Chapter 41 I Didn’t Expect That She Was Still a Potential Lurker

It didn’t matter if Nan Fangjue didn’t allow her to sell; she could sell secretly after he went to work.

In this era, the bold thrived while the timid starved. The overall environment was relatively relaxed; as long as she didn’t run into the police, she’d be fine.

But she absolutely couldn’t go to town, as military wives frequented it. The fewer people who knew about this, the better.

She needed to find another market.

In the original owner’s memories, there was a sizable jade raw material processing plant more than ten miles north of the army base, employing about two hundred workers.

Their work was exhausting, dealing with stones all day; they probably wouldn’t mind spending money on some food.

She could try there.

After making up her mind, Wen Yanyan went to scout the jade processing plant the next day, carefully observing the local environment and terrain, and selecting a location for her stall.

To avoid being discovered by Nan Fangjue, Wen Yanyan made careful arrangements. She went to town in the morning to buy chicken feet, and prepared them upon returning home.

She put the finished product into two small stainless steel containers with lids she’d just bought at the town’s supply and marketing cooperative, carefully hiding them in the lower house.

This was the safest place.

Nan Fangjue wouldn’t go there; the lower house was where they stored rarely used items.

Furthermore, it lacked sunlight, had a low temperature, and was easy for storage.

…

The next morning.

After Nan Fangjue left for work, Wen Yanyan went to Instructor Xu’s house to borrow a bicycle from Huang Shuhua—a sturdy, old-fashioned model.

She retrieved the stainless steel containers from the lower house, securing one on each side of the bicycle’s rear rack, and placed a scale in a cloth bag on the handlebars.

She smoothed her hair back, gracefully mounted the bike, and pedaled energetically, swiftly leaving the military compound.

…

Half an hour later, Wen Yanyan arrived opposite the gate of the jade processing plant and parked her bicycle.

She took a scarf she’d prepared from her pocket and wrapped it around her face, revealing only her eyes.

Wen Yanyan was afraid of being recognized.

She was overweight and had distinctive features. This jade factory was not far from the army base, only a dozen miles away along the village road.

She masked her face as a precaution.

Wen Yanyan then took out a prepared lunchbox of sweet and sour chicken feet and went to give some to the factory’s gatekeeper.

The gatekeeper had already noticed her. When she approached, he opened the small window to inquire.

“Girl, do you need something?”

“Sir, I brought some cooked food. Would you like to try some?” Wen Yanyan opened the lunchbox and offered it.

“What kind of cooked food?”

The gatekeeper, wearing a hat reminiscent of Zhao Benshan’s style, had a serious expression and furrowed brows.

“It’s sweet and sour chicken feet. Please try some?”

Wen Yanyan had prepared a sweet and sour flavor, considering his age and assuming he couldn’t handle spicy food.

“I don’t like it. Take it away.”

The gatekeeper waved his hand in refusal.

“If you don’t like it, you can take it home for your children. It’s really delicious.”

Wen Yanyan tried to persuade him.

“Girl, just tell me what you need. If not, I’ll close the window.”

The gatekeeper was quite persistent.

“Oh, sir, don’t close it, I have something to ask.”

Wen Yanyan quickly said.

“My parents passed away. It’s difficult for a girl like me to raise my younger brother. I made some cooked food to earn some extra money to support my younger brother’s education. You’re kind-hearted, sir. If anyone comes out, could you help me advertise?”

She played the victim, her eyes glistening with tears.

“Oh, it’s just a small matter. Okay, when they come out, I’ll speak for you. Take these and sell them for money.”

The gatekeeper was quite kind.

“Thank you, sir.”

Seeing that he wouldn’t accept the chicken feet, Wen Yanyan didn’t insist, thanked him, and returned to her spot.

The gatekeeper was really helpful.

Whenever a worker left the factory, he would point towards her and say a few words.

Then, workers started approaching her, sampling her goods and asking the price.

Wen Yanyan said seven cents a catty.

“Okay, give me two catties.”

She blinked, thinking she might have made too little, as one person bought two catties.

“Okay.”

Wen Yanyan quickly took out her scale.

…

She had brought ten catties of chicken feet, five catties of spicy and five catties of sweet and sour, and they were all sold in a short while.

An older woman arrived late and missed out, looking quite regretful.

“Ma’am, I’ll be selling here at the same time tomorrow. I can reserve one catty for you. Would you like spicy or sweet and sour?”

Wen Yanyan wanted to retain every customer and offered a pre-order option.

“Okay, I’ll take two catties of sweet and sour. If I’m late again tomorrow, please save some for me. Thank you, little sister.”

The woman happily left.

…

Wen Yanyan packed up her stall and prepared to go home.

Before leaving, she left another lunchbox of chicken feet for the gatekeeper.

“Sir, thank you. Without your help, I wouldn’t have sold so smoothly. This is a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it.”

To avoid his refusal, this time she placed it directly on the cement platform by the window and turned to leave.

She had to thank the gatekeeper; otherwise, she wouldn’t feel comfortable coming back tomorrow.

Wen Yanyan’s first day at the stall went smoothly.

Ten catties of chicken feet, sold at seven cents a catty, earned her seven yuan. After deducting the cost, she netted five yuan.

And she sold out in less than an hour. She could make more tomorrow.

After selling the chicken feet, Wen Yanyan didn’t go home but cycled to town. This time, she bought twenty catties of chicken feet, speeding all the way.

She arrived home, checked the time—it was already eleven o’clock—and started preparing lunch.

At this moment, she slightly regretted letting Nan Fangjue come home for lunch.

He could have eaten at the canteen at noon and just come home in the evening.

…

Nan Fangjue had just left for the army when she started preparing the chicken feet.

Making chicken feet was actually simple; it was just the deboning that was time-consuming.

For twenty catties of chicken feet, deboning alone took her over two hours.

Now, she could only close her eyes, and the image of chicken feet filled her mind.

After deboning, she boiled them, then mixed them with seasoning…finally, she moved them to the lower house to hide them and let them marinate.

The next morning, she went to the jade processing plant to set up her stall, then went to town to restock.

This cycle repeated.

Wen Yanyan was incredibly busy.

Because there were no refrigerators in this era, and the southern temperature was hot.

Therefore, the raw materials could only be bought on the day of sale, otherwise, they would spoil.

Wen Yanyan ran to town every day, prepared the food, and then ran to the jade processing plant.

She ran all over the place.

In this way, half a month passed, and Nan Fangjue didn’t discover anything.

Wen Yanyan was secretly pleased. Unexpectedly, she was quite the undercover operative.