A Surefire Business with Guaranteed Profits

For a long while, Peng Shuyu took a deep breath before asking Fang Chang'an, "Did you come up with all this yourself?"

Fang Chang'an nodded, a hint of confusion and unease flickering in his eyes as he asked in a small voice, "Grandma, did I say something wrong?"

"Oh, no, not at all." Peng Shuyu shook off her astonishment and smiled. "You said it very well. It's just that, for someone your age to think so deeply about these things—it's truly astonishing."

She paused, then asked, "You mentioned the old times just now?"

"Yes!" Fang Chang'an nodded vigorously. "If I stole something to eat in the village, the elders wouldn't scold me because I did well in school. But if it were a child who didn't get good grades, they might get scolded or lectured." He flashed a bright smile. "If I had lived in the era Lu Xun wrote about, I wouldn't have been able to study either. I would have been just one of the kids like Ah Fa or Shuangxi."

"Well said," Peng Shuyu echoed, a gentle smile spreading across her face as she let out a quiet breath. "Very well said." After a brief pause, she advised, "Study hard. You'll surely go far in life."

"I will," Fang Chang'an replied, nodding earnestly.

The old woman hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Studying is important, but how you learn is just as vital. Read more books—good books especially. Both your teacher Cheng and Uncle Shen like you very much. You should come often. If there’s a book you want to read and it’s not here, come find me."

She didn't state it outright, but her meaning was the same as Shen Chengyan's advice the other day—she worried he might pick up the wrong books and learn the wrong things.

"Thank you, Grandma," Fang Chang'an said sincerely, then added with a smile, "Uncle Shen already reminded me last time, not to read just anything."

Peng Shuyu nodded, her smile returning.

Fang Chang'an lingered for a while longer, finishing his cup of tea. The housekeeper refreshed it with hot water, but when Peng Shuyu checked the time, she said, "Alright, I won't keep you any longer—go read your books."

Fang Chang'an almost said, "I've benefited greatly," but thought better of it, deciding it didn't fit his character. So he simply nodded.

Shen Mo glanced at Fang Chang'an, who looked back at her. The young girl grinned, a bit giddy, stood up and said crisply, "Let's go."

Then she reminded him, "Take your cup with you."

Fang Chang'an shouldered his backpack and carried his cup, only letting out a quiet sigh of relief once they were upstairs—he felt more nervous than at a job interview.

In the study, Fang Chang'an returned the finished "Fortress Besieged" to its place, and "Lu Xun, Volume 1" was taken by Shen Mo, who scanned the shelves for another book.

"You're not going to keep reading Lu Xun?" Shen Mo asked.

"I am. I'll take Volume 2 and read it slowly. I want to find something else for now," Fang Chang'an replied.

He had skimmed through quite a few books in the past, some of which he owned but hadn't had time to read yet. Over the past few days at home, he’d made a mental list of books, such as "Influence," "The Social Animal," "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," "The Course of Beauty," and "The Invention of Everything Else." Yet, he found none of them here.

After a moment’s searching, Fang Chang'an picked out "Das Kapital," a classic he had long admired. It was a three-volume edition from People's Literature Publishing House. He pulled out the first volume, and, to his surprise, found himself able to read it with interest.

Shen Mo finished "Village Opera" and came over for a look. Seeing yet another "boring" book, she pursed her lips and kept searching through "Lu Xun, Volume 1" for something more entertaining.

The two of them sat on their own chairs, reading. It wasn't long before the distant hum of car engines could be heard outside, followed by voices downstairs.

"Auntie and the others are back," Shen Mo said.

Shen Mo was closer to Aunt Cheng Mengfei than to her uncle. Her first thought was of Cheng Mengfei. She put her book down and left the study, with Fang Chang'an following.

Downstairs, Peng Shuyu was still there. Cheng Mengfei and Shen Chengyan were chatting, each holding several shopping bags—it was clear they’d just returned from a shopping trip.

"Uncle Shen, Teacher Cheng," Fang Chang'an greeted, deliberately addressing Shen Chengyan first since Peng Shuyu was present.

Both Cheng Mengfei and Shen Chengyan responded. Cheng Mengfei smiled and said, "You didn't need to come down; keep reading if you like."

Shen Chengyan added, "Go back upstairs and read."

Fang Chang'an agreed, and he and Shen Mo returned to the study. He put "Das Kapital" back and took out "The Intelligent Investor," sitting at the desk to begin reading.

Shen Mo leaned over, curious. "What's this one about?"

Fang Chang'an opened the cover for her. The girl tilted her head, looked, blinked, and asked, "Is it about making money?"

Fang Chang'an gave her a thumbs-up. "You truly are the pride of Dashi Town, a real scholar! What a sharp and accurate summary!"

Shen Mo remembered the words he’d just repeated, which Grandpa Liu once used to praise Lu Xun. First, she pouted to show her displeasure, but then couldn’t help but laugh, a shallow dimple appearing in her left cheek as she gave a soft humph, turned her head away, and then glared back at him. Pouting, she said, "I'm ignoring you now. You're making fun of me."

Fang Chang'an chuckled. "I'm praising you—how am I making fun of you?"

Unable to win the exchange, the little girl simply let out another humph and returned to her book in silence. After a while, seeing Fang Chang'an reading intently, she couldn't help but lean over and ask, "Why are you reading this? Do you want to start making money already?"

Fang Chang'an laughed. "Just taking a look. Sooner or later, someone has to earn money."

