Chapter 20

Lin Xi ended up selling four headbands, five hair ties, and four pairs of hair clips.

She gave these customers a small discount as well, but the hair ties they bought were adult-sized—made with two elastic bands and larger flowers—and two of them were made from floral fabric. The price for these was about the same as for the headbands. Altogether, she made eight yuan from these sales.

Since the train station was bustling with people, the commotion around her stall attracted quite a crowd. In just over two hours, she had sold more than half of her stock.

This was completely unexpected for Lin Xi, who had originally planned to look for another place to set up her stall. In the end, it was the station security guard who came over and told her that the gathering of people was blocking traffic and asked her to move elsewhere. So, she slung the basket onto her back, took the little one by the hand, and left.

After leaving the station, she headed into the busier parts of town and found a spot to sit down. She laid her hair clips, hair ties, and headbands out on a piece of blue cloth and called out to passersby.

Before long, she had attracted another group of customers. It wasn’t that these people lacked taste—they truly had never seen such pretty designs before. They had never come across hair accessories like these; they were simply too unique.

Some of them knew how to knit sweaters, but it was still the first time they had seen yarn used to make such little items. A few even grew curious and asked Lin Xi where the designs came from.

Lin Xi simply told them they were her own creations. She had no illusions that she would be the only person doing this business forever—whoever could make them well was free to do so. After all, she had other ways of making money.

This time, she had earned enough capital. Once she finished using the leftover fabric at home to make the floral headbands and ties, she would stop making them. They were too simple; soon enough, others would copy them and start selling as well.

The patterned cotton fabric wasn’t cheap either, and once the market became crowded, the price would drop. At that point, it wouldn’t be worth the effort.

The yarn accessories, on the other hand, were harder to replicate—nobody else could yet make them as delicately. That would take time. Even so, crocheting with yarn was time-consuming. She was making the simplest patterns, which was why she had been able to produce so many in just a few days.

Now she planned to use her earnings to start something else. But her cheap husband from the army was supposed to be coming home in the next couple of days.

First, she had to see what he would say when he returned. If she couldn’t stay, she would have to make other plans—this bit of money wasn’t enough for her to settle down somewhere on her own.

By early afternoon, around one or two o’clock, the hair accessories she had brought in her basket were completely sold out. Some people even came back to buy more after seeing how nice their friends’ purchases were, but she could only shake her head and say she had none left.

As they walked back toward the station, Lin Xi sharply noticed that someone was following them—likely eyeing the money in her pocket.

Not daring to be careless, she picked up Xingxing, and while pretending to adjust him, she pulled the cash from the inside pocket of her clothing and tucked it into her bra. She didn’t care whether the money got dirty at this point.

Holding the child tightly, she walked quickly forward, and the person behind them kept following. When she reached a farm tools shop, she went inside and bought a machete for chopping firewood, carrying it in her hand as she walked out.

The little one clung obediently to her neck while she strode quickly on. Thankfully, she had intentionally kept to crowded areas, so the way back was also busy with people.

Those thugs were bold, but not so bold as to rob someone openly in a crowded place. Robbery carried a heavy penalty in those days.

They either waited for a chance to lure their target somewhere secluded—where they could abduct women and children outright, or rob men and the elderly of their money and valuables—or they moved in under the cover of a crowd to slash open bags or clothing with a blade and steal whatever was inside.

Two men had been following behind Lin Xi. Earlier, they had clearly been speeding up to close the distance, but after seeing her go into the store, they lingered outside. When she came out holding the machete, they kept their distance, following from farther away.

From a distance, Lin Xi spotted the driver who had given her a ride earlier. He was buying something from a shop ahead, so she quickly approached and called out:

“Big brother, what a coincidence!”

“Huh? Sis, you haven’t sold all your goods yet? If you don’t leave soon, there won’t be any more buses going back.”

“I’ve already sold out. I was just on my way to catch a ride! Are you heading back too?”

“Yes, I’m just buying something for my wife. I’ll be leaving right after.”

“Perfect, we’ll ride with you then.”

“Sure! We can settle the fare once we’re on the bus. I’ve just about finished here—let’s head over now.”

“Alright.”

Lin Xi glanced behind her discreetly and saw that the two men were gone. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief, slipping the machete into her basket.

She set the little one down and took his hand, still checking behind her several times until she was sure no one was following.

“Sis, did you run into trouble?”

He Shengli had noticed her constant vigilance and guessed what had happened. A woman and child coming to town to sell goods, looking as attractive as they did, would definitely catch the attention of thieves or even human traffickers.

“Mm.”

Lin Xi didn’t hide it and told him about the two men who had been following her.

He Shengli was shocked.

“They dared to follow you even with so many people around? Sis, you really shouldn’t come out alone with the kid. Have your man come along, or leave the child with your elders—then they wouldn’t dare act so brazenly.”

“Thanks for the reminder, big brother. I honestly didn’t think they’d be so bold, but I’ll definitely be more careful from now on.”

He Shengli thought her husband must have a lot of nerve to let a wife that good-looking go out alone with their child.

As for him, there was no way he’d ever let his own wife go out by herself—if anything happened to her, he couldn’t go on living.

Before long, the three of them reached the station. Outside, a vendor was selling candied hawthorn skewers. Lin Xi picked up little Gu Xing and, using the motion as cover, pulled a few bills from her bra, buying two skewers for the child. The rest of the money went toward buying tickets and shopping back in town.

When they reached the street, the market was already winding down. Lin Xi took the little one to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought two jin of biscuits, two bags of milk powder, and some spices, rice, eggs, and noodles.

She hadn’t bought much rice before, and it was almost gone. There was still plenty of flour left. After getting these supplies, she packed the lighter items into her own basket and hired an ox cart heading back to the village to haul the rice.

On the way, she came across someone selling chicks and bought twenty, along with ten ducklings.

As they headed back, the villagers still eyed her curiously. But the memory of her chasing Gou Dong around the village with a machete was still fresh and intimidating—so few dared to strike up a conversation. This made for a peaceful and leisurely trip home.