In the business courses Yu Zi took, most of them taught him how to manage a business, how to expand into new markets, and how to maintain and increase asset value.

But there was never a class that taught him how to fill his own stomach when he was broke.

Xie Dongcheng’s ride-hailing business had come to an end, and his resumes sent out remained unanswered.

While Xie Dongcheng did have some savings, it wasn’t enough to sustain them both without any income. Yu Zi didn’t want to live off someone else’s generosity.

The two of them stared at each other blankly at home for several hours until the oil in the lamp burned out.

Xie Dongcheng got up and went to the kitchen, only to find the fridge empty, not even a grain of rice left in the rice jar.

A person can’t starve to death.

The two of them had to go out again to buy groceries in the evening.

Once they were outside, Yu Zi deeply felt the awkwardness of the location of Fang Jiayuan. Within a three-kilometer radius, there was no decent fresh food supermarket. The convenience store they went to last time was more like a small convenience store, without fresh vegetables, let alone meat.

The evening market had already closed its doors, and there was nowhere to buy food.

“How did you usually buy groceries?” he asked Xie Dongcheng, buttoning up his coat tightly.

“I used to buy them from the city when I finished work and bring them back,” Xie Dongcheng replied.

Alright. Yu Zi felt even more desperate. Without a car, he would have to spend half a day taking the bus to buy groceries in the future.

Next to the bus stop was a huge utility pole covered with colorful psoriasis advertisements.

Xie Dongcheng glanced boredly at the ads and saw a red card with five golden characters on it.

The bold words read: “High Reward for Sperm Donation.”

Below were a few lines of small text: “Specifically seeking healthy adult men aged 20-30…”

Xie Dongcheng found the advertisement quite intriguing and turned to Yu Zi, asking, “How much do you think they pay for sperm donation? Could it cover the cost of my junk car?”

Yu Zi rolled his eyes. “Go ahead, if you’re lucky, you might even have a kidney left when you come back.”

“What?” Xie Dongcheng exclaimed.

Before he could comprehend, the bus arrived at the stop.

The two of them squeezed onto the swaying bus with the crowd.

On weekday evenings, the traffic was heavy. The bus moved slowly, covering less than five hundred meters in half an hour.

Yu Zi was squeezed into the middle of the crowd, holding his nose and not daring to breathe deeply.

Uncomfortable, he felt like he was going to vomit in such a crowded place.

Suddenly, the bus encountered a red light, and the driver slammed on the brakes, causing the bus to decelerate sharply and lurch forward.

Yu Zi, who was already unstable, almost fell forward.

Fortunately, a pair of hands caught him.

When Yu Zi turned his head, he saw Xie Dongcheng. His stiff body was like a wall supporting his back.

The two of them were stuck together, unable to move, as the bus swayed back and forth. Their bodies pressed tightly against each other, and their clothes rubbed against each other. It felt somewhat strange.

As the bus crossed an intersection and entered another block, Yu Zi looked out of the window. The surrounding neighborhoods seemed to be more upscale, with wider roads. However, the traffic ahead was even more congested, which didn’t make sense.

Finally, two minutes later, the bus stopped at the station, and a group of people got off.

Yu Zi finally had some breathing space and walked with Xie Dongcheng to the back of the bus, where they found two empty seats.

“Why is it still so congested on this six-lane road?” Yu Zi asked, looking out of the window.

Xie Dongcheng followed his gaze and replied, “These are all new residential areas, inhabited by white-collar workers and professionals working in the high-tech zone across the street. However, the subway station hasn’t been built yet, so they don’t want to take the bus. Most people drive out, causing congestion and slow traffic.”

The bus swayed for another ten minutes before reaching their destination.

As soon as Yu Zi got off the bus, he took a deep breath of fresh air outside.

The supermarket they wanted to go to was at the other end of the road, but there was unexpectedly a long line even on this side.

Yu Zi leaned over and looked over there. At the end of the road was a high-end imported supermarket, with a spacious and beautiful storefront, brightly lit inside.

He was quite familiar with the name of this imported supermarket, as it used to be a supplier for his family’s hotel and exhibition events.

However, at this time, there was unexpectedly a long line here, even more crowded than the budget supermarket. It was quite surprising.

Following his gaze, Xie Dongcheng said casually, “It’s always like this here.”

“Who comes to shop at this hour?”

“It’s the residents from the new residential area over there. They all have money and are willing to go to this kind of imported supermarket. Moreover, this is the only one around, and it’s exclusive. If they want to buy slightly better beef, seafood, or wine, they have to come here.” Xie Dongcheng shook his head. “There are many rules inside, it’s membership-based, and there’s a consumption limit.”

Yu Zi nodded and turned to walk towards the old-fashioned budget supermarket behind them.

Five minutes later, Yu Zi stood in front of a row of shelves, choosing milk. Old Chen, the housekeeper at the villa, had a list of Yu Zi’s dietary preferences. Everyone in the family knew that he was picky about food and had refined tastes.

