During the next few days, business at the small convenience shop was great, and no one came to cause trouble.
Li Yan quit her job at the clothing store and started working at the shop full-time.
She thought Cao Yang opened too late and closed too early every day. She planned for the two of them to take shifts and turn it into a 24-hour shop.
But Cao Yang had no interest in guarding the store around the clock. His attitude was basically: If you're here, I'll play. If you're asleep, I'll close.
Li Yan was slicing a watermelon with a big knife. They only sold snacks, instant noodles, and soft drinks, but she saw other shops selling iced watermelon, so she decided to sell it too. One watermelon cost three yuan, but cutting it into pieces could sell for eight yuan. That five-yuan profit delighted her—she wished she could earn all the money in the world.
Cao Yang ate one piece; Li Yan shot him a glance.
He ate a second piece; Li Yan glared at him.
He ate a third piece; she raised the knife as if to chop him.
"Eat, eat, eat! That's all you do! We haven't even started selling and you're already eating it all!"
"You're so stingy! I'll pay for it, alright?!"
"Ohhh, look at you, you have money now? Talking tough all of a sudden!" she mocked, dripping sarcasm.
Cao Yang grinned. "It's not just my mouth that's tough now. Certain other places are pretty tough too. Wanna try?"
Li Yan rolled her eyes. At this point she was truly a little afraid of him—this kid's courage had grown way too much lately. He had not only touched her everywhere, he had even started kissing her. If this continued, she'd get taken by him sooner or later.
It's not that she didn't want him to. She even looked forward to it a little, dreaming about it at night. But she and Cao Yang were neighbors, grew up together—there was always that bit of awkwardness in her heart.
As the two were fooling around, Cao Yang's phone rang. It was a Sichuan number—it had to be Lei Dian.
"Hello?"
"It's Lei Dian."
"I know it's you. How's home?"
"Same as always."
After a bit of small talk, they got to the point.
"My sister found a buyer. We're going to move that batch of electronic chips."
"Great! Have your sister come get them," Cao Yang said casually, eating watermelon.
Lei Dian said, "She'll come pick up a few samples later to show the buyer and discuss the price."
"Okay."
"I want you to go with her. She's a girl—it's inconvenient for her to go alone."
"Don't worry. I said I'd split half with you after selling it. I keep my word."
Cao Yang chuckled. "Come on, you and I are brothers. Your sister is my sister. How could I let her go handle something dangerous alone?"
A pretty image of Lei Yu's face appeared in his mind, and his thoughts wandered.
An hour later, Lei Yu arrived at the shop. She frowned upon seeing a group of people clustered around watching the slot machine.
"Over here, sis!" Cao Yang waved with a smile.
Li Yan was instantly displeased. He only ever called her "Sister Yan," but this woman gets called sister directly?
"Who is she?" Li Yan pointed at Lei Yu, sounding hostile.
"A friend," Cao Yang said while changing clothes, preparing to leave with Lei Yu.
"Since when do you have friends? Don't hang around with those shady women outside." Li Yan grabbed him, not letting him go.
"Who are you calling shady?!" Lei Yu's face darkened. The moment she walked in this woman was full of hostility and rudeness.
"You, so what?"
"You—!"
"Alright, alright, my two lovely sisters, calm down."
Cao Yang hurriedly tried to mediate. He leaned close to Li Yan and whispered, "She's Lei Dian's sister. I'm going with her to sell chips. After we sell them, I get half. I'll give you some."
"Heh…" Li Yan sneered. "Brother steals, sister sells, and you still claim you're decent people."
"You filthy bitch, say that again!" Lei Yu exploded, shocking Cao Yang. He thought Lei Yu was a gentle, quiet girl—turns out she could curse like that?
"You're the filthy bitch! Shameless thing! Seducing my little brother! Don't you have your own brother?!"
The two were about to fight, and Cao Yang rushed between them. "Please, please, let's handle business!"
He truly didn't understand why two people who had never met would be ready to fight instantly.
"Give me the stuff!" Lei Yu stretched out her hand.
Cao Yang took ten chips from his bag and gave them to her.
She took them and walked off immediately. Cao Yang quickly chased after her.
"Cao Yang! Get back here!" Li Yan stomped her foot in anger.
He bowed toward her, begging her not to make a scene.
He and Lei Yu waited for a cab at the village entrance. The air was a little awkward, so Cao Yang tried to find a topic.
"Sis, do you know anything about these chips? About how much they go for?"
"No." Lei Yu shook her head. "I only asked my boss. He said to bring a few for the buyer to inspect. If they're what he thinks they are, they're valuable."
"And also, I am not your sister. Stop calling me that."
"I'm brothers with Lei Dian, so naturally you're my sister."
They arrived at a tea restaurant in the city to wait for the buyer.
Before long, two figures entered. A tall, skinny man with glasses smiled at Lei Yu. He was her boss, the middleman.
The buyer was a balding man in his forties.
They sat down across from each other.
"Xiaoyu, Director Qi is here. Show him the item you mentioned."
Lei Yu placed a chip on the table. The fat man picked it up and examined it carefully, his expression turning heavy. Then he took out professional equipment and fiddled with it for a while. After that, he put it down and smiled.
"How many of these chips do you have?"
He spoke with pure Hong Kong–style Mandarin—either an out-of-towner or from Hong Kong.
"How many can you buy? What's your price?"
"These chips are only valuable in quantity. If you only have a few pieces, there's no point buying. If you have over a thousand, I can offer one hundred yuan each."
Lei Yu and Cao Yang exchanged a look. They knew they had six thousand chips. One hundred each meant six hundred thousand—to them, a huge sum.
But they weren't stupid. If he opened at one hundred, the chip's true value was definitely much higher.
"Can you raise the price a bit? We have this many." Cao Yang held up six fingers.
"Six thousand?"
Cao Yang nodded.
The fat man chuckled. "Six thousand pieces is acceptable. But the price stays at one hundred each."
"Then we'll think it over," Lei Yu said, preparing to negotiate further.
But Fat Qi was an old fox. He knew exactly what the two youngsters were thinking.
"Ah boy, ah girl, no need to think. You two are outsiders—you don't understand the rules. This stuff can only be sold to me. No one else will take it."
They looked at him suspiciously.
"This batch is dirty goods, right? I'm taking a risk buying it, so earning a little is justified."
In one sentence, he exposed the fact that the chips weren't clean. After all, how could legitimate chips end up with two clueless youngsters?
"And don't think about waiting for a higher price. Electronics update fast. The moment technology makes a tiny breakthrough, what you're holding becomes scrap."