Chapter Thirty-Nine: A Sudden New Idea

After leaving the restaurant, the four of them started walking back toward the school. After a while, Zhang Liying and Zhang Xiaoyan said they had something to take care of and wouldn’t return to school for now, so they parted ways.

When they separated, Zhang Liying turned to Wei Xiaoping and Wei Xiaofan and said, “Wei Xiaoping, Wei Xiaofan, next week is the Model Student Competition. For the honor of our class, let’s all do our best!” She clenched her fist as she spoke, called out a cheer, and then left with Zhang Xiaoyan.

“How embarrassing it was today, really,” Wei Xiaoping said when they got back to the dorm.

“Because you made Zhang Liying pay the bill?” Wei Xiaofan asked. It was indeed embarrassing—two boys eating with a girl and letting her pick up the check.

“Yeah! I haven’t eaten out in ages, and I didn’t expect the food at that restaurant to be so expensive.”

Wei Xiaofan chuckled. “That’s the benefit of being from a poor family like me! Only when you’re poor do you not dare to expect luxuries like eating out, so—”

“Sorry about that, old friend,” Wei Xiaoping said, patting him on the shoulder.

“Hey, what are you saying? Feeling sorry for something so trivial?—Did you notice Zhang Liying has a pager? Her family must be well-off!” Wei Xiaofan changed the subject.

“Do you know what kind of pager she has? It’s a Chinese-character pager! It’s a new model, costs over two thousand yuan each!” Wei Xiaoping said.

“So that’s a Chinese-character pager! No wonder she doesn’t need to call back—she can see exactly what the caller says. Looks like her family is really wealthy,” Wei Xiaofan remarked.

“I heard she’s the daughter of an important city official, and an only child at that!”

“If she’s an only child, then Zhang Liying is really fortunate!”

“Of course! Otherwise, how could her family be willing to spend a couple thousand yuan on a Chinese-character pager for her? And it’s not just the cost of the pager—every month you have to pay to keep it running! Otherwise, the service gets cut off.”

“I bet what Zhang Liying spends each month on her pager is several times my entire food budget,” Wei Xiaofan said with a bitter smile.

Seeing Wei Xiaofan say this, Wei Xiaoping realized his friend was thinking about his own family situation again.

“Xiaofan, no matter what our families are like, we must find a way to finish high school and get into college. I really think that’s the only way out.”

“I know! I want to go to college too! But dreams are beautiful, reality is harsh. Just think about our place—those fields, what kind of income can we get in a year? Even if we grow something good, the roads are bad, how would we sell it?”

“If only your uncle knew how to do business! Then you could borrow a little capital and do business in the city, money would come in faster that way.”

“Going into business? That’s a good idea, but where would we get the money for startup capital? And with no experience, what if we lose the borrowed money, how would we pay it back?”

“How about this: next time I go home, I’ll ask my dad what kind of business is good to do. Hey, Xiaofan, I have an idea—after exams, let’s try finding some odd jobs in the city, what do you think?”

“That’s not a bad idea, but we’re both under eighteen, would anyone even hire us?”

“It should be fine, we wouldn’t be official employees, just working for a while, not like those who work long-term.”

“This is a good plan. I’ve been here over two years, never thought of it before! If I’d tried before, I’d at least have some experience now. Even if no one wanted me, I’d have some job-hunting experience!”

“You’re too introverted, you don’t go out with classmates much. You’re always alone in the dorm reading. People get information from each other, but you rarely hang out with others or go shopping, so you naturally miss out on useful information,” said Wei Xiaoping, grabbing a textbook and lying down on Wei Xiaofan’s bed. He continued, “You know, every weekend when I go home, my family goes out for a stroll at night! Sometimes on Sundays too. When we’re out, I often see kids about ten years old running stalls on the roadside. I asked my dad how much those kids can earn in a night. Do you know what he said? Sometimes they earn five or six yuan, sometimes over ten!”

Wei Xiaofan was shocked. “That much? What do they sell?”

“Some sell girls’ accessories, some sell toys for children, some sell girls’ clothes, all sorts of things, I can’t remember them all.”

Wei Xiaofan sighed deeply. Hearing this, he regretted his own isolation these past two years. If he’d gone out more with others, maybe he’d have learned some small business skills by now. Even if he didn’t have the capital to buy stock, at least he’d know what people sell.

“What’s with the sigh, old friend?”

“I’m lamenting that I’ve wasted over two years here! I’m not even as good as those ten-year-old kids!”

“That’s true, I feel the same. We’re not even as resourceful as those kids!”

“Tell you what, Xiaoping, from now on I’ll go back with you on weekends. At night, we can go out and see what those kids are selling and learn a bit. What do you think?” Wei Xiaofan said after thinking for a while.

Wei Xiaoping was delighted to hear this. His parents had just told him yesterday that because the food in the school cafeteria was so limited and not very nutritious, he should bring Wei Xiaofan home for meals on weekends to improve his nutrition and strengthen their friendship. Wei Xiaoping was worried Wei Xiaofan’s pride would make him refuse, but now, in the name of learning about business, he was actually eager to come!

“That’s great! Xiaofan, let’s go observe those kids and see how they do things. Once we’ve got some experience, we’ll ask my dad for a bit of money over summer break and try out a small business ourselves!”

Hearing this, Wei Xiaofan felt a surge of excitement, his mind filling with visions of doing business.

“Yes, let’s do it! If the weather’s good this weekend, I’ll go with you. Then we’ll ask your dad to come with us too. He’s a businessman, much more experienced than we are.”

“Hey, Xiaofan, does observing others doing business depend on the weather?” Wei Xiaoping was happy his friend had agreed to go home with him, but when Xiaofan said, “If the weather’s good,” he realized that meant if it rained, his friend wouldn’t go.

“Of course it matters! Would you go out if it was pouring? No one sets up a stall in the rain!”

“Oh, good point!” Wei Xiaoping said. “Then from now on, whenever it’s a nice weekend, let’s go take a look. I still remember seeing those kids selling things, haggling with customers, and after a deal was struck, handing over the goods and counting the money. If we really get into this, and can make deals like that, imagine the joy! Because that money is earned through our own hard work!”

Hearing this, Wei Xiaofan couldn’t help but picture the moment of making a sale, feeling a secret amusement at the thought.

After their discussion about starting a small business, Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping returned to their revision materials, preparing for the upcoming Model Student Competition next week.