Opportunity

By the time they got home, it was already six in the evening.

Song Yanxi busied herself in the kitchen, preparing the New Year's Eve dinner. The family would be eating together that night.

Meanwhile, little An'an strutted out with her tablet in hand, completely immersed in her own world. With her device secured, she was untouchable—no one could call her away from her game.

Chen Pingsheng, on the other hand, took his newly purchased laptop to his room, plugged in the internet cable, and powered it on.

All the way home, he'd been pondering a question.

With his current income—excluding the random multipliers from his "golden finger"—he was looking at an annual earning of around 250,000 to 300,000 yuan.

Selling durians on the street, combined with other odd jobs, had a clear upper limit.

If he factored in the random multipliers and took an average estimate, he could probably bring in around 1.2 to 1.5 million yuan a year.

Even in a talent-packed city like Beijing, that was a high salary.

But to him, it still wasn't enough. If he wanted to buy a 200-square-meter house within six months, he had to step up his game.

A fully paid property within the Third Ring Road would cost around six million yuan. Even with a 30% down payment, he'd need at least 1.8 million.

Right now, he had just over 300,000 in savings. That meant he needed to scrape together another 1.5 million within six months.

That was a lot of pressure. After the New Year, durian sales wouldn't be as easy.

There was no way he could make another 80,000 to 90,000 in just ten days, like he did during the holiday rush.

He needed to find new opportunities.

If he did buy a bigger house, he wanted to bring his little sister and parents to Beijing as well.

While browsing online, he noticed that all the big shots were talking about the arrival of the mobile internet era.

The best business was the one that made its way into people's phones.

The logic was simple. The problem was—he didn't have the resources to get into the game.

The tech giants—BAT—were practically at war, fighting for dominance over the mobile market.

Billions were being thrown around like pocket change.

Every new trend—food delivery, shared bikes—became a battleground for investors.

Market share was everything, and companies were burning money with insane subsidies.

It was a feast for capitalists, but not something he could take part in.

He had to keep looking for his own opportunity.

After confirming that his new laptop worked well, Chen Pingsheng headed to the kitchen to make dumplings.

No matter what, he'd enjoy the New Year first.

That night, after dinner, the family gathered to watch the Spring Festival Gala.

In 2012, Yang Mi skyrocketed to fame with Palace, securing her place as a top-tier celebrity.

Liu Shishi solidified her legacy with Scarlet Heart.

Tang Yan was hot on their heels. Three of the "85 Flowers" had already claimed their thrones.

Meanwhile, the most talented actress of their generation was still sitting in a cramped, budget apartment, sharing a simple yet heartwarming New Year's meal with them.

—

On the first day of the New Year, Chen Pingsheng stayed home, watching TV with his wife and daughter.

In their hometown, tradition dictated that they couldn't go out or take out the trash on the first day, as it was believed to bring bad luck for the year.

By the second day, the winter sun was shining, and he and Zhang Tao set out with their tricycle to sell durians again.

Sure enough, sales plummeted after the holiday. Business was nowhere near as good as before.

Still, they managed to make a net profit of nearly 1,000 yuan.

During the day, Song Yanxi had taken little An'an to visit the Forbidden City. They had just bought a new car, and since their daughter had never been there before, this was the perfect chance to take her while the crowds were thinner.

The little girl was beyond excited. As soon as they got home, she couldn't stop chattering about the trip.

"Honey, I heard from the neighbors that the new fruit supermarket nearby is looking for a buyer?"

Not far from their place was an old residential community with two or three thousand households.

Because of the high population density, commercial spaces were always in high demand.

The newly opened fruit store was run by someone with deep pockets. They had taken four of the best storefronts, knocked down the walls, and turned the whole space into a high-end fruit supermarket.

When it first opened, word on the street was that the investment was at least a million yuan.

Yet, less than three months later, rumors were already circulating that it was shutting down.

This didn't surprise Chen Pingsheng at all.

He had seen plenty of outsiders assume that selling fruit was an easy, high-profit business.

Many jumped in blindly, only to be driven out just as quickly.

He had checked out the store when it first opened. The renovation was indeed the best in the area.

The owner was probably some second-generation rich kid—someone with money, but not a ridiculous amount.

"You already heard about it? Looks like they really can't keep going."

Song Yanxi handed him a cup of hot tea. Her husband had started working again on the second day of the New Year—of course, she wanted to take care of him.

But she also had something else on her mind.

"Honey, what do you think about that location? Do you think we could take over and make it work?"

After being married for so many years, Chen Pingsheng knew exactly what she was thinking.

The moment she brought it up, he understood—she was seriously considering it.

He thought for a moment before answering, "That spot is definitely good. You saw how packed it was when they first opened. The reason they failed after just three months is because the owner didn't know the business and wasn't putting in the effort. Their fruits were going bad, and they weren't even removing the rotten ones. That kind of carelessness ruins the customer experience. Over time, no one wants to shop there anymore."

Song Yanxi bit her lip. "Then... what if we take it over?"

"You've suddenly gotten pretty bold, huh?"

Chen Pingsheng raised an eyebrow. "That place cost at least a million to set up. The transfer fee alone is over 300,000. Adding in renovations and cold storage, we'd need at least 500,000 to 600,000 to take it over."

"I just think you have what it takes to make it work."

Song Yanxi held his hand. "No one knows you better than I do. If it weren't for our marriage holding you back, you'd have started your own business long ago. Now that we have this chance, we should at least try."

"Besides, you've been in the fruit business for years. If we're going to start something, isn't a fruit supermarket the most natural choice?"

She had a point.

Most small-time fruit vendors eventually moved up—either by opening stores or getting into wholesale.

Wholesale was out of the question. Without a few million in capital, he wouldn't even get a foot in the door.

A fruit supermarket, however, was a much more realistic option.

He didn't have 500,000 on his own, but if he borrowed 100,000 from a few friends, it wouldn't be too hard to pull off.

If his wife supported the idea, then it was definitely worth considering.

Chen Pingsheng sighed, "Honey, if this fails, forget about buying a house in six months—you might even have to sell your Audi."

"Then we'll sell it."

Song Yanxi's voice was firm. "You're turning thirty this year. You spent the first ten years supporting your family, then the next protecting us. Now it's time to do something for yourself. If we fail, I'll sell the car and ride a tricycle with you to sell durians on the street."

With a wife like this, how could he hesitate?

More importantly, he was actually excited about the idea.