The Scum Gong Begs Me to Get Back Together, but I Just Want to Get Rich

There was no convenient and fast electronic payment these days. Before Jiang Xiao came out to set up a stall, Xia Wanwan gave him a pack of change, which was placed in a small box under the table. It was specially used for changing money.

The two of them didn’t know how to promote the products, they didn’t know the price and function of every product the auntie bought like Jiang Xiao, but they still could settle the payments.

“…how much do you need?”

Lin Heyuan and Lin Chengyu responded together, and then glared at each other behind Jiang Xiao’s back.

“Give me 8 yuan!”

In the end, because Lin Heyuan sat near the small cash box, he collected 20 yuan from the auntie, and then managed to find 8 yuan before Lin Chengyu.

The thorn on the side suddenly felt stronger.

‘A kid with no full hair dares to fight with me.’

‘I don’t know where this psycho that pestered my desk mate came from.’

The two of them had different thoughts and they both want each other to stay away from Jiang Xiao, but Jiang Xiao was busy right now and had no time to care about other things. The goods on the stalls were his whole current assets, thus it would be even more senseless to argue at this time.

After the number of customers increased, the two of them didn’t have time to glare at each other. Jiang Xiao was too busy, standing in the middle, but they were all harmonious now.

And to be honest, people are visual animals. The three teenagers were pretty good-looking. Usually, seeing one of them on the street would attract the attention of many people. Now that the three of them are crowded together at the same time, it was even more eye-catching.

This was probably one of the reasons for many customers at Jiang Xiao’s stall. Not only did aunties come to visit Houlin’s end-of-the-year market, but it was also bustling with everything, both for sightseeing and food. There was a candy stall opposite Jiang Xiao’s stall, which sold a sugar painting1 and cotton candy. There were also many students, ranging from elementary students to high school students who were on winter vacation. There were no other attractions outside, so it was very interesting to visit the market.

Many students who came to the stall knew Jiang Xiao and Lin Heyuan, not only those from Houlin No. 3 Middle School, but also from other middle schools, as their reputations were not low.

Lin Heyuan ranked first in the county’s consecutive examinations several times, while Jiang Xiao was known as a good-looking student in No. 3 Middle School. When he was still a hooligan, his notoriety was well-known, but now he had changed his ways and started a small business.

Many people had bought things from him. Seeing him in the market, many female students happily came up to say hello.

As for Lin Chengyu, only a handful of people knew his name, but his appearance was really striking.

“Does Boss Jiang have any new products in store?”

“Wow this looks good.”

“How much is it, Jiang Xiao, will you make it cheaper for me.”

There were also some courageous ones who asked about Lin Chengyu.

“I’m Jiang Xiao’s friend,” Lin Chengyu heard and answered by himself, “I’m not here usually, but today I came here specially to help Jiang Xiao sell things. Besides, I think this is quite suitable for you…”

He was holding a small bag in his hand that looked like a little strawberry. The shape was really cute, and it matched the female student’s clothes that day.

Jiang Xiao took the time to look; the expression on his face was quite indescribable.

Lin Chengyu was very arrogant, but he would smile at others now. Not to mention that it was just for a small 5-yuan satchel. After he said this, the other party looked at him and bought it without much hesitation.

His appearance was stunning, and it was more attractive to girls this age. When his side became lively, Lin Heyuan naturally did not give up.

When she went out early this morning, Lin Qingyu felt that her brother was weird recently. Just today, her little sister2 invited her out to visit the market. She bought a tanghulu3 and ate it while walking. When she turned her head, she saw a busy scene in front of a stall.

Many people surrounded the stall and there was an iron net erected beside the stall on which were hung some items such as schoolbags. It could be seen from a distance and was quite beautiful, looking different from other stalls. The business there seemed good.

The little sister pulled her forward, wanting to join the fun. As she squeezed in, she saw Lin Heyuan.

“Gege?”

Lin Qingyu was surprised and with a hint of panic, the tanghulu in her hands were about to fall off. She rubbed her eyes vigorously to made sure that she saw wrong, but Lin Heyuan was really selling things.

