Chapter 13: Strawberry, Apple, Orange
When Shou Jiaxun returned to the room, Uncle Guo was sitting on the edge of the bed slurping a bowl of plain noodles.
His place was too small. An induction cooker was set up on the shoe cabinet in the entryway to serve as a kitchen, and naturally, there was no dining room inside.
Eating and sleeping all happened in the same place, so the bedside table also served as a dining table.
Uncle Guo asked, “He left?”
“Mmhmm,” Shou Jiaxun answered.
Uncle Guo nodded indifferently, chatting casually: “I see he likes you quite a bit, and his conditions in all aspects seem pretty good. Why do you look down on him?”
“Generation gap,” President Shou spoke frankly.
Uncle Guo was startled, sneezing with a “Ku-chi!” sound. While wiping his nose, he looked up to examine little Student Shou: “…How many generations?”
If President Shou had married as an adult in his past life, thirty-six was old enough to be a dad to eighteen.
Shou Jiaxun raised his head meaningfully and raked his fingers through his hair. “A hero doesn’t mention past bravery. Uncle, let’s talk business.”
Uncle Guo regained his composure, lowered his head to slurp noodles, and only responded slightly with his nose: “Hmm?”
Shou Jiaxun bent over and leaned closer. “Are there still noodles?”
“Mmhmm.” Uncle Guo pointed toward the door with his chopsticks.
Shou Jiaxun immediately understood, went to the entryway, fished out a bowl of cold-water-rinsed noodles from the small stainless steel pot on the induction cooker, and brought it back.
Sitting opposite Uncle Guo, he ate and chatted: “Going back to school for the refund wasn’t very smooth today, but the problem isn’t big. The teacher said they can refund me next Monday. So my idea is to use these few days to scope out various business districts in the city and nearby large residential areas, selling goods while looking for a suitable location and ‘storefront’ to open a shop.”
“Hmm, okay.” Uncle Guo first affirmed his proposal, then followed up with a question: “In what way was the refund not smooth?”
Partnership business valued honesty. Shou Jiaxun immediately told Uncle Guo everything about the refund process today and the actions of the two pig teammates who hindered his refund.
After listening, Uncle Guo wasn’t worried about his refund anymore, but: “Sigh, I say… maybe you should go back to school. At first, I thought that kid surnamed Xiao just wanted to take advantage of you. Now it looks like he has quite good intentions. He was thinking for you; he should genuinely like you. If he can act as a guarantor for you to get a student loan, you’ll have security even for university; then why drop out?”
Shou Jiaxun frowned and looked up, asking knowingly: “Uncle, what do you mean?”
Uncle Guo clicked his tongue. “Oh my, he just wants to pursue you! His words are irritating, but his heart is quite good. Just try dating… get to know each other, maybe you’ll get along. The key is you are so young; not going to school and not dating, it’s a pity.”
Shou Jiaxun asked back: “Are you worried about losing money partnering with me again?”
“No, I’m not.” Uncle Guo denied decisively. “I’m thinking for you.”
Little President Shou curled his lip and sneered. “I can’t even talk to him, and you actually want me to date him? Dating him, I might as well sell my body. But selling fruit has better prospects than selling my body, although the beginning is a bit hard… Anyway, only fools sell their bodies.”
Uncle Guo chuckled, lifting the noodle bowl to slurp the soup base into his mouth. “Fine, as long as you’ve thought it through.”
So, after closing the stall at the morning market the next day, the two immediately began scouting locations according to Shou Jiaxun’s plan.
However, many streets in the city didn’t allow itinerant peddlers to set up stalls. In slightly better locations, they were chased away by urban management officers several times a day, and they were fined twice.
The last time, their tricycle was almost confiscated.
Uncle Guo suggested giving up the plan of selling goods while scouting, saying they might as well just stroll around and look at the business situation of other fruit shops.
But Shou Jiaxun believed that without communication with customers, they couldn’t collect consumption demands and customer shopping “pain points.” Getting fined could be considered paying tuition in exchange for first-hand market feedback; losing a little money was worth it.
Uncle Guo couldn’t out-talk him, so he could only accompany him to continue guerrilla warfare.
In his past life, Shou Jiaxun started his business at twenty-seven, and just as it got on the right track at thirty-six, he died from overwork. He was truly unlucky, but the experience of managing projects and making money he accumulated was also real.
Actually, according to the terms of the Lord Yama’s Underworld “Reincarnate at Will” contract, President Shou could make money doing any random business. But reincarnating with the memories of a past life domineering CEO, his ambition was inevitably a little bit bigger.
The starting goal was to be an “industry leader.” Although he didn’t say it, his actions showed 120% spirit.
That day, the two set up their stall on a bustling commercial street in the city center. Driven away by urban management several times during the day, they really couldn’t keep a foothold. They could only wait until after eight or nine in the evening, when urban management got off work, to sneak back quietly.
Uncle Guo was tired from pedaling and squatted behind the tricycle to smoke and relieve fatigue; Shou Jiaxun stood in front of the cart with a small knife, cutting fruit cups to attract customers.
