Chapter 101

Zhenzhen had years of experience roasting wild chickens and rabbits, and she gave instructions from time to time—turning the meat, brushing on some honey. By the time they were almost done with the grilled fish, the chicken and rabbit were ready too.

She tamped down the fire and picked up a wild chicken skewered on a thick branch, then handed portions to a few classmates.

Guo Xiaoqiao held the thick branch with both hands, her eyes slightly dazed. “This whole thing is for me?”

Zhenzhen blew on a wing, tore it off, and took a bite—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, juicy and delicious.

“All yours,” Zhenzhen said with a smile. “Try it while it’s hot. The flavor’s best now.”

Guo Xiaoqiao mimicked her and tried to pull off a wing too, but kept getting burned. She had to settle for gnawing on a drumstick directly. “So good, whew…” she gasped from the heat. “I’m just worried I can’t finish it all.” She glanced at the wild rabbit still on the rack. “I’ve gotta try that too.”

“Take the rest back for dinner. You won’t miss out,” Zhenzhen said with a laugh as she quickly polished off a chicken wing.

Life was still a bit tough these days. Even though Guo Xiaoqiao and Meng Yaoxing were from the capital, they didn’t always get to eat meat on weekends. As for the boarding students, a dish with a few pork slices was already considered a treat. For guys like Liu Chenglin and Kong Xiangwu, who had large appetites, their food stamps and stipends barely covered meals. Dreaming of feasts was just that—a dream.

But today, Zhenzhen had made that dream come true. Liu Chenglin was so happy chewing on roast chicken that he almost cried. He couldn’t even be bothered to tear it apart—just hugged the whole bird and devoured it, getting grease all over his face.

While the girls had only eaten about half a chicken, Kong Xiangwu and Liu Chenglin had already finished one each, the bones picked so clean they shone. Even the dogs would cry at the sight.

After sipping some fish soup, Liu Chenglin grabbed a wild rabbit from the rack. “Xiangwu, half for each of us.”

Zhenzhen pulled a hunting knife from her backpack and tossed it over. “Divide it yourself.”

Liu Chenglin didn’t recognize the gemstone on the handle, but when he unsheathed it and saw the gleaming blade, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Nice knife!”

“I found it on the mountain when I was a kid. It’s only gotten sharper over the years,” Zhenzhen said proudly. Noting how clumsy Liu Chenglin looked, she warned, “Be careful. Don’t drop it.”

“Don’t worry, little sis, I’ll be super careful. If I dropped this on my foot, it’d stab a hole right through.” Liu Chenglin motioned for Kong Xiangwu to hold one side of the rabbit, then with one easy stroke of the blade, split it cleanly in two.

He put the knife back in its sheath and set it aside. Then the two of them started digging into the rabbit. All four rabbits Zhenzhen brought were fat and juicy, roasted to perfection with a special blend of spices—absolutely addictive.

“I’m telling you, little sis,” Liu Chenglin said, gnawing on a rabbit leg with reverence, “if you didn’t go to college, you’d definitely be your town’s most famous hunter. You’d get to eat meat every day. That’d be the life.”

Zhenzhen laughed helplessly. “If that’s your attitude, what’ll you do if you actually get sent to France?”

“What about France?” Liu Chenglin mumbled around a bone, puzzled.

Zhenzhen’s eyes crinkled with laughter. She held her hands apart to show a plate the size of a basketball, then curled her fingers into a tiny circle. “And they’ll give you one snail this big and call it a dish.”

Liu Chenglin nearly choked on his meat. He turned to Xi Junjie, horrified. “Is she for real?”

Xi Junjie chuckled. “French cuisine is known for being refined, not generous. But if you like meat, they do have steaks and lamb legs—though they often eat them rare. The meat is still red inside.”

All the girls looked horrified. Liu Chenglin looked like he was going to cry. “I picked my major with my eyes closed. Think I can still switch?”

“Too late,” Zhenzhen said, dashing his hopes with a grin. “Instead of worrying about that, you might want to think about tomorrow’s exam.”

