Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 35 Taken a Boomerang
Yang Qingyue paused at the door for two seconds, then walked into the classroom as if she hadn't heard anything, put down her schoolbag next to Chen Xuebing, and sat down.

Just as Chen Xuebing was about to strike up a conversation with a smile, Yang Qingyue suddenly reached out from under the table and pinched his waist hard.

What were you just saying—huh?

The intensity of the voice increased as the tone of the voice grew louder, though the words themselves were spoken softly, and the tone was full of flirtatious banter.

Chen Xuebing remained expressionless, simply smiling as he asked, "Did you eat the glutinous rice balls I brought yesterday?"

The hand loosened.

"I ate it." Yang Qingyue said, leaning closer, raising her neck, and pointing to her collarbone.

"Look, you're having an allergic reaction."

Yang Qingyue was a natural for ballet, with long legs and a fair and slender neck. In addition, Chen Xuebing smelled a faint fragrance of orange blossoms approaching, and it took him a while to concentrate and see the little red mark under her neck.

Yang Qingyue held her head high, and Chen Xuebing couldn't help but glance down at her, only to find that her coat covered her and she couldn't see anything. He quickly looked away, straightened his expression, and said:
"You're allergic, why are you still eating it?"

“I’ve heard from my parents that I was allergic to mangoes when I was little and have never eaten them. I want to see if I can eat them now.”

Yang Qingyue narrowed her eyes, licked her lips with a tiny bit of her tongue, and smiled as if she had just stolen some fish, "It's quite delicious."

Chen Xuebing had a vague feeling that this girl wasn't stealing food because she wanted to eat it. He was a little confused by her cute expression and the vague affection in her heart. He thought to himself that girls aren't necessarily the most beautiful when they're at their peak of physical appearance. It's the hormones in this kind of ambiguous relationship that are most captivating.

Then I realized: this has disturbed my resolve.

“Everything tastes good, even the telephone poles in Northeast China in winter taste good. Do you want to lick them?” Chen Xuebing scolded.

"That glutinous rice ball was really delicious! I wish I had asked you to bring me some other flavors too. Mengzhen was so reluctant to give it to me. By the way, when you went to see Mengzhen yesterday, did she come down to get it, or did you bring it upstairs to her?"

Yang Qingyue immediately asked the key question.

"."

At the crucial point of the conversation, Chen Xuebing seemed to remember something and quickly changed the subject: "You didn't come with her? By the way, what kind of tests have you been taking lately?"

He knew perfectly well that Yang Qingyue hadn't come with Xin Mengzhen. He had known that the phone call Xin Mengzhen received while eating was from Yang Qingyue.

They had already eaten half the meal, and they couldn't very well ask Yang Qingyue to eat the leftovers, so Chen Xuebing didn't let Xin Mengzhen take it.

Xin Mengzhen didn't seem to want to answer either, because that would lead to a conversation about why they ate together, about applying medicine, and about yesterday.

Yang Qingyue wasn't confused by his two questions. While rummaging through her bag, she said, "I don't know what's wrong with Mengzhen today. She didn't wait for me at home to go out together, and she didn't answer the phone either. I wonder if something happened. I'll have to go look for her later. By the way, did you buy a cell phone?"

"Hmm." Reminded of this, Chen Xuebing suddenly remembered something, quickly took out his phone from his pocket, and put it on silent.

He then realized that Huo Xiaowen had called him twice an hour earlier, when he was having dinner with Xin Mengzhen and they were having a great time chatting.

I need to go and reply to it after class.

"Oh, Nokia? It's the same brand as my phone. Can I take a look?" Yang Qingyue suddenly leaned closer.

Chen Xuebing quickly put it away: "What are you looking at? Class is about to start."

I definitely can't let Yang Qingyue see my phone.

It contained Xin Mengzhen's call records; he had just saved that number by name, and he hadn't had time to save Yang Qingyue's number yet.

