Xia Xiaolan wanted to start another business.
Li Fengmei thought the girl was simply too restless.

“ Once the eel business slows down, there’s still the oil-dregs business. Why start something new? Stay home, study properly, and get into college next year. That should be your top priority. ”

The oil-dregs trade wasn’t as profitable as selling eels, but it was stable. A few hundred jin could easily be sold at rural markets every day. The profit came from hard work, but farmers, especially someone as hardworking as Liu Fen— weren’t afraid of hard work.
Even earning a few hundred yuan a month was remarkable.
In 1983, that was more than many factory workers made.
To Li Fengmei, it already seemed like an excellent business. A few hundred yuan a month— what did that mean in 1983?

As far as Li Fengmei knew, she had never seen anyone earning more. Even when Liu Yong talked about making money outside, most of it remained tied up in his business. The money he actually brought home rarely reached that level.

Supporting Xia Xiaolan's education with that income would be no problem. And if Liu Fen ever couldn't keep it up, Liu Yong and Li Fengmei were still there.

After thinking for a moment, Xia Xiaolan decided not to hide her plans.
“ Aunt, I know how to manage my time. Honestly, self-study works better for me. If I were sitting in a classroom all day, I probably wouldn’t be able to focus. As for the oil-dregs business, I want to leave that to my mom. I don't expect her to make a fortune from it… I just want her to have something to do. The new business I'm planning is selling clothes. ”
She explained everything she had observed at the Shangdu agricultural market. Over the past few weeks, she'd gathered plenty of useful information: what styles sold, what price ranges worked, where to set up a stall. She already had a plan.

Getting into college wasn't her highest priority.
She had already proven herself academically in her previous life. Even though she'd climbed high in a multinational corporation, she had still been working for someone else.
This time, she wanted to be the one calling the shots.

The more Xia Xiaolan talked, the more stunned Li Fengmei became. How many village girls knew these things?
That accident really had changed her. It was as if Xia Xiaolan had suddenly become enlightened.

Knowing how strong-willed she was, Li Fengmei didn't dare push too hard. Instead, she laid down one condition:
“ If your grades slip, then no more business. Deal? ”
“ Deal. ”

As for the investment, Li Fengmei refused to take advantage.
“ How many clothes can fifty yuan even buy? Don't talk about shares. Your uncle won't let you lose money. ”

In her eyes, fifty yuan could buy plenty of eggs for resale.
But clothing? Ready-made clothes were expensive. She doubted fifty yuan could even buy two decent outfits.
What investment was there to talk about?

Of course, Xia Xiaolan knew how profitable clothing could be.
Not just in the 1980s— even thirty years later, the difference between factory cost, wholesale price, and retail price was enormous.
She didn't bother trying to convince Li Fengmei. Once she made money, she would simply make sure her uncle's family received their share.
What she really needed was support.

In the household, there were only four adults. Tao Tao was too young to vote. Between herself and Li Fengmei, they already outnumbered Liu Fen two to one.
And Liu Fen wasn't exactly known for winning arguments.

So Xia Xiaolan began planning a trip to Guangzhou.
Both Liu Fen and Li Fengmei were alarmed.

“ Can't you buy wholesale goods in Shangdu? Why go all the way to Guangzhou? ”

Xia Xiaolan shook her head.

“ The styles in Shangdu aren't new enough. Other vendors buy from the same wholesalers. If everyone sells identical products, there's no advantage. If I'm going to sell clothes, I want something unique. I don't want customers choosing me. ”
“ I want to choose my customers. ”

She thought of the clothing stall she'd seen at the market.
The prices weren't low, but the styles weren't attractive enough to draw female customers.
Unsold inventory just meant money trapped on the rack.

Her capital was limited.
Even if she went to Guangzhou, she couldn't bring back many items.
That made choosing the right styles even more important.

If the clothes were fashionable and eye-catching, every sale meant profit.
Once the products were good enough, she could afford to be selective.
Someone thought the price was too high?

Fine.
Someone else would buy it.

People lacked money in those days, but they also lacked goods.
And beautiful clothes had a way of persuading customers to open their wallets.

Neither Liu Fen nor Li Fengmei really understood.
What they understood was that it wasn't safe for a young woman to travel alone.

For the first time, the disadvantages of having so few relatives became obvious.
The Liu family were outsiders in the village and had few dependable relatives.
Liu Fen was busy delivering eels and hauling oil dregs.
Li Fengmei had fields to manage, housework to do, and Tao Tao to care for.

There was simply nobody available to accompany Xia Xiaolan.
But who could they ask?

Li Fengmei felt helpless.
Liu Yong had two younger sisters. Liu Fen was one of them.

The other, Liu Fang, had married into a neighboring county and barely kept contact with her natal family anymore.
In seven or eight years of marriage, Li Fengmei had never even seen what Tao Tao's second aunt looked like.
What kind of help could they expect from relatives like that?
As for Li Fengmei's own family, she trusted them even less.
What if they saw Xia Xiaolan making money and simply stole her business idea?

Xia Xiaolan, however, wasn't worried.
Yes, she was beautiful.
And train stations were full of all sorts of people.

But she wasn't some naïve village girl who had never traveled.
Stay alert.
Ignore strangers who strike up conversations.
Don't walk alone at night.
Never accept food or drinks from strangers.

As long as she was careful, nobody was going to kidnap her in broad daylight.
Winter was approaching.
If she didn't hurry and sell winter clothing now, she'd miss the season entirely.

After carefully counting her money, she found she had about six hundred yuan in cash, excluding the money tied up in the eel business.

Six hundred yuan.
Not six thin banknotes like in the future.

The largest denomination was only ten yuan, so six hundred yuan was actually quite a thick stack.
Traveling with that much cash required caution.

Liu Fen's solution was simple: she sewed a secret pocket onto the outside of Xia Xiaolan's underwear.
Xia Xiaolan was horrified.
In her previous life, she had traveled frequently for business, but she never carried large amounts of cash. Companies simply wired money directly.

Hiding six hundred yuan in her underwear?
Absolutely not.
In the end, she convinced Liu Fen to sew hidden pockets into the lining of her jacket instead.

“ It's safer to split the money up. ”
Surely she couldn't be unlucky enough to lose both stashes.

Li Fengmei still refused to accept repayment of the fifty yuan.Instead, she pulled out another three hundred yuan and stuffed it into Xia Xiaolan's hands.

“ It's a loan. Not an investment. ” Liu Yong hadn't left much money at home.
Li Fengmei needed to keep some cash on hand, and three hundred yuan was the most she could spare.

A young man without money could sleep under a bridge for a night. A young woman like Xia Xiaolan couldn't.
This time, Xia Xiaolan didn't argue.
An extra three hundred yuan.
She could simply count it as a larger investment from her aunt later.

For a long-distance trip, however, one thing was indispensable:
A letter of introduction (jieshaoxin). In 1983, you couldn't always just hop on a train and check into a hotel. Jieshaoxin functioned almost like an official travel and identity authorization document.

Just as Xia Xiaolan went to the village office to get one, the village postman arrived.
“ Telegram for Xia Xiaolan. ”
He handed her an envelope. Then stared at her strangely.
Ordinary civilian telegrams cost seven fen per character.

People only used them for urgent matters, squeezing their messages down to the fewest words possible.
Usually, the deliveryman only carried a small slip of paper.
This was the first telegram he'd ever delivered that came in an envelope.

How many words were inside?
How much did it cost?

The postman couldn't understand such extravagance.
Wouldn't a letter have been cheaper?

Will drop more~~~