"I just love your kind of rebellious, aloof vibe mixed with a bit of chubbiness—you're so cute, you look just like Fat Cat from the Hong Kong movies."
Liu Chuanfeng smilingly took the money from him, counted it, and then pulled out one bill and handed it back. "Actually, we don't need that much capital. Four or five hundred is really enough."
"This hundred and your labor will count as your equity."
"I'll give you forty percent, how about that?"
"So little?"
Wang Yaofa frowned. Fearing his buddy might misunderstand, he quickly explained, "I mean the startup cost. I thought it was going to cost over a thousand."
"Besides, you only need to give me ten percent of the profits later. I'm just here to help out behind the scenes anyway, why give me so much?"
Wang Yaofa was simply following his old man's advice. Furthermore, he felt he wasn't contributing much; coming along was mostly to help his buddy and gain some experience.
In his past life, when Liu Chuanfeng first started out, he hadn't had enough capital and had originally planned to start a business with friends. But before they even started making any money, they fell out over how to split the profits and eventually parted on bad terms. Because of that, he had never really liked going into business with others.
Yet, trying to handle this current venture entirely by himself would simply be too exhausting, and the returns would be limited. Every ten yuan earned now would multiply into thousands later. After much careful consideration, he had decided to bring Pangzi in on it. Wang Yaofa's current attitude made him feel a lot more at ease.
Friends were not all cut from the same cloth, but he still needed to observe a bit longer. After all, playing the sports lottery later on wasn't going to involve small amounts, and figuring out how to execute it smoothly was still a major issue.
"Ten percent is way too little. Let's make it twenty percent, and don't complain that it's too little when the time comes."
Without waiting for a reply, Liu Chuanfeng settled the matter, then headed toward the room.
"Have a seat. I'm going to wash up, change my clothes, and head to the wholesale market."
Huh?
The wholesale market?
Ten minutes later, Wang Yaofa was wiping the sweat from his forehead, burying his head down with all his might, his legs pumping up and down rhythmically as he panted heavily.
"Hoo~"
"Feng, my bro, your entrepreneurial partner might just crash halfway because of this tricycle."
"Hoo~"
Liu Chuanfeng sat in the back holding a folding fan, occasionally fanning Pangzi to keep him going. "Keep it up."
"Your mission isn't just about making money."
"Right now, it's about getting you to work hard and lose weight."
"Only by getting your body in shape will you live long enough to spend the money we make later."
"That way, when you gorge and binge later on, you won't have to worry about high blood sugar, high lipids, or high blood pressure."
"Since the opportunity is right here, we naturally can't let it slip away."
"My brother, I'm doing this for your own good."
"Hoo~"
Wang Yaofa wiped his sweat again and rolled his eyes irritably. "My gaokao score was through the roof, don't try to pull a fast one on me. I'll have you know I'm the first college student in my family, my in-in-intelligence is frighteningly high."
"Heh, heh."
There was a slight incline ahead. Feeling like he couldn't put enough force into pedaling while sitting, Wang Yaofa had to stand up on the pedals, chanting to himself. Liu Chuanfeng watched from behind, unable to hold back a laugh. "You know, no kidding."
"The way you're standing up and pedaling like that—if you went to a gym and rode a spin bike, you'd look so sexy."
"Those female fitness coaches wouldn't stand a chance against you."
"From now on, I'll call you Wang the Twister."
"Heh heh heh."
"Shut up!"
"You pedal!"
"I want to sit in the back and see how sexy you are. Didn't you brag about having an American booty?"
How could a young fellow like Wang Yaofa take that kind of teasing? As soon as they crested the slope, he slammed on the brakes, got off, and threatened to go on strike.
"Hey, hey, hey."
Liu Chuanfeng immediately caved, calling him "Brother Wang" countless times until Pangzi finally let it go. Seeing him start pedaling again, Liu Chuanfeng breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, youngsters in this era were still relatively innocent; most of the time they just wanted to act like big brothers, not yet aspiring to be daddies.
The year 2014 was practically the trailing edge of the age of innocence. After that, it really became hard for people to stay this pure.
"I'm exhausted."
The wholesale market was still quite a distance from Liu Chuanfeng's place. Wang Yaofa pedaled for a solid twenty-odd minutes before reaching the destination. The moment his feet touched the ground, he found a small supermarket, bought a bottle of ice-cold water, and chugged it down in big gulps.
