Chapter 47: Orders
Su Licheng had not had an easy time since becoming deputy chief of the engineering division, nor was the job as simple as everyone imagined. Before holding the position, one could look on with envy, but only after actually handling its affairs could one understand the division's current circumstances.
That day, Su Can was helping in the shop while Zeng Ke sorted the stock when a man in his forties walked in, wearing a turtleneck and a gray-brown jacket. He seemed to know Zeng Ke. He bought a few softcover notebooks and pens and wanted a discount.
When Zeng Ke said there was little room for discounts in a small business, he grew displeased and sneered, "A small business? Then don't run a small business! How much money can you possibly make?"
As he spoke, he took out his wallet, twirled a pen between his fingers, then tossed it onto the counter. Looking around the shop, he said, "Selling all these little things, what kind of money can this shop of yours make?"
The man was rather rude, but Zeng Ke smiled. "Of course we can't compare with teachers like you. I heard your vocational school expanded again. You must be taking in more students this time. You teachers are educated and cultured, and you earn your regular salaries so easily. How could we compare?"
The man was a teacher at a nearby vocational school, surnamed Ma. Perhaps because he spent so much time around students and was at the peak of his career, he lacked the composure one might expect of someone in his forties. Instead, he was somewhat flighty and had a poor temper. Conscious of his status, he naturally looked down on urban retailers like Zeng Ke. This was hardly surprising. In an era