Chapter 3: Xiao Fu Resigns

【3】 Xiao Fu Resigns

How exciting!

Cao Xiaoqiang held the 23 small gold bars, wrapped in layers of cloth, his heart racing with such excitement that he was on the verge of shedding tears of joy.

"I'm rich, I'm rich! At the current market gold acquisition price of over 300 yuan per gram, this is worth over 200,000 yuan. If I do a few more deals like this, buying a house in Beijing won't just be a dream anymore." Xiaoqiang did the math in his head, quickly making up his mind: he would resign as soon as he got back. He was going to be a full-time space-time merchant.

The most urgent task now was to return to 2010 and sell the gold in his arms for cash.

With that, the young man hurried all the way back, practically running until he reached Shuijing Hutong.

Cao Xiaoqiang found the secluded corner he had used before. After checking that no one was around, he ignored his severely weakened physical state—dizzy from excessive blood loss—and once again instructed the Blood Soul to initiate the blood sacrifice for travel. In a flash, he felt that familiar wave of dizziness in his brain, and he was back in 2010, standing in the place called Xiyuan Residential Complex.

The consecutive blood sacrifice travels had pushed Cao Xiaoqiang’s soft, out-of-shape body to its limit. His vision turned yellow, golden stars danced before his eyes, and he couldn't see clearly at all. He couldn't keep his balance, no matter how hard he tried.

Seeing that he couldn't hold on any longer, Cao Xiaoqiang let his will collapse. He slumped down onto the cold ground of the complex, gasping for air with his mouth wide open, barely managing to stay conscious. After a long while, when he finally recovered from the worst of it, he realized his entire body was soaked in cold sweat.

Sitting on the freezing ground, his sweat-drenched underwear clinging to his skin, Cao Xiaoqiang’s mind raced. These years of scrimping and saving in Beijing had left him in a sub-health state. To save for a down payment on a house and upgrade his girlfriend to a wife, he hadn't dared to eat or spend. He turned down every colleague's dinner invitation, even refusing when others offered to pay. Think about it: if someone treats you today, don't you have to treat them back tomorrow? If you don't, people will talk behind your back. If you do, it’s a whole group of people, and no matter how frugal you are, dinner and karaoke will cost at least seven or eight hundred.

That was why Cao Xiaoqiang would scratch his head every time payday came around. After all the deductions, he barely took home three thousand yuan. His "pig-headed" boss never gave out bonuses exceeding two thousand. Those 100,000 yuan in savings he had before were truly squeezed out drop by drop, sweat by sweat. His parents back in his hometown had long been laid off; his father stayed home to care for his bedridden, elderly grandmother, and his mother was skilled at knitting, earning a little extra money doing odd jobs. That 200,000 yuan they had provided was their life savings; besides paying for his college, it was everything they had. They didn't even dare to eat meat themselves. He remembered returning home for the Spring Festival last year; his parents had cooked a table full of hearty dishes, but they only reached for the meat after Xiaoqiang had nearly finished eating. It broke his heart. Every time they spoke on the phone, his mother would just repeat the same questions: "Are you full? Are you eating well? Have you lost weight?" His father would only add at the end, "Work hard and listen to your boss." But he had carelessly taken the money out and hidden it under his quilt, intending to pay the down payment the next day, only to find his door pried open when he returned from work. The police couldn't solve the case after three months. In total despair, feeling he had no face to see his parents, he had sought to end his life.

At this point, Cao Xiaoqiang pulled his wandering thoughts back. Feeling that the worst of his physical discomfort had passed, he stood up with some difficulty, clutching the gold bars even tighter. This was his future security; even if it cost him his life, he couldn't lose it again. It was already twelve o'clock noon. With an empty stomach and a dizzy head, Xiaoqiang left the complex and had a big meal at a nearby Northeast-style restaurant. He ordered a pot of chicken stewed with mushrooms and ate three small bowls of rice. After finishing, he paid the bill—81 yuan total, with the chicken costing 78 and the rice 1 yuan per bowl. For a "loser" drifting in Beijing like Cao Xiaoqiang, this was unprecedented luxury. In the past, he never ate out alone. Even in special circumstances, he would order, at most, shredded pork with green peppers or just a plain dish of sour and spicy shredded potatoes. He wouldn't even look at a hearty dish like chicken stewed with mushrooms. But now, heh, he was starting to enjoy life. After all, he had just found a way to make money.

