Radish stew simmered slowly in a broth made from pork bones.

The meat on the bones had melted away completely, leaving the soup a rich, milky white. The radishes were tender and soft, without a trace of stringiness. Ladled over steaming rice broth and vegetables together—even six-year-old Tao Tao could polish off a big bowl, let alone the adults.

Xia Xiaolan insisted on adding a plate of stir-fried duck eggs. Liu Yong said that was basically her business capital and warned her not to do it again.

Xia Xiaolan knew it wouldn’t be right to simply hand over living expenses. The only thing she could do was quietly add a little to her uncle’s dining table. She couldn’t just eat and drink for free.

Fresh chives cut straight from the field were stir-fried with wild duck eggs. The fragrance of the chives completely masked the duck eggs’ gamey smell.

“Following Xiaolan’s method, I added a splash of vinegar when whisking the eggs.”

Li Fengmei said with a nod of approval. “They turned out tender and fluffy—almost like chicken eggs.”

Li Fengmei’s praise made Liu Fen beam with happiness.

People used to say Xia Xiaolan was useless, lazy, and that her looks meant she’d never settle down properly. But Liu Fen had never given up on her daughter. Now that Xiaolan was finally becoming sensible, how could she not feel overjoyed?

Xia Xiaolan herself thought her uncle’s household ate quite well.

In her previous life, she’d tasted all kinds of high-end cuisine. But considering the general living standards of rural areas in 1983, Liu Yong’s meals were already above average. That had everything to do with his ability to earn money and his genuine desire to take care of Xia Xiaolan and her mother.

After lunch, Liu Yong headed back out to work the fields.

This time even Li Fengmei joined him. Liu Fen wanted to go too, but Liu Yong told her to stay home and weave more straw baskets.

“These next couple of days are crucial for Xiaolan to make money.” he said.

“Don’t delay her work.”

Xia Xiaolan took the brand-new, heavy-duty bicycle and began reacquainting herself with riding. In her previous life, she’d had no elders to rely on—school was funded by kindhearted donors, and once she entered society, everything depended on her own efforts. She’d ridden a bike for business trips in the dead of winter, covering dozens of kilometers without complaint. Later, as she climbed the corporate ladder, business trips were reimbursed, then she was assigned a car… and eventually bought her own.

It had been nearly twenty years since she last touched an old-fashioned bicycle like this.

At first, she was a bit rusty. Soon enough, the rhythm came back, and everything felt smooth again.

Tao Tao watched with longing eyes, but at six years old he was still too small. Xia Xiaolan let him sit on the back seat instead, the little boy hugging her waist as she pedaled them around the village.

They were stopped by a familiar-looking woman along the road.

“Xiaolan, my eldest girl said you’re buying eggs. What price are you offering?”

Xia Xiaolan hopped off the bike and greeted her politely.

“Yes, Auntie, I’m buying eggs. It’s farming season, and everyone’s too busy to take eggs to the county to sell. With the weather turning bad so quickly, I’ll collect them and take them to town myself. Of course, I have to earn a bit for the trouble. How about twelve fen per egg?”

The woman’s husband’s surname was Chen. She was fourth among her siblings, so everyone called her Fourth Aunt Chen.

She frowned slightly. “I heard eggs can sell for fifteen cents each in the county.”

Xia Xiaolan smiled. “Prices in the county change all the time. Sometimes it’s fifteen cents, sometimes less. And if I can’t sell them, or they crack on the road, I take the loss. Collecting too many eggs carries its own risk.”

It’s hard to argue with a smiling face. Business wasn’t charity, and no one did business aiming to lose money. There were losses along the way, and Qijing Village was far from the county. On normal days, a trip was manageable, but during the busy season, one round trip could waste half a day. Who had that kind of time?

“Alright, I’ll sell to you. I’ll go get the eggs.”

Every household kept a couple of hens. Money for oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar all came from selling eggs. In summer, with plenty of grass seeds and insects, hens were well-fed. Two hens could lay over twenty eggs in half a month.

Fourth Aunt Chen brought over more than twenty eggs. The money was settled on the spot. Word spread quickly through the village, and just like that, Xia Xiaolan’s egg business officially opened.

Liu Fen unconsciously sped up her weaving.

Over the course of more than a day, Xia Xiaolan collected nearly all the eggs in Qijing Village. Even neighboring villages started bringing eggs to the Liu household. Her capital was only a little over seventy yuan. She collected nearly four hundred chicken eggs and two hundred wild duck eggs.

