Chapter 46: I Am the Tyrant

Picking up high school knowledge again was easier than expected.

After all, having studied it once, combined with advantages in Chinese and English, made self-study effortless.

Of course, being able to self-study is one thing; how well one can perform on exams is another. High school math problems were clearly starting to give him a headache...

In a few moments, when he was scratching his head and feeling chest tightness and shortness of breath over expanded math problems, Brother Fang... no, Brother Fang couldn't help but think: Damn it, should we just throw in the towel?

What's the point of fighting them?

This damn math makes me sick just looking at it!

Support education reform! Support quality education! Delete high school math and physics for me right now!

Of course, the fit of madness was just a moment; after it passed, he had to do what he had to do. The difficulties he had encountered before were far greater than this; when had he ever truly been a coward?

After giving the guy who pulled his pants a fierce kick, Brother Fang started fighting again.

In the end, having solved only five problems in total, Wang Tong, a reporter from the Xinmin Daily, arrived.

—Don't ask me about the time!

When Wang Tong rushed to the small county town, the influence of the three pieces and the Black Tide had just expanded to its peak.

Those cursing Fang Xinghe could line up from Tiananmen to the Oriental Pearl Tower; the number supporting him was small but not cowardly in the slightest. The two sides fought until people's brains turned into dog brains; pour some chili oil on it and you have a good soup.

So it wasn't just Wang Tong rushing over in anticipation; a vast number of reporters were flooding the small town in a rush. Just yesterday, Liu Dashan had received three waves of reporters from different media outlets.

Fang Xinghe ignored everyone, maintaining silence.

Exclusive interviews are not something to have too many of, nor to abuse; interview qualifications are equally a precious resource.

Who gets it and who doesn't, Fang Xinghe knew very clearly in his heart.

So, Wang Tong did not complain about why it was a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily who got the first exclusive interview; instead, he laughed and chatted about daily life, handed over Chen Danya's gift, and personally brought Fang Xinghe a Hero brand fountain pen.

"Your post-match interview brought our Xinmin Daily a sales increase of nearly 200,000 copies. I personally received commendation because of it. It's all thanks to you... Thank you, thank you!"

"I haven't had time to read it yet."

Fang Xinghe lightly laughed and killed the topic, giving the other party no chance to continue building a relationship.

Actually, he had read it; Wang Tong's writing was good, making the theme very engaging.

Oh, right, the theme focused on Fang Xinghe's depth of thought, counting as a display with strong positive significance, and the Xinmin Daily didn't forget to pull out the big brother for comparison, creating a drama of two literary prodigies loving and killing each other.

The tactic of provoking conflict to ride the traffic was never exclusive to the future.

Overall, the previous interview was of great benefit to Fang Xinghe, making the proud citizens of Shanghai pay him some proper attention.

Don't look down on just a few points; that was quite difficult to achieve, so this was pretty good.

The interview began in a harmonious atmosphere.

Wang Tong asked, as expected: "Why did you write that piece 'The Small Town Exam Taker'?"

Fang Xinghe's answer was sharp and straightforward: "I don't like the current trend. Some people are both stupid and evil; how can studying possibly be useless?"

It was time to truly open fire on such fallacies.

No longer so elegant, no longer so imagery-laden, no longer so beautiful, but directly charging straight at them.

Wang Tong realized there was substance, his spirit instantly perked up, and he hurriedly pressed on: "But many people scold you for seeking fame and profit because you can live very well without relying on studying.

They even believe you never seriously studied for a few days, that talent supported you to where you are now, and that you can succeed at whatever you do, which precisely proves that studying or not has no decisive significance for special talents."

What complete nonsense.

Fang Xinghe didn't want to engage in meaningless verbal sparring, so he handed over that piece "The Added Value of Studying — From a Bowl of Handmade Noodles on the Street to Motorola."

"It's a new essay prepared for your newspaper. My added value from studying is indeed not that high, but I believe ordinary people are different."

Wang Tong was very surprised; he raised his hand to halt the interview: "Wait a moment, let me finish reading before we continue."

The new essay overall had a very simple and unadorned atmosphere, discussing economic principles that were well-known to people in the future but fresh at this time.

In the latter part of the article, Fang Xinghe wrote a short story:

"Bao Fu didn't want to study anymore; his family was rich and could support him for a lifetime.

Xiao Yanbian didn't want to study anymore either; his family had a handed-down cold noodle craft, so he and Bao Fu plotted together: When the time comes, we'll partner up and open a cold noodle shop. You've eaten my family's cold noodles and spicy cabbage; isn't it fragrant?

