Chapter 7 — The Bed of Your Own Choosing

During the performance, the equipment stalled twice. Gu Cheng relied on his improvisational skills to carry the presentation through, and the audience still applauded. Shen Nianchu's data was very solid, the judges even praised her privately, but without technical products, the results could not have been higher. After the award ceremony, Han Dongming held the second prize sign and looked at it for a long time. "Second prize two thousand yuan, four people divided, five hundred each. Not worth as much as the peanuts my mother made me bring." Du Hang corrected him: "Meng Lan is our consultant; she does not participate in the bonus distribution." Meng Lan said: "I participated in the celebration party." We went outside the school to eat hot pot, Boss Qiang also went. Hearing that the project could bring document ordering online, he proactively suggested that the printing shop could serve as an offline pickup point. Two thousand yuan were not divided and were used directly to buy used servers and computers. Han Dongming sighed as he signed the check: "The first startup bonus in my life hadn't even been warmed up yet and it turned into a computer case." I said, "At least the case is warmer than you." After the project went online, orders were not as many as imagined. Students who are used to sending messages in QQ groups do not want to register an account just to buy an old textbook. We went to each dormitory and posted QR codes, posting for free for the first month, and then gradually there were active users. During that time, I went to class during the day, worked at the printing shop at night, and returned to the dormitory to process applications. Han Dongming is in charge of running errands, has lost five pounds, and everyone he meets says that starting a business helps him lose weight. Gu Cheng occasionally met us in the hallway and would jokingly ask boss Zhou when he would come on the floor. He didn't ask me for help anymore, and when we met, he remained outwardly polite. But Shen Nianchu argued with him more often because of the competition. She felt that Gu Cheng should have solved the technical problem sooner. Gu Cheng thought that the competition was just for fun, there was no need to be so serious. The two argued for ten minutes in the back row of the class, and finally Gu Cheng said: "If you value rankings so much, join the team first." "Isn't Zhou Yanxuan good enough?" Shen Nianchu immediately collected the book and left. In the evening, she went to the printing shop to buy documents. Meng Lan went to deliver school newspapers, Boss Qiang slept behind. I gave her the documents, but after she paid, she didn't leave. "Your second-place prize money is really all invested?" "Yes." "What if the project can't be done?" "Then we would lose it." "Aren't you afraid?" "If you're afraid, you have to do it." She lowered her head to look at the cover of the document: "Gu Cheng said you take a small business too seriously, in college you should know many people. Moreover, don't count money every day." "His family is not short of money, of course there is no need to count." Shen Nianchu raised her head: "Is your family very difficult?" "It is not difficult. It is simply that every yuan has a purpose." My father opened a repair shop in the district, and my mother hired others to cook for me. Raising me to go to college did not require a loan, but the ten-year-old lathe at home could break at any time, and my younger sister was still in middle school. In my previous life, I didn't want my classmates to know these things. Gu Cheng invited me to eat, I will fight back; Shen Nianchu's birthday gift was a bit expensive, I had to save up for two months to repay it. That self-esteem looks like dignity, but actually makes living very tiring. This time, I don't intend to pretend. "Last month, my father asked me if I had enough money to live, and I said enough. Not because it was really enough, but because I wanted him to reduce the need to repair two cars at night." Shen Nianchu did not say any words of comfort, just asked: "Is your website still lacking people?" "We lack customer support, content review, and people available to process refunds at midnight." "I can handle the market surveys." "We can't pay the salary." "I don't need salary, just to gain experience." I looked at her for a few seconds: "Why?" "I want to see why your project can win second prize." "Does Gu Cheng know?" Her face turned pale: "This is my job." I didn't immediately agree. Not afraid of Gu Cheng, but afraid of himself. In my previous life, what I was best at was pulling Shen Nianchu into my life. She helped me organize documents, stay up all night with me, remember all my habits. I consider it love, but ignore the fact that in her heart there is always a way. If Gu Cheng knocks on the door, she will turn around. "Okay." In the end, I said, "Try it for two weeks, then we'll discuss whether you should continue." Shen Nianchu frowned: "What's the difference?" "Don't misunderstand. It's to see if you're suitable to continue or not." She received a user survey: "Boss Zhou is really strict." "The prize money went toward computer cases. I cannot pay anyone yet." She worked better than we thought. She sorted out the messy part-time job information on the website, verified the contact information of the poster one by one, and discovered a training center using high-paying jobs to lure students into paying deposits. Meng Lan looked at the notes she had arranged and admitted: "Your eye for people is normal, your work ability is quite good."