Chapter Thirty-Six: All Are Pleased

Throughout the entire process of filling out forms and waiting in line, Li Mu kept the disc he’d taken from the computer firmly in his hand, never once putting it away. Sun Peng and Zhu Ziwen constantly had their eyes on that disc, afraid that Li Mu might swap it for another during the money transfer, but Li Mu was even more meticulous than they’d expected. Not only did he never let go of the disc, but when he handed it to Sun Peng, he also took out the other two copies he’d burned and passed all three to him. “I was worried one disc might be damaged, and that could corrupt the core data, so I made three copies. Here they all are.”

Sun Peng smacked his forehead. “I completely forgot about that!” Indeed, if there had only been one copy and it got scratched on the way, what would they do? And if they went back to Li Mu and he refused to take responsibility, then what? But Li Mu was reliable and thorough. With three discs, everything was much easier—they could copy the data to their computer once they got home.

“The payment verification module still needs to be completed by you,” Li Mu reminded them kindly one last time.

Sun Peng nodded in gratitude. “Of course, we have ready-made code for that, and we’ve got our own server, too.”

Since they intended to do online verification, it made sense to have their own server. Li Mu didn’t say more, simply shook hands with Sun Peng. “Pleasure doing business together.”

“Likewise!”

Zhao Kang had been watching from outside the bank, peering through the glass doors. When he saw the two shaking hands, he knew the deal was done, so he quietly slipped to the side.

Li Mu, Sun Peng, and Zhu Ziwen exited together. He asked, “Where are you headed now?”

“We’re off to the station,” Sun Peng replied at once. “We need to see what tickets are left for today so we can head back.”

Li Mu nodded with a smile. “I live nearby, so I won’t go to the station with you.”

“No need, no need,” Sun Peng said quickly. “You go ahead and take care of your things. We’ll keep in touch online.”

“Ok.”

After seeing them off in a taxi, Li Mu turned to find Zhao Kang squatting outside a nearby tobacco shop, sipping a soda. Li Mu gave him a faint smile and waved.

At that moment, Zhao Kang resolved to follow Li Mu wholeheartedly—not because Li Mu had just earned eight hundred thousand with such ease, but because of that calm smile, so composed it was almost unimaginable.

He himself only had fifty thousand—a huge gap compared to eighty thousand—but even that made him so excited he could barely stand.

No, he truly couldn’t stand. His legs were utterly weak, not just numb from squatting, but from excitement so intense his whole body felt limp.

“Come on, let’s go inside so I can transfer you your money.”

Li Mu took the other bottle of cola from Zhao Kang, opened it, and took a sip.

After handing over the soda, Zhao Kang’s hand lingered awkwardly. With a sheepish grin and a trembling voice, he said, “Mind giving me a hand? My legs have no strength left…”

Li Mu chuckled and pulled him to his feet. Inside the bank, he had Zhao Kang take out his new card, filled in a transfer slip for eighty thousand using Zhao Kang’s account number.

Seeing the amount, Zhao Kang blurted out, “Xiao Mu, why is it eighty thousand again? Wasn’t it fifty thousand?”

“Ninety-ten split.”

“No, no, I can’t accept that. You did all the work for this…”

Zhao Kang was at a loss.

Li Mu said, “You may feel you didn’t do much this time, but remember, in the future the power of an internet ‘water army’ will be immense. Think about how you can rally a vast group of online posters, and make them professional and organized. We’ll need them for everything we do going forward.”

“But…”

“No buts! Just think about it when we get home. For now, let’s finish the transfer and get out of here.”

With just the right amount of firmness, Li Mu cut him off. Before leaving, they enjoyed a seafood feast together, spending over seven hundred. Zhao Kang insisted on treating, and Li Mu didn’t argue.

At two o’clock, they boarded the train home.

Their brief trip to Pengcheng had been a resounding success—Li Mu had seven hundred and twenty thousand on his card, Zhao Kang had eighty thousand, and Sun Peng now had the Stone Age Overlord. In the coming months, Sun Peng could dominate the Stone Age plug-in market. Even though Stone Age would eventually face competition from newer games, there was still money to be made. Li Mu estimated that if Sun Peng played his cards right, he could recoup his costs in three months, and after that, it would all be profit.