A seemingly trivial matter like the order in which phone numbers are saved can trigger countless comparisons between women, and they can remember these comparisons for a lifetime.

Yang Qingyue's hand hovered there, she pursed her lips, and asked again, "What exactly did you go to Shenzhen for?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuebing clicked his tongue and said, "Nothing much, I'll tell you later when I have the chance."

Yesterday he thought everything was going smoothly with the phone sale, so he told Xin Mengzhen when he got back. But last night's Taobao incident made him feel uncertain about the future, and now he doesn't really want to talk about it anymore.

"Hmph." Yang Qingyue, having been met with cold indifference twice, finally rolled her eyes at him, indicating that her enthusiasm after their brief separation was over.

Chen Xuebing chuckled, feeling much more at ease.

He does prefer girls who are gentle, but right now, with his frequent interactions with Xin Mengzhen, the nicer Yang Qingyue treats him, the more he feels indebted to her.

I have the desire to have my cake and eat it too, but I don't have the relevant experience yet, so I can only cultivate it slowly.

After being reborn, I learned how to be a scumbag.

"Here, these are the test papers we handed out last week. I've kept them for you. Do them in order, and I'll correct them for you when you're done."

Yang Qingyue took out a stack of papers and handed them to him. They were stapled together, and there were several stapler marks on the upper left corner of the first page, indicating that they had been opened and closed several times.

Chen Xuebing flipped through the pages and noticed that the lower the pages were bound, the fewer copies were printed. It was as if he could see that the girl would unpack and re-bind the papers every time she handed out new ones, which made him feel even more annoyed.

Speaking of which, the speed at which they're handing out the exam papers is even more frustrating.

"Only a little over a week... twenty-odd images?"

During his leave of absence, he would spend some time each night reviewing his study notes and then do a set of humanities questions in a half-open book. He thought he was disciplined enough, but it turned out he was crawling while others were running.

"How can you not do practice problems in your senior year of high school? Mengzhen's class does twice as many!" Yang Qingyue took out a pencil and handed it to him: "Use this to do the problems. If you run out, you can erase and redo them to reinforce your understanding."

Chen Xuebing's face twitched.

"Hey, Chen Xuebing." Wu Fei suddenly nudged him from behind: "We collected a printing fee last week, and Yang Qingyue paid it for you."

Chen Xuebing turned around: "Oh? How much?"

"They collected 30 yuan in advance. The teachers printed it in the office and only charged for the paper and ink. They said it should be enough for graduation."

Chen Xuebing nodded.

There are only thirty exam papers for the entire senior year of high school.

These days, schools are really conscientious in charging for materials. Everyone pays their own fees, and the class fee, which is only a few yuan, is managed by the student life committee member.

In his past life, his friend's child was in elementary school. They started paying class fees in advance, and all expenses came from that. They could pay more than two thousand a year. The bills at the end of the year were simply baffling. They bought a lot of reference books for elementary school, all of which were from designated schools. They even had wine consumption at a parent-teacher meeting.

As Chen Xuebing took out money from his pocket, Yang Qingyue grabbed his arm and said, "Are you going to come out and do practice problems this weekend? If you are, you can use this money to treat Mengzhen and me to tea."

Chen Xuebing thought about it and agreed that it was a good idea to set more study plans for himself to avoid becoming lazy.

"Then let's meet at the same teahouse as last time on the weekend."

……

After the first class, Chen Xuebing returned a phone call.

Good news has come from Shenzhen.

Huo Xiaowen sold two more mobile phones in the afternoon, but the buyer was a local and a middleman who bargained hard. Huo Xiaowen still did it in order to close the deal. The two phones sold for 4200 yuan, and he made 300 yuan.

Chen Xuebing didn't know whether the news was good or bad. Life always throws unexpected curveballs. According to his agreement with General Manager Zhao, the discounts for 30, 50, and 100 machines per month were different. Yesterday's order was for second-hand goods, not Zhao Wanping's order. In other words, today was a good start, with two machines sold.

