Ma Le

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Ma Le (马乐)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	The Ma family–registered online store; its legal identity, receiving account, and shipping details are under his name 1 34
Occupation/Role	Nominal store owner and operational helper; handles shipments, storage, payments, and packing while Lin Fan directs purchasing and strategy 5 8 23 34
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 1
Residence	His family’s old apartment in western Hangzhou, where Lin Fan rents the second bedroom 1

Background / History

Ma Le lives in his family’s old apartment and rents a room to Lin Fan at a friends-and-family rate. Because they know each other well, he agrees to let Lin Fan register a secret online store under his identity, including the store verification, business license, bank card, Alipay account, customer-service number, and shipping sender information. This arrangement conceals Lin Fan’s connection to the business from his employer. 1 8 34

Initially, Ma Le regards the store as a small side business and is largely content to relax while Lin Fan handles orders. He accepts a monthly fee for lending his name, negotiating it from 250 yuan to 300 yuan when the store begins. 1 As sales expand, he becomes increasingly aware that his name and finances are tied to a rapidly growing operation. 7 8 11

When a shipment of leggings blocks their building’s hallway, Ma Le publicly claims the merchandise and store as his own to protect Lin Fan from company rules against side businesses. He then helps relocate the stock to storage space. 5 This establishes him as the visible owner whenever the store requires a public face.

By the winter-boot operation, Ma Le assists with receiving stock, arranging warehouse access through his mother, packing orders, hiring his cousin and her dormmates for Double Eleven, and managing transfers from his bank card. 19 23 34 His nominal-owner fee rises to 1,000 yuan and later 2,000 yuan per month as the store’s scale and his responsibility increase. 14 29

Personality

Ma Le is initially idle, easygoing, and fond of joking. He is introduced lounging on the sofa eating watermelon while Lin Fan works, and he repeatedly complains about the physical labor involved in packing and moving inventory. 1 7 14

Despite this laziness, he is observant about money and practical risks. He quickly recognizes that the store’s funds pass through his card, questions risky inventory investments, and worries about how to explain the operation to his mother and the bank. 8 11 19 31 34

He is loyal when it matters. Ma Le takes responsibility for the hallway shipment, keeps Lin Fan’s role concealed, and continues supporting the business even as the financial transactions and inventory volume make him anxious. 5 21 34

Abilities & Skills

Nominal Ownership and Cover Identity

Ma Le provides the legitimate public identity separating Lin Fan from the store.

• The store registration, business license, payment card, Alipay account, customer-service number, and shipping details use Ma Le’s identity. 1 8 34
• Suppliers know the operation as the Ma family business and address its representative as “Boss Ma.” 8
• His status as a roommate—not a direct family member—keeps him outside the scope of the company’s employee-linked account declaration form. 34
• The arrangement places legal and financial scrutiny on Ma Le, making him vulnerable when account transfers are reviewed. 21 34

Store Operations

Though Lin Fan leads the business strategy, Ma Le performs essential on-the-ground work.

• Signs for deliveries and arranges movers when large shipments arrive. 5
• Packs orders and helps process surges in leggings and boot sales. 7 23 29
• Secures access to his mother’s empty apartment as a boot warehouse. 19
• Recruits his cousin and her five dormmates to assist with Double Eleven packing. 22 23
• Carries out large bank transfers for stock and materials purchases. 34 38

Financial Awareness

Ma Le closely tracks the money tied to his identity.

• He insists on knowing the store’s accounts because the payment card is his. 11
• He challenges Lin Fan’s decision to invest most available cash into new factory production. 31
• During a 43,800-yuan transfer review, he successfully explains that the payment is being sent directly to a materials supplier so the factory can obtain supplies. 34

Relationships

• Lin Fan — Roommate, business partner, and the store’s actual operator. Ma Le lends his identity, takes public responsibility for the business, and assists with shipping, storage, and transfers. 1 5 8 34
• Ma Le’s mother — His mother and owner of the family properties used by the operation. She initially doubts his claim that he runs an online store, then rents out her empty apartment for boot storage and stresses discretion. 5 19 29
• Ma Le’s cousin — His cousin, whose interest in snow boots helps confirm customer demand. She recruits her five dormmates to pack orders for Double Eleven. 14 22 23
• Factory Director Ye — A factory partner who receives payments under Ma Le’s identity and honors an existing production commitment despite outside pressure. 34 38

Story Role / Major Arcs

Leggings Store Front

• Allows Lin Fan to establish the store under his name and initially treats it as a minor source of pocket money. 1
• Begins helping pack orders after the cold snap drives daily sales past one hundred. 7
• Learns that suppliers and outsiders recognize the business as belonging to “Boss Ma” or the Ma family. 8
• Watches and questions Lin Fan’s price war against a copycat seller, gradually learning from the strategy. 10

Warehouse and Snow-Boot Expansion

• Claims ownership of the leggings shipment when neighbors and his mother confront them over the blocked hallway. 5
• Reacts with disbelief and concern when Lin Fan purchases 2,000 pairs of boots, then helps negotiate use of his mother’s empty apartment as storage. 19
• Helps prepare 2,000 shipping bags and labels for the anticipated Double Eleven rush. 23

Financial Exposure

• Becomes increasingly uneasy as large sums move through his bank card and attract attention from bank staff. 31 34
• Completes a scrutinized 43,800-yuan payment for factory materials after explaining the transaction’s purpose. 34
• Faces a larger 73,000-yuan materials payment requirement as the custom boot operation expands. 38

Trivia

• Ma Le is identified in an internal case study as a 25-year-old Hangzhou local with no prior business history or other stores under his name. 12
• He jokingly embraces the title “Chairman Ma” after learning that suppliers consider the operation a Ma family business. 8
• He wears size 41 shoes and tries on a size 42 sample women’s boot, helping reveal that its opening is too loose. 35