Liu Chenglin, Kong Xiangwu, and Meng Yaoxing groaned in unison. Liu Chenglin pulled a pitiful face, waving his burly arms. “Ugh, I had almost forgotten! Why’d you bring it up? Now I’m too stressed to eat.” He said that while tearing off a huge chunk of rabbit meat, grease dripping everywhere—not looking at all like someone who’d lost their appetite.

Meng Yaoxing took a deep breath. “It’s not the exam we fear—it’s what weird questions the professor might throw at us. Hopefully he’ll be normal this time and show us average folks some mercy.”

Kong Xiangwu nodded vigorously. Seeing that he’d nearly finished his rabbit, he scooted over to help himself to Meng Yaoxing’s drumstick. “Last time he had us translate classical poetry into French—not just the meaning, but beautifully and fluently, like it could be read aloud. I spent the last half hour just stuck on that. Didn’t even get to review the earlier questions.”

Guo Xiaoqiao burst out laughing. “Your French professor should come teach in our department. Forget poems—we could turn it into prose or a novel, no problem. Three thousand words would just be the intro.”

Xu Jiajia laughed out loud. “You’re too good. Last quiz you ran out of paper before even getting to the point and still ended up failing.”

They laughed and joked as they ate, enjoying their weekend without a care.

The meal lasted a full two hours. The girls, with their smaller appetites, packed the leftover chicken, rabbit, and fish into their plastic bags to enjoy later in the dorm. The boys, thanks to Liu Chenglin and Kong Xiangwu’s bottomless stomachs, left not even a drop of fish soup. They sat on the ground clutching their bellies, too full to move.

The group staggered down to the river to wash their faces and hands. Zhenzhen frowned at the bones scattered on the ground and got the boys to build a fire, burning the leftover bones and fish spines to ash. Once the fire was out, they doused the pit with water and finally headed to the train station.

Back at school, when the girls in the dorm saw the lunch boxes of roast meat, their eyes lit up. They tore into it while listening to Xu Jiajia animatedly recount the hunting trip. The room buzzed with excitement and the smell of meat. From next door, Li Xianmei, a hometown friend of Zhenzhen’s roommate Su Qiutao, came over to join the fun.

When she arrived, the girls quickly divided the remaining chicken. Li Xianmei, who came late, watched them gnawing with greasy mouths and couldn’t help swallowing hard. “Where’d you get all that meat?”

Xu Jiajia, sipping water, glanced at her. “We went hunting in the mountains to the southwest today. Zhenzhen shot the wild chickens with a slingshot.”

“Wow, it’s that easy?” Li Xianmei was intrigued. “Why didn’t you invite us for something so fun? How about next week we all go again? I want to try roast chicken too.”

Li Xianmei wasn’t in their journalism program, but since she lived nearby and was from the same hometown as Su Qiutao, she often came over to chat. Because of that, Zhenzhen knew her fairly well. But maybe too well—everyone in the dorm knew she liked to freeload with a sense of entitlement, which rubbed people the wrong way.

Zhenzhen glanced at her and smiled faintly. “Not going. I’m heading home next weekend.”

Li Xianmei paused, then laughed. “No problem, the weekend after that’s fine. No rush.”

Zhenzhen stood and turned off the desk lamp, tidying her books. “In another two weeks it’ll be too cold. Besides, it’s too far. One trip’s enough. I don’t plan on going again.”

Li Xianmei looked a little unhappy. “But I haven’t gone yet.”

“Then find some friends and go together,” Zhenzhen said coolly. “It’s not like the place belongs to me. You don’t need to report to me.”

Zhenzhen was usually all smiles at school, but when she went cold, she had real presence. Her tone shut down anything else Li Xianmei might’ve said. Zhenzhen packed her books, grabbed her bag, and hurried off to review with Xi Junjie after saying goodbye to her roommates.

“Tch, your classmate Li Mingzhen sure thinks highly of herself,” Li Xianmei muttered once Zhenzhen was gone. She hadn’t dared speak up when Zhenzhen was there, but now she felt embarrassed and grumbled while watching the others. “Is she always like that in the dorm?”