Throughout the meal, Xiaoqiang didn't dare let the bundle containing the gold bars leave his sight. He kept it carefully tucked between his thighs—he had truly been scared by the theft.

After paying, Xiaoqiang hailed a taxi and headed straight for Panjiayuan.

Xiaoqiang had inquired beforehand; these Republic-era small gold bars sold for 16,000 yuan each at Panjiayuan. While the actual gold value was only worth about 10,000 yuan, these Republic-era items counted as small antiques.

Upon arriving at Panjiayuan, Xiaoqiang found a grand-looking antique shop called Yushun Antiques. He went inside and explained his intent, claiming the gold bars were passed down from his ancestors and that he, an unfilial descendant, needed to exchange them for cash to buy a house. The owner, a man named Hu Chunlai, was an expert on Republic-era antiques. After examining the sample Xiaoqiang provided and some haggling, he agreed to buy all twenty-three bars for 12,000 yuan each.

Xiaoqiang was overjoyed. After an inspection, the deal was settled. Xiaoqiang netted 276,000 yuan. He didn't dare accept a check and asked the boss for cash. For an antique shop, this amount was peanuts, so Hu Chunlai opened his safe and paid in full.

Carrying so much money, Cao Xiaoqiang felt even more uneasy than when he had the gold. No sooner had he stepped out of Yushun Antiques than he jogged all the way to the bank. In his view, money was only safe when deposited in a bank card.

If you ask why Cao Xiaoqiang didn't just swipe a card for the down payment earlier, it was a stroke of bad luck: his parents, thinking inter-bank transfers were cheaper, used the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. When Xiaoqiang received the money, he withdrew it and deposited it into his Beidu Bank account. Who would have thought the developer required a card from one of the "Big Four" banks? He had no choice but to withdraw the money after work and rush to the Industrial and Commercial Bank, only to find they had already closed. Looking at the locked doors, he had no choice but to take the money home, thinking he would guard it until Friday after work and go to the developer on Saturday. As the saying goes, "coincidence is the mother of all stories"—it just so happened that some heartless thief stole it!

After depositing the money, Cao Xiaoqiang felt much lighter, and the tight string in his brain finally relaxed. He leaned against a utility pole by the side of the road to catch his breath, pushed through the waves of dizziness, and quickly found a pharmacy to buy donkey-hide gelatin blood-nourishing granules and American ginseng, then went to the supermarket to buy some food. He was rich now; he bought whatever looked good and picked whatever was expensive. Everything he hadn't dared to eat or spend on before, he made up for today. He took a taxi to his door and carried his bags into his small room.

Cao Xiaoqiang set down his bags and used a thermos to brew a cup of the blood-nourishing granules. Holding the cheap, coarse ceramic cup and blowing on the steam, he looked around the small, 15-square-meter room that cost 900 yuan a month in rent.

In the cramped room, a bulky, old-fashioned office desk bought from a second-hand market and a half-worn double bed took up most of the space. Cao Xiaoqiang sighed inwardly, thinking: "Once I make another profit, I'm moving. I've had enough of this dump; it just makes me angry to look at it."

Thinking of his ordeal, he couldn't help but get agitated. "Damn it! That thief didn't steal anything else, but as soon as he found this huge sum, he took off. You should have taken this broken bed and desk with you too!" Of course, that was just Cao Xiaoqiang talking nonsense; the thief wasn't a comedian's straight man, and he wasn't that stupid.

Xiaoqiang felt a belly full of bitterness thinking about his stolen hard-earned money, and he sipped his medicine slowly with a furrowed brow.

