Chapter 22: A Chance Encounter
Before returning to Bilin Village, Ye Xing made a special trip to the Luoxian County Supermarket and filled two huge bags with items before preparing to take the bus home. He would likely be spending a while on the Martial Arts Continent this time, so he naturally had to stock up. Besides, the Luoxian County Supermarket definitely had a much wider selection than the general store in Bilin Village.
"BEEP... BEEP BEEP BEEP!" The sound of car horns blared incessantly, creating a terrible racket.
At the Luoxian County Passenger Station, buses were parked in rows. A dense crowd of people bustled about, making the whole place feel incredibly congested.
Carrying his two large bags, Ye Xing looked into the distance. Among a row of green buses, he spotted one with a sign in red letters on its windshield: ’Luoxian County—Bilin Village—Meihua Village’. He immediately squeezed through the throng of people and made his way toward it.
The exterior of the green bus was caked in a thick layer of yellow dust, and the whole vehicle reeked of gasoline. There were a lot of passengers today; when Ye Xing got on, he found that the seats were almost all taken. Inside, people were spitting, coughing, and smoking. The smells of smoke, stinky feet, and gasoline merged into a truly disgusting odor.
’Why is it them? Luoxian County is a small world, indeed!’ Ye Xing’s gaze drifted to the last row of the bus. There was one empty seat, but seeing who was there, he couldn’t help but hesitate.
In the last row sat two people. One was a fashionably dressed young woman carrying an LV handbag; the other was a woman in her forties wearing heavy, garish makeup and painted nails. It was none other than He Qianqian and her mother.
It would be really inconvenient to stand for the whole ride while holding two large bags. ’It might be a bit awkward, but it should be fine,’ Ye Xing thought. With that, he carried his two bags over and sat down in the empty seat in the last row.
"Well, if it isn’t Ye Xing," said He Qianqian’s mother, Xi Lanfang. "How’s your aunt been? I hear business at her Auntie Pang’s Snack Shop is booming these days."
"Yeah, she’s doing fine," Ye Xing said with a slight smile, just to be polite. They were from the same area, after all; it was only right to say hello.
Ye Xing was from Bilin Village, while He Qianqian and her mother were from Meihua Village. The two were neighboring villages, both part of Bilin Township. He Qianqian’s mother, Xi Lanfang, and Ye Xing’s aunt were also acquaintances, more or less.
"What’d you buy all this stuff for?" Xi Lanfang asked. "Are you still working for that company in Luoxian County?"
"Not anymore, I quit," Ye Xing answered. "I’m running my own small business now."
"What kind of business? How much do you make a month?" Xi Lanfang’s eyes lit up as she pressed him for details. Beside her, He Qianqian, who had been playing on her phone, also pricked up her ears and glanced in Ye Xing’s direction.
"Oh, it doesn’t make much. It’s just a small thing, running a street stall," Ye Xing said with a vague laugh, not intending to elaborate.
"Oh, so you’re a street vendor," Xi Lanfang said. She glanced at the two large bags at Ye Xing’s feet, a look of realization in her eyes, now filled with undisguised contempt.
"Pfft!" A sneer formed on He Qianqian’s lips. She went back to playing with her iPhone 6s. "Mom, I’m going to get a new phone. Apple just released their latest model, and I want it!"
"Oh? Then go ahead and get it. How much does it cost?" asked Xi Lanfang.
"Eight thousand yuan!"
"That expensive?" Xi Lanfang exclaimed.
"It’s only a little expensive. Besides, Boss Huang at our hotel is giving us a raise!" He Qianqian said smugly. "Starting next month, my salary will be forty-five hundred."
The average salary in Luoxian County was two to three thousand a month, so anything over four thousand was considered quite good.
"Oh? Why is Boss Huang suddenly giving out raises?" Xi Lanfang asked.