“No,” Guo Xiaoqiao said, looking up at her. “Zhenzhen’s very nice.”

“Well, she didn’t seem that way to me. We asked her to join and she flat-out refused.” Li Xianmei pouted dismissively. “What’s so great about her? Just because she’s a good student? Please—anyone who got into Capital University must be good at studying. What’s the big deal? Does she think she’s the only one who can hunt? It’s not that hard. I know how to use a slingshot too.”

Xu Jiajia was immediately unhappy when she heard that. Her eyebrows shot up, and she exploded on the spot: “Who do you think you are? Just because you call Zhenzhen, she has to go out? Isn’t your face a little too big?” As soon as she finished, the girls in the dorm burst out laughing.

“I think it’s pretty big too.”
“Not just big-faced, thick-skinned too.”

Li Xianmei couldn’t sit still anymore. She glanced at her hometown friend Su Qiutao, who was sitting there with a sullen face, and felt utterly embarrassed. “I came to hang out with my friend from home, not to talk to you all.”

Su Qiutao suddenly stood up, grabbed her and dragged her out. At first, Xu Jiajia thought Su Qiutao was throwing a tantrum at her and was just about to follow and yell, when she heard arguing outside the hallway. Seeing that Su Qiutao could tell right from wrong, Xu Jiajia’s expression eased. She plopped onto Meng Ranxiao’s bed and said, “At least she’s got a conscience—my roasted rabbit didn’t go to waste.”

Wei Yujin looked at her, shaking her head and sighing repeatedly. “Each one has a worse temper than the last. You’re all like firecrackers.”

Xu Jiajia tugged at the corner of her mouth in a half-smile. “Better a firecracker than a doormat. If we don’t stand up for our own dorm sisters, what kind of people are we?”

Wei Yujin was half-annoyed, half-amused. “Look at you, still not satisfied. I just said one thing and you fired right back.” Hearing the argument outside fade away, she shook her head. “Alright, I’ll stop worrying. Su Qiutao won’t lose anyway—her hometown friend is just a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong.”

About ten minutes later, Su Qiutao returned, her face still full of lingering anger.

“Did you win the argument?” Guo Xiaoqiao glanced back at her.

“What’s there to win?” Su Qiutao scratched her head in frustration. “I just can’t stand her freeloading ways. She wants to boss everyone around like she’s somebody. Doesn’t even look in the mirror.”

Seeing her get worked up again, Xu Jiajia laughed. “Alright, alright, your temper’s explosive too. Just don’t let her in next time.” She grabbed two books and called out, “The library stays open late now. I’m heading there to study—who’s coming?”

The others all got up at that. Each grabbed their schoolwork and water bottles. After locking the door, the group headed off to the library together.

Meanwhile, the more Li Xianmei thought about it after returning to her dorm, the more unwilling she felt to let it go. Xu Jiajia and the others had only said Zhenzhen caught a wild chicken but didn’t go into detail. Li Xianmei figured if even a delicate-looking girl like Zhenzhen could do it, she should be able to as well—after all, she’d done years of farm work. So she found a few like-minded girls and called up a few male friends from her hometown, planning a hunting and barbecue trip for Sunday.

The dream was beautiful, but reality was cruel. A dozen of them went out high-spirited, but came back in the afternoon defeated and covered in dust. They didn’t even put their bags down—just rushed to the cafeteria, bought double portions, and stuffed their faces.

When recruiting for the hunt, Li Xianmei had talked it up like wild chickens and rabbits were lying around for the picking. Everyone was confident and didn’t pack any snacks. But when they got there and walked around, they were dumbfounded. Sure, there were wild animals—but not a single one they could actually catch.

Li Xianmei had borrowed a slingshot from somewhere, but not one of the dozen people knew how to use it properly. They spent the whole day fussing and didn’t catch even a feather. At noon, some of the girls had no choice but to forage for mushrooms. But it just so happened that the local kids had just harvested a batch the day before, so all that was left were some stubs or tiny ones. There were better mushrooms deeper in the mountains, but they didn’t dare go that far. After trekking sixty or seventy kilometers and starving all day, they returned dejected, thoroughly unlucky.

