Wealth 650,000 Yuan

Chapter 38: Wealth of 65,000 Yuan

At 5:40 PM, the televisions on the stall were sold out.

Liu Fengqing, who had been busy all afternoon, witnessed the frenzy of TV sales from start to finish, her wrinkled face blooming into a wide smile.

Her family was practically robbing a bank.

As for Fang Tingting, she was entirely her mother's errand girl, doing whatever her mother told her. Seeing the TVs sell so well, she was happy too, truly admiring her brother's brain for coming up with such a moneymaking scheme. From now on, wouldn't she be able to buy ice cream freely in the summer?

Just thinking about that refreshing ice cream, along with snacks she'd never tried, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle.

With the TVs all sold, Fang Shi told everyone to pack up and head back to the shop.

Around six o'clock, Fang Bai was still reading on the second floor when he heard his parents' laughter echoing from the stairwell. He turned his head and saw them walking into the room with beaming faces.

His father grabbed a piece of cardboard from the corner, laid it on the floor, and dumped all the money from his backpack onto it.

The red, blue, green, and purple banknotes interwove into a dazzling, eye-dazzling pattern.

Their denominations varied, from one yuan to a hundred, with ten-yuan notes being the most common. The fifty-yuan and hundred-yuan bills stood out the most, shimmering with an alluring gleam of wealth.

Liu Fengqing stared at the pile of money, grinning so wide she couldn't close her mouth:

"Oh my, how much is this? Tens of thousands, right? Son, come count the money."

Fang Bai sat on the chair with his book, watching his parents smile with narrowed eyes, feeling pleased inside.

When his mother told him to count the money, he couldn't be bothered to move and replied, "Mom, you and Dad count it. I'll read a bit more."

"Fine, you really are something, I don't know what to say about you. You love making money but hate counting it.

Looks like this hard work is left for your mom to toil over." Liu Fengqing said smugly, sitting down right next to the cardboard and starting to count, picking out the hundred-yuan bills first.

Hearing her words, father and son couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Sometimes, Liu Fengqing was a bit cocky, with no fear in social situations. When she borrowed money, she didn't beat around the bush—she just asked outright.

"Second Aunt, your husband's really something, driving a truck now! Drivers make great money, you're about to get rich and enjoy life."

"Oh, it's all just hard-earned cash."

"Well, our family's been a bit tight lately, I was wondering if I could borrow a hundred yuan." Liu Fengqing, seeing that others had money while her family didn't, dared to ask anyone she knew for a loan.

Most locals were fairly well-off and, out of face, would lend her a bit. Only some thick-skinned ones wouldn't budge no matter how she pleaded, like Fang Bai's second aunt by marriage.

So, most of the debts in Fang Bai's family were taken on by his mother.

Luckily, his father had a rather reserved personality, so even with family conflicts, it was hard for a big fight to break out.

Fang Bai and his sister were outgoing, inheriting a bit of their mother's temperament.

Of course, Fang Bai had worked as a salesperson for many years, dealing with all kinds of people, so he had a thick skin too.

Over ten minutes later, Fang Bai's parents finished tallying the money.

Today, they sold 65 TVs in total: 22 units of 21-inch color TVs, average price 1,100 yuan;

6 units of 14-inch color TVs, unit price 368 yuan, with one at a 10% discount and one at a 20% discount;

2 units of 29-inch color TVs, unit price 2,500 yuan;

26 units of 17-inch black-and-white TVs, unit price 150 yuan;

8 units of 14-inch black-and-white TVs, unit price 78 yuan.

Total revenue: 35,821.6 yuan.

At first glance, the pile of banknotes seemed like more, but it was just the messy stacking taking up space. Once bundled with rubber bands, it looked much smaller.

The two elders stared at the over thirty thousand yuan, their eyes brimming with joy. As they smiled, the wrinkles on their faces were deep enough to trap mosquitoes.

Especially Liu Fengqing, who kept touching the small stack of hundred-yuan bills, counting them over and over, laughing: "I've never even touched a hundred-yuan bill before. It took me two months' salary to get just one, and now there are twenty-two here, plus plenty of fifty-yuan notes."

Seeing her son still reading, completely indifferent to the money, she asked, "Son, what are your plans for this money?"

Fang Bai said calmly, "Keep doing business, of course. There are plenty of places to spend it."

"Wife, don't you go meddling with the kid's money. He has plans for it in his business. He already gave me two thousand yuan the day before yesterday, and there's plenty left after buying the tricycle."

"I'm just asking one more thing, let him keep it safe. I can't be bothered to manage it. If I had to watch over this money, I wouldn't sleep a wink at night.

Look at him, not caring at all how much there is. Only someone so carefree can sleep soundly, not even noticing if a thief sneaks in."

Fang Bai smiled and said nothing.

He knew his parents' personalities well, so he felt comfortable letting them know how much he'd earned.

If they wanted to take over the finances, he wouldn't have let them help sell the TVs in the first place.

If he needed the money for investments later and they messed it up, it would definitely hinder his plans.

Fang Bai stood up, pushed aside a small pile of low-denomination bills—about two or three hundred yuan—and said to his mother, "Mom, take this loose change to buy groceries. If it's not enough, let me know. I have other uses for the rest."

Liu Fengqing cheerfully accepted the pile, grinning from ear to ear: "That's plenty. Even if we eat meat every meal, it'll last a long time."

As for the rest of the money, Fang Bai figured it wasn't much—just needed to keep it safe.

Just like his mother said, they really did need to watch out for thieves sneaking in to steal money.

Fang Bai told his parents his plans for the next few days. He had his monthly exams starting next Monday, and the employees couldn't repair the TVs without his guidance. Tomorrow, he'd have everyone disassemble more of the faulty TVs first so he could mark them, giving them enough work for two days.

