Chapter 15: Business

“I’m not sleepy yet. You two go ahead and rest.”

Li Luo kept the light on and sat in the courtyard, working on lanterns until late into the night before finally stopping.

Before bed, she set the alarm. At five in the morning sharp, she got up for her run.

This time, instead of heading to the outskirts, she went into the city. After asking around in many places, she finally got the address of a textile factory.

Before entering, she bought a pack of cigarettes.

Handing them out as she went, it didn’t take her much effort to get in front of the factory supervisor. But when she asked about purchasing goods, he demanded an official approval slip.

She had none. The supervisor told her to come back next time—his meaning clear: Get lost.

Thick-skinned, Li Luo tried to pester him. Annoyed, he ordered the gatekeeper to chase her off with a broom. They ran her nearly two hundred meters.

So much for selling cloth. That business was dead before it started.

Nothing in the world is difficult—if you’re determined enough!

As long as she had perseverance, she believed she could succeed.

Comforting herself, Li Luo squatted by the roadside, brainstorming her next move. When she saw a scrap collector passing by, an idea struck.

She flagged down the old man, offered him a cigarette, and asked what factories were nearby.

The man, happily puffing away, spilled everything:
“You’ve asked the right guy. I walk every street and alley. There’s nowhere I don’t know.”

Within minutes, Li Luo had a whole list: a food factory, a fruit cannery, an ice pop factory, a fertilizer plant, a button factory, a soap factory, a screw plant, a lumber mill, and more.

She weighed her options.

First, she decided to test the food factory.

Just like the textile mill, they took her cigarettes but refused her goods request. Next, the fruit cannery—no luck. Then the button factory—another rejection.

At last, the soap factory agreed to let her buy.

Li Luo could hardly contain her joy.

Soap sells well!

But when she saw the goods, she froze.

The soap stank—worse than she herself had smelled before.

The entire warehouse was filled with it: five to six hundred unsellable boxes.

The supervisor offered, “Miss, do you still want it? You can sell first, then pay. Profit’s six yuan per box. There’s over five hundred boxes here. We’ll split seventy-thirty. I take seventy, you thirty. That way, you’re making money with no upfront cost.”

Li Luo was tempted.

If she sold everything, she could pocket at least nine hundred yuan.

Nine hundred!

That could buy her a small house here, even in this unfamiliar place.

If not buy, at least rent comfortably for the long term.

Cautious, she asked, “You won’t go back on your word once I sell it, will you?”

“You’re the one selling. The money goes to you first. Why would I be afraid you’d run?”

Li Luo grinned, baring her teeth. “Give me a little time to think of a plan.”

“Take your time. The soap’s been here for a year already. What’s a few more days?”

Leaving the soap factory, Li Luo kept turning the idea over in her head.

On her way out, she grabbed two bars.

She sniffed. The smell was overwhelming.

So money’s not that easy to make after all…

When she got home, the old couple had already covered the lanterns with red paper. They stood stacked in the courtyard, bright and eye-catching.

Old Madam Qin said warmly, “Luoluo, you’re back! Look how pretty these lanterns turned out.”

Li Luo smiled. “They really are nice.”

Then the old lady suddenly scolded, “But you’re always skipping meals and running around. That won’t do! If you ruin your health, how will you ever give me a grandson?”

Li Luo muttered inwardly, Why should I give you a grandson? I don’t want to, and I won’t. I just want to make money and leave.

Old Master Qin said calmly, “If the child’s hungry, she’ll eat. Why bother her?”

Li Luo gave him a knowing smile. The old man understood her.

She tidied up, boiled two eggs, ate, and headed back out.

Selling soap couldn’t interfere with her weight-loss plan.

Once she had money, a slim figure, and beauty, she’d divorce the man and live the good life.

Running until she broke into sweat, she returned the same way. At a crossroads, she caught a familiar foul scent. Her foot slipped—she had stepped on leftover dregs from Chinese medicine.

A thought flashed.

This smell… was almost identical to that soap.

If she marketed it as medicated antibacterial soap, would it sell?

Immediately, she rushed back to the soap factory and asked to take two boxes.

The supervisor waved her on. “Take them.” Better gone than rotting in the warehouse.

Li Luo hauled the boxes away, wandering until nightfall before heading to the next underground market the street punks had told her about.

It wasn’t crowded.

She set down the soap, calling out that it was infused with herbal ingredients, with antibacterial effects. “Five cents for two bars! In the stores, it’s six cents for just one!”

People sniffed.

It did smell like medicine.

The packaging was a well-known brand of soap, but at a much cheaper price.

One after another, customers pulled out coins.

In less than two hours, both boxes were sold.

She’d made twenty yuan in sales.

As the supervisor said, profit per box was six yuan. That meant each box cost her only four.

She had doubled her money.

The stores doubled their prices again.

And in the end, it was ordinary folks who shouldered the cost.

Pocketing her earnings, Li Luo went home. The old couple had already gone to bed, but they’d left the gate unlatched and the courtyard light on. Her heart warmed.

Old Madam Qin, though she nagged, had been treating her quite well lately.

Even when Li Luo skipped meals or stayed out, the old woman would scold and fret, worried about her.

In this foreign world, to have someone worrying over her—it was rare.

But no! She mustn’t soften.

No matter how kind they were, she didn’t belong here.

Besides, her relationship with Qin Mian’s elder brother and sister-in-law wasn’t good. And hadn’t she nearly called them Mom and Dad before?

Quietly, she slipped into the courtyard, bolted the door, washed up, and went to bed.

Before dawn, she was out again.

After her run, she went to the soap factory. Keeping her three yuan sixty cents share, she handed the rest to the supervisor.

The man was surprised, counting the money. “You only took two boxes. Isn’t this too much? Did you really sell them?”

“Retail makes more, but we agreed on seventy-thirty. I keep my word. Seventy for you is seventy for you.”

The supervisor was delighted. “You’re a good kid. How did you manage to sell it?”

Li Luo replied, “If you want to know, you’ll have to give me my full share first.”

The man froze. That would mean handing over over nine hundred yuan. Where could he find that?
“You think I’m stupid?”

Li Luo said seriously, “I mean it. My method is worth money. If you won’t listen, I’ll just keep selling retail. It’s slower, that’s all.”

But she knew this wasn’t a long-term solution. If the factory caught wind of her method, they could just start delivering the soap themselves.

The supervisor muttered, “Go ahead and retail.” He wasn’t about to throw away money.

So Li Luo took another two boxes and hit the streets. She found the two punks, treated them to food, cigarettes, and drinks, then shared her plan.

She wanted them to find small-time vendors for her to cut wholesale deals with. For each one who agreed, they’d earn fifty cents commission.

Hearing there was money in it, both immediately agreed, thumping their chests with promises.
“Big sis, we’ll get it done!”

“Meet me the morning after tomorrow, same place, and report back,” Li Luo instructed.

“Yes, Big Sis! Leave it to us!”

Li Luo’s lips curved. She relished that title.

Suddenly, Liu Erwang piped up, “Big Sis, when I look closely, you’re actually pretty good-looking.”

Her lips were red, her teeth white. Though she was fat, her features were delicate.

If she slimmed down, she might even be a stunning beauty.

Li Luo put on a stern face, deliberately pushing her chin back to create several rolls of neck fat. With mock arrogance, she said, “Your Big Sis here relies on guts and fists! You’ve already experienced how hard my fists are. My looks? That’s just a minor, insignificant advantage.”

Liu Erwang: “…”

Cheng Jianshe: “…”

“…”