Chapter 55

Dan RAO originally thought that Bian Xuedao was sharing a place with others, but upon entering the house, she found that the entire place was occupied by Bian Xuedao alone.

Bian Xuedao said the landlord had gone to Beijing to accompany his pregnant daughter. However, the observant Dan RAO noticed something amiss from the room's layout, decorations, and color scheme; the house didn't look like it was shared by an old professor and a tenant.

Sitting on the sofa, Dan RAO casually asked, "Is the sofa new?"

Bian Xuedao, who was fiddling with a guitar, didn't pay much attention and casually replied, "I bought it over two months ago."

Bian Xuedao was tuning the guitar while Dan RAO wandered around the house. Each time Bian Xuedao played a note, he would ask if it was good, and Dan RAO, without even looking, would say it was fine.

After a few rounds, Dan RAO was almost certain that the house belonged to Bian Xuedao. If she hadn't known about his financial situation, she wouldn't have thought this way, but now that she did, it wasn't hard to guess.

Dan RAO sat down next to Bian Xuedao and watched him play with the guitar with great interest.

The sound of a key turning in the lock came from outside the door, and Li Yu entered, carrying a bag of vegetables, taking off his shoes while looking around the room.

Seeing Dan RAO inside, Li Yu was taken aback, then put down the vegetables and said, "Sorry, I must have the wrong door. You guys continue." He was about to put on his shoes and leave.

Bian Xuedao said, "Stop pretending. Help Dan RAO tune the guitar, I'll go cook. I told you to buy vegetables, and you've been gone for almost two hours. I thought you went to plant them."

Bian Xuedao took the vegetables into the kitchen, and Li Yu took off his coat and came over. Seeing Dan RAO's guitar, he said in surprise, "Hey, your guitar is the same as Lao Bian's?"

Dan RAO said, "The last time Bian Xuedao bought a guitar, we went together."

Li Yu exclaimed, "Oh, I see."

The guitar was tuned, and Dan RAO was about to leave. Li Yu took out drinks, fruits, and snacks from the fridge and cabinets, placing them in front of Dan RAO and said, "Don't go yet, try Lao Bian's cooking, it's really good."

Dan RAO glanced into the kitchen, where Bian Xuedao was busy. He said, "The last time I helped me move, I said I'd treat you to a meal, but we didn't get to. There are no classes today, so try my cooking before you leave."

Li Yu was watching a new DVD in the living room. Soon, Dan RAO was drawn over, curling her legs on the sofa, eating snacks, and watching more intently than Li Yu.

The three of them ate dinner at the coffee table in front of the sofa.

"Brother Yuan, what does this city gate look like to you?"

"Like a monument, it will record the great deeds of our three brothers, for generations to come!"

"What about Brother Wang?"

"Like a tombstone, many will bury their lives here."

"Master, I don't think it's a monument or a tombstone, it's 'Wu Bei,' meaning 'No Sorrow,' a sign of joy!"

Listening to the dialogue on TV, Bian Xuedao remembered he had seen this movie before, which was about Tan Sitong and Dadao Wang Wu.

Li Yu and Dan RAO were clearly watching it for the first time. When they heard Lü Fang singing "Blood Like Fire," Li Yu stopped eating and started humming along, rewinding and listening to it three times until Bian Xuedao and Dan RAO protested.

After dinner and the movie, Dan RAO was about to return to her dorm. Li Yu took her guitar and said, "I didn't tune it properly just now. Go back first, I'll tune it again, and you can come pick it up tomorrow."

Bian Xuedao picked up the guitar to check where it wasn't tuned properly, but Li Yu jumped up, pulling Dan RAO and said, "I'm going to buy a pack of cigarettes, I'll see you downstairs."

Li Yu didn't come back after going out, let alone tune the guitar for Dan RAO.

The next day was Sunday, and Li Yu came early, bringing several new DVDs and a bunch of fruits, including "Autumn Tale," "Lavender," "A Chinese Odyssey," and "Love in a Fallen City."

Bian Xuedao asked Li Yu, "Why the change of heart? Not watching ghost movies anymore?"

Li Yu ignored Bian Xuedao, sat on the sofa, and held a mineral water bottle, imitating Lü Fang's "Blood Like Fire." After singing for a while, he asked Bian Xuedao, "How do you make a Cantonese song sound good in Mandarin?"

Bian Xuedao said, "It won't sound good no matter how you sing it."

Dan RAO came to pick up her guitar, also bringing a bag of fruits. Li Yu didn't let her leave, saying there were too many fruits, and they would go bad if not eaten. He showed off his guitar skills to Dan RAO and started watching "Autumn Tale."

Dan RAO glanced at Bian Xuedao and saw he was also focused on the movie, so she quietly sat next to him and watched together.

For some reason, Dan RAO felt a rare sense of security next to Bian Xuedao. She hadn't slept well the night before, and as she watched, she fell asleep at some point.

The smell of cooking woke Dan RAO up. When she woke up, Li Yu was playing on the computer in the study, and Bian Xuedao was cooking in the kitchen, wearing an apron. Dan RAO lazily leaned against the kitchen door and asked, "Do you need help?"

