Chapter 105

"Here, five thousand yuan. Count it."

A week had passed, still in the foreman's office, Wang Yan reached out and took the envelope filled with cash: "Do you think I don't trust you, Foreman? Why bother counting? This matter is settled—thank you for your effort."

The foreman burst into laughter: "Good, good indeed!"

After he finished laughing, Wang Yan said: "Foreman, I'd like to speak with you about something."

Seeing him gaze at him, waiting, Wang Yan continued.

"I want to resign."

Frowning, the foreman's smile faded. "What's this about? Last week you said everything was fine—no problems?"

Wang Yan waved the envelope in his hand: "Heh… I just want to go out and do some business. The country's pushing hard reforms now—everyone else is making piles of money, and my heart's itching. Now I've got capital, so why not take a shot? Whether I succeed or fail, at least I won't be stuck wondering 'what if?'"

At first, the foreman thought Wang Yan was afraid of retaliation, but remembering his record, that made no sense. Now hearing this, he understood. He himself had sometimes quit to go into business. But after so many years on the railway, he knew nothing else—and at his age, he'd lost the drive to leave. That's why he stayed.

"Have you thought it through?" Seeing Wang Yan nod, the foreman said: "Since you're set on it, I won't say more. Will you leave today?"

Wang Yan nodded silently.

The foreman stood, shook Wang Yan's hand: "Alright. I'll process it right away. Wishing you a brilliant future and thriving business."

"Thank you for your good wishes, Foreman. I'll be going now…"

"Let me see you out. Come back often—this place is still your home."

At the office door, Wang Yan waved him off: "Foreman, don't see me out. Goodbye."

As a frontline worker, his resignation wasn't a big deal—aside from becoming the latest gossip among coworkers, it stirred no ripple.

Leaving the station, Wang Yan bought a few things and followed the railway to Wang Dashan's house.

Yesterday, Wang Dashan had said he'd treat him to dinner and show him the TV…

What could Wang Yan say? In memory, besides turning on the TV during New Year to hear the noise, he hadn't watched in years…

Near Wang Dashan's house, he spotted him from afar, standing on a ladder, adjusting the antenna. Shaking his head, Wang Yan walked over with his bags.

He didn't shout—afraid of startling Wang Dashan into falling off the ladder. Today was his deadline; one misstep and he'd drop dead.

Close up, Wang Yan steadied the ladder, hearing from inside: "Hey, pull it back, back a bit… good, good, good." It reminded him of his childhood, when his own family did the same.

Hearing Luo Yuzhu's voice, Wang Dashan grinned and looked down to climb down. Seeing Wang Yan, he froze, then laughed: "You're here? You didn't make a sound—you scared me half to death!"

"That's exactly why I didn't make a sound."

Wang Dashan didn't mind. As he climbed down, he muttered: "We're not strangers—why buy so much stuff?"

"It's good news. The money from Zhao Jiaqing and the others—Foreman handed it over today."

Wang Dashan paused, then remembered: "Oh right—the week's up…" Then he straightened up, shifting tone: "I'm not saying this to scold you, but you're almost thirty—don't spend money like this!"

Wang Yan turned and walked straight into the house, leaving Wang Dashan standing outside, staring at his back, speechless: "Hey… this kid… am I wrong?"

Sighing, Wang Dashan followed Wang Yan inside.

"You're here?" Luo Yuzhu, watching TV, stepped forward with a smile: "Oh my, you bought so much again—so polite!" She took the bags naturally, then brought over a small stool: "Sit, watch the show. You came at the perfect time—we just got it, brand new."

Wang Dashan found another stool and sat beside Wang Yan. The three of them, plus Wang Yan as the extra, happily watched the 1983 version of *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*.

Wang Yan watched with real enjoyment—he hadn't seen TV in years, and it felt fresh.

………

After watching TV all afternoon, Luo Yuzhu hurriedly cooked a few dishes, and they ate.

Food need not be refined, meat need not be finely chopped. To Wang Yan's LV3 cooking sense, Luo Yuzhu's skills were just average. He never picked at food—anything edible tasted good, and he ate with obvious pleasure.

Wang Dashan shoveled in a bite of rice, then remembered something and turned to Wang Yan: "Hey, I just realized—why are you here so early? Didn't you go to work? Did the foreman give you a day off?"