Is this my brother’s new hobby?

Lin Heyuan was different though. After seeing his sister, he was quite calm and even greeted her, “You came. Do you want to buy something?”

Lin Qingyu nodded indiscriminately, and when she saw Jiang Xiao beside Lin Heyuan, she was sure that this should be his stall.

As his younger sister, she certainly knew that his brother had a good relationship with Jiang Xiao recently. Jiang Xiao had indeed changed, no longer pestering her. His grades had improved, and he wasn’t as stupid as before, but she didn’t expect that her brother would treat their friendship to this degree.

Taking a closer look, there was a thermos behind the stall. This morning, Lin Heyuan got up early to make a thermos of hot cocoa. When she was about to drink it, it was taken away by her brother. Wasn’t that thermos the very same one as this morning?

She furtively pulled on her brother’s sleeve and asked, “…what are you doing here?”

“Selling things,” Lin Heyuan said calmly, “I’m helping Jiang Xiao.”

And by the way, also competing with that psychopath on the other side.

Lin Qingyu narrowed her eyes, feeling that the matter wasn’t simple. However, under the guidance and encouragement from her brother, she really bought a lot of things with the little sister. Jiang Xiao’s stall really had good items.

Now Lin Qingyu could chat with Jiang Xiao harmoniously. After all, this girl was innocent and didn’t hold grudges. Furthermore, she was Lin Heyuan’s younger sister, so Jiang Xiao himself stuffed her with a lot of things and gave her more bonuses than what she bought.

The other girl next to her saw it and coquettishly asked him, “Jiang Xiao, I want more bonuses too!”

Jiang Xiao, towards a classmate he knew, would more or less give some extra bonuses. He won’t hold on to such a small amount of money, such as extra headbands or hairclips. Other people bought a lot in his stalls, so there were more for Lin Qingyu.

“Her brother is doing free work for me here,” Jiang Xiao pointed to Lin Heyuan and explained in a relaxed tone, “I can’t give away more bonuses, what if he goes on strike?”

The girls at his stall thought this was the main reason and began to vent their anger.

“My brother’s trash!”

“Look at other people’s brother!”

“…Uh, I don’t have an older brother.”

The classmates around had a laugh towards this scene, and Lin Qingyu, who was holding a bunch of items, was also in a good mood. She didn’t mind that her brother took away the hot cocoa and showed partiality earlier this morning.

Lin Chengyu, who was watching from the side could only reacted, “…”

Those people were Jiang Xiao’s classmates; however, he didn’t know many of them, thus he couldn’t join the conversation.

In contrast, his younger sister, Lin Rongjia, was spoiled and pampered. She only knew how to play and ate like a piggy all day long. She won’t be like Lin Qingyu that could please people and attract Jiang Xiao’s attention.

So angry!

Lin Chengyu was simmering with rage; thus, he could only do his best to sell more things. That way, Jiang Xiao could pay a little bit of attention to himself.

As for why the business of his stall was so good, Jiang Xiao, who was really making money here, also knew that the main reason why the items could be sold was not because of the face of the three of them.

If the customers thought that you were good-looking, they didn’t have to spend some money just for a few more glances, thus they wouldn’t necessarily spend their money to buy his goods.

The things on Jiang Xiao’s stall weren’t only new, it had what others didn’t have, and more importantly, they were affordable.

High school and middle school students often look at the appearance of things and they like to buy beautiful things. Jiang Xiao’s price was low, the items were pretty, so he hit the target.

But aunties who lived on day-to-day life didn’t focus on this. They were also more experienced. They could roughly figure out a price and its quality based on the experience of touching it. Not only the quality of his goods were good, but it was also affordable. After comparison, you would know that the price on other stalls would be 20% to 70% more.

He had what others didn’t have; he was better than others. Jiang Xiao was also warm and sweet, so they felt comfortable buying small things for a few yuans at his stall. He even brought along a bag of long balloons from Liujiang. If a customer with a child bought something, he had time to tie a balloon puppy.

