"Who was that on the phone?"
Jerry's usually quiet father asked.
He might not have said much,
but the cheerful girl's voice—and the vaguely flirty tone—had definitely caught his attention.
After all, this could be future daughter-in-law material.
Jerry didn't hesitate.
"My future wife,"
he said casually.
If it were the old Jerry,
he would've stammered and brushed it off.
But the new Jerry?
The one who dreamed of stirring the world and sleeping on beauties' laps?
He already considered Jenny his.
"Treat her well,"
his father said seriously, unaware that this "future wife" was currently someone else's girlfriend.
After that, Dad focused back on the road.
They needed to hurry—
another trip still awaited them today.
As they bumped along the dirt road,
Jerry reviewed the contract he and Fengner had agreed on.
The terms were simple:
Jerry would supply wild greens.
Fengner would distribute them through his channels.
Revenue split: 80-20—
Jerry gets 80%, Fengner gets 20%.
Even better,
Jerry's share per jin would now be around seven yuan,
a solid 20% boost compared to direct selling.
Jerry had laid out his plan clearly:
"From now on, don't buy greens from anyone else.
I'll use my cash flow to monopolize the supply.
You focus on flooding the market.
We lock this business down together."
It was brutal but brilliant.
Sooner or later, the villagers would realize how valuable wild greens were.
But by then,
Jerry and Fengner would have closed off all the channels.
No buyers.
No market.
Only Jerry would be left standing.
When Fengner first heard Jerry's plan,
he was floored.
This kid... isn't just smart.
He's a damn visionary.
Most grown men couldn't think this far ahead.
And here was a teenager,
already plotting full industry dominance.
Their roles shifted immediately.
Fengner wasn't just a vegetable hawker anymore.
He was an agent—working for Jerry.
Of course, it would take time to fully build the empire,
but the blueprint was already there.
Jerry wasn't just playing small games.
He was gearing up for the big leagues.
They got home around 3 PM.
Hearing the truck engine,
villagers and Jerry's mom glanced over.
The villagers quickly turned away—
they were busy.
Who cared if the dumb kid was back?
Better to gather more greens while they could.
Who knew when these fools would change their minds and stop buying?
"Mom, how much greens have we collected?"
Jerry asked as he jumped off the truck.
Dad, meanwhile, slipped quietly inside,
hugging a heavy paper bag filled with cash.
Too risky to leave it out here.
His mom wiped her forehead and rushed over,
her face full of worry.
"Jerry, you're finally back!
It's crazy out here!
The villagers brought in 50,000 jin of greens this afternoon alone!"
"We ran out of cash hours ago.
Now we're just writing IOUs...
What if they riot?!"
She clutched Jerry's hand in panic,
desperation written all over her face.
Jerry's heart softened.
For a simple village woman,
this was way too much pressure.
He comforted her gently.
"Mom, don't worry.
I told you to keep collecting, right?
Of course I have a plan."
"Besides—"
he smiled slyly—
"didn't you notice we came back with an empty truck?"
Her eyes widened.
She understood instantly.
Without another word,
Jerry pulled his mom inside the house and shut the door.
"What's all this sneaky stuff about?"
she scolded lightly,
half laughing.
In her mind,
even if they sold the greens,
it would only be a few hundred yuan at best.
Nothing worth being so dramatic over.
Jerry just grinned.
"You'll see soon enough."
The house was quiet.
Dad had clearly taken the cash stash to the back room for safekeeping.
Jerry called out:
"Dad, show Mom the money."
A pause—then rustling sounds.
Dad soon emerged,
hugging the heavy paper bag like it was treasure.
He placed it on the table.
Jerry opened it without ceremony.
A mountain of red bills spilled out,
neatly stacked.
Mom's eyes almost popped out of her head.
"This... all this money...?"
Jerry began counting aloud, stacking neat piles on the table.
"This is from the first batch of greens.
Total sales: seventy thousand yuan.
After subtracting two thousand for costs and three hundred for gas,
we made 67,700 yuan net profit."
"Seventy... SEVENTY thousand?!"
Mom staggered backward, nearly fainting.
Jerry lunged forward and caught her just in time.
Poor woman.
You couldn't really blame her.
The shock was simply too much.
In a place like this village,
what did seventy thousand yuan mean?
The local convenience store only sold basics—
rice, oil, salt, a few random cheap snacks.
Candy?
Ten for a penny.
Shampoo and soap?
Barely existed.
Anything costing more than ten yuan?
Pure luxury.
Sanitary pads?
Forget it.
Body wash, fancy shampoos?
Nope.
Even outside the village,
in big cities across the country,
average monthly salaries were around 1,500 yuan.
Seventy thousand yuan?
That was five years' salary for a city white-collar worker.
For someone like Jerry's mom,
living in a poor rural area?
It was unimaginable wealth.