Bastard 07

"He said it was something very urgent, told me to give him the money, and that he'd explain when he got back. This..." Fang's Mother said anxiously. "I know my son, he wouldn't lie to me."

Li Cuixia was blunt: "Every time he went gambling before, wasn't it all lies?"

"Ah!"

Xu Nian squatted at the entrance of the night school, digesting the information he had gathered. He'd heard a small workshop selling those little decorations was doing really well lately, but those things had limited production and were too easy to copy.

He picked up the porcelain cup beside him, lost in thought, and took a sip. The tea had gone cold.

"If only this could boil water," he sighed. But the next moment, his eyes widened. Right! Boiling water! He lifted the cup to eye level.

Theoretically, this thing could be made to boil water instantly! It just needed a bit of experimentation!

Xu Nian decided he would save up capital! He was going to make it big!

Then he saw several men standing in front of his stall.

Xu Nian looked up and saw several menacing faces.

"Kid, have you paid the stall fee for setting up here?"

"Stall fee? I..." Xu Nian was just about to explain when suddenly a shout came from beside him: "Beat them up!"

Several people rushed forward. In an instant, the men in front of his stall were pushed aside. A young man walked up to the stall and rested his hand on the edge of the pushcart. "Drag them further away and give them a beating!"

"Got it, Brother Fang! Drag them away!"

"Are you okay?" Fang Zhiyi looked at the young man in front of him.

Xu Nian nodded, feeling a bit dazed. After thinking for a moment, he still asked, "Big brother, are you here to collect the stall fee too?"

Fang Zhiyi waved his hand. "No, I just saw an injustice and stepped in."

"Oh, hello, big brother. My name is Xu Nian."

"Fang Zhiyi."

After exchanging names, they both watched the beating for a good while.

"Selling these broken cups, does it make money?" Fang Zhiyi asked.

Xu Nian shook his head. "Doesn't make much, and as you can see, they're not selling."

Fang Zhiyi nodded, then suddenly locked eyes with him. "So, do you want to make money?"

Xu Nian instinctively hugged himself. "Big brother, I'm a law-abiding citizen."

Fang Zhiyi rolled his eyes. "And I'm a good person! Got any ideas? For making money."

Xu Nian looked at Fang Zhiyi warily and shook his head.

Fang Zhiyi knew what he was worried about. Without further ado, he pulled out the money from his pocket and tossed it onto Xu Nian's stall.

"Big brother, what is this?" Xu Nian was confused.

I had a dream. An awesome old man in the dream told me I'd meet my benefactor when I went out. I met you, so I've decided to invest in you.

"Invest?" Xu Nian looked at the money but didn't take it.

"Yeah, consider it your startup capital. If you make a profit, give me a share. If you lose, it's on me!" Fang Zhiyi looked very casual about it.

Xu Nian was puzzled. "Big brother, we just met. How can you trust me so much?"

Fang Zhiyi waved his hand. "Absolutely! Hey! Finished beating them? Let's go when you're done!"

Xu Nian suddenly asked, "Big brother, where do you live?"

"Don't ask. We'll meet again someday!" Fang Zhiyi left with his men.

"Wait, is the benefactor a cup seller?" Xu Nian watched Fang Zhiyi walk away, then looked at the colorful banknotes. Gritting his teeth, he pocketed them. Since he had this chance, he had to give it a try!

Fang Zhiyi, hiding in the distance, only relaxed after seeing Xu Nian leave.

"I didn't expect you to handle it like this," Little Hei said.

Fang Zhiyi snorted. "What else? Start a business myself? Aren't you afraid I'd fail before even getting halfway?"

That's right. Xu Nian was precisely the male lead of this world. Fang Zhiyi wasn't any protagonist, not even a supporting character. Xu Nian's trajectory was to face setbacks, then strive hard, invent the electric water heater, and gradually build his own business empire.

"Dealt with so many protagonists, finally get to meet one whose coattails I can ride. Why not ride them? This is called getting in on the ground floor!" Fang Zhiyi declared righteously.

"You're just lazy," Little Hei assessed pointedly.

Fang Zhiyi got a fright when he returned home. It was already late at night, and the whole family was sitting there waiting for him.

"You... you're not asleep?" Fang Zhiyi felt a bit guilty.

"Where have you been?" several of them asked almost in unison.

Fang Zhiyi scratched his head. "Went to see a business partner."

"Business partner?" Fang's Father frowned.

Fang Zhiyi nodded. "A big deal. If it works out, our family will never have to worry about food and clothing again!"

Li Cuixia snorted. "Big deal? Gambling again, right?"

Fang Zhiyi said solemnly, "I am sworn enemies with gambling and drugs!"

"Cut the nonsense. Where's the money?"

Fang Zhiyi swallowed. "Invested it."

"Invested?"

"Since when is losing at gambling called investing now?" Li Cuixia asked her husband in confusion.

Fang Zhiyi's interjection was rather ill-timed. "Actually, the nature is pretty similar."

"You brat!"

Fang Zhiyi narrowly escaped a beating. In the family, those who chose to believe him were his mom and second sister. Those who didn't were his dad and sister-in-law. Only his elder brother remained neutral.

"Go to bed early. Stop messing around. As long as your brother has food to eat, you won't starve." After everyone went to sleep, Fang Dingbang stood up and said gloomily.

Fang Zhiyi instinctively looked at his left leg. In the original plot, this very leg was broken.

"Big brother, believe me," Fang Zhiyi said.

Fang Dingbang paused, then nodded. "When you were little and stole eggs to eat, I saw the eggshells in your bed. You told me to believe you, and I did."

Fang Zhiyi felt helpless. So the original owner had completely exhausted his credit before handing the account over to him, right?

Starting from the next day, Fang Zhiyi became busy again. With his second sister and mom handling the stall, he often disappeared. Some things couldn't be explained by words alone; they could only wait for the right day to come.

Fortunately, there were still two people at home who believed in him.

The first time Fang Zhiyi entered Xu Nian's small workshop, seeing the tools hanging everywhere and the half-finished product on the table, his eyes lit up.

Xu Nian also found Fang Zhiyi always rather strange. When asked, he seemed to understand nothing about what Xu Nian was making. But whenever Xu Nian had a problem, an offhand remark from Fang Zhiyi would always clear his thinking. Yet, if asked again, Fang Zhiyi would claim to know nothing.

"Brother Fang, you are my lucky star!" Xu Nian said earnestly.

Fang Zhiyi nodded, thinking to himself, "You are my lucky star too."

With the male lead's halo, Xu Nian's progress was smooth after completing the first product. At Fang Zhiyi's request, he made an extra one. Fang Zhiyi took it home.

The whole family stared at this thing that could boil water just by plugging it in, falling into deep thought.

"So?!" Fang Zhiyi said proudly.

"Third Brother, are you saying you threw all that money in and just came up with this?" Fang Dingbang looked dumbfounded.

"What else?" Fang Zhiyi was also somewhat puzzled. What kind of reaction was this?