RGL – Chapter 24

“Mom, we made twenty yuan!”

“How much?” Sun Qiufang’s eyes widened.

“Twenty,” Su Min said clearly while showing two fingers. Beside her, Sun Hai also nodded firmly. “After subtracting the costs, we still made over ten yuan.”

“Goodness gracious, just selling this stuff can make that much?” Sun Qiufang still felt a bit like she was dreaming.

But whether it was real or not, the goods were all sold out—they had to hurry home.

On the way back, Sun Qiufang kept mentally calculating the profit. She had thought they might earn something, but never expected to make this much so quickly.

As soon as they got home, Sun Qiufang started rummaging through the house for more peanuts and the remaining chestnuts. “While business is good, we’ve got to sell everything. If things stay steady for the next few days, I’ll have your dad find someone to make a proper stove just for baking sticky rice cakes and roasted sweet potatoes. We’ll expand our stall, and we’re bound to make even more!”

She had been doing business for a while now and had developed her own sense for it—strike while the iron is hot and make money early.

By noon, Su Changrong was back for lunch. He’d gone out alone to collect scrap but didn’t go too far, thinking about the family’s new business the whole time. When he got back, the whole house was filled with a delicious smell.

“What’s cooking today? Smells amazing!” As soon as Su Changrong entered, he peeked into the pot and saw that his wife was making braised pork. His eyes immediately lit up. “Braised pork? Qiufang, the business must’ve gone well today?”

He knew his wife too well—if they hadn’t made money, she definitely wouldn’t be this generous.

Sun Qiufang shot him a sidelong glance. “Step aside. I still need to go set up the stall after I finish cooking. I’ll tell you about the business in a bit.”

“Alright, I’ll go set the table.” Su Changrong happily headed inside to move the table.

Sun Hai also helped move the stools outside. While doing so, Su Changrong quietly asked him, “Xiao Hai, how’s business? Your sister won’t tell me anything. I’m dying to know.”

Su Min overheard and leaned over. “Dad, my uncle’s not a traitor. You can’t go sneaking around trying to get info. Didn’t Mom say we’d talk over lunch? What’s the rush?”

Caught in the act, Su Changrong scratched his nose and laughed. No matter what, judging from everyone’s attitude, it was clear the business was going well.

Even though Su Changrong had mentally prepared himself, he was still shocked when he heard they’d made twenty yuan in one morning. He nearly dropped his chopsticks.

He looked around and whispered, “Really that much?”

“Why would I lie? I didn’t expect these things could sell for so much either.” Even Sun Qiufang was surprised.

Su Min thought to herself, Snacks at this time aren’t like the countless varieties that came a decade later. There weren’t many options, and people loved cheap snacks like these. No wonder they were willing to spend money on them.

Now that they saw this business had real potential, Su Changrong didn’t want to go collect scrap anymore. After lunch, he sold off the morning’s haul and then joined Sun Qiufang and the others at the stall.

There weren’t as many people in the afternoon as in the morning, but there were still plenty of buyers. Most of the goods they brought sold out, and Su Changrong noticed even more people came out to the square in the evening. If they seriously pursued this business, they could even set up at night. That definitely had more benefits than collecting scrap.

For both Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang, as long as it made money, they were more than happy to work from morning till night. After seeing how the evening crowd behaved, Su Changrong made up his mind to get this business rolling fast. It was a simple setup—if they could do it, others could too. They had to start ahead of the competition to earn more.

The next day, Su Changrong went to find the craftsman who’d helped him build the cart and ordered a stove. Based on the type and functions Su Min described, the craftsman spent a few days designing and finally completed it.

The day the stove was finished, Su Changrong used their cart to transport the stove and stall equipment to the market.

Compared to snacks like peanuts and chestnuts, the roasted sticky rice cakes and sweet potatoes sold just as well. Especially sweet potatoes—they had a low cost and could sell for forty cents a kilo. Su Changrong thought about how every family in their hometown grew sweet potatoes, and every year they had more than they could eat. They’d store them in the cellar until they sprouted. Buying them wouldn’t even cost twenty cents a kilo. Clearly, this was a business that would make money.

After a period of testing things out, Su Changrong realized there was a lot of potential here. All their ingredients at home had already been sold, so they decided to head back to the village to stock up on sweet potatoes, peanuts, and sunflower seeds.

Su Min immediately felt a headache coming on when she heard her father planned to go back to their hometown to buy supplies.

“Dad, just the round trip to our old place by bus costs several yuan. That’s a huge expense.” The main issue was that if they went back, it would definitely draw attention from the people there. If the old lady on that side found out they were making money in the city, who knew what kind of trouble she’d stir up? They were still in the early stages of starting their business—Su Min didn’t think anyone coming to interfere right now would be a good thing.

