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The fruit shop had just opened, and customers gradually began to trickle in. Most had been referred by Aunt Xu. Aunt Xu's vegetables had a good reputation, so the customers happily bought loads of fruit to take home.

Lin Qiang had not expected the fruit shop to be so appealing. It had only been open for half a day, yet they were already busy to death.

The two worked until dark, when there were fewer people around the market.

Aunt Xu finished packing up her stall and said, "It's getting dark. Let's go back and eat. We'll come again tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, Lin Qiang, you might as well sleep at my place tonight. Call your dad and let him know. Aunt Xu is an amazing cook—you can try her dishes."

"You've made me hungry just saying that. I'm definitely not leaving. Hehe, lend me your phone so I can make a call."

At Su Yan's home, Lin Qiang was engrossed in a computer game.

Su Yan came out of his room and urged, "Stop playing. Aunt Xu told us to come over for dinner."

"Okay, okay, wait a second. This monster's about to die."

"...Good thing your house doesn't have a computer." Su Yan sighed.

Su Yan forcibly dragged Lin Qiang away. When the two entered Aunt Xu's home, they said in unison, "It smells so good!"

"You're here? Hurry and take the dishes out. Once I finish the last soup, we can eat."

Lin Qiang was quick-witted and efficiently rushed to carry the dishes and serve the rice. He personally brought Su Yan's bowl to him, expressing his gratitude that way.

Su Yan did not stand on ceremony. Before Aunt Xu had even sat down, he had already started eating.

Lin Qiang was a little reserved. He waited until Aunt Xu sat down before picking up his chopsticks.

"Don't be so polite, child. Treat this like your own home. Eat whatever you like. There's fish and meat today, and if we don't finish it, it won't be fresh tomorrow."

"Yeah, try the steamed mandarin fish. It has no bones and tastes delicious."

"Mandarin fish is so expensive. This is really a great meal." Lin Qiang was delighted, stuffing down chunks of braised pork one after another without wanting to stop.

"How was business this afternoon?" Aunt Xu asked.

"Not bad. It was really busy on our first day. It's the end of the year, after all, so there are lots of people around the market. I think we need to hire another person. In a few days, even more people will be coming out to buy New Year's supplies, and they'll be buying fruit by the box."

"Exactly. Every New Year, my dad wholesale-buys several boxes of fruit to bring home, then starts carrying them around to visit relatives on the first day of the year," Lin Qiang said indistinctly.

"Right. We might not be able to keep up then, so I want to hire someone else."

"Who do you want to hire? It'd be best if they were honest," Aunt Xu said.

Su Yan said, "I have a classmate who's especially honest. Her family is having a very hard time. We could hire her part-time and help improve her situation."

Lin Qiang almost immediately thought of someone. "Chen Yan?"

"Yeah."

"She is honest, but... wouldn't she be a little too dull?" Lin Qiang put it tactfully.

Su Yan smiled confidently. "People can change. We'll pay her wages and teach her to speak properly and do business. It won't be hard at all."

The next day, Lin Qiang called Chen Yan to the market.

Chen Yan still looked poor and gloomy as ever, silently staring at Lin Qiang.

Lin Qiang pointed at the busy Su Yan behind him. "He's the one who asked you here."

"..."

"Su Yan and I work here. We make fifty yuan a day, so ten days earns five hundred. The wages are paid daily. Do you want to do it? If you do, then be serious about it. At the very least, when customers ask you something, you need to answer. I'm asking you now: do you want to do it?"

"...I do." Chen Yan answered with determination in her eyes.

Lin Qiang let out a breath. "Then come in. Do you know how to use an electronic scale? Can you recognize counterfeit bills?"

"I understand electronic scales. As for counterfeit bills... I can't always tell."

"That's fine. You just won't be responsible for taking payments."

The three high school students continued bustling around the fruit shop throughout the cold holiday. Business got better by the day, and they became busier by the day. In the days leading up to the New Year, people came every day to buy entire boxes. Su Yan's fruit was not only tasty; in the bitter winter, it also had a special advantage—it came in an especially wide variety, with plenty to choose from. Take strawberries, for example. Strawberries eaten in winter and those eaten around spring and summer tasted completely different. But the strawberries here showed no such difference. Instead, they were even sweeter and more refreshing, though they were a little expensive.

But delicious food was never considered too expensive. Some people were reluctant to buy it, but naturally, others were willing.

Besides strawberries, there were cherries, lychees, mulberries, loquats, and more, all available for customers to choose from.

Lin Qiang's father was the most amusing. He was delighted that Lin Qiang, despite being so young, was unafraid of hardship or cold and had gone out to earn money. So he spread the word among relatives and friends, half-forcing and half-coaxing a group of relatives and friends who needed to buy fruit for the New Year into coming to support them. Lin Qiang's home was quite far from this market, so dragging people all the way over was no easy task.

Fruit cost far more than vegetables, and in the less than one month around the New Year, the profits were exceptionally considerable. The mutual word-of-mouth promotion also made the vegetable stall's business even better. On top of that, people held wedding banquets and reunion dinners in droves during the New Year, leaving restaurants packed every day. Demand for fruits and vegetables multiplied compared to before, and prices also rose a little with the overall market.

"Hehehe, when are you going to buy me jade?"

"If this keeps up, it won't be long."

"I have endless fields of vegetables and fruit here. Take them all and sell them! If you sell all of this, you'll definitely make six hundred thousand."