money player

On a September afternoon, the autumn sun in Taipei still carried the lingering warmth of late summer, but it was not scorching.

Along the coconut palm-lined avenue, two rows of giant king coconut palms stand tall, their long, feathery leaves swaying gently in the wind, casting large, sparse shadows. Sunlight filters through the leaves, scattering fine golden spots on the asphalt road, which flow slowly in the breeze.

The red-tiled roof of the School of Arts lies quietly among the green trees, the walls are a light off-white, the corridor is shady, and occasionally students in white shirts and blue skirts walk by carrying books, their footsteps light and steady.

The air was filled with the scents of grass, soil, and old camphor trees, mixed with the faint smell of disinfectant from the National Taiwan University Hospital in the distance—not strong, but like a thin mist.

The Fu Bell stood quietly by the roadside, its bronze body warmed by the afternoon sun. It was silent at this moment, and the only sounds on campus were the wind, the rustling of leaves, and a few low conversations in the distance.

A few wisps of thin clouds floated in the sky, which was a pale blue. Occasionally, a bird would fly by without leaving a trace.

The roads were clean, the vegetation lush, and everything was quiet and orderly, carrying the restrained and serious atmosphere of the post-war era.

When the wind blows again, the palm leaves rustle softly, and the entire National Taiwan University seems to be immersed in a leisurely and gentle time.

Sin Yiu-man and Fok Chi-han strolled along the coconut palm-lined avenue. Sin Yiu-man held a string of bird pear candies in his hand, took a small bite at the top of the string, and then handed it to Fok Chi-han. She took a bite at the bottom of the string and put the candy-coated bird pear into her mouth to suck on it.

"Yaowen, do you know anyone here?"

"We weren't acquaintances, just met once, but something was destined to happen between us."

Huo Zhixian tilted her head, her gaze inquiring. "Is it the 'she' with the 'woman' radical?"

Sin Yiu-man smiled faintly, "Yes."

Huo Zhixian pinched the soft flesh of Xian Yaowen's biceps and twisted it, grimacing as she said, "I hate the 'woman' radical in Chinese characters. There are too many 'woman' radicals around you."

Last night, Xian Yaowen was not at home, so Huo Zhixian, as a guest, naturally followed the host's lead and was entertained by Wang Youjia, the mistress of the house. After going around the two tables, she basically understood the identities of the women in the house.

Despite having prepared herself mentally, she still felt a mix of emotions when she actually faced it.

Sin Yiu-man turned and stared at Fok Chi-han’s face. “Starting from the second half of next year, my work focus will shift to the United States, for at least five or six years, spending half of each year in the United States.”

Huo Zhixian's smile blossomed like a hundred flowers. "Do you live in Boston?"

“No, I will live in New York. It takes 5 hours by train to Boston and about 3 hours by plane. I can go to Boston twice a month, and you can come to New York every weekend.”

Huo Zhixian tightened her grip on Xian Yaowen's hand, her smile growing even brighter. She tilted her head, leaning against Xian Yaowen's arm, and whispered, "I've been thinking about a question these past two days."

"What's the problem?" Sin Yiu-man was aware of the emotional value he was providing to Fok Chi-han as a straight man.

Huo Zhixian's tender gaze lingered on Xian Yaowen's face. "Our relationship."

"Oh."

“Yaowen, you’re a good person, but you’re too much of a womanizer.” Huo Zhixian blinked. “I… I didn’t know that after we got together, I…”

“I understand.” Xian Yaowen squeezed Huo Zhixian’s hand and said softly, “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You have the right to stay or leave at any time. From the moment we met, I have been showing you my truest self.”

Sin Yiu-man paused for a moment, "Of course, it's the part that can be shown. Like the woman I'm talking about now, her name is Sikong Mingqiu, the eldest daughter of the Sikong family in Lukang. I met her one night when my car almost hit her. Well, it must have been on her own. She took the opportunity to get to know me in order to achieve some goals."

Huo Zhixian asked in surprise, "Was that intentional?"

“Yes.” Xian Yaowen nodded. “The National Government has been suppressing the power of this province. The Sikong family has not had an easy time in the past two years and urgently needs to make friends with external forces to get rid of the status quo.”

