Chapter 8: Good Reading Habits
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Before leaving, Wang Yan dialed a number he found pasted on a pole at the entrance to the village.
“Hello. Who are you looking for?”
The person on the other end sounded sowhat wary but still spoke to him politely.
Once again, Wang Yan followed the script he had prepared beforehand. Using Brother Hu’s na, he said, “Hi, sir. I’m a friend of Brother Hu’s from Xiawa Village. You make seals, right?”
“Ah, a friend of Brother Hu’s. Sure, sure! What do you need?”
“A set of docunts and a ‘carrot’ seal.”
“No problem! That’s easy. I live near Xiawa. Would it be convenient for you to co over?”
“That’s fine. How long will it take?”
“Two hours, tops!”
Wang Yan took a look at the ti. It was already 11:10, so two hours later would be the perfect ti to start working.
Great, he’d be able to start working right after lunch then!
Feeling energized, Wang Yan drove straight to the printing factory behind the Xiawa Education Bureau.
He received a call from his aunt while on the way there.
“Hi Auntie! I’m not done running errands yet. Don’t mind . Go ho and cook for Yaoyao!”
“Drive carefully, you little rascal!”
“Mm, I know. Don’t worry, I cherish my life more than anyone else!”
His candor made his aunt laugh out loud. “You cheeky fella, I thought you were fearless!”
‘Tis have changed, you know?
‘I’m worth sothing now!’
Wang Yan smiled smugly. He suddenly had a thought and quickly asked his aunt, “Auntie, is the factory behind your office building still open?”
“Which one? The one that manufactures tape, pencils, and rulers for students?”
“Yup, that one!”
“Yeah, it’s open. What do you need?”
“I need them to make so tape and print so flyers. Just sothing cheap and simple.”
“Let talk to them. They might not want to entertain a request for such a small quantity.”
“Since you’re on good terms with them, I won’t act overly formal with them. Would it be alright if I ntion your na?”
“Go ahead, go ahead! I guess I’m obliged to help you!”
Wang Xiui sounded as if she was berating him, but she was actually grinning from ear to ear.
As his elder, she was happy to be able to help him out, especially since he was trying to make sothing of himself.
“Oh yeah! I won’t hold you up anymore. Bye!”
Wang Yan happily ended the call with his aunt, then turned on the engine and drove the vehicle away from the side of the road.
He hadn’t lied about cherishing his life.
When he reached his destination, before he could even honk, the security guard had leaned out and asked, “Are you Wang’s kid?”
“Yes, I am!”
“Co in!”
Everything went smoothly, and the other party agreed to Wang Yan’s requests right away.
Next on the agenda was printing and design.
This was an issue that Wang Yan had not foreseen.
“Bro, color prints are expensive. Coated paper aside, it takes at least one and a half days to design what you have in mind, and you’d have to provide with the details as well.”
The young designer in front of the computer had been put on the spot, and Wang Yan felt even more pressed for answers.
“You need all the details, huh?”
The designer looked mildly exasperated. “Pictures? A docunt or sothing,
at the very least?”
“Alright, let’s approach this differently!”
Wang Yan imdiately changed course. He wasn’t stubborn at all.
He realized that he had underestimated how complicated the process would be and that he couldn’t be obstinate just because he didn’t want to lose face.
Had this been in the past, the opposite would have been true. He didn’t have ti to waste though, so he had to know his priorities.
He had also just realized another change in himself—after receiving the system, he had beco much more open-minded.
His transformation had co about naturally, not for any specific reason.
The designer responded cheerily, “No problem. Tell what you’re planning to do, bro. I’ll co up with so ideas!”
“I have a batch of waterlons, a new variety created by the Institute, that’s currently being launched. The costs are high and the supply limited. I was hoping to sell them in retail, so I’d need to create so promotional materials for them…”
Wang Yan was spouting so much bullsh*t that he was starting to believe it himself. That was how convincing it was.
Furthermore, his explanation was clear and succinct, so the designer bought his story right away.
“Bro, do you have any docuntation?”
