The Show Has Just Begun

Some concepts are already commonplace, but it's hard to break through the paper ceiling.

Creatures like "touts" were everywhere ten years ago.

Restaurant and bar touts were bad enough, but medical touts were absolutely reviled at this time.

No matter which public hospital you went to, there were touts everywhere, inside and out.

Some medical touts would trick patients into going to private hospitals or clinics, and even a minor ailment could empty your pockets. Others were actually selling health supplements, fooling terminally ill patients into not seeing a doctor, claiming their products could cure all diseases.

Lotteries were also incredibly rampant at one point; those who didn't experience that era simply couldn't imagine the scene.

When private lotteries were at their most rampant, they even spread to remote towns and villages.

Farmers carrying vegetables to the market in the township would encounter a bunch of people running private lotteries. Then they'd arrange for a lottery tout to draw a big prize, immediately creating a buzz, and countless farmers would pull out their hard-earned money to buy tickets.

Due to their extremely negative impact, private lotteries have been strictly prohibited, but they have never been completely eradicated.

Just last year, when Chen Guiliang was in his second year of high school, he went to the city to play during the National Day holiday. On a street just a few hundred meters long, there were actually more than a dozen stalls set up selling private lottery tickets, and they even invited "Andy Lau" and "Jacky Cheung" to attract people.

In reality, they were just celebrity impersonators, but they promoted the fakes as genuine, announcing half a month in advance that Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung would be coming.

People flocked there.

Chen Guiliang had a primary school classmate who went to work at a hot pot restaurant after junior high school graduation. He worked hard and saved money for two years, but he spent it all on lottery tickets in just one hour, only winning a lot of laundry detergent, thermos cups, and the like.

He was hooked; he couldn't resist that atmosphere.

Chen Guiliang remembered very clearly a ragged old farmer who was invited onto the stage for an interview with the host. The old man just grinned foolishly the whole time, unable to speak clearly, only saying that he casually spent two yuan and won a grand prize of fifty thousand yuan.

Before the interview was even over, countless onlookers rushed over to buy lottery tickets.

Tao Chenggang naturally knew about the events of last year's National Day; he even knew two of the private lottery bosses, while the rest were all damn southerners who had come up.

Using "Andy Lau" and "Jacky Cheung" for promotion was the idea of those southern bosses. The local bosses, on the other hand, helped smooth things over to prevent them from being caught halfway through the lottery draw.

Thinking about running a lottery in the game, Tao Chenggang's determination to develop the game was completely solidified!

He no longer pressed for any golden ideas, but instead said with a smile, "Little brother, how about joining my company? We can start a business together and make games. You don't need to put in any cash; you can use that game concept as your investment, and I'll convert it into some company shares for you."

"I still have to study; I'm taking the college entrance exam next year," Chen Guiliang politely refused.

Tao Chenggang continued to persuade him, "My preparations here will take about half a year, and by the time we officially start making the game, you'll be almost ready to go to university. You can study and start a business at the same time, without delaying either. Think about it, you haven't even left school yet, and you're already a shareholder in a game company. How impressive would that be at school? Even the campus belle would actively pursue you."

These words were extremely persuasive to young people.

If Chen Guiliang hadn't been reborn, he probably would have agreed on the spot.

"I need cash; my family still owes money," Chen Guiliang had his own entrepreneurial ideas and didn't want to be led by others.

Before his rebirth, he had a successful business but encountered internal conflict among the shareholders, which left a bad taste in Chen Guiliang's mouth.

In this life, he had to have controlling interest!

Besides, Tao Chenggang might not succeed and there was a high chance he would lose everything.

When one plan failed, Tao Chenggang brought up his university life again, saying that all the female university students were snobbish and only cared about money.

Chen Guiliang turned a deaf ear and continued to switch accounts to post and stir up trouble, making the Mengya Forum a chaotic mess.

This unyielding attitude left Tao Chenggang speechless.

He was even afraid that if he didn't buy the A4 paper today, Chen Guiliang would turn around and sell it to a big company.

Tao Chenggang finally made another offer: "The price is 50,000, but it has to be paid in installments. I can give you 10,000 today, another 10,000 in July next year. The remaining 30,000 will be paid in a lump sum at the end of next year."

Tao Chenggang's intention was simple: to tie Chen Guiliang down with the final payment and prevent him from selling the idea everywhere.

He felt that the remaining 40,000 yuan would be enough to keep a high school student stable.

Chen Guiliang, however, was increasingly surprised: This guy is actually willing to spend money to make a game? He's quite a gambler!

Surprised as he was, the negotiation had to continue.

Chen Guiliang shook his head: "50,000 is too little."

"Give me a realistic price," Tao Chenggang said.

"180,000."

