Chapter 035: Truly Wealthy People

The decision to open an internet café, spearheaded by Mingxia Tan and supported by Zhang Tan, passed without much difficulty. A significant reason for this was Zhang Tan’s eldest uncle, who endorsed the idea. Having replaced Hezhong Zhang at the commune office, he was knowledgeable and decisive, and he had some understanding of the novel concept of internet cafés. With his support for his son and daughter-in-law to launch the business, the second uncle and aunt naturally followed suit.

Seeing that the second uncle’s family and eldest cousin’s family were both willing, the fourth uncle and aunt, though somewhat bewildered, nodded along as well. Thus, the three families joined forces to open an internet café.

Zhang Tan, precocious beyond his years, was intimately familiar with internet cafés and had initiated the project. He successfully secured the right to oversee planning—or at least, to make suggestions. Yet no matter how exceptional he appeared, to the adults, he was still just a first-year high school kid.

Changing that perception would prove difficult.

He suggested they take out a loan to open a larger café with at least fifty computers, but the proposal was quickly rejected; they would start with a small café of just twenty machines.

However, everyone agreed with Zhang Tan’s idea about the location, settling on a spot opposite the Jianghuai Industrial Park, targeting the factory workers and students from Gangji Middle School nearby as their main customers.

Zhang Tan was also put in charge of selecting the computers, since he was the only one with any real knowledge of them. The adults assumed he had spent many hours in internet cafés and would know which machines to buy, simply by following the models used in other cafés.

The responsibility of obtaining the necessary business licenses and dealing with the commerce bureau, tax office, and police station fell to the eldest uncle, who would take the second uncle along to get familiar with the procedures. Once the second uncle learned the ropes, he would manage those affairs in the future.

Securing the lease and arranging utilities were assigned to the fourth uncle and aunt. Since the fourth uncle had his own job, he would simply help the fourth aunt with the preliminary preparations.

Zhang Quanshun, Mingxia Tan, and Zhang Tan’s immediate family were to handle the accounts and equipment procurement.

After a full day of discussion, they also finalized the division of shares. The planned total investment was eighty thousand yuan, with Zhang Quanshun’s family contributing forty thousand and thus holding half the shares. The remaining forty thousand was split evenly between the fourth aunt’s family and the second aunt’s family, each holding a quarter. The families would take turns managing the accounts and cleaning duties, but all finances and administration would be overseen by Zhang Quanshun.

Additionally, at Zhang Tan’s suggestion, the café would include a small convenience store and a fried rice stand to provide food and drink for customers. With three owners, each with their own families, it only made sense to keep everyone occupied.

...

On September 30th, after lunch, Zhang Tan shouldered his backpack and set out.

He planned to spend the afternoon at Bainaohui, a well-known electronics mall in Hefei, to inquire about the equipment needed for the café; once preparations at home were complete, they could return to make the purchase.

But first, he headed to Anhui Medical University.

Zhang Tan had an older sister, three years his senior, named Zhang Yan. Her name was plain—perhaps even less distinguished than his own. Zhang Yan was an excellent student, the first university student in the Zhang family, and, prior to Zhang Tan’s rebirth, the only one. Despite the large number of younger relatives in the family, none could match her academic achievements.

Arriving at the university gate, Zhang Tan took out his Nokia 3210 and called his sister’s dorm.

He had originally wanted to buy a phone for his father as well, to keep up with the trends, but when he mentioned it, Mingxia Tan nearly confiscated his own phone—so his father would have to make do with his old pager for now.

“Yangyang, are you here already?”

“Yeah, I’m heading toward the girls’ dorm. Come meet me downstairs.”

“Do you even know where the girls’ dorm is?”

“Come on, Sis, I have a mouth—I can ask.”

“It’s not that simple. The dorms are scattered all over campus. If you ask around, you’ll probably get lost. I’ll just come to the gate and meet you.”

“No need. I’m already downstairs at your building. It’s that three-story block, right? It looks pretty shabby. The dorm lady is glaring at me—she looks fierce, eyes bulging.”

In his previous life, Zhang Tan had visited Anhui Medical University countless times, so he knew his way around and went straight to Zhang Yan’s dorm.

“You’re downstairs? Let me see,” she replied.

Zhang Tan looked up to see a delicate-looking girl leaning out of a window on the second floor—it was his sister. Two more girls soon joined her; they must have been her roommates.

He waved. “Come down.”

The dorm supervisor didn’t allow boys into the girls’ dorm, so Zhang Tan could only speak to his sister outside.

She looked younger and more innocent than she would in the future. Now, having adapted to his second chance at life, Zhang Tan felt little nostalgia. He simply took five hundred yuan from his pocket. “Sis, here’s five hundred. Buy yourself some clothes.”

“Where did you get the money?” Zhang Yan asked, puzzled.

“I earned it writing.”

Zhang Tan was in a hurry to get to Bainaohui, so he didn’t linger. He handed her the money, told her the family was opening an internet café, mentioned that he was making money writing novels, and gave her a copy of “Tales of the Present and Past” as a keepsake before taking his leave.

He had meant to give her more. Because the family was poor, Zhang Yan lived frugally at school—scrimping on food and clothes, looking more threadbare than most students. Zhang Tan wasn’t selfish; having improved his own life, he wanted to help his sister too. Unfortunately, he’d had over four thousand yuan, but before leaving, Mingxia Tan had taken three thousand. Now, with little more than a thousand left, he could only spare five hundred for Zhang Yan.

...

Zhang Tan hurried away.

Zhang Yan, meanwhile, was left with a mind full of questions.

“Yangyang is making money writing novels now?”

She was quite surprised. Her impression of Zhang Tan was still of a mischievous boy who would pout if she didn’t bring him treats when she came home for school breaks. In the blink of an eye, her little brother was earning money—writing a thirty-thousand-character novel and earning seven or eight thousand yuan.

And the family was opening an internet café?

“Also, was Yangyang using a mobile phone when he called me?”

Still pondering these questions, Zhang Yan returned to her four-person dorm room. As soon as she entered, her roommates asked curiously, “Zhang Yan, was that your brother?”

“Yeah.”

“I saw him give you money, and a book too?”

“Oh, it’s a magazine—‘Tales of the Present and Past.’” Though Zhang Yan was full of doubts, she couldn’t hide her pride and showed off the magazine. “My brother published a martial arts story in here.”

“What? Your brother’s a published author?”

The three roommates were astonished and crowded around to see the magazine, eager to ask, “Which story is his?”

“‘The Four Great Constables Shock Guandong,’ under the pen name Tan Zhang.”

The story was quickly found, and exclamations of amazement followed.

“Zhang Yan, your brother is so talented!”

“Yes, I’m so jealous—you have a writer for a brother!”

“If your brother’s publishing stories like this, that money he gave you must have been his writing fee, right?”

Zhang Yan wanted to act reserved, but her pride overwhelmed her restraint. She smiled and said, “That’s right. He wrote a thirty-thousand-character story that was published in ‘Tales of the Present and Past.’ Next month, it’ll be serialized in the inaugural issue of ‘Tales of the Present and Past: Wuxia Edition’—and he gets two hundred yuan per thousand characters.”

“Two hundred per thousand? That’s two thousand for ten thousand characters! Wow, your brother’s rich! Zhang Yan, you have to introduce us!”

———

Thanks to vShiyev, The Greater China Federation, Liezi Rides the Wind 1990, Qihui, z~Online, and Dragonfate Little T for their rewards.

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