"It's late," Xiaoyuan murmured, looking around at the deserted pre-dawn streets, clutching the photo album tightly. "Where… where are we going now?"
"Just follow me," Xiu replied, his voice steady. "You'll see soon enough. On the way, let me outline the plan."
As they walked through the quiet suburban streets, the city slowly stirring around them, Xiu explained his basic strategy. It was simple, audacious, and potentially very lucrative: exploit consumer and demand, information gap, and market inefficiency through piracy.
"Think about it," He explained. "Those official Pokémon knowledge books, skill manuals… they cost hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Poké Dollars. But the actual printing cost? Probably less than twenty. The markup is insane." He'd noticed during his brief foray into the Vermilion City market that pirated or even second-hand educational materials related to Pokémon seemed virtually non-existent. "There's a huge gap in the market. People want the knowledge, but the official channels price it out of reach for most."
His plan? Fill that gap. Produce high-quality counterfeits of the most sought-after textbooks and sell them at a fraction of the official price. Undercut the established bookstores, provide affordable knowledge, and, in the process, make a significant profit.
"But… copyright?" Xiaoyuan asked tentatively, the concept vaguely familiar but clearly not a major concern in her previous life.
Xiu scoffed. "Copyright? We're talking about piracy, Xiaoyuan. Who cares about copyright? Our only concern is not getting caught."
Xiaoyuan listened, wide-eyed, as Xiu laid out the plan, the sheer scale of the potential profits dizzying her. She walked beside him, clutching her precious photo album, her mind reeling with the possibilities, the risks, the sheer unexpectedness of it all.
They walked for some time, leaving the main suburban roads, heading towards an older, more dilapidated industrial district on the city's fringe. Finally, Xiu stopped before a large, multi-story brick building, clearly old but relatively intact compared to the truly abandoned factory from the night before. It bore the faded signage of a defunct printing company.
"This place?" Xiaoyuan asked, looking around at the neglected surroundings. This part of the city felt forgotten, bypassed by progress. Low, aging buildings, cracked sidewalks, few signs of economic activity. Definitely not a place many young people would choose to live or work. Lifeless.
"Used to be the main printing factory for a small publishing house," Xiu explained, producing a key and unlocking the heavy front door. "Publishing house went bankrupt a few years back. Given the location, no one bothered buying the assets. It's just been sitting here. But," he pushed the door open, "the equipment inside… mostly intact. Including a functional, if older, small-scale printing press."
He stepped inside. The air hung thick with the smell of dust, stale paper, and machine oil. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead, casting a weak, buzzing glow over the entrance hall. It was mostly empty, save for a few stacks of old wooden pallets leaning against one wall.
"Come on," Xiu said, closing and locking the door behind them. "The good stuff is in the back."
He led her through the hall into a neglected inner courtyard. Dead trees, their branches like skeletal claws, stood amidst overgrown weeds. Beyond the courtyard lay the main warehouse. Xiu opened another dusty door.
"Cough! Cough!" Xiaoyuan instinctively covered her mouth and nose as a cloud of disturbed dust billowed out. When it settled slightly, she peered inside. Rows of large, complex machinery filled the vast space, shrouded in dust covers, silent witnesses to a bygone era of print.
"The whole lot – building and equipment – cost me one hundred thousand," Xiu said, walking amongst the machines, checking connections, pulling off dust covers. "Dirt cheap, basically scrap metal prices. Originally, setting up a plant like this? New machines, building modifications… probably cost over 1.2 million back in the day." He located a workbench tucked away in a corner, pulled out a dusty cardboard box from underneath, and began flipping through the manuals inside.
"Of course," He continued, "everything's been sitting idle for years. So it needs maintenance, cleaning, probably some repairs before we can restart operations. But thankfully, the original manuals are still here. Give me some time, I can figure it out."
"You know how to fix… all this?" Xiaoyuan asked, overwhelmed by the scale and complexity of the machinery.
Xiu just offered a faint, confident smile. "My background… before… involved mechanical engineering," He said vaguely. "And later, network engineering. The principles are similar, even if the specific technology here is different. Shouldn't take too long to get reacquainted." An engineer who doesn't understand networks isn't a good designer, he thought, recalling an old adage.
Xiaoyuan picked up one of the manuals curiously. She could recognize individual words, but the technical jargon, the complex diagrams filled with lines and numbers… it was completely incomprehensible.
"Don't worry about the technical side," Xiu reassured her, gently taking the manual back. "That's my department." He gave her a quick tour of the rest of the facility – storage rooms filled with aging paper stock. "Probably unusable, we'll need to buy new materials," He sighed, realizing another expense, old administrative offices, a loading bay.
Finally, they returned to the dusty entrance hall. Xiu stopped, turning to face Xiaoyuan directly. He looked at her seriously for a moment.
"Okay," He said. "You've seen the place. You understand the basic plan. You know the environment we'll be working in. Now, I need your decision. I'm offering you two options."
He held up one finger. "Option one: You work for me. I hire you as an employee. I'll pay you a fair monthly salary, much better than eight hundred, I promise. Your duties will be assigned, you follow instructions, low risk. Food and basic lodging here are included, naturally."
He held up a second finger. "Option two: You become my partner. No salary, but you get a share of the profits – five percent. You'll work with me, share the responsibilities, share the risks. Potentially much higher reward, but also the chance of getting nothing if the venture fails."
He paused, letting her absorb the options. "Think carefully," He added. "Joining as a partner means the work will be harder, the risks higher. If we fail, you walk away with nothing. The salary is the safer, more stable choice."
Xiaoyuan considered for only a brief moment. "I want to join," she said, her voice surprisingly firm. "As a partner."
Xiu looked at her, surprised by her quick decision. "Are you sure? Do you even understand the risks?"
She met his gaze, a newfound determination in her eyes. "If you didn't believe this could make money," She countered logically, "why would you invest a hundred thousand buying this place?" A small smile touched her lips. "I trust you, Xiu. Besides," she added, a touch of her earlier bitterness returning, "what do I really have to lose?"
"Okay!" Xiu nodded, respecting her decisiveness. "Partner it is." He glanced around the dusty hall. "It's getting late. We can discuss the detailed plans tomorrow. For now, we need rest."
"Right," Xiaoyuan agreed, then looked around uncertainly. "Um… where exactly do we sleep?" She remembered seeing only machinery and dusty storage rooms.
"Attic," Xiu replied, pointing upwards towards a metal staircase leading to a mezzanine level overlooking the main hall. "Used to be the main office area. It's slightly less dilapidated than the rest of the place."
He led her up the stairs. The attic space contained several small, partitioned offices, littered with broken furniture, discarded papers, and years of accumulated grime. "Uh… sorry," Xiu admitted sheepishly. "Didn't have time to clean up here yet. It's late, let's just make do for tonight. Find a spot, maybe wipe down that old sofa over there?"
He retrieved his tent and sleeping bag from his backpack, setting up the tent quickly in the largest, cleanest corner of the attic space. Xiaoyuan found a rag and some questionable water from a stagnant basin in the corner restroom and began scrubbing half-heartedly at a stained, torn sofa against one wall.
"Done!" Xiu announced, finishing with his tent. He looked over at Xiaoyuan's efforts. "Don't worry about the sofa for now," He said casually. "You can sleep in the tent tonight. I'll take the sofa."
Before she could react or object, he tossed his sleeping bag onto the dusty sofa and lay down, turning his back to her, clearly signaling the conversation was over for the night.