Chapter 40: Do You Know Who I Am?

"Huh?"

Chen Xiaobei, still dazed and having paid the bill before he even fully processed what was happening, sat down at a table with Wang Can and Yang Shuang. Each of them held a paper bucket emblazoned with the "Hao Dada Chicken Cutlet" logo.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off; it was Wang Can who had been putting on a show, yet it was his own money that had been spent.

Once the three of them left, the stall grew lively again.

"Whoa! Is this family bucket really that good a deal? And it comes with three milk teas?"

"Seriously, it looks like enough to feed four people."

"Only a fool would pass up a bargain like that. Give me one, too!"

"Hey classmate, want to split an order? I can't eat that much, but I want to try a bit of everything..."

"Count me in!"

Fang Fei watched the crowd regathering at the stall and couldn't help but roll her eyes.

*So tired...*

*Eh, just smile and let it slide.*

Wang Can was very satisfied with the result.

His chicken cutlet combo had almost no profit margin after accounting for labor and the school’s cut; it was strictly a loss leader to attract customers. The other items, however, were priced at standard market rates, which was how he earned his living expenses.

Still, the most important goal of running this shop was to accumulate experience in preparation for future expansion. Only by achieving scale would he truly start making real money.

However, while his performance had driven new sales, it had also invited criticism from a few classmates who had been watching the entire spectacle.

"Why do I feel like Wang Can is being a bit pretentious?" Shi Qing curled her lip. "He hurriedly took off his work apron before his roommates arrived—is he ashamed? And he was shouting so enthusiastically earlier, I thought he was going to treat everyone. Turns out it was Chen Xiaobei who swiped the card."

"By comparison, Zhang Bailan is much more down-to-earth."

For once, Meng Nanxi didn't argue, nodding in agreement.

She had always believed that poverty was nothing to be ashamed of; after all, wealth could be attained through hard work. But that kind of vanity, the deliberate concealment of one's background—like those who refused to acknowledge their parents at school because they were janitors—was different. This sort of self-deceiving pretense was far more contemptible than honest poverty.

Jiang Zi wanted to defend Wang Can, but she couldn't find a suitable reason, as she didn't know he was the owner of the shop either.

...

"Old Wang, this is way too much. How are we supposed to finish all this?"

Chen Xiaobei stared at the overflowing bucket of fried chicken in front of him, clicking his tongue in disbelief.

Yang Shuang nodded silently beside him, clearly just as surprised by the portion size.

Wang Can bit into his own chicken cutlet, unfazed, and said muffledly, "If you can't finish it, save it as a snack for this afternoon, or have Bailan heat it up for you tonight as dinner."

"Alright then."

Chen Xiaobei compromised and bit into a piece of chicken, his eyes lighting up immediately. "Hey, this is actually pretty good. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside."

"It really is," Yang Shuang agreed after tasting a piece, nodding approvingly. "The heat was controlled perfectly; it's not dry at all."

He tried a piece of the plum-powder sweet potato as well. "These sweet potato fries are great, too. The perfect balance of sweet and sour."

The two were soon eating with gusto, which was proof enough that Guan Guoqing had real talent.

"Old Can, why didn't you take that free milk tea?" Chen Xiaobei suddenly remembered to ask. "The color looked pretty tempting."

"That?" Wang Can said dismissively. "It's just non-dairy creamer mixed with flavoring. The cost is less than seventy cents. I’m looking out for your health."

"But it looks just like the stuff sold at the school's milk tea shop," Chen Xiaobei pressed, confused.

In 2012, in Shenhai, the milk tea market had yet to be dominated by big chains. Apart from the local brand Happy Lemon, only Coco was relatively common. At the time, a large "Three Brothers" milk tea at Coco cost eight yuan and used the same non-dairy creamer; the nine-yuan "Ton-Ton Bucket" was no exception.

"That's exactly why I'm saying milk tea isn't healthy. You're better off drinking less of it," Wang Can explained.

However, after Chen Xiaobei brought it up, he did think that a milk tea chain might be a good business opportunity. He would ask Shao Wenrun about the milk tea market at Shenhai University another day.

"That chicken leg you get for a flyer looked like a good deal, but too bad we didn't have one," Yang Shuang chimed in.

Wang Can shook his head with a smile. "That’s not a real chicken leg. It’s a chicken wing root that costs a few cents, coated in a thick layer of breadcrumbs. It just looks big; nothing to regret missing out on."

"Old Wang, how are you so clear on all these details?" Chen Xiaobei asked casually. "You sound like the owner of the shop."

Wang Can felt a jolt of alarm, wondering why Chen Xiaobei had suddenly become so sharp today.

Just as he was about to brush it off, a commotion erupted from the "Hao Dada Chicken Cutlet" stall nearby:

"Are you kidding me? If people see us with one bucket each, they'll think we can't afford it."

"Give us four more buckets! We’ll have two each! And keep the free milk tea, it makes me cough."

The three of them looked toward the sound and saw a handsome boy imitating Wang Can’s earlier tone with great flair.

"Isn't that... the guy who had snacks delivered to him by a few KTV hostesses during military training? What was his name again?" Chen Xiaobei squinted, trying to recall.

That had been the afternoon of the day after Wang Can was "taken care of" by Qi Dong and Qi Xia. Several women in student-like uniforms had arrived at the economics department's training field carrying large bags of snacks.

Although they were dressed young, their heavy makeup and skirts, which were so short they were almost indecent, made it clear to Chen Xiaobei at a glance that they were KTV hostesses. At the time, he had assumed someone in Class One had a family in the nightlife business.

"Zhou Yang, that's him," Yang Shuang confirmed. "He gifted two cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes to the Class One instructor and covered the cost of water and ice cream for the whole class during the training. He was later elected class monitor unanimously. I heard he's been looking for a teacher from the Art Academy to help him learn how to sing."

"He sure knows how to throw money around," Wang Can remarked with genuine admiration.

Eight family buckets—spending over three hundred yuan on a single lunch. He wished there were more "rich second generations" like this.

Fang Fei’s mood was the exact opposite of Wang Can’s excitement. Being ordered around by her own boss was one thing, but why did some idiot have to come over and shout so loudly?

*I'm not deaf...*

*Eh, just smile and let it slide.*

...

A few minutes later, the boy calling himself Zhou Yang sauntered toward Wang Can with a few followers in tow.

His lackeys were scrambling to carry the eight family buckets behind him. The aroma of fried chicken wafted through the air as they walked, causing students at nearby tables to turn and stare.

"Do you know who I am?"

Zhou Yang stopped, hands in his pockets, peering down at Wang Can from a height.

"I do. Zhou Yang from Class Two of Economics and Management," Wang Can nodded, reciting the information he had just learned.

"Is that all?"

Zhou Yang raised an eyebrow, clearly dissatisfied with the answer.

"Yeah, what about it?"

Wang Can leaned back in his chair, examining the inexplicably arrogant rich kid with interest, wondering what exactly he was up to.

Zhou Yang straightened his collar and cleared his throat with great solemnity:

"Then let me introduce myself properly. Zhou Yang, the sole legal heir to the Hanhai Industrial Group. My father—" he paused for dramatic effect, "—is ranked 97th on the China Rich List."

"So?"

"So, I've decided to give you an opportunity. Come be my strategist. Whatever your living expenses are, I'll triple them."

"?"