Bai Muyao gave her an irritated sideways glance and walked away toward the dormitory building without a word.
"Hey, don't walk away! Tell me about it!" Shen Tingting hurriedly chased after her, grabbed her arm, and kept pressing, "What do you think of Chu Chen? He's been chasing you for so long, don't you like him even a little bit?"
Unable to shake her off, Bai Muyao could only let out a helpless sigh. "My dear Miss Shen, can you please stop thinking about romance 24/7? And do you really think that with our family's situation, I have any say in my own marriage?"
Thinking of the Bai Family's situation, Shen Tingting fell silent for a moment with a sympathetic sigh, but then chimed in again, "Actually, a marriage alliance between the Bai Family and the Chu Family wouldn't be bad at all! You and Chu Chen are a pretty good match in terms of social standing!"
She blinked playfully at Bai Muyao. "Besides, he already said he's going to prove himself to you~"
"He's doing that to prove himself to everyone else, not for my sake," Bai Muyao retorted, though her tone was clearly less resolute than before. "Who knows, maybe he's trying to prove himself to his dad! After all, in the Chu Family, his only real backing is his father."
"Oh, come off it, stop putting up a stubborn front!" Shen Tingting wore an "I know everything" expression. "Whether he proves himself to his dad or not, his dad is still his dad. But if he doesn't prove himself to you, you're not going to be his wife!"
"Who wants to be his wife!" Bai Muyao's face flushed crimson. She reached out and pinched Shen Tingting hard on the waist, saying with embarrassment and annoyance, "If you keep spouting nonsense, I really am going to get mad!"
"Ow, you actually pinched me! I'm definitely going to be bruised and battered all over!" Shen Tingting let out an exaggerated cry, but a mischievous grin still hung on her face. "Looks like our dear Muyao is just shy. Hahaha..."
"Shen Tingting!" Bai Muyao was mortified, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. "If you talk nonsense again, I'll leave you bruised and battered all over!"
Shen Tingting cried out even more dramatically, "Help! Someone's secrets got exposed and now she's trying to silence me!"
Bickering all the way, the two of them went into the girls' dormitory.
***
As soon as Chu Chen returned to his dorm, he immediately opened his computer. "According to what Shen Tingting said, there's still a lot of things to look into..."
He opened a web page and quickly skimmed through various pieces of information.
"Hmm, these options aren't bad. I should give them a try." Chu Chen opened a document and started drafting a proposal. "I need to check out the pricing first and start with a small-batch trial production to test the waters."
He picked up his phone, getting ready to contact some manufacturers.
"Right, the design blueprints are also crucial."
Chu Chen thought of a senior student from the architecture and design institute who later became a renowned designer named Liu Piaopiao.
"She's the one."
With no classes in the afternoon, Chu Chen stayed busy in the dormitory the entire time.
Around two-something, Blondie and the others came back.
"Brother Chen, the guys' class schedules are all listed out, and I've arranged shifts based on everyone's classes. Take a look." Blondie rushed in carrying a stack of papers, excitement written all over his face.
Chu Chen took the shift schedule, examined it carefully, and nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad, Blondie. Your efficiency is getting higher and higher."
"Hehe, it's all thanks to Brother Chen's guidance." Blondie scratched his head, feeling a bit sheepish at the praise.
"But Brother Chen," Blondie's tone suddenly turned a bit troubled, "we still don't have enough phones. Only a little over a hundred in total. It's going to be pretty hard to receive delivery orders in time with just these."
"Don't worry about that. I'll go grab a batch from the second-hand market first. As long as they can make calls and receive them, that's enough." Chu Chen waved his hand nonchalantly; he had already planned ahead regarding the phones.
No sooner said than done, Chu Chen and Blondie went to the city's largest second-hand mobile phone market together.
The market was bustling with noise and excitement. All kinds of electronic products dazzled the eye, and the air was filled with the faint scent of electronic components.
They stepped into a small shop. The storefront was compact, and the shelves were packed with second-hand phones of every model.
