Chapter 38: Too Late

"If we calculate materials at 400 per unit, 3,000 units will be 1.2 million. Overtime pay is calculated per piece, 20 yuan per unit, totaling 60,000. Plus, there's an 80,000 yuan public relations fee..."

"Section Chief Wang, I won't haggle with you over the materials, but Di Ye is my younger sister's boyfriend, and I'm partnering with him in business. Could you at least show some face and give a discount on the PR fee? How about 50,000?"

"Fine, I'll give you some face, let's make it 50,000. That brings the total to 1.31 million, no problem?"

Across the circular dining table, Di Ye sized up the somewhat bald middle-aged man opposite him and said, "Section Chief Wang, the money is no problem, but you must guarantee the quality."

The bald man chuckled dryly and promised, "We are a state-owned military enterprise; we won't engage in fraud. You can rest assured. Besides, even if I dared to cheat, I couldn't hide it from your future father-in-law's eyes. He's an old hand who has been a workshop director for over 20 years."

Hearing the words "father-in-law," Fangfei felt a bit shy and glanced at Di Ye with her head lowered. Di Ye smiled slightly, took her hand under the table, and whispered, "How about you take me to see your dad later?"

"No, my brother will help you keep an eye on this batch of goods; you don't need to go see my dad."

"Why won't you let me see your dad?"

"Because you definitely don't have good intentions."

Xia Jianwu gave a light cough, interrupting their whispering, and said, "Section Chief Wang, CD players aren't exactly hot-selling products. Di Ye and I aren't sure we can definitely sell them all. Let's pay a 200,000 yuan deposit first, and you help us produce 500 units to test the waters. If they sell, we'll produce the remaining 2,500."

Section Chief Wang did a quick mental calculation and found that 200,000 was just about the cost for 500 CD players, so he nodded and said, "That works."

"Section Chief Wang is certainly straightforward! Come, let's have a drink together to toast to a smooth cooperation."

Di Ye felt he and Xia Jianwu were kindred spirits upon meeting in Jinling. Both were flexible and resourceful—one cunning, the other slick—and they hit it off immediately. In just one morning, they reached a cooperation agreement: Di Ye promised to invest in a company Xia Jianwu would found to produce VCD players, and Xia Jianwu would help Di Ye secure 3,000 CD players for emergency use at a low price.

After lunch, once they had sent off the tipsy Section Chief Wang, Di Ye asked curiously, "How do they manage to keep the material cost of a CD player down to only 400 yuan?"

Xia Jianwu sneered and explained, "Most of the components they use are skimmed off through fake accounting; the cost is almost zero. Selling them to you for 400 is already a huge profit."

"So that's how it is."

"Panda Electronics is like China in the late Qing Dynasty: surrounded by strong enemies on the outside and riddled with corrupt parasites on the inside. It's nothing but an empty shell that could collapse at any moment. I've always wanted to go out and start my own factory, but unfortunately, my dad wouldn't agree. It's a good thing I met you now, otherwise I'd have to endure a few more years..."

Standing in the corridor at the hotel entrance, Xia Jianwu grumbled a bit more before opening his umbrella to leave. As he departed, he warned, "Little sister, don't play too wildly. Watch the time; you must be home before 9:00 PM, otherwise, the secret won't be able to be kept."

"I know, just go already."

After shooing Xia Jianwu away, Fangfei linked her arm with Di Ye's and asked, "Where do you want to go play?"

Di Ye looked at the hazy drizzle outside and said, "With rain this heavy, we'd better not go out."

"Where is this rain heavy?"

"The day the final exams ended, when I sent you back to Jinling, the rain was just as heavy."

"Hate you! That day you knew I didn't want to leave, yet you insisted on sending me away. Today it's my turn to decide; you must accompany me out to play."

"Fine, Jinling is your turf. I'll go wherever you say."

Jinling is an ancient capital of six dynasties and a tourist hotspot with many fun places. After considering a few famous scenic spots, Fangfei suddenly lost heart and said, "Let's not go out after all, it's boring."

