Chapter Three: The Absurd Venting Company

5. You Can Make Money Just by Standing There and Taking a Beating

It was a little after three in the afternoon, and the sun was scorching. The city was like a huge pot heated over a blazing fire. The asphalt roads had been bleached slightly white by the sun, and from a distance, the air seemed to shimmer with a layer of transparent heat waves.

Liu Dingtian carried the last cardboard box out of the stairwell of an apartment building.

“Phew—” He set the cardboard box down on the moving truck, put his hands on his hips, and let out a long breath.

“Finally finished moving everything.” The moving company worker who had been working with him wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Dingtian, you worked hard today.”

“Not at all, not at all.” Liu Dingtian grinned. “As long as I get paid, it’s not hard work.”

The worker laughed and scolded him, “You—do you have anything in your eyes besides money?”

Liu Dingtian patted his belly. “Sure.”

“What else?”

“My stomach.”

The two of them burst out laughing at the same time.

The boss came over and stuffed that day’s wages into Liu Dingtian’s hand.

It was a thick stack of bills. Liu Dingtian looked down and counted them, then looked up at the boss.

“Boss, you didn’t make a mistake, did you?”

“No mistake.”

“Really?”

“If you think it’s too much, I can take some back.”

“No, no!”

Liu Dingtian immediately stuffed the money into his pocket and even patted the outside of his pocket twice.

“Boss, don’t worry. I definitely won’t make things difficult for you.”

“Get out of here.”

The boss laughed and scolded him before turning around and getting back into the truck.

Liu Dingtian stood where he was, touched the stack of bills in his pocket, and the smile on his face grew brighter and brighter.

After working hard all day, he finally had some money.

Tonight, he was definitely going to treat himself to a good meal. He had already decided. First, he would have a big bowl of beef noodle soup, followed by some braised dishes.

If he still had enough money, he would finish with a cup of bubble tea.

“Beef noodles…” The moment Liu Dingtian imagined the steaming-hot beef broth, he nearly drooled.

Humming a tune, he walked along the street. But as soon as he entered a relatively secluded alley, a woman’s sharp shouting suddenly came from ahead.

“Stop right there!”

“You son of a bitch!”

Liu Dingtian stopped in his tracks.

“Huh?”

Up ahead, a middle-aged society woman dressed in a fashionable suit was chasing a young man in high heels.

The man wore glasses and a white shirt. He looked refined and scholarly, yet he was running faster than a rabbit.

“Listen to me!”

“I don’t want to hear it!”

“It’s really not what you think!”

“Stop right there!”

“Help!” The young man shouted as he ran, looking back over his shoulder.

“Help?” Liu Dingtian blinked.

“Do young people nowadays really argue like this?”

Before he could figure out what was happening, the young man had already rushed right up to him.

“Excuse me!”

“Hey—” Liu Dingtian had only just stepped aside when the young man darted past him.

Then—

“Bang!”

The woman behind him had no time to stop and crashed straight into Liu Dingtian’s arms.

“Ow!” The woman staggered backward two steps from the impact.

Liu Dingtian also swayed a little. “Ma’am, are you okay?”

“You!” The woman raised her head.

The moment he saw her furious face, Liu Dingtian’s heart skipped a beat.

“What are you doing?”

The next second—

“Bang!”

A punch landed squarely on his chest.

Liu Dingtian froze. “Huh?”

“Bang!”

Another punch.

“Hey!”

“Bang!”

A third punch.

“Wait a minute!” Liu Dingtian looked down at his chest, then at the furious woman in front of him.

“Why are you hitting me?”

The woman completely ignored him.

“You son of a bitch!”

“Bang!”

“You heartless bastard!”

“Bang!”

“You liar!”

“Bang!”

One punch after another slammed into Liu Dingtian’s solid chest like someone pounding a punching bag.

At first, Liu Dingtian tried to dodge, but then he realized that although the woman was fairly strong, her punches did not hurt him at all.

So he simply stood there without moving.

“Ma’am.”

“Get out of my way!”

“I’m not the person you’re supposed to be hitting.”

“None of you men are any good!”

“Well…” Liu Dingtian suddenly did not know how to respond.

The woman swung her fist again.

This time, Liu Dingtian reached out with both hands and grabbed both of her wrists.

“All right, all right!”

“Let go of me!”

“Calm down first.”

“I’m not calming down!”

“Then go ahead and hit me.” Liu Dingtian simply let go of her hands. “But hitting me won’t do you any good.”

The woman was panting. Her chest was rising and falling heavily, and her hair was somewhat disheveled.

