Chapter 6 How dare you! Xia An!

Before Xia An’s parents left, they had stocked up on plenty of food, but they knew that a growing teenage boy would neither want to cook for himself nor possess the culinary skills to do so.

Therefore, they had spoken with Lin Jiajia in advance, asking her to drop by every few days to help improve Xia An’s diet. Old Zhou had grown up as close as brothers with Xia An’s father, so this request was not considered intrusive.

At the dinner table, Lin Jiajia competed with Xia An for the food, showing none of the restraint expected of an adult woman or an elder. With a grain of rice stuck to the corner of her mouth, she asked him, "The young people at the hospital are recommending that I open an online shop. Do you think that’s a good idea?"

"It’s feasible."

Xia An answered without hesitation, taking the opportunity to snatch the last piece of pork belly.

In 2006, the number of internet users in China had just surpassed one hundred million, which was already enough to propel Taobao into becoming the largest shopping website in Asia. The favorable trend of the online shopping market would continue to blow for over a decade. The three years from 2006 to 2008, with the gradual maturation of Alipay, Wangwang, and Tmall, were the best times to enter the market.

Lin Jiajia mentioned that two intern nurses in her office were selling handmade bracelets at home, earning several dozen yuan a day. Several dozen yuan—a thousand or two a month—was quite a bit more than their internship wages.

Xia An gobbled down the rice in his bowl, rubbed his stomach, and revealed a look of satisfaction. "Handmade items don't have much potential."

"Why?"

Lin Jiajia had also finished eating. She rolled up her sleeves and retied her hair. A stray lock kept falling over her forehead, and no matter what, she couldn't get it to stay put. Irritated, she blew at it sharply and gave up.

Since their reunion, many of her casual gestures didn't seem like those of a married woman to Xia An; or rather, for some reason, he had started treating her as a peer.

"You can't mass-produce them, which means you can't scale up. Craft jewelry like bracelets, earrings, and necklaces are decent categories—low cost, clear target audience. Actually, you could source them from the south or find a small factory to manufacture them. Take the orders first, then produce, and have the OEM factory ship them directly. It saves time and effort, and the profit margin is high..."

He spoke for a while before stopping, noticing Lin Jiajia staring at him with wide, deer-like eyes, looking as if she hadn't understood a word.

"Forget it," Xia An waved his hand. "Are there any other options?"

Lin Jiajia said, "Old Zhou said he would give me some money to look into playing the stock market, but I don’t really have the courage."

Watching her shifty eyes, Xia An knew she hadn't told the whole truth; she was holding something back. Lin Jiajia didn't want to use Old Zhou's money anymore, and that was the fundamental issue.

He had guessed right. In this marriage, Lin Jiajia had essentially sold herself to Old Zhou, though she didn't feel it was something to be ashamed of. She was just an ordinary woman with little experience, no connections, and only a junior college education. She truly didn't know how to make her way in the city. And in institutions like hospitals, without academic credentials or a background, you couldn't get ahead. Or rather, the shortcut to getting ahead often lay between one’s legs—one superior after another, layer by layer. It was common, and even more sordid.

Her parents were gone, and her grandmother was seriously ill. Trading her youth and looks for stability was one of the few paths she could choose. Moreover, Old Zhou wasn't a bad man; he didn't mess around, and he was very good to both her and her grandmother. This older husband, who flew all over the country dealing in rural economics, never forgot to buy her small gifts whenever he returned, providing plenty of emotional value. A few phone calls had made her a head nurse, and she had a car to drive—no wind, no rain, it was quite good.

After her grandmother recovered and returned to the village, she had urged Lin Jiajia several times in private to leave herself an exit strategy. Thus, Lin Jiajia conceived a plan to build a "little treasury" and told Old Zhou frankly: "I don't understand your business, and you are much older than me. After you pass away, I need to find another way out."

Old Zhou agreed deeply and offered to give her one million as principal to dive into the stock market.

"That works too."

"But I don't know anything about it."

"Buy stocks in companies involved in the upstream and downstream of the real estate industry."

"What does 'upstream and downstream' mean?"

"..."

Xia An didn't know what to say. If it were a few years later or earlier, he wouldn't advise anyone to enter the stock market; the A-share market was the world's largest field for harvesting leeks, no different from gambling. But 2006 was indeed an opportunity.

"You've seen them tearing down buildings everywhere outside, right?" Xia An asked.

Lin Jiajia took a sip of water and nodded. "You can say that again. They're tearing them down every day. I’m not good with directions to begin with, and suddenly a new building pops up somewhere, and I think I've taken a wrong turn."

Xia An said, "The urbanization process will only accelerate, and the Olympic year is coming soon. By then, there will be even more high-rise buildings. Buying in is correct. Put one million in, and by next year, it will become 1.5 million. You return the principal to him, keep 500,000 in your pocket, and you'll have your little treasury."

Lin Jiajia was surprised. "Can I really earn that much?"