Moreover, the head of the Sikong family is Sikong Zhenfu, Sikong Mingqiu's uncle. If Sikong Mingqiu does nothing, she will only become a tool for arranged marriages without any autonomy.

Huo Zhixian nodded as if she understood, "She wants to marry you?"

Xian Yaowen shook his head. "Later, I had someone inquire about Si Kongmingqiu's situation. She already has a fiancé, and it seems she also has a boyfriend she's dating freely at school. The possibility of a marriage alliance is unlikely. She's probably planning to make a deal with me."

"Exchange what? What will you exchange?" Huo Zhixian's voice suddenly rose, "Your body?"

Xian Yaowen pinched Huo Zhixian's cheek. "No need to guess. You can ask me directly when we meet. Instead of worrying about that, you should worry about whether I have a lover in America."

Huo Zhixian pouted, "Do you have a lover in America?"

"Have."

"How many?"

"Ok?"

"How many?" Huo Zhixian tightened her grip on his arm.

Sin Yiu-man smiled faintly and said, "Do you want a number, or should I give you an introduction?"

Huo Zhixian's face stiffened, and she pursed her lips before speaking with difficulty, "I want to know."

“Okay.” Xian Yaowen nodded slightly and said slowly, “The first one was named Jane, a girl in New York who was pursuing her music dream. I met her at a restaurant where she worked part-time as a waitress. I got her phone number and went on a date with her. We slept together on our first date, and then we had a second one soon after.”

She introduced me to her social circle and introduced me to her friends.

She might like me, but she didn't love me. While she was with me, she met her current fiancé, took me to dinner with him, and we became friends and established a business relationship.

"You're still in contact with Jane?"

"Yes, one day she gave me an idea, and I used that idea to make $100 million. I gave her 30%, and to handle tax matters, we became shareholders in a company together."

Now, we run a sportswear brand together. When I go to New York, I meet up with her for dinner, mainly to discuss business, but occasionally we chat about personal matters, like her relationship with her fiancé.

"You don't like her?"

Sin Yiu-man shook his head. "She's a good woman, but I didn't have any romantic feelings for her. It was just that we both happened to need to find someone of the opposite sex at that time, that's all."

Huo Zhixian shook her head and then nodded, "I don't quite understand."

"You can understand it if you see it as an ordinary sport; it has nothing to do with emotions."

"I still don't understand."

“You’ll understand when you get to America.” Sin Yiu-man didn’t explain much, and continued telling the story, “The second one was named Nicole, Nicole Kennedy. She was very tall, a head taller than me.”

Huo Zhixian exclaimed, "A head taller than you?"

“Yes, she’s a head taller than me.” Xian Yaowen chuckled. “When I kiss her, I have to stand on tiptoe. She’s very strong and can lift me up with one hand. Her legs are very long, almost up to my chest.”

We collaborated on a jeans brand. She traveled between Paris and New York. We didn't have a clear breakup, but we rarely saw each other, and we didn't sleep together again.

"why?"

Have you ever had sticky rice chicken made with leftover rice from Hong Kong?

Huo Zhixian shook her head. "No."

“Nicole is like sticky rice chicken to me, something new to try.” Xian Yaowen shook his head. “She’s too tall. It’s hard for a man to accept a woman who is a head taller than him.”

"Oh."

"After that, I didn't date any American lovers for a long time. I sent my ex-girlfriend from England to Los Angeles and paved the way for her to become a big star. Before long, her name will be known all over the world."

"What's her name?"

"Audrey Hepburn".

"Have not heard."

"Lana Turner, Pauline Goddard, and... well, never mind their names. I spent some time in Los Angeles recently."

Huo Zhixian stared at Xian Yaowen's face with disbelief. "A Hollywood actress?"

"Ah."

Huo Zhixian pursed her lips, and after a moment, said, "Friendship Film Studio..."

Sin Yiu-man held Fok Chi-han's soft hand tightly. "Don't overthink it. To me, business is business. I started the film company to make money, not for any other nonsense."