Su Changrong thought about it and agreed. Going back home was too costly. Since there were rural areas nearby where they could also get sweet potatoes, he decided not to return to their hometown. The next day, he and Sun Qiufang went out together to collect sweet potatoes and other items. Following Su Min’s suggestion, they also picked up some sunflower seeds to sell.

Having a cart at home made things a lot easier. Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang were already familiar with the surrounding villages and knew what crops were grown where. This time, when they went out to purchase supplies, they headed straight to the target villages.

There weren’t many villages close to the county seat—just a handful. The distance was about the same as from Su’s village to the town, roughly an hour’s walk.

Although it wasn’t far, people didn’t often go into the city unless it was to buy necessities. For one, everyone was busy with farming work. For another, rural folks didn’t see much point in going to the city often. When Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang entered the village and began shouting that they were buying sweet potatoes, sticky rice cakes, and chestnuts, people came over quickly to ask about prices. Even though Su Changrong wasn’t offering high prices, everyone was still willing to sell—after all, it was a chance to turn household goods into cash.

In less than two hours, they had pretty much collected everything they needed. Some villagers even asked if he wanted to buy rice—they could spare a bit to sell. But rice was more expensive; fresh rice cost at least 0.4 yuan per jin, while older rice was a bit cheaper at 0.3 yuan.

Su Changrong hadn’t considered buying rice yet, but he figured when their own supply ran out, they could come buy some then.

“We’re not buying rice for now, but when we need it later, we’ll definitely come back.”

Some folks who heard the news too late came with goods only to find that Su Changrong had already bought what he needed and wasn’t taking any more. Seeing them, Su Changrong could only jot down their names and promised to buy from them next time. But he reminded them that the goods couldn’t be moldy or spoiled—otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to take them.

On the way back, Sun Qiufang kept smiling at Su Changrong.

Pulling the cart, he noticed her grinning and laughed along. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “What are you smiling at?”

Sun Qiufang laughed, “I was just watching how you handled those villagers—you really looked like you knew what you were doing. You even made arrangements to come back next time.”

Su Changrong looked a bit embarrassed. “Aw, I’ve just gotten used to collecting scrap, that’s all. Business is about harmony and goodwill. If people are willing to bring us their stuff, it means they trust us. Of course, we need to show them some respect.”

“Alright, alright, you make a good point, Boss Su.”

Su Changrong laughed cheerfully. “If I’m Boss Su, then you’re the boss lady, hahaha.”

Sun Qiufang had just been teasing him about someone calling him Boss Su earlier, but seeing how happy he got, she couldn’t help laughing too. “I see now, your skin’s getting thicker. Alright, enough joking. Let’s get home. We’ve got to set up the stall this afternoon too.”

Su Changrong gripped the cart handles tighter and grinned. “Got it!”

The supplies Su Changrong bought didn’t cost much, and they weren’t sold at very high prices either. But that meant business was good, and the profit margins were decent.

Sweet potatoes were sold individually, with prices depending on size. Sticky rice cakes were cut into uniform blocks and sold per piece. As for sunflower seeds, based on Su Min’s advice, they made several varieties—some sweet, some salty. With so many items, once the stall was fully set up, it completely filled their cart.

Su Changrong roasted the sweet potatoes and sticky rice cakes, Sun Qiufang stir-fried the sunflower seeds and peanuts, and Sun Hai helped sell and handle the money.

When Su Min wasn’t studying, she also pitched in, calling out to draw customers. Seeing their business thrive more and more each day, Su Min began to imagine and plan—if they kept making money, maybe someday they could open a proper shop. Just like those wealthy folks, slowly growing their business bigger and bigger.

As the weather warmed up, the matter of Su Min’s schooling was brought up again.

There were currently two middle schools in the county. One was run by a state-owned factory, and only children of the factory’s workers could attend. The other was a public school, open to everyone, but required a city household registration to enroll.

Su Min wasn’t a factory worker’s child, nor was she a city resident, so getting into a middle school was quite difficult for her.

Sun Qiufang had gone to the school to inquire several times and eventually learned that rural children could attend the public middle school, but they had to pay a “temporary enrollment” fee. Moreover, when it came time for exams, they couldn’t take them in the county—they had to return to their registered hometowns to sit for them.

Sun Qiufang didn’t fully understand what these exams were about, but she figured it was good enough that Su Min could study at all. So she went home and discussed it with Su Changrong, and they agreed to spend a bit more money so Su Min could attend the county’s middle school.

Of course, there were still more than three months before the new school term began, and they couldn’t enroll just yet. Still, Sun Qiufang stopped letting Su Min help at the stall and instead had her stay home and review her schoolwork.

