Wang Qiqi turned back home and announced to Shi Man and the others who were tidying up inside, "Once we've eaten well, we'll buy some stocks, and then we’ll head back tonight."

After bidding farewell to Han Tao and Li Qian, Wang Qiqi went to purchase their return train tickets and successfully secured four sleeper berths.

"We got the money." Shi Man was surprised that they had wrapped everything up in just three or four hours—money secured, tickets bought. And they were for today's train. "That means?" I need to call my parents and tell them I'm coming back." Having been away for an entire semester, and with the summer vacation stretching out, Shi Man missed home terribly.

Ignoring the several-thousand-yuan handbag she was holding, Shi Man tossed it aside carelessly and dashed to the telephone, her footsteps echoing "thump, thump." Wang Qiqi watched Shi Man gesticulate wildly while talking to her mother on the phone. Of course, Wang Qiqi's observation might have been a bit harsh, but Shi Man’s expression at that moment was undeniably adorable. "Looks like someone is really homesick."

Zhu Lina shook her head, tidying up the items that someone had just thrown down so haphazardly, and slipped them into a bag. "Li Qian is quite quick at settling accounts."

"Indeed," Wang Qiqi sighed, recounting how Li Qian had managed to settle things so swiftly, even repeating what Li Qian had said.

Shi Man finished her coaxing session with her mother and returned to the room, overhearing Wang Qiqi's words. Her reaction was simply, "Do you believe her?" In any case, Shi Man didn't believe it one bit. How many business people truly had clean hearts? Most were dark in some way; it was just a matter of degree.

Wang Qiqi, however, wasn't as agitated. "Whether what she said is true doesn't matter. Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s false. If she truly went into that business, would I still stick around her?" Perhaps Li Qian had been tempted, but Wang Qiqi worried about a potential backlash. Wang Qiqi was confident she could easily find another job, but doing so would likely make future interactions quite awkward.

Han Tao splashed some water on his face and emerged shortly after washing a few peaches. "Li Qian is an astute person. You're only planning to do this for two or three years; we can't run these small-time operations forever. But Li Qian is different. I suspect that after you stop, she might take it over." Han Tao knew that although Li Xiangdong seemed decisive, it was Li Qian who truly had the strategic mind between the two of them.

Wang Qiqi suddenly had an idea. "Why shouldn't I continue in this line of work? My personality isn't suited for being an employee. I only dabble in stocks occasionally for quick money, and I collect rent now and then. So, I think I should open a small shop—a place selling very distinctive clothing, jewelry, and bags I select from around the world. What do you all think?"

When Shi Man overheard Wang Qiqi's plan, what immediately came to her mind was that if they followed Wang Qiqi’s idea, it would absolutely require flying all over the globe to source the goods. "I can be the procurement agent. I can work harder to go out and acquire things."

Wang Qiqi scoffed. "I won't just procure things myself; I don't suddenly not know English. But you studied French. Remember when we went last time..." Wang Qiqi felt too embarrassed to recall how confident someone had been before leaving, claiming she could help with directions and finding places in France. But heaven knew the few words she managed to utter upon arrival in France—her French was so broken even the French couldn't understand it.

"Didn't we just have tight scheduling?" Shi Man naturally had to push back against Wang Qiqi's thinly veiled contempt. "Besides, who do I speak French with domestically? A few more trips, and I’ll get fluent. I don’t care what anyone says; I'm going to do this with you from now on." If they objected further, Shi Man wouldn't hesitate to deploy her ultimate technique: "As for my parents' opinion, don't worry, I'll handle it."

Well, since the person in question was so sincere about joining, Wang Qiqi truly had no reason to object. Moreover, bringing a close friend along while traveling was a good thing; she'd have help with shopping and taking photos. However, she wouldn't let Shi Man know her true thoughts, as that would surely make her smug. "Who told you to be my friend? If you want to join, then join. But don't regret it later. While we can travel to different places, the main focus is sourcing items to bring back. At the very least, we need to earn back enough for our travel funds, utilities, and wages." Wang Qiqi first outlined the general operational framework for Shi Man, lest the girl get carried away with sightseeing, food tasting, and forget the most crucial element: procuring goods to bring back. That was, after all, the foundation supporting how far their travels could go.

Shi Man had been dreaming about which scenery to see and which delicacies to sample when she noticed Wang Qiqi's disappointing and overly obvious expression, realizing something was amiss. "Got it. By the way, let's research which stocks to buy." Just yesterday, Shi Man had been thinking about buying more stocks to double her net worth again.