Huo Zhixian gazed at Xian Yaowen's face for a long time, then lowered her eyes and said, "I believe you."

Xian Yaowen released Huo Zhixian's soft hand. "I will not hide anything from you about matters between men and women, nor will I tell any white lies. If you want to know, I will tell you everything."

Huo Zhixian nodded gently, "Mm."

Are you thirsty?

"A little."

Sin Yiu-man took a water glass out of his briefcase, opened the lid, and handed it to Fok Chi-han.

Huo Zhixian took two sips, smiled, and brought the water glass to Xian Yaowen's lips. Xian Yaowen took a big sip, put the lid on, and put the water glass back in his briefcase.

Huo Zhixian smacked her lips twice. "It's very sweet."

"Honey was added."

"What kind of honey?" Huo Zhixian smacked her lips twice more. "It's different from the honey I've had before."

"Minnesota clover honey, the finest wild-harvested honey."

Huo Zhixian was taken aback by his words. "You're very particular about food?"

“Yes.” Sin Yiu-man nodded slightly. “Suppose that every night before you go to bed I bring you a cup of hot milk. After a day or two, you’ll be a little touched. After a month or two, you’ll get used to it. After a year or two, you’ll feel annoyed. You’ll become resistant and drink it very reluctantly, or even secretly pour it away.”

But some people envy you greatly and long for that cup of hot milk.

Huo Zhixian pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked, "What is poison to you is honey to me?"

Sin Yiu-man nodded. "That's roughly the idea. Find the right location, seize the right time, target the right customers, and sell the right products to reap rich rewards."

If American ginseng is so popular, why isn't American honey?

"American honey." Huo Zhixian chewed slowly, savoring its flavor. "You want to sell American honey?"

“Hmm.” Xian Yaowen nodded and then shook his head. “The main cost of beekeeping is labor. If labor costs are ignored, the cost of beekeeping is extremely low. It’s impossible to ignore labor costs in the United States, but it is possible in some countries.”

Huo Zhixian stopped and asked, "Which countries?"

Xian Yaowen led Huo Zhixian to the shade of a tree by the roadside. The two leaned against the tree, and Xian Yaowen turned his head and slowly said to Huo Zhixian: "The core of the strategy of prioritizing heavy industry development is to use agriculture to support industry and extract agricultural resources to support the country's original accumulation of industrialization."

Farmers were positioned as contributors to industrialization, and the value of their labor was to be subordinated to the overall development needs of the country, becoming an implicit cost of starting heavy industry and consolidating the national economy.

Huo Zhixian thought for a moment and asked, "What are the consequences if the value of farmers' labor is underestimated and transferred?"

"The value of farmers' labor is underestimated, which means that the labor cost of agricultural products is deliberately ignored. Even if the so-called costs that are deliberately increased to support industry are added, the final selling price of agricultural products will not be too high."

Huo Zhixian thought for a moment and said, "In order to sell them better?"

Xian Yaowen gently pinched Huo Zhixian's nose and said with a doting expression, "You're right, but your way of putting it isn't professional enough. You should say it's to maintain international competitiveness."

"Agricultural and sideline products that can disregard farmers' labor costs and lack international competitiveness are relatively cheap. Agricultural and sideline products have the attribute of being independent of bulk commodity trade, which means that the final products sold abroad have the potential for unlimited premiums."

Huo Zhixian shook her head. "I don't quite understand."

Sin Yiu-man smiled faintly and said, "I can answer this question simply, but I don't want to give you the answer now. After you go to Harvard for two years, you will be able to figure out the answer yourself."

Huo Zhixian pouted, "But I want to hear your answer now."

“No.” Xian Yaowen shook his head. “Right now, I don’t want to answer any questions. I just want to play a game with you.”

Huo Zhixian's eyes gleamed. "What game?"

"Millionaire".

"Monopoly?" Huo Zhixian looked confused. "What kind of game is that?"

Xian Yaowen said mysteriously, "I'll explain later. Let's go find Sikong Mingqiu now."

"So mysterious." Huo Zhixian muttered, taking Xian Yaowen's arm again. "Do you know where we can find Sikong Mingqiu?" (End of Chapter)