A single penny can fell a hero.
And I was well and truly felled.
Money. It's a real killer.
I couldn't ask my family for money, I couldn't legally work, and the promised tuition hadn't been paid. No matter how I looked at it, it was a dead end.
But a living person can't just give up and die, right?
There's always a way, I thought naively.
I contacted Feng Dashu first, planning to resolve the tuition issue.
The tuition was the biggest part of the problem.
"Feng Dashu, it's Sanhe," I said pleasantly after the call connected.
"Sanhe! What a good kid, thinking of your old uncle even after you've arrived. Is everything going well over there?" As always, he was effusive and full of warmth.
Gritting my teeth through the pain of the exorbitant international call fees, I made small talk for a while before getting to the point. "Dashu, we're settling in fine over here. School is about to start. It's just that... before we came, didn't we pay for a full year of tuition?"
As a science and engineering guy, I don't beat around the bush. I say what's on my mind.
Dashu didn't hesitate at all. "Yes, you did! Don't you worry, the tuition has all been paid for."
"But the school says we've only paid for four months of tuition," I said, a bitter taste in my mouth.
"Hey, don't worry, don't worry. It's all paid. Just focus on your studies." Feng Dashu's voice was full of vigor as he gave his guarantee. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
I couldn't figure him out at all.
He admitted to taking a year's worth of tuition from us but had only paid for four months. And he wasn't the least bit embarrassed talking about it.
"So, the tuition after these four months... you'll still pay the rest as we agreed, right? I don't have to pay it again, do I?" I pressed him for confirmation.
"Sigh, you kid. Why do you always have to talk about money? You need to be a decent person. How can you always be so calculating about a little bit of money?" Feng Dashu began to lecture me, his tone self-righteous.
He was getting me worked up. "But before we came, you were the one who said we had to pay a year's tuition in advance! We gave you all the money. Now the school hasn't received it, how can I not bring it up? The school needs to be paid!"
At this, Feng Dashu dropped the act. His eyes went wide and he yelled at me, "Money, money, money! That's all you know! We helped you with all the paperwork, don't we need to make a living? What's wrong with earning a little money from you? You're already standing on Singaporean soil, and you're still haggling with me over this piddling amount? Aren't you afraid of divine retribution?"
This complete reversal of black and white struck me like a bolt from the blue.
Not only did he break his promise about the job, but he also pocketed more than half a year of my tuition, and now he was questioning me, saying I was being calculative?
And he asked if *I* was afraid of divine retribution?
Shouldn't it be the swindler who fears divine retribution?
The way he spouted all that nonsense with wide, innocent eyes just left me completely stumped.
It's impossible to reason with older people, I thought.
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I'd better talk to Feng Jie about this.
But the moment I brought it up, the lazy, smiling big sister from before was gone. Her eyebrows shot up, her eyes turned to ice, and she warned me with a vicious glare, "You'd better behave yourself! I was the one who applied for your visa. I have copies of all your documents. If you dare mention money again, I'll report you to the government and have your file blacklisted! I'll have you deported! And even if you go back, don't think you'll see a single cent!"
Had they both peeled the skin off their left cheek and slapped it onto their right?
One side was left with no face, the other was now twice as thick!
It was utterly speechless-making.
When you recruit for a private school, the school itself gives the middleman a commission.
To take that money and still insatiably skim from our tuition fees—it was an injustice that heaven itself could not tolerate!
But alas, it was a classic case of a scholar meeting a soldier; reasoning was useless.
I finally understood. I had no money, and no chance of fighting for my rights.
If I didn't ask them for the tuition money back, I at least had a chance to stay in Singapore.
Otherwise, not only would I fail to get the money back, but I would also lose my chance to try and make it in Singapore.
I remembered the finger-counting divination Master had taught me during our layover at the Shanghai airport.
The result I'd gotten then was "Chikou."
At the time, I had been completely unconvinced.
Only now did I understand what it meant.
It turned out that everything had been predetermined.
My arrogant heart was slowly beginning to surrender.