Courtyard House: A Prosperous and Joyful Life

Huaihua, hands on her hips, pouted, "Brother, you're bragging again! Even your bicycle was bought for you by your family, and you want to ride in a car? What a pipe dream!"

Bang Geng's face darkened instantly. He clenched his fists, almost lunging forward, but managed to hold back. He stiffened his neck and snorted, "Hmph, the first batch of goods will arrive in three days! Then I'll show you what business is, what making money is! If this business goes smoothly, making several thousand a day is like child's play; if it grows big, tens of thousands a day is no big deal!"

He mentally calculated eight hundred times: the cost of an imported color TV was 1,400, and it could be resold for 2,000, making a net profit of 500 to 600 per TV. Ten TVs would be 5,000 to 6,000, and a hundred TVs would be 50,000 to 60,000! This was a hundred times better than Yu Li running a hot pot restaurant. That woman worked from dawn till dusk tending the pots, earning at most 200 to 300 a day; not to mention Wang Jun, who was always running around. How could he be as relaxed as him "dabbling" in this business?

Huaihua tilted her head suspiciously: "Brother, you're not doing something illegal, are you? If Dad finds out, he'll break your legs!"

The mere mention of Sha Zhu sent chills down Bang Geng's spine; he was genuinely afraid of Sha Zhu. But then he thought, he was currently in a "big money business," Sha Zhu would be overjoyed, not beat him up. So he impatiently waved his hand: "What are you babbling about, you little brat! Get lost, I hate seeing you!"

Huaihua rolled her eyes, turned around and ran to Wang Jun, tugging at his sleeve and shaking it: "Brother Jun, can you take me for a ride in that big Mercedes sometime? Just a short trip around the suburbs!"

Wang Jun was wiping the car when he heard this. He looked up and smiled, "Sure, when the cannery is on holiday, I'll take you to see the countryside."

Huaihua's eyes lit up instantly—a million-dollar car! Even the wind would feel luxurious just sitting in it! A few young women nearby, hearing this, felt a surge of envy: they weren't bad-looking themselves, would Wang Jun take them along too?

……

Evening breezes carried the whispers of "Wang Jun buying a car" through the courtyard. In the front yard, Yan Bugui, reclining in his rattan chair, squinted and slapped his thigh: "I told you long ago, Junzi's got guts! Buying a car worth over a million just like that, who in the whole courtyard can compare? That Banggeng kid is nowhere near as good!"

Aunt San nodded vigorously, "That's right!" Her sunflower seed business has been booming these past two days, selling more than 300 jin every day, and her income is soaring. She is more grateful to Wang Jun than to her own son.

Yan Jiecheng, standing nearby, shrank back, not daring to utter a sound. A while ago, his hotpot restaurant was doing well, and he was incredibly arrogant, thinking Wang Jun was "nothing special." But what happened? First, Wang Jun did business with foreigners, earning the country over 13 million US dollars in foreign exchange, making the newspapers; and today, he quietly acquired a large Mercedes-Benz—a car worth over a million dollars, something Yan Jiecheng wouldn't even dare to dream of, yet Wang Jun brought it home like it was a vegetable.

The gap was so huge that his knees went weak. Unconvinced? He had no choice but to admit it!

Yu Li listened to Yan Bugui and the others chatting without interrupting, but her heart felt like it was being scratched by a kitten's claws. When would it be her turn to sit in that big Mercedes and experience the soft leather seats?

In the backyard, Xu Damao and Qin Jingru sat facing each other. He Xiaoyun's relatives had come to visit today, so it wasn't convenient for him to stay. Xu Damao had no choice but to slink back to the courtyard house. And now, he would have to run into Qin Jingru again.

Xu Damao glanced at Qin Jingru and thought she was actually quite attractive, but it was a pity that the two of them were going to get their divorce certificates the day after tomorrow. Qin Jingru didn't have the same alluring charm as Qin Huairu, but she was young and simple-minded. Before, when he was dating Yu Haitang, she hadn't noticed anything amiss. If he hadn't later learned photography and foolishly kept photos as "souvenirs" of his affair with the young widow, even if she had a child, Qin Jingru probably would still be completely unaware.

Thinking about this, Xu Damao was filled with regret: Why did he have to learn photography? Now, with irrefutable evidence, his wife had run away, and his family was broken up.

Qin Jingru glanced at him, her words laced with sarcasm: "Regretting it now? You didn't have the skills, yet you took on a job you weren't qualified for. If you had Wang Jun's abilities, I wouldn't bother hiring ten or eight people."

Xu Damao was speechless. Compared to Wang Jun? Did he even deserve it? He feared no one in this courtyard, except for Wang Jun, whom he truly respected.

