Chapter 6

"Got rich, got rich!" As soon as the old lady left, Wu Yuan snatched the ten-cent note from Wu Tian's hand and exclaimed excitedly.

"Only earned ten cents, and you call that getting rich?" Wu Tian pouted, thinking his sister's standards were really too low.

Wu Yuan rolled her eyes and continued to carefully flatten the corners of the "female tractor driver" poster.

"Sis, stop being so happy and hurry up and cut the paper. Don't wait until business comes and we can't handle it." Wu Tian shouted, picking up a piece of red paper and laying it on a small stool as if business was about to come again.

Chang Tianhua couldn't help but laugh at the sight. Do you really think business is that easy? It was just an old lady who was softened by your sweet calls of 'Grandma.' Who would take a little kid like you seriously? We've been here for two days and haven't sold many couplets.

Seeing Wu Tian not only lay out the red paper but also start writing, Wu Yuan hurriedly stuffed the money into her pocket and shouted, "What are you doing? Don't waste the paper!"

"If you want good business, you need good advertising." Wu Tian said as he wrote: Prodigy Couplets, twenty cents each!

Putting down the brush, Wu Tian tilted his head to examine the eight large characters, then nodded in satisfaction. He turned to Chang Tianhua and boasted, "How about it, aren't my characters good?"

Chang Tianhua had been watching all along. While the characters weren't particularly good, for a seven-year-old, it was quite impressive. But the problem was, this kid was so showy.

"Hang it up!" Wu Tian cut the eight characters in half, pinned one half to each end of the stool, and then stepped back to take a look. He was very unsatisfied— the stool was too low, and the advertisement wasn't noticeable at all, failing to achieve the desired effect.

Turning to look at Chang Tianhua's stall, Wu Tian's face broke into an angelic smile. He approached and said with a grin, "Big Brother Chang, can I ask you for a favor?"

"What is it? Go ahead and say it." Chang Tianhua was helpless with Wu Tian's way of addressing him. This little guy was so sweet to the old lady, calling her 'Grandma,' but why was he so disrespectful to him?

"Can I borrow one of your tables?" Wu Tian patted the desk, which wasn't much shorter than him, and said.

"Why should I?" Chang Tianhua felt unbalanced and wouldn't agree right away. Lending him a table wasn't a big deal; they were just school desks, and it wouldn't take much effort to carry one more on the cart. But he had to take this opportunity to make the kid behave and call him 'Uncle,' right?

"I won't borrow it for free, I'll pay you!" Wu Tian said generously, "One table, one yuan per day. How about it?"

"Eh? How can that be?" Chang Tianhua hurriedly said. If people found out he was charging a seven-year-old one yuan per day for a table, he'd be laughed at. "It's just a table. Use it if you need it. I can't ask a kid for money."

"Hehe, thanks, Big Brother Chang." Wu Tian smiled, his plan succeeding, and called his sister to help move the table.

Seeing Wu Tian's smile, Chang Tianhua regretted it for a while. This kid was like a wolf cub that couldn't be tamed. He didn't even call him 'Uncle' after borrowing the table. But seeing Wu Tian and Wu Yuan struggling to move the big desk, he couldn't bear it and helped them move and set up the table, and even helped Wu Tian re-post the advertisements.

Wu Tian re-examined the advertising effect. While it wasn't very noticeable, it was much better than the small stool.

But the problem was, even with the advertisements up, no business came for a long time. Writing Spring Festival couplets wasn't a good business these days. Unlike in the future, where few people knew how to write calligraphy and mostly bought printed couplets, there were many people who could write calligraphy now, and most families would buy red paper and have a neighbor write the couplets. Also, it was only the 24th of the 12th lunar month, several days before the New Year, which wasn't the best time for selling couplets. The best time would be the 27th or 28th. The only stalls with business on the street were the official stalls of the Xinhua Bookstore, which sold printed couplets, and a few old, large stalls. Chinese people also had a habit of clustering, so the more popular stalls were always crowded, and many people would wait in line rather than go to a less crowded stall.

Seeing Wu Tian looking anxiously at the stalls with business, Chang Tianhua chuckled, "Little Wu Tian, don't be in a hurry. This business can't be rushed. If you can write three or four couplets a day, that's good. By the New Year, you can earn thirty or forty yuan, enough for you and your sister's school fees. Hehe."

Wu Tian rolled his eyes. Other businesses might not need to be rushed, but this one had to be. If he didn't hurry, who would buy his couplets on New Year's Eve?

Wu Tian stepped onto the stool and jumped onto the table, shouting, "Stop and look, a six-year-old prodigy writing couplets!"

"Wu Tian, what are you doing!" Wu Yuan shouted, jumping up. Girls were shy, and she couldn't bear to call out on the street, even if it wasn't her doing.

"Business is all about attracting customers. Just wait and count the money. Leave the rest to your little brother!" Wu Tian said, then shouted again, "Prodigy couplets, wide paper, big characters, one price. No loss, no regret, bring joy to your door..."

Chang Tianhua shook his head and laughed. Kids were really mischievous. Writing couplets was a cultural activity, and they shouldn't lose their dignity and act like street vendors selling radishes and cabbages.

"Auntie, buy couplets, twenty cents each! Look at the paper we use, so wide. You won't find such a good deal anywhere else!" Wu Tian saw a middle-aged woman hesitating, attracted by his shouting, and immediately called out, "Buy now and get a special offer. Buy one couplet, get one miscellaneous item for free. How many do you want?"

The woman was clearly attracted by Wu Tian's offer and asked, "With a miscellaneous item? I'll take two... Who's writing? Is this your father?"

Wu Tian looked at Chang Tianhua, who was grinning, and rolled his eyes, saying, "Prodigy couplets, of course, written by the prodigy—me!"

"You?" The woman looked at Wu Tian, pointing at himself, and hesitated.

"Sticking prodigy couplets on your door will bring a prodigy to your home next year!" Wu Tian said, "I'll write one for you to see. If the characters aren't good, it's free, I'll give it to you!"

Without waiting for the woman to answer, Wu Tian took a piece of red paper, laid it on the table, and squatted to write—there was no choice, the table was too high, and he couldn't reach it from the ground.

"Welcome happiness, welcome spring, welcome wealth, welcome fortune, welcome peace. Horizontal: Auspicious and prosperous!"

The middle-aged woman clearly wasn't very educated and couldn't tell if Wu Tian's characters were good, but she was very satisfied with the large characters and the wide red paper. Wu Tian immediately wrote the free "Out the door, see joy" on a short strip of paper and even gave her an extra "Fu" character, making her extremely satisfied. She immediately asked for two more!

Wu Tian naturally smiled, but when he picked up the brush again, he wrote slowly, dipping the brush after each stroke and pulling out the bristles after each character—after all, he had to gather a crowd, right? He wouldn't finish the couplet until the next customer came.