After eating, some classmates started complaining to Li Xianmei, accusing her of exaggerating. Unable to win the argument, she thought of going to Zhenzhen’s dorm to pick a fight. But as soon as she entered and started questioning Zhenzhen, Zhenzhen grabbed her by the collar and tossed her right out, which quickly shut her up.

Zhenzhen never took these things to heart. She was too busy at school. Even if she had time, she’d rather cuddle with Xi Junjie than argue with other girls—total waste of time.
—

Time passed smoothly, and in the blink of an eye, it was spring again. Zhenzhen had slept in at home, and when she got up, she sensed Roubao pacing outside her door. He then plopped down on a stool, looking quite anxious.

After getting dressed, Zhenzhen opened the window and lazily called out, “Come in.”

Roubao leapt off the stool like his butt was on fire, burst through the door, and busied himself preparing face-washing water. “Little Aunt, here, wash your face.”

Zhenzhen yawned. “Why aren’t you staying at home this early? What are you doing here?”

Roubao, acting like an old-time eunuch, stood by holding a towel. “I’ve got a favor to ask of you, Little Aunt.”

Zhenzhen washed her face and took the towel from him. She looked at Roubao, who was half-bowing, and asked, “Why so polite? You need to borrow money or something?”

“Yeah!” Roubao’s eyes lit up immediately. “How’d you guess that so accurately?”

“You are borrowing money?” Zhenzhen wiped her face clean, hung the towel on the rack, brushed her teeth, rinsed, tidied up, then took out a bottle of lotion. “Didn’t you get a lot of New Year’s money? Not enough to spend?”

“It’s not pocket money.” Roubao stretched his neck to peek outside, then stealthily closed the window before coming back to her side with a troubled look. “Little Aunt, let’s agree first—no matter what, don’t tell my dad.”

Zhenzhen’s eyes widened, pointing a trembling finger at him. “Don’t tell me you got a girl pregnant?!”

Roubao nearly collapsed from the shock. Once he recovered, he looked at her suspiciously. “Little Aunt, you sure know a lot…”

Zhenzhen realized she’d guessed wrong. She sat down, placed a bottle of milk in hot water to warm, opened a bag of pastries, and started munching. “Pretend I didn’t say that. Go on.”

Roubao coughed twice and nervously rubbed his hands. “I noticed that people in the capital are really into jeans and wool sweaters now. They’re not cheap either. When I bought jeans last month, I found out the supply is from Guangdong. I want to go there and bring back some stock to sell. But I don’t have enough capital, so I wanted to ask if you could lend me some. I just want to try doing a few runs to see if I can make some money.”

Zhenzhen paused mid-bite and narrowed her eyes at him like she was seeing him for the first time. Roubao, unnerved by her gaze, laughed awkwardly and stood up. “Um, maybe forget it. Just don’t tell my dad—I’ll head home.”

“Wait!” Zhenzhen stopped him and poured him a glass of hot water. “You’ve got a good head on your shoulders!”

Roubao let out a long breath, face lighting up. “So… you support me, Little Aunt?”

“Of course I support you. But what about your studies? I guarantee, if your grades drop, your dad will kill you—even if you come back with a mountain of gold.” Zhenzhen finished her pastry, pulled out the warmed milk, and took a sip.

“I promise I won’t fall behind.” Roubao rubbed his hands excitedly. “My dormmates are great—I’ll copy their notes and ask them if I don’t understand.”

“Alright then.” Zhenzhen looked at him seriously. “This is a good time. If you’re smart and hardworking, your days won’t be bad.”

Seeing how thrilled Roubao was, Zhenzhen asked, “How much do you want to borrow?”

Roubao thought for a moment and cautiously held up two fingers. “Two hundred?”

Zhenzhen chuckled and shook her head. Roubao, thinking she was unwilling, braced himself. “Would one hundred be okay? Any less and it’s not worth the trip.”

Zhenzhen got up, opened a box, and pulled out a wad of a thousand yuan. She handed it to him. “In this era, the bold thrive and the timid starve. Two hundred? You really dared to ask that?”