"80,000, let's be straightforward!"

After some back and forth, Chen Guiliang realized he had overestimated the purchasing power.

More than 100,000 yuan in 2003 was indeed a large sum of money, and it was difficult to get it just by talking.

The two sides finally agreed on 100,000 yuan, which was a complete unexpected bonus for Chen Guiliang.

Before coming, he hadn't expected to succeed.

"We need to write an IOU. The first payment must be at least 50,000, and you can pay the rest in installments however you want," Chen Guiliang was already mentally prepared for not receiving the final payment.

He only needed this 50,000 yuan as capital to work with Tao Chenggang on private servers next.

As for the final payment, he didn't care if he got it or not.

The real show was just beginning.

"No problem," Tao Chenggang readily agreed.

Tao Chenggang called out Yang Yuhui's nickname, "Potato, Potato, where are your paper, pen, and inkpad?"

Yang Yuhui walked in from outside, found the paper, pen, and inkpad, and slapped them on the table.

Tao Chenggang quickly wrote out the IOU, even took out his ID card, wrote down the ID number, signed it, and pressed his fingerprint.

"Hereby owes Chen Guiliang..."

Yang Yuhui bent down to look at the IOU, glanced at it, and was dumbfounded. He scratched his head in confusion and said, "Brother Gang, I wasn't out for long. Why are you giving this kid 100,000?"

Tao Chenggang smiled and said, "The young brother said he would give me a fortune. Since he keeps his word, of course I have to show my appreciation."

"What's going on?" Yang Yuhui became even more curious.

"It's a secret," Tao Chenggang closed the inkpad lid and said to Chen Guiliang, "Let's go to the bank now, and I'll transfer the first payment to you."

Chen Guiliang reached out and took the entire box of inkpad, put it in his pocket, and said, "Just borrowing it."

Yang Yuhui followed them all the way until they reached the stairwell. He couldn't help but tug at Chen Guiliang's sleeve and ask, "What do you have that's worth 100,000?"

Chen Guiliang smiled in return: "Knowledge is wealth. I'm a top student from County No. 2 High School."

In the blink of an eye, Tao Chenggang and Chen Guiliang had disappeared.

Yang Yuhui stood there muttering to himself, "Top students from County No. 2 High School are that valuable?"

After being confused for a while, he took out his phone and called Feng Tao.

"Hey, Feng Lao Er, what's up with your nephew?" Yang Yuhui asked.

Feng Tao was in the store with his apprentice, installing a system for a customer. While working, he asked, "Did he cause trouble at Brother Gang's place?"

Yang Yuhui said, "Brother Gang inexplicably wants to give him 100,000, with a down payment of 50,000 and an IOU for the rest."

"He really sold it for 100,000?" Feng Tao was extremely surprised.

Yang Yuhui asked, "What exactly did he sell to Brother Gang?"

Feng Tao laughed heartily, "That's awesome, worthy of being my nephew."

"Damn it!"

Yang Yuhui was anxious, "You damn well better tell me quickly. What did your nephew sell to Brother Gang?"

Feng Tao deliberately kept him in suspense, "You wouldn't understand even if I told you. Hanging up."

"Hey, hey... hey... damn it!"

After finishing the call, Yang Yuhui became even more curious, scratching his ears and cheeks, feeling uncomfortable all over.

He went back to the studio, made some arrangements, and then quickly ran downstairs to catch up with Tao Chenggang.

Red Star Department Store.

Chengtao Computer Store.

A middle-aged woman with her son was sitting nearby, watching Feng Tao install the system.

The middle-aged woman asked, "This isn't Windows 2000. The computers at our workplace use Windows 2000, and they say it's the most advanced system."

Feng Tao liked this kind of customer the most, they had money and didn't know anything: "Sister, Windows XP was released in 2001. You can tell which is more advanced by the release date."

"That's true," the middle-aged woman nodded, "Our workplace only has one computer, and it was configured two years ago."

Feng Tao said, "At that time, Windows XP hadn't spread to China yet. Sister, if your workplace is getting new computers, you can get a discount at my store, and I'll give you a little kickback."

"I'll definitely recommend you," the middle-aged woman couldn't wait for the kickback and directly asked for benefits, "I spent several thousand today, and I'm going to recommend big customers to you, so you should give me some more gifts."

Feng Tao first hesitated, then gritted his teeth and nodded, as if he had suffered a great loss: "Alright, consider it thanks for Sister's patronage. I can give you a free mouse and keyboard, and also give your son a set of Wubi typing practice software."

"The boss is really generous, business will definitely prosper." The middle-aged woman felt she had gotten a good deal.

Her son, a first-year high school student, sat silently beside her the whole time, but was actually extremely excited and just wanted to take the computer home as soon as possible.

