Chapter 21

That evening, Yang Xue’s father handed her 40 yuan. “Take this to school tomorrow and give it to Teacher Su. Let her know not to worry. This kind of valuable item is in high demand at this price.”

If their family weren’t struggling financially, Yang Xue’s father would have bought one for himself. They were really cheap. Teacher Su was a reliable person, and the watches she repaired definitely had no quality issues.

Yang Xue took the four crisp bills from her father’s rough, dark hand. His palm was calloused, covered with thick calluses from years of hard work.

Although he worked as a technician in a factory, he could hardly afford to buy himself a watch after all these years. Yang Xue secretly made a decision: she would work hard and learn to refurbish watches from Teacher Su, and one day, she would personally make a watch for her father.

—

The next day.

After class, Su Ye was packing up when Yang Xue hurried to the front of the classroom.

She pulled a few bills out of her pocket and handed them to Su Ye, saying loudly, “Teacher! All the watches we made have been sold! Here’s the twenty yuan to return to you!”

Su Ye patted Yang Xue on the head with a smile, then handed her the forty yuan, including the ten yuan from yesterday.

“No need, consider it an initial investment from the teacher. You can divide it among the students, and everyone can continue collecting watches!”

The twenty yuan was equivalent to Teacher Su’s monthly salary, so it was not a small amount.

Yang Xue felt the weight of the money in her hands. She quickly shook her head. How could they accept it? Even if the teacher cared for them, she shouldn’t let the teacher pay for them out of her own pocket.

But she couldn’t refuse when Su Ye said, “Keep it for now. You can pay me back later once you’ve earned some money.”

Yang Xue took the money and silently vowed to make sure her classmates would put it to good use!

She relayed her father’s words to Su Ye. “Teacher Su, my father thinks we’re selling the watches too cheaply. He says they could easily sell for thirty yuan.”

Su Ye smiled and patted Yang Xue’s head without saying a word. It was just a childish thought, this little one didn’t yet understand the complexities of human nature.

The ten yuan price was carefully set by Su Ye after thoughtful consideration. A highly profitable industry is often accompanied by great risk and requires a lot of effort to maintain. As Marx once said, if capital has a 50% profit, it will take risks, if it has a 100% profit, it will trample over all human laws.

Today, selling watches might bring in 100 yuan, tomorrow 300 yuan, and before long, the market would be flooded with counterfeits. To prevent this, Su Ye decided to nip the problem in the bud by controlling it from the very source. Let others take the dangerous path while she took the road less traveled.

On the off chance that the students became obsessed with making money and neglected their studies, that would be chasing after the wrong goal, losing sight of what really matters. Su Ye didn’t want the adult world’s mercenary mindset to corrupt these young minds. Instead, she chose to earn a good reputation, even if it meant sacrificing some profit. Although the profit was small, it would guarantee long-term, sustainable returns.

Su Ye didn’t feel like explaining further and simply acted aloof. She spoke to Yang Xue with a serious tone:

“Of course, we can sell as many as we want. But when we do things, we mustn’t only think about money. We need to stick to our original intentions and stay true to our hearts. A true gentleman seeks wealth but does so in the right way. Making money is not our final goal.”

“If this helps students with financial difficulties, saves resources for the country, and we do our best in the process, that’s already great.”

Her words, though not loud, were so profound that they left Yang Xue stunned. After a long pause, when she looked up at Su Ye again, her face was filled with admiration.

“‘We mustn’t only think about money. We need to stick to our original intentions and stay true to our hearts,’” Yang Xue thought. That was such a wonderful thing to say! She carefully wrote it down.

Su Ye’s spirit was truly admirable and moving! Her level of integrity had reached a point that made Yang Xue look up to her. Such noble and selfless values were something Yang Xue had only read about in books. Today, seeing it in real life, it felt as though her soul had been cleansed.

Su Ye patted the still-stunned Yang Xue on the head and left the classroom, radiating a sense of righteousness and selflessness.

Meanwhile, the live stream chat, which had been muted by Su Ye, exploded in an instant:

Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter, can the host stop bragging?