Bian Xuedao said, "It's almost done. You can set the table."

When Dan RAO left in the evening, she still didn't take her guitar, as Li Yu found another excuse for her to pick it up next time.

Both Bian Xuedao and Dan RAO knew why Li Yu was doing this, but they both pretended not to know.

At the end of February, Jay Chou appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, praised as the "new king of Asian music," and the magazine also suggested he might one day top the Western charts, making him the talk of the town.

In early March, Bian Xuedao was unusually busy.

First, he had Li Yu drive him around Songjiang to buy Isatis Root.

Then, Bian Xuedao found a store that specialized in bicycles and asked them to help him import a batch of two-seater and three-seater bikes.

After the bicycles were secured, Bian Xuedao, through Professor Yan, approached the relevant school departments, expressing his intention to start a bicycle rental service on campus, under the guise of early entrepreneurship and serving fellow students.

The teacher he talked to was very rigid, insisting that the campus was too crowded and that riding bicycles could lead to accidents, and refused to budge.

Later, Bian Xuedao proposed that he could fund the construction of several standard bike sheds on campus, which would belong to the school after he left. The teacher finally agreed, satisfied.

Brother Wen's studio was still performing exceptionally well. During a meeting, Bian Xuedao noticed that Brother Wen seemed a bit arrogant. Bian Xuedao, half-jokingly and half-seriously, said to Brother Wen, "Brother Wen, let me be honest. I have connections in several game companies who can give me advance information about their moves. The money you give me isn't just for me; I'm also supporting these people. That's why I always stay ahead. You'll see the value of these connections soon."

Bian Xuedao knew that as the studio's income increased, Brother Wen was unhappy that Bian Xuedao took half but had to support a group of people. Bian Xuedao had to dispel this notion. The fabricated internal connections not only soothed Brother Wen's dissatisfaction but also provided a perfect reason for his foresight and curbed Brother Wen's desire to go independent. This was a strategy he had thought about for a long time.

Most importantly, Bian Xuedao knew about the five-ministry action at the end of the year, which was his biggest trump card. He was clear that as long as he warned Brother Wen in advance and helped the studio avoid the action, Brother Wen would not consider going independent in the short term and would feel that the money he gave was well worth it.

Money makes everything move faster.

Bian Xuedao, Li Yu, Dan RAO, and Chen Jian together selected the locations for the bike sheds, and Dan RAO coordinated the construction with the school's management department.

By the end of March, Bian Xuedao's bike sheds and bikes were in place. He bought 16 of each type: two-seater, three-seater, and side-by-side two-seater bikes. He built three sheds in the dormitory area, one at the library, one at the main building, and one at the new teaching building.

Bian Xuedao's bike sheds were well-constructed, sun and rainproof, and aesthetically pleasing. The school leaders, after seeing the sheds, were very satisfied and instructed the relevant departments to encourage and support such student entrepreneurship more.

Bian Xuedao named the bikes "Integrity Bicycles," inspired by an essay he wrote for the college entrance exam.

At each of the six bike sheds, there was no one to collect fees. Instead, there was a metal box similar to a donation box, with numbered keys hanging next to it. Next to the keys was a sign with the bike rental rates, which read:

"Self-service bike rental, self-discipline in payment. Bikes are for use within the campus only, please do not take them outside. Rental rate: 5 yuan per hour. Thank you for your cooperation!"

Bian Xuedao thought long and hard about the distribution of the keys to the collection boxes.

He calculated that each shed had 8 bikes, and if each bike earned 40 yuan per day, each shed would make 320 yuan per day, and about 10,000 yuan per month. Such a large sum of money couldn't be given away easily.

In the end, Bian Xuedao decided that the collection box at the main building would be managed by Chen Jian, Li Yu, and Wang Deliang. Wang Deliang would collect the money in the first week of each month, Chen Jian in the second week, and Li Yu in the last two weeks.

The money given to Chen Jian would be used for class funds and dating expenses. A good man needs three helpers, and Chen Jian was capable and now the class president, so maintaining good relations was important.

The money given to Li Yu would be used to visit the elderly. In recent months, Li Yu's good deeds had grown, spending money to buy coal for the elderly in winter and installing window screens in summer. On weekends, he would bring his guitar to play for the elderly, practicing his singing and entertaining them. Additionally, whenever Bian Xuedao needed a car, he would borrow Li Yu's, and this money would cover the fuel costs.

As for Wang Deliang, he would be supported with money. As long as he could deal with Tao Qing, Wang Deliang would be a valuable asset.

People can't be used only when needed.

The key to the collection box at the library was given to Xu Zhiyou, and the money would be evenly distributed among the children for training expenses and to improve their diet. Bian Xuedao thought about this decision for a long time. It wasn't a small amount of money, and the recipients were just children, which didn't make much sense logically. However, his intuition told him that among these children, there were outstanding individuals who would become his future allies.

To make friends when they are in need, one must not be stingy with money.

Bian Xuedao managed the remaining four collection boxes himself, and if he was unavailable, Li Yu would take over.

Bian Xuedao believed that when the SARS outbreak led to the campus being sealed off, the bicycle business would do very well.