August sixth. Another ordinary midsummer morning.
A silver Nissan Bluebird sped down the country road. The warm eastern sun was climbing slowly, and in the blink of an eye, it crested the tops of the poplar trees. Dappled light spilled through the window, playing across Chen Yansen's face.
"Your sister... why didn't she tag along?"
Chen Yansen reached out, patted the front seat, and asked Wang Zihao.
"My mom's taking her to Hu City to visit our uncle, and they're going to check out the World Expo while they're there. If I didn't have the legitimate excuse of getting my driver's license, I probably would've been dragged along too."
Wang Zihao said with a shudder, turning his head.
'What bustling Hu City? What World Expo? How could any of that be as satisfying as making money with Brother Sen!'
"Too bad. We're down one free laborer."
Chen Yansen's tone was flat. He sounded as if the only thing he cared about was having one less person to collect money and pack up goods for the next few days.
"Bastard!"
Wang Zihao rolled his eyes and scoffed in disgust.
'With how cute Wang Ziyan is, countless guys would be falling all over themselves to impress her. Only a son of a bitch like Chen Yansen would think of using my sister as a beast of burden.'
"You're in charge of sales today. I already sent the sales pitch to your QQ. We have about fifty minutes left in the drive, so hurry up and get familiar with it."
Chen Yansen smiled, but his expression was dead serious.
"Brother Sen, I... I can't do it. Why don't you do it instead?"
Wang Zihao hadn't expected the "retaliation" to come so quickly. His usually nimble tongue instantly got tied, and he stammered out a plea.
"If you really don't want to do it, I won't force you. I'll just deduct 2,000 from your commission later."
Chen Yansen grinned at his pathetic display.
"Zihao, it's not your uncle nagging you, but a man can never say he can't do something. Just go for it!"
Huang Boxiang had spent a day teaching Wang Zihao to drive. Now that they were more familiar with each other, he'd even changed how he addressed him.
"Brother Sen, you've got to be kidding me, right?"
With a pained expression, Wang Zihao asked tentatively.
Chen Yansen frowned, his gaze sharpening. "Do I look like I'm kidding?" he snapped.
'Fuck it, I'll do it! Besides, no one in Anfeng even knows who I am.'
Wang Zihao gritted his teeth, looking as if he were about to be led to the execution grounds.
"Haozi, if you want to make big money, you can't be bound by morals, rules, or pride. When you're flat broke, that stuff isn't worth more than a sheet of toilet paper."
With that said, Chen Yansen ignored Wang Zihao, casually pulling out his Noaki N78 and turning his attention back to his side hustle.
"You don't like singing or sports!? Isn't that the kind of stuff you guys are into?"
The moment he logged into QQ, the first chat window to pop up was, once again, from Meng Jie.
'Heh, and you claim you're not interested in me?'
The corners of Chen Yansen's mouth curled up slightly. 'In my last life, I'd rated plenty of female streamers and cosplayers, but I'd never gotten to deeply... savor... a unique type like Meng Jie.'
"Only little kids are into that stuff. You coming to Anfeng? I'll show you what the world of adult men is like."
Chen Yansen replied instantly, without the slightest hesitation.
'His experience selling goods in Zhongqiao Town had taught him that the two of them, just him and Wang Zihao, couldn't possibly handle the workload.'
'Therefore, luring a new free laborer had become President Chen's top priority.'
"You're in Anfeng???"
Meng Jie's avatar lit up instantly.
"Nope."
Chen Yansen replied succinctly.
"Then what the hell was the point of saying that!"
The joyful surprise on Meng Jie's face vanished instantly. She replied in a huff.
"But I will be in Anfeng in an hour."
Chen Yansen typed, a wicked grin on his face, deliberately teasing her.
"Who taught you to talk like that? That's how you get your ass kicked, you know?"
After hitting send, Meng Jie followed up with an emoji of a swinging fist.
"Meet at the Anfeng Grand Gathering. I'll send you the specific location later."
'Chen Yansen proactively sent the invitation. Free labor was hard to come by, and he certainly wasn't going to let this opportunity pass.'
"Hey, hey, hey! I don't think I've agreed to anything yet?"
Lying on her bed, Meng Jie let out an indignant "Ah!" and sent the blanket tangled around her legs flying with a kick.
'She really did want to see Chen Yansen, but the thought of how she'd asked him out several times, only to be rejected each time... and now for her to go running over the second he beckoned? That would be way too embarrassing.'
