Rebirth: My college entrance exam score was stolen? I turned the tables and made a billion.

The Chen family compound, located within the county committee's residential area.

Chen Defu sneaked into his room like a thief, locked the door, and only then dared to breathe a sigh of relief.

He walked to the dressing mirror in the wardrobe and looked at himself. Wu Dalong's handprint was still clearly imprinted on his face.

"hiss--"

Chen Defu gasped.

Damn it, he's really disfigured!

Wrong!

Today's events were so frustrating!

That bastard Wu Dalong.

They act like brothers when they're exchanging cigarettes and alcohol, but when trouble comes, they run away faster than rabbits.

Also, when I make suggestions, doesn't his eyes light up?

Not only did he fail to accomplish his goal, but he also dared to hit him!

Chen Defu gritted his teeth and stared intently at himself in the mirror.

However, the one who deserves to die the most is Liu Guangming!

How can a peasant like him earn so much money in a day? How can he be so popular on the street?

Thinking of this, Chen Defu was so jealous he was practically choking on his own guts.

"You have a business license, right? You know the policies, right?"

Chen Defu thought for a moment, then let out a cold laugh.

Row.

Since the government can't touch you, I'll just bury you in money!

Aren't you just making money by selling watermelon juice because of your monopoly?

This piece of junk isn't for building an atomic bomb. Even an idiot could cut it a few times and squeeze out the water!

At worst, I'll do it myself. Even if I don't care about making money, I have nothing else to do at home anyway!

Chen Defu's mind worked very quickly.

I can't do it all by myself. The watermelons are heavy, and I have to break the ice. I need to find a few strong helpers.

Incidentally, it also helps to spread the cost.

Thinking of this, Chen Defu opened the drawer, grabbed a few packets of Ashima cigarettes he had saved up, put them in his pocket, and then quietly slipped out the door.

The billiards hall in the south of the county town.

Amidst the swirling smoke, several young men dressed in floral shirts and bell-bottoms were playing pool around a pool table.

These were Chen Defu's usual cronies, and their families were all well-off, with their parents mostly holding minor leadership positions in government agencies or factories.

"Hey, Brother Fu, what happened? Your face..."

A young man with a middle parting came over; his name was Dafei, and he was carrying a billiard cue.

"Go away, you accidentally bumped your head on the door frame."

Chen Defu waved his hand impatiently and slammed several packets of Ashima (a type of Chinese liquor) onto the billiard table.

"Stop playing around, come here. I'll show you the way to riches today!"

Dafei picked up a pack of Ashima cigarettes, opened it, took one out, and put it in his mouth.

"Get rich? Brother Fu, don't be ridiculous. We spend all our time playing billiards and watching videos. Where are we going to get rich?"

"Do you know how much that vendor selling chilled watermelon juice outside the movie theater has made these past two days?"

Chen Defu lowered his voice, feigning mystery.

The young people looked at each other in bewilderment.

"At most ten or eight yuan, that's it. That stuff costs 15 cents a cup, how much profit can they make?"

A skinny man nicknamed Monkey curled his lip in disdain.

Chen Defu held up a finger and waved it in front of them.

"one hundred?"

Dafei's eyes widened.

"One hundred? At least four or five hundred!"

Chen Defu slammed his hand on the table.

"Holy crap!" they exclaimed in unison, forgetting even to play billiards.

Four or five hundred!

Even they were tempted!

After all, while the family may be wealthy, the amount of pocket money given to them is a separate matter!

Seeing that they had been properly intrigued, Chen Defu pulled over a long bench, sat down, and began to calculate the bill for them.

"You guys do the math, a pound of watermelon costs just over ten cents, how much juice can you squeeze out?"

"Add some ice, and he dares to sell it for fifteen cents a cup!"

"This profit is practically robbery!"

Dafei swallowed hard: "Brother Fu, is this business really that profitable?"

"Nonsense! I watched them for ages today, and the line to buy water stretched all the way to the curb; their money boxes couldn't even hold it all!"

Chen Defu stared at Dafei.

"And this job is so simple! Cutting melons, juicing, collecting money—isn't that much more interesting than playing billiards here!"

The monkey scratched his head: "But Brother Fu, their business is good because they started first."

"If we go and rob it now, can we even win?"

"Besides, won't street vendors get raided? What if the business administration department comes to check?"

The monkey said this because he had no idea what had happened that day.

However, this was exactly what Chen Defu was waiting for.

He chuckled and patted his chest, guaranteeing it:

"What are you afraid of!"

"Who is my cousin? Wu Dalong from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau's management team!"

"As long as we set up a stall, the local industry and commerce bureau will definitely turn a blind eye. Let's set up our stall right across from him tomorrow and crush him!"

In reality, Wu Dalong had already fallen out with him, but Chen Defu knew that these people only recognized this relationship.

Upon hearing that they had connections at the local industrial and commercial bureau, the group instantly became bolder.

"Brother Fu, so tell me, what should we do?"

Dafei threw down his billiard cue.

Chen Defu forced out a few words through gritted teeth: "Let's wage a price war!"

"If Liu Guangming sells it for 15 cents, we'll sell it for 10 cents tomorrow!"

"In fact, we might even sell at cost price or at a loss!"

"I refuse to believe that people would still buy from him when the same thing is so much cheaper!"

The monkey hesitated, "Selling at a loss? Won't we be losing money?"

"You don't know anything!"

Chen Defu slapped the monkey on the back of the head.

"That's called a strategic loss! Can't we even scrape together a few hundred dollars?"

"What makes Liu Guangming, a penniless wretch who can't even afford to eat, have the nerve to fight us?"

"At most two days, and we can squeeze all his capital dry!"