"Because the Jinsheng Hotel is about to hit it big! Yesterday, the hotel launched a new dish called ’Immortal Flavor Old Fish.’ The customers who tried it couldn’t stop praising it, and its reputation is already spreading like wildfire. With this signature dish, we’re drawing customers away from all the other hotels in Luoyuan. Business is guaranteed to be even more explosive from now on. When Boss Huang gets happy, he naturally gives us a raise," He Qianqian explained.
"Is the Immortal Flavor Old Fish really that big of a hit?" Ye Xing suddenly asked.
"Of course it’s a huge hit! Why would I lie to you? We started selling it yesterday afternoon, and by evening, all one hundred portions were sold out. Some rich guy kept ordering plate after plate—he ate eight or nine of them in one sitting!" He Qianqian said haughtily. "The fish is just unbelievably delicious, but not everyone can afford it. A single plate of Immortal Flavor Old Fish costs a thousand yuan. Those office workers making only two or three thousand a month would probably die of regret after paying for it just once." As she spoke, she shot a pointed glance at Ye Xing.
At that moment, Ye Xing was lost in his own thoughts and didn’t even notice her glance.
’Looks like I’m about to strike it rich!’ A smile touched the corners of Ye Xing’s eyes. In fact, "Immortal Flavor Old Fish" was the name he and Huang Jinbao had come up with just yesterday. At a thousand yuan per fish and an 80/20 split, Huang Jinbao would get two hundred, while Ye Xing would earn eight hundred. Selling a hundred fish a day meant an income of eighty thousand yuan. At that rate, it would be hard *not* to get rich.
Huang Jinbao had initially tried to negotiate for a 70/30 split, but Ye Xing hadn’t agreed. Given the unique taste of his grass carp, he wasn’t worried about finding a partner among the many hotels and restaurants in Luoxian County. More importantly, from the Jinsheng Hotel’s perspective, all they had to do was cook the fish to make an easy twenty thousand yuan a day. That, plus the increased sales of their other dishes, meant their profits would skyrocket. Even at an 80/20 split, they were making a killing.
WHOOSH... WHOOSH!
The wind whistled past the windows as the bus rumbled down the road, spewing black exhaust. Trees on both sides flew backward in a blur. Of course, every now and then, an Audi or a BMW would WHOOSH past, effortlessly overtaking the bus and speeding off into the distance.
After leaving Luoxian County and driving for about half an hour, a village appeared up ahead. It was a mix of tile-roofed houses and concrete buildings. Among them stood a few respectable-looking six- or seven-story buildings faced with ceramic tile, one of which was the Bilin Township government office.
"Arriving at Bilin Village! Passengers for Bilin Village, you can get off here! Next stop, Meihua Village!" the bus conductor shouted to everyone inside.
The bus pulled over to the stop and slowly came to a halt.
Ye Xing grabbed his two large bags and got ready to get off.
Just then—
RING RING RING... "You are my little apple, my dear little apple..."
’A call right now?’ Ye Xing frowned. He had no choice but to answer, tucking the phone between his shoulder and ear. With both hands occupied by the heavy bags, he began to make his way off the bus while on the call.
"Mom, look. He’s still using that crappy, domestic-brand phone!" He Qianqian pointed at Ye Xing, who was getting off the bus up ahead, and whispered with a laugh.
"Mm. That Ye Xing is so poor. It’s a good thing you rejected him after that blind date," said Xi Lanfang. "Speaking of which, isn’t that Li Datian fellow pretty rich? Why did you—"
"Mom, don’t even mention that Li Datian to me," He Qianqian complained. "He’s so short and ugly, not to mention uneducated. All he did on our date was stare at me and giggle like an idiot. It would be perfect if you could just combine him and Ye Xing... you know, if Li Datian were halfway decent-looking, or if Ye Xing made over ten thousand a month—"
"The problem is, a guy who’s both rich and handsome might not be interested in you! I say you should just settle. Find a rich one, that’s good enough. Someone with a house and a car. Then you wouldn’t have to ride the bus anymore."
"Ugh, this bus absolutely reeks!"
After all the passengers for Bilin Village had disembarked, the bus started up again, spewing black exhaust as it headed toward the next stop: Meihua Village.