Zhou Yiyi arrived at the capital on the second day of the Lunar New Year in the morning, and by the ti she had transferred to a bus to L City, it was already three or four in the afternoon. Having been exhausted by the many days of travel, upon reaching L City, she went straight to the location of the temple fair. In a deserted spot, she entered her space, cleaned herself up, and then fell into a deep sleep, replenishing all the vitality lost in the previous days.
When she woke up again, it was still dark outside. She began to sort out the spoils of war in her space. Considering the audience that frequented the temple fair, she picked out so toys, and a selection of hair accessories, bracelets, earrings, and studs that little girls would like, along with so small snacks and tidbits. She didn’t dare to get too greedy; she just needed enough to stock her tricycle.
After dawn, she found a good spot to park the tricycle. The winter wind was bitterly cold, and since she had arrived too early, there were barely any people at the fair, and her little hands were red with cold. At that ti, there were no hand warrs or protective hand creams to keep warm, so she had no choice but to sit on the tricycle with her hands in her pockets, quietly waiting.
To tell the truth, making money in this life was not easy at all, especially since she was a student, which greatly limited her range of activities.
It was around eight or nine o’clock before people gradually started coming to the temple fair. Since her goods were wholesale from the South, she even used a gaphone to play her sales pitch.
"Co take a look, everyone! Children’s toys, every one of them for just five yuan! Five yuan, you won’t lose out, and you won’t be fooled. We also have all kinds of hair accessories and earrings for you to pick and choose from. Tasty snacks to enjoy while you browse and play, beauty and fullness all in one, plus fun for the kids—a multitude of benefits in one. Co on, co on, don’t miss out as you pass by!"
With the gaphone, she didn’t need to attract custors by herself, as her tricycle’s wire sh adorned with accessories had already successfully caught the attention of many young girls. The glitter from the earrings and the various patterned hair hoops and clips—everything down to the rubber hair bands sold in piles—drew crowds of people to ask about prices.
Little girls ca, mothers with children in arms ca, and wasn’t that when the toys started selling? And by promoting her snacks on the side, her business suddenly took off.
With more people around, the chances of theft increased, and it was hard to guard against the unsuspecting thief. Fortunately, she had Liang Tian’s help, who from ti to ti reminded her where to look and who to pay attention to. With its reminders, she managed not to lose much, though it wasn’t certain that nothing had been lost.
After a day’s work, her little purse had swelled, but she had no idea how much money she had made. The temple fair was lively at night, but the lighting was poor in her area, so as soon as it got dark, she packed up. Finding a secluded place, she entered her space. She had a count of every item and calculated the money based on the quantity, and then she counted her earnings. The difference was only about ten to twenty yuan, which ant that it was likely she had lost so items.
However, business was very good that day; she had made more than 300 yuan, with a cost of just over one hundred yuan, netting a profit of two hundred yuan.
In view of the previous day’s losses, she put out fewer items the next day, selling from within her tricycle first. If anyone needed sothing, she would bring it out. Moreover, everything was within her sight, easily safeguarded, so the second day’s discrepancy was negligible, just two or three yuan. Of course, she did not sell any less than the day before, again crossing the 300 yuan mark.
Thus, she continued to sell until the sixth night of the first lunar month. Over those four days, she had sold close to 1,500 yuan and earned at least eight to nine hundred yuan.
On the morning of the seventh day, she went to a famous park in L City, where she set up her stall for another two days, making six or seven hundred yuan, with profits of around four hundred yuan.
All in all, during this holiday, she had spent fifty thousand yuan, made back more than 2,000 yuan, and earned a profit of approximately 1,300 yuan. It was not easy by any ans.
There was still a lot of stock left in her space. Initially, Zhou Yiyi had planned to sell in her dorm, but fearing soone might report her, she ultimately did not make such a move. After all, this was high school, not college; it was better for her to stay well-behaved, to avoid drawing the attention of those with ulterior motives, and to stay out of trouble in a critical mont.
She returned to school on the evening of the eighth day. It was another holiday, and the first week back at school was still exam week, bringing the year into 2002.
The reason Zhou Mo and Lin Mu hadn’t looked for her over the vacation was the sa as during the sumr break: one went to Guangzhou, and the other to Shanghai.
Zhou Mo went to Guangzhou for a chemistry camp, while Lin Mu went to learn vocal music and dance.
"You’ve already been guaranteed admission; why are you still attending chemistry training?"
So, were the scores of a top student just there to intimidate others?
"I have to find sothing to do, right? Otherwise, how am I supposed to get through the next year and a half?"
After hearing this, Zhou Yiyi was choked up and speechless for a long ti, staring at Zhou Mo wide-eyed.
"So, if you get an award in the chemistry competition, are you still going to take the math test? Big brother, aren’t you leaving no room for others?"
Zhou Mo glanced at her leisurely and sidelong, "With the ti you spend worrying about others, you might as well consider why your grades are slipping."
Zhou Yiyi was embarrassed. Her grades had slipped to ninth place. These were the results of the start-of-term test. She admitted that she had been lax over the winter break, focusing only on making and counting money, and it had been a long ti since she had practiced her calligraphy, let alone kept up with her academic studies.
Whether it was fortunate or not, during the second sester of her senior year, Zhou Mo spent almost all his spare ti tutoring Zhou Yiyi, explaining problems, and filling in knowledge gaps. It was lucky that Zhou Yiyi was ambitious; if she had been a poor student, she probably would have been driven insane by this top student’s pressure.
Thanks to Zhou Mo’s simplified thods and broadened knowledge, Zhou Yiyi went from being ninth in the school at the beginning of the term to second in her grade once again.
During the sumr of her senior year, Zhou Yiyi went to Beijing again.
Mr. Zheng’s health had stabilized after more than half a year of recovery, but the aftereffects of his stroke were not so easily overco. His speech was still abnormal, and walking was much more difficult than before. Zhou Yiyi visited Mr. Zheng in Y City every now and then, treating him with the filial piety one would show their own grandfather.
Mr. Qin, after tutoring her over the break, seriously told her that he had nothing more to teach her and that she no longer needed to co to Beijing to learn from him. Since she was about to enter her final year, she should concentrate on studying hard next year, and once she was admitted to a university in Beijing, he would find her a more qualified teacher to continue her calligraphy studies.
Zhou Yiyi tearfully thanked her teacher, and this ti she wanted to offer him paynt, but Mr. Qin declined. He had sohow learned about her funding Mr. Zheng’s wheelchair and surgery, praising her for being righteous and caring. Her actions moved them, and they could not possibly accept tuition fees, as that would be disrespectful to Mr. Zheng.
During the two and a half months of sumr break, she balanced business with studies. When she returned, having mastered her lessons and taking the items she had bought in Yiwu to sell in Beijing, she made a good amount of money. Then, she purchased quite a few Beijing specialties, set aside so to give away, and planned to sell the rest at the park entrance on weekends.
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