It was already eight-thirty by the time they came out of the complex.
Xu Ye called a ride. The two of them stood under a streetlamp by the road, waiting. Jiang Wei noticed the satisfaction on his face and decided to needle him. “So, Xu Ye. How are you going to thank me?”
“Thank you?”
“None of this would have happened without me.”
“I already bought you dinner. And anyway, why would I thank you?” He grinned. “We’re partners now. When you do something for the business, you’re doing it for yourself.”
Jiang Wei wanted to hit him and couldn’t find a legitimate reason to.
Xu Ye continued working through his mental ledger. “This is just the first step. There’s a lot more to do. The other partner is Zhang Xinzhou — my roommate. He’s also putting in a hundred thousand. But I’ve already told him he’s getting twenty-four percent, because I need to hold a majority stake in this company.”
Jiang Wei was balancing on the edge of the curb, hands clasped behind her back. “So you’re saying I’m actually getting a better deal than he is?”
“Correct.”
“Then what are we calling the company?”
“Xinye Trading Co., Ltd.”
[TL: 信野 — “Xin” from Zhang Xinzhou’s name (信舟), “Ye” from Xu Ye’s (许野). The name is a combination of both founding partners, a common convention for small partnerships in China]
She turned on him immediately. “That’s not fair. Why isn’t my name in the company name?”
“Adding ‘Wei’ doesn’t sound right. Do you want to be the legal representative instead?”
“Drop dead.”
She slid a sidelong glance at him. “Don’t think I don’t know what that means. The legal rep is the one who takes the fall. If anything goes wrong, they’re the first one on the hook.”
“I can’t believe that didn’t work on you.”
“Then I want to be head of finance.”
Xu Ye blinked. “Aren’t you studying law?”
Jiang Wei said it with some pride. “Accounting and Finance are the flagship programs at our school. When I first started, my uncle told me I should get my accounting certification while I was at university. I’ve been taking the coursework on the side.”
Xu Ye’s thumb went up immediately. “Campus belle with hidden depths. Respect.”
“Xu Ye, I’m warning you — don’t think everyone else is an idiot just because you’re not. You try to play me, you’ll find out very quickly.”
“Shouldn’t we shake on it? We’re partners now.”
“Is that necessary?”
“You have to mark the occasion somehow.”
She thought about it and decided he had a point. She extended a hand under the lamplight. “Fine. Here’s to a smooth start and a good partnership.”
“To a good partnership.”
He reached out and took it.
A fairly long pause followed.
“Are you going to let go?”
“Oh — right. Forgot.”
She pulled her hand back and wrinkled her nose in contempt. “Any excuse to take advantage. You really are the worst.”
“Your hand isn’t as soft as my girlfriend’s~”
“XU YE!!!”
Hearing his name come out of her at that particular frequency, Xu Ye turned and ran.
“You’re dead! Stand right there!”
“A gentleman uses words, not fists!”
“I’m not a gentleman!”
“Ride’s here, ride’s here — the car just pulled up!”
…
Back at the dorm that night, Xu Ye told Zhang Xinzhou everything. Zhang Xinzhou was visibly excited.
“So this is basically a done deal?”
“The first step is cleared, at least.” Xu Ye smiled. “And that second Songjiang campus the school has — Jiang Wei’s uncle can arrange that site for us too.”
Zhang Xinzhou nodded. “That saves us a ton of legwork. Letting her in really did work in our favor.”
“Tomorrow Director Jiang is putting me in touch with the campus electrician — they’ll prepare the outlets at all the planned placement sites. And I’m going to the bank in the afternoon.”
“What for?”
“I want to see if I can qualify for the national student loan program. [TL: 大学生助学贷款 — a government-backed low-interest loan for university students from lower-income families to cover tuition and living costs; Xu Ye has no shortage of money but apparently sees no reason not to apply if eligible] That’s free government money — no reason not to apply.”
Zhang Xinzhou looked confused. “I thought you had money?”
“The market’s been hitting limit-up [TL: 涨停 — when a stock reaches the maximum allowed increase in a single trading session, 10% in China’s A-share market; a sign of aggressive bull-run conditions] every day. I’d rather not pull anything out. Whatever the fruit shop earns I transfer straight to my brokerage account.”
