In the Ivory tower, the Xia family’s Golden Phoenix poured her heart and soul into Wang Jianhua.
Meanwhile, the Xia family’s so-called Fallen Woman rode her bicycle through every street and alley of Shangdu.
On her way into the city, she could easily make a detour, first, delivering Hu Yongcai’s order of eels to the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse.
Then taking the rest to the farmers’ market to sell.
This was her second time supplying the guesthouse, and Xia Xiaolan was already familiar with the route, circling around to the back entrance.
“Comrade, I’m looking for Comrade Hu Yongcai.”
Less than five minutes later, Hu Yongcai came hurrying out, looking slightly flustered.
“You’re early today. I was worried you wouldn’t make it in time.”
He glanced into the basket on her bicycle. The eels hadn’t been sold yet. When he lifted the bamboo cover, they writhed together, lively and strong.
Hu Yongcai was delighted.
“Little Sister Xia, you’ve got good timing today. Don’t unload them yet! Come with me to the Yellow River Hotel. They’re hosting a banquet tonight with dozens of tables. With what you’ve brought, I guarantee it’ll all sell at once!”
“Really? Thank you so much, Brother Hu!”
This was more than a sale... he was introducing her to valuable connections.
Xia Xiaolan hadn’t expected things to move so quickly. She’d thought it would take several more dealings before he’d open this door for her.
When she graduated from university in her previous life and entered society, it was more than a decade later... social norms had already changed.
Someone like Hu Yongcai, a procurement officer, had long grown used to “sugar-coated bullets.”
A single carton of cigarettes meant nothing to him. But this was 1983.
Few people dared to give gifts as generously as Xia Xiaolan. Two cartons of cigarettes and a bottle of liquor were enough to secure someone a job.
Her decisiveness left a deep impression. After taking her gift, Hu Yongcai felt obligated to see things through properly.
And her request wasn’t unreasonable. She simply wanted a stable buyer for her eels. The guesthouse had fixed standards for meals.
But unlike it, the Yellow River Hotel, opened in 1975, catered to foreign guests. It specialized in Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine, both of which required plenty of eel.
To put it simply... those who went to the guesthouse had power.
Those who went to the Yellow River Hotel had money.
A clay pot eel dish there could sell for ten yuan, while a simple stir-fried shredded eel went for six. Far more profitable than anything at the guesthouse.
After a brief explanation, Hu Yongcai led her over. The hotel wasn’t far away on Zhongyuan Road.
He had likely spoken in advance, because the procurement officer bought all her eels without hesitation.
Fifty-seven jin of eel, at twelve yuan per jin.
They even bought all 200 of her eggs.
The man, clearly familiar with Hu Yongcai, didn’t promise regular orders outright but spoke plainly.
“If you’ve got goods in the future, come check here first. Just ask for Zhu Fang.”
Zhu Fang carried himself with a certain arrogance. Being assigned to the Yellow River Hotel suggested his family had influence.
As fellow procurement officers, he and Hu Yongcai often exchanged resources.
The previous evening, Hu Yongcai had asked whether the hotel needed eels, mentioning a relative who had recently started selling them.
Of course the hotel needed eels. With Cantonese cuisine on the menu, how could they not serve eel dishes?
Failing to handle such a small matter would’ve been embarrassing in front of Hu Yongcai.
What Zhu Fang hadn’t expected… was that this relative was so beautiful.
As beautiful as the Hong Kong and Taiwanese actresses in videotapes. He hadn’t imagined someone like that existed in real life!
He’d almost lost his composure just now.
“Brother Hu, what kind of relative is she? Why haven’t I heard of her before?”
Another one captivated by Xia Xiaolan.
Zhu Fang, who usually looked down on others, was now lighting Hu Yongcai’s cigarette with a smile.
Hu Yongcai clicked his tongue in amusement.
“What, you’ve taken a liking to her?”
Zhu Fang coughed lightly.
“We could… get to know each other as friends.”
Hu Yongcai thought to himself... with the current crackdown everywhere, what decent young woman would casually make friends like that?