Bao Fu nodded vigorously, saying it was damn fragrant, he could eat three big bowls; this business will definitely work!

The two of them started vigorously fantasizing about the future, as if a beautiful life was just around the corner.

I couldn't help but calculate the accounts for them.

I told Xiao Yanbian: Suppose you treat selling cold noodles as an opportunity to turn your life around; then you have two completely different development paths.

One, drop out after junior high, borrow 2,000 yuan, and open a small shop opposite the school.

Judging by the sales volume of the wonton shop at the school gate, under the most ideal circumstances, you can sell 100 bowls a day; after deducting all costs, you net 20 yuan, 600 a month, 7,000 a year.

Then some people won't pay, deduct 500;

Some money you must pay, deduct another 500;

The landlord wants to raise the rent and you have to endure it, deduct another 500;

Food, clothing, housing, and transportation cost 1,500 a year; let's say you can save 4,000 yuan a year.

Endure the humiliation for ten years, savings of 40,000 yuan, and finally you can take over a proper restaurant, hire a few chefs and waiters, and make it big and strong.

But after becoming a boss, you still have to make cold noodles with your own hands.

That is your family's handed-down secret recipe; the sauce, the soup base, the ingredients, you must handle them personally to feel at ease.

Then gradually, you discover your big restaurant opened for nothing; essentially, you are still a small handmade stall vendor, still relying on the handed-down secret recipe to earn that bit of hard-earned money, nothing has changed.

If the chef's skill is poor, he might even drag you down.

You start asking yourself: How much longer do I have to work to free myself from this exhausting and numb life?

Two, from now on, study hard, get into a key university, and major in food science.

In school, you study desperately, single-mindedly delving into the handed-down recipe.

Before graduation, you finally crack all the secrets, forming the capability for industrialized production while maintaining the taste; just at this time, Bao Fu completes his studies in business administration, the two of you hit it off, take some money from his family, and set up a small food factory.

Produce instant cold noodles.

That thing is just like instant noodles: it contains a measured portion of cold noodles, a seasoning packet, and a vacuum-sealed dried fresh vegetable packet.

Baofu specifically applied for a brand and trademark called "Xiao Yanbian Ancestral Ultra-Fresh Big Cold Noodles," then took it to an exhibition in Guangdong.

You naturally speak Korean, so you focus on promoting to those Korean merchants, inviting them to taste-test.

Your ancestral secret recipe moved them to tears, with them exclaiming they had tasted their grandmother's flavor.

The merchants decided on the spot to purchase, and you began earning foreign exchange.

As you earned more and more money, production naturally expanded; you only needed to strictly keep the final production step of the sauce confidential, while at other times, do whatever you wanted.

At the same age of forty, the you who personally made cold noodles for over twenty years collapsed from exhaustion, while the you who opened a food factory was traveling the world.

As for Baofu, at fourteen he lent you 2,000 yuan to open a small shop; ten years later, he laughed, waved his hand, and said, "Why bother repaying? Isn't our brotherhood worth more than 2,000 yuan?"

But the educated Baofu opened a factory with you and used his professional management skills to develop "Xiao Yanbian" into a major brand.

The initial investment of 200,000 became 2 billion many years later, making him richer than his father.

Two completely different endings; where exactly lies the difference?

The difference is that the books read and knowledge learned added extra value to your ancestral craft, and also added extra value to Baofu's money.

This value is not the high school physics and chemistry you will never use again, but the thinking we possess after being filled with knowledge and expanded by logic.

Reading books does not require them to be used; the act of reading itself endows us with energy.

You always ask me, "Brother, since you are already so handsome and so awesome, why do you still study so hard?"

Because the more added value, the better; everyone has a basic foundation, and the more useful things stacked upon it, the stronger one becomes, possessing greater power.

So how absurd and ridiculous are the remarks that slander reading?

There is no method of empowerment in this world with a lower cost than reading, nor greater returns than reading.

Those who shout that reading is useless are either stupid or malicious.

Do not believe them; treat them as scum to be criticized. They hope the bottom-tier laborers will forever sink beneath their feet, so they can hold a $13,000 Motorola phone, point at you selling cold noodles by the roadside, and mock you at will.

Noodles at 1.2 yuan per bowl? Pfft, even dogs won't eat that!

And their beautiful wives will gently educate their children—

"Look, if you don't study hard, you will be like that uncle in the future, only able to set up a stall by the roadside. Tell Mom, do you want to set up a stall?"

You lift your head, wanting to argue: "I am not an uncle; I am only twenty-five..."

But in the end, you say nothing, simply numbly lowering your head again.

