Returning to '97, creating a new life

176 cm.

Seeing that he had grown a little taller than the height mark from the morning before yesterday, Xu Kai chose to run to school and compared his condition with that of his junior high school days.

"I don't have time at noon, but I have PE class in the afternoon. I'll see then."

Without getting distracted or resisting, Xu Kai listened attentively to the four classes in the morning and followed the teacher's pace. There is a big difference between not learning anything and learning as much as possible. At least with Xu Kai's current mental state, he is able to sit still and learn when he is in the classroom. As for how much he ultimately digests, his talent is beyond his control, and he can't do anything about it.

I rushed home at noon, mixed the scrambled eggs with garlic sprouts from last night with rice, grabbed a steel spoon, and quickly ate it all in big mouthfuls. Then I gulped down a large glass of warm water, grabbed my coat and old schoolbag, found an old bed sheet in the closet at home, and carried it back to school.

After changing out of my school uniform shirt, I folded the old bed sheet three times and laid it on the sidewalk a few meters away from the school gate. I then neatly arranged the hair clips, lip balm, nail polish, hair ties, and other items from my old schoolbag. I then casually picked up two red bricks from the roadside, placed my old schoolbag on them, and sat down on them.

There's no such thing as arrogance or pride, nor is there any shyness or embarrassment. A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy doesn't understand that earning money through one's own abilities is never shameful. How could Xu Kai, who has been reborn, not understand this?

He can go to other places, and he dares to go there.

But nothing is more convenient than being in your most familiar place. If you're guarding the school gate, even if the administrative staff or campus security guards come to drive you away, you can just be a little shameless and move a little further away from the school gate. The most important thing is to acquire customer resources.

For students, Xu Kai's behavior is very novel, and it may even increase the success rate of his product sales.

It's quite interesting to see classmates and seniors selling small commodities outside of school during their lunch break. I'll go check it out.

There is demand, the price is lower than some nearby stores or small shopping malls, the location near the school is convenient, and finally, the product is attractive and sells well.

The answer is yes.

Prices are relatively transparent. Small commodity wholesale markets a few bus stops away are familiar to many students. When friends celebrate birthdays or other occasions, many choose to take the bus to buy gifts there. A plush doll that costs sixty yuan in a store can be at least ten yuan cheaper at a small commodity wholesale market.

Xu Kai's primary strategy of earning less and offering lower prices is to leverage price advantage. If this advantage cannot be fully utilized, the synergistic effect of other advantages will be diminished.

He sells hair clips that cost three yuan for four yuan.

He sells hair clips that cost two yuan for three yuan.

He sells a bundle of ten hair ties for six cents for one dollar.

"Hey classmate, this thing sells for four yuan in small commodities stores. If I take more, I can get a discount and earn a little extra for running the errand."

"Hey classmate, this will definitely look good on you. You can try it on. Let this classmate take a look. Don't worry, my taste is definitely good."

Although he had never actually worked in sales, Xu Kai was still a force to be reckoned with at the school gate, surrounded by a group of teenagers. Especially since he kept muttering to himself, he didn't have the shyness or embarrassment that teenagers often feel when doing business at a school gate. Instead, he made the customers feel a little embarrassed. Many of them, who genuinely had a need for his products, would throw down their money, grab their items, and leave. Afterward, they would whisper to each other as they walked away. They had never seen anyone like Xu Kai before.

Wang Lei and several classmates gathered around, marveling at the sight. They were definitely too embarrassed to do this—selling things at the school gate. Xu Kai, aren't you ashamed?

A large crowd had gathered around; lip balm and colorless nail polish were very popular. Colorful braided ropes were also in high demand, with some boys and girls exchanging braided ropes, origami cranes, and origami stars. The colored paper for the latter was available at the school store, but Xu Kai wouldn't bother with that; it would only invite hatred, and there was no need for it.

