Personal Wealth 30,000 Yuan

Fang Bai and his father poured all the day's earnings onto the floor, first picking out the hundred-yuan bills.

Most of the money was in ten-yuan notes, with a few hundred-yuan bills, plus a pile of five-yuan and one-yuan notes.

After counting, they had only nine hundred-yuan bills in total, all from the 1980 fourth edition and in decent condition.

The one-yuan notes, however, had names or various messages written on them, and some ten-yuan notes also bore handwriting.

Back then, some people liked to write on banknotes, maybe to record something or pass along information, like propaganda or such.

But generally, if a large-denomination bill had writing on it, some folks might refuse to accept it.

"Dad, next time, try not to take bills with writing on them, or it'll be a hassle for us to deal with," Fang Bai reminded him, not wanting to encourage that habit.

"Ah, I was in a hurry when collecting the money and didn't pay much attention. I'll be more careful next time," Fang Shi said, a bit flustered from the rush and the crowd.

Father and son sorted the cash together, stacking the hundred-yuan bills in one pile and bundling the other denominations in stacks of a hundred.

At the same time, Fang Bai checked the receipts.

Today, they sold 29 TVs total: 12 21-inch color TVs at an average price of 1,100 yuan;

2 14-inch color TVs at 368 yuan each, with one sold for 350 yuan;

1 29-inch color TV at 2,500 yuan—the most profitable model, and Fang Bai was surprised someone actually bought it.

10 17-inch black-and-white TVs at 150 yuan each;

4 14-inch black-and-white TVs at 78 yuan each.

Total revenue came to 18,230 yuan.

The two counted the money twice, taking quite a while, and finally confirmed the amount matched the receipts.

But they still got one fake ten-yuan bill, which Fang Bai tore up on the spot.

"Ah, I slipped up again. That's two days of wages for a worker. I wonder which Bastard has no conscience," Fang Shi said, not upset about the loss but blaming himself for not being careful, seeing his son tear the fake bill without hesitation.

"Dad, it's nothing, just ten yuan. With all that money coming in, mistakes happen."

Fang Bai comforted him, brushing it off. "We made a lot, so a little loss doesn't matter."

After tearing up the ten-yuan note, the actual revenue was 18,220 yuan, covering costs and turning a profit.

Hearing his son say that, Fang Shi smiled with relief.

Looking at the pile of cash on the floor, he felt genuinely happy.

His hands had gone numb from collecting money, and he knew revenue had to be over ten thousand, but after the final tally, his hands trembled and a goofy grin spread across his face.

"Son, we still have so many TVs to fix. If we can sell them all, we'll be rich."

Fang Bai stayed calm, smiling slightly. "Let's wait until the money's in hand. Besides, to rich folks, this isn't much."

"You're too cocky, kid, that won't do. Remember, easy money slips away fast if you don't value it," Fang Shi scolded with a laugh.

"Dad, I'm just saying, if we want to start a business, this money's nowhere near enough to get going."

"Why start a business? Isn't selling TVs good enough? The profit margins are huge."

"Dad, you forgot I have to go to school. I can't keep selling TVs forever—testing them takes too much time.

Besides selling TVs, there are plenty of other businesses we could do."

Fang Bai reminded him. Building wealth by selling TVs before diving into subscription warrants was fine for now.

But picking out TVs and diagnosing faults took a lot of his time, and he couldn't do it without getting his hands dirty.

In terms of time cost, if the hourly profit from something else beat flipping used TVs, he'd have to drop the refurbishing business.

Of course, with just Fang Bai testing TVs, the market was hard to saturate, so he could keep at it indefinitely.

But his testing speed and guidance on repairs—especially the guidance, which was a real time sink—maxed out at about a hundred TVs a day, still less than the rate developed countries dumped e-waste.

If Fang Bai kept messing with TVs, it would mess up his future plans.

He needed time to study and improve himself—why chain himself to being a TV-testing tool?

If he liked TVs that much, he might as well develop and sell his own.

So, refurbishing TVs had its limits and would never be a big deal.

Fang Shi slapped his forehead with a laugh. "Ha, I got so dizzy from selling TVs today I forgot you're still repeating a year. You've got a point. Do what you think is best, but I'd suggest keeping some capital as a safety net."

