Zhang Da’er lifted his chin arrogantly. “This is my stall. I decide the rules. Take it or leave it.”
The short-haired young man rolled his neck and said, “Fine. Today, your grandpa is going to teach you what rules are.”
He focused intently on the hundred-yuan bill, threw a ring—missed. Fell short by a distance.
“Ah, so close!” A wave of disappointment swept through the crowd. “That’s too far. Who could throw that far?”
The young man steadied himself and threw another. Unfortunately, missed again. One ring left.
A smile tugged at Zhang Da’er’s lips.
The final ring finally left his hand. Whoosh. It landed perfectly, securely looping around the hundred yuan.
Zhang Da’er’s smile froze on his face.
“Wow, he got it again!” Cheers erupted once more from the crowd. “So good, this young man!” There was a sense of vicarious triumph.
Zhang Da’er stood there, his face darkening. He hadn’t expected this kid to do it again.
Zhang Da’er’s brother quickly moved, about to go pick up the ring.
But the short-haired young man was faster. He grabbed his hand and said with a smile, “Boss, don’t rush. Let everyone see if it’s right in the middle. Be my witnesses.”
“We all saw it! Right in the middle, not touching the edge at all!”
“Yeah,we all saw it!”
“Boss,you should pay up now, right?”
“Can you weasel out of it this time?”
Pushed to this point, the Zhang brothers had no choice but to grit their teeth and hand over the hundred yuan to the short-haired young man.
Taking the money, the young man pulled out another one-yuan note from his pocket, grinning. “Boss, I’ll play another one yuan’s worth.”
But Zhang Da’er said coldly, “Anyone who’s already won can’t play anymore.”
“Oh?There’s such a rule?” The young man raised an eyebrow.
Zhang Da’er said without changing expression,”Go play somewhere else. There’s another stall next door. Go play there.”
The short-haired young man turned to the crowd. “Everyone, pay attention! The boss just added another rule: Winners can’t keep playing!”
“This boss is something else.”
“Such a sore loser.”
“Shady businessman.”
“I’m not playing.I’m leaving.”
“Let’s go,let’s go. No fun.”
Seeing people in the crowd starting to leave, Zhang Da’er, furious, grabbed the front of the short-haired young man’s jacket. “What are you yelling about, kid?”
The young man wasn’t scared at all. Instead, he provoked, “I’m just repeating what you said. What, dare to say it, don’t dare to own it?”
“You…”
“Hey, what are you doing?” A female voice shouted. A girl holding a toy kitten quickly ran over. “Let him go right now, or I’ll call the police!”
Zhang Da’er snorted and released his grip. “Get lost, kid!”
The girl was incensed.”How dare you talk like that! He came to your stall, and you’re not even thankful. What kind of attitude is that…”
The short-haired young man stopped her. “It’s fine. The boss is in a bad mood after losing a hundred yuan. Let’s go. I’ll buy you lunch.”
Before leaving,he gave the Zhang brothers a meaningful, half-smiling look. “We’ll meet again if fate allows.”
With the pair gone, the Zhang brothers finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The remaining people didn’t pay to play either. Who could hit the hundred yuan placed so far away? And with the boss’s shady attitude just now, even if someone did win, they probably wouldn’t get the money. Better to just go to the stall next door.
Although it was one yuan more expensive, the stall owner’s attitude was good, and there was a kid there too. They wouldn’t pull shady tricks like the two bosses at this stall.
Jiang Liye, who had watched the entire incident, was in an excellent mood. Seeing people heading towards their stall, he hurriedly greeted them with a beaming smile.
“At our stall, whether you win money or other items, we absolutely will not go back on our word.”
Jiang Qingning added, “That’s right. We also won’t move the money further away.”
Jiang Liye glanced at the suddenly empty neighboring stall and shot the Zhang brothers a challenging look.
Serves them right!
After that wave of people left, newcomers who arrived later didn’t know what had just happened. Hearing one stall offered one yuan for ten tries and the other offered two yuan for twelve, they were still drawn to the cheaper one next door.
Some people, seeing the money was placed so far it seemed impossible to hit, turned to play at Jiang Qingning’s stall.
A few others were specifically drawn to Jiang Qingning’s toys. The items on the neighboring stall were things you wouldn’t want even if given for free. They took one look and left.
The morning passed quickly. The crowd kept coming and going, making the area lively. Some left, and new people arrived.
Overall, the foot traffic was still higher next door. The low price was very attractive. And with the money placed so far, no one managed to win it again.
By noon, both stalls were deserted. Everyone had gone home for lunch.
“Brother Ye, let’s go eat.” Huang Guoqing walked over. “I’ve sold out all my candied hawthorn. After lunch, I’ll go home to restock and come back in the afternoon.”
With both stalls concentrated in one area this morning, there were more people around. The competition between the two stalls was fierce, but Huang Guoqing’s business had actually gotten better.
Jiang Liye nodded. “Alright, my treat today. Wontons again?” He took out five yuan. “You take Qingning over to eat first.” He would stay to watch their stuff.
The Zhang brothers next door also sent one person to eat first, leaving the other to watch their things.
…
Jiang Liye squatted on the ground eating his wontons. Jiang Qingning sat on a bag next to him, counting money. The Zhang brothers were also counting their money.
“Didn’t make as much as yesterday morning, right?” Jiang Liye tried to console. “It’s okay to earn a bit less. At least no money was won off us this morning, just some items.”
That was because most people aiming for the money had gone next door.
Jiang Qingning smiled. “It’s about the same as yesterday. We made one hundred and eighty-eight yuan this morning.”
