Chapter 5 – Playing It Smart
"Alright, no problem. We're just testing things out here today. If business goes well, we'll be back tomorrow. Please take care of us, big brothers," Yang Wendong said with a broad smile, handing over the money to the man in charge.
He had already heard that the street fee here was 50 cents per day—roughly half a day's wages for an ordinary laborer.
Of course, that was because this was a market street, with heavy foot traffic. In other places, the fee might be cheaper—but those areas wouldn't have any customers.
The leader took the coins and gave Yang Wendong a satisfied look. "Alright, you know the rules. What are you selling?"
"Bamboo traps we made ourselves—for catching rats," Yang Wendong replied with a smile.
"Catching rats? Not bad, not bad. How well do they work? My house is full of rats," the man said with genuine interest.
Wendong jumped at the opportunity. "Absolutely effective! Here, why don't you all take a few to try—for free?"
"Sure! If they work, I'll bring you to a spot with even more traffic tomorrow," the man replied casually, helping himself and his buddies to one trap each.
To them, taking freebies from street vendors was just part of the daily routine.
"Brother Dong," Zhao Liming whispered nervously after they walked off. "What if they come back tomorrow for more and still don't pay?"
Yang Wendong nodded slightly. "That could happen. But our cost is low—just a bit of time. The most important thing is getting a foothold here. If we can sell even half of what we've made, we'll come out ahead."
In this era, running a stall meant paying protection fees—not just to local gangs but also to the colonial police force, who were often in cahoots with the gangs.
Luckily, in order to maintain a stable marketplace, they rarely outright robbed vendors—there were still some unspoken rules. If you paid, you were usually left alone.
It was frustrating, but in a society you couldn't change, you had to learn to survive within it.
Their first day of street vending passed quickly. Thanks to Yang Wendong's shameless persistence and silver tongue, they sold a grand total of two traps—for a total of 1 dollar.
They made 50 cents profit—not including labor.
Fortunately, the market was only busy in the mornings. In the afternoon, foot traffic dropped off, so Yang and Zhao headed home to make more traps. They managed to build another dozen or so.
The next morning, they returned to the same spot. Before any customers showed up, the same gang members from the day before reappeared.
"Kid, your traps actually worked—I caught a rat at my place," the leader said, clearly satisfied as he collected today's fee.
Yang Wendong smiled. "Boss, the market probably has a lot of rats too. Why not buy a few more? My traps are only a tenth the cost of a cage!"
The leader laughed. "Smart kid. But I can't make that call."
"Boss, if we do some real business together, how about a 70-30 split? You take 70, I take 30," Yang Wendong whispered.
The man looked at him, surprised. "You've got guts. No one's ever offered me that kind of cut in this market."
He thought for a moment and then said, "Tell you what, I'll go ask. If it works out, I'll come find you."
"Great. What should I call you?" Yang Wendong asked.
"Just call me Biu," he replied.
"Got it—Brother Biu," Wendong said respectfully.
Biu gestured down the street. "Follow me. I'll take you to a better spot—more people there."
"Thank you, Brother Biu!" Yang Wendong said gratefully.
Right now, he needed the business. He wasn't asking for favors—just to not be harassed.
Biu added, "But over there, the fee is 1 dollar a day. That's non-negotiable."
"Understood," Wendong agreed. If he could sell more, the extra fee was worth it.
Seeing that Yang Wendong was easy to deal with, Biu said, "Alright, follow me. Just remember not to block the permanent vendor stalls."
"No problem!" Wendong replied immediately.
Biu and his crew led them to the front of the market building. It wasn't technically indoors, but the foot traffic was much heavier.
Several other street vendors eyed them warily. But when they saw Biu and realized Yang Wendong was selling rat traps, they relaxed. Some even showed interest.
Wendong took the chance to work his sales pitch, successfully convincing a few vendors to buy his traps. Most of them sold food and had rat problems at home.
"Strange," Zhao Liming said between bites of his steamed bun. "Didn't these people buy other traps before?"
Yang Wendong laughed. "Maybe they did. But rats aren't that easy to get rid of. They're clever and cautious.
If one rat gets caught, the others learn from it. Plus, they leave behind warning scents."
"Wow, that's intense," Zhao Liming said. He hadn't thought about it that deeply. In the shack settlement, they were so poor that even the rats didn't hang around much.
"They're smarter than you'd think," Yang Wendong said. "Whatever method you use, catching rats is just a temporary fix."
Even in developed countries, it took enormous effort to control rat populations. The minute you let up, the rats came back with a vengeance.
"No way to get rid of them for good?" Zhao Liming asked.
"There is. Over in Victoria Peak, I bet you won't find any rats. Once we can all live in houses like those, this problem will disappear," Yang Wendong laughed.
"Keep dreaming," Zhao Liming muttered.
Yang Wendong replied, "Let the government worry about the rats. Our job is to take care of ourselves. Making more money—that's what matters."
"Yeah," Zhao Liming agreed.
By noon, they had already sold seven or eight traps. Not a huge profit, but it was a promising start—definitely better than laboring for a few coins a day.
Of course, they were still new to the area and had the benefit of curiosity on their side. Things might not always be this smooth.
For the next few days, Yang and Zhao paid their daily 1 dollar fee, set up their small stand, and returned home in the afternoon to make more traps.
They managed to clear several dollars a day—modest, but better than scraping by.
On the fifth afternoon, as they returned home from the market, Su Yiyi approached them.
"Brother Dong, I saw someone else selling traps just like ours today."
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