Wang Yan shook his head, picked up a chopstick: "No. I resigned."

At this, Wang Dashan and Luo Yuzhu, who was feeding their son while watching TV, froze.

Wang Dashan snapped out of it: "Why suddenly resign?"

"Nothing special—now I've got money, so I want to start a business. With the current environment, opening a shop and selling anything will make money."

Following the principle of finishing early and cleanly, Liu Jinhu's five thousand had long been given to him—Wang Mou was now a true ten-thousand-yuan household. Though not as powerful as in the late 70s or early 80s, the title was still real enough.

Hearing he wanted to do business, Wang Dashan fell silent, shooting Wang Yan a glare and returning to his rice.

As expected, under Wang Dashan's murderous gaze, Luo Yuzhu jumped in: "Wang Yan, are you planning to go into the city? What do you want to do?"

Wang Yan gave Wang Dashan an apologetic look and said: "I do plan to go into the city. As for what exactly… I haven't decided yet. I'll use this money to find a good spot first, then buy a shopfront."

"Oh, Wang Yan, I'm not saying this to scold you—you could just rent a shopfront. I bet a month's rent is only a couple hundred yuan. Save the rest for inventory." Luo Yuzhu spoke with exasperation.

Wang Yan took a sip of wine, picked up a bite of food, and pretended to ponder in silence.

After swallowing, Wang Yan nodded: "Hmm, you're right—but I still don't know what to sell. Hey… you always talk about going into business—any good ideas? Give me some advice…"

This was somewhat rude—why should someone give you their business idea? But the situation was different: Wang Yan and Wang Dashan's relationship was one factor; Wang Dashan opposed Luo Yuzhu's business ambitions was another; Wang Yan had always supported Luo Yuzhu was a third; most importantly, there was no conflict—they weren't in the same market, so no rivalry.

Luo Yuzhu thought for a moment: "A couple days ago, I got a photo of Lin Dai Yu—sold over a hundred copies at one yuan each. If I'd printed more, I could've sold even more. This business is good. You could go find celebrity photos—if you make large wall posters, even better. You wouldn't even need to rent a shop—just set up a stall on the street like selling couplets."

"Also, today I saw calendar prints with TV actors on them. If you import some, city folks don't lack money—they'll buy them all. Guaranteed success."

Wang Yan nodded: "That's a good idea. I'll try it out first. Why don't you quit too? Let's go into business together—we can watch out for each other." He glanced at Wang Dashan, who was still eating.

This struck Luo Yuzhu right in the heart. How much could she earn on the railway every day? Without hesitation, she said: "That's true! Doing business is better than slaving away on the railway. Dashan, what if—"

He couldn't let them go on. Wang Dashan cut in quickly: "Enough, enough—eat your food. Yuzhu, our son's been waiting forever."

Luo Yuzhu looked down—sure enough, Wang Xu was staring fixedly at the TV, mouth wide open, waiting to be fed.

Laughing and sighing, she fed her son a bite, said nothing more, and turned back to the TV—it really was quite good.

………

After putting their son to sleep, Wang Dashan and Luo Yuzhu sat on the bed watching TV.

Wang Dashan sighed: "People really are amazing now—you can watch TV at home. Who'd have thought back then?"

Luo Yuzhu cracked sunflower seeds beside him: "That's nothing. Abroad, they've got even bigger ones—color ones. Called color TVs."

"Color TV? What's that like…" Wang Dashan marveled, then said: "Don't worry, Yuzhu. I'll get promoted this year. When I earn more, I'll buy you and the boy a color TV."

Luo Yuzhu chuckled and glanced at Wang Dashan, cracked two sunflower seeds, and said: "Dashan, I think… actually… what Wang Yan said today was pretty good. Think about it—I made that much just selling photos a couple days ago. If we switched businesses and did it together, or really partnered with Wang Yan, wouldn't it be more than just a color TV? In less than two years, we might even be driving cars!"

After a long silence, blaming Wang Mou for lighting the fire and then running off, Wang Dashan said: "Yuzhu, let's wait a bit longer. The kid's still so young—he can't be left alone. And if we just jump straight out to do business, it's too reckless. Quitting is easy, but getting back won't be. Let's think carefully about how to do it, and see if that kid Wang Yan can even succeed. Then we'll decide, okay?"

