Chapter 84: A Path to Fortune for You
Hesitation aside, turning what he held into money was the priority.
Guo Minghao, afraid he might run into someone he knew, hurried out the door with the big cell phone in his hand.
This call from Chai Jin was intended for Wang Xiaoli.
Wang Xiaoli had developed a peculiar habit lately; every time she called, she would cautiously ask, “Did you and Liu Qingwen go to the hair salon?” Each time after asking, she would insist it was on Fangfang’s behalf.
Their relationship hovered in a place neither clear nor easy to define.
But after every call with Wang Xiaoli, Chai Jin felt an inexplicable calm in his heart. Wang Xiaoli was like the purest spring in the countryside, able to wash away the dust that had settled on Chai Jin’s heart during his time in the city.
After finishing the call, he switched off the phone and tucked it into his backpack.
Liu Shan returned from outside.
Chai Jin asked curiously, “Where’s Old Huang? Did he go get the tickets?”
“Bull— that old pervert,” Liu Shan replied instinctively. “We were eating outside just fine, and then the lady sitting across from us suddenly appeared and said she wanted to see a movie.”
“So they went off to see a movie, and as he left he whispered in my ear that he wouldn’t be back tonight, he had a feeling he’d end up getting a room with her.”
Chai Jin was speechless. “At their age, how can they be as shameless as my brother?”
The brother he referred to was Liu Qingwen.
Liu Shan asked, “Your brother? By the way, Jin, you’ve never told us about your friends or relatives.”
“What did you do before?”
Chai Jin smiled, “What could I have done? Just an ordinary farmer, nothing more.”
“In a while, I’ll introduce you to my brother. He shares your surname—maybe you two are from the same clan.”
“Sure!” Liu Shan was enthusiastic about recognizing kin.
The two chatted idly in the dormitory.
But they hadn’t spoken for long before Old Huang returned.
He looked a little disheveled, with one eye blackened like a panda’s.
He came in, trying to hide his embarrassment.
Liu Shan, ever careless, asked, “Weren’t you going to get a room? Why are you back so early?”
“How did you end up getting hit? Did you try something with the lady and get beaten up?”
Old Huang felt thoroughly humiliated. He forced a smile, “Just bumped into something, I’ll wash my face. I’m tired today, going to bed early.”
“Come on, Old Huang, you weren’t caught by her husband, were you?” Liu Shan, sensing a story, pressed for details.
Old Huang’s expression soured, “Enough, beat it, kid. You don’t know anything.”
“Don’t have the energy to deal with you.”
But Liu Shan wouldn’t let him off so easily.
He kept asking, and ultimately managed to pry out the truth.
The lady Old Huang flirted with every day did have a husband.
Her husband worked at a neighboring factory; to save money, they didn’t live together most of the time.
Today, while Old Huang and the woman were watching a movie, her husband suddenly showed up.
The outcome was predictable.
Old Huang didn’t get his room, and instead took a hard punch.
So he came back like this.
Liu Shan, loyal as ever, shouted about going to get revenge, but Old Huang held him back: “What’s the point? Letting others laugh at us? Forget it.”
“Besides, he took plenty of punches from me, too.”
“I can’t stay in the factory any longer—tomorrow I’m quitting.”
The mood in the dormitory suddenly grew heavy; Chai Jin said nothing.
Liu Shan quickly asked, “It’s not a big deal, you didn’t sleep with her anyway.”
“Are you nuts? If you quit, who’ll send money to your father-in-law and son?”
Old Huang lit a cigarette, troubled. “I just can’t show my face. There were lots of electronics factory people at the cinema.”
“I’ve become a joke.”
Liu Shan thought about it and had to agree. Old Huang, so obsessed with saving face yet never learning his lesson, would indeed feel awkward staying at the factory.
With a ruined reputation, who would still take the bait Old Huang cast?
They hadn’t known each other long, but hearing someone was about to quit left them oddly unsettled.
Silence filled the dormitory.
After a while, Chai Jin, who was lying on his bed, sat up.
He looked at Old Huang for a moment, then spoke: “How about you help me with something?”
Both men looked up.
Old Huang asked, “Xiao Chai, do you have connections?”
Chai Jin smiled and jumped down from the bed. “Some, yes.”
“Are you familiar with the labor agencies outside?”
“Of course, we were introduced by a labor agency,” Old Huang replied.
Chai Jin nodded and continued, “Let me tell you about a money-making opportunity.”
“Don’t be surprised—it’s from a boss I know.”
Then Chai Jin explained his idea.
He said he knew a boss outside who needed eight to ten thousand people to stand in line for three days.
Fast food included, fifty yuan a day for each person.
Plus, the introducer gets fifty cents per head.
If you can find ten thousand people for this boss, you’d make at least five thousand yuan!
That’s equivalent to two years’ wages at the factory—how’s that for temptation?
He didn’t mention himself, fearing Old Huang might overthink things.
At their age, too much pondering wasn’t good.
Step by step.
Hearing five thousand yuan, Old Huang and Liu Shan were stunned for a moment.
But they quickly came to their senses.
Old Huang asked, “What does this boss do exactly? Why does he need ten thousand people to line up? Xiao Chai, you need to explain.”
Chai Jin pulled over a newspaper and pointed to a report.
“This is what the boss does.”
The two looked over curiously.
The deep city stock market was booming, its frenzy rivaling the exchange in Zhonghai.
The papers were full of reports.
After reading, Old Huang nodded gravely. “I get it. The boss wants people to queue up to buy stocks.”
“But still, why ten thousand?”
Chai Jin didn’t elaborate, only smiled. “Are you in or not?”
“If you are, I’ll contact the boss tomorrow to send money over. You can open a labor agency outside the factory and start recruiting.”
“After all, gathering ten thousand people isn’t something you can do in a day or two—it’ll take time.”
Old Huang grew more puzzled by Chai Jin.
He frowned deeply. “Is this the five thousand a month deal you mentioned yesterday?”
Chai Jin nodded with a smile. “It’s an opportunity, but I’m not interested and don’t have the energy.”
“I told you from the start—I’m just passing through.”
“What do you think, Old Huang?”
Old Huang was visibly excited. “If this is real, I’d be crazy not to do it. Turning over five thousand yuan just like that.”
“But I’ll say it up front—I have no money to invest. Before I left home, I gave all my money to my son and father-in-law, bought a ticket, and brought nothing else.”
Chai Jin laughed, “I said you wouldn’t need to invest. It’s settled, then. Tomorrow I’ll have the boss send a thousand yuan over. You rent a storefront outside, and start up the labor agency.”