If it wasn’t with marriage in mind, it bordered on hooliganism.
But he didn’t know Xia Xiaolan well enough, so he brushed it off casually.
“You’ll have plenty of chances dealing with her. This business should last until November. Just don’t bully her. Keep things proper.”
Zhu Fang had some family backing, was unmarried, decent-looking, and considered quite a catch.
Who knew? Maybe it could turn into something.
Hearing this, Zhu Fang felt a surge of hope.
She definitely wasn’t married. Otherwise, Hu Yongcai would have warned him.
Regret hit him instantly.
He shouldn’t have acted aloof earlier. If he had just arranged a daily supply of eels, wouldn’t he have the perfect excuse to see her every day?
What a missed opportunity.
Xia Xiaolan, meanwhile, had no idea she’d once again benefited from her looks.
Now she had no shortage of major buyers.
She hadn’t expected to sell everything so smoothly.
She’d come in with just over fifty yuan. After selling the eels and eggs, she now had around 150 yuan. It was still early so she rode straight toward the farmers’ market.
Beyond it, on the outskirts of the city, was an oil-pressing factory.
She didn’t want to return to Qijing Village empty-handed. If she could make another deal along the way, even better.
After thinking it over, she reflected on the rural market. The only way to get money from farmers… was to sell them something that could make them money.
What did Anqing County have?
Its two biggest factories were the agricultural machinery plant and the meat processing plant. She couldn’t get involved with the former, but the latter meant many nearby farmers raised pigs.
No household could afford to keep an entire pig for New Year. Even when they slaughtered one themselves, most of the meat was sold, leaving only scraps for their own use.
More often, they sold the whole pig to the meat factory.
Raising pigs was one of the farmers’ biggest income sources outside of farming. And to fetch a good price, pigs needed to be fattened.
The Liu family raised two pigs.
Xia Xiaolan had once heard her aunt, Li Fengmei, complaining about trying to buy oil cake for feed.
She’d gone to the market twice without finding any. That caught Xia Xiaolan’s attention.
“What exactly is oil cake?”
“It’s the leftover residue after pressing oil.”
After rapeseed was pressed, the remaining cake could be fermented into pig feed. Mixed into their diet, it helped pigs grow quickly.
If Li Fengmei couldn’t find it despite trying twice, that meant supply was unstable... but demand existed.
And where there was demand, there was profit.
If Anqing County lacked supply… Shangdu had plenty.
Xia Xiaolan didn’t even need to set up a stall. As she traveled between villages collecting eels, she could sell oil cake directly to pig farmers.
Observing her surroundings carefully had paid off! That’s how she knew about the oil factory near the market.
She rode over.
A single carton of Daqianmen cigarettes proved its worth again.
She had already learned how to use cigarettes as social currency. Giving a whole carton would attract attention, so she bought another one and split it into loose packs.
As soon as she stepped into the factory, the rich aroma of oil filled the air.
“What do you want?”
The gatekeeper, a man in his forties, called out sharply, stopping her from afar.
Oil factories were highly sought-after workplaces. Oil was scarce, after all.
Similar factories that has sugar, alcohol, and meat processing... offered excellent benefits.
“Hello, I just want to ask if do you sell the oil residue?”
As she spoke, she naturally handed him a cigarette.
Caught off guard by both her beauty and her easy manner, the guard couldn’t refuse. One couldn’t very well reject someone so friendly and smiling.
Once he accepted the cigarette, it became even harder to refuse her request.
“Of course we sell it. What else would we do with it?”
The residue was piled high like a small hill.
But retail, in their terms, meant at least 100 jin. Ordinary farmers wanting just a few jin wouldn’t even make it through the gate.
“Three fen per jin. How much do you want?”
Three fen per jin.... Li Fengmei had previously bought it for eight fen.
That was a profit of five fen per jin. She only earned two fen per egg.
And oil cake could be piled into her bicycle basket with almost no loss. As long as she could carry it, she could buy as much as she wanted.
Suppressing her greed, Xia Xiaolan estimated her strength.
“I’ll take 300 jin to start.”
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