This host has the potential to brainwash people.

I’m watching you say these shameless things so seriously. ‘A true gentleman seeks wealth in the right way,’ I got it now.

Su Ye happily returned to her office, where Teacher Lu was already wearing the silver steel watch.

Ever since Teacher Lu got the watch, he had been checking it frequently, no matter where he was or what he was doing. 

He always carried a handkerchief with him to wipe it. When someone asked, “What time is it? Is it time for class yet?” Teacher Lu would immediately answer, and within just a few hours, all the teachers in the school knew he had bought a new watch.

When Teacher Lu saw Su Ye coming back from class, he greeted her enthusiastically, “Teacher Su, a lot of teachers came to find you today.”

As soon as Su Ye sat down, several teachers gathered around her.

They looked at Su Ye with eager eyes—one enthusiastically took her workbook, another hurriedly wiped down her desk and chair, one made tea for her, and one even offered to give her a back massage.

Their eyes were filled with anticipation. “Little Su, I heard you and the students have been refurbishing watches recently?”

“Are there any more left?” they asked eagerly, giving Su Ye knowing looks.

“Teacher Lu’s watch is great. I couldn’t even tell it was used. You guys are doing a great job!” one teacher said, giving a thumbs up.

“This kind of good deed benefits everyone! I never realized before that Little Su is so quick-witted and so caring!”

The endless flattery almost made Su Ye blush. She cleared her throat and regretfully said, “You guys came a bit late. The remaining four watches were sold yesterday.”

“What? Didn’t Teacher Lu say that Little Su only found out who was buying the watches last night?”

“They were sold so quickly?”

The teachers lamented and slapped their thighs in regret, cursing themselves for coming too late and missing the opportunity.

They had never bought a watch before because they couldn’t afford it. Now, they finally had the chance to buy one they could afford, but they missed it. Simply slapping their thighs wasn’t enough to express their inner regret.

Su Ye watched this scene with a sense of satisfaction. She never worried about the sales of the watches—after all, hadn’t the demand come right to her door?

She had only casually mentioned it the night before, and the orders started flooding in. It was clear that, despite their poverty, people still had a desire for luxury items in this day and age.

Teachers were a group who really needed watches. They had a strong sense of time—they had to be punctual for classes and breaks. Teachers without watches felt awkward, constantly asking colleagues for the time. If they could save money by buying a refurbished watch and use the extra to buy a few kilos of rice and pork, wouldn’t that be great?

The teacher group had high standards, making them excellent customers for selling watches. Su Ye didn’t trust selling the watches in the general market, as she didn’t want the students’ hard work to go to waste.

Enjoying the tea that others had made for her, Su Ye finished it and cleared her throat.

“Don’t worry, everyone. Although this batch is sold out, there will be another one. I’ll make sure to save some watches for you next time.”

As soon as Su Ye finished speaking, the teachers suddenly erupted in joy. Each one grabbed her hand and patted her shoulder excitedly.

“That’s great! Little Su, thank you so much!”

The hands that landed on Su Ye’s shoulders were as heavy as iron, and the slaps made her shoulders ache. Su Ye, trembling, pulled a piece of paper from the drawer and began to write down the names of the teachers who wanted to buy watches. Only when she had finished did the teachers leave with satisfaction.

Liu Qiu carefully withdrew her gaze.

She had known for a while that Su Ye had been busy with second-hand watches. Liu Qiu had just graduated and had only received one month’s salary, so she naturally couldn’t afford to buy a watch. Liu Qiu planned to save up her money during her first year of work and buy a watch. If she could get a watch from Su Ye… she could save nearly a hundred yuan.

However, Liu Qiu felt a little embarrassed about buying something from someone she had once looked down on.

Fang Zhou was also tempted to go to Su Ye and leave his name for a second-hand watch. But just as he took the first step, Liu Qiu shot him a glare that stopped him in his tracks. Fang Zhou awkwardly scratched his nose.

He said, “What Teacher Su is doing is a good thing! If we support her, it’s also helping the students.”

