Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

Reporter An Hong arrived again, saying that the higher-ups wanted to publicize this kind of invention, so Zhang Dabiao simply hid.

Damn, are you trying to make the whole country know that I made 20?

Finally, he pushed Yan Jiecheng, who was grinning foolishly to the side, out—"If you want to interview someone, interview him. If he hadn't always been the one to steal my matches, I wouldn't have thought of inventing a disposable lighter."

"He is the source!"

Then Zhang Dabiao slipped away.

Leaving Yan Jiecheng, who was holding a hoe and not knowing what to do, and reporter An Hong, who was holding a notebook and preparing to conduct an interview, he went fishing alone. Whether he caught anything or not was another matter; he just wanted some peace and quiet.

Reporter An Hong quickly drafted titles in her notebook: "Is Laziness the Primary Productive Force?" and "The Source of Foreign Exchange Creation Was Actually This 'Thief'?"...

Yan Jiecheng's face turned green when he saw the questions on the notebook.

"No, I didn't! Don't mess with me!"

Being called a thief in front of the entire nation, does Yan Jiecheng even want to live anymore?

Zhang Dabiao, help me!

Just as he was about to cry, Yan Bugui came looking for him.

"It's solved."

"Dad, what's up?"

"Well, it was the matches you borrowed from Da Biao that inspired him to design and invent the lighter. Now he's making money, so what..."

"Can't I share some with you?"

Yan Bugui started scheming again.

A glint flashed in reporter An Hong's eyes, and she began to write furiously—"Yan Jiecheng, the neighbor who stole the match, had his father testify and demanded a certain fee from designer Zhang Dabiao. Is this demand reasonable?"

Yan Jiecheng rolled his eyes and lay down on the ground.

I'm tired. Let it all end. Whatever.

------------

The report was ultimately not published because what reporter An Hong wrote was too shocking and had nothing to do with, or even contradicted, the mainstream of the times, but the content of her investigation was true.

After discussion, the newspaper decided that publishing it would have a negative impact, so they rejected it.

Yan Jiecheng escaped a calamity.

Zhang Dabiao has been free lately and is making the most of his time to review and skip grades. As for the house in Hong Kong, he's been looking at it a few times, but the villagers have locked the gate, put up talismans, and sprinkled something that looks like chicken blood or black dog blood...

Zhang Dabiao was happy to have some peace and quiet, since they really treated this place like a haunted house.

I don't have time to spend here right now, nor do I need to come here. I'll wait until I have a holiday to think about it.

The innermost room of the cabin is now Zhang Dabiao's research room (study), or so it is publicly claimed, and generally no one disturbs him.

People used to say Zhang Dabiao's drawing and design were just nonsense, that a complete idiot elementary school student like him couldn't possibly design anything. But now—

Zhang Dabiao's designs are directly related to foreign exchange, often involving tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. If his designs are destroyed or lost, who the hell can afford to compensate for them?

Even the most foolish person wouldn't touch his little cabin; they'd all keep their distance.

Even Bang Geng, who didn't get along with Zhang Dabiao, knew that the little wooden house was not to be touched. He was bad, but he wasn't stupid.

Li Huaide did come to see Zhang Dabiao, saying that although the orders for cream cakes and sour cream have decreased, Uncle Li is still Uncle Li, and Uncle Li also wants to improve!

If you have any good designs in the future, show them to your Uncle Li. Your Uncle Li has connections too!

Zhang Dabiao could only laugh it off and fool Li Huaide – "Why would a steel factory like yours be making these little gadgets?"

Are you really going to ask a steel rolling mill to switch to manufacturing small commodities? The ministry wouldn't agree to that.

However, Zhang Dabiao truly knew nothing about steel rolling technology, parts manufacturing, or lathe processes, and was unable to help.

------------

In addition, the downsides of carrying a large sum of money also became apparent.

At school, Zhang Dabiao was packing his things to go home with Qin Jingru when he was surrounded by several older students.

There were also tall students in the third year of junior high school. When three or five of them surrounded Zhang Dabiao and Qin Jingru, they still had a certain amount of pressure.

"So your name is Zhang Dabiao?"

"Um?"

Zhang Dabiao was a little confused. These people opposite him looked like little kids who weren't even in the first year of junior high. What were they up to?

"What's wrong?"

"I heard you're pretty rich. Lend me some money to have some fun. I'll protect you in this school from now on."

The guy across from me was acting like a thug, talking in a cocky, nonchalant way.

Zhang Dabiao picked at his ear...

"Wait, I didn't hear you clearly. What did you say your name was?"

"My boss is called Brother Biao! Hu Zhibiao from Class 5, Grade 3!" a younger brother shouted from the side.

They didn't know where they heard it from, but Zhang Dabiao, a first-grader, had 20!

The most crucial problem is that Zhang Dabiao has no elders in his family, making him easy to bully!

When something happened, there was no adult to support him!

So he had a crooked idea. He didn't ask for much, just 10 yuan a week from Zhang Dabiao—how much did he spend in the entire junior high school?

That's just a drop in the ocean compared to 20!

Paying money for peace of mind, we'll protect you, isn't that fair and reasonable?

So at noon today, they seized the opportunity and surrounded them.

Actually, there were two other groups of people watching the show. If Hu Zhibiao could successfully extort money from them, they could give it a try. After all, being protected by one group of people is not the same as being protected by three groups of people.

"How many do you want?" Zhang Dabiao asked impatiently.

"? So, it's... 10 yuan?" Hu Zhibiao asked weakly. 10 yuan, that's not a small amount, is it?

And the other party is so easy to talk to? Is he a pushover?

What a waste of his nearly 1.8-meter-tall stature.

Zhang Dabiao glared at him: "I have 20 yuan, and you only want 10 yuan? Are you insulting me? Are you looking down on me?!"

Hu Zhibiao was stunned by Zhang Dabiao's sudden outburst. After a moment of hesitation, he weakly asked, "How about 20 yuan?"

Zhang Dabiao was speechless for a moment, and could only ask, "What about the IOU?"

"What?"

"A promissory note? You think you can just give me 20 like that?"

"Damn it, you idiot! Brother Biao asking you for money is doing you a favor!"

"Give me 20 and I guarantee no one will dare touch you at school, you understand? Don't you have any sense?" One of the lackeys next to him immediately became unhappy. You want 20 and you want an IOU?

"Are you disrespecting Brother Biao?!"

Zhang Dabiao couldn't hold back any longer and slapped him across the face.

"You want 20, right?"

They kept slapping him, one slap after another, knocking him to the ground without him even having to parry. He couldn't stop them!

"You're not going to give me an IOU, are you?"

"Brother Biao, right?"

"I'm the real Brother Biao, my nickname is Sang Biao!"

"You call yourself Brother Biao in front of me? Who the hell gave you the guts?!"

"Don't you even bother to ask around the streets how many people I've caught have been executed?!"

"You guys don't even know how to write the word 'death,' do you?!"

In a few swift moves, Zhang Dabiao knocked all five men to the ground, slapping them one by one until they fainted without a sound.

Qin Jingru watched with her eyes shining, thinking, "Brother Da Biao is awesome!"

Zhang Dabiao then tied their hands with their belts, grabbed the five of them by their feet, and dragged them toward the principal's office. Even Qin Jingru helped drag one of them.

The little rascals who were also ready to get a piece of the pie were stunned.

Whose subordinate is this, so valiant?!

Isn't he afraid of Hu Zhibiao's retaliation afterward?