55 10,000 Yuan

After dining and wining to satiety, Sister Xue asked for a bowl of yoghurt for each of them. She had talked of that yoghurt very positively.

The freshly-prepared yoghurt, which was placed randomly on the window sill, was served in bowls made of willow. The bowls had an original texture. In those black wooden bowls, the yoghurt seemed whiter, finer and smoother. There were also raisins from Turpan scattered on its surface.

The large, full raisins and thick layer of black sesame made the yoghurt look more attractive.

The waiter handed a small bowl of white granulated sugar to them. There was no sugar in the yoghurt, but customers could add some according to their taste.

Qin Guan held the bowl to take a sip. The aroma of milk together with the special sourness of the fermentation filled his mouth. It’s tasty! Qin Guan finished one bowl in a few mouthfuls.

There was still some left in the bowl though. Qin Guan looked at it eagerly. Knowing that he was about to act silly again, Sister Xue rushed to stop him, "Don't lick the bowl! I’ll order one more for you!" Qin Guan stared at the bowl regretfully. Can I have one more bowl to lick? He lifted the empty bowl and shouted to the waiter, "One more, please!"

Sister Xue kept an eye on him until dinner was over for fear that he would do something embarrassing again.

She let out a long breath after she drove Professor Li home. Relieved, she drove Qin Guan back to campus.

On the way there, she informed Qin Guan of their future plans, "The second poster shooting for J shirts is in June. They were really satisfied with the outcome last time, so there might be an extra bonus this time."

"You have to continue your lessons with Professor Li until vacation, when you will have some spare time. Professional models never rest though."

"As a part-timer, the company will surely assign some trial jobs to you so they can test your ability. You have to be serious to make a successful debut. It’s essential if you want to make money, understand?"

Qin Guan nodded, especially when he heard the word "money".

Before he got out of the car, Sister Xue added, "Watch your figure and stop being crapulent. Don’t make me lose face in front of the whole country!"

Qin Guan gestured at her to reassure her before he shut the door and waved. Then he entered the campus.

Without any trouble, Qin Guan had become a professional model. Although he was still a C-level model, it was a good place to start.

The story pauses here temporarily. June, which Qin Guan was the most nervous about, finally came around.

On the first day of June, he put all the memory banks in his backpack and walked to the entrance of the Zhongguancun Mansion nonchalantly.

He didn’t go to the third floor right away for fear of being recognized by the shop owner he’d met last time. That would only have made things more complicated.

Qin Guan went around the building, heading directly to the Pacific Digital Building.

There were busy shop assistants everywhere, carrying computer boxes and displaying cases in carts as they moved up and down the corridor.

On the first floor, computers and digital products were on sale. The rest of the shops were basically retailers that assembled and repaired computers for companies and individuals.

Qin Guan took the lift to the fourth floor and consulted the shops one by one about the price of memory banks.

"Sir, do you have any 128M memory banks?"

The shop owner was young, and he scanned Qin Guan from head to toe before he asked, "What for? There are no new products here. If you want a memory bank for your computer, I have a second-hand one. There’s only one, but it’s surely cheaper than a new one. 120 yuan, does that work for you?"

Qin Guan was speechless. I bought the new memory banks for 79 yuan each, and you’re asking me to pay 120 yuan for a second-hand one? Do you think I’m an idiot?

The shop owner seemed to read Qin Guan's mind. He sighed as he said, "I don’t want to sell you an old one either. Are you suspicious of my offer? I’m not trying to cheat you. You can ask at the other shops as well. It’s a fair price."

Qin Guan was actually happy about it. "How much would a new one cost?" he asked.

The young shop owner answered vaguely, "There’s a price for them, but they’re not on sale. The standard price in today's market is 246 yuan for a 128M bank. They are out of stock. The dealers have stocked them, but they refuse to sell them. Maybe they’re waiting for them to have babies."

Qin Guan asked again carefully, "They’re out of stock?"

The shop owner answered excitedly, "Yes! Without banks, I can't do anything but sell other parts. I can't even assemble a computer. I’ll lose a lot of business!"

Qin Guan was glad to hear that. "Several days ago, I bought some banks for my friend, who runs an internet cafe. There are still some left. Would you like to buy them?"

The young man suddenly stood up behind the counter. "Let me take a look. Are they new or second-hand? How many do you have?" he asked urgently.

Qin Guan put down his backpack and took out five memory banks.

The shop owner took them in his hands and checked them over carefully. The memory banks could be seen clearly in their transparent plastic packages.

They beared no scratches or traces of being opened, and the trademarks were clear. The young man knew that they were new products right away.

"Do you want to sell them? I’ll buy them all at their current market price." He held the banks tightly in his hand, unwilling to let them go.

Qin Guan smiled. "I do!"

The shop owner was straightforward. He took out a calculator and started pressing numbers on it. Then he pushed the calculator toward Qin Guan, showing him the number 1,230 on the screen. "Is that right?"

Qin Guan picked up the calculator. An enigmatic smile formed on his face as he said, "Deal!"

The young man was really happy to hear that. He counted the bills and handed them to Qin Guan. With these banks, my business will flourish. My shop will be the only one with memory banks in stock. At least five customers will pay extra money for them!

The poor shop owner did not know that there were still 95 memory banks in Qin Guan's backpack. He also didn't know that Qin Guan would sell banks to more shops after he left.

If he had known, he would have surely shouted loudly, "Give them all to me! I want to buy all 100 banks!"