"I know, once I master the skills, our family can eat meat every day. You and Mom should start taking better care of yourselves," said Arlo.Arlo's father, Niu Xin, felt deeply moved but let out a long sigh, patting Arlo on the shoulder. "I'm not capable enough; it'll all depend on you from now on.""Alright, you've said this about 800 times already. Just retire early if you can't handle it—I'll take care of you both.""Ah!"Does Arlo know someone in the butchery business? Turns out he does, and they're on pretty good terms. It's actually an interesting story.On New Year's Eve last year, the market was dead, so Arlo wandered the streets. He came across a butcher's stall being extorted by a group of about ten young men, who had surrounded the vendor aggressively.While watching, Arlo overheard what was going on and, feeling a surge of righteous anger, jumped in. He gave the group of young men a proper beating—crippling four of them and severely injuring the others. As a result, Arlo spent the New Year at the police station and got another beating from his father after being released.But this act of heroism earned the butcher's gratitude. Since then, the butcher often invited Arlo over for meals.Now that Arlo had killed so many goats in his virtual adventure, learning how to butcher seemed like a natural next step, and this butcher was the perfect teacher.The next day, Arlo went to find the butcher and slapped $500 onto the table. "Uncle Zhang, teach me butchery for one day, and this $500 is yours."The butcher, known as Zhang Butcher, was in his early 40s, a tall, burly man standing about 6 feet tall. Arlo respectfully called him "Uncle."Zhang Butcher frowned at the money. "Arlo, why do you want to learn butchery?" Truthfully, Zhang Butcher was worried Arlo might steal his business. After all, even friends can become competitors in the same trade.Arlo noticed his hesitation and understood the concern. Realizing $500 wasn't enough to convince him, Arlo decided to sweeten the deal. "Uncle Zhang, I'll be honest with you. I know a guy running an unlicensed livestock farm who's willing to sell me animals at a discount. I've been thinking of getting into the meat business. Here's the deal—if you teach me, I'll sell you two goats every day at 70% of the wholesale price. The meat will be fresh, I guarantee it. What do you say?""Seventy percent?" Zhang Butcher's eyes lit up. Currently, wholesale lamb was priced at $5 per pound. With a 30% discount, it'd be just over $3. That was a huge profit margin."Alright!" Zhang Butcher made up his mind. "Arlo, wait for me to finish selling this batch of meat, and we'll have lunch at my place."A smile spread across Arlo's face. Deal!By mid-morning, Zhang Butcher had sold an entire cow's worth of beef. After packing up, he took Arlo to his home. Unlike Arlo's family's cramped apartment, Zhang Butcher's house was located within the city's third ring road. Though it was a single-story home, it was well-built and nicely decorated.Zhang Butcher lived with his wife and two kids: a 16-year-old son named Zhang Yu and a 13-year-old daughter named Zhang Xiaoyu. Both kids were familiar with Arlo since he visited often. Being teenagers, they admired Arlo's bold, rebellious persona. It was summer break, so they were home when Arlo arrived and were thrilled to see him."Arlo! You haven't been here in ages! I've missed you so much!" Zhang Yu exclaimed, rushing over to give him a bear hug.Zhang Xiaoyu, equally excited, grabbed Arlo's hand. "Arlo, come sit down. I'll peel an orange for you."Arlo patted Zhang Yu on the back with a smile. "Why are you both at home today? No plans to go out?""We just started summer break, but Mom says we have to finish our homework before we can play. It's tough!" Zhang Yu grumbled.Arlo chuckled. "Since you're in school, focus on studying hard. Don't end up like me—barely making a living carrying bags for others.""Don't be so modest, Arlo! I actually envy you. Sure, it's tiring, but you get to do what you want. That's so cool!" Zhang Yu said with admiration.Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaoyu handed Arlo a peeled orange. "Here, Arlo, have an orange.""Thanks, Xiaoyu," Arlo said, patting her head. "You're becoming more and more beautiful. You're going to break a lot of hearts in the future.""No way, you're teasing me," Zhang Xiaoyu said, her face turning red with embarrassment. Still, she couldn't hide her delighted smile. He complimented me!"Arlo's here!" A woman in her 40s walked in with a smile. It was Zhang Butcher's wife, Wu Hui."Hello, Auntie," Arlo greeted. "I'm here to learn butchery from Uncle Zhang today.""Learning butchery?" Wu Hui looked surprised and glanced at her husband.Zhang Butcher gave her a subtle signal and laughed. "Stop asking questions and get cooking. We need a good meal for Arlo today.""Got it. Arlo, take a seat. I'll start cooking," Wu Hui said with a grin."Thank you, Auntie."As Wu Hui left, Zhang Yu turned to Arlo, his eyes wide. "Arlo, you're really going to learn butchery from my dad?"