"Once he's gone, won't we be the ones calling the shots in this market? Then we can raise the price back to 15 cents, or even 20 cents! We'll recoup our costs in just a few days!"

Dafei's eyes lit up when he heard that.

Yeah, right! We're rich! We can throw money at a peasant and still crush him, right?

"Okay! Brother Fu, I'll do it! I have fifty yuan from my mom just given me for shoes, take it out first!"

Dafei was the first to reach into his pocket.

"I'll bet forty!"

"I'll offer thirty!"

In no time, nearly three hundred yuan had piled up on the billiard table.

Chen Defu held the money in his hand, and the swelling and pain on his face seemed to have lessened considerably.

"Let's go! Let's borrow a tricycle now and head to the farmers' market to buy melons as soon as it's light tomorrow!"

"I want to see if that peasant will wet himself with fear when he sees this display of force tomorrow!"

The next day, early in the morning.

As dawn broke, the cicadas in the county town began their incessant chirping.

The square in front of the county cinema, which should have been deserted at this time, was unusually lively today.

Chen Defu rarely gets up early.

Now, he directed Dafei and the others to park the two borrowed carts side by side in the most conspicuous position at the ticket gate.

The truck was piled high with watermelons, weighing at least a thousand or two thousand kilograms.

They even dug out a folding table, a large aluminum basin, and a huge red cloth from their home to cover the table, making it look quite impressive.

Dafei took a calligraphy brush and wrote several large characters crookedly on a piece of cardboard:

Iced watermelon juice! A steal! Just one cent a cup! Sweeter than first love!

After he finished writing, he propped the cardboard up in front of his stall and clapped his hands triumphantly.

"Brother Fu, look at our setup! Isn't it a hundred times better than Liu Guangming's beat-up cart?"

Chen Defu, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, pulled over a folding chair, sat down, and crossed his legs.

"Absolutely."

"Today there are five of us. Two of us will be in charge of cutting melons and juicing them, two of us will be in charge of collecting money, and I will be in charge of overall coordination."

"Whenever someone walks by, whether they buy anything or not, shout it out loud!"

On the other side, the monkey, holding a kitchen knife, gestured somewhat awkwardly:

"Brother Fu, how do you cut this melon? I've never even peeled garlic at home."

"You're so stupid!"

Chen Defu snatched the cleaver and chopped the watermelon in half with a single stroke.

"Just cut it like that! Then wrap it in gauze and use a rolling pin to pound it hard! Once the water comes out, that's it. Do I really need to teach you that?"

Several people hurriedly began to prepare.

Because they had never done any rough work before, in no time, watermelon juice splattered all over their faces, and some people even almost cut their hands with a knife.

But the thought of making a fortune and having fun made them incredibly excited, like they'd been injected with adrenaline.

Time passed second by second.

The sun slowly rose, and the temperature began to rise.

The number of pedestrians on the street gradually increased.

Many people passing by the cinema plaza were drawn to the huge booth and the eye-catching cardboard sign.

"Wow, why is this watermelon juice so cheap today? Only a dime a cup?"

An older woman came over and looked at the large aluminum basin on the red cloth table.

Chen Defu immediately perked up and stood up to greet him.

"Auntie, we're operating at a loss to attract customers, all to help everyone cool off in the heat! Want to try a cup?"

The woman glanced at the red cloth and cardboard covering the table, then at the prices, and immediately pulled out a dime: "Give me a cup!"

"Okay!"

Chen Defu happily accepted the money, then winked at Dafei, "Dafei, hurry up and fill up the water!"

Dafei hurriedly picked up a spoon, scooped a few spoonfuls of freshly squeezed watermelon juice into the paper cup, and then scooped a handful of crushed ice from the bucket next to him and threw it in.

The woman took the paper cup, took a sip, and frowned slightly.

Why does this melon juice taste like raw water?

But considering it was only a penny, I decided to give it a try and didn't mind, so I picked up my shopping basket and left.

Once the first shop opened, passersby quickly gathered around.

"One cent? That's cheap, have a cup."

"Give me a drink too."

In less than half an hour, more than a dozen people had gathered in front of the stall.

Although they were slow and their efficiency in cutting melons and juicing was extremely low, causing many people to become impatient, most people still tolerated it because of the cheap price.

As they watched the small bills gradually accumulate in the metal box, Dafei and his friends were so excited that their faces lit up with excitement.

"Brother Fu, that's amazing! We've already sold dozens of cups!"

Chen Defu smugly blew a smoke ring.

He glanced at his watch; it was almost eight in the morning.

At this time normally, Liu Guangming's stall would have been set up long ago.

"Liu Guangming, Liu Guangming, did you hear some rumors last night and get so scared that you didn't even dare to set up your stall?"

Chen Defu muttered with a cold laugh.

Just then, Dafei suddenly pointed to the other side of the road and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Brother Fu! Look over there!"

Chen Defu looked in the direction Da Fei pointed.

Liu Guangming was seen pushing a cart, walking slowly across the road.

Following behind him was Liangzi, who was pushing another cart.

There weren't many watermelons in the car for two people, probably only two or three hundred pounds.

But strangely, there were two oddly shaped wooden blocks in Liangzi's car.

Seeing this, Chen Defu didn't think much of it and threw the cigarette butt in his hand on the ground and stomped on it hard.

Then, he suddenly stood up, tugged at his collar, and a sinister smile appeared on his face.

"Brothers, the real deal is here!"

Chen Defu pointed in Liu Guangming's direction and shouted loudly, deliberately making sure that everyone around who was buying melon juice could hear him.

"Come and see, everyone! Fresh, chilled watermelon juice! Only one cent a cup! Much cheaper than those shady vendors!"