If this were ten years from now, the little things he sells would probably be available in small supermarkets and shops near the school. Right now, he mainly sells snacks, soft drinks, and school supplies, leaving only a small window for them. In his words, he's just earning a little money for running errands.

"What are you doing? Are you a student at this school? Don't you know you can't sell things at the gate?" The gatekeeper saw a large group of students gathered at the gate, came out to investigate, saw that they were selling things, and recognized Xu Kai, who looked somewhat familiar, so he asked.

"Okay, okay, sir, I'll be going right away, I'll be going right away."

Seeing the gatekeeper return to the guardhouse, Xu Kai kept talking but didn't move an inch. Only after the teachers from the school's disciplinary office came out did he gather up the sheets, wrap himself in a pile of unsold goods, and leave.

Move ten meters to the far end of the school gate.

The students who didn't get anything were feeling sorry, but seeing Xu Kai's actions, they all smiled. This senior from the third year of junior high school is really mischievous.

Finally, girls from the same grade and class started to gather around. They were more curious about how Xu Kai could be so calm about doing business with his classmates. It was hard to explain the logic, but boys and girls of this age all had a bit of unknown pride and a desire to save face. At the very least, they were embarrassed to say they didn't have money, let alone do something like this.

In one afternoon, Xu Kai completed the sale of most of the goods, bringing in more than 260 yuan. As the afternoon school bell rang, looking at the few remaining goods, he stuffed the bed sheet into his old schoolbag, took off his coat, put on his school uniform, and walked into the school with his schoolbag on his back.

As I passed the guardhouse, I waved and smiled at the old guard inside, saying, "Hello, sir!"

After the first period in the afternoon, Wang Lei and many others gathered around to ask what was going on. Xu Kai was also very straightforward: "I have no money, so I have to find a way to earn some."

No money.

The reason for their invincibility is a statement that 90% of teenagers would never dare to utter.

I can watch others drink soda and not drink it, or eat ice cream and not eat it, but there's no need for me to say out loud that I don't have any money in my pocket.

"Let's re-establish the queue. Xu Kai, please move to the front..."

On the first day of school, during the physical education class, the PE teacher, Lao Liu, looked at the line and adjusted the positions of a few people. Xu Kai was moved to the front of the boys' side and was no longer the average height in the class.

"Alright, dismissed."

In less than five minutes, the PE teacher dismissed everyone and let them do whatever they wanted. With such a small number of points in the middle school entrance exam's physical education component, no school or teacher would try to control the score; everyone could pass.

Even if the PE teacher wasn't sick, he wouldn't have acted like that even in his final year of junior high.

What's the best thing about PE class compared to recess?

We can enjoy the basketball and soccer fields ourselves; we don't need to fight with others for them.

Soon, the shouts of the students could be heard. Old Liu, who was standing in the shade to avoid the afternoon sun in autumn, was drawn to the sound.

"Um?"

His shooting accuracy is pretty good.

Basketball is widely considered a sport for tall people. Xu Kai's gradually regained touch only earned him a casual comment from the PE teacher. At most, when he was bored, the teacher would glance at him, but there was nothing to see. The teacher thought Xu Kai was a good shooter and probably the main scorer in his class during the grade-level competition.

I chatted with other teachers for a while until the end of get out of class, which prevented the PE teacher from going to the basketball court again. He didn't see the players running freely on the court even after 20 or 30 minutes. If he had, their physical fitness would have attracted more attention, and they might have tested them and recruited them to the sports team to represent the school in the district sports meet, running 3,000 or 5,000 meters.

During evening self-study, Xu Kai was called out of the classroom by his homeroom teacher to inquire about his sale of small commodities at the school gate at noon.

"Teacher, I'll stay a little further from the school gate tomorrow. I don't even have enough money to drink soda, so I'll offer some door-to-door services to the students during lunch break. I'll also earn some pocket money on the side. I promise, the price won't be expensive at all. I'm just earning a small fee to save them travel expenses."

What could Lü Yan say if she refused?