Liu Chuanfeng, meanwhile, was sizing up the wholesale market. At seven in the morning, plenty of people were already driving vans over to stock up.
"What are we even coming here to buy?"
Wang Yaofa, having just quenched his thirst, glanced at him. Honestly, up to this point, he still had no idea what this business venture was actually going to be. Liu Chuanfeng had been acting all secretive, rambling on about pre-prepared meals without even explaining how they were supposed to be prepared.
"Go buy lunch boxes first."
"Lunch boxes?"
Wang Yaofa was stunned once more, but he quickly hurried to catch up because Liu Chuanfeng was already standing in front of a storefront inspecting the goods.
"Boss, are these lunch boxes made of aluminum or stainless steel?"
The boss was a middle-aged woman with a perm. She looked up to see a young man. "Aluminum. These are three yuan each."
Liu Chuanfeng smiled and turned straight to the next shop, asking the exact same question. This shopkeeper was a rough-looking guy, and his quote was even harsher: "Three-fifty each."
"I've asked around from shop to shop starting from over there."
Liu Chuanfeng pointed toward the very end. "Out front, they quoted me three yuan apiece for a single box. The further in you go, the more expensive it gets, and the place right next door even wanted five. How come it's five-fifty over here?"
"Boss, are you trying to bully me just because I look young?"
Although Liu Chuanfeng was young, his facial features were distinct and sharp-angled. Especially when he raised his eyebrows, he gave off the vibe of a school bully.
Before the boss could say anything, Liu Chuanfeng turned right around and headed back to the female boss next door. His school-lord face instantly filled with sorrow, sadness, and even a hint of self-reproach. The rough male boss was left dumbfounded—was this guy from Sichuan or Chongqing?
How could his face change so fast?
The female boss had no idea what was going on, but seeing the young man return, she immediately called out to him again, "Young man, buying?"
Liu Chuanfeng lowered his head slightly, cast a longing gaze at the lunch boxes by the stall, nodded, and then shook his head.
"Are you buying or not?"
The female boss was completely lost. If you're buying, you nod; if you're not, you shake your head. What's the meaning of doing both?
"I can't afford it."
Liu Chuanfeng's voice trembled slightly as he pulled three crisp hundred-yuan bills from his pocket, counted them over and over again, and then looked up. "Boss lady, can you make it a bit cheaper?"
"I'm buying a lot."
The female boss frowned. Well, why didn't you say so earlier? If you're buying in bulk, of course you get the wholesale price.
Before she could speak, Liu Chuanfeng started up again, his tone carrying a touch of grievance. He sounded as if he were pouring his heart out to the boss lady, yet also talking to himself. "When I left, the director said we needed to buy three hundred lunch boxes for the younger brothers and sisters."
"The little ones haven't had new lunch boxes in a long time. The director said they used to cost one yuan each back then, so that's all the money she gave me."
"And that was scraped together by the director living frugally, picking up cardboard boxes and plastic bottles outside every day to exchange for cash."
"Uh..."
The female boss was instantly dumbfounded. "You—you guys are from a..."
"Suburban orphanage."
Liu Chuanfeng kept his head down, his voice growing softer and softer. Wang Yaofa was shocked to discover that there was actually a hint of inferiority and shyness on his face. *Damn it, this guy is truly shameless! He even made up an orphanage just to bargain. Aren't you afraid of being flamed on the internet?*
Yet, deep down, he also felt a thrill: *This is a man of peerless thick-skinned shamelessness. If I befriend and trust him, the rise of our enterprise can be counted on day by day.*
Although the female boss was worldly and had encountered countless bargainers—some who walked away, some who played rascals, and some who acted pitiful—this was just too pathetic.
"You're all from an orphanage?"
She pointed at Wang Yaofa standing nearby.
"Just me!"
Liu Chuanfeng glanced at Pangzi. He was the biggest flaw—since when did orphans wear Adidas and Nike? "He's my classmate, brought along to help out. We rode here on a tricycle."
The female boss sized Wang Yaofa up. Even though he was dressed decently, she didn't know much about designer brands; she only noticed that the fat kid's T-shirt was soaked in sweat, meaning he must have been riding for quite a while.
*Young fellow, good stamina.*