Just then, they heard Shen Chengyan and Cheng Mengfei talking outside. The couple soon entered the study. Cheng Mengfei, likely tired from shopping, exchanged a few pleasantries before going to rest. Shen Chengyan followed, but returned a few minutes later and sat at the computer desk.

He asked, "What are you both reading?"

"I'm reading Lu Xun," Shen Mo answered, "Fang Chang'an is reading about making money."

"Making money?" Shen Chengyan laughed, looking down at the book in front of Fang Chang'an. "What book is that?"

Fang Chang'an showed him the cover with a smile. "Just browsing."

Shen Chengyan couldn't help but laugh. "You're still so young—can you understand it?"

Fang Chang'an smiled shyly. "I'll give it a try."

"Alright, it's good to give it a try. Just don’t let it interfere with your studies."

Knowing Fang Chang'an’s family was poor, Shen Chengyan wasn't surprised by his interest in making money. After all, he was a clever boy. Still, this was different from reading Lu Xun—he didn’t expect Fang Chang'an to gain much from it.

In those days, there was little official work to handle on the computer, and with two children reading nearby, Shen Chengyan couldn't indulge in any games or inappropriate activities. He turned off the speakers, logged into QQ and MSN, then opened a browser to check the news and look at stock analyses.

Fang Chang'an kept turning pages, occasionally glancing at Shen Chengyan’s screen. After a while, Shen Mo seemed to be getting tired, her attention waning. Fang Chang'an exchanged a look with her—they stared at each other in a silent game.

Shen Chengyan noticed. "Are you tired? Take a break and move around."

"Okay," Fang Chang'an replied, standing up and stretching in the study. Shen Mo watched him, then got up to stretch as well.

She was a ten-year-old girl, her small frame unremarkable. Fang Chang'an’s attention was still focused on Shen Chengyan’s computer screen.

Feigning curiosity, he went over to look at the charts. In a low voice, he asked, "Uncle Shen, are you still looking at stocks?"

Shen Chengyan grunted softly, turning to smile at him. "Are you interested too?"

Fang Chang'an smiled shyly. "I’ve only seen it on TV before. Last time, I heard you talking with Teacher Cheng about it, and realized people really do trade stocks."

Shen Chengyan sighed. "It’s no game—you can lose tens of thousands in a moment."

Fang Chang'an nodded, pretending to be impressed, then asked, "The Maotai you mentioned with Teacher Cheng—is that the liquor company?"

Shen Chengyan was a bit surprised. "Yes, you’ve heard of it?"

Fang Chang'an nodded. "My grandpa, my dad, and my uncle all like to drink."

Shen Chengyan smiled and said nothing more, returning to his stocks.

Fang Chang'an moved around a bit, then sat down at the desk to read. He glanced at the time—it was already past four in the afternoon. After a few more pages, as if struck by a thought, he turned to ask Shen Chengyan:

"Uncle Shen, what do you do for work?"

"I work in an office," Shen Chengyan sighed. "I sit around drinking tea and reading newspapers all day. It's boring to death."

"Oh," Fang Chang'an nodded, then asked, "But your relatives can do business, right?"

According to the rules, civil servants weren’t allowed to run businesses, and at a certain level, even family members were restricted. But Shen Baoguo hadn’t reached that rank.

Of course, Fang Chang'an shouldn’t have known such details, so he only showed that he understood civil servants weren’t allowed to run businesses.

Even so, it was enough to surprise Shen Chengyan, who looked at him and chuckled. "Yes, they can. Why do you ask?"

Fang Chang'an thought for a moment, dropping the pretense of childishness and showing a composure beyond his years. "I’ve thought of a business that’s guaranteed to make money, but I don’t know if it’s feasible. I wanted to ask for your advice, Uncle Shen."

"Oh?" Shen Chengyan couldn’t help but laugh, turning to face him directly. "A business with a guaranteed profit? Go on, tell me."

Fang Chang'an could see Shen Chengyan’s skepticism and smiled. "Here’s the situation."

"The food in our school cafeteria is terrible and expensive, as you know, Uncle Shen. My family doesn’t have much money, so I have to be careful with my living expenses."

Most children from poor families would feel ashamed or inferior discussing their circumstances. That was how Fang Chang'an had been in his previous life, but now, he spoke about it calmly, even with a hint of poise, which made Shen Chengyan regard him with new respect.

"When I went with my parents to town, I discovered a shop selling pan-fried buns. The shop is in a remote spot, but the buns are big—five for fifty cents. It costs about the same as eating in the cafeteria, but it’s better because the buns have meat and taste much better."

"Later, a classmate went with me once but thought it was too far, so he asked me to bring some for him. Other classmates found out and asked me to bring some for them too..."

Shen Mo had already told this story to Cheng Mengfei, who then told Shen Chengyan. In their minds, it was just another example of this poor boy’s diligence and self-reliance.

But how could there be money to be made from this? And a guaranteed profit?

Seeing Shen Chengyan’s expression, Fang Chang'an knew he was already familiar with the story, so he gave a brief account and continued:

"Now I bring buns for students in three or four classes, mostly from my own class—about four hundred buns every morning..."

He watched Shen Chengyan’s reaction and went on, "I make two cents on each bun, so that's eight yuan every morning."

Shen Chengyan paused, doing some quick mental math.

A meal cost fifty cents, one and a half yuan a day, eight yuan in the morning alone...