Chapter Forty-Six: How Can a Slow Mind Make a Cunning Merchant?

One of the chubby teachers remarked with envy, “Xiwen, you’re really something. If the chairman takes a liking to your system, that could mean hundreds of thousands for you.”

“Shh…” Jiang Xiwen gestured for silence, his face innocent. “I can’t let my parents know, or it’ll be trouble. They’ll say I’m neglecting my studies. So, if Chairman Tian really accepts it, I’ll hand all the money over to Principal Fan for safekeeping until I’m grown up and ready to start a company.”

After waiting another half hour, Jiang Xiwen found an excuse to leave the school. The teachers watched him go, sighing with mixed feelings. They all agreed the boy was a genius in research, but hopelessly naïve in the ways of the world. This was a windfall for Principal Fan: with no contract restrictions, at best he’d invest the money and return it to Jiang Xiwen later, but at worst, he could simply pocket it and Jiang Xiwen would have no recourse.

Little did they know, Jiang Xiwen was on his way to claim his first windfall of 160,000 yuan—at Yangjiang Department Store. But before that, he made three phone calls: one to Qi Huanchang, one to Chen Tianhai, and another to the general manager of the department store.

Ten minutes earlier, Chen Tianhai had received Jiang Xiwen’s call. On the line, Jiang Xiwen sounded angry, saying he no longer trusted Fan Qiang and would discuss the electronic cash register system directly with Manager Chen from now on. He’d be over soon to check the trial system and prepare for the official version.

After hanging up, Chen Tianhai was overjoyed. He only had to find out what price Fan Qiang had quoted to Jiang Xiwen, raise it slightly, and pocket the difference—money falling from the sky. Finally, it was his turn.

When Jiang Xiwen arrived at the department store, Chen Tianhai greeted him enthusiastically, taking him around to inspect the cash register system. Everything was running smoothly.

Jiang Xiwen nodded. “Uncle Chen, I’ll switch in the official version for you after work today.”

“Hm? You came empty-handed?” Chen Tianhai looked him over, wondering how he’d do the upgrade with nothing in hand.

Jiang Xiwen smiled. “I brought a few disks. I just need to tweak the settings on the main computer and remove the trial period.”

“That simple? Your uncle doesn’t understand any of this. It’s your generation’s world now,” Chen Tianhai said pleasantly, his mood light. Jiang Xiwen’s straightforwardness pleased him even more; the department store’s leadership, including the general manager, always insisted on seeing the goods before paying. Once the official version was installed, getting the payment approved would be easy.

With nothing else to do that afternoon, Jiang Xiwen dragged Chen Tianhai to relive childhood joys—playing Street Fighter, Captain Commando, Raiden, and other arcade games. Jiang Xiwen played with gusto, and Chen Tianhai grinned, though not for the games, but for the money soon to be his.

As work ended, prodded by Chen Tianhai, Jiang Xiwen went with him back to the department store. After all the staff had left, Jiang Xiwen set to work. He didn’t remove the trial restriction, merely extended it a few days, and under Chen Tianhai’s clueless gaze, copied part of the transaction data onto his own disk.

Now came the time for masks to come off.

“Manager Chen.” Jiang Xiwen switched to a formal tone. “Let’s sign the contract first.”

“Oh?” Chen Tianhai was a bit surprised—this afternoon, Jiang Xiwen had called him uncle, now he’d reverted. “Alright. How much did Fan Qiang tell you? I have a feeling he tried to rip you off.”

“Of course he did. He told me forty thousand, but I’ve checked—nowhere near the real price,” Jiang Xiwen replied, his voice passionate but face calm.

“Knew it. That Fan Qiang is shameless, even cheating a kid. The system costs sixty thousand, that’s what our leadership approved. I told Fan Qiang everything—he wanted to pocket twenty thousand for himself.”

Jiang Xiwen’s smile grew a shade colder, making Chen Tianhai wipe sweat from his brow.

“In the dead of winter, how come you’re sweating, Manager Chen?” Jiang Xiwen asked solemnly, though inwardly he was laughing.

“Oh?” Chen Tianhai realized his awkwardness. Why should lying to a kid make him nervous? He quickly covered, “The heating’s too high. Xiwen, I’ve already drafted the contract. Just sign it.”

“I could, but not me personally. I’m not yet of age—a contract signed by me wouldn’t be legally binding. I’ll have my teacher sign on my behalf.”

“Heh, Xiwen, you even know that? Your uncle overlooked it—my apologies.” Chen Tianhai sensed things were turning sour, and managed a stiff laugh.

Jiang Xiwen smiled slightly. “If I didn’t know that, wouldn’t I be letting myself get cheated by you? Go revise the contract. It’s not sixty thousand—it’s a hundred sixty thousand.”

“What? Xiwen, are you joking?” Chen Tianhai was growing more anxious.

“I’ve inquired—this system would cost at least a hundred ninety thousand on the market. My custom-built one outperforms those from the software companies, yet I’m only charging a hundred sixty thousand. I doubt your leadership would refuse. A hundred sixty thousand is not much. Chen Tianhai, you planned to skim a hundred thousand off the top—better than Fan Qiang, but isn’t that still rather heartless?”

Jiang Xiwen’s tone was so composed and mature, it was hard to believe he was only fifteen. But Chen Tianhai had spent almost a decade in the business world. After a long exhale, he collected himself, reassessing Jiang Xiwen as a seasoned veteran.

Chen Tianhai sneered. “You’ve already installed the official version. If you don’t sign this contract, you might not even get sixty thousand.”

“Manager Chen, you’re really stubborn. First, even if I sign for sixty thousand, you’ll forge a contract for a hundred sixty thousand to deceive your superiors—that’s contract fraud. Second, embezzling public funds is corruption. Third, cheating me out of money is fraud. Besides, how do you know I actually installed the full version just now?”

“What?!” Chen Tianhai kept wiping sweat, then resorted to his last trick—a shameless bluff. “Jiang Xiwen, you’re tough. At worst, I’ll just drop the deal. Plenty of companies want our business. I’ll just tell the bosses you backed out at the last minute—they’ll dock my bonus, that’s all.”