”

Before he could finish, a shoe flew past his ear. He ducked, sprinted downstairs, and yelled back over his shoulder: “Only women and small men are hard to manage!”

Old Wang chuckled softly beside him.

Then Xiao Qiang remembered—he still had that safe upstairs. He headed down, cracked the lock in under thirty minutes, and stared inside. Rows of gold bars. He studied them for a while, then pulled out some lead weights from his backpack, swapped them out, stuffed the gold bars in. A wave of power surged through him. *Now I’m a real rich man.* He let out a loud, triumphant laugh. “Wahahaha!”

After the high wore off, his mind started working again. He pulled out his phone and opened the map. Sure, there were plenty of food options in Da’an City—but what about radiation contamination? If they ate something poisoned, where would they get help?

Then he noticed it—a massive artificial fish pond, thirty kilometers away. He remembered picking up a passenger who’d wanted to fish there. Probably full of fish. Perfect.

Back in the basement, he grabbed a 20-pound sack of rice, a bag of salt, a bag of sugar. Time to trade for some fresh fish. The kids needed meat. Growing bodies needed protein.

Decision made, he climbed into the car and drove off.

About thirty minutes later, he arrived at the fish pond. From afar, he saw the owner drying fish in front of the gate. Xiao Qiang parked nearby and stepped out. “Hey boss, business booming?”

The man was thin, dark-skinned, eyes sunken. He glanced up, forced a weak smile. “Booming? After the war started, nobody comes fishing anymore. Everyone fled the city. No buyers. Don’t tease me.”

Xiao Qiang sighed. “I heard on the radio—the fighting’s over. Things’ll get better.”

Just then, a little boy ran out from the house. The man picked him up, sighing. “Hope so. What brings you here?”

Xiao Qiang handed him a cigarette and lit it. “I’m from the Happiness Town Orphanage. I came to buy some fish—kids need nutrition.”

The man waved it off. “No need to buy. Just go ahead and fish. This whole pond’s yours. You could eat here for weeks and still not touch the bottom.”

“Honest man,” Xiao Qiang said, grinning. “I won’t be rude. Money’s useless now. I brought some supplies—don’t think they’re much, but take them anyway.”

He unloaded the rice, salt, and sugar from the car. Right then, the man’s wife stepped out of the house. One look at the goods—and her face lit up.

Coincidence? Maybe. Their own rice supply had run out. They’d planned to sell fish in town and buy more, but the war hit before they could. Now they’d eaten nothing but fish for two days—so much they were sick of it. And suddenly, someone brought them rice.

She took the goods inside, then rushed back out to help haul fish.