There were many pedestrians in the commercial district at night, but people generally weren’t shopping here to buy discounted fruit. Instead, freshly cut and packaged fruit cups were very popular and in short supply.
Strawberry, apple, orange for 20 a cup; mango, lychee, peach for 35. After peeling, the gross weight price was already eight times the morning market price, but for those elite workers getting off work from eight-star office buildings, it was just the cost of a cup of coffee.
Brightly colored fresh fruit chunks filling a large cup, heavy in the hand, not only gave a greater sense of satisfaction but was also more healing for people who had been busy all day.
—So why not have a cup?
Although it wasn’t exaggerated enough for people to line up to buy fruit, it was pretty close. Shou Jiaxun sold a cup as soon as he cut one; almost no product stayed in stock for more than five minutes.
By nearly ten o’clock, the fruit in the cardboard boxes under the cart was basically cleared out, and the flow of people on the street gradually thinned.
Just as Shou Jiaxun and his Uncle Guo were preparing to close the stall, a cyberpunk-style electric coupe with electroplated royal blue paint approached silently and parked.
President Shou naturally recognized this flashy Porsche belonged to Rich Young Master Xiao, and couldn’t help but curse inwardly: Fck, the ghost lingers.*
But then the car window suddenly lowered, and what he saw was Yin Xi’s bright and beautiful face.
Student Yin was not only dressed exquisitely but even wore some light makeup. It looked like he didn’t plan to be a top scholar anymore and had switched careers to be a “top stream” celebrity.
Shou Jiaxun smiled sincerely, revealing two likeable little canine teeth: “Want a cup of fresh cut fruit, dear?”
Yin Xi asked the price expressionlessly: “What fruits do you have?”
Shou Jiaxun turned sideways to let the other see the goods on the tricycle clearly: “Strawberry, apple, orange (shi duo pi li ping guo cheng)…”
“Why are you cursing?” Yin Xi frowned and interrupted him.
Shou Jiaxun shrugged innocently. Uncle Guo stuck his head out to help supplement: “Strawberry, apple, orange, twenty; mango, lychee, peach, thirty-five.”
Seemed like he cursed again.
“Strawberry (Shi duo pi li), apple, orange” was considered a partial profanity in some dialect regions, usually appearing when workers were treated unreasonably by bosses or clients.
Inconvenient to curse too dirtily, so use this phrase privately to vent.
When thoroughly annoyed, there was a second half: “Whole family rich, drop dead in the street (Ham gaa fu gwai puk gaai zai).”
So tonight, setting up a stall in the business district, the 20-yuan cup was particularly best-selling; some people even bought it specifically to “flatter” their bosses.
Unfortunately, handsome Yin didn’t understand humor. He frowned and ordered coldly: “Two cups of mango lychee.”
And instructed: “In a hurry, trouble you to be faster.”
“Alright, wait a moment.”
Shou Jiaxun immediately took out two huge plastic cups and peeled a bunch of fresh-skinned, tender lychees. Uncle Guo took out a small knife and peeled mangoes with flowing ease.
The two worked deftly. Seeing the two large cups about to be filled, Yin Xi suddenly complained: “Why does it take so long? Forget it, I don’t want them.”
Clearly making it plain he wouldn’t let them earn even a few dozen bucks.
Xiao Yu sat on the other side of the back seat, looking straight ahead the whole time, not saying a word.
Shou Jiaxun waved goodbye to them with a grin: “No problem, welcome to patronize next time~”
Xiao Yu’s car had just started moving, and the window hadn’t even rolled up yet, when a middle-aged man with a suit jacket draped over his arm strolled loosely to the cart stall to ask the price: “How much is this?”
President Shou immediately recommended enthusiastically: “Mango, lychee, peach, freshly cut, thirty-five for a large cup. If you want both cups, I’ll give them to you for thirty.”
Xiao Yu looked slightly sideways, staring at the fruit stall he had left far behind in the rearview mirror.
Shou Jiaxun not only sold the two cups of fruit but also took out his phone with a beaming smile to talk to the man with his head lowered. Unknown if exchanging phone numbers or adding WeChat friends.
In fact, he not only guessed right but got both.
Because the man said his company was nearby and occasionally needed afternoon tea for meeting guests, asking Shou Jiaxun how many cups he needed to buy for delivery.
Shou Jiaxun nodded immediately. Delivery for two cups and up, discounts for larger orders: “Ten percent off for ten cups, twenty percent off for over thirty cups.”
When the customer walked away, Uncle Guo chuckled and teased: “It’s only been a few days? Already have a new target.”
Shou Jiaxun grinned and defended: “No, our main business is still finding a storefront to open a shop. Fruit cups count as an addition at most. When the business takes off, we can hire two people just to cut fruit.”
Uncle Guo glanced at Little President Shou. “I’m talking about that classmate of yours surnamed Xiao.”
“Oh! You mean him, haha…” Shou Jiaxun shrugged and smiled awkwardly. “None of my business?”
“Uncle, check tonight’s income. Did it cross four digits?” President Shou’s focus was here.
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