The cafeteria was bustling with students.
Lin Feng and Su Yue sat across from each other, trays of food between them, chatting casually about classes and professors.
Mid-conversation, Lin Feng noticed someone.
"What is it?" Su Yue asked, noticing his gaze drifting over her shoulder.
She turned her head.
It was Sun Xiao - the class monitor.
Lin Feng considered for a moment.
It would be nice to get closer to the monitor. Not just because she was a nice person, but also because he needed connections for their business. Having a friendly relationship with the class monitor could prove useful.
He raised his hand and waved.
"Class monitor! Come sit with us!"
Sun Xiao noticed him and smiled. She walked over and took the seat beside Su Yue, across from Lin Feng.
"I'm Lin Feng," he said. "And this is Su Yue."
"Nice to meet you," Su Yue said politely.
Sun Xiao nodded warmly. "I know you two. You were the first ones to introduce yourselves - sitting at the back."
"As expected of the class monitor," Lin Feng said. "Very observant."
Su Yue rolled her eyes.
Hmph. And you say you don't like this kind of girl, she thought, poking at her food with her chopsticks.
"So, class monitor," Lin Feng continued, "what made you want to run for the position?"
Sun Xiao considered the question.
"I've always liked helping people," she said. "And I want to be a teacher someday - like my mother. I thought being class monitor would be good practice."
Lin Feng paused.
"Public or private?" he asked.
Sun Xiao blinked, slightly surprised by the question.
"Public," she said without hesitation. "Private institutions pay more, but... not every family can afford private tutoring. I want to teach the kids who don't have that option. I think they deserve just as much care and attention as anyone else."
She smiled softly.
That's so like her, Lin Feng thought.
Su Yue's expression softened. "That's admirable. What subject?"
Lin Feng smiled along with the conversation, but internally, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Public school teacher... she'll be fine.
In less than a year, the entire private tutoring industry would collapse. The double reduction policy would wipe out thousands of companies overnight. Hundreds of thousands of tutors would lose their jobs.
But public school teachers like her? They'd be just fine. Well, for the most part.
Come to think of it, my own tutoring income has an expiration date too.
"What about you?" Su Yue asked.
"What about me?" Lin Feng asked, returning to his senses.
"Werent you listening? Sun Xiao wants to be a teacher. What about you?" She asked.
"Oh, about that…I'm more interested in business," he said.
"Business?" Su Yue observed him for a moment, then nodded.
"What about you, Su Yue?" Sun Xiao asked. "Any goals?"
"I'm also interested in business, I want to start my own business in fact" Su Yue said. "Something small, maybe. A shop or a cafe. Something I can call mine."
"That's wonderful," Sun Xiao said.
The three of them continued to chat - about hometowns, hobbies, just about anything. Sun Xiao was easy to talk to, her warmth putting everyone at ease. Su Yue gradually relaxed, her earlier jealousy fading as she realized the class monitor wasn't a threat.
By the time they finished eating, they had exchanged WeChat contacts and the two girls had made plans to hang out together sometime. They had invited Lin Feng too but he had decided to sit this one out.
Looks like they'll be good friends, Lin Feng thought, observing how naturally they talked.
…
The afternoon class was Microeconomics.
It followed much the same pattern as the English class - introductions, course structure, expectations. The professor was a stern-looking woman in her forties.
By half past three, the class ended.
Lin Feng headed back to the dormitory, grateful that his schedule was clear for the rest of the day.
…
A few minutes after he arrived, Zhang Wei returned.
Then Li Jun.
And after almost an hour, Chen Ming finally walked through the door.
"What took you so long?" Zhang Wei asked.
Chen Ming let out an exaggerated sigh.
"I was hunting down the class monitors," he said, dropping his bag onto his bed. "Those guys are really hard to find. Apparently, they were having some kind of class monitor meeting, and I had to wait for them to finish."
He placed a hand over his chest dramatically.
"But not to worry - I accomplished the mission."
Lin Feng smiled. "Good work."
The four of them gathered together, sitting in a loose circle.
Then all eyes turned to Li Jun.
"Alright, alright," he said, raising his hands placatingly. "I'll explain how it went."
…
Li Jun cleared his throat.
"Alright, first things first - I secured the storage location."
"12 square meters, near campus. 500 yuan a month, just like we planned."
Chen Ming nodded eagerly. "And the supplier?"
Li Jun smiled.
"I went to talk to my uncle the other day. He works in this line of business - wholesale distribution. I explained what we were trying to do, and he agreed to help us out."
He paused for effect.
"He'll sell us items at 60% of retail price."
Silence.
Chen Ming's jaw dropped. "60%? That's a 30% profit margin!"
"Wait, seriously?" Zhang Wei's eyes widened.
Lin Feng frowned slightly. This deal was almost too good. There had to be a catch somewhere.
"What about transport?" he asked.
Li Jun waved a hand dismissively.
"No need to worry about that. My uncle transports goods all over the area anyway. When he's making deliveries to other businesses nearby, he can just drop off a few things for us."
He leaned back.
"Well, at least for now. If we're not just playing around and actually expand into a real business, we'll have to renegotiate the terms. But for testing the waters? This should be enough."
Lin Feng nodded slowly.
So Li Jun really is connected.
His uncle had casually agreed to let his nephew "play around" with deals involving this level of money. No hesitation. No strings attached.
Is this... the legendary young master?
"So does this mean we can start working right away?" Chen Ming asked, practically bouncing in his seat.
Lin Feng shook his head.
"Not quite. But we're close."
He fell deep into thought.
Maybe this thing might actually work out.
With a 30% profit margin and no transport costs, the only bottleneck was themselves - how much effort they were willing to put in.
He had originally approached this as a small experiment.
But now?
I need to rethink this whole thing.