Chapter 51: Many Hands Make Light Work

Zhu Yufei woke up early this morning and saw an impressive scene at the gate of the dormitory compound.

The shop owner was forced to quote a price of ten yuan per belt, which made Zhu Yufei chuckle—but then Li Luo spotted him.

"Zhu Yufei! Over here!"

Li Luo waved at him.

"What's up, monitor?" Zhu Yufei walked over and saw Li Luo handing him a belt. "I was just thinking of buying one."

"Buy what?" Li Luo whispered, swatting away the ten yuan in his hand, shoving the belt into his arms, and dragging the sports committee member onto the vehicle. "I've got a task for you."

"What?" Zhu Yufei was dragged aboard, got a free belt, and suddenly found himself on a sinking ship.

"Watch out—when any of our classmates come to buy belts, hand them one for free," Li Luo patted his shoulder. "Our class gets them free."

"Oh oh!" Hearing this, Zhu Yufei's sense of responsibility surged; he puffed out his chest, thumped his own chest, and promised, "No problem!"

But the next second, his face stiffened, and he muttered shyly, "But monitor, I don't even know everyone in our class."

"I'm here, what are you afraid of?" Li Luo glanced at him. "I'll remind you."

With that, Zhu Yufei relaxed—but watching Li Luo and Ying Chanxi selling belts while he did nothing but wait for his classmates made him feel awkward, so he decided to help sell too.

Soon after, Zhao Rongjun arrived, found Li Luo by the vehicle, and asked in confusion, "Why did you call me here so early?"

"What else?" Li Luo yanked him over. "Can't you see we're busy? Help out."

Unlike Zhu Yufei, Li Luo didn't bother being polite with Zhao Rongjun—he just grabbed him as free labor.

Since Zhao Rongjun was a day student, he was already wearing the belt his grandfather gave him, so he didn't even need a free one, saving Li Luo some expenses.

Then Hua Xiuxiu stepped out of the dormitory, saw Li Luo on the vehicle, and froze in shock.

But the next second, Li Luo called her name: "Hua Xiuxiu! Over here!"

"What are you doing?" Hua Xiuxiu stared blankly at his actions, unable to understand how her monitor had turned into a belt vendor overnight.

"Don't ask questions—you're our vice-monitor, and now you've got a tough assignment," Li Luo said seriously, then pulled her into the team the same way.

After that, Yan Zhusheng came out; Li Luo didn't bother with tricks—he simply told her, "Sell the belts."

"Okay," Yan Zhusheng didn't ask why, nodded, and went off to sell belts.

After six-thirty, it was the peak time for dorm students to leave, and many came to buy belts.

Three lines became four, then five, six, seven—speed increased noticeably.

With Zhao Rongjun, Yan Zhusheng, and Hua Xiuxiu joining, Yi Mei Clothing Store lost all competitiveness.

Why go to the clothing store when you could take two steps and enjoy seeing school beauties like Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng?

Only girls who didn't want to wait in line headed toward the clothing store.

"Wang Xinyu! Over here!" Li Luo spotted another classmate, called her over, and had Yan Zhusheng hand her a free belt.

Ying Chanxi glanced at Yan Zhusheng, pressed her lips together, then silently continued selling belts.

Around six-fifty, few students were leaving the dorms anymore.

Li Luo told Hua Xiuxiu and the others to go ahead, while he stayed behind to help Lin Xiu pack up.

Ying Chanxi didn't leave either; after watching other classmates depart, she stepped into the vehicle, crouched down beside Li Luo as he counted money, and asked, "How did you even think of this trick?"

Li Luo stacked the bills neatly, glanced at her, and replied, "Brain."

"I know it's your brain," Ying Chanxi rolled her eyes. "But most people would just go buy at that clothing store, right?"

"That's exactly how people like them make money," Li Luo smiled. "For something like training uniform belts, in this small, short-term market, their store has a monopoly with crazy profits."

"But in reality, the wholesale cost of one belt is less than one yuan."

"Under monopoly conditions, they dare charge twenty, thirty, even forty."

"In just one day, they could pocket tens of thousands in profit."

"I'm just exploiting a gap—my uncle has stock, and my uncle can drive the truck. Otherwise, I'd just have to watch them rake it in."

Ying Chanxi crouched in the vehicle, listening to Li Luo's words, her expression thoughtful—as if she'd glimpsed another side of the world.

After all, she was still just a first-year high school student; even a genius who topped every subject couldn't match Li Luo's street-smart sharpness in matters like this.

"You kid's got a sharp mind," Lin Xiu said, stepping into the vehicle while no students were outside, grabbing Li Luo's head, and rubbing it vigorously with a chuckle.

Then he crouched down, glanced at the cardboard box now filled to the brim with bills stacked by Li Luo, licked his lips, and said, "My monthly salary's six thousand. You've earned me half of it in just half a morning."

Li Luo chuckled twice, then asked, "Did my cousin say anything?"

"I gave him a heads-up—he said take whatever you want, just record it when you get back," Lin Xiu said happily. "These belts were originally free gifts given with clothes at their physical stores—they hardly ever sell them individually. Wholesale price? Just a few jiao per belt."

His cousin's clothing company dealt directly with factories, getting the lowest prices—much cheaper than the Yi Mei Clothing Store owner's wholesale rates.

So even at ten yuan per belt, selling three or four hundred in the morning brought Lin Xiu over three thousand yuan in profit.

"Here," Lin Xiu pulled out five red bills from his pocket and shoved them into Li Luo's arms. "I won't give you more now—come to me if you need pocket money later, but don't tell your mom, or she'll nag me."

"Got it, love you, uncle," Li Luo accepted the five hundred yuan hard-earned cash without hesitation, stuffed it happily into his pocket, then paused, pulled out one bill, and offered it to Ying Chanxi. "Want some?"

"I just came to help—do you really need to be so polite?" Ying Chanxi glared at him. "Do you think I'm short of a hundred?"

"True," Li Luo knew she wouldn't take it—he'd just offered out of courtesy—then stood up, brushed off his pants. "Let's head to school then."

"Go on, go on—I'll clean up here," Lin Xiu waved them off.

"Oh, by the way," Li Luo and Ying Chanxi jumped down from the vehicle; before leaving, Li Luo turned back. "Uncle, are you free these next two afternoons? I've got a favor to ask."

"Huh? Probably," Lin Xiu frowned at him. "What is it?"

"Help me buy something."