The others looked surprised.
Lin Feng was usually the more cautious one.
He shrugged.
"The business isn't in that risky of a place anymore."
He leaned forward.
"At the moment, we're making about 600 yuan in gross profit daily. If we reinvest the 3,000 into stock, this should bring our total inventory to around 9,000."
He held up a finger.
"After two days, we can improve our goods spending to 10,000 per cycle. With this, we should be making around 1,000 yuan in gross profit daily. We can maintain that pace."
He paused to let them follow along.
"In two weeks, we'll have over 10,000 yuan. We'll use this to sponsor Moon Fairy."
Chen Ming's eyes widened slightly.
"But this won't be a normal sponsorship," Lin Feng continued. "We'll advertise ourselves mostly to workers. We'll say we're a new delivery service that is slowly rolling out in cities and are starting with Hangzhou. Those interested in work can check our employment portal for details."
He leaned back.
"This will help us screen potential part-timers and have them lined up for when we expand outward."
He looked around the room.
"Then, for the remaining half of the month, we can gather money for a larger warehouse. We'll also design a pipeline for how to work with external part-timers."
He spread his hands.
"And officially expand outward next month."
He looked at each of them.
"What do you think?"
They all nodded.
"It sounds reasonable," Zhang Wei said.
Chen Ming placed a hand on Lin Feng's shoulder.
"Brother, you said you'd give us a good deal. Ten whole thousand?"
Lin Feng scoffed.
"Hmph. Just you wait. At that time, you'll realize just how little ten thousand is to get Moon Fairy's recommendation."
Chen Ming blinked.
"What? Are you working on something big?"
Lin Feng wasn't the kind to show off. For him to say something like that...
Chen Ming clasped his hands together.
"Boss, you won't let your brother only drink the soup while you eat the meat, will you?"
Lin Feng shrugged.
"And what's wrong with drinking the soup?"
"Boss, you've changed. You don't care about the old brothers anymore."
Lin Feng sighed.
"Well... I guess I do have some ideas that might need your help."
Chen Ming jumped up.
"Yes!"
Then he cleared his throat.
"Ahem. What do you need? Just tell me."
Lin Feng waved his hand.
"I'll tell you about it later. For now, I'm just planning."
…
Monday, November 2nd.
Lin Feng's eyes fluttered open.
He reached out and silenced his alarm.
For a few seconds, he simply lay there, staring up at the bunk above him.
Then he climbed down from the bed.
…
Two hours later.
Lin Feng and Li Jun sat at the study desk, typing away as they worked on Fool's Gambit.
The room was quiet save for the rhythmic clacking of keyboards.
At around 11 AM, Li Jun leaned back in his chair.
"Done."
Lin Feng nodded, pushing his own final changes.
"Same here."
Just like Lin Feng's task, Li Jun's had also involved a lot of populating that could be left for later. He had already architected the general progression structures - the foundation was in place.
The two of them pushed their changes to the repository.
"We should check them more thoroughly later," Lin Feng said. "Make sure everything works well together."
Li Jun nodded in agreement.
At that moment, Lin Feng's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
Class monitor?
He picked up the call.
"Hello?"
"Lin Feng," Sun Xiao's voice came through. "How are you?"
"I'm alright. You?"
"Same as always." She paused. "I was wondering - do you have any plans today?"
Lin Feng thought about it.
He didn't have any exams today. As for the lessons with Zhang Wei... they weren't doing those anymore. Mostly because he and Li Jun were busy with game development now. Zhang Wei had also told them that at their level, the best way to learn was through projects.
He didn't feel like he needed to worry about Zhang Wei for now, even though the lessons had stopped. He had initially started them to support Zhang Wei financially - back when Zhang Wei was so busy working at the delivery app that he couldn't do his own work.
But now, the delivery app only required a little maintenance here and there. Zhang Wei had enough free time to do his own things.
Still... thinking about it, it seemed like he was leaving him out.
He was working on the game company with Li Jun. He was also cooking up something that needed Chen Ming. Maybe he should pay more attention to Zhang Wei.
He scratched his head.
He was starting to feel more like a father than a friend.
"Hello? Are you still there?"
Sun Xiao's voice pulled him back.
"Ah, sorry," he said. "I spaced out for a moment."
He straightened up.
"No, I'm actually free. Did you want to talk to me about something?"
He paused.
"Actually, I also have something I wanted to discuss with you too. How about we have lunch together?"
"Great," she said. "What time?"
"Is right now a bad time?"
"Of course not. I'll meet you right now."
The call ended.
Lin Feng lowered his phone.
His expression turned serious.
It was time to start preparing his next ventures.
…
Lin Feng and Sun Xiao sat opposite each other in a small restaurant near campus.
Their food arrived shortly after they ordered - two bowls of noodles and a bottle of fruit-flavored drink.
Sun Xiao reached for the drink.
Her fingers had barely touched the cap when Lin Feng's hand shot out.
He yanked the bottle away from her.
She blinked, startled.
"What are you…"
Lin Feng held up the bottle, his eyes scanning the label intently. He turned it around, reading through the ingredients list with laser focus.
Sun Xiao watched him, bewildered.
Finally, he exhaled.
No alcohol.
He handed the bottle back to her.
She took it slowly, her gaze still fixed on him.
She glanced down at the ingredients herself, then back up at him.
"I didn't know you were so health-conscious."
"It's not that," he said. "I've had bad experiences."
She raised an eyebrow.
He sighed.
My luck with women and alcohol hasn't been good so far. It's best to avoid it entirely.
She stared at him for a moment.
Then she decided not to ask.
She poured them both drinks and set the bottle aside.
"So," she said, picking up her glass. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
Lin Feng shook his head.
"You go first. It might be related."