OBS Chapter 5 The Zero-Food Group in the Dormitory
Chapter 5 The Zero-Food Group in the Dormitory
Chen Che returned to the dormitory and left a plastic bag full of drinks: "Hey guys, take a look, have some drinks to soothe your throats."
Ma Xu's eyes lit up: "Wow, godfather! So generous!"
Looking inside, I initially thought it would be cheap stuff like mineral water, iced tea, jasmine tea, or jasmine honey tea, but it turned out to be milk, coffee, and sports drinks that cost more than 5 yuan.
Ma Xu took out a bottle of strawberry milk, the label still attached.
"Chezi, what does this note mean? How can I sleep if I can't see your smile? Can I get to know it?"
"It was a gift from a simp, ignore it."
"Was it a gift from someone?"
"yes."
Is this the power of being handsome?
The guys in the dorm were a bit shaken. They'd been single since birth and had never even held a girl's hand properly. They'd heard that girls their age were all soft and fragrant, but they didn't know if that was true.
"But some of them have crooked handwriting, so they must have been written by a boy. They even have contact information."
"Well, it's normal for an outstanding man like me to attract not only women but also men."
"..."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Ma Xu opened the door and saw a sturdy-looking boy carrying a small basket filled with various snacks such as calcium supplements, instant noodles, and spicy strips. Underneath the basket were various denominations of banknotes and coins of one yuan or fifty cents.
At that moment, the other person pulled a pack of sanitary napkins from the basket and said expressionlessly, "Which student bought these sanitary napkins?"
"Huh?" The people in the dormitory all laughed.
"Holy crap, our dorm bought this?" Ma Xu exclaimed in shock.
Has the story of Mulan taking her father's place in the army happened in modern times? Actually, one of my roommates is a cute girl?
"Zilong, you didn't buy this, did you?" Ma Xu looked suspiciously at Zhao Zilong, who was sitting at the innermost corner reading a book. This guy was a local from Jinling and the quietest one in the dormitory. He didn't talk much and preferred to study or read quietly.
Upon hearing Ma Xu's words, Zhao Zilong adjusted his glasses, turned his head to glance at Ma Xu indifferently, and then casually uttered a single sentence.
"Idiot." He added the middle finger.
"Uh, okay." Ma Xu scratched his head, not taking it seriously. That's how it is when you get to know each other in a boys' dormitory. Every day, they either use traditional Chinese culture as an interjection or have a father-son game of "good son." There's no intention to be malicious.
Just as Ma Xu was still looking confused, Wang Guangyu waved and said, "I bought it, I bought it."
"Old Wang, why did you buy this thing?"
The nickname "Old Wang" seems to be the common fate of all students with the surname Wang.
Wang Guangyu took out a twenty-yuan note, got the change from the boy, and was about to distribute it to everyone.
"Damn, these military training shoes are killing me. All I do is stand at attention when I'm not doing anything. I heard them say that putting a sanitary napkin in the shoes can make them more comfortable."
Chen Che took a sanitary napkin from Wang Guangyu and sincerely said thank you.
"It's nothing, no need to thank me."
"Hey, Lao Wang, who was that boy just now?" Chen Che asked.
"The senior downstairs is named Xu Zhen. He created a snack group and delivers snacks to the dorm at night," Wang Guangyu replied after thinking for a moment.
"They sell this stuff in snack groups?" Chen Che waved the item in his hand.
"Hey, it's just the beginning of the semester, and the freshmen have to do military training. I just bought some supplies when I was getting the goods delivered. It's so convenient that they can deliver them directly to us, saving us the embarrassment of having to go to the supermarket to buy them ourselves."
"Tsk, oh yeah," Chen Che said, rubbing his chin, "Could you add me to his snack group too?"
"Okay."
Before long, Chen Che joined a QQ group called "Xu Zhen's Convenience Store," where messages were constantly scrolling.
17D-302: "Two packs of instant noodles, two duck legs, and two bottles of iced tea."
Xu Zhen: "Received."
17C-605: "Six bottles of mineral water and one pack of Weilong cigarettes."
Xu Zhen: "Received."
16B-504: "Boss Xu, could you deliver to Building 16 too? Our building's out for a delivery today."
Xu Zhen replied after a while: "Brother, I'm really busy. Why don't you come and get it yourself?"
Chen Che opened the group announcement again and saw two pinned messages.
Article :
"Hello everyone, I'm Xu Zhen, the owner of our snack shop group. Thank you all for your support, which has allowed our shop to continue operating. New members, please change your group ID to your building number plus your dormitory room number. Unless there are special circumstances, our normal business hours are from 7 pm to 11 pm."
