Chapter 55 Thinking of a Long-Term Business

Yan Ziyue gave a light cough and looked around. "This is not the place to talk. Let's find somewhere quiet later to discuss this."

Xu Yuanjie understood this as well. "Alright, we can talk about it slowly in a bit."

If there was money to be made, he wanted in too.

Who would ever complain about having too much money?

Yan Ziyue then asked him for detailed information about the school, such as bonuses, holiday assignments, the teachers, and interpersonal relationships.

Xu Yuanjie truly lived up to his reputation as an all-knowing gossip; there was nothing about the school he did not know, right down to the petty gossip and rumors, which he was thoroughly clued in on.

"Hey, hey, hey, let me tell you a secret," he leaned in close and said in a very quiet voice.

Yan Ziyue's head was soon filled with all sorts of secrets. Sure enough, no matter where it was, as long as there were people, there would be countless secrets and conflicts, even right here in a school.

"What secret?"

Xu Yuanjie said, "I heard that the college entrance examination might be reinstated!"

Yan Ziyue froze in the middle of eating. She cast a vigilant glance around. "Eat up quickly, and we'll leave as soon as we're done."

The school cafeteria was far too crowded; it was far too easy for people to overhear.

If news like the potential reinstatement of the college entrance examination were to spread before any official announcement, it would invite a great deal of trouble.

Xu Yuanjie knew this as well.

The two of them hastily finished their meals and left the cafeteria with their remaining food.

Afterwards, Xu Yuanjie led Yan Ziyue to a relatively secluded spot on school grounds.

It was a small grove of trees.

"Almost nobody ever comes here," Xu Yuanjie had barely finished speaking when he heard a strange sound made by a person. "What's that noise?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Yan Ziyue clapped a hand over his mouth and forcefully dragged him away.

If she wasn't mistaken, that sound belonged to a pair of man and woman engaging in illicit affairs.

Even if she had never eaten pork, she had certainly seen pigs run.

The two walked a considerable distance away.

"Why did you drag me away just now? What was that sound?" Xu Yuanjie asked, like a child full of curiosity.

Yan Ziyue did not feel that these things couldn't be discussed with youngsters. In her view, children needed to understand these matters properly so they could avoid making mistakes out of sheer curiosity.

"There was a man and a woman sneaking around doing adult business. Understand?"

Xu Yuanjie was not a child completely ignorant of the world. His eyes widened. "Good grief!"

"No matter how secluded that place is, people go there occasionally. Aren't they afraid of getting caught?"

He had heard rumors of people hooking up at school, but he never expected to run into it himself.

Yan Ziyue gave him a light tap on the head. "That has nothing to do with us, and don't go poking your nose around either, unless you want to invite revenge."

Xu Yuanjie made a zipper motion across his lips with his hand. "Rest assured, I won't go prying into this."

"Let's get back to business."

The two of them squatted down in a corner of the playground to talk.

At this hour, there were plenty of students on the playground; most were running and jumping around, while others were reading books.

Precisely because of this, nobody paid any attention to Yan Ziyue and Xu Yuanjie.

"My idea is that we collect the notes of the top ten students in each grade," Yan Ziyue said in a low voice. "If you were in their shoes and could get them by spending just a tiny bit of money, would you be willing?"

Xu Yuanjie answered without hesitation, "I would!"

"Those are the top ten students' notes, after all—they're extremely precious. Otherwise, the other students wouldn't be constantly borrowing Old Zhu's notes to read."

A sudden realization dawned on him, and he gave a light slap to his palm. "You mean to sell Old Zhu and the others' notes at a low price?"

Yan Ziyue shook her head. "Not a low price."

"Look, these are the notes of the top ten students; selling them cheap wouldn't be worth it."

She held up a single finger. "Besides, our target audience isn't the students; it's the students' parents."

"Suppose it were your parents—if they found out notes from the top ten students were for sale, do you think they would buy them for you?"

Xu Yuanjie looked at her in admiration. "They would!"

"You're truly brilliant. It's your first day of school, and you've already come up with such a fantastic money-making idea."

If his parents knew there were notes from the top ten students available, no matter how expensive they were, they would buy them for him.

In the eyes of parents, notes from the top ten students were immensely valuable and could help him study better.

Yan Ziyue threw an arm around his shoulder and said with a grin, "So, this is where we need you."

"We probably won't be able to get Nie Cairi's notes, but the notes of the remaining top nine, as well as the top ten from the second and third years of junior high, I'll have to leave in your capable hands."

She held up two fingers. "You get thirty percent, I get thirty percent, and the remaining forty percent goes to the people who provide the notes."

"People need money to stay motivated, right? Don't you agree?"

She suddenly remembered something. "If we can also collect homework assignments and used textbooks belonging to the top ten, that would be even better, and we can command a higher price."

Xu Yuanjie rubbed his hands together, looking eager and excited. "Leave this to me. I can collect all of them by tomorrow."

"Oh, can we sell them at my family's grocery store?"

This was a golden opportunity to drum up business.

Yan Ziyue indicated that it was no problem at all. "I was just wondering where to sell them; you're doing me a huge favor."

Xu Yuanjie chuckled broadly. "How much should we set the prices at?"

Yan Ziyue pondered for a moment. "One yuan per notebook for the first-place student, eighty cents for the second, sixty cents for the third, and thirty cents each for the fourth through tenth places."

"Everything else will be priced similarly."

"This business can only be short-term. Once we sell for a while, people will start copying us, and by then we'll have to think of other ventures."

Xu Yuanjie understood this logic as well. "As soon as school lets out and I get home, I'll have my parents clear out a space specifically to sell these notes and assignments."

Hearing this, a flash of inspiration struck his mind. "Do you think anyone would be willing to pay for tutoring sessions from the top ten students?"

"Nie Cairi takes private English tutoring on the weekends from a high school English teacher. I heard it costs several yuan per lesson."

Hearing this, Yan Ziyue sighed with emotion, "Young people really do have sharp minds!"

"That idea of yours is exceptional."

"However, if we're going to do this business, we should run it long-term. Just think, there's never a shortage of students who need tutoring, right?"

Xu Yuanjie replied, "That's very true, there's no shortage at all."

"My parents kept wanting to send me to tutoring, but I stubbornly refused. Plus, tutoring is so expensive, which is why they ultimately didn't send me."

A complete plan slowly took shape in Yan Ziyue's mind. "Right now, we lack capital and connections, so we can only start small."

"First, ask Zhu Xinyu if he's willing to tutor other students' homework during his free time on weekends. As for the second and third years..."

Xu Yuanjie thumped his chest. "Leave it to me!"

"I'll get it sorted out this week."

Yan Ziyue said, "No, let's just stick with Zhu Xinyu for now."

"First, we're just testing the waters and don't know if anyone will actually be willing. Second, human hearts are unpredictable; who can guarantee that someone won't bypass us and deal directly with the students' parents behind our backs?"

"There are other potential issues as well. Under these circumstances, we need to stick to someone we trust completely, build up a certain reputation first, and only then recruit others."

Xu Yuanjie gave his forehead a gentle tap. "You're right to remind me; I was oversimplifying things."

"My parents often tell me how easily money can change a person."