Su Min took her studies very seriously. No matter whether she ended up doing business or becoming rich in the future, she wanted to be a knowledgeable person—not like in her previous life, where she had no diploma no matter where she went, and even finding a job had been tough. Now that she was going to attend the county’s middle school—where her tuition was even more expensive than others’—if she didn’t study well, she herself would feel that she had let her family’s money go to waste.

To solidify her foundational knowledge and perform well once school started, Su Min went to the bookstore and bought both an English dictionary and a Chinese dictionary. Every day, she read them at home.

In her past life, while working, she’d seen a university student interning at a hotel who studied this way every day. Curious, she had asked about it and learned that although this method was tough, it was very effective. If you learned all the characters and memorized all the words, then language classes—both Chinese and English—would no longer be a problem.

“My mom agreed to let me go to the county middle school too. A few days ago, she even transferred my household registration to Uncle Zhu’s place.”

Liao Zhaodi had also been coming over every day to study with Su Min lately.

As she spoke, her face turned a little gloomy. “When my mom went back to our old home, my older sister and them wouldn’t even let her through the door. Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if I hadn’t left with my mom.”

“Don’t dwell on it. You’ve already come out. What really matters is that we live a good life now. If you feel guilty about your sister and the others, then study hard. Only when we succeed can we support them in the future.”

“I don’t even know if I’ll be able to make money. And from what my mom says, after I finish middle school, she won’t let me study anymore. I don’t know what to do.”

“What if you pass the high school entrance exam? Would she still not let you go?” Su Min looked at her.

Liao Zhaodi nodded, eyes slightly red. “My mom says girls get married at eighteen anyway, so studying more is useless. She says Uncle Zhu’s and her business will be passed to me and Zhu Xiaobing. As long as I know how to keep accounts, that’s enough.”

“……”

Su Min suddenly felt that her own mother was truly open-minded. When it came to education, she was even more anxious than Su Min herself, constantly saying that their family needed to produce a female college student.

As for Liao Zhaodi’s situation, Su Min didn’t feel it was her place to say much. Whether someone lived a good life or not ultimately came down to their own choices. After thinking for a bit, she said, “Don’t worry. When summer comes, we’ll earn money together. Once you’ve saved up, you can enroll in high school yourself. Who’s going to stop you from going if you’ve already paid?”

Liao Zhaodi blinked. “How are we going to make money? We’re not even of working age.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan.” Su Min gave a mysterious smile. She wanted to earn money too. Even though her parents’ business was going well and their income had improved a lot, she didn’t want to just be a little kid anymore—she wanted to try making money on her own, to see how much she could earn. If she had money in hand, she’d be better prepared for the endless opportunities that might come her way in the future.

By June, their roasted snack business wasn’t doing as well anymore.

As the weather got hotter, fewer people wanted to eat that kind of food. This time, though, Su Changrong wasn’t too worried. He remembered that when he had displayed his raw sweet potatoes on the street before roasting them, some people had asked to buy them uncooked. Others even asked if he had rice or grains for sale. So he had taken note of that.

When he went to the villages again to collect supplies, he also picked up some rice and brought it along to sell. After their usual stall business declined, he simply switched gears—pushing his cart loaded with grain and selling that instead. Especially when there weren’t many people around the stall, he’d just take the cart out himself, and the income wasn’t any worse than what he made selling sunflower seeds and peanuts.

At the end of the month, after doing the books, they found that their net profit for the month had reached over 700 yuan.

Su Changrong beamed with satisfaction. “Business really is the way to go. As long as you’re willing to work hard, every cent you make is your own. Not like the old society, where most of what you earned had to be handed over to the landlords.”

Sun Qiufang bundled up all the money, planning to deposit it in the bank. They now had several thousand yuan at home, and she felt relieved knowing they wouldn’t be short on money anytime soon. Listening to Su Changrong’s words, she remembered something she had recently heard and felt a pang of unease. “It’s not just the past—even now, jobs are hard to come by. When I came back just now, I saw Sister-in-law Chen looking pretty upset. I asked out of curiosity and found out that the factory’s not doing well, and a lot of people are facing layoffs. Her husband, son, and daughter-in-law all work at the factory—no idea how many of them will be able to keep their jobs. Judging by her expression, things don’t look good.”

What Sun Qiufang said reminded Su Min of something—many state-owned factories had indeed started going downhill in these past couple of years. Soon, more and more of them would be shutting down. It was because of the rising number of laid-off workers that small businesses in the city would start to flourish.

But another issue suddenly came to Su Min’s mind.

“Mom, Dad—if Sister-in-law Chen’s family gets laid off, can we still keep renting this shed? Won’t the factory reclaim the land?”

Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong were reminded of this too. The shed they were living in was originally built on land belonging to the housing district. Because Sister-in-law Chen’s family worked at the factory and had some minor influence, no one had made a fuss about it. But if they really got laid off, chances were they’d lose the shed too.