“So much?”Jiang Liye was surprised. “I thought it would be a lot less.”
Jiang Qingning said,”There were fewer people than yesterday, but the per capita spending of those who came to our stall was higher.”
“Per capita spending?”Jiang Liye heard this term for the first time.
Jiang Qingning explained,”The average amount spent per person. Most people who came to our stall this morning were aiming for the toys. Those look much easier to win than the money. Many people tried a few more times and ended up winning.”
Jiang Liye nodded. People going for the hundred yuan still preferred next door—after all, twice the chances.
Jiang Qingning handed the money to Jiang Liye to put away and continued, “I roughly calculated it. On average, about five yuan can win stationery like pencil cases or picture books. Around ten yuan can win small toys, like small dolls or cars. About twenty yuan can win the medium-sized dolls. As for the prettiest toys in the corner, that depends on luck.”
Jiang Liye thought of the few little girls who had spent quite a bit this morning trying for that pink doll. He chuckled. “I just thought we had a lot fewer people, especially compared to next door. I thought business would be really bad.”
Jiang Qingning glanced at the neighboring stall and whispered, “Fourth Uncle, don’t be fooled by their high foot traffic. They might not be making as much as we are. I noticed their per capita spending isn’t high. Most people just try once or twice and leave.”
“True.Look how sneaky they are, placing the rings so far. People realize they can’t possibly win as soon as they try. Why would they spend more money?” Jiang Liye suddenly laughed, remembering something. “Oh right, they also had a hundred yuan won off them first thing by that young man. At their one-yuan price… haha, they’ll have to work hard to earn that back.”
Just as the uncle and niece suspected, the Zhang brothers over there had finished counting their money.
“We made a hundred and twenty-one yuan this morning.” Zhang Da’er was quite satisfied. “Looks like this method really does make money. Just one morning, and it’s more than we usually make in several days.”
Zhang’s younger brother was also pleased. “At this rate, we can make at least two or three hundred in a day!” Then he sighed. “Ai, if it weren’t for that kid winning a hundred yuan, we could have made over two hundred this morning. Plus, the customers he scared off… damn, lost a big chunk of money.”
Zhang Da’er said viciously, “If this were our turf, he’d be regretting it.”
Zhang’s brother also threatened, “If we see him again, we’ll teach him a lesson!”
What the two brothers didn’t expect was that they wouldn’t have to wait long. Not long after opening in the afternoon, they saw the same short-haired young man from the morning.
Zhang Da’er walked up to him. “Kid, I remember you. I told you this morning not to come back and play. What, think I forgot your face?”
The short-haired young man shrugged. “Relax, boss. I’m not interested in your place anymore. I came to skate. Has Shichahai become your property now?”
Zhang Da’er snorted. “You’d better remember that.”
Another boy walked up behind the short-haired young man. He also had a crew cut, darker skin, and looked very sharp. He smiled and asked, “Boss, is it one yuan per set?”
Zhang Da’er nodded. “Right. One yuan gets you ten rings.”
The dark-skinned boy said,”Then give me two yuan’s worth first.”
Taking the money, the dark-skinned boy glanced at the short-haired young man next to him and smiled as he went to play.
Zhang Da’er’s heart tightened. A bad feeling settled in his gut.
Are these two in cahoots?
The dark-skinned boy’s movements were steady, but after ten rings, he hadn’t hit anything.
Zhang Da’er felt a slight relief.
The dark-skinned boy gave up on the hundred-yuan target and turned to the fifty-yuan bill behind it. After five more rings, he hit it precisely.
Zhang Da’er’s face darkened again.
“Taozi, my aim’s not bad, huh?” the dark-skinned boy cheered happily towards his friend.
Zhang Da’er said angrily, “You… you two really are together!”
Taozi (the short-haired young man) smiled. “Boss, you wouldn’t let me play anymore after I won the hundred this morning. Can’t my friend play either?”
Zhang Da’er argued obstinately, “I won’t do business with you. Get lost now, or you’ll regret it.”
The dark-skinned boy said, “Hey, boss, I clearly won. You’re not going back on your word, are you?”
The onlookers chimed in: “Yeah, the young man clearly won.”
Someone nearby added,”You don’t know? This boss tried to cheat this morning too. A young man won a hundred, and he refused to pay.”
“Ah,really? That’s awful.”
“This boss isn’t honest.”
Ignoring what the crowd said, Zhang Da’er pointed a finger at the two in front of him, his tone forceful. “Get out of here now, you hear me?”
The dark-skinned boy got angry too. “Why should I leave? Give me my money!”
“You little punk,don’t push your luck!”
“Who the hell are you calling a punk…”
The short-haired young man nearby rolled up his sleeves.
The onlookers saw the short-haired young man step forward as if to mediate. But suddenly, Zhang Da’er shoved him hard, and then the short-haired young man and Zhang Da’er started fighting.
Zhang’s brother immediately jumped in. The dark-skinned boy naturally went to help his friend.
The four men scuffled together.
Soon, helpful citizens brought over police officers.
“It’s them fighting!”
The Zhang brothers crouched on the ice, holding their stomachs. They hadn’t expected these two to be trained fighters. They hit hard.
The short-haired young man and the dark-skinned boy stood to the side, looking mostly unharmed.
Jiang Liye, watching from nearby, saw something. He said to Huang Guoqing, who was also watching the excitement, “Those two young men were using military-style boxing.”
Huang Guoqing didn’t understand. “Military boxing? I thought it was Taekwondo.”