No matter what, she needed to keep some cash on hand, so she temporarily stopped.

Liu Fen had never seen so many eggs piled together before.

The baskets were filled to the brim... it was quite a sight.

She was deeply worried. What if the eggs couldn’t be sold? The whole family couldn’t possibly eat them all. Besides, who in this day and age would spend dozens of yuan just on eggs? That was more than a city worker’s monthly salary!

“Tomorrow I’ll take two hundred chicken eggs and a hundred duck eggs into town first.” Xia Xiaolan said.

If Anqing County didn’t have two large factories, she wouldn’t have dared collect so many eggs.

Those two factories employed over a thousand workers. Three hundred eggs would be easy to sell! As long as she could find the right channels. Retail was inefficient.

Xia Xiaolan was already thinking about better distribution routes. Officially supplied eggs were cheap, only twelve yuan per jin but supply was severely limited. Even institutional canteens couldn’t always get them. There was room to maneuver here.

That night, even Li Fengmei helped weave baskets. They trimmed dry rice straw short and stuffed rice husks into the gaps, reinforcing everything to reduce breakage during transport.

Tao Tao was so excited he refused to sleep, waiting to go to town with Xia Xiaolan.

But the little boy was destined to be disappointed. Xia Xiaolan and her mother set off at five in the morning.

Two people were safer. Xia Xiaolan was simply too pretty for comfort. Liu Fen worried, and so did Liu Yong.

Riding bicycles greatly shortened the trip. By the time they reached the spot outside the agricultural machinery factory where Xia Xiaolan had sold duck eggs before, the sky had only just brightened.

The small market outside the factory was unusually quiet. Everyone was busy harvesting rice and had no time to come sell things in town.

As soon as Xia Xiaolan parked her bike, an old customer recognized her.

She stood out, worked efficiently, and left a strong impression. Anyone who’d dealt with her once remembered her.

“Oh? Back to selling eggs again?”

“Auntie, are you buying eggs today? I’ve got chicken eggs!”

“I haven’t even finished the duck eggs I bought last time.”

Xia Xiaolan didn’t let a potential customer slip away. “Duck eggs are great for salted eggs or century eggs. But for steaming, boiling, or stir-frying, chicken eggs are still better.”

She lifted the lid of her basket. The eggs were lined up neatly, as if calling out, Come eat me. The woman swallowed unconsciously.

She had indeed turned the wild duck eggs into salted eggs. Maybe buying a few chicken eggs wouldn’t hurt?

Xia Xiaolan caught the hesitation instantly.

“I sell chicken eggs for fifteen cents each, but since you’re a regular, I’ll give them to you for fourteen cents. Duck eggs are the same price as before.”

State-run shops sold eggs for twelve yuan per jin about eight to ten eggs depending on size. Cheaper? Yes. But only if you could actually buy them! Cheap eggs were hard to come by.

In the end, the woman couldn’t resist and bought ten eggs.

Once workers started arriving on bicycles for their shifts, Xia Xiaolan’s business really picked up. She stood there confidently, her looks drawing extra glances. And every extra glance was met with a cheerful question: “Would you like to buy some eggs?”

She didn’t skulk around like other vendors, acting as if they were thieves.

By the time the factory workers finished arriving for work, she’d sold nearly all the eggs she brought.

“See? It’s actually pretty safe.” Xia Xiaolan said.

“Tomorrow I’ll come into town by myself.”

Someone had to stay home to collect eggs. They couldn’t keep troubling her aunt, who had her own work to do. Once nearby villages were done, she’d need to go farther afield. Two people coming into town meant wasting one full laborer.

Liu Fen wasn’t good with words. She could never persuade customers the way Xia Xiaolan did. Running to the county could only be Xia Xiaolan’s job.

It was past nine in the morning when Xia Xiaolan sold the last egg. Tomorrow she planned to try outside the meat processing plant instead. Her pockets were stuffed with small bills she hadn’t counted yet, but judging by her purchase price, she’d definitely made a profit today.

A few eggs had still cracked despite her care. Losses like that were unavoidable.

As the busy rice harvest season arrived, Xia Xiaolan’s egg-reselling business flourished.

People started calling her the Xi-shi who sells eggs.

that her looks meant she’d never settle down properly.

The Egg Beauty.

And with that reputation, she caught the attention of someone with ulterior motives.

Happy with the mass update?

I might just do the same on Chinese New Year!

Comment: Mass Update for Chinese New Year!

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