204 A Shrewd Merchan

Under the archway of an overpass, Wang Xiaor, a hard-working delivery boy, was waiting for his boss next to his tricycle.

He had just taken a cigarette from his colleague, who was in charge of West Street, when he saw a white minibus draw near on the dusty road.

The newspaper man called Pipe was the largest newspaper seller in the eastern part of the capital. He had more than 30 delivery boys working for him.

As a successful businessman, he believed in a professional vision. It was said that there would be a new magazine released that day, but he hadn’t paid attention to it. The distributing bureau assigned a basic magazine volume to him, so he had to trust them.

He had the ability to swallow magazines up after all.

Pipe stamped on his brakes and parked his car between his delivery boys.

When he opened the trunk, his men gathered around to help him carry the magazines down.

Pipe took out a cigarette, and Wang Xiaor lit it up.

"Be careful with the names. Don’t mix them up. Today there’s a new magazine coming out. Follow our old rules and distribute it to your own newsstands."

"What? Boss, did you have a look at it yet? They have issued an excessive volume."

"They are just overconfident. The magazines will be returned to the periodical office after a week."

Wang Xiaor’s hand trembled. He was still holding the lighter. My business expands to only two newsstands! What will this mean for me?

With the cigarette in his mouth, Pipe shouted at his men, "Shut up! I’m a considerate man! When did I cheat you?"

They all sighed in relief. If the stands returned the magazines though, they would have to share the loss. Labor cost was also an expense after all.

"Stop with that rubbish! Ask your men to be diligent. It's six already. Hurry up! Carry them away!"

They all got to work. The magazines and newspapers were carried away in a short while.

Countless tricycles left the archway, heading in all directions like tidewater.

Pipe spat the bottom of his cigarette out and stamped on it with his shoe, preparing to return home.

A copy of the new magazine was left in his truck. Pipe took it out and saw the gift in the package. It was a red lip gloss.

Ha! I can give this to my wife as a gift. She’s asking for expensive cosmetics all the time!

He tore the elegant plastic package, and the lip gloss fell in his hand. He took a look at the cover.

Those foreign publishers were wealthy and generous. An elegant magazine and a gift that cost 15 yuan.

Pipe was attracted by VOGUE. The colorful box of the lips gloss was overshadowed by the beautiful model on the cover though.

Pipe flipped through the pages and closed the magazine again with trembling hands. His eyes were fixed on the cover. That black-and-white photo gave him an unusual feeling.

He felt like he was 18 again, and he and his wife were hiding in a haystack like they used to do in the summer. It was so romantic and passionate.

I have to do something for the model on the cover. Pipe picked up his cell phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello, Lao Li? Yes, it's me. The new magazine is out today, yes. VOGUE, the one with the black-and-white cover. I have ordered at least 20 copies for each stand, right? I want an extra 6,000 copies for more than 600 stands. No, no! Not reserved. I want the goods before they’re sold out. There’s enough stock? Great! I’ll count on you!"

Pipe let out a long sigh of relief and hung up. He smiled like silly in the quiet and put the lip gloss on Qin Guan's lips before driving home to his wife.

Meanwhile, Wang Xiaor was busy cycling. The first stand was really close.

Lao Zhang, the boss, was throwing away the dam-boards from his stand when he got there. He greeted Wang right away, "Unload! I’m busy now!"

"No problem!" Wang Xiaor responded. He put the magazines and newspapers on a shelf outside the stand.

That’s the first one done. If I hurry up, I could deliver everything before seven o’clock.

Wang Xiaor left. Lao Zhang untied the nylon rope and put the magazines and newspapers in order on the shelf according to their different categories.

Not long after, the stand beside the subway station would experience its peak sale time.

Hurried office workers would walk to the subway, carrying bags of breakfast.

Most of them would stand by the newspaper stand to have a look and choose something to read on their long way to work.

"A Rayli, please!" A fashionable young girl was looking at the magazines while taking out her purse.

"No, wait a moment." Her eyes had been attracted by a black-and-white cover among colorful ones.

She picked up the magazine from the shelf to see the whole picture.

Among all the female stars, Qin Guan's face was the most striking.

With his light eyelashes, blank expression and slightly open lips, he was really a shocking beauty. He was still manly though. He had a slender neck and a beautiful Adam's apple.

"I want this one. Oh, there’s a gift? I want two!"

I can give one to my friend in the office as a gift. She has the same taste as me. Besides, it’s the first issue. I can't miss such an elegant magazine.

"Thank you, 30 yuan."

The girl took out three bills and grabbed another copy from the shelf.

Lao Zhang touched his jaw, as if thinking of something. He looked at the vacancy on the shelf and carried all the VOGUEs outside. He put four more copies in a line on the shelf, making them more obvious. People would be able to see the black-and-white cover among the bright red and green ones from afar.