“You…” She looked Liu Dingtian up and down. “You’re not afraid?”

“Afraid of what?” Liu Dingtian patted his chest. “I’ve had thick skin and tough flesh since I was a kid.”

The woman froze for a moment.

Liu Dingtian added, “Besides, those punches you just threw felt about as painful as mosquito bites.”

“What did you say?” The woman’s expression darkened.

“I said…” Liu Dingtian immediately realized he had said the wrong thing. “You hit very well.”

“Very well?”

“Very hard.”

The woman stared at him.

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she asked, “You… can you take a beating?”

“Huh?” Liu Dingtian looked completely puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if you’re willing to let me hit you.”

“Aren’t you already hitting me?”

“I mean…” The woman reached into her handbag and pulled out a stack of bills.

Liu Dingtian’s eyes instantly widened.

“This is…”

“I’ll pay you.”

“Pay me?”

“Yes.”

The woman gritted her teeth and said, “Let me beat you up.”

Liu Dingtian was stunned.

“You’re serious?”

“Serious.”

“Until you’ve calmed down?”

“Yes.”

“How long?”

“Until I’m no longer angry.”

Liu Dingtian looked at the stack of bills, then at the woman. A very practical question suddenly popped into his mind.

I can really get paid just for taking a few punches?

He reached out and touched his chest. It didn’t hurt. Then he looked at the money and quickly began calculating.

If he let her beat him up, he would not have to do anything and could still get paid. This wasn’t work. This was practically a business deal that had fallen from the sky.

“All right.” Liu Dingtian nodded. “Go ahead and hit me.”

The woman seemed surprised that he had agreed so readily.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“You won’t regret it?”

“No.” Liu Dingtian puffed out his chest. “Come on.”

The woman took a deep breath.

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

Her fists fell on Liu Dingtian like raindrops.

Liu Dingtian gritted his teeth. At first, he felt a little uncomfortable, but after a while, he simply closed his eyes.

Yet images of beef noodle soup, braised dishes, and bubble tea began floating through his mind…

“Bang!”

“Ugh…” He groaned.

That punch was a little harder.

But it didn’t matter.

Money was more important.

He had no idea how long she had been hitting him when the woman finally stopped.

She stood there, panting.

A thin layer of sweat had appeared on her forehead.

But most of the anger on her face had disappeared.

“That feels much better.” She let out a long breath.

Liu Dingtian opened his eyes. “Done?”

“Done.”

“You’re really not going to hit me anymore?”

“No more.” The woman adjusted her hair, took out a stack of bills from her handbag, counted them, and handed them to him.

“These are for you.”

Liu Dingtian took the money and looked down. There were several thousand dollars in all.

“This much?”

“Do you think it’s too little?”

“Not at all!” He immediately stuffed the money into his pocket.

“Thank you, boss!”

The woman laughed at him. “You’re quite an interesting guy.”

“It’s a business transaction.” Liu Dingtian grinned.

“You pay for happiness, and I provide the service.”

The woman froze for a moment. “Service?”

“Yeah.” Liu Dingtian patted his chest. “A human punching bag.”

The woman could not help laughing.

“A human punching bag… and one that comes with free repairs.”

“What does that mean?”

“You don’t have to pay for any damage you cause.”

The woman finally burst out laughing.

She picked up her handbag and turned to leave.

After walking a few steps, she looked back at him.

“If I need this again next time, can I find you?”

Liu Dingtian’s eyes immediately lit up.

“Of course!”

“Really?”

“I’ll be there whenever you call!”

“Okay.” The woman nodded and finally walked away.

Liu Dingtian stood there and watched her disappear into the distance. The alley grew quiet again. He looked down at the money in his hand,

then touched his chest.

Finally, he slowly broke into a grin.

“Strange…” he muttered to himself. “So you can actually make money just by standing there and taking a beating?”

He stood at the entrance of the alley and thought about it for a long time. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration seemed to cross his mind.

“Wait…” Liu Dingtian suddenly raised his head.

“If someone is really angry and has nowhere to vent…”

“I let them hit me.”

“They pay money.”

“I take the beating.”

“They get it out of their system.”

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

“Isn’t this just…”

Liu Dingtian raised his hand and smacked himself on the forehead.

“A punching bag!”

He stood in the middle of the alley, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

“That’s it!”

“I can make a living as a professional punching bag!”

He began talking excitedly to himself.

“Couples having a fight?”

“Come to me!”

“A boss chewing out an employee?”

“Come to me!”

“Heartbroken?”

“Definitely come to me!”

“Things not going well at work?”

“Hit me!”

