Chapter 161

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Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

"Almost......"

Lin Xiyu secretly rejoiced.

Making such a big fuss this time would brand someone with this cat's mark, and no one would come to compete with her for him anymore.

"Not necessarily."

Guben saw through her little scheme and smiled black-belliedly: "If you don't keep a close watch, there will definitely be plenty of people trying to poach him; even if they don't snatch him openly, they could slip him a love letter in secret, organize an event, attend a gathering, or go to a ballroom dance......"

Hearing "ballroom dance," Lin Xiyu's ears turned red, feeling she had been mocked again.

"If you want to keep your boyfriend, you have to come often."

Guben continued black-belliedly: "If you come to Fudan and study with me in the library, I can tutor you."

"I'm afraid with you around......"

Lin Xiyu muttered softly: "I just won't be able to study."

"What did you say?"

Guben stifled a laugh and pretended not to hear.

"Beauty is a feast for the eyes."

Lin Xiyu sighed with great distress: "I'm afraid I don't have that much willpower; facing beauty, I won't be able to stay unmoved, and by then I'll probably only be looking at you and won't be able to study at all."

"Hehe."

Guben heard what he wanted to hear and smiled even more happily.

—

The sweaters were more popular than expected; before the end of the month, her female cousin excitedly called.

The call went directly to the female dormitory at Huashi University, where she boasted profusely.

Lin Xiyu's taste was no joke; even cheap items bought at a one-fold discount could bring people a different kind of surprise.

Her female cousin chattered on, excitedly praising without stopping, drawing sidelong glances from the dormitory aunties.

The girls' dormitory had no phone; answering a call required going to the reception desk downstairs, where the dormitory auntie would summon people with a loudspeaker.

Her female cousin called at an inconvenient time; Lin Xiyu was washing her hair, and hearing her name called, she didn't bother to dry off, wrapped herself in a towel, and rushed downstairs.

The landline had poor sound insulation; her female cousin's loud voice came through the earpiece, and everyone in the reception room could hear it.

The two dormitory aunties kept staring at her, as if they wanted to stare a flower onto her face.

"Sis, anything else? If not, I'm hanging up."

Lin Xiyu mistakenly thought the towel on her head was the cause, making the dormitory aunties look at her in a way that made her nervous; seeing her female cousin had no intention of stopping, she had to interrupt herself.

"Xiyu, the sweaters you sent—our relatives and friends all like them; just my mom's colleagues almost bought them all, and now I have nothing to give as gifts."

Finally getting to the point, her female cousin said: "Go to the wholesale market again this weekend, buy as many as you can, buy as many as possible; I'll transfer you some money tomorrow. Each sweater will be marked up and sold for 20 yuan more, and your half of the profit is included in that......"

Earning 20 yuan per sweater, 100 sweaters would be 2000 yuan; minus 250 yuan shipping, half the profit would still be over 800 yuan.

Thinking she could make money, Lin Xiyu felt she was getting back on her feet, and the previous embarrassment vanished instantly.

"Fellow student, can you get cheap sweaters?"

After she hung up, the two dormitory aunties' special attention to her found its answer.

It turned out they were after the sweaters!

She quietly sighed in relief and gave the two aunties a sweet smile: "Yes, I asked around and found out where the wholesale market is, where you can buy cheap sweaters."

"Can you bring a few for us too?"

The two dormitory aunties were also outsiders; when they went back to their hometown for the New Year, they wanted to take a few back to give as gifts.

"It's doable......"

Lin Xiyu pretended to be hesitant: "It's just that buying too many would be too heavy; I can't carry them alone."

"We'll help you."

Hearing there was hope, the two dormitory aunties were overjoyed.

"Okay."

Lin Xiyu's eyes lit up, thinking this was a perfect excuse to send Guben away and not let him follow; she readily agreed: "Which day are you free this weekend? Let's go together."

"Fri."

The two dormitory aunties were beside themselves with joy: "We work the late shift on Friday and get off work Saturday morning, just right."

"Fine."

Lin Xiyu had no objections, gave a few more careful reminders, and left the reception desk happily.

—

With the two dormitory aunties accompanying her, Guben indeed gave up the idea of going with her to stock up on goods.

Early Saturday morning, after the dormitory shift change, the three left the school together and took a bus to the suburbs.

With the previous experience, Lin Xiyu was much more adept at buying goods this time.

At 7 o'clock, as soon as the door opened, she rushed to the front row at a hundred-meter sprint speed and grabbed a few new-style sweaters she liked.

"The little girl runs fast; we old arms and legs can't keep up."

