Free Web NovelChapter 408: Chapter 408: College Doesn’t Pay as Much as Business
"There aren’t enough people in the village. We have to set this up in Vessaria. We’ll discuss it later."
Adrian Hawthorne filed the idea away. The house he’d bought in Vessaria would be perfect for it. He even had a candidate in mind to manage the place. Winston Lowell, the leader of the local hooligans, had recently asked him if he could find some work for his mother. Mrs. Lowell wasn’t in good health and couldn’t handle heavy labor. She could only assemble paper boxes at home, and the work was ruining her eyesight for a meager ten-or-so yuan a month.
He hadn’t been able to think of anything at the time, but an idea struck him now. If he opened a screening room, Mrs. Lowell would be the perfect person to manage it.
Even if the authorities came to investigate, it wouldn’t be a problem. Since Mrs. Lowell was in poor health, they wouldn’t be too hard on her. When the time came, he could find a way to smooth things over with the relevant departments. It should be fine.
Jim Thorne asked excitedly, "But how are we gonna do it in the city? We don’t have a house there."
"I have a house," Adrian Hawthorne said nonchalantly.
Jim Thorne and Tang Xiaonan both stared at him in surprise. ’He actually has a house? When did that happen?’
"I had someone buy a small house for me a while back. It has three rooms and a small courtyard. We can use it to store our merchandise later on." ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
’Adrian Hawthorne had planned this all along. Bringing that much fabric back to Millstone Peak would draw too much attention. It would be safer to store it in Vessaria. He could just have Winston Lowell and a few of his guys stand guard. Those hooligans were actually decent people at heart; he could trust them for now.’
’He also planned to buy a house in Wraven. He couldn’t limit his sales to just Vessaria. Besides, Tang Xiaonan had dreamed of Wraven becoming prosperous and booming, which meant the city was bound to take off in the future. If he bought a house there now, he’d get a head start.’
’Jim Thorne suddenly felt a bitter taste in his mouth. This kid was a year younger than him, yet here he was, buying houses and running a business, and doing incredibly well at it. Meanwhile, Jim couldn’t even scrape together a hundred yuan. He felt so damn useless.’ ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
’He really didn’t want to go to school anymore. Adrian Hawthorne didn’t have to, and he could go out and make money every day. But Jim had to go to school and listen to the teachers drone on and on like chanting monks, wasting so much time. It was such a pain.’
"I’m quitting school too."
Jim Thorne blurted out gruffly. For the first time, he truly felt how precious time was. ’I’m in third grade now, which means two more years of elementary school, three years of junior high, and three years of high school. Then if I get ridiculously lucky and test into a university, that’s another four years. That’s twelve years total!’
’After twelve years, he’d still be a broke, nameless loser. By then, Adrian Hawthorne would definitely be worth tens of thousands. No, wait—the kid could already dish out two thousand yuan right now. In twelve years, he might even be a millionaire.’
A fresh wave of bitterness washed over Jim Thorne. ’The gap between me and Adrian Hawthorne is already huge. If I waste another twelve years in school, I won’t be able to catch up even on a rocket ship. There’s no way I can keep going to school.’
"Why quit school? Don’t you want to get into a university?" Adrian Hawthorne could guess what was on Jim Thorne’s mind. ’It’s nothing more than him thinking school is a waste of time.’
"Even college graduates don’t necessarily make as much money as you," Jim Thorne said, speaking his mind. "I can write my own name and I know how to count. That’s good enough. Making money is what’s important."
’He used to think college students were incredible, that getting into a university was a goal he could never achieve in ten lifetimes. But now, his perspective had changed. College students weren’t all that special, after all.’
’The college grad at his second uncle’s distillery didn’t even earn as much as his uncle. His uncle had the highest salary in the entire factory at forty-eight yuan a month, while the grad only made thirty-six. To be fair, he was only a junior college graduate; there were no four-year university graduates at the distillery.’
’Still, even a junior college graduate was a big deal. Millstone Peak hadn’t produced one in decades. And yet, this supposedly amazing graduate was only making thirty-six yuan. If I went out and sold movie stills every day, I could make a hundred-something a month—way more than some college kid.’