“When the pamphlets are ready, I can get them stamped at the Institute.”
“Then how about we create an inspection report?”
“Yes!”
Wang Yan slapped his thigh in sudden realization.
After all, he was only a student, so it was inevitable that he would miss so stuff. Thanks to the prompt reminder, Wang Yan was educated.
“Hang on, I’ll go get a template!”
From where?
From his aunt, of course.
All it took was a call to Wang Xiui, who helped him out with yet another matter.
“After you’ve obtained the waterlons, send two to the Food Inspection and Testing Institute. You’ll receive an official report within two hours, which would save you the trouble of creating a fake one.”
“Thanks, Auntie!” Wang Yan was ecstatic. “Turn on a computer for , I have another idea. I need to do so research!”
The Internet was indeed convenient. It didn’t take long for Wang Yan to find a research report on Annong No. 2 waterlons.
He copied the key technical terms and edited the non-key points. Working on it as if he were writing an essay for his entrance exams, he soon ca up with so promotional material.
He then returned to the little factory, having completed the task within thirty minutes.
After that was settled, he went straight to the certification center for his carrot seal.
The seal wasn’t actually made from carrots, of course.
The guy working there was very skillful but kept asking Wang Yan questions about Brother Hu.
Wang Yan didn’t actually know Brother Hu.
Brother Hu was well-known in Xiawa Village, and Wang Yan had rely wanted to take advantage of that.
He hemd and hawed in response to the guy’s questions. It was little wonder then that the guy saw through him. Not only was he not given a discount, but he was also quoted the high price of 200 yuan.
Wang Yan didn’t mind as long as he got things done.
It was just 200 yuan, worth 200 in EXP.
He headed back ho right after and ordered a bowl of noodles from the noodle shop near the entrance of the village. The mont he was ho, he collapsed on the wicker chair.
He had worked hard the entire morning, to the point of exhaustion. That was definitely unprecedented.
A month ago, the Wang Yan who was taking his entrance exams would never have imagined this.
The system had expanded his horizons.
He could spend 2,000 to 3000 a day, take it easy for a few days, then continue leading a muddled existence after the system had been upgraded. This would put him in the position to upgrade the system to Level 4 before the sester started. But where was the fun in that?
‘Go big or go ho!
‘I have to get my hands on the Habit Incubator!
‘If the business does well, I’ll set higher targets.
‘For example, upgrading the system’s levels as quickly as possible!
‘Of course, it’s equally important that I wash off the stench of a poor student.’
Wang Yan wasn’t very sure what kind of man would be considered a baller, but he was well-aware that he was far from being a successful man.
Being able to manage his stall well would be the first step in his training.
The thought of this ignited Wang Yan’s fighting spirit. The fatigue brought on by the hot weather no longer bothered him.
He had to hang in there. Success was imminent!
…
After a al and a shower, the exhaustion overtook him. Wang Yan was feeling tired, hot, and hungry all at the sa ti, and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth.
It wasn’t easy running around in the sumr heat.
The air conditioning in the pickup truck wasn’t working very well, so it hadn’t been refreshing at all. Otherwise, he would have been able to run his errands in comfort, not having to suffer.
Mm, he would get a sedan when he had enough money saved from his breathing wages!
The Audi A4L seed like a pretty good choice. It was classy and looked trendy, so driving it to campus would be aweso.
Wang Yan was actually unfamiliar with luxury cars. He was born in an urban village, and unless it was demolished one day, he would most likely remain a peasant.
Even if the residents were lucky enough to have it demolished, he would beco one of the nouveau riche at best.
Among all the cars that Wang Yan had seen at the school entrance to pick up students, the model he liked most was the A4L. He had deed it a good car based solely on its physical appearance.
Dreaming about how cool it’d be to drive the A4L, Wang Yan slowly fell asleep.
He had woken up early the day before but hadn’t slept well. That day, he woke up early again and was busy the entire morning. He was feeling utterly exhausted.
