Restart life

Chapter 136-0133 [Aired on CCTV's "Dialogue"] (Bonus chapter for the Alliance Leader Tarot Club's cleaner)
The day before CCTV's "Dialogue" program aired, Bian Guanyue came to Hangzhou to visit her cousin.

My cousin's name is Qiao Na. She is tall and has very short hair, like a tomboy.

"Here, this is the apartment I rented." Qiao Na led Bian Guanyue from the station to an old residential area.

The apartment has one bedroom, one living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Clothes are piled up everywhere in the living room and bedroom.

Bian Guanyue looked her over carefully: "Didn't you used to sell digital products?"

Qiao Na shook her head repeatedly: "I can't compete. If I sell counterfeit goods, the Taobao stores in Shenzhen get their goods from Huaqiangbei at 10% to 30% lower prices than I get in Hangzhou. If I sell genuine products, all the vendors on Wensan Road in Hangzhou have opened Taobao stores. How can I possibly beat them?"

"Are the clothes selling well?" Bian Guanyue asked.

Jona said, "It's going well so far. Influenced by Korean dramas, Korean-style clothing is selling like hotcakes right now. High-quality replicas of Adidas and Nike shoes are also selling very well."

To put it bluntly, it's just a place that sells counterfeit goods.

Bian Guanyue asked, "How do you go to school if you're busy with your Taobao shop all the time?"

“I’ll skip half of my studies and study the other half, so I don’t have to keep an eye on the Taobao shop all the time,” Jona sighed. “Sigh, I’m probably going to fail two-thirds of my courses this semester.”

Bian Guanyue said, "He's about the same as you."

Jona suddenly perked up: "You really... umm... did that with him?"

"What did you say?" Bian Guanyue pretended not to understand.

“Fine, don’t tell me then,” Jona sprawled on the sofa. “Find a place to sit, I’m not going to serve you.”

The sofa was piled with clothes and shoes, leaving no place to sit.

Bian Guanyue moved a bag of clothes aside and carefully sat down in the pile of clothes: "With so much stockpiled, your business must be doing very well."

Jona said proudly, "Of course. Don't look down on me just because I sell counterfeit goods. I still care about the quality. The profit margin is lower, but I have more and more repeat customers. My sales have increased again this month, and I estimate that my net profit will exceed 4000 yuan! That's net profit, not sales revenue or gross profit. You have to deduct rent and internet fees."

"That's impressive," Bian Guanyue complimented.

She thought her cousin could earn over 10,000 yuan a month, which is why she neglected to attend the classes. She never expected her monthly profit to be only 4000 yuan. And that was only recently; she used to earn even less each month.

Jona declared ambitiously, "Once I earn over 10,000 yuan a month, I'll hire another employee and expand the business. I'm going to be the Taobao Queen!"

Bian Guanyue brought up the matter of helping to resell the game "Three Kingdoms Kill" again.

"I don't need to stock or ship the goods; I can get a 15% commission just by helping them sell?" Jona thought she had misheard.

Bian Guanyue said, "That's what he said."

"Of course I'd agree! It's free money, why not take it?" Jona was overjoyed.

The physical cards for "Three Kingdoms Kill" have become even more exquisitely printed after the release of the "Wind Pack," and each set now sells for 40 yuan. Due to mass production, although there are 10 more cards, the printing cost has actually decreased.

After deducting the printing cost of 12 yuan, the Taobao store commission of 6 yuan, the express delivery fee of 7-10 yuan, and then deducting the warehouse and labor costs, Chen Guiliang can only earn a few yuan by selling a set of Three Kingdoms Kill.

In fact, Chen Guiliang was willing to sell like this as long as he didn't lose money.

The two sisters had a meal that evening, and the next day they went to visit scenic spots such as West Lake. Bian Guanyue had a very enjoyable time.

Her cousin is her aunt's daughter. They have been close since childhood, even closer than blood sisters.

After returning from their outing in the afternoon, Qiao Na checked the online store orders, while Bian Guanyue helped her cousin pack and ship them.

After dinner, Bian Guanyue asked, "Can you watch TV?"