If Huo Xiaowen can sell two units a day, that's 60 units a month. He can then get about 88% of the overall floor price of the second floor of Yuanwang, and popular models might get 8.9% or 9%, which is close to the stall owners' purchase price.

If we can produce 100 units, the price will drop by two percentage points.

Cost reduction at every point is of great significance to him.

Selling offline, the profit margin is hard to say. If you sell to someone who knows about it, it's probably only a few percent. But if you sell it as a real device, the profit margin is extremely high.

For example, a Motorola E365 that was launched last year and sold quite well in the market has a retail price of 3100 or more. The grey market price on the second floor of Yuanwang is around 2700, and the counterfeit version is 2300. They get the counterfeit version for 2050, so they can sell it for 2200 to 2700 or even 2800, depending on how they negotiate and whether they can fool people.

Therefore, many people who buy machines in Huaqiangbei are willing to travel further afield to sell them, not afraid of higher purchase prices. They sell them as genuine products, and even if they only offer a 9% discount, they still make a large profit.

Online, the profit margin is relatively uniform. Chen Xuebing plans to sell it at a slightly lower price than the grey market price, around 2500-2600 yuan, depending on how popular the phone is.

If he can sell 100 units per month, the purchase price of each machine will be reduced by more than 40 yuan. He can use this money to give away free shipping, or even a charger, universal charger, phone case, etc. to enhance his competitive advantage and cover his bank transaction fees.

If he sold more, he thought he could negotiate a better price with Zhao Wanping. Zhao Wanping immediately offered him a 20% discount, but his cost price was far lower than that. Big brands have high markups, and there are at least 40-50% profit margins in these counterfeit products. So, by subcontracting the products layer by layer, he can still earn a considerable profit at each stage.

Therefore, of course, the more you sell, the better.

But Huo Xiaowen would split the profits 50/50 for every unit he sold, while Huo Xiaowen would only receive a 10% commission for every unit he sold. Moreover, Huo Xiaowen would receive the money back immediately upon sale, without needing to tie up capital for an extended period. Anyone could see the difference. Huo Xiaowen was a loyal friend, but even close brothers keep clear accounts.

It's quite ridiculous, really. As the boss, he had to prove his worth to his employees as soon as possible. Otherwise, if he wanted to continue down this path, he would have to drop out of school and go to Shenzhen to sell mobile phones with Huo Xiaowen.

Damn Taobao.

……

"whisper……"

The school bell rang.

"Have you finished the test?" Yang Qingyue asked as she packed her schoolbag.

"Soon, it was Teacher Sun who missed a class, talking about vectors, and kept interrupting my train of thought. Otherwise, I would have finished much earlier."

Chen Xuebing rarely complained.

The already stressful senior year of high school is further complicated by the added pressure of starting a business, making study time even more precious.

"Then...would you like to come with us?"

Upon hearing Yang Qingyue's words, Chen Xuebing immediately put down his pen.

"Never mind, I'll take it back and make it."

We still need to go to Xin Mengzhen's house.

"By the way, where is the hottest place in the world again? Is it the Sahara?"

"In the US! Death Valley, California, the highest temperature reached 57 degrees Celsius!"

"...The largest desert is always the Sahara, right? I remember that, 932 million square kilometers, one-sixteenth of the world's total land area!"

"Are you sure the word 'China' isn't written in front of the largest desert?"

"Holy crap, it seems so! The biggest one in China is..."

"Taklamakan! The second largest in the world, covering 33 square kilometers!"

"Damn it, the Sahara has ruined two of my multiple-choice questions."

Chen Xuebing scratched the back of his head, speechless.

"Hahaha..." A boy named Zhang Jin next to him patted him on the shoulder and laughed: "Brother, believe me, you're not alone!"

Chen Xuebing grinned: "I have inherited the throne from Your Majesty and performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai. Do not compare yourself to me!"

The words just fell.

“Snake-like words come from the mouth. Clever words are like a reed, shameless indeed.”