In his dream, there was a palace in the sky made entirely of interwoven light rays. Beautiful won were bringing trays of delicacies and wine to the throne, and the hall was filled with tycoons from various countries who were trying to pique the king’s interest with all kinds of novelty items.
The person sitting on the throne emanated a powerful aura but seed pretty relaxed. Wang Yan was unable to see their face clearly, though.
Who was it?
…
A call from Boss Wu at the box factory woke him up from his strange dream.
“Done? Great, I’m coming over now!”
…
Boss Wu might have sounded a little gruff, but he was very efficient at getting things done.
The exterior of the plastic sh boxes had been buffed as requested by Wang Yan, now smooth to the touch.
Wang Yan was very satisfied with how the boxes had turned out and imdiately settled the bill with Boss Wu.
“Boss Wu, do you know where I can buy foam in various sizes?”
Boss Wu pointed to the right, saying, “If you make a right turn after heading out of here, you’ll find a small foam factory in about 650 feet. They can cut it according to the size of your boxes. You can also buy bubble wrap there.”
It wasn’t hard for him to find what he was looking for. They had the kind of foam peanuts used for packing delicate items in boxes.
That stuff wasn’t expensive at all, and Wang Yuan only spent 250 yuan on the amount he needed. Right after, he headed straight to Wangjiao.
It was five in the evening when he made it there. It would have taken him at least ten minutes to go back to Gujiao, so he didn’t even bother going ho before setting off. Instead, he looked for Wu Ye.
“Hey, pup! Have you eaten? If not, co over here and have so waterlon!”
Wu Ye had a loud voice, which was to be expected, since he was a lon seller. It was obvious that he made a living from selling waterlons.
Wang Yan smiled cutely and went straight to the point: “Sir, please let have so waterlons on credit. I’m going to sell them downtown!”
There were only about twenty-odd families remaining in Wangjiao, so everyone was related in one way or the other. Moreover, Wu Ye was a generous and straightforward person.
“Go into the fields tomorrow to pick your own! No need to weigh ’em, just give five yuan each!”
Wu Ye gestured as he took a puff on his pipe.
Wang Yan was surprised. “Oh my gosh… At five yuan for one, won’t you suffer a loss?”
Even if the breakeven price was fifty cents a crate, according to the average weight of fifteen crates, a lon had to be at least seven yuan.
Moreover, there was a good variety of lons grown by Wu Ye, so the cost ought to be even higher.
“That’s not a problem!”
The old man spat on the ground and scowled. “The whole family would have starved to death if we had to depend on these lons for a living! Pick as many as you like!”
Alright, Wu Ye didn’t need the money. Most of the farrs in Wangjiao didn’t have to worry about money, so Wang Yan didn’t act formally and graciously accepted the goodwill with a smile.
“Not tomorrow, since I’m leaving in a bit. If you could point in the right direction, I’ll head over there right now.”
“Why are you in such a hurry?!”
Despite his grumbling, Wu Ye still leaped to his feet and purposefully strode out of the yard.
“Co, co, co! I’ll show you the lons!”
The soil in Wangjiao wasn’t suitable for growing rice, but it was pretty suitable for growing waterlons. The mont they stepped out of the village, they were greeted by an endless sea of lon fields.
But the lons grown by the other families weren’t as good as Wu Ye’s—not even the ones grown by Wang Yan’s uncle.
When they reached the fields, Wu Ye lifted his pipe and motioned toward the lons. “The ones in the middle are Blackhoneys, and the ones over there are Crispysweets. For the Crispysweets, just dig ’em out and eat ’em. Don’t try to transport them, otherwise they’ll break.”
“Dang! What were you thinking, Wu Ye?! You grew those?!”
Wang Yan was surprised and ecstatic, running quickly towards the right side.
“Let see your Crispysweets!”
Wang Yan had no idea what their scientific na was, but what he did know was that the variety was rare and extrely delicious.
He quickly found a small waterlon patch, and after fumbling around for a bit, he picked a lon the size of a football using his instincts.
