Chapter 13: Making Money

Other people started following suit, crowding around as well.

“Me too, me too! I want a dragonfly hair clip!”

A whole group surrounded Bai Xia so tightly that not even water could get through.

The most important thing was—the necklace really was beautiful, and Bai Xia was actually giving them out for free.

Of course, they had to return the favor.

Lin Yan watched this scene with a complicated expression.

He never expected that Bai Xia, at just three and a half years old, would already have such a knack for business, even extending her reach into kindergarten.

“Why do all the girls get gifts, but us boys don’t?”

Qi Mo slammed the desk in dissatisfaction.

The other boys chimed in, “Yeah, why not?”

Bai Xia turned and shot him a look.

“Because I only brought this many. How about this—since I don’t have enough for you, boys can order custom badges or jewelry, at a ten percent discount compared to the girls’ price.”

Hearing this, everyone started discussing it among themselves.

Maybe because they wanted to play with Bai Xia, they all came over to place orders.

Qi Yan did a quick calculation on his fingers and decided it was still a good deal.

Then he slapped the desk generously.

“I want a badge with a horse on it. I’m going to the stables next week to ride. Tell your mom to design it quickly.”

Bai Xia frowned.

“First come, first served. If you want it rushed, you’ll have to pay an express fee. But, since we’re classmates, I’ll waive the express fee for you this time.”

Qi Mo’s expression changed when he heard this.

He stared at the side of her face for a long while, then quietly sidled up to Lin Yan, his ears turning red.

“Why is she being so nice to me? Do you think she likes me?”

Lin Yan looked at him strangely.

This was just a marketing tactic.

She’d purposely only given gifts to the girls to make the boys unhappy, then offered them a discount, so the boys would feel like they were getting a deal and most of them would place orders.

The key to marketing wasn’t the discount, but the difference in how people felt.

Clearly, Bai Xia had mastered this perfectly.

She really was a genius.

A textbook genius.

“Would it look bad if I only bought one?”

Qi Yan peeked at the little girl, blushing.

“I’ll buy three, then. One for my mom, one for my grandpa, anyway, I have so much pocket money and nowhere to spend it.”

Lin Yan didn’t say anything.

Maybe he and Bai Xia didn’t have to be rivals after all—working together for a win-win might be nice, too.

“I want a basic model for my mom.”

Suddenly, a childish boy’s voice spoke up from behind.

Bai Xia turned her head and, through the crowd, saw that it was Lin Yan speaking.

This kid was usually so gloomy, always reading, yet even he wanted to take advantage of this?

Was he up to something?

“The thirty percent discount is only for the first ten customers. You can only get ten percent off.”

She rolled her eyes.

Lin Yan pulled his phone from his desk, walked over, and opened an app.

“What’s your account? I’ll transfer the money to you.”

He realized Bai Xia was pretty hostile toward him.

Was it just because he’d glanced at her once?

But Qi Mo had even yelled at her, and she’d managed to turn an enemy into a friend.

Bai Xia shook her head.

“You need to tell your family first before I can take your money.”

If people found out, what if they accused her of scamming?

She only did proper business.

Lin Yan glanced at her again, said nothing, paid a deposit, and went back to his seat.

Qi Yan smugly nudged him in the ribs.

“See? You only got ten percent off, but I got thirty! She definitely likes me.”

Lin Yan just opened his book again and said nothing more.

The classroom was buzzing with noise.

The butler couldn’t help but peek in through the window.

When he saw the young miss actually doing business, he was stunned on the spot.

Miss is only three and a half, and she already knows how to do business!

Bai Xia filled a whole page with names before the teacher called everyone to class and the others returned to their seats.

It was easy to make money from kids, but she couldn’t do it with a guilty conscience.

So she told everyone to let their parents know.

If their parents agreed, that meant they were willing to let their kids interact with her.

If not, then forget it—the friendship would still remain, even if the deal didn’t go through.

The target customers for this kind of jewelry were always the rich circles.

As long as the heroine’s designs were eye-catching enough, adults might place orders too.

Her real target customers were never the children, but the wealthy ladies who actually needed this.

After school, she organized the list.

There were over a dozen orders, not even counting the basic models.

Once the list was finalized the next day, she’d send it to the heroine.

That evening, for once, everyone was home for dinner.

Lu Lin, probably to establish his image as a loving father, now came home for dinner every night, unlike before when he’d leave early and come back late.

“I heard Xia Xia is doing business at school?”

Lu Jinnian seemed to have gotten the news, looking at his great-granddaughter with admiration.

While eating, Bai Xia nodded.

“Mom already started her own brand a while ago, but she put off making money to take care of me. So I want more people to see Mom’s designs.”

Yao Yun slowly cut her steak, lips curled in a faint smile.

“How much business can you do in kindergarten, anyway?”

The butler spoke up at the right moment.

“Miss sold quite a few orders today. She’s very popular.”

Most kids her age couldn’t even do basic math, but this little one already knew how to charge rush fees.

Lu Qihui grew interested, maybe to make his granddaughter happy.

“How much is one? I’ll buy one for your grandma.”

Bai Xia took a bite of lion’s head meatball, then raised five fingers.

“A basic model is fifty thousand each. Special custom designs start at a hundred thousand. Grandpa and Grandma are so loving—you should buy several! Mom designed some especially beautiful ones before, only five hundred thousand each. Grandpa, you should buy them all!”