Staring at the thick stack of cash, Roubao gulped, so moved he stuttered, “L-L-Little Aunt, all this for me?” He was both grateful and panicked. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll lose it?”

Zhenzhen took another bite of her pastry. “As long as you don’t smoke or gamble, you won’t lose it.”

Roubao looked at the cash, then at Zhenzhen sipping milk and snacking, eyes full of tears. “I promise not to let you down, Little Aunt. When I make money, I’ll buy you a big gold necklace!”

Zhenzhen nearly spat her milk in his face. “Forget it. Your aunt has refined taste. I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing something like that.”

Roubao chuckled sheepishly and picked up the money. “Then… I’ll take it?”

Zhenzhen waved him off. “Go, I’ll be waiting for good news.”

Tucking the money close, Roubao patted her shoulder. “That’s my aunt—so loving.” He ran off crying tears of joy.

Zhenzhen looked at his back and shook her head with a smile.

Reform and opening-up had just begun. As long as you seized the right policies, getting rich was no longer a dream. Even Zhenzhen had opened clothing stores in the Imperial Capital, Magic City, Ice City, and Yidong. All she had to do was buy a street-facing property, hire someone to watch the store, and regularly travel to the South and Hong Kong Island to buy the latest fashion items and accessories to store in her space. That way, all her shops could be fully stocked on the same day.

As for management, Zhenzhen only recorded how many pieces of clothing she provided, the cost, and the minimum selling price for each item. The rest was left up to the clerks. Some were honest and turned in all the money regardless of how much they sold, while others were clever and only handed over money based on the minimum price. But Zhenzhen had already calculated the profit margins— even the lowest price was several times higher than the cost. Though her shops had only been open for a year at most, she had already earned over ten thousand yuan.

This time, when Roubao wanted to try his hand at business, Zhenzhen didn’t stop him. While other students only wanted to buy trendy clothes to wear, this kid was already thinking about how to make money from it—proof that he had a knack for business.

No one knew how Roubao got the school to approve it, but somehow, he got a one-month break. He immediately took the train south, and when he returned half a month later, he was carrying several burlap sacks, looking like a refugee—completely disheveled. After a bath and a haircut at the public bathhouse, he changed into the latest style of denim jacket and jeans and began his street vending journey.

After returning, Roubao attended classes properly during the day and set up his stall outside the school cafeteria at night to sell clothes. On weekends, he went to the busiest streets to hawk his goods. Since he had brought back the latest styles and was a smooth talker, he sold out within just half a month. After returning Zhenzhen’s 1,000 yuan in capital, he still made a net profit of over 2,600 yuan.

Seeing how overjoyed Roubao was, Zhenzhen couldn’t help but remind him, “Don’t forget you’re still a student. Focus on your studies. Do whatever you want during winter and summer breaks, but during the school term, don’t overdo it.”

Roubao always treated Zhenzhen’s words as gospel, and since the startup capital had come from her, he nodded vigorously. “Don’t worry, Auntie. I promise I won’t let it affect my studies.”

And as it turned out, the kid did have a good eye. In spring, he sold jeans. Come summer, he switched to stockings, dresses, and high heels. His business just kept getting better—he usually sold out within a week of bringing stock back.

Just as Roubao was feeling triumphant and calculating when he’d become a ten-thousand-yuan household, he got cornered at school by Mingdong.

Author’s Note:
Speaking of which, the richest person in my family is my eldest brother. Just like in the story, he was in university during the early ’80s. While studying, he’d travel south to buy clothes and sell them back home. After graduation, he spent a few years accumulating capital, and in the early ’90s, he opened his own company in Zhuhai. Over twenty years have passed, and his company is still going strong, with many branches all over the country. Many of the veteran employees now have their own companies in the same industry, but they all still support one another. I think that’s pretty amazing.

The best part is—this incredible big brother of mine doesn’t read novels, wahahaha. Otherwise, I don’t even want to imagine what he’d beat me with (?ω?) hiahiahia.