The two dormitory aunties watched dumbfounded; one of them was jostled by the crowd, almost lost her footing, and fell to the ground in a sorry state.

"I was like that last time I came too......"

Lin Xiyu's ears turned slightly red, and she generously distributed the new sweaters to the two dormitory aunties.

"Is this the new style?"

"It's a bit expensive."

"Wearing such fine sweaters is too luxurious for country folk like us; we still want cheap discounted goods. You keep the new styles for yourself."

The two dormitory aunties glanced at the price; seeing it cost seventy or eighty yuan each, they shook their heads with some reluctance.

"Fine, if you don't want them, forget it. There are more suitable items in the discount section behind; let's browse slowly."

Lin Xiyu had originally planned to buy a few new sweaters for her family, and seeing they didn't want them, she readily agreed.

"Xiyu, you have good taste. We'll rely on you to help us pick a few more."

Arriving at the one-fold section, the two dormitory aunties' eyes went wide, as if they had seen treasure, and they looked excitedly with shining eyes.

"Fine."

Lin Xiyu wasn't affected; seeing styles she liked, she picked them out for them, and then the two women screened them themselves.

"Xiyu still has the best taste. This color suits your complexion so well; it looks good once you put it on."

"My daughter looks good in this one too. The young lady is fresh and delicate; she should wear yellow..."

"Why is the difference between people so great? Whatever I pick looks tacky no matter how I look at it, but Xiyu just grabs something at random, and it looks better than what I pick."

"Why not let her be responsible for purchasing goods? That's real skill."

"It's so cheap, really great. If we could buy some back to resell and make some money, that would be nice."

"I think so too. One sweater earns ten yuan; one hundred sweaters earn one thousand yuan, more than our combined monthly wages."

The two dormitory aunties grew more excited as they picked, and they also developed the idea of reselling to make money.

"Why don't we talk to her about it..."

One of the aunties surnamed Zhang rolled her eyes and had an idea: "From now on, we'll just follow her. Let her bring us both every time she restocks, and have her pick clothes for us."

"Isn't that a bit much?"

The other auntie surnamed Huang hesitated a bit: "Helping once is fine, but asking them to help every time—I can't bring myself to ask; I'm too embarrassed to open my mouth..."

"We won't let her help for nothing..."

Auntie Zhang was quick-witted and sharper than Auntie Huang: "Look, she bought so much that one person can't carry it all; she definitely needs help. We'll carry the goods for her, and she'll pick clothes for us. Both sides benefit, isn't that perfect?"

"That works."

Auntie Huang was in her forties, in her prime, with plenty of brute strength. She couldn't do other work, but she was an expert at carrying goods.

The two whispered to each other in private, thinking no one heard, but Lin Xiyu heard everything clearly and was secretly delighted.

Her female cousin was urging her urgently and needed a large quantity. She had been worried the goods were too heavy to carry, and now someone had delivered themselves to her door.

"Xiyu, can we discuss something with you? We want to..."

The two dormitory aunties whispered for a long time and finally made up their minds.

"Fine."

Lin Xiyu didn't wait for them to finish and agreed outright.

"Xiyu is straightforward, no wonder she's someone who makes big money doing business."

The two dormitory aunties were overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear.

"If you want to do business, you'd better find a buyer first."

Although Lin Xiyu wanted to win them over and have them work for her, she kindly advised: "It's safer to restock only after you have a fixed sales channel."

"We understand that."

Auntie Zhang had her own plans: "We've thought it over. This time we'll buy fewer pieces first and send them home for our family to sell at the town market. If they sell, we'll keep doing it long-term; if not, we'll forget it."

"Aunties, where are you from?"

Lin Xiyu took the opportunity to chat with them about family matters and build a good relationship.

Auntie Huang didn't think much of it and eagerly answered: "She and I are from the same hometown; we're both from Puyang, Henan..."

"Henan is good..."

Lin Xiyu smiled: "It's next to Shandong, and the climate is similar. Sweaters are very practical and can be worn for several months a year. They're so cheap and the styles are nice; selling them at the market will definitely fetch a good price."

"I was thinking the same."

Auntie Huang was happy to hear this, grinning from ear to ear.

—

With the two dormitory aunties helping, Lin Xiyu finally didn't have to be in such a sorry state as last time.

She spent almost all the money she brought, buying 400 sweaters in one go, filling eight large woven bags to the brim.

The two dormitory aunties worked very hard, running back and forth three times, before they finished moving everyone's goods.

Lin Xiyu felt bad about it and gave each of them 50 yuan as a labor fee, making the two women beam with joy.