"Don't forget, I like white stockings."
Chen Yansen 'helpfully' reminded her.
"Chen the Pervert, if you like them so much, wear them yourself."
Meng Jie's lips curled into a smirk as her fingers flew across her phone's keypad, typing out a blunt reply.
Outside the door, Father Meng looked confused. He reached up to tighten his tie and asked his wife, "What's wrong with Xiaojie?"
"Maybe her stomach hurts. I'll make her some brown sugar water in a bit. Hey, wait a minute! Didn't she just have her period last week?"
Mother Meng replied automatically, but then she started counting on her fingers and realized something was off.
"Xiaojie, are you not feeling well? Do you want Dad to take you to the hospital?"
Father Meng stood at the door, knocking and asking with concern.
"Ah!? Dad, I'm not sick. Oh, right, aren't you on duty in Anfeng today?"
Hearing this, Meng Jie pulled open the door and poked her head out to ask.
"Mm, why do you ask?"
Seeing that his daughter was fine, Father Meng breathed a sigh of relief and asked with a broad smile.
"How about I go with you?"
Meng Jie quickly grabbed her father's arm, shaking it affectionately. Then, worried her father would get suspicious, she added with a quick shift of her eyes, "I heard the lotuses at Anfeng Pond are blooming. I want to go see them."
"Whoa, you're making me dizzy! Alright, alright, just hurry up and get out of bed."
With an indulgent smile on his face, Father Meng quickly agreed.
「Meanwhile.」
After considering their options, Chen Yansen had Uncle Huang park in an empty lot near the entrance to the Grand Gathering. The three of them then started unloading the merchandise, assembling folding tables and chairs, arranging the products, and setting up their posters, banners, and display stands.
Drawing on their previous experience, the trio made quick work of it.
"Haozi, it's showtime! You got this!"
Chen Yansen took a step back, signaling that Wang Zihao could begin.
Huang Boxiang stood to the side with a goofy grin, helping watch the merchandise while eagerly waiting for Wang Zihao to make a fool of himself. All that was missing was a handful of sunflower seeds to complete the picture.
"He...llo, everyone! I... We are... the MP3s and MP4s from the Yangcheng Electronics Factory..."
Wang Zihao took a deep breath and slowly began to speak.
His voice rose and fell like waves, instantly drawing dozens of curious stares.
Wang Zihao stuttered at first but managed to stick to his sales pitch. The moment he made eye contact with the middle-aged men, women, and teenagers in the crowd, however, he completely lost his nerve.
"HAHAHA—"
"This kid's pretty funny. I didn't know MP3 players were people!"
"Let's go, let's go! Let's check out the commotion!"
"Is that for real? An MP3 player for just 49, and it comes with free headphones!"
"My cousin bought an MP4 in Zhongqiao Town the other day for just 199. I wonder if it was from these guys."
In an instant, a crowd gathered around.
"Don't chicken out. Stick to the script!"
Chen Yansen completely ignored his pathetic, pleading look and warned in a low voice.
"We... we're employees of the Yangcheng Meimo Electronics Factory, and we've come to Anfeng Town today to bring a special deal to all you folks!"
"MP3 music players, originally priced at two ninety, three ninety, four ninety... today, it's one price for all of them! A massive clearance sale for just 49 yuan!"
"Come on down, you don't want to miss this!"
Wang Zihao's face was flushed red. Seeing that his pleas for help were useless, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and start yelling his pitch.
As he gradually grew accustomed to being the center of attention, his heart rate began to steady, and the blush on his cheeks slowly faded. The sales pitch in his head started to flow from his lips almost automatically.
Towards the end, he grew more and more excited, even hopping onto a stool and gesticulating wildly as he recited the sales pitch.
Just then, Meng Jie arrived, just in time to witness this exact scene.
"Chen Yansen, Wang Zihao, what in the world are you two...!?"
Meng Jie's eyes went wide with utter disbelief. She looked Wang Zihao up and down, clicking her tongue in amazement.
"Chen Yansen, so is 'the world of adult men' just about flea markets and hawking goods?"
Meng Jie teased with a laugh.
"Hawking goods is just the means. Making money is the end."
Chen Yansen dismissed her teasing with a casual remark, then urged, "Don't just stand there gawking. Come over and help!"
'What's wrong with being a salesman?'
'Even a guy who sells bottled water can become the richest man in the country!'