Tired of him always using the child as an excuse, Luo Yuzhu rolled her eyes and ignored him, turning to watch TV.

Wang Dashan gave a wry smile, lowered his head, and ate the heart-shaped sunflower seed kernels, revealing a simple, earnest grin: "Heh, really tasty."

"Watch the TV," Luo Yuzhu said irritably.

Wang Dashan didn't mind, smiled, and answered as he turned to watch TV.

Behind him was his son, beside him was his wife, in front of him was a TV he'd never dared imagine in his old life, living a life he'd never dreamed of.

So good…

A month later, in a bustling shop near the market in Qiancheng City, Luo Yuzhu watched Wang Yan with envy as he bustled about.

"Look at this—still don't believe me? I told you from the start to come into the city and do business. If we'd come back then, how much money would we have made? Ah…"

It wasn't that she wasn't envious, but compared to his wife and child, Wang Dashan didn't care much: "Yes, yes, you're right, it's all my fault—but the kid's still so young." Seeing Luo Yuzhu's disapproving look, Wang Dashan quickly added: "I can't help him—you go lend a hand. He can't handle all these people alone. I'll watch the boy…"

Luo Yuzhu shot him a glare and walked inside.

Seeing Luo Yuzhu arrive, Wang Yan said: "Perfect timing—quick, help me out." He was truly suffering—he'd always been the older brother, never working the front lines. Even when he first crossed over and sold medicine, he never had to lift a finger; Liu Sihui and the others handled everything. Now, with so many people here, the buzzing noise was giving him a headache. This had gone on for half a month already—he couldn't take it anymore.

With Luo Yuzhu's help, things improved greatly. After half a day, the last customer left, and it was already night.

Under the watchful eyes of Wang Dashan and Luo Yuzhu, Wang Yan counted the final banknote and casually slipped it into his shoulder bag: "You've both been working hard all day—hungry? Come on, let's go eat out."

Wang Dashan held his son: "No need to spend money—we can just go home and eat something simple."

"Don't be so formal with me—it's settled. Your son's practically limp with hunger. Let's go."

Without another word, he pulled Wang Dashan out the door, locked the shop behind them, and led the family of three to the nearest restaurant.

Not many people were eating—dining out for a real meat dish was a real financial blow, so the owner served the dishes quickly.

Luo Yuzhu placed two pork ribs on Wang Xu's plate and said: "Wang Yan, with business this good, you must be making a fortune, right?" She'd watched every single bill he counted earlier.

"Not that much—after all, we had capital. Just about what I used to make in a month, per day." As he spoke, Wang Yan clinked his cup with Wang Dashan's. Wang Dashan had never drunk alcohol before, but Wang Yan had corrupted him—he could now drink a little.

Hearing this, Wang Dashan's hand trembled twice as he clinked the cup. He hadn't imagined business could be this profitable. He cleared his throat with two coughs to ease the awkwardness and said: "Really? You make over a hundred a day?"

Seeing his reaction, Luo Yuzhu's eyes lit up—she knew the opportunity had come. If she whispered sweetly in bed tonight, she might convince him. She lowered her head and placed another piece of meat on her son's plate, saying nothing. She knew Wang Yan would keep trying to persuade him.

"Of course it's true—why would I lie to you?" Wang Yan swallowed his wine and said: "Seriously, quit your job. Let's partner up. With you two helping, we'll grow faster, and we'll make more, not less."

"You're already doing so well on your own—partnering with you would just be taking advantage of you. No, no…"

Wang Yan shook his head: "How's that taking advantage? We know each other inside out—we can trust each other. You've seen it—I'm already overwhelmed. We'll keep expanding, right? Then I'll be buried alive. If you come, I'll feel at ease. Let's build something great together—grow big, grow strong, create glory. Isn't that a good thing? If you're still uneasy, just invest some money. We're family—we can work out the details."

He didn't believe in the usual rules about not partnering with friends—he was always the dominant side, and he'd never let those stupid, petty problems arise.

Wang Dashan hesitated for a long time, then drained his cup in one gulp: "Let me think… I'll think some more…"

Seeing his expression, Wang Yan knew he was tempted. After all, slaving away on the railway was nothing compared to what he made in a single day—anyone would feel uneasy, and it was normal to want change.