During the short break, Chen Ming worked his magic.
He called out to the crowd, easily drawing attention without being too loud. His pitches were quick and persuasive - thirsty students didn't need much convincing. One sale led to another, then another. Word spread through the line. Why wait when you could just buy?
Lin Feng, Li Jun, and Zhang Wei kept their patrol steady, eyes flicking between the leaders and the growing cluster of customers around Chen Ming.
By the time the whistle signaled the end of break, Chen Ming had sold out completely.
They hadn't expected this level of success.
They had completely sold out but it wasn't a problem. In fact, it was the best possible outcome. There were no more short breaks after this one that they could exploit. The next break was lunch - a much longer period held in the cafeteria, where selling would be far more difficult.
If they'd had leftover stock, they would have needed to carry it over to the next day.
This way, everything was clean.
The four of them returned to their positions just as the group leader made his way back.
…
The afternoon session began with marching practice.
Left-right-left. Arm swing position. Synchronous steps. The leader demonstrated, corrected, and repeated until the group moved as something resembling a unit.
Then came lunch.
The cafeteria was crowded and loud, students wolfing down food while nursing sore muscles. After eating, they were granted a longer break - time to rest, hydrate, and mentally prepare for what came next.
When they returned to the field, the drills shifted.
Alignment practice. Salute drills. And then, unexpectedly - singing. Patriotic songs, belted out in unison under the afternoon sun. Some students mumbled through the lyrics. Others threw themselves into it with surprising enthusiasm.
Finally, everything came together.
The instructor overseeing the entire freshman year arrived and made his rounds, inspecting each group one by one. A short brief followed, then dismissal.
They wrapped up by around 5 PM.
Everyone trudged back to the dorms, exhaustion written across their faces.
After showering and refreshing themselves, the four roommates met back in their room.
…
The four of them sat in a circle on the floor, Chen Ming at the center with a notebook in hand.
"Alright, here's the breakdown," he said, flipping to a page filled with scribbled numbers. "Water sold for 3 yuan each. 120 bottles. That's 360 yuan."
He paused, letting the number sink in.
"That alone already covers our entire investment."
The others exchanged glances. Not bad at all.
"Sports drinks went for 5 yuan each. 30 bottles. That's 150 yuan." He moved his finger down the page. "Snacks varied - anywhere from 1 to 5 yuan depending on what it was - but altogether, we pulled in 90 yuan."
He set the notebook down and looked up.
"Total revenue: 600 yuan. Profit: 300 yuan."
A moment of silence followed.
It seemed like a lot. After all, they had doubled their investment in a single day. But Chen Ming's expression remained serious.
"It's still not enough," he said. "Once we pay the senior his cut, we won't have much left. So I'm thinking - we reinvest the entire 600 yuan. Restock bigger. That way, we can pay him off and still have capital to keep going."
The others nodded in agreement.
Lin Feng didn't see a problem with it. The business was going well. They had even run out of supply. Having more stock didn't seem like a bad idea at all.
…
The following day, after grooming, the four gathered in their room once more.
Chen Ming stood before three new crates, larger than before.
"Here's what I got this time," he said. "200 bottles of water for 300 yuan. 60 sports drinks for 180 yuan." He gestured to the third crate. "And 120 yuan worth of snacks. But this time, I didn't pick randomly. I adjusted based on what sold best yesterday. Same for the drinks"
He dusted off his hands.
"That's the full 600 yuan, spent."
The bell rang, and they headed for breakfast.
The day continued as usual, following the same rhythm as before. And during the short break, they sold out completely once again.
That evening, after calculating everything, they learned they had made a total of 1500 yuan.
Chen Ming counted out 500 yuan and set it aside.
"This goes to the senior," he said. "With this, we should be able to operate freely for about a week without worrying about him."
The next day, they restocked with the remaining 1000 yuan.
But something happened during the break.
Others had begun to copy their business idea.
A few students from other groups had set up their own makeshift stalls, selling water and snacks just like them. Luckily, they didn't seem to have much stock - probably just testing the waters - and ran out quickly. They couldn't compete seriously with Chen Ming's group.
Not yet, anyway.
…
That evening, back in their room, the atmosphere was different.
On the study desk lay a pile of banknotes and coins, scattered but neatly grouped. This was the money they had made.
2500 yuan.
Chen Ming looked at the others, his expression uncertain.
"So... what do you think we should do?" he asked. "We still have the superior budget. Even if others start copying us, we should be able to overwhelm them. Just like today."
The others wore serious expressions.
Lin Feng let out a sigh.
So this is how Chen Ming's plans always failed.
"There are students richer than us," Lin Feng said slowly. "Students who could invest a higher budget than ours instantly. And even putting that aside - if we keep increasing our budget every time just to overwhelm the competition, where do we draw the line?"
"Today it was just a few copycats. What if tomorrow there are ten? Twenty? Then it won't matter if we have superior stock. Combined, they'll match us. Maybe even surpass us."
Chen Ming opened his mouth to respond, but Lin Feng continued.
"And once that happens, we'll have to start competing on price. Cutting margins just to stay ahead. That's extremely risky. We might not even make back our restock investment." He paused. "Not to mention - with so many people selling, the risk of getting caught goes way up. One person reports us, and it's over."
He looked at Chen Ming directly.
"Personally, I think we should stop here. It was good while it lasted. But now..."
Silence hung in the air.
Zhang Wei nodded slowly. "I think what Brother Lin said is right."
Li Jun, who had been quiet the entire time, also nodded. "Sometimes, giving up is good too."
They all turned to look at Chen Ming.
He seemed hesitant, his jaw tight. For a moment, it looked like he might argue.
But then he exhaled, his shoulders dropping.
"Alright," he said quietly. "We'll stop here then."
He reached for the pile of money and began sorting it.
"Let's distribute the profits," he said, his voice steadier now. "We'll split it according to investment percentage. Li Jun and I put in about 33% each. Lin Feng and Zhang Wei put in about 16% each."
He did the calculations quickly, dividing the cash into four portions.
When he finished, Li Jun and Chen Ming each took 830 yuan. Zhang Wei and Lin Feng each took 415 yuan.
…
After distributing the funds, they talked for a while longer before deciding to call it a night.
Lin Feng climbed onto his bed, exhaustion finally catching up with him. As he settled in, he reached into his pocket - he needed to store the money safely. It might fall out while he was sleeping.
His hand searched the fabric.
Nothing.
He checked again. Then the other pocket.
His expression froze.
The cash... it was gone.