The group also exchanged coins with Cao Yang and crowded around one machine to play.
There were clearly two machines available, yet six or seven of them preferred squeezing around just one. That's just how people here were.
Before long, Lei Dian arrived as well, bringing food and drinks, smiling brightly.
"Yo, how come there are so many people today?"He seemed pleasantly surprised that business was booming tonight.
Cao Yang chuckled. With that expression, he knew the group must have made some money last night.
"Where are A-Liang and Jiawei?" he asked.
"Forget about those two. You and I can drink."
Cao Yang drank while keeping an eye on the shop. By three in the morning, everyone had left.
After seeing Lei Dian out, he sat behind the counter counting money. He had earned more than five hundred today.
He was overjoyed and wanted to share the good news with Li Yan. Knowing her, she would definitely be thrilled.
But he didn't have a phone, nor did he feel like running over to tell her.She was still mad anyway… let her stay mad for another two days. Once he earned even more, he'd tell her and slap her in the face with the results.Tell me to transfer the shop to you? Ha! Eat your words.
The next day, the same group came again.
Although they had lost more than they won yesterday, they didn't blame the machines. After all, Cao Yang's machines often gave out jackpots. The players always won a little at first — they lost only because they were greedy and didn't stop.
And that was true. His machines frequently hit big payouts. Other people's machines? You could feed in dozens of coins and not even get a fart back.
Those crappy machines either gave out tiny "apple" prizes or small 3× wins, and the rare gun bonus often misfired.
Cao Yang's machines were different — frequent big wins and several "Old Ghost" jackpots that let people actually walk away with money.
The group had a great time playing. Passersby saw the crowd, got curious, and joined in. Seeing the machines pay out well made their hands itch, so they exchanged some coins to play too.
That was the effect of a crowd — the more people gathered, the more new people were drawn in.Before long, both machines were surrounded.
When he closed up at night and counted the cash, his net profit was 2,100.Cao Yang couldn't stop smiling.
On the third day, business was just as good. Lei Dian watched with envy.
He had become a regular at the shop, hanging around whenever he had free time.
"Cao Yang, you're making quite a bit each day, huh?" he asked, jealousy all over his face.
"It's alright, it's alright," Cao Yang replied modestly.
"How come no one's come to charge you protection money yet?" Lei Dian asked suspiciously. If no one caused trouble, he'd consider getting two machines himself.
"Maybe they don't know about me yet."Cao Yang knew this was exactly what Li Yan had been worried about, but he didn't care. Soldiers come — soldiers block. Water comes — earth stops it.
Lei Dian's phone rang. He answered briefly and hung up.
Cao Yang looked at his phone with envy. "How much did that cost?"
"More than two thousand. Motorola. Big brand."
"What's there to brag about? I'll buy one tomorrow too," Cao Yang said. He felt it was time to own a phone.
Hearing this, Lei Dian immediately got excited."You should've said so earlier! Tomorrow I'll take you to buy one. My sister sells phones."
"You have a sister?" Cao Yang blinked.
"What? You're the only one who's allowed to have a sister?"
"My sister is my real sister. Yours is… a wild one."
Lei Dian's expression turned strange. He was starting to seriously suspect Cao Yang's relationship with Li Yan.
At first, when Cao Yang called her "sister," he thought nothing of it. Later he learned they didn't share the same surname, so maybe they were cousins.But now… it looked more like a cougar-younger-man relationship.
The next morning, Cao Yang stuffed over three thousand yuan in his pocket and took a taxi with Lei Dian into the city to a mobile phone store.
"Jie," Lei Dian greeted a beautiful young woman with fair skin and gentle features.
She wore a light blue blouse, her hair tied in a simple ponytail, no makeup, fresh and pretty.
Seeing him, she frowned."What are you doing here?"
Her tone was helpless — clearly this little brother had caused her plenty of trouble before.
"What attitude is that? I'm here to buy a phone and help your sales."
He pointed at Cao Yang."This is my bro, Cao Yang."
"And this is my sister, Lei Yu — or Lei Xiaoyu, whichever."
"Hello, Sister," Cao Yang greeted shyly. He hadn't expected Lei Dian's sister to be this beautiful.
Her beauty was different from most girls — she gave off a gentle, wife-material vibe, like marrying her guaranteed a happy life.
"Hello," Lei Yu smiled politely. "Which phone would you like?"
"I don't really know… Sister, could you introduce them to me?" Cao Yang admitted honestly.
"What's your budget?"
"Hmm… around two thousand."
Lei Yu took out a Nokia and introduced it to him.
But her explanation was pointless — he understood none of it. In his eyes, big brand = good.As long as it looked impressive, could call and text, and had a few small games, it was perfect.
This Nokia happened to check all his boxes, so he paid for it immediately.
Lei Yu took him to the register, helped him pay, boxed the phone, and even set up a new SIM card for him.
"What's your relationship with Lei Dian?" she asked while handing over his items.
"Friends! Good brothers!" Cao Yang purposely made it sound closer.
The moment she heard that, her expression cooled noticeably. She handed him his things and said nothing more.
Cao Yang was confused.What did I say wrong?
"Jie, what's your phone number?" he asked.
"What do you need my number for?" Lei Yu asked warily.
"Yeah, what do you need my sister's number for?" Lei Dian's expression darkened.He thought, I treat you as a brother — don't even think about anything weird!
"It's my first time using a phone. If I don't understand something, I can ask you."Hearing this explanation, Lei Yu finally took his phone and dialed her own number.
As for Lei Dian's glare, Cao Yang simply ignored it.
"Bye, Sister!" he waved as they left. Lei Yu didn't even look at them.
"Lei Dian, your sister doesn't seem to welcome us. We came all this way and she didn't even treat us to a meal."
"That's normal. Your sister doesn't welcome me either."
"That's different. My sister is afraid you'll lead me astray."
"Then my sister is afraid YOU will lead ME astray!"
"What could I possibly teach you that's bad?"
Cao Yang suddenly froze.Now he understood why Lei Yu didn't like him.
She clearly knew what kind of "work" her brother did… and she assumed Cao Yang was the same type — another petty thief.
Sigh… wrongfully judged. Should've come alone.
Back at the convenience store, Cao Yang opened for business while admiring his new phone.
Suddenly, a text message came.It was from Lei Yu.
"Don't lead my brother down the wrong path."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he replied.He wanted to say — It's your brother leading ME astray, not the other way around!
He waited a long time, but she didn't reply.
Then he happily called Li Yan to tell her he had bought a phone. Good moods needed to be shared.