Feng Haidong's first night setting up a stall was a small test of his abilities.

The crayfish and beer were sold together, and the first night they made a total of 22 yuan. Of course, there was also a case of beer with the food stall owners. If that case had been sold as well, it should have made more than 30 yuan.

Lu Wanling was surprised to hear about such an income: "Wow, so much money!"

Seeing his wife's surprised expression, Feng Haidong lay on the bed, hugged her, and said softly with a smile, "Is this too much?"

Lu Wanling immediately asked, "Isn't that a lot? Even if it's 30 yuan a day, you'll have nearly 1,000 yuan a month, which is equivalent to the combined monthly salary of the two of us."

Feng Haidong said with a smile, "You haven't even factored in our costs yet."

Then, Feng Haidong added, "Moreover, tonight is just a trial run. Many people are just trying it out of curiosity. We'll have to work on it for a while longer to see if the business can be sustained."

Lu Wanling, being an accountant, immediately did a mental calculation.

"Well, if we take the costs out, your net income tonight should be around ten yuan, but that's still a lot, more than your basic monthly salary at the factory."

Feng Haidong smiled and said, "Of course it's higher than the factory wages, otherwise wouldn't all the work be for nothing?"

Then Feng Haidong started calculating another expense for his wife.

"Once my uncle helps me collect enough shrimp from the countryside, I can sell more when I set up my stall tonight. I can also get a few more cases of beer from your company's liquor market. Business will definitely be even better then, and my income for one night will be more than just thirty yuan."

Hearing her husband say this, Lu Wanling reminded him, "You said before that it's not certain whether there will be good business every night, so you should also consider that."

Feng Haidong nodded: "I know. Once Uncle has collected the shrimp, we'll gradually increase the quantity each night, and on weekends we can get more to sell."

Lu Wanling asked, "So, if you're not going to sell the shrimp, are you still planning to keep them at home?"

Feng Haidong said, "Yes, let's keep him alive for now."

Lu Wanling asked with some concern, "Will those shrimp survive?"

Feng Haidong said, "No problem. I'll ask my uncle to collect 30 or 40 jin. We can collect about 10 jin a day, and we'll only keep them alive for one or two days. I'll do this for half a month and see how it goes. I'll summarize some experience and decide how often I'll ask my uncle to help collect the shrimp in the future."

Hearing her husband say this, Lu Wanling nodded in agreement: "That's a good idea. Let's start small and gradually expand the business."

Feng Haidong hugged his wife, held her hand, and said, "Don't worry, I won't be reckless."

Lu Wanling got up again to check on her son, and only after confirming that he was sleeping soundly did she return to lie down next to her husband, and the couple fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning, Feng Haidong sent his son to school and then rode his bicycle to the factory as usual.

Feng Haidong still needs to come for roll call in the morning, because not being called is considered absenteeism and will result in a deduction of wages.

There's no work at the factory right now, and the basic wage is already low. If they deduct money from it, there won't be much money left.

Upon arriving at the factory, Feng Haidong first checked in at the workshop, and then went to find Tang Anguo.

"Brother Tang, your cart is really well made."

Tang Anguo was teaching his apprentice when he heard Feng Haidong coming over. He told his apprentice to practice on his own and led Feng Haidong out of the workshop.

Upon arriving outside the workshop, Tang Anguo quickly asked, "How was it? Haidong, did you go to set up your stall yesterday? How was business?"

Feng Haidong laughed and said, "It was alright. Yesterday was just a trial run. I only managed to get a dozen or so pounds of shrimp and three cases of beer. In the end, the shrimp were all sold out, but there was one case of beer left. I asked the owner of the night market food stall to help me sell it."

Upon hearing this, Tang Anguo exclaimed, "Wow, Haidong, your business is truly auspicious!"

Feng Haidong smiled and said, "It was luck. The main thing was that no one else was selling this, so last night was just something for everyone to try."

Tang Anguo said, "That's great, Haidong, you have to do a good job."

Feng Haidong said earnestly, "Yes, I will definitely do my best."

Just as Feng Haidong and Tang Anguo were chatting, one of Tang Anguo's apprentices suddenly ran up to them.

"Master, Master Feng, the gatekeeper is looking for you. They say they have your phone number."

Feng Haidong found it strange. He was actually planning to chat with Tang Anguo for a while before leaving the factory to go home first, because he was worried that no one would be home to pick up the shrimp that Feng Baoan had brought over.

But after looking at his watch, Feng Haidong wondered if it was too early.

Furthermore, Feng Baoan probably doesn't have a phone number for his factory.

Feng Haidong told Tang Anguo what was going on, and while rushing to the gate, he wondered to himself: Could it be that his wife had come home early and run into his uncle who brought over some crayfish? Is that why she called the factory?

With this thought in mind, Feng Haidong was somewhat surprised when he answered the phone at the factory gate.

The caller wasn't Feng Baoan, who was delivering the crayfish.

The call to Feng Haidong's factory was from a newspaper.

On the other end of the phone, Wang Quan heard Feng Haidong's voice ask, "Feng Haidong, what have you been busy with these past few days? Haven't you come over to visit us? Don't you want the payment for that article?"

Upon hearing Wang Quan's comment, Feng Haidong laughed and said on the other end of the phone, "I've been busy with some things these past few days and forgot about the royalties."

Wang Quan joked on the other end of the phone, "Haidong, have you struck it rich? We don't even care about this little bit of royalties."

Upon hearing this, Feng Haidong immediately laughed: "How could that be? It's still the cost of a meal of meat, no matter what. You're not going out this morning, are you? Or I can come and get it later?"

Wang Quan said on the phone, "Okay, then come over in a bit. I have some good news to tell you."

Feng Haidong couldn't help but ask curiously, "Good news? What good news?"

Wang Quan didn't say anything, but just smiled and said, "Come over here, you'll know once you get here."

Feng Haidong could only agree: "Okay, I'll go right now."

After hanging up the phone, Feng Haidong thanked the gatekeeper, then went to the bike shed, grabbed his bicycle, and rode off from the factory to the newspaper office.

Not long after Feng Haidong left the factory, Deputy Factory Director Lin Youzhi appeared at the gate.

"Feng Haidong left early again?"

The gatekeeper could only tell Lin Youzhi the truth.

Lin Youzhi simply nodded, then turned and left expressionlessly, seemingly not taking Feng Haidong's early departure to heart.

Feng Haidong rode his bicycle all the way to the newspaper office.

To his surprise, as soon as he pushed his bicycle into the newspaper office, Wang Quan immediately came out to greet him.

"Haidong, you've finally arrived! Come upstairs with me quickly, the editor-in-chief is waiting for you."

Feng Haidong looked puzzled: "What's going on? Today, Editor Wang personally greeted me, and the editor-in-chief was even waiting for me? Such a high-level reception?"

As Wang Quan pulled Feng Haidong inside, he said with a smile, "Haidong, I have good news for you. Your article has been published in Reader's Digest."