Balloons were not worth much by themselves, a few yuan could buy a big bag of it. He just borrowed the pump and Jiang Xiao had learned the skill of tying balloons in his previous life. Compared to other stalls, the shopping experience here was better.

Customers weren’t fools. Considering everything together, these were the reasons for the good business at his stall.

As for why the price was so cheap, it was also very simple. The things he sold were produced on the assembly line. After all, the closer to the source of production, the cheaper the price. Most factories hadn’t moved to the central cities in the early 2000s. It still took root in developed coastal cities like Liujiang.

There was already a big difference in prices between the wholesale market in Houlin and the wholesale market in Liujiang, not to mention the multiple handling during the distribution process. Although Jiang Xiao’s cost of renting a truck was higher than before, the cost could be shared evenly. It was still acceptable.

These days, many businesses were subject to severe geographical restrictions. It was very difficult for a small stall owner to go to a distant place where they weren’t familiar with where to buy goods. Now in Houlin, only Jiang Xiao could do it.

He could be said to know Liujiang well, which had become his advantage now, because he knew well-sourced goods. Even if the price was lower than other stalls, his profit margin wasn’t lower than other stalls.

Jiang Xiao relied on this to double the nearly 3,000 yuan of his initial capital, however within half a year, the amount turned out to be more than 20,000 yuan. If he earned a few more percentage points during the market, it wouldn’t be in vain for him to go back and forth with such difficulties.

Jiang Xiao didn’t rest much today. He didn’t eat until after two o’clock in the afternoon, and he had brought his own packed lunch. When he went out today, he didn’t expect Lin Heyuan and Lin Chengyu would come, so he only brought a portion for one person.

Lin Chengyu was quite self-aware; he brought everything with him today, his packed lunch looked very full and rich, mainly intended for Jiang Xiao.

It’s just that Jiang Xiao definitely didn’t want to eat his food and Lin Heyuan wouldn’t initiate to ask for them, so Lin Heyuan just bought some food from the nearby stall to fill his stomach.

Jiang Xiao was also quite embarrassed for Lin Heyuan. As he had packed a full lunch, seeing the plain noodle with soup Lin Heyuan bought back was so watery, he opened his lunch box and gave him some meatballs and stir-fried vegetables.

“I cooked them myself,” Jiang Xiao smiled at him, “You really helped me a lot today, so I’ll thank you properly as soon as the stall closed.”

It was also the first time for Lin Heyuan to do this kind of thing, but he could tell that Jiang Xiao was the most tired one. Jiang Xiao was quick in his hands and feet, but he just did things like collecting and changing money, so he actually wasn’t that tired.

After seeing Jiang Xiao’s life, he felt sorry for this person even more.

Setting up a stall in the market was cumbersome and mind consuming. It was said that you could sit inside with a stool, but the stall wasn’t big. With the harsh wind and cold during winter, the market was bult with sheds connected to each other. In addition to the minimal roof covering and wind coming from all sides, there were also customers everywhere. There were really some people who would forced their way forward just to get 1 or 2 yuan off. After arguing for a long time, some people even tried to mess around. Fortunately, he and Lin Chengyu were here and could stop these people, although Lin Heyuan couldn’t help but being angry. However, Jiang Xiao could still smile at these people, which really was a test of human strength and character.

“What are you giving me?” He even still had time to comfort Lin Heyuan, just like when he made a balloon and gave it to children. “There’s really no need.”

The plain noodles that Lin Heyuan bought casually tasted mediocre, but the meatballs that Jiang Xiao gave him were delicious. Looking at this person, he felt an indescribable warmth in his heart.

Jiang Xiao kept talking with his back to Lin Chengyu, with Lin Heyuan. As if the other person here was invisible.

“Xiao Xiao,” Lin Chengyu was jealous and sour, but he didn’t dare to get angry in front of Jiang Xiao, “You won’t get enough if you share with others, so how about this? I remember you like this.”