Over the past two days, Fang Shi watched his son run the TV sales smoothly, using sales tactics he didn't even understand.

He never expected his son to have a knack for business—it seemed those two months of work had really shaped him.

Fang Bai nodded in understanding, knowing his father's worry came from care and love.

"Dad, I get it. I'll be careful and keep some capital for myself."

Fang Bai said, counting out two thousand yuan and handing it over. "Take this for household expenses. Pay off all the debts, and I'll handle the rest."

"Alright, there's not much debt left. The 800 you gave last time almost cleared it."

Fang Shi took the money his son handed him, marveling inwardly that this was the first time he had so much cash to manage.

In the past, he would have wanted to keep hold of his son's money.

But after observing his son over the past couple of days, he realized the boy had grown up and knew how to do business. He couldn't bring himself to ask to manage his son's money anymore.

He understood that his son needed capital to stock up and keep the business running, and he trusted that his son would handle the remaining funds carefully.

Truth be told, he didn't really need the two thousand yuan for himself, but he wanted to set it aside just in case—if his son's business ever failed and needed capital, at least there would be a nest egg to start over.

Fang Shi felt a sense of relief. He looked at his son, proud of him.

"Dad, don't bother fixing up the house for now. We'll be here doing business all year and hardly ever go back to stay.

You and Mom just buy some new clothes. Wait a year or two, after we've earned more money, then we'll build a better house," Fang Bai reminded him. He was afraid that once his parents had money, they'd waste it on pointless renovations to the house, and then he'd have to pour money into it again.

Building a two-story house didn't cost much now, but Fang Bai wanted to do it right—minimal fuss, something that wouldn't look outdated for fifteen years. That would definitely take a big investment.

For now, he needed to accumulate more capital for the subscription warrants. Besides that, there might be other plans. In the early stages, he wanted to avoid wasting money on unnecessary things.

Giving his parents two thousand yuan was enough for them to spend, and it wouldn't affect Fang Bai's plans.

"Alright, I'll listen to you. I'll tell your mom to quit her job tomorrow and come help out here."

Fang Bai's words put Fang Shi somewhat at ease. He knew his son was smart and had a plan, and he trusted that he would make wise decisions for his future.

"Exactly, Mom really doesn't need to work at the school anymore. The pay is too low, and mostly she gets looked down on. How can that be any fun?"

"Ah, there was no choice before. Now that you've made something of yourself, your mom and I can take it easy." Fang Shi smiled with relief, though a hint of worry crept in. "It's just a shame about your studies being interrupted."

"It's fine. I get bored reading all day anyway. Finding something to do won't hurt, and it won't waste much time," Fang Bai said. "Dad, the shop next door is up for rent. Let's take it."

Fang Bai had passed on it before because the rent was too high.

Now that money wasn't an issue, spending an extra hundred or so on the annual rent didn't matter. The main thing was convenience.

Fang Shi agreed. "A bigger space is good. We've got too much stuff piled up; we can't even move around."

They chatted a bit longer, then took hot baths.

Fang Bai continued his night reading, finishing the day's study tasks.

At half past eleven at night, Fang Shi woke up after having had some wine. On his way to the bathroom to relieve himself, he noticed the light on in his son's bedroom. He went over and saw his son still reading under the lamp.

He didn't feel like he could say anything to stop him. He went downstairs, boiled some water, brought a bowl up to his son, and set it on his desk.

Without a word, he left.

Fang Shi planned to buy some supplements tomorrow for his son and daughter to boost their health. Now that they had money, it was worth spending.

And about that business tax—his son had mentioned they needed to pay it too. It wasn't much, and it would save them trouble later. Otherwise, if they confiscated his TV set, he'd have no one to cry to. He'd also have to find time to get a business license.

Fang Bai kept reading until midnight before going to bed. As he closed his eyes, he glanced at the system screen.

Personal wealth had reached 30,000 yuan! (Cash 19,500 yuan + remaining TV cost 9,200 yuan + personal fixed assets about 1,300 yuan)

Still 70,000 yuan short of leveling up!

Fang Bai was eager to upgrade his Golden Finger. First, it would restore his finger. Second, he wanted to see what changes would come with the upgrade.

Right now, his best bet was to upgrade the middle finger Golden Finger first.

Reaching 100,000 yuan in wealth wasn't far off.