“I don’t know,” Jona said. “I’ve been renting this place for six months and I’ve never turned on the TV. Why would you watch TV?”

"Hehe, he's on a TV show, and it's airing tonight." Bian Guanyue smiled sweetly.

Qiao Na said disdainfully, "Men are all unreliable. What's your dad's situation? What's mine? Don't forget. Chen Guiliang has started another company. Once he becomes a big boss, he'll definitely be like my dad. The first one in the family, and who knows how many outside."

“He won’t,” Bian Guanyue said.

“Sigh, you weren’t like this before,” Jona said. “Let me tell you, women have to rely on themselves, have their own careers and lives. You can’t rely on anyone but yourself. I figured that out a long time ago!”

Bian Guanyue smiled but didn't reply.

Jona ran to turn on the TV, but something wasn't plugged in properly, and there was no signal. While examining the TV, she said, "When I first switched to selling clothes and shoes, I worked myself to the bone and only earned three or four hundred a month. Did I need that little bit of money for living expenses? It was all for building my business!"

"Yes, cousin, you're really amazing," Bian Guanyue said.

Jona continued to elaborate on her views: "Once we have money, we won't have to be at the mercy of men. Love is nothing, it's all fake, only money is real. By the time you graduate, I'll probably already be running my own company. You can come and help me then, and I'll give you shares. We sisters can work together to make the business bigger."

"We'll see when the time comes. I don't know what I should do in the future," Bian Guanyue said.

"This crappy TV!"

Jona slammed her hand on the top right corner of the television screen at a 45-degree angle to the ground.

After tapping the screen several times, the TV finally showed a signal.

Jona patted the dust off her hands: "The old method still works."

It's still early; "Dialogue" will air at 9:30.

Qiao Na would occasionally sit in front of the computer to run her online store, and when she had free time, she would go to the living room to watch TV with Bian Guanyue.

"Cousin, come quick! The show's starting!" Bian Guanyue shouted.

Jona rolled her eyes and walked over: "It's just a TV show, no need to get so worked up."

Bian Guanyue said, "This is his first time on TV... no, I think he's been on the news in Longdu City before."

Jona sat cross-legged on the sofa, opened a bag of sunflower seeds and slowly cracked them open.

The opening sequence featured a series of related visuals, followed by a detailed introduction of Chen Guiliang using text and voice-over. A large portion of the host, Ms. Shen's, opening remarks were cut in post-production.

One-third of the opening dialogue between the three guests was also cut.

It has nothing to do with the content; it's purely about controlling the duration.

Chen Guiliang's remarks continued—

I do not recommend that first-year university students start their own businesses.

"But you still started your own business." "I'm different."

Why are they different?

Because I believe I can succeed.

Jona laughed and said, "Your boyfriend is very outspoken."

“He has always been very confident,” Bian Guanyue said with a smile.

Jona slapped her thigh: "This kid is just like me. I skipped classes to open a Taobao shop, and my counselor even tried to persuade me to stop. But I just believed I could succeed, and no amount of persuasion could change that. What's the point of starting a business if you don't have confidence?"

After a few minutes.

Chen Guiliang criticized the three major portal websites, dismissing them all and saying they were outdated.

"I should be able to secure my first investment within six months at most."

What if no institutions invest?

That only shows that venture capitalists lack foresight; they see gold on the street but don't know how to pick it up.

……

Let's make a bet: within a year, Xiaonei.com will be valued at $1000 million.

I don't gamble.

【why? 】

Let me explain. He doesn't want to gamble because he might lose.

……

Jona stared in disbelief: "This kid is even more arrogant than me!"

Bian Guanyue corrected, "He's not arrogant, he's confident. And he always keeps his word."

On television, the topic had shifted to holistic education.

Sitting next to the host, Chen Guiliang spoke eloquently: "Why are there media outlets talking about quality education again this month? Because the Ministry of Education just announced six key tasks for education reform and development in 2005, one of which is to comprehensively promote quality education."

Professor Shang was somewhat surprised: "You run a company and write books, why would you care about this?"

