“Assembling a desktop computer, as long as you understand the authenticity, condition, and general price of all the core components, and have some connections in a computer mall like Hailong Building…”

“Whether the four orders that Brian Carter brought in include Eric Bennett or not, it makes no difference.”

“All four orders were given out of respect for Brian Carter by his childhood friends. If they didn’t give him face, you wouldn’t have settled the accounts so quickly after finishing the work. What kind of company out there doesn’t delay the final payment or something?”

“Getting the orders is Brian Carter, collecting the money is Brian Carter, and assembling and repairing computers isn’t that technical. If you work as a salesperson in Hailong Building for a month or two, the boss can teach you a lot.”

“So, letting Eric Bennett earn fifteen thousand in just over a month—still not enough?”

“If you ask me, this fourth order is still from one of Brian Carter’s childhood friends who wants to open a black internet café… No, actually, it’s because the internet café license hasn’t been approved yet. Once it’s approved, it’ll be a legitimate internet café.”

“That’s another 300 machines, a hundred yuan profit per machine, that’s another thirty thousand in profit. This order should go entirely to Brian Carter.”

Brian Carter hurriedly shook his head. “Alright, enough, damn, this is supposed to be a celebration dinner, why are you bringing all this up? Drink, drink, you’re killing the mood.”

As for Brian Carter, aside from being a jerk to his girlfriend and just so-so to his adoptive father, he’s actually pretty good to his friends—but even that has its limits…

Over ten thousand yuan in 2007.

Four orders, splitting thirty thousand fifty-fifty!

For a broke recent graduate like Brian Carter, this was a big deal, a really big deal, no matter how he felt about learning computer assembly skills and knowledge from Eric Bennett for over a month.

When you have a buddy like Adam Clark, an even closer friend you’ve lived with in the same dorm for four years, constantly whispering in your ear, “You made fifteen thousand, and gave Eric Bennett fifteen thousand…”

If you think about it, bringing in business and collecting payments is way more important than Eric Bennett acting as a middleman and connecting with some computer company like Old Li’s in Hailong Building.

These days, as long as you have big business, there are plenty of companies like Old Li’s fighting to give you kickbacks and bonuses.

They only make 300 per machine, but with hundreds of machines, that’s big money.

This is the golden age in China, when tens of millions of computers are sold every year!

Brian Carter, you’re such a badass salesperson, why are you splitting half the money with Eric Bennett? Learned some skills? Got taught something? For that, you could work at any store for a month or two on a few hundred yuan salary and learn it all.

Even if it’s tuition, out of respect for your classmate, you already gave him fifteen thousand. Isn’t that enough? Do you have to keep giving him half forever? Aren’t you losing out?!

The first time you hear about this, it’s a bit shocking. The more you hear, the more Brian Carter feels he’s getting the short end of the stick.

Lauren Harris isn’t really a bad person at heart, but she’s not much better than average, maybe even a bit worse in terms of morals.

If she were an ordinary person, she wouldn’t have slept with her best friend’s boyfriend the first time they met. Even people in the underworld have rules about not touching the boss’s woman, or it’s three stabs and six holes, right? She slept with her brother-in-law the first time they met, and lived in the same dorm with Megan for four years. Megan, the rich and beautiful girl, treated her, a poor girl, the best.

Ordinary people also wouldn’t rush to work as a showgirl in a bar just to make money.

To put it bluntly, with her last boyfriend, Lauren Harris just wanted a free driver. She gave her body? The other party gave time, money, and so on.

When Brian Carter called for everyone to keep drinking, the little Christmas reindeer and Huazi exchanged glances for over ten seconds, then raised their glasses and clinked them, saying nothing more.

Adam Clark was right—during college, everyone really wasn’t that close.

The three guys weren’t close to Eric Bennett, and as for Emily Thompson, even less so. They’d barely met a few times. Every now and then, Emily Thompson thought Eric Bennett was pretty decent, a good guy.

But there was no future there. She’d heard he’d hired two pretty girls as sales staff, and one of them was a real stunner.

He even cooked for them at home at least once a day.

With things like that, Emily Thompson naturally wouldn’t develop any other feelings for Eric Bennett. She just treated him as a friend. But she and Lauren Harris were four-year roommates, best friends.

Adam Clark was the one who pursued her, and she didn’t have a bad impression of Adam Clark.

After another drink, Adam Clark said, “Brian Carter, your friend’s new internet café, are you really going to keep working with Eric Bennett? Split half with him?”

“Like the very first internet café, you only made fifty per machine, but you negotiated it up to a hundred per machine. Without you, there’s no way it would be a hundred this time, right?”

Brian Carter glared at Adam Clark again before nodding. “We’re working together. Why not? We’ll talk about the future later. This time, no one can stop this partnership.”

Adam Clark quickly came over to pour drinks. “When you finish this deal, how about I go out and get some business too? I’ve got plenty of buddies and childhood friends myself.”

“If you do well in this line, it’s way more promising than my import-export business.”

Brian Carter and Lauren Harris exchanged a glance, both eyes lighting up. Well… being a local in Beijing, you really do have more connections and face.

Right now, cracking down on illegal internet cafés, the police station isn’t the only authority, but it’s one of the main ones. Adam Clark’s dad is a two-bar, three-star officer!

With that background, if Adam Clark goes out to get business, he’s not much worse than Brian Carter.

All kinds of big internet café orders, big company office computer orders, one after another—they could be making twenty thousand, even thirty or forty thousand a month, not impossible at all.

With that kind of money in 2007, who could ignore it?