Making Money!

Wang Pan was brimming with confidence. The food had practically been fed into her mouth—there was no reason not to eat it, right?

"Do you remember what I told you?"

"You're still young. Making money isn't something you should be thinking about. Your current task is to study hard, so you can make something of yourself in the future."

"Besides, if it were really as simple as you say, wouldn't everyone be scrambling to do it? Would it be our turn?"

Cao Ju lectured Wang Pan earnestly.

The family did have some savings, around thirty thousand yuan.

But every last cent of that money was soaked in Wang Pan's father's sweat. How could they possibly take it out to do business just because Wang Pan said so?

The money had been saved to build a house, though they were still a little short. Cao Ju had been thinking that once Wang Pan was older, with his grandparents to look after him, she could go out and work alongside Wang Pan's father to earn money.

They would strive to come back and build a house next year.

Who said country people did not compare themselves with others? Seeing new houses rise one after another while her own family still lived in a mud-brick house, Cao Ju dreamed of building a house every night.

"I understand. I won't go catch crayfish tomorrow either."

Seeing this, Wang Pan could only give up on persuading Cao Ju.

"It's good that you understand. Your father and I work so hard—isn't it all for you? You must study hard.

"As for money, your father and mother will earn it."

Cao Ju said it over and over without tiring.

After watching TV for a while, Wang Pan returned to his room.

"What a headache."

His brows were tightly furrowed. People nowadays were too slow to accept new things, and Wang Pan was too young for his words to carry any weight. He simply could not convince Cao Ju.

"No, I can't miss this chance. In a little while, there won't be any crayfish left to buy."

Wang Pan did not want to let this opportunity slip away. There was no such thing as crayfish farming yet; the crayfish in the fields truly dwindled with every bit collected.

"I'll go find Grandma!"

Lying on his bed, Wang Pan suddenly opened his eyes, rolled over, and sprang off the bed. He walked to the door of his grandparents' room.

Zhong Guifang and Wang Qing cherished Wang Pan as if he would melt in their mouths or break in their hands.

Wang Pan's father, Wang Hong, ranked eighth in the family. He had seven older sisters, one of whom had died young.

Those who had not lived through that era would never know just how far parents could favor sons over daughters.

After giving birth to seven daughters in a row, one could imagine how doted upon Wang Hong had been from the moment he was born.

And now, that affection had transferred to Wang Pan!

"Grandma, just listen to me. We can start by buying a small amount and trying it out."

After explaining his idea to Zhong Guifang and Wang Qing, Wang Pan shamelessly went forward and hugged Zhong Guifang's leg. He tilted up his head, blinked his big eyes, and began to act cute!

For the sake of making money, there was nothing shameful about it!

Wang Qing said nothing, puffing away at his Dry Tobacco. Zhong Guifang had always been the one calling the shots at home.

"Can it really make money?"

"Grandma, you have to believe me. It'll definitely make money—a lot of money. Once I make a lot of money, I'll buy Grandma new clothes."

Wang Pan's little face was full of seriousness.

"Good grandson, Grandma will listen to you!"

Zhong Guifang had looked somewhat conflicted, but when she heard that her grandson wanted to honor her after making money, a smile bloomed across her furrowed face.

In the end, she decided to give it a try. They would buy a small amount first, a few dozen jin, just to test the waters.

Wang Qing was a stonemason at a quarry. His job was to break stone, using a chisel and hammer to shape rocks into long strips. These stones could be used to build houses or drainage ditches beside roads.

So the old couple still had a little money on hand. They often secretly gave Wang Pan fifty cents or one yuan in pocket money behind Cao Ju's back.

To the old couple, this money naturally had to be spent on their son and grandson. Their daughters were married-off daughters, like water poured away. It was good enough if they did not ask the daughters for money—did they still want to dig money out of the old couple's hands? That was Wishful Thinking.

The next day happened to be market day. Before dawn, Zhong Guifang and Wang Qing headed into town carrying several large sacks and a weighing scale.

If they went too late, the crayfish would all be bought up by others.

The market days for the three nearby towns rotated according to the dates one-four-seven, two-five-eight, and three-six-nine.

Today was Tongjiang Town's turn. People from all directions began gathering in Tongjiang Town, and the streets were packed solid with people.

Before long, Zhong Guifang and Wang Qing had bought fifty or sixty jin of crayfish. Afraid the crayfish would be left rotting in their hands, the old couple refused to buy any more no matter what.

They carried the sacks of crayfish to the roadside and waited for the bus.

It cost two yuan per person to get to the city, and the fifty or sixty jin of crayfish cost another yuan for a cargo ticket.

The old couple was anxious the entire way. What if the crayfish did not fetch a good price?

But soon, the old couple emerged from the wholesale market in a daze.

Crayfish prices had risen!

They were now three yuan and eighty cents per jin. As the season was drawing to a close, fewer and fewer crayfish were being collected, so the price had naturally gone up.

Holding the more than two hundred yuan in her hands, Zhong Guifang felt that this money was almost too easy to earn.

"Old man, tell me, am I dreaming?"

Wang Qing was also a little stunned. More than two hundred yuan—after deducting the costs, they had made a net profit of fifty or sixty yuan on this trip!

He worked himself to the bone breaking stone at the quarry all day, only to make twenty yuan!

"Tell me, why is buying crayfish such quick money? How come no one else thought of it? Are they stupid?"

Wang Qing puffed on his Dry Tobacco, unable to understand it.

"They aren't stupid. My eldest grandson is just smart!"

"I'm telling you, don't go blabbing when we get back. If everyone finds out, we won't be able to make money anymore."

Still uneasy, Zhong Guifang cautioned Wang Qing.

"Don't worry. It's not like I'm stupid."

The old couple took the bus back to town and decided to go all out!

Nothing was more tempting than money laid out right before their eyes. Before, they had worried that the crayfish would not sell and feared taking a loss.

Now, those worries were gone.

After returning to town, they left a few hundred yuan in their bankbook for emergencies and withdrew the remaining six thousand-plus yuan.

This money was the couple's Burial Money. After a lifetime, this was all they had managed to save.

From that day onward, the old couple rose before dawn and returned after dark, buying crayfish all over several towns until they were nearly worked to the bone.

A month later, the old couple mysteriously called Wang Pan into their room.

"Good grandson, starting tomorrow, we won't be buying crayfish anymore. There aren't many crayfish left to buy anyway."

"Guess how much money your grandpa and I made?!"

Though the two old people had spent these days on edge and exhausted themselves terribly, it had all been worth it!

People were never afraid of hardship. What they feared was suffering hardship without receiving the reward they deserved!

"I can't guess."

Wang Pan shook his head. He had only kept track during the first few days, then stopped paying attention.

"Sixteen thousand yuan in net profit!"

"What a pity—we got into it too late. There weren't many crayfish left later on."

"If we'd started buying crayfish from the beginning, we might have collected twenty or thirty thousand jin!"

At this, the old couple felt some regret. They had missed out on so much money for nothing—it pained their hearts!

"That's about enough, Grandma. If we'd started out competing with the other crayfish buyers, we might not have made this money at all."

When Wang Pan heard that they had made over ten thousand yuan, his expression did not change much.

Instead, he spoke seriously to his grandparents.

One had to know that public security in this era could not compare to that of later generations.

If someone else was doing well and an outsider suddenly shoved a foot into the door, being squeezed out would already be considered a good outcome.

If they encountered someone more ruthless, that person might directly find people to beat them up, or simply rob them of their money.

And because Zhong Guifang and Wang Qing had entered the trade late, the biggest share had already been earned by the other crayfish dealers. That was why the other dealers had not caused them trouble.