Chapter 48

People nowadays generally don’t have much awareness about doing business, let alone signing contracts or agreements when partnering up. Most of the time, just a verbal agreement is enough to seal the deal.

However, the agreement Zhao Xiaoyan brought was different. While not overly formal, it clearly outlined both parties’ responsibilities and benefits.

Wu Xiaoxiao would be in charge of product production, while Zhao Xiaoyan would handle sales. Both would need to keep records of their respective responsibilities and regularly reconcile accounts. The formula would remain Wu Xiaoxiao’s private property and wouldn’t need to be disclosed to the partner, though some necessary information would be shared for promotional purposes. At the same time, Wu Xiaoxiao had to ensure the product’s safety, while Zhao Xiaoyan had to maintain the sales channels and guarantee a minimum monthly sales target.

Additionally, Zhao Xiaoyan included contingency plans for possible issues, such as raw material shortages, supply delays, or buyers failing to make payments. The agreement was quite comprehensive.

Worried that Wu Xiaoxiao might misunderstand, Zhao Xiaoyan explained, “I just wanted to be thorough. You know the saying, ‘Even among brothers, accounts should be settled clearly,’ right? It’s not about not trusting you—it’s just to prevent misunderstandings later. Honestly, I’m the one benefiting more from this arrangement.”

Wu Xiaoxiao shook her head. “That’s not true at all. Even though this cream works well, without your sales channels, I’d be completely in the dark. I’d never have the chance to sell it at 55 yuan per bottle.”

“That’s not just wishful thinking—I calculated this price based on what my mom and her friends are already paying for similar products. You should also make a more affordable version with slightly lower effectiveness. Both versions would sell well, and the only concern would be keeping up with demand. Oh, and we need to get Wu Jiang to make two different bottle sizes, so we can differentiate the pricing.”

An idea suddenly struck Zhao Xiaoyan, and she quickly jotted it down while speaking. “If the first batch does well, we can have Brother Wu Jiang create fixed molds for these two bottles. His handmade premium bottles can then be used for a limited-edition version.”

Wu Xiaoxiao was genuinely impressed. Zhao Xiaoyan was a natural business strategist, effortlessly coming up with ideas that were groundbreaking for their time.

With the plan set, execution would have to wait until Wu Xiaoxiao returned home. She only had enough stock for six bottles at the moment. Zhao Xiaoyan took all six without leaving a single one behind and confidently handed over 120 yuan as a “deposit,” insisting that Wu Xiaoxiao accept it.

“It’s clearly stated in the contract—I’m supposed to pay you a deposit as startup capital. I haven’t even paid in full yet. Just wait for good news! This batch is so small that I don’t even need to sell it myself—my big sister can take care of it.”

Zhao Xiaoyan had already mapped out her first batch of customers. Her older cousin worked in a performing arts troupe, and with all the beautiful women there, how could they resist buying such an effective product?

She even wrote out a detailed sales pitch for her cousin.

After much insistence from Zhao Xiaoyan, Wu Xiaoxiao finally accepted the money. Otherwise, the commotion might have drawn the attention of the entire floor. Seeing that Wu Xiaoxiao had put the money away, Zhao Xiaoyan playfully winked, knowing she had chosen the perfect moment. Then, she happily left.

These days, Wang Qifang had been coming home late. Today, she arrived just before the doors were locked.

“Qifang, you’re back,” Wu Xiaoxiao greeted her as she entered.

“Ah… Oh, Xiaoxiao, you’re here.” Wang Qifang seemed startled, answering absentmindedly.

Wu Xiaoxiao was puzzled. She had been getting home earlier than Wang Qifang every day since the first two weeks—why was she acting so surprised?

Wu Xiaoxiao watched as Wang Qifang wandered around the room absentmindedly, touching things here and there. She sat on the bed for a while, then stood up again, pacing around restlessly.

Standing up, Wu Xiaoxiao grabbed Wang Qifang’s hand. “Qifang, is something bothering you?”

Wang Qifang looked up and forced a bitter smile. “Is it that obvious?”

“You might as well have the words ‘I have something on my mind’ written on your face.” Wu Xiaoxiao pulled her to sit down on the bed. “What’s wrong? We came here together. Whatever it is, we can talk it through.”

Wang Qifang hesitated for a long time before finally speaking. “Xiaoxiao, you know that I’ve always dreamed of moving to the city and becoming a worker. City workers eat better, dress better, and factory jobs are much easier than working in the fields.”

“They said that if we do well, some of us might get to stay in the city. That’s why I’ve been working so hard. I’m not as smart as you, but I can be diligent. I put in ten times, even a hundred times, the effort to learn and do my job well.”

Wu Xiaoxiao nodded. She had noticed how hard Wang Qifang had been working. Of course, many others were also working hard, hoping to seize this opportunity to stay in the city.

“But a few days ago, my uncle told me that it was all a lie. Apparently, someone just spread the rumor to get everyone to work harder.”

“So you feel really disappointed, don’t you? You had so much hope, worked so hard, only to find out that it was never even real.”

Wang Qifang shook her head. If it were just about the job opportunity being fake, she would have been sad for a while, but she would have moved on. After all, she wasn’t like those educated youths from the city who dreamed day and night of going back. She had grown up in the countryside, and although city life seemed better, she could still live just fine in the village.

She had merely envied city life a little.

But what troubled her wasn’t just the loss of hope—it was what had come after.

—-

At first, she had convinced herself to let it go, but then someone approached her and told her that the deputy factory director of the textile mill was looking for a wife for his second son, Zhang Kun.

If she married into their family, she could live in the city. Even if she didn’t work, the deputy director could afford to support them. And since he was the factory’s deputy director, wouldn’t it be easy for him to get his own daughter-in-law a job at the textile mill?

It was others who had told her this, and at first, Wang Qifang thought it was nonsense. If such a great opportunity existed, why would it land on her? But no matter how much she tried to dismiss it, the idea lingered in her mind, distracting her from her work these past few days.

She had initially suspected that Zhang Kun must be either foolish or disabled for this kind of talk to be going around. But today, she saw him in person. He was tall and lean, wearing a crisp white shirt, riding a bicycle with a confident air.

Even without the prospect of moving to the city, just the sight of him alone was enough to make her heart flutter.