Adrian Hawthorne’s movie still business had recently stabilized. He only handled developing the photos, while the sales were contracted out to a few local delinquents. Their leader was a seventeen-year-old unemployed youth named Winston Lowell, whose family worked at the county’s machine tool factory.

The other delinquents were also children of city factory workers, but they didn’t come from well-off families. Most of their households were single-income with many children, creating a heavy financial burden. They hadn’t done well in school, becoming unemployed before even finishing high school, and they all hung around with Winston Lowell.

Now they were all working for Adrian Hawthorne and doing quite well for themselves. They could earn sixty to seventy yuan a month—more than their own fathers, the pillars of their families. Economic strength determines social status. These young hoodlums, who were usually looked down upon, had now become the very role models factory workers used to scold their own disappointing children.

"Why can’t you be more like Winston Lowell? Look how promising he is, buying this and that for his family. You still have to ask your old mom for money, and Winston Lowell is two years younger than you!"

Conversations like this were happening frequently at the machine tool factory lately. Winston Lowell had become a role model for the factory’s other unemployed youths, who flocked to him to learn the ropes. After discussing it with Adrian Hawthorne, Winston Lowell recruited six more partners to sell the movie stills. They all got their stock from Adrian, forming a supply chain with Adrian Hawthorne naturally at the very top, earning the most.

But Winston Lowell and his crew were very satisfied. Earning tens of yuan a month was better than having a regular job. Besides, Adrian Hawthorne had now opened up a new venture, allowing them to earn even more than before.

Adrian Hawthorne had gotten the idea from Telvor Bridge. If other people could be coupon brokers, so could he. He knew many people had extra ration coupons but no way to sell them, especially employees of the state-owned factories, many of whom had accumulated quite a few.

He had Winston Lowell and his group ask around, and they actually managed to acquire quite a few. Adrian Hawthorne didn’t bother with grain or oil coupons; he only dealt in big-ticket items, like coupons for bicycles, sewing machines, and televisions. He wasn’t doing this purely for profit, but to expand his network of connections. He was willing to acquire these coupons even if it meant losing a little money. It was a classic case of sacrificing a little to win a lot.

Recently, Adrian Hawthorne got his hands on a sewing machine coupon. Winston Lowell had acquired it for seventy yuan, and Adrian paid him eighty, letting Winston Lowell pocket ten. He had originally intended to procure this coupon for Director Hughes, but once you find one, you can find another. Director Hughes wasn’t in a hurry, so Adrian could use this one at Millstone Peak first. That way, the villagers would be even more convinced he had a relative in the Armed Forces Department.

"Eighty yuan is too expensive. Can’t you make it a little cheaper?"

"They sell for a hundred yuan at Telvor Bridge. I’m already giving you a twenty-yuan discount," Adrian Hawthorne said nonchalantly, his attitude a clear ’take it or leave it.’

He knew Sherman Golding wanted to buy a sewing machine, but he had no intention of selling the coupon to him. The Golding family wasn’t the only one in the village who wanted it; plenty of people did. He wasn’t worried about finding a buyer.

The villagers soon dispersed. They couldn’t afford an eighty-yuan coupon. But some of them were tempted and considered buying Adrian Hawthorne’s coupon. They planned to wait a few days before asking again, hoping the price might drop.

"Mr. Hawthorne, you got a new bike!"

Tang Xiaonan exclaimed in pleasant surprise. ’No wonder so many people are gathered around.’ What puzzled her most was that the book had never mentioned Adrian Hawthorne having a relative in the Armed Forces Department. ’Where did this relative come from?’

"Mm. Have some candy."

Adrian Hawthorne unwrapped a White Rabbit candy and popped it into Tang Xiaonan’s mouth. He ate the edible rice paper wrapper himself. He liked the rice paper but not the candy—a perfect division of labor with little Chubby Tang.