Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Encounter Again
Zhang Jingdong returned to the university around 6 o'clock.
The sunlight at this time was devoid of its noontide fierceness and scalding heat, becoming soft and breathtakingly beautiful.
Meandering through the campus paths, Zhang Jingdong's field of view sequentially took in the library, Wengong Lake, Feihong Tower, the cafeteria...
And each of them overlapped one by one with their counterparts in his memory.
A wave of inexplicable emotion welled up in Zhang Jingdong's heart.
When he arrived at the entrance of the cafeteria and was about to ascend the steps, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure from a distance.
He hurriedly turned around and quickened his pace to catch up.
Upon drawing near, he intentionally slowed back down to a normal walking speed.
After another dozen steps, almost walking side by side with the other person, Zhang Jingdong feigned a "minor surprise" and said, "Senior sister..."
Lin Shishi was startled for a moment, but when she recognized that it was Zhang Jingdong, she smiled contentedly: "Oh, it's you... How's your competition preparation going?"
Without blushing or skipping a beat, Zhang Jingdong replied, "Not bad, I've been preparing all morning, and now I can pretty much recite the whole thing off-script!"
Lin Shishi nodded in approval, "Keep it up!"
"I will!"
After saying this, afraid of an awkward silence, Zhang Jingdong glanced at the backpack Lin Shishi was carrying, then changed the subject: "Senior sister, are you heading to a self-study session?"
Lin Shishi paused mainly because she wasn't very familiar with Zhang Jingdong.
But first, Zhang Jingdong seemed sincere at this moment, and second, it wouldn't be polite for her to ignore his attempt at conversation.
After all, they were now friends to some extent.
So she replied, "Yes."
Then, seemingly feeling a bit awkward, she felt compelled to return the question: "And you?"
Seeing that she fell into his conversational trap, Zhang Jingdong immediately said, "I usually do a little business by the river in the afternoon, you know, handmade bags? I sell those, and the business is pretty good."
Liu Siwen, who had been listening quietly all this time, couldn't hold back any longer.
Originally, she had thought of Zhang Jingdong as a simple and honest young man, but his proactive approach to start a conversation and his somewhat deliberately boastful comments just now made her realize that he was definitely not as innocent as he appeared.
Immediately teasing him, she said, "Business is pretty good? How much do you earn in a day then?"
Zhang Jingdong had just been worrying about no one playing along, and upon hearing this, he pretended to hesitate slightly before responding, "On average, I make about five or six hundred a day."
"Although this might not be much for those who are genuinely into business, for me, it's enough to cover my tuition and living expenses for a semester!"
At this remark, Liu Siwen was instantly astonished, and even Lin Shishi felt a stir of emotion.
Considering it was the year 2004, average university students only needed four or five hundred for monthly living expenses, yet this guy was claiming he could make five or six hundred in a day!
Liu Siwen hesitated, "Are you bullshitting us here? Earning five or six hundred a day, how is that even possible!"
"I even doubt whether you have five or six hundred in your wallet right now."
Zhang Jingdong smiled, shook his head, and casually pulled out his wallet, drawing out a wad of cash.
At first glance, it was clearly at least five thousand.
Liu Siwen was dumbfounded!
Curiosity also shone through Lin Shishi's eyes.
"Host has successfully piqued the target person's curiosity, reward of 10,000 yuan!"
A wave of covert elation swept through Zhang Jingdong's mind.
He had sensed that he might score with Lin Shishi on his way over, but he hadn't expected it to actually happen!
The harder you work, the luckier you get!
Now, Zhang Jingdong put the money back into his wallet and said, "I don't mean to show off at all, but almost all the handmade bags I sell are made by university students from various schools or aunties who like crafting."
"So maybe I've developed a bit of an occupational habit – whenever I see a girl curious about my business, I can't help but tell her that making handmade bags is a great part-time job – you get flexibility in time, freedom in location, and the income isn't bad."
"After getting the hang of it, a single person can make two handmade bags in one night, and I pay them thirty yuan for each,"
Liu Siwen immediately became interested: "Thirty yuan each, that's sixty a day, and one thousand eight hundred in a month... This part-time job is really not bad!"
"I can do handicraft work too, seems like I could give it a try!"
Zhang Jingdong seized the opportunity: "Then leave me your contact information, I will send you the pictures later, and you can call me anytime when you're done!"
"Sure, no problem!"
Liu Siwen thus gave her phone number to Zhang Jingdong,
And at this point, she also completely changed her opinion of him, since he might potentially become her semi-boss in the future.
Then she began to speak up for him: "I never noticed before, but I didn't expect you to be this amazing!"
Zhang Jingdong smiled and shook his head: "This isn't anything special, the real talent is being able to make something of yourself after graduation!"
Liu Siwen sincerely said: "You're already doing great, I've heard from some seniors that after they graduated and found a job, they only make two to three thousand yuan a month."
"Your monthly income is already over ten thousand, that's several times theirs!"
Zhang Jingdong thought to himself if I tell you that I earned over a hundred thousand today, you'd be so shocked you'd literally jump up.
But on the surface, he just humbly smiled and naturally turned his head to Lin Shishi: "Senior Lin, sorry about that, I got carried away and took up your time just now."
Lin Shishi shook her head: "Not at all, I should be thanking you for providing us with a fresh new idea!"
"And I think what you do is very meaningful and successful, at least from what I know, you're one of the best!"
"Host successfully receives sincere praise from the target person, rewarded 10,000 yuan!"
Zhang Jingdong couldn't help thinking: Lin Shishi, you're pretty much my human ATM!
He smiled brightly: "Thank you for your praise, Senior Lin. I'll make sure to keep it up and live up to your expectations!"
At this time, Zhang Jingdong felt it was about the right moment to leave; continuing the conversation might be overdoing it.
He then said: "Alright, I'll take my leave now, goodbye Senior Lin, Senior Liu!"
Lin Shishi was startled, clearly not expecting Zhang Jingdong to take the initiative to say goodbye.
But then she quickly remembered that last time he also took the initiative, confirming that he wasn't deliberately preparing to come and chat with her, it was just a coincidence.
So she nodded: "Goodbye."
At this moment, Zhang Jingdong boldly yet rightfully gave Lin Shishi a deep look, and then turned and walked away.
...
Feeling great, Zhang Jingdong headed straight for Brother Feng's Barbecue.
He ordered 20 lamb skewers, 20 beef kidneys, 15 beef tendons, 15 leeks, and 3 bottles of chilled Wusu beer.
Once the skewers and beer were all served,
Zhang Jingdong first took the chili bottle and added another layer of chili to all the skewers, then grabbed the large beer mug and filled it to the brim.
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After gobbling down a dozen skewers, he picked up the mug and downed more than half in one go.
Ah, that's just invigoratingly cool, lifting the spirits.
Delightful!
Riding on that thrill, Zhang Jingdong polished off the meal in less than twenty minutes.
Satisfied, he wiped his mouth and flagged down the boss lady: "How much?"
"135... You can just give 130!"
Zhang Jingdong smiled, while pulling out a 100 yuan note and a 50 yuan note and placing them on the table, he said: "I come here often, and the taste is indeed good, keep the change!"
After saying that, he got up and walked away.
The boss lady picked up the money from the table, and after confirming it was real, she instinctively glanced at Zhang Jingdong's retreating figure.
Tsk tsk in admiration: "The kid is quite handsome!"