Feng Tao started bragging: "The call I just took was from a friend of mine. Guess what? My nephew's plan sold for a full 200,000!"

Inflating his achievements and falsely reporting the situation.

Suddenly, an extra 100,000 appeared out of thin air.

"What kind of plan is more expensive than a house?" the middle-aged woman asked curiously.

Feng Tao said proudly, "A plan for an online game."

Although the middle-aged woman regarded online games as a scourge, she thought it was amazing that someone could make money from them: "The boss is so young, how old is your nephew?"

"My cousin's son, my aunt's grandson," Feng Tao said, "He's only 17 this year and is still in his third year of high school."

The middle-aged woman was surprised, "He's only in his third year of high school and has already earned 200,000? Does he play games often?"

Feng Tao smiled, "He's in the experimental class at County No. 2 High School, a top student, and can easily get into a key university. To be able to do game planning, you don't necessarily have to be addicted to games."

Hearing that he was in the experimental class at County No. 2 High School, the middle-aged woman immediately believed he was a good student, but she wouldn't be outdone: "My son is at City No. 2 High School, and his entrance exam score was a few points higher than County No. 2 High School."

The student sitting next to her immediately puffed out his chest upon hearing this.

Feng Tao continued to boast: "My nephew only lost a little over ten points on the entrance exam. If he went to City No. 2 High School, he would definitely be in the experimental class. He used to complain to me that he was too foolish and didn't know that he could apply to City No. 2 High School even with a county household registration. If he had applied to City No. 2 High School at that time and had the admission letter from City No. 2 High School, he could have enrolled in County No. 2 High School tuition-free."

"It is quite a shame," the middle-aged woman nodded.

Feng Tao said, "My nephew is a left-behind child. His parents haven't been home for several years. He relied entirely on his own efforts to study since he was young."

The middle-aged woman began to lecture her son, "Yangyang, did you hear that? His parents aren't around, and there's no one supervising him, yet he can still get into the experimental class at County No. 2 High School. You must work hard from now on, get good grades in the arts and science division exam, and strive to be selected into the experimental class."

"Okay," the student replied.

"Okay what? Answer louder!" the middle-aged woman said. "Look, he's only in his third year of high school and he's already earned enough to buy a house on his own. That... what was that game planning thing called?"

Feng Tao said, "It's a game proposal, for an online game. A friend of mine is a big boss, and he's also a major shareholder in this store. My nephew sold him a proposal, and not only did it make him willingly shell out two hundred thousand to buy it, but he's also investing several million to make the game. Heh heh, making the game according to my nephew's ideas!"

The student couldn't help but ask, "A game like Legend?"

Feng Tao said, "No. They're making a free online game... Here, the system is installed. I'll install the application software for you now."

It was nearing noon when the computer was finally set up.

Feng Tao had the apprentice from the store help the mother and son carry the computer downstairs to get a taxi.

He himself called his wife, "Chunhong, the stuff Guiliang wrote last night sold!"

"How much did it sell for?" Lin Chunhong was breastfeeding the baby.

"A full 100,000!"

Feng Tao naturally told his wife the truth. He said excitedly, "It's awesome. Brother Gang actually bought it. I thought it was just waste paper."

Lin Chunhong was incredulous, "Are you kidding me?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Feng Tao said. "Guiliang will definitely make a lot of money in the future. This kid has been very smart since he was little."

Lin Chunhong asked doubtfully, "With just those few pages, Mr. Tao didn't need to buy it, he could have just memorized it."

"You don't understand." Feng Tao actually couldn't figure it out either, but it didn't stop him from showing off to his wife.

Lin Chunhong instructed, "Tell Guiliang to come over and visit more often when he's free. We don't usually see this relative much."

Feng Tao said, "You don't understand. My relationship with his family is the closest, even closer than his own second uncle. When his dad was little, he would come to my house whenever he had a chance, even if it took him half a day to walk here."

The couple chatted for a while, and the apprentice returned to the store.

The apprentice was also very curious about this and asked enviously, "Master, did Brother Chen from yesterday really make 200,000 from writing something?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Feng Tao exaggerated the story.

At noon, the apprentice took his lunchbox and went to the store next door that sold Little Overlords to brag.

"Do you know? My master's nephew wrote something and sold it for five hundred thousand!"

"You're bragging without even drafting it."

"I'm not kidding you. He's making an online game, and he wrote a game that's incredibly fierce. He's still in high school, he's great with computers, and he even taught himself programming like a hacker."

"What's a hacker?"

"..."

In just half a day, the news spread throughout the entire floor of stores: a student named Chen Guiliang from County No. 2 High School took time off to make a game and sold it to a big company, making over a million!