Chapter 104: Knowledge is Power

Xie Yunshu blinked, adopting a particularly cunning tone: “Big brother, our lunch boxes taste great. Eating them will bring you great fortune—stock prices will soar if you eat them three days in a row!”

Ah, this girl sure knows how to talk! Everyone buying stocks hopes their stocks will rise fast. Snatching up stocks is nothing; the real profit comes when the stock hits the daily limit and you sell it off! A lucky stock can earn a few hundred easily—so at a glance, a 1.5 yuan lunch box really isn’t expensive…

After all, no one eats here every day. This craziness is just for a short time now. Once these two promising stocks are sold out, there won’t be so many people outside the Securities Trading Center. The 1.5 yuan lunch box money is just some easy cash to make.

Big brother laughed: “You’re a born businesswoman! Your morning buns are cheap, but the lunch boxes are priced so high. And you’re such a smooth talker, you deserve to make money!”

Xie Yunshu smiled at him: “Then you eat some and come back tomorrow!”

Big brother tutted, then took a pen from his pocket and wrote a number on the lunch box: “I run a foreign trade company. We’re hiring salespeople later. If you’re interested, contact me. As long as you can sell stuff, you’ll definitely get paid!”

This girl is sweet-talking and bold—clearly cut out for sales!

Xie Yunshu didn’t refuse directly. She smiled sincerely: “Alright, I’ll come make a fortune with you when I get the chance!”

Truly, she was persuasive. The satisfied big brother went back into the Securities Trading Center.

Xie Yunshu jotted down the phone number, feeling even better. A philosopher once said, knowledge is power. She hadn’t read books at the Xinhua Bookstore for nothing. One economics book said monopoly creates high profits. Buns are cheap because of competition; people might eat breakfast or just grab something on the way. If the price is too high, they’ll find substitutes and just not buy.

But lunch boxes at noon are different—she’s the only one selling lunch boxes. If people don’t buy from her, they have to go elsewhere. Would they waste that time? With meat and vegetables, if breakfast wasn’t good, lunch is necessary—no one can go hungry until 2 or 3 pm. Since people are already lining up, the price can be set high.

The book calls this a monopoly!

Lunch sold out quickly. Xie Mingcheng, the human calculator, chuckled: “Sister, we made 100 yuan today, with over 60 yuan profit. Should we make more tomorrow?”

At this rate, wouldn’t they earn a few hundred in total?

Xie Yunshu shook her head: “Make fewer tomorrow. Keep the price, just do 30 boxes.”

“Huh?” Xie Mingcheng was puzzled. He placed the insulated box on the tricycle: “Why? The stock market closes in two days…”

Xie Yunshu rolled her eyes: “Human greed is insatiable. Haven’t you noticed the restaurant owner across the street peeking out several times? Believe me, tomorrow there’ll be at least three or four lunch sellers here!”

Such a good business—others aren’t idiots. They just didn’t react on the first day but by the second day would prepare. On the third day, competitors would come for business! Once they do, a price war will start. People can get full for a few dimes—why buy a 1.5 yuan lunch box?

Honestly, Xie Yunshu wasn’t even sure 30 boxes would all sell tomorrow. So tomorrow’s the last day she’ll sell. Whatever profit she makes, she makes. Quick money doesn’t last, and stable business profits aren’t high.

Xie Mingcheng frowned: “I thought this business could last a few more days.”

“Making money’s never that easy,” Xie Yunshu said, taking the big sister role to teach him: “So you have to study hard. Only by going to university can you make big money.”

Xie Mingcheng laughed: “Sister, don’t say that—it sounds like an old lady!”

Xie Yunshu slapped him: “Got a smart mouth, huh?”

The siblings laughed and headed home. Xie Yunshu thought about this silly kid wearing a worn cotton jacket, yet still daring to return new clothes. With the money they made these few days, they could buy a down jacket. That’s pretty good—everyone wearing new clothes, no one feeling uncomfortable.

---

At home, the door wasn’t closed. Ling Fenlan sat on a stool boiling water, opposite her sat a woman around the same age, dressed plainly with dry yellow hair, nervously twisting the edge of her clothes: “Sister, shall we go back together this time?”

Ling Fenlan poured her a glass of water: “Going back, who knows what will happen.”

Xie Yunshu took off her apron, smiled, and greeted: “Auntie, how come you have time to come?”

Ling Taohong saw Xie Yunshu and smiled warmly: “Yunshu, what are you doing here? Did you come back on your own? Did Zhi’an not come with you?”

Ling Fenlan and Xie Mingcheng’s faces turned sour at the same time. But Xie Yunshu smiled calmly: “Auntie, a few days ago I divorced Lu Zhi’an, lost my job at the packaging factory, and now I’m selling lunch boxes at a construction site.”

Ling Taohong was shocked and stood up: “What did you say?”

Ling Fenlan pulled her sister’s hand and told her to sit: “It’s true, they divorced. Lu Zhi’an has another woman outside. They couldn’t live together anymore, so divorce was inevitable. As for the job, the monthly wage wasn’t high and was tough. Yunshu’s doing alright selling lunch boxes now.”

The words sounded casual, but Ling Taohong was shaken. The packaging factory job was official—many bribed and still couldn’t get it. Yunshu just lost it?

After a while of silence, she pursed her lips: “Mother doesn’t know yet. If she finds out…”

Ling Fenlan turned pale and fell silent. Their mother’s temper! If she knew Yunshu lost her job, she’d scold them to death. When Old Xie was alive, she fought tooth and nail to get Yunshu that job—and their mother even slapped her a few times over it.

Xie Yunshu’s expression didn’t change: “Auntie, the packaging factory job was left by my father. Losing it or not has nothing to do with grandma.”

Though she said that, still…

Ling Taohong sighed deeply: “When we go home next time, better not mention this.”

Ling Fenlan nodded. Even if her sister didn’t say, she could guess. Every time their mother called them home, it was always about their little brother. Otherwise, how could these married daughters come back home casually?

She was the oldest at home; Ling Taohong was the second oldest, with a younger brother. Their parents were biased. Growing up, she and Taohong were like servants to their little brother—doing all the housework, fieldwork, and even taking the blame when little brother cried.

After marriage, she realized the home wasn’t what she thought. Daughters and sons were both precious to parents. But no matter how bad, she never had the courage to resist because filial piety weighed heavily.

Every time they went home, carrying less stuff meant getting scolded. Old Xie was easy-going and wouldn’t make things hard, but their mother’s family was harsh.

A few days ago, Old Xie got into trouble. The in-laws fought for the compensation, the mother’s family fought for the job. If she hadn’t held on tightly, both the money and the job would be lost. Old Xie’s gone, she has to protect the family!

Later, the in-laws cut ties, saying without Xie Yunshu and Xie Mingcheng, the grandchildren, they weren’t family. The mother’s side even slapped her a few times, and the job finally landed on Yunshu’s head.

Since then, she hadn’t gone home for several days. When Yunshu married Lu Zhi’an, the mother’s side sent a little money, saying they had to get along as family.

She knew in her heart it was because Yunshu married up and they wanted to take advantage. She wished she could cut ties with her mother’s family, but a mother wouldn’t abandon her child, and no matter how much others hurt her, she couldn’t raise her head.

Now Yunshu divorced Lu Zhi’an, lost the packaging factory job, and the mother’s side didn’t know what they’d say!