Lu Yang sat in the sun at the shop entrance, enjoying a rare moment of peace and quiet.
Seeing that he wasn't worried at all, Cheng Lin knew that he had a plan in mind, so he stopped talking.
Lu Yang thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow we'll go out to look at houses. We also need to open another shop. This time, we'll open a restaurant where we can sing karaoke."
Cheng Lin smiled and nodded, then leaned closer and said, "I actually found a pretty good house."
"Let's go take a look together tomorrow."
Lu Yang nodded, squinted his eyes, and continued to bask in the sun. It was nice to be able to steal half a day of leisure.
He lived a leisurely life here, while Lu Jianjun worked like an old ox, diligently selling things.
Fortunately, he used to be able to sell things quite easily by taking advantage of the villagers' connections.
But now his reputation in the village is ruined, so he can't sell much at all.
He works very hard farming himself, and he is ostracized by the villagers. He is never allowed to water the land, and the land is almost dying of drought.
Lu Jianjun could only follow his mother's example and sell things in the county. He thought to himself, since Lu Yang and his mother could make money by setting up a stall, he could too.
But he got into trouble not long after he started setting up his stall at the market; he was selling steamed buns.
Sometimes, if he couldn't sell all the buns in a day, he would reheat the rest and sell them the next day.
A five- or six-year-old child ate the steamed buns he sold and ended up in the hospital, suffering from diarrhea for a long time.
That child had a weak spleen and stomach; he almost died.
His family smashed up Lu Jianjun's stall and demanded compensation from him.
Lu Jianjun sat on the ground, looking disheveled. He gritted his teeth and said, "I have no money. You can finish beating me, and I'll be kind enough not to call the police!"
The child's father was so angry that he rushed over and wanted to continue hitting him, but Lu Jianjun just smiled indifferently.
He was completely unmoved and didn't care at all whether other people's children lived or died.
If he weren't afraid of getting beaten up, he would have continued, "Why are other people fine after eating it? It's your child who has a problem."
The two sides argued incessantly, eventually attracting the attention of the police. However, since Lu Jianjun genuinely had no money, the police could only detain him for a few days.
When Grandma Lu learned of this, she was sitting at the door sewing shoe soles.
She used to like to leave the door open and sit at the doorway to watch the excitement.
But ever since Lu Jianjun got into trouble, the villagers have been rolling their eyes at her.
She naturally didn't want to be at the mercy of others, so she mostly stayed indoors.
But ever since the villagers found out that Lu Jianjun was spending his money on Guan Xiuqin, this old mother not only didn't get any money, but also desperately went to Guan Xiuqin to ask for money for her son. In the end, she and Guan Xiuqin both ended up in the hospital.
Guan Xiuqin sued her a while ago. People in the village who had been friends with her for decades felt sorry for her, so no one gave her a hard time anymore.
"That idiot! Forget it, let's just ignore her!"
Grandma Lu wiped away her tears and said wearily.
She's too old to farm, so she can only make insoles at home. Each insole can sell for three cents, which is enough to make a living.
The next morning, Lu Yang and Cheng Lin went to see the house.
When Lu Yang saw the house, he also thought Cheng Lin had good taste, because the house was next to the university in the provincial capital.
"Did you open this shop so it would be easier to see your girlfriend?"
Lu Yang couldn't help but tease him.
Cheng Lin scratched his head and said with a smile, "If the shop really opens and she comes to eat here, can we give her a discount?"
Lu Yang said with a smile, "Once the store is up and running, we'll order some VIP cards. Customers will get discounts based on their spending level, with 10%, 20%, and 30% off corresponding to different spending levels."
Cheng Lin's eyes lit up: "That's a good idea."
"This isn't my idea; many restaurants in the south offer similar discounts."
Lu Yang walked into the house with a smile. The house had two floors.
They discussed it and decided to make the lower floor into four-person rooms and the upper floor into large private rooms for about eight people.
Lu Yang discussed it with the homeowner and finally bought the house for 170,000 yuan, because the house was really too big.
"I'll handle the property transfer and business registration. You can do the renovations. Same old deal, 30/70 split!"
Lu Yang patted Cheng Lin on the shoulder and said with a smile.
Cheng Lin scratched his head and said, "The renovation and the karaoke equipment don't seem to cost too much money."
Lu Yang laughed and said, "It's all an act. These days, most people who can afford to go to university are very well-off."
Cheng Lin nodded, and the two split up, each busy with their own tasks.
The house wasn't even finished being renovated when Lu Yang started school. He took his luggage and traveled to school alone by train.
The car was to be left to Cheng Lin. Before Lu Yang left, he told Cheng Lin that if he was too busy, he should ask Lin Hongshan and Ge San for help.
When Lu Yang arrived at the school, the school gate was already packed with people, most of whom were parents dropping off their children.
Lu Yang carried his things and squeezed into the crowd, looking around and finding everything new and exciting.
He finally had the chance to go to university. After completing a series of enrollment procedures, a senior student led him to the dormitory building.
The senior student had a tense face and was covered in sweat. It must have been hard for him to walk back and forth in this weather and keep busy welcoming new students.
"What should I call you, senior? We seem to be from the same department."
Lu Yang struck up a conversation with a smile, but the senior walked on in silence, casually saying, "Chi Yucong is a year ahead of me."
"You've really worked hard. You're the first person I met at our school, so consider this watch a gift."
Lu Yang smiled and handed a plum blossom-patterned watch to Chi Yucong.
Chi Yucong looked shocked: "You really want it? No regrets?"
Lu Yang laughed again: "Really? My family sells watches too, and this one came from home."
Chi Yucong immediately looked at Lu Yang with new respect. He had previously thought Lu Yang's shabby clothes meant he came from a poor family.
But upon closer inspection, it was discovered that Lu Yang was wearing a watch on his wrist, clearly indicating that he was keeping his identity hidden.
He immediately became much warmer towards Lu Yang: "We are indeed in the same department and live in the same building. I live in the room right above the building. You can come to me if you need anything."
Lu Yang quickly thanked him, and after seeing that the other party had taken the watch, he bought an ice cream and handed one to Chi Yucong. The two ate and chatted as they entered the dormitory building.
Their dormitory is a six-person room, and four people have already arrived.
All four of them were sent by their parents, and their expressions changed slightly when they saw Lu Yang arrive alone.
Lu Yang found his bed, put his things down, and said, "Thank you, senior."
Chi Yucong patted him on the shoulder: "No need to be polite, we're all alumni, I'll be going now."
Lu Yang nodded, packed his things, slung his bag over his shoulder, and asked his roommate with a smile, "Anyone going to the cafeteria for lunch?"
The four roommates exchanged glances, and one of the tall ones said, "Let's go, I was thinking of going to eat too."
"My name is Zhou Yunkai, and I'm from Haishi."
Lu Yang also introduced himself, and the two of them walked out of the dormitory with Zhou Yunkai's father.
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