Wang Qiqi pointed to a few stocks. "Han Tao and I discussed a few stocks worth investing in on the way back. What do you all think? Should everyone buy what they individually favor, or should we pool resources on one stock?" Previously, for operational convenience, although they had four accounts, they all bought the same stocks. It was convenient, but sometimes they let a good stock slip away. Last time, after discussion, they chose one stock and gave up another, which ended up skyrocketing far more aggressively than the one they selected. This was why Wang Qiqi posed the question now.

Shi Man glanced at Zhu Lina and saw her nodding. After a moment of thought, she decided, "Let's buy the same one. It's easier to manage, and if we buy too many stocks, we might forget and miss the boat." Shi Man was genuinely happy with her current wealth; after all this maneuvering, her net worth had multiplied four or five times, which she considered a huge sum. "Once Nana's house is built, I’m buying a place too."

Shi Man had never bought property before, but she had witnessed the significant property value increase for Zhu Lina's house in just one year. This left Shi Man stunned, especially with someone nearby constantly murmuring about hoarding properties. Shi Man definitely felt the urge to buy, but she reasoned that if she really started a business someday, based on Qiqi's idea, the shop would be in either Beijing or Shanghai, meaning they would need a base of operations somewhere.

"Buy one?" Wang Qiqi shot Shi Man a few pointed looks. "We’re finally getting a great deal; why only buy one set? If it were me, I'd buy at least six or seven. Right, Nana?"

Hearing Wang Qiqi speak so bluntly, Zhu Lina turned her back to Wang Qiqi, muttering under her breath, "What a shameless creature, acting like she's buying cabbages."

"Exactly. How much do I have? Although getting a bargain is good, I’ll just buy three or four sets," Shi Man conceded, realizing the logic. Why pass up a good deal? "Alright, alright, you two hurry up and pick the stocks. Once you're done, we'll go out to eat, and then we head home tonight."

Shi Man returned to the small room to continue packing. She left the brain work to Qiqi and Nana. Humming a tune, Shi Man’s mind drifted to what delicious things she would eat starting tomorrow. As she packed, buoyed by her good mood, the scattered items quickly disappeared into two suitcases. She clapped her hands and walked to the living room, finding the three of them still deep in discussion, and her stomach was starting to rumble audibly. Shi Man patted her protesting stomach, looked at the three still deliberating, rummaged through the kitchen for a long time, and finally found a single bag of biscuits. "Heaven itself wants us to leave today," she thought, otherwise, with all the food in the house, why was there only one packet of biscuits?

After browsing the stock market reports online for a while, the three of them—Zhu Lina, Wang Qiqi, and Han Tao—finally settled on which stocks to buy. "Okay, it's decided. Let's divide the money."

Wang Qiqi took out a pen and paper. During their trip, all the expenses—tickets, lodging, meals, and purchases—had been put onto a single card. Any souvenirs for family or personal promises to treat someone would be paid for individually. So now, Wang Qiqi needed to accurately tally the shared costs and then allocate the funds into the stock market.

Zhu Lina took the figures Wang Qiqi had calculated and double-checked them. "It's correct."

Then she called out towards the other room, "Manman, come calculate the money!"

Shi Man was in the middle of eating and simply replied to Zhu Lina's call, "You can calculate it; I don't need to check it." With Qiqi and Lina handling it, she saw no need to go through the tedious process of re-calculating everything.

"No way, you have to check it." Zhu Lina thought this involved thousands, maybe tens of thousands—a considerable sum—and couldn't afford any ambiguity. "Brothers need clear accounts, lest there be issues later. Hurry up, stop eating those biscuits!"

Shi Man was surprised Zhu Lina knew she was eating cookies, as she couldn't see her from her angle. "How did you know I was eating?"

"Can't I hear the sound?" Zhu Lina gave Shi Man a look. "We're about to eat. Why are you eating this now?" Otherwise, she'd be full and complain when the good food arrived.

Shi Man chuckled sheepishly. "I've been working hard all day, so I'm hungry." She picked up the paper and did the math. "It's right. I didn't expect that this small amount of profit would cover all the money we spent." The subsequent ten percent profit was truly the bonus. "It's a shame we didn't earn more."

That was the truth, but Wang Qiqi felt this was just the first time. "Next time we’ll have experience; staying at a youth hostel would have saved a lot more. Plus, we ate so many lavish meals this time," Wang Qiqi listed on her fingers the reasons why they brought so many goods but hadn't made a profit.

Shi Man was momentarily stunned by Wang Qiqi’s accounting. "Does that mean we won't eat well next time?" If that were the case, Shi Man wasn't planning on going again; that sounded too miserable.

"We'll still eat well, but not as many extravagant dinners as this time. Maybe one big meal occasionally," Wang Qiqi said. She then transcribed the finalized accounts for everyone to review and sign, before standing up to prepare for dinner. (To be continued)