Di Ye was surprised, tilted his head to look at her, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Fangfei drooped her eyebrows, looking listless, and said, "We're both on winter break, but your life is fulfilling and exciting, while mine is like plain water—dull and boring. Aside from shopping, it's just watching TV. If things go on like this, you'll drift further and further away from me."

"If you feel it's dull and boring, find something you're interested in doing."

"But I don't know what I'm interested in."

Di Ye opened his umbrella and, while leading Fangfei toward the guesthouse, guided her: "Then what do you like? I mean, hobbies."

"I don't know, I've never had any special hobbies since I was little."

"Then have you ever encountered anything that made you particularly excited? Like a story, a movie, or an experience?"

Hearing this, Fangfei hugged Di Ye's arm tighter and said, "That day when we were in the roast duck restaurant discussing how to steal the key, I was especially excited."

Di Ye was a bit taken aback. He slowed his pace and carefully recalled the scene, finding it to be true.

At the time, Fangfei knew Feng Shijie had ulterior motives toward her, yet she wasn't afraid at all. She first suggested getting him drunk, and later even took the initiative to propose acting as bait in his room...

Likes adventure? Likes thrills? Likes stealing?

Just as Di Ye was guessing, he heard Fangfei whisper, "The day you finished your postgraduate entrance exam, you teased me over the phone, and I was quite excited then, too."

Di Ye was stunned. He looked down at Fangfei and saw her cheeks were slightly flushed, her eyes filled with a restless, budding passion. He immediately felt his heart race and teased, "Let's go to the guesthouse and study carefully what kind of behavior can trigger your excitement."

Fangfei gave a soft "mm," her whole body going limp as she pressed tightly against Di Ye, saying in a dreamy voice, "I stole a box of that from my sister-in-law's house last night; it's right in my bag."

Di Ye felt the blood in his entire body instantly boil.

When Xia Jianwu returned home, he saw his father, Xia Qide, sitting on the living room sofa studying an endgame from a chess manual. He walked over and said, "Dad, let me play a game with you."

"Did you drink at noon?"

Xia Jianwu didn't cover for Fangfei and said directly, "My little sister's boyfriend asked me to help him get 3,000 CD players, so I took him to have a few drinks with Rat Wang."

Xia Qide gave a soft "mm," seemingly having expected it. While setting up the chess pieces, he asked, "Is that the one who called yesterday?"

"Yes, his name is Di Ye. He's a top student in the Computer Science Department at Yuncheng University and has applied for a master's degree at Jinling University. If nothing goes wrong, he'll be coming here to study in the second half of the year."

"That's not bad. What's his personality like?"

"Aside from being a bit overly confident, everything else is quite good. He's also very considerate toward my little sister."

"If he can really get into Jinling University, his confidence is a strength; if he can't, then it's a weakness."

After his assessment, Xia Qide continued to ask, "3,000 CD players is no small number. Where did a college student who hasn't even graduated get the money?"

Xia Jianwu introduced the various schemes Di Ye had cooked up, centered around "renting discs," and finally concluded, "Dad, I feel that once these things Di Ye is doing are promoted, the sales of VCD players will definitely skyrocket. Now is the perfect time to enter the market."

Xia Qide was noncommittal. He frowned and pondered for a moment before asking, "When is Di Ye going back to Yuncheng?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"You go with him to Yuncheng to see the specific situation. If VCD players are really as popular as he says, I'll support you in building your own factory. Also, don't get into the pirated disc business; it will affect your older brother's official career."

"I know."

At 8:50 PM, Fangfei opened the front door with her key. Seeing the house was quiet and everyone seemed to be asleep, she changed into her slippers and tiptoed across the living room to her bedroom door. She carefully pushed it open, only to find that her sneaking around had been in vain, as Xia Qide was sitting at the desk reading the evening paper.

"Dad, why are you in my room reading the paper?"

"I was waiting specifically for you..."

Fangfei's mother had passed away many years ago. Xia Qide had waited specifically for Fangfei to return, wanting to teach her to cherish and respect herself and not be easily deceived by men. However, seeing his daughter's eyes full of affection and her skin flushed, clearly having bathed before returning, he realized it was too late for anything. He swallowed his words, sighed, and said gloomily, "Go to sleep early. Don't come home this late in the future."