Making one hundred bowls of cold noodles every day is already exhausting enough; why waste words with people? That family looks very wealthy; better not to cause trouble...

Xiao Yanbian, I dare say, the you of that time would no longer have the courage to throw a punch at any moment as you do today.

You don't believe it?

Go back and carefully observe your father, then guess why he loves to ramble about the past every time he drinks.

Because only at that moment is there light in his eyes.

My friends, never engage in simple, mechanical, repetitive labor during the age when you should most be studying; it may seem you earn some money and gain some freedom, but you lose life's greatest possibilities, the opportunity to stack value upon yourself, and the energy and instinct for deep thinking.

When one day you wake up completely from a numb and weary dream, shedding tears without warning, it is absolutely not because life is good or bad, but because you suddenly begin to feel heartache for all the unnecessary suffering you have endured these years.

Now, let us re-examine this question: What exactly can reading endow us with?

The answer is very simple: it is the light in the heart."

Wang Tong read the entire text in one breath and remained speechless for a long time, his heart feeling terribly blocked.

Although he had attended university and currently held a good job, he had not gone all out during the time he should have worked hardest, and he had also made many wrong choices.

At this moment, reading such an article, he could not help but have his defenses thoroughly broken.

Wang Tong subconsciously touched his face, which was no longer smooth, and a thought arose and would not leave: If I could return to the starting point, would I rebel once more, or study hard properly?

The answer jumped out violently, without a single second of hesitation, and thus he realized that Fang Xinghe's article would achieve another sensational success...

Wang Tong could not calm down for a long time.

The turmoil in his mindset led him to ask a very unprofessional question.

"Fang Xinghe, this article is too correct; it is not as rebellious as your previous ones. Can you explain why?"

Of course, it is because I have different strategic goals for every article I write; what else could it be?

Fang Xinghe found it amusing, so he truly smiled.

As a water army leader, he was quite casual in life, but extremely purposeful and planned in his work.

This article was essentially not meant to attract fans.

Fan-oriented articles need to be cool, trendy, and carry strong emotions, but it is best not to preach those clichéd moral lessons.

Young people do not like to read them.

But "Added Value" is a stance, an attitude, a bugle call, a flag.

It is written for adults to read.

—You see, I am not only good at acting cool; at critical moments, I, young master, stand firm in my stance with a clear mind, a righteous young man.

When the times require me, I will naturally charge to the front.

Stance and action perfectly align at this moment.

Therefore, although Fang Xinghe clearly had many ways to curse and more aggressive writing styles, he ultimately just spoke reason plainly, not as fierce and sharp as "Knowing but Not Obeying" and "I Once Fought Fate."

The purpose differs, so the text naturally requires fine-tuning; this is not a quality a writer needs, but a unique cleverness specific to a water army leader.

"I do not know how you view rebellion."

Fang Xinghe calmly unfolded his statement, placing righteousness before Wang Tong.

"In my view, rebellion is a resistance against injustice, fallacy, and hegemony.

Although we young people often cannot correctly distinguish right from wrong, leading to certain rebellious acts appearing childish and ridiculous, on the issue of whether to study or not, we do not need to struggle to distinguish; right and wrong are obvious."

"Faced with such an obvious fallacy, I oppose it; how is that not rebellious?"

Wang Tong had not secured interview equipment, so he scribbled notes furiously with his pen. As he wrote, he suddenly spotted a blind spot.

He hurriedly asked, "But in your interview with the Beijing Youth Daily, you said: 'Take it or leave it.' I noticed you have an onlooker's attitude toward others' fates, yet now you've written this article urging study. Don't you feel you're contradicting yourself?"

"No contradiction."

Fang Xinghe shook his head and explained patiently.

"When facing things I dislike, whether I curse them is one matter, depending on my mood; the outcome is another matter, depending on the readers' mood.

I write articles because I'm upset, but I don't force readers to listen. That is the true meaning of 'Take it or leave it.'

Even with my friends, I only offer reminders; I never force them to do this or that.

I don't have the qualification, nor do I have that obligation.

Abandoning the savior complex and respecting others' fates—this is my unity of knowledge and action."

Wang Tong's eyes lit up. He asked excitedly and hastily, "Actually, this mindset doesn't align with our traditional values. Our ancient Chinese philosophy emphasizes saving the world and caring for all under heaven, yet you are exceptionally different.

Therefore, some experts and professors criticize you as selfish and holding the mindset of a tyrant. How do you view these criticisms?"

Fang Xinghe smiled, then lifted his chin slightly, looking down at Wang Tong with arrogant disdain.

"I am the tyrant."