17. The greatest waves delight in silence

After a brief silence, Feng Lifang spoke up, “I heard you’ve set up a QQ group to help people top up their phone accounts? Chen Ling, is this the little business you mentioned yesterday?”
Chen Ling nodded, “Yes.”
“So you’re telling me that just by helping people recharge their phone credit, Bao Zhenhai can earn over two hundred thousand a month?” Feng Lifang was clearly skeptical. “There’s a limit to blind optimism, isn’t there? Tell me the specifics, let me give you some advice.”
She seemed to think her words lacked persuasion, so she added, “You all know I majored in the same field as you for my undergraduate degree, and I stayed on to teach so I could pursue graduate studies. Surely I’m qualified to give you some guidance, right?”
“Bean Sister, that’s not what I meant,” Chen Ling replied sheepishly, scratching his head. “It really is just a small business.”
He proceeded to briefly describe the general operation of the phone recharge business, ending with a summary of their results over the past two days...
“As of now, in about twenty-four hours, we’ve made seventy to eighty thousand.”
Chen Ling said this with casual indifference, for compared to four million, seventy or eighty thousand stirred no excitement in his heart.
Yet in Feng Lifang’s mind, it painted an entirely different picture.
Once she finally understood the logic behind this lucrative venture, she first stared blankly, then frowned, and finally was utterly stunned. “You call this a ‘small business’?”
The three of them dared not reply, but their expressions were unanimous—she’s making a fuss over nothing, acting surprised at the ordinary, unaware of the extraordinary.
Feng Lifang caught the look on their faces and instantly felt a bit embarrassed! Afterwards, she found herself at a loss for words.
“Is there any point in emphasizing the importance of campus learning anymore?”
“Internships? The money they make in a month, I might never see in my lifetime—it might even surpass the annual profits of some employers...”
“Money shouldn’t be the sole pursuit in life? But in this era, what else is worth pursuing besides money?”
“Self-actualization? Isn’t the universal measure of so-called self-actualization ultimately just total assets?”
“It’s easy to mock the wealthy for being vulgar and profit-driven, but without money, you don’t even qualify to be mocked.”
“Because without money, you’re destined to be a nameless passerby, an invisible person, someone who quietly fades into obscurity—a person just like you, me, and everyone else.”
“...”
Feng Lifang wanted to uphold the principles befitting an educator, but she was only three years older than them, and had never truly left the ivory tower. With her limited life experience, she honestly didn’t know what else she could say...
In the end, she could only sigh deeply, and with resignation yet stubbornness, reminded them, “It’s wonderful that you can earn so much money, but you must always remember your boundaries!”
“Don’t get involved in anything illegal or criminal, and don’t become rich without compassion.”
With that, she didn’t wait for their response, stood up, and left the dormitory.

“Bean Sister, wait~” Chen Ling chased after her alone, catching up with Feng Lifang at the stairwell’s corner.
“Is there something else?” Feng Lifang asked, her interest waning.
Chen Ling thought for a moment, then smiled, “Bean Sister, thank you!”
“Thank me?” Feng Lifang was puzzled.
“Yes!” Chen Ling grinned. “We’re happy to be making money, but I think you’re right—the closer we come to success, the more vigilant we need to be. So, Teacher Feng, thank you!”
That single “Teacher” from Chen Ling struck a chord in Feng Lifang’s heart.
“Was that comfort? Or recognition? Or genuine gratitude?”
She couldn’t even recall the last time a student had called her “teacher.”
And Chen Ling, with his sincere smile and earnest words, seemed to understand her thoughts...
Throwing a stone into a placid lake, ripples rise and then gradually fade; the surface appears unchanged, but the stone has truly sunk to the bottom, silent yet real.
Chen Ling’s words had truly settled into Feng Lifang’s heart!
No matter how bitter the illusion, the most profound ripples are those that make no sound.
...
When Chen Ling returned, Zhang Peng quickly asked, “Bean Sister didn’t say anything else, did she?”
“What could she say?” Chen Ling replied. “If we do well, it reflects well on her too.”
“True enough.” Bao Zhenhai, always practical and action-oriented, was already back at the computer taking orders.
Zhang Peng sat down as well, then remembered to ask, “Old Chen, when you talked about waiting for the wind, what did you mean exactly?”
“Uh~” Chen Ling thought a moment, trying to explain it simply. “I don’t know if you’ve followed the news, but just last month, the ‘two housing’ companies in the Beautiful Country saw their stock prices crash, almost going bankrupt. From what I can see, the subprime mortgage crisis coupled with asset securitization—especially debt securitization—has burst. This could trigger a global crisis.”
“We’ll definitely be affected to some extent. In such foreseeable circumstances, before long, new measures will be introduced to ensure economic growth.”
“That’s our biggest opportunity! This wind will be a tornado, sending us straight to the top!”
After Chen Ling finished, he looked at the other two, who both gave him a strange look.
“I understand every word you say, but what does it mean altogether?” Bao Zhenhai asked honestly.
Zhang Peng smiled wryly, “Forget it, I won’t understand even if you explain. When the time comes, we’ll just follow your lead.”

Chen Ling shrugged and said no more. After all, he couldn’t exactly tell them that, come November, four trillion yuan would be injected into the market, could he?
Nor could he reveal that this coming storm was actually the dawn of a trillion-dollar era...
Starting from this year, the economy would surge explosively, and in two years would surpass the neighboring island nation to become the world’s second-largest economy...
And what Chen Ling was waiting for was precisely this spring breeze of a grand revival!
Four trillion—what’s wrong with grabbing a small share? Nothing!
...
The entire afternoon, Zhang Peng and Bao Zhenhai were busy taking orders, while Chen Ling made another trip to the business office to deliver the cash they’d collected, then got to work himself.
According to Zhang Peng’s calculations, though the peak order period was only ten to fifteen days, the daily workload was enormous. Relying on just two people wasn’t realistic, so Chen Ling’s top priority was to find another temporary worker to share the burden.
But who to recruit?
Hiring from outside was out of the question. The business was simple, but they needed someone trustworthy, since the interests involved were considerable; strangers would only cause trouble.
Chen Ling wasn’t about to create another Jin Youde situation.
Finding a classmate in the school was a good option, but with so many students, how to choose?
In the end, Zhang Peng came up with a reliable suggestion—find a needy student.
His original words were, “Bean Sister said not to be rich and heartless, right? If we hire a needy student to help, it counts as solidarity and kindness. My dad often boosts his reputation by sponsoring poor students.”
But as Chen Ling knew, the poorest in their class was himself, so he had no choice but to ask Feng Lifang if any students from other classes needed help.
With this goal in mind, Chen Ling left the dorm and headed to Feng Lifang’s office. Passing the basketball court, he spotted a figure who seemed out of place...
It was a wiry, dark-skinned boy, wearing a nearly faded camouflage T-shirt, carrying a woven bag, moving from court to court, collecting empty drink bottles.
Some of the students playing ball would call out to him after finishing their drinks, and he’d jog over with a big smile, take the empty bottle, thank them, and wait for the next one...
“Bu Chunsheng?” Chen Ling slapped his forehead. “How could I have forgotten him!”