Seeing her "Really? I don't believe it" expression, Xia An nodded. "Just about."

"Goodness," Lin Jiajia clicked her tongue. "No wonder they say knowledge is money. You college students have so many ways to make money. But aren't you studying art?"

What kind of talk was that?!

Xia An said indignantly, "Studying art was just a shortcut to get into a good university. Playing the stock market and doing other businesses are all the same—they are all shortcuts to great wealth."

"There aren't that many shortcuts to take," Lin Jiajia finally assumed the posture of an elder, lecturing him, "One should be honest and reliable, not act like a gambler."

Xia An admitted to himself that he was a gambler, in both lives. His current savings added up to just over a thousand yuan. The returns from stocks or online shops were nowhere near enough to meet his timeline for accumulating his first bucket of gold. The one million Old Zhou promised to give Lin Jiajia was incredibly tempting. Whether he could use it was another matter, but if he didn't try to scheme a little, he felt like something was missing.

That damnable desire for success.

"Fair enough. No one takes a kid's words to heart, so you should just stick to earning your wages honestly." Lin Jiajia giggled. "Look, you lose your temper as soon as I say a couple of things to you."

As Xia An was pondering what kind of expression a normal young boy should make at this moment, Lin Jiajia asked him, "Do you know about stocks?"

Xia An smiled. "Old Xia studied it for so many years but never dared to buy. Every time he missed a market wave, he would nag us about it until my ears grew calluses... I know a little."

Lin Jiajia pouted and muttered, "I'll think about it some more, but I really don't want to use his money."

That was enough. Any more aggressive pushing would be unkind, and it would weigh on his conscience.

They chatted about daily life. Lin Jiajia said Old Zhou had gone to the Northwest to grow cotton and might not be back for several months. Xia An thought to himself, *A good deal!*

To be honest, in his previous life, he had quite admired his father's classmate. Standing alone, daring to fight and struggle, starting from scratch. That wasn't unique; many people were like that. What was rare was that Old Zhou never made a mistake at the gambling table; his business instincts were steady, precise, and ruthless. It was a pity he died young. In the end, he fell into the trap of another woman's charms.

Xia An kindly suggested, "Actually, your best choice would be to accompany him as he travels."

"Why?" Lin Jiajia shrugged, unimpressed. "It's fine this way. When he's not here, I'm free."

"Being separated all year round isn't good for physical or mental health," Xia An hinted again.

Lin Jiajia misunderstood again. She looked at Xia An with eyes containing seven parts amusement, two parts teasing, and ninety-one parts annoyance. She reached across the table to pinch his arm.

"Young Master Xia, I know exactly what kind of things boys your age are thinking about. If you make any more suggestive remarks to me, I’m going to tell your parents."

With that, she gave a dainty huff and carried the bowls and plates into the kitchen herself.

Xia An looked helpless.

After cleaning up, Lin Jiajia prepared to leave, saying she had plans to go shopping with some friends that evening. While putting on her shoes, she suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, right, there's one more thing."

Standing at the door, she mentioned that a leader in their hospital's labor union was recently studying the formation of a volunteer group consisting specifically of medical personnel. They were paid volunteers.

"It seems to be called hospice care. They say the market is huge and the fees are not low."

Xia An thought for a moment and nodded. "Many people in the south are doing it. It's a virtuous act."

Terminally ill cancer patients or the elderly living alone were the clients, and their filial children would pay.

Lin Jiajia was considering whether to agree. It was true that it was a good deed, but she would also witness all kinds of human tragedies. Xia An hadn't intended to give advice, as it was prone to causing mental health issues, and whether to do it was entirely a personal choice.

But Lin Jiajia added, "If I don't do it, I'm afraid of offending the leadership. I heard the Central Hospital is joining us, and Director Zhao Zhijing from the Neurology Department is leading it. He's very prominent. Many people from our affiliated hospital have signed up, intending to get on his good side."

"Who?" Xia An's eyes lit up.

Hearing that name, a node in his "plan" connected in his mind. It seemed many things could be linked together now.

"Zhao Zhijing, the domestic neurology expert. He’s a big shot." As Lin Jiajia spoke, she took a phone call.

Xia An's brain raced. Zhao Zhijing—the white-haired doctor he had seen that afternoon, Tang Wan's attending physician. In the years that followed, he had risen rapidly. By the time he was dragged down by the Tang Group, he had already become the president of a famous medical university.

Hanging up the phone, Lin Jiajia turned to open the door.

"Little Xia An, I'm off. Rest well, eat well, and stop thinking about nonsense all day long. Things like senior sisters or married women... hee hee..."

"Ah!"

Suddenly grabbed by the arm by Xia An, Lin Jiajia was startled.

Turning back, leaning against the door, she saw Xia An's eyes shining—an evil, lustful gaze that seemed to reveal endless desire.

"You, you want to... You dare! Xia An!"