"This one's three-twenty. All functions work perfectly, feel free to test it out." The boss was a middle-aged man with a beer belly and a shrewd glint in his eyes.
"Three-twenty? That's way too expensive!" Blondie exploded the moment he heard the price. "What era is this phone from, and you're still selling it for three-twenty? You probably didn't even pay thirty bucks to acquire it!"
"Young man, you can't put it that way. These phones of mine have all been refurbished, and these are brand-name goods! They're just like new, three-twenty isn't expensive at all." The boss took a leisurely sip of tea, wearing a take-it-or-leave-it attitude.
"Boss, we're planning to buy a hundred units. See if you can give us a discount?" Chu Chen dropped the bait directly, wanting to test the boss's bottom line.
Hearing that they wanted a hundred units, the boss's eyes lit up instantly, but he quickly regained his composure. "A hundred units? Even then, it can't be much cheaper. How about this, I'll knock five bucks off per unit, three hundred and fifteen each, can't go any lower."
"Three hundred and fifteen? How is this any different from robbery? That's almost enough to buy a brand new phone!" Blondie's face turned red with anger; this boss was outrageously greedy.
"Young man, my second-hand phones are practically no different from new ones. They're foreign brands like Nokia and Motorola, absolute guaranteed quality." The boss assured them with a solemn oath.
Knowing the boss was deliberately driving up the price, Chu Chen decided to try another shop.
"Boss, your price is too high. Let's look around some more." Chu Chen said, pulling Blondie as they prepared to leave.
"Heh, young man, I advise you not to waste your energy." The boss sneered, taking a leisurely sip of tea. "The prices around this entire area are all the same. Ask whoever you want, you'll get the exact same price."
Chu Chen paused his steps. Just as he expected, these shop owners had their own private "alliance."
"What? They're all the same?" Blondie widened his eyes in disbelief. "That's way too shady!"
"If you don't believe me, go ask around and see if what I'm saying is true," the boss said smugly, looking as if he had them right where he wanted them.
Refusing to give up, Blondie insisted on checking elsewhere and dragged Chu Chen into the shop next door.
"Boss, how much for this flip phone?" Blondie pointed to a phone identical to the previous one and asked.
"Three-one-five. Take it if you want it." The boss replied without even lifting his head or blinking an eye.
Unwilling to admit defeat, Blondie asked a few more shops. The answers were all the same: three hundred and fifteen, not a single penny less.
"Big bro, these guys are deliberately ripping us off!" Blondie said with righteous indignation, his face flushed.
"I know." Chu Chen patted Blondie on the shoulder, signaling him to keep calm.
"Then what do we do? We can't just not buy phones, right?" Blondie said helplessly. They urgently needed the phones to get their business running; they couldn't possibly let themselves be pushed around by these profiteers forever.
"Since the brothers haven't finished negotiating with the nearby restaurant owners yet, I'll take a trip down to Shenzhen during this time and get a batch of phones back for everyone." A sharp glint flashed in Chu Chen's eyes. Shenzhen—the kingdom of electronic products—that was his real target.
"Shenzhen? Go to Shenzhen to buy phones?" Blondie was even more puzzled. Weren't consumer prices higher over in Shenzhen? Phone prices should be even steeper there.
"That's where you're wrong. Nothing is ever too expensive at its place of origin." Chu Chen smiled and explained. Shenzhen was the distribution hub for electronic products, so the prices definitely had to be much cheaper than here.
"So that's how it is! Big bro is brilliant!" Blondie suddenly saw the light, and the look he gave Chu Chen was filled with admiration. As expected of big bro, he always had a way.
"In that case, while you go these next couple of days, I'll help take roll call for you." Blondie immediately volunteered.
"What the hell, you think I don't know how to ask for leave?" Chu Chen tapped Blondie on the head, amused and exasperated. What on earth was this kid thinking about?
"Heh, I was just afraid big bro might forget in all your busywork." Blondie rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.