Every time the household bought groceries, Old Chen would instruct the housemaid to buy imported fresh milk flown in from Australia for Yu Zi.

The top-quality fresh milk flown in would even have a layer of butter-like cream on top.

Now, Yu Zi tilted his head, expressionless, considering whether a box of milk for 59 yuan was cost-effective or if buying two bottles and getting one free in bulk was better.

After 8 p.m., the budget supermarket had a big sale. The entire row of refrigerated shelves for vegetables and meat was on sale, and the dim yellow lights were crowded with people.

Yu Zi was squeezed in the crowd, enduring discomfort as he picked and chose. After half an hour, he finally bought groceries for the coming week.

Carrying two heavy plastic bags each, the cheap frozen products were much heavier than the chilled fresh ones.

Yu Zi felt like poverty was weighing him down.

After finally leaving the supermarket, the two of them walked to the bus stop for their return journey.

However, Yu Zi didn’t expect that even though it was past 8 p.m., there were still many buses at this intersection. The entrance and exit of the parking lot of the high-end imported supermarket across the street were jammed.

“I wonder how this area was planned. There are so few parking spaces.” Xie Dongcheng walked beside him. “I used to come here to pick up customers, and I would wait in line for half a day to get in.”

Yu Zi took a few steps and looked back again.

When they returned to Fangjiayuan, they pushed open the door of the building and found that the light bulb in the hallway had completely blown out, leaving the hallway in darkness.

Yu Zi turned on the flashlight on his phone and followed Xie Dongcheng slowly up the stairs.

Outside the building, a stray cat suddenly let out a hoarse and piercing cry, breaking through the walls, sharp and ear-piercing, startling him.

“You guys in this neighborhood really have wild cats,” Yu Zi patted his chest.

Xie Dongcheng turned around. “Probably just starving.”

When the two arrived home, Xie Dongcheng quickly cooked two dishes and brought them to the small coffee table in front of the sofa.

After sitting down cross-legged, Yu Zi only moved his chopsticks a few times and barely ate anything throughout.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Xie Dongcheng saw him furrow his brows but not touching his chopsticks.

“No,” Yu Zi shook his head.

Xie Dongcheng waited for him to continue, but he remained silent.

It wasn’t until five minutes later that Yu Zi raised his eyelids, looking serious. He suddenly grabbed Xie Dongcheng’s wrist across the coffee table, startling Xie Dongcheng so much that he almost dropped his chopsticks.

“What, what’s wrong?” Xie Dongcheng asked nervously.

Yu Zi’s gaze was intense. “I’ve figured it out.”

Xie Dongcheng didn’t know what he was trying to say without context. “Figured out what?”

“We can make money,” Yu Zi’s fingers not only didn’t loosen, but gripped even tighter.

“How?”

“From wealthy people,” Yu Zi looked into Xie Dongcheng’s eyes.

Xie Dongcheng instinctively tightened his collar and covered his kidney, looking nervous. “What do you mean? Do you really want me to donate sperm for money?”

“What are you thinking?” Yu Zi found his reaction amusing again, quickly releasing his fingers and patting his shoulder.

“Today, we passed by that imported supermarket, which I’m familiar with. As far as I know, they haven’t started citywide delivery services, so people have to queue up at the store to buy things.”

“So?” Xie Dongcheng looked puzzled.

Yu Zi said confidently, “So, we can take orders from the residents in that new residential area, help them with their purchases, and then deliver the goods to their doorsteps.”

Xie Dongcheng took a few seconds to digest his words. “But why would they use us?”

“Time and energy are money for this group of middle-class people. Waiting in traffic and queues every day is wasting their lives.”

“Isn’t that just running errands?”

Yu Zi clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Not entirely. I can help them pick out the best quality products. Running errands can’t do that.”

This idea of Yu Zi’s didn’t come out of thin air. When he worked in the hotel marketing department, he had a partner who specialized in serving high-end communities.

However, they introduced services like car washing and housekeeping. They would regularly visit customers to wash, maintain, and clean their cars, saving these customers the hassle of finding someone outside.

If service industries can be successful, why not fresh produce and drinks?

Moreover, the cost of this business was low. They just needed someone with transportation to get started.

Xie Dongcheng listened with a puzzled expression, feeling that there was some truth to it, but he still had some questions. “How do we make money then? The prices there are transparent, and people probably wouldn’t want to pay much extra. We’ll have to pay for gas to run errands…”

“Everything will be sold at the original price,” Yu Zi looked at him and said lightly.

“At the original price? Isn’t that like charity?” Xie Dongcheng had never done business before and didn’t know what Yu Zi was planning, “And where will the customers come from? The management of that area is strict, they probably won’t allow outsiders in.”

“I have my ways,” Yu Zi said, not elaborating further.

He stood up from the coffee table, feeling a bit numb from sitting for too long.

Suddenly, he thought of something and turned to ask, “Is there a big supermarket nearby?”

Xie Dongcheng replied, “There seems to be one about seven or eight kilometers away. Why?”

“We’ll buy a car tomorrow morning.”

“What?!”