After finishing the medicine, Xiaoqiang closed his eyes for a short nap. Once his body warmed up, he turned on his computer and logged onto Alibaba. Cao Xiaoqiang ordered another batch of mechanical watches. Only now did he realize what "cheap" really meant. The Orade watches that cost 91 yuan before were only 55 yuan each here, with a minimum order of 50. Xiaoqiang was so angry he cursed the previous Taobao seller for being a profiteer. This time, Xiaoqiang ordered 15 styles, 200 of each. Since some styles had different prices, the final total including shipping was 196,000 yuan. The merchant was thrilled and repeatedly promised the best after-sales service: a replacement within one year and a three-year warranty. Cao Xiaoqiang made his requirements clear: no "A" on the watches, no instruction manuals in the boxes, and the boxes should only have the English brand name, just like the previous ones. The seller readily agreed.

The seller estimated the total weight to be nearly 500 kilograms, but said their factory had a contract with a courier company that could ship it directly. They agreed the goods would arrive in about three to five days. After settling everything, Xiaoqiang contentedly drank some beer and ate the roast chicken he’d bought at the supermarket, then went to bed early.

According to his plan, the next morning, Xiaoqiang got up early, drank a cup of the blood-nourishing granules, wiped his face with a wet towel, and headed straight to the company. Seeing Cao Xiaoqiang come in to resign, his immediate boss, Wang Bin—nicknamed "Pighead"—wore an expression of disbelief. In his eyes, Cao Xiaoqiang was the type of introverted, timid, and conservative employee—a college student from the countryside destined to work honestly and be exploited for his entire life. He never expected this usually dowdy kid to actually dare to resign, claiming he wanted to start his own business!

"Pighead" Wang Bin crossed his legs and spoke with a sneer: "Cao Xiaoqiang, you've actually done something that impresses me this time. But think carefully—there's no turning back once the arrow is fired. Our company may be small, but it's not just anyone who can get in. If an employee like you, with a third-rate diploma, who doesn't work hard, can succeed by starting a business, then our company would have become General Electric! I won't make things difficult for you; go to the accountant to settle your wages, but you definitely won't get this month's bonus... Hmph, when you lose every cent of your capital, don't come crying to me asking for your job back."

Cao Xiaoqiang didn't bother arguing with him. In his view, getting angry with such a piece of trash would be a disservice to the cup of blood-nourishing granules he drank this morning. He turned around and went to settle his wages with the accountant. Though a thousand-plus yuan wasn't much, it was enough for a month's rent.

After finishing his resignation, Cao Xiaoqiang walked to the company entrance and heard someone call, "Cao Xiaoqiang."

Xiaoqiang turned around and saw it was Zhou Lan, the "glasses girl" who sat next to him. She was twenty-two and had a few light freckles on her face. As a newcomer who had joined at the beginning of the year, she was unfamiliar with the business and was always being scolded by Wang Bin. Cao Xiaoqiang had helped her out of trouble many times.

Zhou Lan walked over and said, "Cao Xiaoqiang, are you really quitting?"

"Yeah, I'm planning to start my own business."

"Is that so? Well, congratulations. I wish you become a millionaire soon and buy a big house," Zhou Lan joked kindly.

"Heh, I hope so," Xiaoqiang said, a bright smile on his pale face.

"If you get rich, let me know. I'll come work for you. I can't stand this dump of a company anymore. All we do is have meetings, and meetings are just listening to Boss Wang rant."

"Heh, if your good wishes help me get rich, I'll definitely hire you at a high salary."

"It's a deal, then. Remember to keep in touch." Zhou Lan also smiled brightly.

Watching Zhou Lan’s figure disappear into the company doors, Cao Xiaoqiang felt a bit lost. In the place where he had worked for four years, only one friend had come to see him off. Was he really such a failure as a person? If he had been generous with his money and made friends, what would it be like now? But then again, how many of those friends made with money would be sincere? Frugal as I am, at least I can be sure now that Zhou Lan is a sincere friend. Among all those other people, who could say they have a sincere friend by their side? Isn't this what the ancients meant by "True character is revealed in times of adversity"?