She’d been their granddaughter for so long, selling a few necklaces was only reasonable.

Meeting her granddaughter’s bright gaze, Lu Qihui laughed.

“Alright, Grandpa will buy them all.”

Yao Yun cut her steak with extra force.

This little girl really did have an eye for money.

Bai Xia pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and ran over to give it to Lu Qihui.

“Full payment upfront, delivery after.”

Lu Lin sipped his water thoughtfully.

Ruan Wen’s business must be tough.

The Song family might try to take advantage of the situation.

“Don’t you dare mess with my mom.”

Bai Xia took the chance to give him a glare.

The male lead only had to blink and she’d know he was about to lose it.

Lu Jinnian suddenly laughed.

“Xia Xia is truly talented. She’s top of every subject—definitely a child of our Lu family. In a few years, we’ll let her skip a grade. For now, she can start with the basics and look at the company’s development history.”

Bai Xia sat there, picking up a spoonful of soup.

“I want to learn judo and karate.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Qihui, in the middle of eating, couldn’t help but frown as he looked up and down at his granddaughter’s petite frame.

“Is someone bullying you at school?”

Lu Jinnian glanced at the butler, who was just as confused.

The young miss was beloved at school—everyone liked playing with her.

Even those who didn’t like her wouldn’t dare say a word, let alone bully her.

“No one’s bullying me. I know there are bodyguards, but they can’t follow me twenty-four hours a day. If something dangerous happens, I want to be able to protect myself.”

Bai Xia’s face was full of seriousness.

The butler was stunned.

He hadn’t expected the great-granddaughter to have such awareness.

It was a good thing, though. If she ever got kidnapped, maybe it could save her life.

Not like that kid Shuo Shuo, who acted like it was the end of the world whenever he had to take a class.

“Alright, go arrange for the best coach for the young miss.”

He looked at the butler.

The butler nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

Yao Yun gripped her knife and fork tightly.

She was determined to bring her son back.

She absolutely couldn’t let things go on like this, or else she and her son would have nowhere to belong in the Lu family.

After dinner, Bai Xia went to the piano room to practice.

She really didn’t know how to play, but the teacher’s explanations were simple and easy to understand, so practicing wasn’t too hard.

She had nothing better to do anyway.

Knowledge was her own, and she could treat it as post-dinner exercise.

The next day, she got more feedback.

Many people were willing to continue ordering, only two said their parents didn’t agree, and she promptly refunded their deposits.

It was normal for some people to have biases against the heroine.

That’s why the heroine needed her own career, not just to be someone’s accessory.

As long as her abilities stood out, others would overlook any labels attached to her by her other half.

After receiving the order list, the heroine was silent on the phone for a long time.

She’d already accepted her daughter’s differences and wasn’t as shocked as before, but she still asked how Bai Xia got so many orders—more than she herself got in a whole month.

Bai Xia just said her classmates thought the necklaces looked nice, so they placed orders.

Only then did Bai Ruanwen realize why her daughter had asked for necklaces.

She could hardly believe this was the idea of a three-year-old.

That day at school, it was ballroom dance class.

They paired up freely.

Bai Xia was about to team up with her deskmate when Qi Mo came over, and the two boys started arguing.

“Bai Xia and I are desk mates. We agreed to team up!”

The boy next to her glared angrily at Qi Mo.

Qi Mo snorted.

“You’re so short, why would she team up with you?”

The desk mate, fuming, shoved him and shouted, “Who are you calling short? You don’t even have all your teeth yet! She’d team up with anyone but you!”

Qi Mo, insulted about his teeth, immediately started wrestling with him.

In the big dance room, the two boys tangled together, and the teacher rushed to break them up.

Bai Xia had just taken a sip of water and set down her bottle when the fight broke out.

Maybe she was cut out to be a kindergarten teacher?

Otherwise, why did little kids always fight over her?

“Teacher, can I team up with He Yuehua?”

She raised her hand.

The teacher nodded quickly.

“Of course.”

After much effort, the teacher finally separated the two boys and checked them for injuries.

Who would’ve thought that President Lu’s daughter would be so popular?

At first, no one liked her, but now every day someone wanted to switch seats to sit by Bai Xia.

That afternoon, Lu Lin, who rarely had free time, came to pick up his daughter.

When he heard from the butler that someone had fought over her, his face darkened instantly.

When the little girl walked out of school with her backpack, he stepped forward to take it, but Bai Xia just climbed into the car on her own.

Once inside, Lu Lin casually handed over a bottle of milk.

“Don’t get too close to your male classmates from now on. They’re all up to no good.”

They just pretended to be friends, but had bad intentions—just like that Song guy.

Bai Xia shot him a look.

“Aren’t you a man?”

The car fell silent.

The driver was already used to the young miss’s bluntness, and she was always spot on.

Lu Lin took a deep breath, then looked at the girl seriously.

“Yes. I wasn’t a good person when I was young, either. That’s human nature. No matter who gets close to you, always keep your distance.”

Bai Xia looked him up and down.

So even the male lead knew he had issues?

Then why did he always act like he was in the right?

“If you know you’re not a good person, why are you still pestering my mom? Is that human nature too?”

She crossed her arms in displeasure.

“People should have self-respect. If your values aren’t right, how can I possibly have the right values when I’m influenced by you every day? What if I end up liking some boy in my class and start acting overbearing, just like you?”