“Then we won’t have anywhere to live?” Sun Qiufang became anxious. She couldn’t control much else, but having a roof over their heads was non-negotiable.

Su Changrong was worried as well. Especially now that they had more goods to store at home, they needed a stable place. If they lost their residence, they couldn’t just leave everything out on the street.

Both Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang were the type to plan ahead. Knowing this was a possibility, they decided to look for a new place to live. Not only would they move, but Sun Hai would also have to come with them. Since they had invited him to join them and now ran the business together, they couldn’t just leave him out in the cold.

Taking advantage of the current business slowdown, Sun Qiufang had Su Changrong stay to watch the stall while she went out to look for housing.

But houses weren’t easy to find these days. Most of them were state-allocated and overcrowded with entire extended families. There were rarely any spare rooms available for rent.

There were still some sheds available for rent, but thinking of the current situation, Sun Qiufang didn’t dare risk renting another one. She was afraid they’d just have to move again soon.

She searched nearly half the county town but still couldn’t find a suitable place. Then she thought of Zhu Qiang, who had lived in town for years and worked at the market. He interacted with a lot of people daily—maybe he knew of a place. So she went to the market to find him.

“Looking to rent a house?”

Zhu Qiang asked while handing the stall over to Zhang Hui. Freeing himself up, he said, “There is a house, been empty a long time, but the windows and doors are broken—you’d have to repair them yourselves. Also, it hasn’t been lived in for a while.”

The moment Sun Qiufang heard there was a house, her eyes lit up. “What kind of house? Why has no one lived in it?”

“It was a special case. The owners went abroad, and the house was left in the care of relatives. But the relatives didn’t feel right living in someone else’s home, so it’s been vacant. If you want to live there, I can ask them for you. Since the owners are overseas, they probably won’t be back anytime soon. You could stay for at least a few years. Later, if you find something better, you can always move. But yeah, you’ll need to handle the windows and doors yourselves.”

Hearing that she’d need to spend money fixing things up before even moving in, Sun Qiufang felt a twinge of pain in her wallet. Still, finding a place to rent these days was tough, and this opportunity was rare. She said, “I’ll go back and talk to Changrong, have him come with me to see the place.”

Zhu Qiang smiled, “Sure, just let me know when you’re coming and I’ll take you there. It’s not far from the market.”

After leaving the market, Sun Qiufang went straight to the stall to find Su Changrong and explained everything.

Su Changrong was pretty open-minded about it. “Let’s rent it. It’s just windows and doors—we can fix those ourselves, won’t cost much. As long as we have a place to stay, that’s what matters. I was just thinking, Minzi is getting older—it’s not good for her to keep living in a shed. When she starts school and classmates come over, she’d be embarrassed if they see we live in a shack.”

“That’s true,” Sun Qiufang agreed. She and Su Changrong personally didn’t care much about where they lived, but it was different for their daughter. Many urban kids were living in proper apartment buildings. If her classmates saw their wooden shack, they might look down on Minzi.

For the sake of their daughter, Sun Qiufang suddenly felt like spending money to fix up windows and doors wasn’t a big deal after all. “Alright, then you don’t need to go back to the stall this afternoon. Let’s go finalize the deal and move in as soon as possible. Summer’s coming, and it’s too hot to live in the shed.”

The house Zhu Qiang mentioned wasn’t far from the market and close to his own place—in fact, it was in the same neighborhood. This area wasn’t originally part of the county town, but after the factory and market were built, it was incorporated into the town. Still, the houses were private.

The layout was similar to Zhu Qiang’s—just one story, but with four rooms and a spacious main hall. There was even a kitchen in the back, though it had fallen into disrepair after not being used for a long time. Overall, the house was quite run-down.

Su Changrong wiped his face and muttered, “It’s not just the windows and doors… this place needs serious renovation.”

Luckily, the owner’s relatives weren’t too greedy. They knew the house was in bad shape and didn’t want to spend money to fix it themselves. But they also didn’t want it looking too dilapidated in case the owners came back. When Zhu Qiang told them someone was willing to rent it, they agreed—especially since it would save them the trouble. Because of the repair costs, they waived the first year’s rent. Starting from the second year, rent would be 30 yuan per month.

Though not cheap, the rent was acceptable given the location—especially since it was right beside a small street. It wasn’t a busy area, but still convenient for business. Su Min even suggested they hang up a sign at home so they could both run the street stall and sell goods from home.

After discussing it, Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang no longer hesitated over the renovation costs or rent. They quickly agreed to rent it for a year. Renting too long might backfire if the owners came back from overseas.

The owner’s relative said with a smile, “They’re doing great overseas. If my own home wasn’t enough for me, I’d have moved into this one myself.” Of course, she didn’t say it was mainly because she couldn’t bear to spend the money to fix the house up.