Chapter 16: First Day: 20,484 Yuan

「Forty-two thousand!」

「Forty-three thousand!」

「Forty-four thousand! Ziyan, how much change do you have?」

In the courtyard of an old house in Xicheng, Wang Zihao sat on a blue stone slab, clutching a thick stack of cash; when he reached the last bill, he turned to Wang Ziyan with a gleeful expression.

「Bro, we only have two hundred and thirty-four yuan total.」

Wang Ziyan hung her head, doubting life itself—she had double-checked every single bill, yet still came up two hundred and ten yuan short.

「A few hundred yuan loss is nothing; just be more careful next time.」

Before Wang Zihao could react, Chen Yansen understood Wang Ziyan’s meaning and spoke to comfort her.

At rural markets, crowds are thick and hands are many; this small loss is within acceptable limits.

Rather than fixating on these two hundred yuan, it’s better to calm down and think about which town to hit for the next market.

“Chen Yansen, we made 20,484 yuan today!”

Wang Zihao held up the money, eagerly sharing the news.

「Oh, really?」

Chen Yansen’s reaction was flat, his face showing no trace of surprise, utterly calm.

This amount of money simply couldn’t stir his interest.

「Should we order another batch of goods? I feel 2,000 MP3s and 600 MP4s won’t even be enough to sell!」

Wang Zihao asked loudly, his tone slightly urgent.

In Zhongqiaozhen alone, they sold 336 MP3s and 141 MP4s in the morning; and there are another twenty-two towns around Chunshen just like Zhongqiao.

If we hit one town a day, before school starts, we could make four hundred thousand!

Wang Zihao’s idea sounded reasonable at first glance, but was wildly off the mark.

「First, foot traffic varies across markets—no town will be as smooth as Zhongqiao; second, people move around—when we sold our second batch, some came riding over, meaning today’s sales likely covered two or even three towns;」

「Third, don’t treat everyone like fools—in less than half a month, someone will figure out our supply chain and copy our method.」

「Hoarding blindly without reading the situation leads only to ruin.」

Chen Yansen smiled faintly and patiently explained to him.

Never mind that Wang Zihao was still green; even seasoned veterans from his past life, who had roamed the business world for years, made the same mistake of greed and overreach.

There’s no helping it—some temptations are too great, and they always cloud the mind.

「No way?」

Wang Zihao froze at the words, as if doused with cold water, and instinctively pressed further.

「I suggest you think first about how to use this money! After all, earning money is never the goal—spending it is.」

Chen Yansen stood up and patted his friend on the shoulder.

「Holy shit! You’re so right!」

Wang Zihao grinned foolishly, unable to stop laughing.

「Stop goofing off! Quickly pack up the cash—we still have time to deposit it before the bank closes.」

Chen Yansen kicked him lightly and urged him on.

Too much cash is heavy and risky—he hated hard work and hated trouble, so depositing it in the bank was far safer.

「Yeah, okay, right away.」

Wang Zihao understood the stakes and quickly replied.

But thinking of tomorrow’s Theory Test, he couldn’t help laughing: 「Say, what’ll Coach Huang’s face look like when he sees us tomorrow?」

「Will he call you Boss Chen or Student Chen?」

The more he imagined it, the funnier it became—he grinned wide, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

…

…

The next morning, Daxiang Driving School.

「Sen-ge, how’d you score?」

As soon as Wang Zihao stepped out of the exam hall and spotted Chen Yansen, he hurried over, beaming.

「Ninety.」

Chen Yansen replied casually.

The August heat was sweltering; he hadn’t done a thing yet, but his white shirt was already half-sweaty, and even his underwear felt damp.

「I beat you—I got ninety-eight!」

Wang Zihao grinned smugly.

「Fuck, a few extra points won’t feed you.」

Chen Yansen snorted—he had no interest in competing over this, and thought, Wait till you hit Subject Two, you’ll see what real pain feels like.

Reputation precedes a man—Huang Boxiang’s temper was known throughout the school.

Few students willingly chose him as their instructor.

Most high school graduates enrolled in June and got their licenses by mid- to late July, so now was the off-season; Huang Boxiang had barely any students left.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have considered running illegal rides.

Even though his brother owned the school and he couldn’t be fired, he still had to make a living—his base salary wouldn’t feed his family.

Sure enough, when he came to pick up his students, the roster showed only two names.

The three locked eyes—one stunned, one grinning, one calm.

「Chen… Boss Chen, you’re here to learn to drive too?」

Huang Boxiang’s mind spun; after a dozen seconds of stunned silence, he finally found his voice.

「Coach Huang, what a coincidence.」

Chen Yansen extended his hand and shook his briefly; before selling all the goods, he had no intention of revealing his true identity to Huang Boxiang.

「Since we know each other, I’ll give you my full effort—I’ll make sure you both get your licenses fast.」

Huang Boxiang patted his chest in assurance.

「Coach Huang, to be honest, I already know how to drive—I just don’t have a license. This time, it’s mainly my colleague who’s learning; you can train him hard, no mercy needed.」

Chen Yansen spoke seriously, slowly.

「Oh? Then let’s find a spot to practice?」

Huang Boxiang showed no great surprise—he’d seen too many like Chen Yansen, self-taught drivers.

Some had driven without a license for decades; when caught by traffic police, they’d shrug and say, 「I don’t even have a license—what’s the point of docking points?」

「No problem.」

Chen Yansen agreed readily—he didn’t want to come here every day to bake in the sun, or he’d end up darker than Wang Zihao.

「Wait, when did you learn to drive?」

Wang Zihao blurted out, flustered.

They’d grown up together; to put it bluntly, he knew exactly how long Chen Yansen’s dick was.

「We had a used Jinbei van—I secretly drove it a few times last year.」

Chen Yansen lied without blinking; whether Wang Zihao believed him didn’t matter at all.

「Boss Chen, it’s better to drive with a license.」

Huang Boxiang hesitated, then advised gently.

「Coach Huang’s right—that’s why I’m here.」

Chen Yansen laughed it off, smoothly taking the cue.

Behind him, Wang Zihao was full of questions but said nothing.

The three arrived at the training ground; Huang Boxiang handed Chen Yansen a student car and climbed into the passenger seat himself.

Chen Yansen smiled faintly, smoothly starting the engine and shifting gears, gliding steadily along the S-curve without once crossing the lines.

His parallel parking and reverse parking maneuvers were flawless.

「Boss Chen, you don’t look like someone who’s just driven a few times—your skill is steadier than some drivers with ten years’ experience.」

Huang Boxiang praised sincerely.

「Coach Huang, I won’t be coming back. Please take good care of my colleague.」

Chen Yansen got out of the car and spoke bluntly.

「Alright, I’ll handle the slot—I’ll get you scheduled for Subject Two next week.」

Huang Boxiang nodded, taking full responsibility.

Chen Yansen would still rent his car for nine more days, so doing a small favor within his means was only fair.

“Holy shit! Chen Yansen, you’re really not coming with me?”

Wang Zihao couldn’t hold back anymore and yelled out.

「With Coach Huang here, you can train hard without worry.」

Chen Yansen gave a sly smile and offered a light reassurance.

Then he turned to Huang Boxiang: 「Tomorrow morning at seven, same place—we’re heading to Anfeng.」

(End of Chapter)