Article :
"Since I am about to graduate, I am going to transfer this snack group. If you are interested, please contact me privately."
Chen Che didn't place any orders. He just got a general understanding of the snack group and then killed time until the snack group closed.
After a busy night, Xu Zhen finally returned to her dormitory. But returning to the dormitory did not mean she could rest. She still needed to take stock of her inventory before she could finally lie down in bed.
That night was no different from any other. I delivered the orders from the group to various dormitories, going from street to street. Lighter snacks were fine, but some drinks weighing several kilograms had to be carried up five or six floors, which was really tiring. But you have to make money by doing small business. There's no other way. Everyone has their own hardships to endure if they want to make money.
Fortunately, since I took over the operation of this snack group, the overall situation is quite good. The number of people in the group is increasing, and the number of orders every night is also increasing accordingly. I always make a profit of five or six hundred yuan a month. If I work hard and actively, I can make a profit of almost a thousand yuan.
But after all these years, I'm about to graduate from university, and it's time to seriously consider my future. Finding a job, taking the civil service exam, or preparing for graduate school all require time.
Just then, someone gently knocked on the door. It was already eleven o'clock, and although my roommates were still awake, I was grateful for their understanding and quietly went to open the door. A handsome young man stood at the door and asked, "Boss Xu, are you closed yet?"
"Yes, I just finished taking my order. Are you here to buy something?"
"Okay, two bottles of AD calcium, please."
"Oh, it's 4 yuan. Take it yourself. The straw is in the plastic wrap."
Chen Che transferred 4 yuan to Xu Zhen, picked up two bottles of AD calcium, and shoved one of them into Xu Zhen's hand.
"What's going on?" Xu Zhen was a little confused.
"I'm buying you a drink. Do you have time to chat outside for a bit?"
Outside the dormitory gate, the dim streetlights cast silhouettes of tree branches. Occasionally, a student would come down, fill a kettle with hot water at the entrance, and return to the dormitory, glancing at Xu Zhen and Chen Che sitting on the stairs.
Chen Che took a sip of AD calcium, finding it much sweeter than life itself.
"Junior, what do you need me for?"
Chen Che didn't stand on ceremony and went straight to the point: "Senior, has anyone taken over your convenience store?"
"Not yet, are you interested?"
Chen Che remained silent, looking neither agreeable nor disagreeable.
"We're classmates, so I won't rip you off. I'll just be frank: it's a flat price of two thousand yuan."
"How much profit have you made this month? Tell me first."
Xu Zhen thought for a moment about whether or not to say that the convenience store mainly sells fast-moving consumer goods, and the prices are transparent with reference to supermarkets, so there's really nothing she can't say.
"It's usually five or six hundred, better ones seven or eight hundred, and you can break even in three months."
This business has its advantages and disadvantages compared to the work-study program at school. The work-study program pays much more per hour, and the work is relatively easy, mainly involving printing materials, stamping, and running errands. However, the school has set a monthly cap of 300 yuan.
Selling snacks doesn't require running around the entire school, and if done properly, it can definitely earn more than 300 yuan. The downside is that it can be quite tiring at times, and besides delivery time, there's also the time spent on accounting and inventory management.
Chen Che suddenly changed the subject: "Senior, what's your major?"
"Me? I study biology."
When filling out her college application, Xu Zhen heard somewhere that the 21st century was the century of biology, so she foolishly chose biology. Moreover, at that time, information sources were relatively limited, and apart from teachers, doctors, and civil servants, which were the most popular professions among parents, she didn't have much in-depth knowledge about the others.
Thinking about it now, haha.
"Are you planning to find a job after graduation? Or take the civil service exam or graduate school entrance exam?"
"I should look for a job. Sigh, to be honest, I'm really bad at exams, I just can't seem to learn anything," Xu Zhen sighed.
"Hmm, so after graduation, I'd estimate around four or five thousand a month?" Chen Che gave a rough estimate.
"Pretty much, sigh, I feel like I should have chosen civil engineering back then."
The 4 trillion yuan infrastructure stimulus plan in 2008 brought in an endless fiscal budget through land sales. Real estate developers bought land and built houses at breakneck speed. In 2012, at the height of the prosperity, what's wrong with a little more construction?
Civil engineering is the top-tier, the most prestigious major.
"So, do you think that if you could do business on ten or twenty buildings, your income would be about right?" Chen Che suddenly asked with a serious expression.