“You’re not worried about losing it?”
“Not a chance. At the pace this market is moving, if I had unlimited capital right now, even Buffett couldn’t beat me.” [TL: a bit of confident hyperbole — but Xu Ye knows from future memory that the 2014-15 A-share bull run is among the most explosive in Chinese market history, which gives him a significant informational edge over everyone else playing the market in real time]
That wasn’t entirely wrong, to be fair.
He didn’t know the market in any comprehensive sense, but he knew with certainty which stocks were going to run. BYD. Moutai. China Shipbuilding. Luzhou Laojiao. Wuliangye. Gree Electric. [TL: every stock named here is a real company that experienced dramatic price appreciation in the years following 2014 — particularly Moutai (茅台), whose share price increased by an order of magnitude many times over; Xu Ye knowing to buy these now is perhaps the most tangible edge his future knowledge gives him in this story] Buy these now and hold — in a few years they’d be up thirty, forty, fifty times over. Moutai alone was in a category by itself.
Before his shower, Xu Ye installed the mesh window screen he’d ordered online — the dorm was on the second floor, right above the landscaping, and summer mosquitoes were already a problem. The screen would help with insects and also give the room a bit of privacy.
He climbed into bed past ten, put in his earphones, and sent Qingqing a video call request.
It took a few seconds to connect.
The lights were still on in her dorm. She was already lying in bed, though — Xu Ye could only see half her face.
“Why so late tonight?”
“I was out taking care of something big. Right now I’m just a fruit shop owner, but by tomorrow I might be running an actual trading company.”
“What are you doing now?”
He gave her a rough summary of the vending machine plan — keeping the part about Jiang Wei to a few passing words. Qingqing listened and seemed entirely unruffled.
Xu Ye raised an eyebrow. “You’re not excited?”
“Why would I be.”
“I’m becoming a boss. That makes you the boss’s wife.”
“I’m tired.”
“I’m going to sleep.”
“Then sleep. Don’t hang up — I want to watch you and listen to you breathe until I fall asleep.”
“Do what you want.”
She set her phone on the pillow beside her, closed her eyes, and settled in — but before she’d drifted off, she heard a soft, even snoring coming from his end of the call.
“You absolute disaster~”
She switched the video to voice only, quietly put her earphones in, and when the dorm lights went out, she lay there listening to the rhythm of his breathing until she too found sleep.
…
The morning air was crisp and clean, with just a bite of cold coming in.
Xu Ye blinked awake slowly, the warmth of his bedding holding him a moment longer. He stretched, climbed down, washed up, and rode the scooter to the cafeteria.
After a call from Director Jiang came in, he went to meet the campus electrician at the logistics office, and the two of them walked the school together mapping out outlet placements for each intended location.
He’d expected it to take all morning. They were done before ten.
Without stopping, he rode the scooter to the nearest subway stop and picked up Qin Zhiwei.
“How’s business at the fruit shop?”
“Really good.”
“How much a month?”
“Three or four.”
“Three or four — ten thousand?”
Xu Ye nodded. “Give or take.”
Qin Zhiwei’s eyes went red. “You absolute animal. Do your parents even know you’re running a business at school?”
“How would they know? I’ve got other plans for the money.”
Zhiwei was about to respond when Xu Ye cut in. “Actually, quick question — does your school have vending machines anywhere?”
“Vending machines?” Zhiwei shook his head. “No. But there’s a whole street of shops — you can find pretty much anything there.”
Xu Ye smiled. “Then I need you to do something for me.”
“What?”
“Find out everything you can about the head of your school’s logistics department. Interests, hobbies, habits — all of it. Just don’t let him know you’re asking around. Once you’ve got a picture, tell me everything.”
“You want me to go undercover? What are you even trying to do?”
Xu Ye braked the scooter and turned to Qin Zhiwei with complete seriousness.
“Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Xu Ye — founder and chairman of Shanghai Xinye Trading Co., Ltd.”
“CHAIRMAN???”
Qin Zhiwei stared. “I didn’t see you for one week and now you’re a CHAIRMAN??!”
(End of Chapter 97)