The sweaters were shipped at the post office, and just the shipping cost over 600 yuan.

Lin Xiyu secretly pondered that if the quantity grew larger in the future, shipping at the post office would indeed lose money. It was time to think of a way, find a vehicle, and handle freight at the train station.

—

Her female cousin received all 400 sweaters at once and no longer urged her to restock urgently.

Lin Xiyu then focused her energy on studying again, starting a new round of doing practice problems.

Time passed unconsciously, and in the blink of an eye, another month had passed.

In late December, with New Year's Day approaching, before the winter break, the freshmen were about to face their first final exams since entering school.

The study atmosphere suddenly became tense. The study gods were all staying up late to study hard, and even Li Qing temporarily gave up her bet with Wang Fan, staying at school to focus on reviewing.

Lin Xiyu went all out even more, wanting to achieve good grades and gain a scholarship.

She dared not hope for first prize; second prize was a bit difficult. Third Prize Scholarship still had hope of striving for.

Guben double-majored in law and computer science, having to take two courses at once, so his academic pressure was also very great.

Lin Xiyu didn't want to take up his time, and hadn't actively contacted him for a long time.

During breaks in his studies, Guben would occasionally call her, chat for a while, comfort her, and tell her not to put too much pressure on herself.

It doesn't matter if she can't compete with the study god; as long as she tries her best, not leaving any regrets is enough.

Every time Lin Xiyu agreed readily, but after hanging up she dove straight into the library, throwing his words to the back of her mind.

Even if she can't compete, she still has to compete!

If she doesn't compete, even the Third Prize Scholarship would be a luxury.

Having a boyfriend who is extremely talented and very diligent, who could understand her heartache?

Not wanting to be compared as a slacker, she could only grind her liver and study bitterly.

Even if she vomits three sheng of blood, she must give it her all.

—

On New Year's Day of '94, the East Gate Small Commodity Wholesale Market officially opened for business.

Just as Guben had previously predicted, East Gate had a good location, situated in the city center, with affordable small commodity prices; as soon as the wholesale market opened, it attracted a large number of customers, with crowds flowing like a woven fabric, bustling extraordinarily.

"New clothes and new hats, extraordinary liveliness, small stalls and small shops, all displaying prosperity; every household, daily necessities, needles, threads, and brains—everything available."

This doggerel truly expressed the common people's love for the East Gate Small Commodity Market; the landmark name "Lao East Gate" gradually became synonymous with the Small Commodity Wholesale Market, becoming a shopping paradise that the people of Jinan talked about with relish.

—

The Lao East Gate Wholesale Market was divided into two floors, upper and lower; the lower floor sold all kinds of daily necessities, and although each stall was very small, the variety was very complete.

The stall owners, through actual action, interpreted that classic line.

Here, there is only what you can't think of, nothing that you can't buy.

—

The second floor of the market mainly sold clothes, with larger gaps between each stall.

The stall Sister bought was on the second floor, in a good location, right at the stairway entrance at the southeast corner; you could see it as soon as you went up to the second floor.

The second floor not only had simple stalls, but also exquisitely decorated shops.

These shops were located on the outermost layer of the second floor; after going up the stairs, there was a dedicated corridor that could circle around the entire mall, allowing one to browse all the shops.

The shops Wang Fan and Guben and the others bought were among them; after renovation, they were rented out to other merchants at a suitable price, and over the course of a year, they could earn considerable rent.

Sister did not rent out the stall, but arranged her own subordinate employees to temporarily help sell clothes.

Her little calculator clattered; her female cousin would finish her exams and be on vacation no later than January seventh or eighth.

Once her female cousin returns, there will be someone to watch the shop; there's no need to waste that unfair money hiring someone.

As for after the New Year, if no suitable person is found, she'll transfer the shop; given how booming the Small Commodities Market business is, there are plenty of people willing to take over; who knows, she might pay off the money for buying the shop and still make a small profit.

—

Sister's little calculator was unknown to Lin Xiyu; on the evening before New Year's Day, Guben suddenly appeared at Huashi University and dragged her out of the library.

"What are you doing? I still need to do practice problems."

Lin Xiyu resisted with her whole face: "I still have English words I haven't finished memorizing."

"Still studying? Study any more and you'll become stupid."

Guben gave her no chance to escape, directly dragging her out of the campus.

"Hey hey hey, where are we going?"

Lin Xiyu struggled all the way.

"Do you even know what day it is today?"

Guben sighed helplessly.

"What day?"

Lin Xiyu was a bit dazed, and after thinking for a long while finally realized it was the second day of the vacation, and tomorrow was New Year's Day.