Can you control it? The reasons are reasonable, and you might even secretly praise them, saying that children from poor families mature early.

let?

We cannot condone it either.

"Street vending is not allowed near the school gate, so try to stay away from there. If you have any difficulties at home, tell your teacher so as not to interfere with your studies."

"Understood, Teacher Lü. Don't worry, I promise I won't cause any trouble for the school."

Xu Kai agrees with and understands the reasons behind this statement, both in terms of public and private matters, and as a teacher, what else can he say?

Touching the money in his pocket, a slight smile appeared on his face. This amount of money might only be a meal for forty-year-old Xu Kai, but for fifteen or sixteen-year-old Xu Kai, it was a sense of security and satisfaction.

If he can make a few dozen yuan on each purchase, he'll be very satisfied with the business model and scale. Next time he goes to a small commodities market, he won't have to argue with the stall owner and then be unwilling to buy even a bottle of mineral water.

Many of the boys in the class didn't understand Xu Kai, and even felt that his behavior was a bit low-class, just as they were unwilling to go near Xu Kai's stall.

The girls in the class were mostly curious. Some were thinking about what they needed and maybe they could go to his stall tomorrow. Didn't he say he needed money? We could support him.

………………

Xu Kai didn't hide it from his mother.

After saying a few words, Sun Xiuyun could only sigh inwardly and face the reality. Could she say it was wrong for her child to be sensible? But she also couldn't condone a student neglecting their studies. In the end, she could only acquiesce, occasionally nagging, "You still need to study hard; studying is what students should be doing."

On weekends, apart from the two top-performing classes that have extra classes, the school simply gave up on mobilizing the other classes because of potential issues related to fees.

Xu Kai got up early in the morning and went to the small commodity wholesale market.

"Let's go to your grandma's house for dinner tonight."

"Know."

With elderly people living in the family, and the children mostly being ordinary workers with stable incomes regardless of circumstances, they are neither rich nor poor. Only Sun Xiuyun, who is raising children alone, is slightly less well-off. The rest of the family members have similar incomes. Every weekend, they gather at the elderly person's house, each family bringing some food for a get-together. Those who like to play mahjong can also get together to play. If it happens to be a weekend every other week, they can play for two days and one night.

While not exactly an expert, he was no longer completely clueless either. After spending over two hours choosing a route, Xu Kai, carrying an old backpack and a handbag, took the bus back, adding one stop to the journey. He then walked ten minutes to the back gate of the prestigious Fifth Middle School. Checking the time, he found a spot by the roadside to begin setting up.

In top-tier middle schools, Saturdays are definitely full-day classes, and some classes even have Sunday mornings.

When you're outside your own school gate, if you want to avoid as much trouble as possible elsewhere, the back gate is the first choice, but there are just as many troubles there.

Dropouts and petty criminals alike frequent the area around schools. The reason? They derive a unique sense of accomplishment from the students who look at them with a mixture of admiration and fear. And, in matters of dating, this area seems to have become their playground.

Xu Kai certainly wasn't afraid of a group of teenagers and young adults in their early twenties; he was just worried about the trouble and was wary. Over the years, he'd found that this age group was full of greenhorns who were prone to impulsive and reckless actions.

He's here to make money, not to create trouble for himself.

What are you selling?

Xu Kai greeted the thugs who approached him knowingly with a smile, and took out the "Life Source" ginseng cigarettes he had bought in advance from his pocket, distributing them to everyone: "Selling some trinkets to earn some tuition fees. My family is struggling. Gentlemen, take a look and see if there are any girls you want to give these to. Here you go."

Hearing Xu Kai shamelessly mention that his family was poor, even a group of scoundrels lost interest in him. Even if it meant bullying him or robbing him for pocket money, they wouldn't want to bully someone like that; it was shameful.

While the era no longer provides the fertile ground for the birth of classic hooligans, the legends of classic hooligans still exist, and some of their accepted ways of doing things will be passed down to some extent.