By the end, he could not help bursting into loud laughter.

“Hahahaha!”

People passing by on the street all turned to look at him, but Liu Dingtian did not care in the slightest.

He patted his chest. “Heaven above! You’ve finally shown me a way to make a fortune!”

He turned and headed back. His original plan to have a lavish dinner had already been completely forgotten.

There was only one thing on his mind now—

A punching bag.

What he never imagined was that this seemingly absurd idea would soon really become a business.

It would even lead him and Zhu Erdong into a world that neither of them could have ever imagined.

6. You Can Start a Company by Getting Beaten Up

At dinnertime, the living room of the Single Life Community was as lively as a small restaurant.

Several plates of freshly stir-fried vegetables, braised dishes, and a pot of steaming-hot soup were spread across the rectangular dining table. The tenants who had been busy all day gradually returned. Some served themselves rice, some picked up their chopsticks, and others simply dropped into their chairs and started complaining about how hungry they were.

Liu Dingtian, however, was especially excited. From the moment he stepped through the entrance of the community, he had worn a mysterious smile on his face.

Zhu Erdong glanced at him. “Big Guy, did you find some money today?”

“Pretty much.”

“What do you mean, ‘pretty much’?”

Liu Dingtian pulled out a chair and sat down, deliberately keeping everyone in suspense.

“I discovered a way to make a fortune today.”

Zhao Guanghua, who was drinking soup, looked up. “What kind of way to make a fortune?”

“Getting beaten up.”

“Pfft—” Zhao Guanghua almost sprayed his soup out of his mouth.

Lin Wanhua also stopped eating. “What did you say?”

Liu Dingtian said seriously, “You can make money by getting beaten up.”

The living room suddenly fell silent for two seconds. Then everyone burst into laughter.

“Hahahahaha!”

“Big Guy, did you short-circuit today?”

“Did moving furniture all day fry your brain?”

“You can make money by getting beaten up? Then we should all line up!”

Liu Dingtian became anxious. “Stop laughing! I really made money by getting beaten up today!”

He pulled the money out of his pocket and slapped it onto the table.

“Look!”

Everyone looked down. Sure enough, it was a thick stack of bills.

“Really?” Sun Qing reached out to pick it up.

Liu Dingtian immediately snatched the money back.

“Hey! This is mine.”

“I was just looking.”

“Even looking isn’t allowed. This is my hard-earned money.”

Lin Wanhua could not help laughing. “How can you call this hard-earned money? You got beaten up for it.”

“Getting beaten up is still labor.” Liu Dingtian spoke with complete justification. “She was in a bad mood, so she paid to hit me. I took a beating, and she felt better. Isn’t that a win-win?”

“A win-win?” Wanhua raised an eyebrow. “You got beaten until your face was swollen and bruised, and you still call that a win-win?”

“She got her anger out, and I made money. How is that not a win-win?”

Everyone looked at one another. His logic was absurd, yet somehow it made a little sense.

Only Zhu Erdong did not laugh. He rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

Liu Dingtian noticed his expression and immediately leaned toward him.

“Erdong, what do you think?”

“I think…” Zhu Erdong pondered for a moment. “It might work.”

“Really?” Liu Dingtian’s eyes lit up.

“Of course.” Zhu Erdong put down his chopsticks.

“People these days are under so much pressure. Couples fight, bosses chew out employees, people get heartbroken, things don’t go well at work—they all need somewhere to vent. If people are willing to pay you to take out their anger, maybe this really could become a business.”

Liu Dingtian suddenly slapped the table.

“I knew you were my kindred spirit!”

“But…” Zhu Erdong looked at him. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it all by yourself.”

“Then what are you suggesting?”

“I’ll do it with you.”

Liu Dingtian froze for half a second. The next moment, he threw his arms around Zhu Erdong.

“Good brother!”

Zhu Erdong could barely breathe from the hug.

“Let go… Let go!”

“We’re going to get rich!”

“I never said we were definitely going to get rich!”

“We definitely will!” Liu Dingtian was already so excited that he had jumped to his feet.

“We’re going to start a company!”

“A company?” Zhao Guanghua asked.

“Yes!” Liu Dingtian turned toward everyone, planted his hands on his hips, and struck a commanding pose.

“We’re going to establish a—” He deliberately paused. “Online Venting Company!”

“…”

The living room fell silent again.

Lin Wanhua was the first to burst out laughing.

“Online Venting Company?”

“Yes!” Liu Dingtian pointed at his own chest. “We provide professional anger-release services.”

“You two are responsible for getting beaten up?”

“Exactly!”

