And so, Smiling Tiger and Bang Geng chatted about this and that until the hot dishes were served.

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Smiling Tiger finally wiped his mouth and pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket.

He lit one for himself, then slapped the rest into his hand, looking at him with a mocking expression and saying, "Here you go, bro. You're not doing so well, are you?"

What can a pheasant say? "A poor man has little ambition, a thin horse has long mane..."

The smiling tiger stopped there, gesturing for Banggeng to come closer and whispering, "Want to get rich?"

I want to! I want to so badly, Bang Geng thinks about getting rich every day.

I thought about it while eating, sleeping, walking, and even in my dreams...

But wealth isn't something that comes so easily.

Banggeng replied impatiently, "Yes, I really want to! Brother Lei, if you have any connections, please take me with you. I'll follow your lead!"

It turns out that Smiling Tiger's real name is Liu Lei, just like Dragon-Catching Tiger's real name is Han Daniu. Neither of them has any special characteristics, so not many people know about them.

Bang Geng happens to be one of them, which shows that he had a good relationship with Smiling Tiger before.

The smiling tiger shook the bottle and poured the last bit of wine into the stick-shaped glass: "Drink this."

Without saying a word, Banggeng downed his drink in one gulp, wiped his mouth after finishing, and stared longingly at Smiling Tiger.

The smiling tiger seemed to hesitate, as if he were struggling with his thoughts, and after a long while he finally asked him, "Are you really willing to work for me?"

"willing!"

"You're willing to do anything?"

Bang Geng replied without hesitation: "As long as it makes me rich, I'll do whatever you ask!"

The smiling tiger finally smiled: "You're on the right track. Don't worry, fighting and killing aren't for me. We make a living with our brains."

So this is "us"? Bang Geng was overjoyed at first, then became a little uneasy. His mind didn't seem to be working so well.

Seeing that the time was right, the smiling tiger shouted, "Waiter, the bill!"

Then he whispered to Banggeng, "Since you're so interested, I'll take you to meet someone later. Follow me and I'll guarantee you a life of luxury."

This meal consisted of four dishes and a soup, with generous portions to satisfy everyone. Sha Zhu's cooking skills were also excellent, and everyone ate so well that snot bubbles were coming out of their noses.

This meal only cost 4 yuan, which was a bit of a hasty decision. The main problem was that the fish-flavored eggplant and spicy diced chicken were too expensive. If we had chosen two different dishes, it would have been even cheaper.

This is so reasonable! Unlike that Qili Pavilion run by Fatty? That's a total rip-off! How can a meal only cost 12 yuan?

They dare to extort 4.2 yuan from him, especially for just a few broken plates and bowls!

Even so, today's meal cost one-tenth of Banggeng's living expenses. But look at that smiling tiger, when he takes out money, it's like buying an ice pop on the street, without feeling any pain at all.

Bang Geng saw it clearly; he casually reached into his pocket and pulled out a black leather wallet that looked very stylish.

That wallet was bulging, and you could tell it was full of money, at least over 100!

After leaving the restaurant, Banggeng originally planned to walk to the rest of the way, just to digest his food.

But to everyone's surprise, the smiling tiger just stood by the roadside and wouldn't move.

Banggeng asked him in confusion, "Brother Lei, didn't we say we were going to meet someone?"

Upon hearing this, the smiling tiger raised his arm, revealing a watch.

Banggeng was even more envious upon seeing it. He had never seen anything like it before! Unlike the watches of the past, with their steel cases and straps, they were nothing special.

The Smiling Tiger watch is black, and unlike other watches, it doesn't have hour, minute, or second hands...

His watch has a screen; it's electronic!

This watch is Casio's oldest solar-powered, all-plastic economy model—the W15.

This watch has an LCD screen on the top half and a solar panel on the bottom, outlined with thick blue lines, giving the illusion of a large dial.

Seeing that Banggeng was staring intently at the watch on his wrist, Smiling Tiger deliberately leaned closer: "How about it? It's a foreign product, hard to get. See these buttons? Time, alarm, Greenwich Mean Time, stopwatch, countdown..."

I'm getting dizzy looking at this; it's so advanced!

Smiling Tiger tucked his watch into his sleeve and said, "I've booked a taxi. It should be here soon. Let's wait a bit and then take a car over."

A taxi? That's amazing! Do you know how to hail a taxi at this time of day?

It's not like you can just stand on the side of the road and wave someone down; if you reach out to someone, they won't even acknowledge you.

You will be waiting at a designated service point, which thoughtfully provides tables and chairs for passengers to use while waiting.

Another way is to call and make an appointment, agreeing on a time and place, and then a car will come to pick you up at that time.

Moreover, the fees are outrageously expensive.

The base price mileage, or what we call the starting price, is 1 yuan!

Then the driver will pick you up. If it's within 10 kilometers, he'll charge you an extra 50 cents per kilometer; if it's more than 10 kilometers, he'll charge you 1 yuan per kilometer!

That's the rule; you can sit or not, it's up to you.

Furthermore, there's an extra 50 cents for nighttime rides, and if the road to your destination is difficult to navigate or involves going through alleys, there will be an additional waiting fee.

The fee is charged at the rate of one kilometer every 5 minutes, and each charge is 1 yuan!

Later, Blizzard's "I am your father" overbearing terms had to kneel down in front of a taxi driver from 1984.

But the smiling tiger still booked a taxi. What kind of power does that show?

Even after getting into the car, Bang Geng still couldn't believe it was real.

He sat in the car, looking quite like someone who later wondered, "How can I act like I'm a frequent flyer on my first airplane ride?"

This car is really fast!

Bang Geng looked out the car window, feeling the scenery rushing past, and it all felt unreal. As for what the driver and Smiling Tiger said, he didn't hear a word.

Soon, Banggeng felt very quickly, and the taxi stopped.

He pressed his face against the glass and looked outside; they had already arrived at the Fifth Workers' Club!

After getting off the bus, it was still Smiling Tiger who paid the bill. Bang Geng had no money in his pocket, so he could only stand far away.

The smiling tiger caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye, smiled slightly, and ignored him.

After paying the bill, the two entered the club.

Walking straight to the entrance of the dance hall, Smiling Tiger took out money again and said to the ticket seller, "Two tickets, for both of us."

And so, Banggeng was led by Smiling Tiger into a dance hall for the first time in his life, all in a daze.

My first impression of the dance hall was: it was dark!

It was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, but you could vaguely make out shadowy figures.

In the shadows where no light could be seen, something seemed to lurk, waiting for him to pass by, and then devour him.

Banggeng was so nervous he almost wanted to back out.

The smiling tiger, unfazed, tugged at his arm and said, "We're just standing here for a bit, taking a step, and then the lights will be turned on."