As darkness fell, Xu Damao rubbed his hands together and shamelessly leaned closer, saying, "Wife, we're not getting divorced until the day after tomorrow, so tonight... how about we make do and sleep in the same room?"

Qin Jingru shoved him away: "If you had Wang Jun's face and skills, you could do whatever you wanted. Now? Go sleep on the bench!"

Xu Damao had no choice but to spread his bedding roll on the bench, which hurt his bones.

……

Inside the Jia family's house in the middle courtyard, Jia Zhangshi was yelling and cursing: "That damned Wang Jun, where did he get that big Mercedes from! Why is he living such a comfortable life? God is blind..."

She has always been unable to bear seeing others do well, and Qin Huairu's family has long been used to it.

Qin Huairu ignored her mother-in-law and turned to ask Banggeng, "Son, how's your business going? When will you see any money?"

Ever since Wang Jun started assembling radios, everyone in the courtyard has been comparing their skills to his. Now that Wang Jun has even started doing business overseas and driven back a Mercedes-Benz, Qin Huairu is anxious. When will her son be able to make a lot of money and let her hold her head high?

Upon hearing this, Banggeng puffed out his chest: "Mom, don't worry! The first batch of goods will arrive in three days. Just wait to count your money! I've already arranged with them that after this batch, there will be a second, a third... This business is easy and lucrative. Earning a few hundred yuan a day is a piece of cake, and several thousand yuan is not difficult at all! When I'm rich, I'll buy you a car and let the whole courtyard see what a successful son you've raised!"

Qin Huairu beamed with joy at his words: "Alright, alright, Mom is just looking forward to enjoying your blessings!"

Madam Jia Zhang grinned and praised, "My dear grandson, Grandma told you long ago, you're the truly capable one! What is Wang Jun compared to you?"

Bang Geng was so pleased with himself that his mouth stretched almost to his ears.

Sha Zhu listened from the side, feeling that something was amiss, but since the child was someone he had watched grow up, he kept quiet.

Huaihua, standing nearby, suddenly spoke up: "Brother, you always talk about making money, but where is the money? Now everyone in the compound is chasing after roasting sunflower seeds. I heard they sell at least seventy or eighty pounds a day, earning over ten yuan a month, which is more than three hundred. Although several people in our family receive salaries, combined, it's still less than what they earn selling sunflower seeds. If this continues, our family will really become the poorest in the compound!"

Banggeng's face immediately fell: "What does a little girl like you know! Our family is dual-income; how could we be the poorest?"

Huaihua retorted, "Why not? Everyone in the yard is roasting melon seeds now, while we're stuck with a fixed salary. Do the math, they earn three hundred more a month, and how much do we earn? At this rate, aren't we the poorest?"

Everyone was stunned by what Huaihua said. Upon closer examination, what the girl said made a lot of sense. If they built it this way, the Jia family might really end up as the poorest family in the courtyard house industry.

However, this thought only lasted a moment. Everyone's eyes lit up, and they felt reassured again. There was still the stalk of corn! Once the corn business was successful, they would make a fortune, and their family would be the second richest in the neighborhood. Who would dare to look down on them then?

……

On the other side, Wang Jun had finished dinner and was sitting under the lamp opening a letter.

This table full of letters were all sent from all over the country after the job posting for the factory manager was published. There are indeed quite a few promising candidates among them. Now that Wang Jun's business is expanding and he's short-staffed, he plans to sift through these letters to find the best talent.

The tens of thousands of letters piled up like a small mountain; it would take at least a month to read them all. Wang Jun wasn't in a hurry, though. He would glance at them whenever he had a spare moment, and if he found one that looked agreeable, he would write down the address and write back to arrange a meeting.

Currently, both Huanyu Canned Food Factory and Huanyu Garment Factory are being supported by Lü Guangrong alone. This won't do. Wang Jun was thinking that he needed to find a separate person to manage the canned food factory, so that Lü Guangrong could focus on managing the garment factory.

……

Three days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Banggeng had just opened his eyes early in the morning when his heart was so excited it felt like it was about to jump out of his throat.

Today is a big day! His first batch of goods—seven large color TVs—is about to arrive. These seven behemoths will bring in several thousand yuan in pure profit with just one resale! And this is just the beginning; there will be a second batch, a third batch… If he can handle this kind of transaction every day, making several thousand yuan a day—what does that mean? Once his capital grows, earning tens of thousands a day won't be a dream!

In short, it won't be long before Xu Damao is living the life of counting money until his hands cramp!

"From today onwards," Banggeng said, looking in the mirror, a comb in his hand, stroking his slicked-back hair, "my career is officially on the rise! Soon, I'll be the most successful businessman in this courtyard, and the richest! Wang Jun, you can wait and see!"

After saying that, he wet his hair and forcefully combed it into a shiny slicked-back style. This hairstyle came from Hong Kong; it's said that big bosses all like it—it looks impressive and classy.

