Three hundred jin of oil residue was sold for only nine yuan.

With such a tiny investment, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t help but think.... if she had discovered this business earlier, she wouldn’t have had to start by reselling eggs.

But then again, if she hadn’t traded eggs, how could she have gradually expanded her business from Anqing County to Shangdu City?

And without that journey, how would she ever have stumbled upon this profitable opportunity?

With a capital of around ten yuan, she could make a profit of fifteen. The only downside was hauling three hundred jin of oil residue back by bicycle... it was exhausting.

Thankfully, the sturdy 28-inch bikes of the 1980s were built to last. Otherwise, Liu Yong’s bicycle would have been wrecked by her long ago.

And without Liu Yong’s financial help and that bicycle, how could she have managed?

Carrying eggs and eels on her back all the way to Shangdu City would have been a nightmare-level challenge.

Thinking about it now, Xia Xiaolan felt that this oil residue trade wasn’t inherently difficult. Most people simply never considered making money this way, or didn’t have the means to transport it.

Buying the oil residue made her genuinely happy.

At least now she wouldn’t have to return with an empty load, she could make full use of both legs of the trip.

With this convenient side business, hauling three hundred jin each trip and earning fifteen yuan per run.

Visiting Shangdu every other day, she could easily make an extra two to three hundred yuan a month.

On top of that, her eel business had secured a major new client. From now on, she wouldn’t need to carry eggs into the city, focusing solely on these two trades, she could earn nearly six hundred yuan a month.

By November, she would have enough capital to travel to Yangcheng and purchase clothing wholesale.

And once she had capital, the business opportunities in 1983 would be endless.

In her spare time, she could also review her studies.

If all went well, she would take the college entrance exam in July 1984. That was the short-term goal she had set for herself.

Still, the pace of earning money is too slow... she thought.

If I want to focus on getting into university, I need to have a decent sum saved before the New Year.

Pedaling forward with three hundred jin of cargo, Xia Xiaolan had to stop several times along the way to rest.

It was sheer determination, the desire to escape poverty and build a better life that kept her legs moving in a mechanical rhythm.

Though she had been a university graduate in her previous life, she had no idea how difficult the 1984 exam would be, nor how much of her past knowledge she still retained.

To succeed again, she would have to bury herself in her books for several months.

During that time, all her business ventures would have to be put on hold.

Without income... she needed enough savings to sustain herself for at least half a year.

So what else could she do to make money?

The cigarette trade was lucrative, but completely out of her reach.

If she were a man, she might have thrown herself into the booming smuggling trade.

High risk, but astonishing returns.

A few successful runs would be enough to accumulate her first fortune.

But she was an eighteen-year-old girl, and worse, one with a strikingly seductive face. If she got involved in smuggling, she might not only lose the goods.

She could lose herself as well.

The thought of smuggling somehow reminded her of Zhou Cheng.

He had been gone for several days now.

He’d said he would return to Anqing County, though whether that was true or not, she couldn’t say.

Even if it wasn’t, she wouldn’t be upset. They were strangers who had met by chance.

He owed her nothing. If anything, she owed him and Kang Wei for saving her life.

With neither the energy nor the capital to expand into new ventures, Xia Xiaolan could only work with what she already had.

The oil residue business was already pushing her to her limits.

Three hundred jin was enough to exhaust her. Unless she suddenly transformed into a sturdily built powerhouse, she couldn’t carry more.

That left only the eel trade.

The municipal guesthouse and the Yellow River Hotel had merely opened the first door. She needed to draw on the thick skin she had developed in her previous life as a sales professional and push forward... secure more major clients.

Right now, she sold fifty jin every two days. What if she doubled that to one hundred?

That would mean an additional three hundred yuan in monthly income.

A 30% increase overall. It wasn’t easy, but it was achievable.

Because she hadn’t lingered in Shangdu today, she made it home by two in the afternoon.

Liu Fen had gone out to collect eels, leaving only Li Fengmei at home.

There had been plenty of dishes prepared for last night’s dinner, but with such hearty guests, nothing was left over.

Li Fengmei was simmering crucian carp soup in a clay pot on the stove, saving it for her son after school.

Hearing movement, she turned and saw Xia Xiaolan had returned.

“Back so early today?”

“Got really lucky! The restaurant buyers took everything!”