Crispysweet lons were green on the outside, with thin stripes scattered from end to end. They were usually oval in shape, moderate-sized, and rarely weighed more than 13 pounds.
The one that Wang Yan picked wasn’t more than ten pounds and was a pleasing shade of green.
Grabbing the roots, he carefully pulled it out and cradled it with his hands. After using his clothes to give it a simple wipe down, Wang Yan tapped the bottom of the waterlon.
Thump!
Kacha!
There were two crisp sounds as the waterlon imdiately cracked open, a spider web of cracks spreading over the entire fruit.
Holding the lon with his left hand, he put his right hand in one of the cracks as if removing the peel of an orange.
A large piece of waterlon rind imdiately fell to the ground. Within a few seconds, half of the lon’s skin was removed, revealing its ruby-like flesh.
What was next?
Simply chewing!
Wang Yan held the entire waterlon and chomped down on it heartily. His mouth was flooded with the sweet juices of the lon, rivulets running down his chin.
‘Sweet!
‘F*cking sweet!’
It wasn’t just that. The flesh itself was extrely crunchy and easily broke apart with the use of teeth, yet it dissolved into a pool of juice as soon as it ca into contact with the tongue.
It was too freaking good!
Wang Yan couldn’t even rember the last ti he’d eaten such a perfect waterlon. Within ten seconds, he had devoured half of the lon, his entire face covered in juice.
Wu Ye strolled over leisurely, laughing at him. “Hey, kiddo, what’s the rush? If you like it that much, feel free to eat your fill!”
Wang Yan gave him a thumbs up. “Sir, you did a great job with it! It’s so freaking sweet!”
“A whole lot of good that did !” he replied. “I don’t know what possessed to grow them! They can’t be transported, and there’s no way we could finish eating all of that!”
The Crispysweet variety did have interesting characteristics. Its strengths couldn’t be beaten, but the shortcomings were equally lethal.
The plus points were, of course, the taste and texture. The quality was no joke.
They were fragrant, crisp, and extrely sweet.
However, their rinds were too thin and delicate. It wouldn’t take much force to break one open, so it was hard to transport them. Plus, the lons didn’t store well.
Furthermore, they took a long ti to mature, were targeted by birds, and the harvest was usually right smack in the middle of waterlon season, making it difficult to fetch a good price and so on.
That was why, despite their excellent taste and texture, not many people grew them. This specific type was in the process of being eliminated.
Wang Yan was elated to find that Wu Ye had such a large patch.
“Other people can’t transport them, but I can! I’ll take fifty of them!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! What would you do with them?!”
After Wang Yan drove over the pickup truck, Wu Ye was dumbfounded.
“You good-for-nothing! You drove all the way here just to bring a hundred boxes with you? Does gas not cost money?”
“I’ll be able to recover the costs! Don’t worry!”
Wang Yan started picking the lons in high spirits.
Hard to transport?
All he had to do was use two layers of bubble wrap, place it in a box filled with foam, add an extra layer of foam on top, then seal the box! All done!
If the roads were bumpy?
That was okay!
The 50 Blackhoneys went into the big boxes, and the 50 Crispysweet lons were in the dium boxes. The Blackhoneys wouldn’t need any foam, so all the foam could go into the dium boxes for the Crispysweet lons.
There was nothing much to be said about the selection process. He simply had to scan them with his eyes.
It was just exhausting to co all the way here just to go back.
After packing up his lons, Wang Yan didn’t even stop to take a breather. He bade Wu Ye farewell and headed right into the city.
He unloaded the lons at the storage facility lent to him by his aunt, washed them, then stuck on the labels after they were dry. The bubble wrap coated in soil was disposed of, then replaced by clean bubble wrap before the lons went back into their boxes.
It took him almost two hours to go through all of them.
Throughout the process, Wang Yan only stopped to eat so bread hastily, even though he wasn’t feeling hungry at all.
The excitent bubbling in his chest was providing an unlimited supply of energy and motivation.
This aspiring entrepreneur, soon to be tycoon, would start with selling waterlons!
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