Jiang Xiao was so busy that he didn’t dare to hope that Jiang Xiao was grateful to him, he just wanted Jiang Xiao to look at himself more, it would be good to even spare him one glance.

Jiang Xiao sighed and finally turned his head to look at him. To be honest, he really had a headache because of Lin Chengyu.

Jiang Xiao couldn’t control where he went because those feet were his own, and he didn’t know why this person, in his previous life, obviously didn’t like him. However, after his rebirth, he kept sticking to him, stalking him, and couldn’t be driven away.

Lin Chengyu was such a cheap person, he didn’t want it when he was in his hands, and now that he regretted it, Jiang Xiao didn’t know what he thought.

“I didn’t ask you to come,” Jiang Xiao said, “I don’t like you coming, how many times do I need to tell you?”

He would smile at the customers in front of their stalls, at Lin Heyuan, but when he turned around to look at Li Chengyu, he put on a straight face and stopped smiling.

“I know.” Lin Chengyu still felt uncomfortable after hearing too many rejection words from Jiang Xiao’s mouth, but he could pretend that he couldn’t hear, “I’m afraid you will be too busy, so eat more.”

Jiang Xiao really didn’t know how to react, “…”

He knew that Lin Chengyu didn’t listen again.

After Lin Heyuan watched these two times, he more or less understood Jiang Xiao’s attitude towards Lin Chengyu.

“Jiang Xiao, don’t be angry,” he drew Jiang Xiao’s attention again at this moment, “Drink some of this.”

The hot cocoa he brought to Jiang Xiao in the morning, the quality of the thermos was still very good, it was still slightly warm.

It was not the first time Lin Heyuan brought this to Jiang Xiao, so he got used to it. He said thank you, opened the cup and took a sip, the sweet taste made him less tired.

Lin Chengyu actually brought it too. He knew that last time Jiang Xiao took a sip and threw it away in order to let him go quickly, but he still carried it persistently.

Now Lin Chengyu could smell the cocoa on Jiang Xiao’s lips. He was willing to accept what Lin Heyuan gave him, to explain that it was just a drink, but for a moment, Lin Chengyu’s heart was really hit hard.

Jiang Xiao refused all the things he brought over. When he was feeling uncomfortable, he thought about the sweet and unparalleled memories of the two of them before, that no one else could compare, he calmed down a little. He knew that Jiang Xiao likes hot cocoa in winter, and he had savored this taste on his lips several times. Although it had passed, it was the intimacy between the two people alone. He treasured it in his heart, it was a special treasure.

Jiang Xiao and Lin Heyuan hadn’t reached this point yet, but when Lin Chengyu saw this scene, he felt that Jiang Xiao, who belonged to him, had been poached off of him and handed over to others.

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1 糖画 or táng huà also means sugar painting. It looks like this:

Very artistic. In my country, the equivalent of this is only mold by hand or being blown. Looking more crude, like this:

Not very hygienic, especially post-covid haha. I see that Japan has them too, called Amezaiku (飴細工), which was on another level (3D!). A well-crafted and near extinct art.

2 little sister: I think it doesn’t mean biological sister, it could be a neighbor kid or juniors she knew.

3 糖葫芦 or táng hú lu, a candied hawthorn fruit on a stick. A popular mukbang ASMR food nowadays lol.

T/N: Last week was super rough. My family dragged me out of town, was super tired, then was dragged to watch Mission Impossible with my family as my mom has had crush on Tom Cruise since she was in middle school  She definitely said that Top Gun was released around that time and she was immediately hooked. Can you believe he is over 60? Her current younger celebrity crush is Henry Cavill, she binged-watch The Witcher currently.

Anyway, then I got sick quite badly. My dad had to massage me, so now I’m good as new. My dad’s massage is really painful but very effective.

As currently I’m studying logistics as well for my postgraduate, things Jiang Xiao said about his business really made sense. Now I got curious of the production line in China (as he said in the early 2000 the production line was mostly centered in coastal cities) I think I will try to look for the data XD

If you enjoy my translation, you can kindly treat me some coffee sometimes! I definitely need the extra caffeine to last hehe~