Catching a familiar scent, Li Fengmei noticed Xia Xiaolan hadn’t returned empty-handed. Two baskets were piled high with oil residue. She was both surprised and delighted.

“Where did you get all this?”

There had to be three or four hundred jin here. Even their two pigs couldn’t finish it!

She was about to warn that oil residue lost its nutritional value if stored too long, but then stopped herself.

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t foolish enough to buy this much just to let it sit.

It must be for business.

Swallowing her words, Li Fengmei nearly bit her tongue.

“You’re going to sell oil cakes?”

The residue had already been pressed into cake-like blocks, each weighing around two jin, and had been fermented at the oil mill.

“Since I’m not traveling empty, I figured I’d bring some back to try. Didn’t you say you couldn’t find any? Take a bag! Our family won’t run short of this from now on.”

Li Fengmei shook her head repeatedly.

“This is your business, not something you picked up for free. I can’t take it.”

Xia Xiaolan waved it off.

“Don’t even think about paying me. This stuff is cheaper than sweet potatoes. Just three fen per jin. Once I build a good relationship with the oil mill, I might even get it for two.”

Li Fengmei did a quick calculation.

That meant reselling it would bring in five fen profit per jin!

She didn’t yet know Xia Xiaolan planned to scale up the eel business. Even at the current level, she was already making several hundred yuan a month.

In less than a year, Xia Xiaolan could build a respectable brick house in the village.

How could she be the useless burden the Xia family claimed she was?

She was clearly a golden goose!

If Liu Yong hadn’t hinted that he still had money tied up elsewhere, Li Fengmei might have felt envious.

But then again, the eel business would end by November.

With that thought, her jealousy faded.

Hearing that Xia Xiaolan planned to sell the oil cakes in other villages, Li Fengmei slapped her thigh.

“Why not sell them here first? This is like salt, anyone raising pigs needs it!”

She rushed out to spread the word, and sure enough, many villagers came to buy.

Xia Xiaolan sold it at seven fen per jin. Cheaper than what they usually paid.

Naturally, everyone was pleased.

Three hundred jin of oil cakes nearly wasn’t enough for the entire village.

Two households even asked her to reserve some for them next time.

Selling locally meant earning three yuan less, but not everything could be measured in money.

The villagers were happy, and so was Xia Xiaolan. She had turned a profit without tying up capital, and gained goodwill along the way.

“Oh no, I forgot to keep some for ourselves!” Xia Xiaolan had been too busy.

This time, Li Fengmei didn’t refuse. After helping weigh the oil cakes, her hands were greasy.

Even the wash water felt too precious to waste, so she poured it into the pig trough.

“You’ll bring more back in a couple of days. No rush.”

After finishing the day’s business, Xia Xiaolan fetched a basin of water and carefully cleaned the bicycle until it gleamed.

The baskets that had held the oil residue were washed and left out to dry. Only then did she tend to herself.

While bathing, her calves trembled uncontrollably. It was clear she had overexerted herself.

Making money was never easy. Three hundred jin of cargo, all the way from Shangdu City back to Qijing Village.

In her previous life, after becoming an executive, her metabolism had slowed with age.

She had to watch her diet and make time for exercise just to maintain her figure. Now, with her current level of activity and youthful body, she could eat as much as she wanted without gaining weight.

That was one of the blessings of youth. Along with boundless energy and ambition.

Liu Fen didn’t return until seven in the evening.

Seeing Xia Xiaolan, she looked a little uneasy.

For some reason, there had been an unusually large number of people selling her eels today, she had collected over eighty jin.

“Your business is getting quite well-known around here. What if others start copying and reselling eels too?”

Her concern wasn’t unfounded.

Xia Xiaolan was pleased that her mother had begun to think independently.

“They won’t be able to sell them in Anqing County, so they’ll have to take them to Shangdu. The market there is huge. One or two imitators won’t hurt me.”

She had already decided to abandon retail. With the municipal guesthouse and the Yellow River Hotel secured as clients, other similar institutions in Shangdu were already within reach.

“No matter how many eels we collect, as long as it’s under a hundred jin a day, I’m confident I can sell them.”

She was still boasting to her mother when Chen Qing’s voice called from outside.

Stepping out, Xia Xiaolan smiled.

“Brother Chen Qing, what brings you back again today?”

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