“The sudden surge in discussions about quality education on major portal websites must have a specific reason behind it,” Chen Guiliang said. “The Ministry of Education’s document can be found online, and you can read it in just a few minutes after clicking on it.”

Chen Guiliang even took on the role of a host, asking the audience, "Who knows the main content of the document issued by the Ministry of Education?"

No one answered.

Who cares about this!

Chen Guiliang said, "Look, everyone cares about education, but not about the Ministry of Education's documents. And what about the media? For the sake of sales, the media won't mention anything else; they just focus on discussing 'quality education.'"

Host Ms. Shen asked, "What did the Ministry of Education's document say?"

Chen Guiliang said, "The focus is on strengthening compulsory education in rural areas, especially in the western regions. We're starting with this; everything else will be discussed later. Furthermore, we've reiterated support for impoverished students in other areas. From sixth grade until I graduated from junior high, my school was constantly charging extra fees. At first, they charged over a hundred yuan extra, then over two hundred. Do you know how the investigators characterized these illegally collected fees?"

"How was it characterized?" Professor Yang asked with great curiosity.

Chen Guiliang said, "A fee for survival!"

Everyone was confused because they couldn't understand it at all.

Chen Guiliang explained, "Because if rural schools don't charge fees arbitrarily, they won't even be able to pay teachers' salaries, and the schools will come to a standstill. Two-thirds of the funding for compulsory education in rural areas comes from county-level finances. After the tax reform, the county has no money!"

"City dwellers talk big about quality education, while rural teachers can't even afford to pay their salaries. Last year, a sample survey of dropout rates was conducted in nearly 20 rural junior high schools in 6 provinces. The highest dropout rate was close to three-quarters, and the average dropout rate exceeded 40%! The national requirement is to keep the dropout rate below 3%."

Chen Guiliang pointed at the high school student who had spoken earlier: "You think high school coursework is too heavy, but have you ever thought that more than 40% of rural students can't even get a junior high school diploma!"

The high school student hesitated, looking embarrassed, and then fell silent.

Ms. Shen quickly took control of the situation: "It seems our guest is very interested in education. Does anyone else in the audience want to speak?"

A middle-aged man wearing glasses took the microphone and said, "I really didn't expect the situation of education in rural areas to be so severe. After the program ends, I will donate to Project Hope. Although my salary is not much, it is good to do my part."

"Thank you for your support of rural students," Chen Guiliang said.

Another young man asked, "Chen Guiliang, you come from a rural background. If your company becomes successful, will you donate money to rural education?"

Chen Guiliang said, "I think it's inappropriate to ask this question publicly, as it can easily lead to moral blackmail. Whether or not to donate is entirely a matter of personal choice. However, I can answer your question: if my company makes money, it will definitely donate. But I won't make a big show of it, nor will I use donations to promote myself."

Another young person stood up: "I'm a junior in college and I'm also planning to start my own business. What conditions do you think young people need to start a business?"

Chen Guiliang said, "You need to have the ability to observe and execute. To put it more bluntly, you need to find the right business project and then resolutely execute it. A business project is not something you can come up with on a whim, and it's not something you can actually make money from just because you think it can. To be honest, it's very difficult to operate."

The young man asked, "Which entrepreneur do you admire most? Bill Gates? Li Ka-shing? Liu Qiangdong of Lenovo? Or Li Keqiang of Baidu?"

"Hehe." Chen Guiliang smiled but did not answer.

His attitude was clear: he didn't admire any of these people.

The young man then asked, "What is your favorite line of poetry?"

Chen Guiliang said, "I am confident that I can live for two hundred years, and I will ride the waves for three thousand miles."

Professor Yang said, "This is a poem by a teacher, full of spirit."

Chen Guiliang said to the young man, "Let us encourage each other."

"Thank you." The young man sat down happily.

The program was gradually coming to an end.

Jona exclaimed, "No wonder you're so infatuated with him, this guy is really good at bragging and showing off. Even the CCTV hosts can't keep up with him, he completely controls the scene."

Bian Guanyue hummed a song, lying contentedly on the sofa.

-

(Thanks to Hoshina Suzu's fan club for the generous donation.)
(End of this chapter)