Today, a total of 150 pounds of braised crayfish were given away.
Of the 200 pounds Deng Shangwei had sourced from the countryside, only 50 pounds remained, tomorrow would definitely require restocking. These 150 pounds given out for free, factoring in various costs, amounted to five or six hundred yuan, the more they gave away, the more Wen Ying and her team lost.
Since most of the crayfish went to the barbecue shop, not many customers visited Wen Ying’s stall directly, some braised dishes were left over too. Wen Ying didn’t plan to sell day-old food, so she divided the leftovers among the “shareholders” to take home, jokingly calling it their wages for the night, even Geng Xiao and Tang Yifeng got a bag each.
“Tonight’s revenue, including drinks, is just over three hundred yuan, no worries, I believe tomorrow will be better, let’s keep pushing together!” Wen Ying said, worried her friends might lose heart. In truth, she’d underestimated their grit, even Wang Shuang, who seemed the least serious, might grumble about washing shrimp but wouldn’t give up easily.
Though tonight’s earnings were low, every customer who tried the crayfish and braised dishes gave positive feedback.
The issue wasn’t the flavor, turning a profit was just a matter of time!
Wang Shuang was more curious about how Xie Qian managed to bring in Director Lü from the street office.
“We agreed no using connections, don’t let Wen Ying break the rules without knowing!” he said.
Xie Qian glanced at him, “No connections used, today was my first time meeting Director Lü.”
Several pairs of eyes fixed on Xie Qian, waiting for an explanation.
Xie Qian said the stall itself was secured thanks to Director Lü’s efforts, as for why Lü went all out to help, it naturally tied back to what Xie Qian had discussed with him, aligning with Lü’s expectations, “I just told Director Lü we’re students from a provincial key school, our work-study project has school backing, once our business gets on track, the media will come interview us, with such a positive story, guess whether Lü wants to report it up?”
Treating someone to a meal, gifting smokes or liquor, or slipping a red envelope under the table, that’s bribery.
If Xie Qian hinted at anything like that, Lü would’ve steered clear in public, no way he’d openly bring street office staff to support them.
Xie Qian pitched their “work-study” as school-supported with media coverage, hitting Lü’s sweet spot.
In short, Xie Qian offered Lü something he wanted, without putting him at risk of breaking rules, earning his support in return.
Wang Shuang was dumbfounded, “The school doesn’t know!”
Xie Qian was bold to bluff like that, he wasn’t even from their provincial key school, yet he waved its flag to fool Lü, wasn’t he afraid of Lü turning furious if the truth came out?
Their little stall would be toast then!
“And media interviews, reporting to higher-ups, all arranged by you alone?” Wang Shuang pressed, genuinely shocked at Xie Qian’s gall.
He’d heard Beijing cabbies could spin tales taller than anyone, he hadn’t believed it before, now he did a bit, Xie Qian was so young yet managed to dupe a street office director, was Xie Qian that smart, or Lü that gullible?
Brother Xie, you’re something else, forget the looks, with this mental fortitude you could achieve anything!
Wen Ying murmured, “The school doesn’t know now, but once we turn a profit, they can, getting their support isn’t hard… with school backing, inviting media for interviews and getting Lü in the papers flows naturally, Xie Qian just flipped the cause and effect, using future achievements we can secure to win Lü’s support now.”
Wang Shuang still didn’t fully get it.
Qin Jiao looked thoughtful.
Li Mengjiao glanced between Xie Qian and Wen Ying, feeling her IQ was being trampled by peers.
“What are you guys talking about, why don’t I get it?” she said.
Wen Ying’s mood was complicated.
Xie Qian’s approach wasn’t wrong.
As long as they could get school support, media interviews would follow easily, fulfilling the promise to Lü.
The school, the media, Lü, and the stall, under Xie Qian’s plan, everyone would be happy, all would benefit.
How to get school support? Wen Ying didn’t need Xie Qian to spell it out, she had plenty of ideas, a few students using their summer to set up a stall, experiencing life while donating earnings to poor mountain kids, orphanages, or even buying water for sanitation workers, all positive “news” showcasing the well-rounded “moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor” education of provincial key students, why wouldn’t the school back that?
Wen Ying wasn’t just marveling at Xie Qian’s tactics, good looks alone wouldn’t earn him so many fans at school.
His intelligence was a hard strength no one who knew him could ignore.
Her mixed feelings came from glimpsing Xie Qian’s future style in his current methods.
He loved intricate setups, each link chaining to the next, benefiting everyone, satisfying all, a cautious yet confident Xie-style gamble… if one link broke, the whole thing could collapse, leading to his tragic end.
Right now, Wen Ying wished Xie Qian’s brilliance could dim by a couple degrees.
Being smarter than peers was enough, not too much, not repeating past mistakes.
But she couldn’t say a word.
Having a handsome face and sharp mind wasn’t his fault!
As Wen Ying’s thoughts churned, leaving her speechless, Qin Jiao had already distilled a simpler, clearer version of the cause-and-effect for Wang Shuang, Li Mengjiao, and the others.
Wang Shuang finally got it.
Li Mengjiao gazed at Xie Qian with awe.
Qin Jiao praised bluntly, “Xie Qian, you’re amazing, I’m so glad I met you through Wen Ying, being friends with you all is my honor!”
Only now did Qin Jiao truly let go of her loss in the student council election.
She’d been a frog in a well, thinking herself outstanding, unaware of how much farther Wen Ying and Xie Qian, two years her junior, outshone her, she had a long way to go!
Geng Xiao and Tang Yifeng watched from the sidelines, exchanging a look, both seeing keen interest in the other’s eyes.
What now, they really wanted in on this stall!
What they sold didn’t matter.
Starting with a night stall might seem low-end, but the people running it were impressive, stirring Geng Xiao and Tang Yifeng’s excitement, working “shoulder to shoulder” with Xie Qian and Wen Ying for two months could spark who-knows-how-many brilliant ideas, selling crayfish was secondary, the real prize was building something from nothing with stellar peers, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
…
At 10:30, Wen Ying locked up herself and said goodbye to her crew.
“Tomorrow, Xie Qian and I have tutoring, we’ll arrive later, you’ll have to work harder.”
Wang Shuang flashed an “OK” sign, waved to Wen Ying and Xie Qian, and hopped into his family’s car.
These rich kids might play at entrepreneurship with parents vowing not to meddle in business, but safety? They weren’t taking chances, cars were arranged for pickup.
In the car, Wang Shuang found his dad there too.
After a while on the road, Boss Wang noticed his son was quiet, thinking he was tired and about to tease him, Wang Shuang suddenly said, “Sorry.”
Boss Wang was baffled.
Wang Shuang sighed, “Dad, I misjudged you before, I thought you and Uncle Qin had no vision, tonight I realised you were right, I’m the dumb one!”