Fang Zhou was planning to buy a refurbished second-hand watch.

People these days didn’t pay much attention to whether something was new or old, otherwise, they wouldn’t have the saying “^[1]“new for three years, old for three years, patch it up and use it for another three years” (新三年，旧三年，缝缝补补又三年) is a Chinese proverb that reflects a mindset of … Continue readingnew for three years, old for three years, patch it up and use it for another three years.” Even a pair of pants could be passed down among siblings to wear as they grew. So why not a watch that didn’t look very old?

Practicality was the most important thing!

—

Meanwhile,

The students received the initial 50 yuan from Su Ye and ran around the city, almost covering every street and alley, gradually collecting dozens of broken watches.

They gathered the broken watches together and, every afternoon after school, tirelessly worked on refurbishing them. There weren’t many brands of watches in this era, so most of the watches they gathered were either Meihua or Shanghai brands. The same brand made it easier for them to replace parts.

A week later, with the guidance of their teacher, they managed to refurbish ten watches. Su Ye tested each one’s performance and, after confirming they were in good condition, she distributed them to the teachers in the office.

These teachers were the first group of customers eagerly waiting for their watches. They had been anxiously awaiting them for nearly half a month.

One after another, the simple yet exquisite watches finally reached their hands. Although they didn’t come with brand names or packaging like new watches from the store, the watches were clean and neat, with polished straps and no rust, looking almost indistinguishable from brand-new ones.

The teachers were more than willing to pay for them. They handed over a third of their salary without hesitation. As soon as they got their watches, they put them on, as if afraid someone would snatch them away.

Su Ye and Teacher He sat with smiles, happily collecting the money.

The large black ten-yuan bills flowed into their hands, and after three rounds, the students’ initial funds, which had started at twenty and fifty yuan, gradually grew to eighty and one hundred. The warm bills still carried a faint trace of the person’s touch. Teacher He nearly went blind counting the money.

Teacher He was responsible for distributing the school’s salaries every month. He had seen his fair share of money, but when counting the bills earned by Su Ye and a few students, he couldn’t help but click his tongue in astonishment. “You kids are really capable…”

This was money earned by a teacher and a group of students. In less than a month, no less! It made the adults feel embarrassed—here were a few kids making money, and they themselves were still struggling.

Su Ye didn’t think much of this amount of money, once she had built a good reputation, it would only grow from here.

She thought of how popular second-hand electronics were in the future, and how the industry of refurbished goods could be described as a goldmine.

While thinking about this, she was focused on writing a small advertisement, similar to the “apology letter” used by Taobao sellers in the future to win people’s favor.

Although the watches had been sold, Su Ye felt there was still some finishing work to do—this was what people in the future would call after-sales service. The content of the “apology letter” was as follows:

“This is a group of children who personally assembled and refurbished second-hand watches. Originally, our intention was to use the knowledge we had learned to give back to society. Later, we witnessed children dropping out of school due to poverty and decided to do something for them. Thus, we present this refurbished second-hand watch.

It is the result of the hard work of dozens of children and teachers, and now it has reached your hands. If your watch has any issues within a month, please contact us through the office of the No. 1 Middle School. If you support our refurbished watches, please inform your friends and family. We are currently collecting unwanted, discarded watches, paying one yuan per watch. We are deeply grateful for your kindness.”

This was a recent idea Su Ye had come up with. Selling wasn’t just about the products, the key was the after-sales service.

The children lacked experience, and when assembling the watches, their hands were clumsy, inevitably leaving some flaws. In order to make up for this, Su Ye wrote the “apology letter.”

At the end of the letter, Su Ye added a little touch of strategy, asking customers to “recycle discarded watches.” This was also to ease the pressure on the children. It was still chilly in the early spring, and it was hard work for the young children to go door-to-door collecting old watches in the cold.

Su Ye had once seen them carrying small boxes and asking door to door. If they weren’t wearing school uniforms and red scarves, people might have mistaken them for beggars.