Xin Mengzhen came from the front of the corridor, her voice clear and crisp.

Chen Xuebing didn't understand what she was saying, but just from the last eight words, he knew she was cursing him.

So he walked over to Xin Mengzhen and smiled at her:

"I'm going to buy some oranges. You just stay here and don't move."

The best way to refute Zhu Ziqing's "The Back View" is with the line from "Rickshaw Boy": "I only need two, they're all yours," which is what Old Ma said to his grandson.

But this meme is clearly not popular these days, and it took Xin Mengzhen several seconds to realize it, before she actually found her own solution:

"Hurry up and come back after you buy it, so I can tattoo words on your face!"

Chen Xuebing was also stunned, then said, "Ha, if I could really be Yue Fei, it would be worth it to call you 'Mom'."

Xin Mengzhen retorted defiantly, "Go ahead and yell!"

Chen Xuebing glanced at her chest, then waved his hand and said, "Only the one who provides milk is the mother."

Xin Mengzhen was stunned.

Chen Xuebing lifted his leg and walked away.

Two or three seconds later, Xin Mengzhen's furious shout came from behind: "Chen Xuebing!"

Everyone in the corridor was stunned, watching the aloof beauty who often accompanied Yang Qingyue chase after Chen Xuebing, getting further and further away.

Yang Qingyue hesitated for several seconds before catching up.

Lu Yiwen stood at the classroom door, clicking his tongue in amazement: "Those two... soldiers are eating way too much."

Liang Hui shook his head and smacked his lips: "Not only are we full, but we're also eating well."

Gou Hongyi, however, stood with his hands on his hips, full of confidence: "When I'm rich in the future, I'll take you guys to places like that. I heard the girls come in in rows and rows!"

"What the hell?"

"Tell me details."

...

Mr. Chen had long been tired of the kind of place where people came in row by row, or even went out boat by boat.

Back then, I missed my youthful days terribly and regretted not having had a proper, heartfelt relationship. After getting divorced, I suddenly mustered up the courage to have a passionate romance, but the people I could be matched with were all seasoned veterans in the dating scene.

A deer? No, no, I won't bump into it.

Unlike now, where even the mere sound of two girls chatting and laughing makes him feel tense.

"Mengzhen, why didn't you wait for me today? I went to your house to look for you, but your aunt said you went out without eating! I called you but you didn't answer."

"Um... something came up."

Xin Mengzhen was clearly not good at lying, and her voice was somewhat hesitant.

Yang Qingyue frowned, as if she wanted to ask another question.

Chen Xuebing could only try to smooth things over by saying, "You said yesterday your phone was broken, that it would sometimes go black and shut down? Did you get it repaired?"

This makes up for both the fact that he "went out early" and that he "didn't answer the phone".

"Ah, um." Xin Mengzhen nervously gave a few perfunctory replies, then quickly changed the subject:

"I'll buy a new one from you in a while; this phone isn't working very well... It'll be good for your business."

Now, Yang Qingyue's attention was completely diverted.

"Mobile phones? Business? What kind of business?"

“He found the channel in Shenzhen to sell mobile phones… Didn’t he… tell you?” Xin Mengzhen’s tone was natural at the beginning of her sentence, but she became hesitant when she noticed that Yang Qingyue was standing there with a strange expression.

The question that came out with a critical hit in the second half of the sentence was purely subconscious.

Chen Xuebing didn't have time to stop her at all. Looking at Yang Qingyue, he nervously swallowed.

He never expected that helping someone tell a lie would cause the boomerang to bounce back at him in just a few seconds.

The atmosphere has changed.

Yang Qingyue's expression gradually turned aggrieved. Suddenly, the three of them fell silent. Yang Qingyue stared at Chen Xuebing for a long time, then pointed at him:
"you…"

His voice suddenly trembled slightly.

"I asked you twice...you don't treat me like a friend at all!"

Yang Qingyue abandoned the two and ran forward.

(End of this chapter)