Li Mu didn’t throw away his Pengcheng mobile SIM card, but put it in his pocket after swapping it out.

A little after five in the afternoon, his mother called.

“Hello, Mom.”

“Son, what do you want for dinner? I’m off work, your dad and I are about to catch the bus.”

“I won’t be home for dinner,” Li Mu said, remembering their conversation from the day before and smiling. “I might be back late tonight. You and Dad go ahead and eat.”

“All right then, I won’t keep you. Calls are expensive.”

Just before hanging up, Li Mu heard his father say, “What’s the rush? It’s not even half a minute yet…”

Li Mu put his phone away, half amused, and asked Zhao Kang, “If you have time, want to get a driver’s license?”

Zhao Kang looked surprised. “Driving lessons? Is that really useful right now?”

“It’ll be an essential skill,” Li Mu said. “And the test is easier now—it’s only going to get harder. There’s even a class for recent high school graduates, so we’d be learning with our peers.”

Zhao Kang nodded. “If you say so, let’s do it together.”

“Great.” Li Mu grinned. “I’m still waiting for Su Yingxue to let me know, then we can sign up together.”

“Su Yingxue?” Zhao Kang’s eyes widened. “You’ve had a crush on her for three years, is this finally your move?”

As his best friend, Zhao Kang knew Li Mu had fallen for Su Yingxue on the very first day of high school, and had been hopelessly infatuated ever since.

But now, Li Mu’s feelings for Su Yingxue were complicated. He was, after all, a man who’d been through a lot, and when it came to romance, he felt worlds apart from Zhao Kang, who was still an eighteen-year-old virgin. He didn’t want to talk about it.

Seeing Li Mu’s silence, Zhao Kang assumed he was, as always, insecure and self-effacing. So he put on a casual face and said, “Honestly, you have more than enough to pursue Su Yingxue now—you’re good-looking, sure to get into Renmin University, and most importantly, you can make money. I doubt any other high schooler can compare with you.”

“We’ll talk about that later,” Li Mu said with a wry smile, lapsing into silence as he stared thoughtfully out the window at the scenery racing by. Zhao Kang had no idea what was on his mind and didn’t press further.

Li Mu, in fact, was making plans. The short-term money was in hand; perhaps it was time to prepare for bigger, long-term ambitions. As for Su Yingxue, since they’d still be classmates for four years in college, she too was a long-term prospect.

…

In the end, Li Mu didn’t tell his parents he’d earned seven hundred and twenty thousand.

After discussing it with Zhao Kang, they agreed to keep a low profile—Li Mu would tell his family he made one hundred eighty thousand, and Zhao Kang would say twenty thousand.

Li Mu worried his parents would never agree to his plan for them to open a franchise store if they knew the real amount, so he decided to conceal the true figure. He’d keep the store money hidden, contact Metersbonwe, rent a storefront, and wait for approval. Once Metersbonwe approved, he’d tell his parents. By then, with most of the money already spent, they’d have no grounds to refuse.

His parents, being state-owned enterprise workers of their generation, entirely lacked the courage to break from convention. If left to themselves after being laid off, their first—and ninety-ninth—thought would be to find another job. The hundredth thought would probably never be to start a business.

Back in Haizhou, the two of them grabbed some barbecue, each had two beers, and walked home together. Summer nights in Haizhou were lively, especially the food stalls and barbecue stands. The fewer the entertainment options, the busier the streets.

Passing an ATM, Zhao Kang withdrew five thousand yuan and counted out three thousand for Li Mu. “This is for the phone.”

Li Mu nodded and pocketed the cash—he was running low anyway.

Before heading their separate ways, Li Mu reminded Zhao Kang, “Remember, twenty thousand. Don’t slip up.”

“I got it,” Zhao Kang replied, making an ‘ok’ gesture. “I bet my parents will be over at your place tonight to confirm this. It’ll scare them silly.”

“I’ll be waiting at home then.”