After counting the money, Teacher He took the piece of paper Su Ye had written out. He unscrewed the cap of his fountain pen and carefully began copying it down.

As Teacher He copied, he increasingly felt that Su Ye had a real business mind. If she became a businesswoman, she could probably become a major landowner. Look at the apology letter she wrote—it would surely win people’s hearts if it was included with the watches for sale! Ten yuan for a watch was already cheap, and it even came with repair service.

Even new watches bought from department stores didn’t offer such a deal.

Now Su Ye’s students weren’t afraid of repairing watches at all—they were all serious watch repair apprentices. What was originally a small side project had now been elevated to something professional thanks to Su Ye’s efforts.

Teacher He, while feeling somewhat ashamed of himself, couldn’t help but once again marvel at the fact that he had handed Su Ye a high school recruitment test paper back then. If he hadn’t done that, would Su Ye have been missed by No. 1 Middle School? What if she had gone to No. 2 Middle School, No. 3 Middle School, or No. 5 Middle School? Wouldn’t the students and teachers there have benefitted instead?

As Teacher He continued copying, he handed fifty small slips of paper to Teacher Zhou Yi.

“Little Zhou, help me copy these neatly, and make sure there are no mistakes. The students are waiting to use them, and maybe by next week, they’ll have the second batch of watches ready.”

—

The students worked hard for a week to make the second batch of refurbished watches. This time, they managed to make 20 watches. After selling all 20, Su Ye counted the large black ten-yuan bills in her hand and finally gathered 30 bills. She split the money in half and handed one portion to Yang Xue.

“Go and bring back the students who dropped out. Not a single one should be missing.”

As the money was handed to them, the diligent students who had worked hard for a month stared at the money they had earned through their labor. The girls smiled, and the boys were so happy they jumped up.

They couldn’t believe it, their hearts warmed, and they kept thinking, over and over again, that they couldn’t believe it—until they saw the money in their hands, still feeling as though they were dreaming.

So much money, did they really earn it?

They had never imagined they could make so much money with their own hands. With 150 yuan, each of them earned about 30 yuan. If you subtract the time spent on studies last semester, the time spent purely on labor was only about one month!

This realization excited the five half-grown children, leaving them speechless with pride. They all looked at Su Ye with moist eyes, filled with admiration.

Yang Xue took the money. “Teacher Su, please come with us!”

Su Ye nodded in agreement.

After school, Su Ye opened her “granary” to check her earnings. 150 yuan was enough to help 15 students return to school. This change was significant, and Su Ye estimated that a lot of food would likely drop.

Recently, Su Ye had checked frequently and knew that food would definitely fall, so she wasn’t in a rush to look.

At this moment, Su Ye opened the granary to take a look, and in the blink of an eye, her lazy posture straightened, and her casual expression became serious.

Su Ye was shocked.

In the background, there were 100 jin (about 50 kg) of high-quality rice, 10 jin (about 5 kg) of pork belly, and 1 jin (about 0.5 kg) of peanut oil!

Based on the recent fluctuating prices on the black market, 1 jin of high-quality rice costs 4 yuan, 1 jin of pork belly costs 9 yuan, and 1 jin of peanut oil costs 10 yuan. Calculating this, she had made a net profit of 500 yuan on this trip!

Staring at the grain, Su Ye felt as though she had redeemed her freedom, finally gaining a bit of courage to stand firm in the 1960s.

With these as her support, she also gained the confidence to survive through times of famine.

She hugged her textbooks and notebooks, humming a song as she walked out of the school campus.

—

As soon as Yang Xue finished speaking to Su Ye, the entire class of Grade 3, Class 1 turned their gaze toward them.

Su Ye didn’t hide this from anyone, she had even mentioned it several times during experimental lessons. Many of the middle school students found it unbelievable, but now that there was a preliminary result, they were stunned and looked at them in surprise.

The usually quiet, ordinary classmate had actually teamed up with the teacher to pull off such a big thing?

“Teacher Su, teach me! I want to contribute too!”

“Teacher, me too!”

One by one, the students eagerly raised their hands.