With his hair done, Bang Geng draped the black trench coat he had prepared over his shoulders and tied a flashy red tie around his neck. Hey, you have to admit, it actually looked pretty good.

After getting dressed, he pulled out a small bottle of cologne and sprayed it on his armpits and chest. He'd learned that from the movies; a big boss, you have to smell good!

Once everything was ready, Banggeng slipped on his big leather shoes, strode out the door with his head held high, and in that instant, he drew the attention of the entire family.

Looking at her eldest grandson's outfit, Jia Zhangshi smiled broadly, her wrinkles crinkling into a wide grin: "Good, good, good! This is what you call presentable! Much more pleasing to the eye than that Wang Jun!"

Qin Huairu chimed in, "Not bad, son! With this makeover, you look every bit the young entrepreneur, so impressive!"

Sha Zhu glanced at him from the side, and although he didn't say anything, his eyes conveyed the meaning of "this kid is not bad".

Only Huaihua curled her lip, looking utterly disdainful. The money's not even in sight, and she's already showing off? Wearing perfume? Who's she trying to impress?

She couldn't help but pour cold water on him: "Brother, it's not like you're going on a blind date, why are you wearing perfume? And your hairstyle, you didn't even use hair gel, when you ride your bike and the wind blows, it'll be a complete mess, you'll look like a beggar."

Huaihua meant well, but Banggeng found it incredibly annoying. He glared at her and snapped, "What do you know, you little brat! Get out of the way, I don't have time for you right now!"

Madam Jia Zhang and Qin Huairu also glared at Huaihua. Banggeng was about to go out on important business, and this brat started talking about "begging" right away—how unlucky!

After being glared at by the three, Huaihua shrank back and dared not utter a sound, slinking away to the side in a dejected manner. During this time, she had come to realize that in this family, as long as you displeased Jia Zhangshi, your life would become increasingly less prestigious.

Ignoring all that, Banggeng confidently declared, "Grandma, Mom and Dad, I'm off to pick up the goods! Just wait and see my good news!"

"Alright, alright, Grandma is waiting for my eldest grandson to come back with his earnings!"

"Mom will kill that big rooster for you tonight, to give you a good boost!"

"Son, your dad's making you braised chicken tonight, all you can eat!"

Banggeng pushed his bicycle out the door, and as soon as he stepped on, he immediately realized something was wrong. His overcoat was incredibly cumbersome, making it feel like he was wrapped in a thick blanket. But he was in such a good mood today that he didn't care about that. He pedaled furiously, the chain rattling so loudly it seemed about to come off its track, and the wheels spinning like whirlwinds.

After riding for more than twenty minutes, the cold wind blew into his collar, his nose stung, and snot streamed down his face. He reached into his pocket—no tissues! He could only raise his arm and wipe his nose roughly, then fling it far to the side of the road, cursing under his breath, "Damn it! If I had a car with the heater on, I wouldn't have to suffer like this!" He secretly vowed: When I make money, the first thing I'll do is buy a car!

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the secluded intersection, the agreed-upon pick-up point. Banggeng propped his bicycle against a utility pole, lit a crumpled cigarette, and tried to imitate the gangsters in movies, squinting and blowing smoke rings. Those gangsters in movies always had that air about them when waiting for someone—their gazes, the way they blew smoke rings, they were incredibly cool. He felt he had that kind of style now, but the wind was too strong, and the smoke rings were blown to pieces as soon as they appeared.

The watch hands pointed to 7:40, twenty minutes before the agreed time of 8:00. He couldn't stand it for long; the wind at the intersection felt like knives stabbing into his bones, his snot started flowing again, and his carefully combed slicked-back hair was now a mess, making him look like a beggar who had just crawled out of a garbage dump.

"This wind is fucking weird!" Banggeng muttered, rubbing his frozen red hands. "It messed up my hairstyle... that brat Huaihua was right." He was annoyed but dared not move. If he hid and the delivery guy didn't see him and just left, that would be a real mess.

Passersby looked at him strangely as he stood stiffly in the wind, as if he had been frozen in place.

"Look at that guy! The wind's like a knife, doesn't he know to dodge? Is he out of his mind?"

"He's definitely mentally ill! But these days, even mentally ill people know to stay out of the wind, right? He's just sticking out like a telephone pole; isn't that making him even crazier?"

"Comrades, we should learn from Lei Feng! Qingshan Mental Hospital isn't far from here, let's take him there!"

Two enthusiastic bystanders rolled up their sleeves and rushed over to Bang Geng, intending to "do a good deed" and take him to the hospital.

"Holy crap!" Bang Geng's heart skipped a beat. Damn it!

I'm here to receive the goods, I'm not crazy!