Luckily, the two rented spaces were big enough; otherwise, there'd be nowhere to put the TVs with their casings removed.

Once the TVs at home were almost cleared out, Fang Bai planned to make another trip to T City. His method of selecting TVs was a bit unusual, so he'd go alone.

Fang Bai's parents left all business matters to their son—they didn't understand that side of things anyway.

The family of three chatted for a while, then Fang Shi went downstairs to settle the day's wages with the employees.

Liu Fengqing was about to make dinner. Fang Bai watched his parents leave, stashed the money away, and opened the system screen.

Under the personal wealth column, it had already climbed to 65,000 yuan—not far from an upgrade.

He'd only set up his stall for two half-days, and the industry and commerce officials hadn't noticed him yet. Still, Fang Bai had his father go pay the taxes, just reporting a lower sales figure.

This fell under "sales of used goods," with a combined tax rate of 3%. The tax wasn't much, but it meant no risk of having his stall confiscated in the future.

Fang Bai's monthly sales exceeded the threshold for small-scale taxpayers and might even meet the standard for general taxpayers. When he had time, he'd need to register a company and pay taxes according to tax law, which would have a much higher combined rate.

Of course, if he could legally minimize taxes, Fang Bai would do that too.

After dinner, the family went out for a walk to digest their food.

When they got back, Fang Bai took a shower and read, while his parents and younger sister watched TV downstairs.

At ten o'clock in the evening, Fang Bai's parents were already in bed, chatting about the day's events.

Liu Fengqing was too excited to sleep; it all felt like a dream.

"Husband, the eight hundred yuan our son gave us last time—twenty went to our daughter for living expenses, most of it paid off debts, plus fifty to Second Aunt next door and a hundred and thirty-five to my relatives. Now that our son's making big money, we can clear all the debts. It feels like a dream."

"The day before yesterday, A Bai gave me two thousand. I bought two tricycles, and there's over eight hundred left. Let's use that to pay off debts first.

You borrowed money easily enough, but that's a debt of favor. Should we give them interest?"

"Interest? That's too formal. Just give them extra gifts during Chinese New Year, that's enough.

Let me tell you, those who had money but wouldn't lend to us—I'm not bothering with them anymore!

If they ever come asking us for money, no way!" Liu Fengqing got worked up just thinking about some relatives, especially her Second Sister-in-law, who was way too stingy.

Hearing this, Fang Shi didn't dare say a word.

She kept rattling on: "When I went to quit yesterday, you know what my boss said to me?

He said, 'Oh, Sister Liu, this job wasn't easy to come by—easy and flexible, you should cherish it.' I wanted to snap at him right then, all sweet talk.

That job paid only fifty yuan, and I wasn't even a regular school employee. Locals looked down on it, nobody wanted it. Outsiders thought the pay was too low and preferred factory work, where they could earn at least a hundred or so.

Only people like us, with no skills and a bit older, would take it.

I did it for over three years. If I'd known, I'd have gone to a factory earlier. Who'd have thought factories are so short on workers now?"

"Three years ago, things were different. There were far fewer factories, jobs were hard to find, and we didn't know how things worked in the city. Doing it for three years got us through a lot of tough times. The school wasn't bad."

"Not bad? I never said anything before, but now that our son's making money, let me list a few things.

When Second Sister-in-law sees me at school, she doesn't even greet me—afraid of being associated with her poor sister-in-law. I'm always the one to say hello first. When there are few people around, she might respond, but in a crowd, she acts like she doesn't see me.

I don't want to talk about this in front of the kids—it'd set a bad example.

But I've got a grudge, and if I don't let it out, I won't feel better.

And your mother—she picks vegetables from our garden to cook, and I don't mind that, but she picks them to give to Second Sister-in-law and badmouths me behind my back. She tells everyone in the village that Second Daughter-in-law, the teacher, is capable, while the young wife, the support worker, is an embarrassment.

The villagers told me. Don't think I don't know. Hey, tell me, what kind of mother-in-law is that?

If it weren't for the fact that your mother's old, as a daughter-in-law, I really wouldn't know what to say."

Liu Fengqing got more worked up as she spoke, tears streaming down her face. She stopped lying down, sat up, and kept venting.

Fang Shi didn't want to say anything. Every family has its troubles. His wife had indeed endured a lot over the years, bottling it all up, for a simple reason.

They had no skills, they were poor, and others looked down on them.

Now that their son had made it big, his wife wanted to let it all out.

"Hmph, well, now it's fine. I don't work as a support worker at the school anymore. They won't see me, so it'll be peaceful. I can just imagine Second Sister-in-law's smug face."

Fang Shi had heard enough; his ears felt like they were growing calluses. "Why say so much? If you've had your say, go to sleep."

"If I didn't tell you this, you'd never know how wronged I've felt all these years, keeping it all inside.

If our son hadn't turned out so well, I don't know when this hard life would ever end." Liu Fengqing kept rambling.

"If you can't sleep, get up and boil some milk for our son. I bought powdered milk. He's definitely still awake, probably reading."

Hearing this, Liu Fengqing stopped her nagging, quickly got up, slipped on her slippers, and headed out. She went to her son's bedroom door—it was slightly ajar. She pushed it open and saw he was indeed still reading.

He didn't even notice her open the door. She quietly closed it, sighed, and went downstairs to boil him some milk.

After about ten minutes, she boiled water, mixed the powdered milk, and brought a large bowl to place on his desk, telling him to rest early.

Back in the bedroom, Liu Fengqing saw her husband was already asleep. With no one left to listen to her nagging, she felt she'd said enough and was much more at ease. She lay down to rest.

Thank you to readers Tianhai Xiangyun, Jianhun Platform, and others for the generous tips.