“And you charge for it?”

“Of course.”

“What if a customer injures you?”

“We charge an additional medical fee.”

“Isn’t that extortion?”

“No.” Liu Dingtian shook his head. “It’s called professional service.”

Everyone burst into laughter again, but Zhu Erdong had already begun seriously thinking about it.

“What about the website?”

Liu Dingtian froze.

“The website?”

He looked at Zhao Guanghua, who was still eating with his head down. Feeling everyone’s eyes on him, he looked up.

“Why are you all looking at me?”

Zhu Erdong smiled. “Guanghua, don’t you know how to build websites?”

Zhao Guanghua was silent for a moment.

“I do.”

Liu Dingtian immediately clasped his hands together.

“Guanghua, please help us.”

“I can set up the website for you.”

“Great!” Liu Dingtian was so excited he nearly jumped up.

“You can put—” He thought for a moment. “ ‘Feeling angry? Hit me.’ ”

Zhao Guanghua frowned. “That’s the slogan?”

“What do you think?”

“Very direct.”

“Will it work?” Zhao Guanghua asked, trying not to laugh.

“I think…” He held back a smile. “At least it’ll be easy to remember.”

The next day, in the small room on the second floor of the Single Life Community, Zhao Guanghua sat in front of the computer, his fingers constantly tapping the keyboard. Liu Dingtian and Zhu Erdong stood behind him like two students waiting for their report cards.

“Done.” Zhao Guanghua pressed the final key.

A simple webpage appeared on the screen. At the top, it read:

“Online Venting Company—Don’t Bottle Up Your Anger. Just Hit Us.”

Below it was another line:

“Professional Human Punching Bags. Safe, Legal, Service First.”

Liu Dingtian’s eyes lit up as he looked at it.

“Beautiful!”

Zhu Erdong also nodded.

“Now it actually looks like a real business.”

“But…” Zhao Guanghua turned his chair around. “Are you two really sure you want to do this?”

Liu Dingtian patted his chest.

“Of course!”

“What if someone seriously injures you?”

“I’m strong and healthy. I can take it.”

Zhu Erdong also said, “I’m quick on my feet.”

Zhao Guanghua shook his head helplessly.

“All right.”

Who would have thought that less than a week after the website went online, someone would actually place an order?

The first customer was a middle-aged man. He walked into the room they had agreed on, looking gloomy.

“You two are the ones?”

Liu Dingtian stood up.

“That’s right.”

“How much?”

“Three thousand.”

The man pulled out the money.

“I want to hit you for half an hour.”

Liu Dingtian took the money.

“No problem.”

Zhu Erdong added from the side, “But you can’t hit the head, attack the eyes, or use any kind of weapon.”

The man nodded.

“Got it.”

The next second—

“Bang!”

Liu Dingtian staggered backward one step.

“Come on!”

“Bang!”

“Again!”

“Bang!”

Half an hour later, the man let out a long breath.

“That feels much better.”

Liu Dingtian sat in a chair, his nose swollen badly and the corner of his mouth split.

Zhu Erdong quickly cut in.

“Sir, we agreed beforehand that you couldn’t hit his head or face. We have to charge an additional medical fee.”

The man looked somewhat apologetic.

“I was so angry just now that I forgot the agreement. How much extra?”

“Another thousand.”

The man said generously, “No problem. Add another thousand.”

He immediately pulled out a thousand-dollar bill.

Zhu Erdong took the bill and grinned.

“Welcome back anytime.”

The man left.

Zhu Erdong quickly handed Liu Dingtian a towel.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Liu Dingtian touched his nose. “Four thousand dollars in half an hour. This is an incredibly profitable business!”

Zhu Erdong held the money in his hand.

“Look. This is all money.”

He looked at Liu Dingtian’s black eye and could not help sighing.

“You’re really crazy.”

However, things soon went far beyond what the two men had imagined.

After the first customer left, he posted a positive review online.

“The service was excellent.”

“Very professional.”

“I really felt much better after the beating.”

“I recommend them to anyone under a lot of stress at work.”

Word of mouth began to spread little by little.

More and more orders came in.

Some people came to be hit because they had argued with their wives.

Some came after being chewed out by their bosses.

Some came because they had been dumped.

There were even people who came to beat the two men because they had done poorly on an exam and needed to vent their frustration.

Every afternoon, someone would ring the doorbell at the entrance of the Single Life Community.

“Excuse me, is this the Online Venting Company?”

“Yes.”

“I have an appointment for eight o’clock.”

“All right. Come on in.”

The customer would ask, “Which one am I supposed to hit?”

