Chapter 16: Calculations

Li Luo walked out of the restaurant and instructed the two men:
“Make sure you meet here tomorrow afternoon with the people you’ve arranged. If you can’t handle such a small task, then don’t bother following me anymore!”

“Big Sis, don’t worry!” Liu Erwang patted his chest, promising he’d find people for her.

Li Luo nodded slightly. After parting ways, she carried two boxes of soap around, stopping strangers to promote her goods.

She received plenty of disdainful looks, but still managed to sell a fair amount.

When night fell, she went to another trading spot. While selling soap, she kept an eye on the other vendors nearby.

Several stall owners whose businesses were quiet kept glancing at her while she collected money. When she was closing up, she deliberately counted her earnings under the dim overhead light.

“Miss, where do you get your soap from?” one young man finally asked.

Li Luo crooked a finger at him. The others, seeing this, also gathered around. She pulled out cigarettes and handed them out.

Once they were smoking, she struck up a conversation and claimed her relative was the director of a soap factory.

After finishing their smokes, their trust in her rose to about seventy percent.

That was when she said:
“A box at wholesale costs fifteen yuan. You can sell it for at least twenty. You saw for yourselves how well my stock sold tonight. If you want in, sign up with me now, and I’ll get you the goods as soon as possible.”

“As soon as possible? From where?”

Li Luo considered. She was acquainted with the uncle at the recycling plant. She could pay him some freight money to move the soap there. The place was hidden, convenient for pickup.
“Once you pay, I’ll naturally hand over the goods.”

“You want money before we even see the goods? What if you run off?”

The group looked uneasy.

Li Luo snorted:
“I’m giving you a chance to make money. If you don’t believe me, then forget it!” She made as if to leave.

The young man who first asked quickly said:
“Tomorrow, when you set up your stall here, just bring the goods with you. I’ll have the money ready.”

Li Luo refused:
“Tomorrow I won’t be setting up here.”

There were a dozen different marketplaces in the city. If she stayed at one too long and got caught, what then? Besides, she didn’t trust these people completely—what if they had bad intentions?

Better safe than sorry!

She had to be cautious.

“If you want stock, bring your money and wait for me at the gate of this courtyard tomorrow morning at eight.” With that, Li Luo left.

In these times, whoever had goods in hand was king.

If they wanted to make money, they’d have to play by her rules.

The group exchanged looks.

Some said she was a fraud. Others thought she wasn’t.

When Li Luo got home, the gate was wide open. Red lanterns were already hung up, filling the whole courtyard.

Lights shone from Qin Jun and Qin Xinyi’s room, and she suddenly remembered—it was Saturday.

The office only required half a day’s work, and schools let out at noon.

Hearing the noise, Qin Xinyi came out:
“Fatty, where have you been? Grandpa’s birthday celebration is so busy, and you don’t even help out? All you do is eat and sleep all day!”

Li Luo’s anger flared:
“You’re the fatty! And if you don’t eat or sleep, what are you, dead? I’ve tolerated you long enough! You say I didn’t help—then who do you think made those lanterns? I went to the bamboo grove at dawn, cut the bamboo myself, hauled it back, split it, and tied it up all night long. Who bought the lamp oil and the boxes? Who prepared the food in the house if not me?”

But Qin Xinyi only caught the first part:
“You dare call me names?”

“Yes, I called you names! And I’m warning you—don’t mess with me!” Li Luo gave a cold snort, flung her sleeve, and left.

She slammed her door shut.

She couldn’t stand this family another day!

Old Master Qin came out, first scolding Qin Xinyi for disrespecting her elders, then gently comforting Li Luo:
“Luoluo, she’s just impolite. Don’t lower yourself to her level. Have you eaten yet?”

“I have,” Li Luo answered dully.

“As long as you’re not hungry.” The old man turned and scolded Qin Xinyi again.

Li Luo sat stiffly for half an hour. Once the lights in the rooms went out, she grabbed a change of clothes and slipped out.

She bathed in the washroom, scrubbed her dirty clothes, and hung them to dry.

Standing under the eaves, she wiped her wet hair, then combed it while it was still half-damp.

The original owner’s hair had a slight natural curl. But after believing someone’s nonsense, she’d cut it into an even bob. Her hair was thin, and combined with her chubby dark figure, she looked like one of those people singing “The Great River Flows East.”

Now, though, her hair had grown out a little. Maybe because the strange black substance in her body had been expelled, her hair looked fuller and healthier.

Looking in the mirror, she could see many new short strands, like baby hair.

Then—a soft click.

Li Luo turned her head toward the sound. Qin Jun’s door had opened.

She quickly retreated to her own room, turned off the light, and went to bed.

Before dawn, she was out again.

After a run, she returned to the same spot where she had set up her stall the night before. Three men were waiting. One wanted two boxes, another four. She took their money and gave them the pickup location:
“Tomorrow at eight, the recycling plant in the south of the city. Too early or too late, and there’ll be no goods.”

Private deals had to be fast and clean.

Dragging things out only gave others a handle on you.

“You’re not really from the soap factory, are you? Then why the recycling plant?”

Li Luo shot back:
“Are you doing legitimate business yourselves?”

Shady dealings naturally had to happen in shady places.
“Trust me, there won’t be a problem. My family has been in business for seven or eight generations—never cheated a child or an old man. If I deceive you, may lightning strike me down!”

The three still looked doubtful.

But thinking about how one night of stock could earn them ten yuan, they decided it was worth the risk.

After giving a few more instructions, Li Luo said goodbye. She clutched the money in her hand, her heart swelling with satisfaction.

She wandered the streets until the time felt right, then headed to the spot where she’d agreed to meet Liu Erwang and Cheng Jianshe. Around them stood four men in their thirties, dressed more neatly than the average passerby.

When Liu Erwang saw Li Luo, he waved.
“This is our Big Sis, Li… Li Luo.”

Li Luo pulled out cigarettes for everyone.

“You don’t look that old—just a young girl, aren’t you?” one of them asked.

“I’m thirty-eight. I just look young because I’ve never married or had children,” Li Luo said smoothly, inviting them into a restaurant and treating them to food and drink.

After a few rounds of liquor, the men decided to buy from her.

But they wanted to see the goods first.

“If they look good, I’ll start with ten boxes. We run proper shops and our demand is pretty high.”

Li Luo was stunned. Ten boxes?

A big client!

This Liu Erwang really knew how to get things done.

“I’ll just take five,” another said.

“I’ll take ten,” someone else added.

…

Li Luo decided to treat them well and keep them all happy.

She shared her experiences of selling at stalls these past few days, and casually mentioned her morning orders. Then she sighed:
“If it weren’t for money being tight, I wouldn’t be retailing like this—sneaking around and worrying all the time.”

“I only came to you because I had trouble with my supply money,” one of the drunken men confessed.

Li Luo’s mind sharpened instantly.

Trouble with supply money? That meant she must take payment first before handing over goods. Otherwise, if they tried to cheat her, who could she turn to?

And it also meant—because of their money troubles, they had no choice but to buy from her.

She felt secretly delighted and kept drinking with them.

Among the group, only the one who ordered five boxes was a street vendor. The others ran small but legitimate shops. Except for the man who had money problems, the rest simply wanted cheaper goods.

Now that she had sorted them out clearly, Li Luo already had her next move planned.