Liu Dingtian and Zhu Erdong would look at each other.

“Who’s taking this one today?”

“You.”

“I did it yesterday.”

“You got to rest yesterday.”

“So did you.”

“Then let’s play rock-paper-scissors.”

“Okay.”

“Scissors, rock—”

“Paper!”

“…”

Whoever lost could only accept his fate.

A few weeks later, the two men had become the strangest sight in the community.

In the morning, they were still full of energy. By nighttime, they were often bruised and battered. Sometimes their eyes were so swollen that only a slit remained. Sometimes they had gauze taped to the corners of their mouths. Sometimes they had bandages stuck to their foreheads.

Yet their hands were always holding stack after stack of bills.

“How much today?”

“Eight thousand.”

“I made twelve thousand today.”

“Really?”

“Really!”

The two men sat in the living room counting their money, grinning like two idiots who had just won the lottery.

Bao-jie walked out of the kitchen. The moment she saw the scene before her, she stopped in her tracks. She looked at the injuries on their faces, then at the stacks of money in their hands.

“You two…” She frowned. “What exactly are you doing?”

Liu Dingtian grinned. “Bao-jie, we’re getting rich!”

“Getting rich?” Bao-jie walked a couple of steps closer.

“One of you is black and blue, and the other has an eye swollen like that, and you call this getting rich?”

Zhu Erdong chuckled. “It’s called doing something willingly because you’re happy to do it.”

“Happy about what?” Bao-jie glared at them angrily. “Sit down!”

The two immediately sat down obediently.

Bao-jie took out the medicine kit and poured some medicinal alcohol into her palm.

“Come here.”

“Bao-jie, there’s really no need…”

“Enough talking.” She firmly pressed down on Liu Dingtian’s shoulder.

“Ahh—” Liu Dingtian immediately grimaced in pain. “That hurts!”

“Good. At least you know it hurts.” Bao-jie said unhappily, “You let people beat you up like this every day. Is it worth it?”

“Worth it.” Liu Dingtian answered without hesitation.

“Why?”

He looked down at the money in his hands.

“Because I used to spend all day moving furniture and carrying heavy things. I was exhausted, but I didn’t make much money.” He grinned. “Now I only have to take a few punches to make more.”

Bao-jie fell silent for a moment. Then she turned around and applied medicine to Zhu Erdong’s injuries.

“What about you?”

Zhu Erdong did not say anything. After a while, he finally said quietly, “I just feel that… I finally have a job where I can make my own decisions.”

Bao-jie looked at the two of them. Her eyes showed both concern and helplessness.

“I know you want to make money.” She put down the medicated cotton pad. “But money shouldn’t be earned this way.”

Liu Dingtian blinked. “Then how should we make it?”

“Transform the business.”

“Transform it?”

“Yes.” Bao-jie pointed at the two of them. “You have customers now, you have a good reputation, and you have a website. Since you’ve already made a name for yourselves, find a way to expand the business. Don’t rely only on your own bodies.”

Zhu Erdong thoughtfully said, “You mean…”

“You can turn ‘venting’ into a service brand.” Bao-jie sat down. “For example, psychological stress relief, recreational activities, or even developing games that give people a way to release their emotions.”

Liu Dingtian listened in confusion.

“We don’t have to get beaten up?”

“Preferably not.”

“Then can we still make money?”

Bao-jie rolled her eyes at him. “Of course you can, as long as you use your brains.”

Liu Dingtian rubbed his head.

“But mine…” He pointed at his head. “It doesn’t seem to work as well as Guanghua’s.”

Bao-jie could not help laughing.

“That’s why you need to ask Guanghua for help.”

Zhu Erdong nodded.

“Bao-jie makes sense.”

Liu Dingtian looked down at the stack of bills in his hand and fell silent for a moment.

“But…” He raised his head. “If we really transform the business, does that mean we can’t get beaten up anymore?”

Bao-jie looked at him.

“You still want to get beaten?”

Liu Dingtian touched his swollen face. After thinking for a while, he grinned.

“Actually…” He smiled. “Getting beaten up once in a while isn’t so bad.”

“Liu—Ding—tian!”

Bao-jie angrily picked up the medicated cotton pad and threw it at him.

The living room immediately erupted in laughter.

No one knew that this seemingly absurd “Online Venting Company” was quietly becoming the starting point of a turning point in the lives of two ordinary people.

Because sometimes, a person’s way forward is not visible from the very beginning.

It may be hidden inside an unexpected incident.

It may even be hidden in—

that moment after getting beaten up, when you can still smile while counting the money.