Wang Zhaodi recounted everything that had happened when she went to town to sell things and encountered the police.

After listening to Wang Zhaodi’s concerns, Su Ling gave a warm smile and said, “It’s okay. Just tell him tomorrow that of course it’s possible, but the price is fixed. And if he can bring more customers, even better.”

Wang Zhaodi carefully noted this down. After settling today’s bill, she requested goods for the next day.

“Boss, soon I won’t need to buy on credit anymore.”

Wang Zhaodi smiled happily, her lips curling upward. She could finally start saving up for school tuition.

Su Ling gave her a thumbs-up and sincerely praised, “You’re amazing. You have a limitless future ahead.”

Wang Zhaodi blushed shyly, bid Su Ling goodbye, and left the little shop.

On the way home, she counted the money she had, stuffed the whole bills into her rubber shoes, and hid them in a doghole outside the house. Then she put the loose change into her pocket.

Sure enough, as soon as she got home, Liu Guihua was waiting like a vengeful spirit.

Wang Zhaodi quickly ran over and dumped all the coins from her pocket onto the table with a clatter.

“Ma, this is all I have.”

Liu Guihua glared at her, searched her up and down, even made her take off her shoes and socks. When she found nothing else, she started counting the money. “Why is it only eighty cents today?”

“There was less work today, but still better than collecting snow,” Wang Zhaodi replied.

Liu Guihua looked at her and stuffed the money into her own pocket. “Then why’d you come home so early? Couldn’t you go deliver some more snow? You’re just a lazy mutt—if no one pushes you, you’ll never move.”

Wang Zhaodi shrank back and said, “Ma, I ran into a policeman today. I have to deliver a message for the shop owner tomorrow, so the boss told me to rest early and leave early in the morning.”

“Police?!”

Liu Guihua was startled. Why were the police involved?

Wang Zhaodi nodded vigorously and lowered her voice mysteriously: “Seems like something’s going on. I have to deliver a message tomorrow. Ma, is there any food left at home?”

“There is! There’s a bit left in the bottom of the pot. Eat that and go to bed. If you don’t bring back at least a full yuan tomorrow, don’t even think about eating.” Holding her belly, Liu Guihua cautiously went back to her room.

Wang Zhaodi put her shoes back on and headed to the kitchen.

In the big pot, only a bit of corn soup base remained—barely enough to moisten her throat.

“Heh.”

Wang Zhaodi scraped the pot clean, then snuck outside to retrieve the money and instant noodles hidden in her rubber shoes. She ate the noodles in the kitchen, stuffed the packaging into the stove, opened the window to air out the smell, and finally went to bed.

…

In the shop, Su Ling was restocking items from Wang Zhaodi’s shopping list and also put out some canned eight-treasure porridge for breakfast.

Huahua yawned and lazily sprawled across the counter. “No idea how much they’ll buy tomorrow.”

After arranging the goods, Su Ling sat down in the massage chair. “Either way, it won’t be a small amount. The question is whether they’re buying for the whole town or planning to ship it out elsewhere.”

“Then the host is going to be exhausted tomorrow,” Huahua stretched out lazily, her tone drowsy. “It’s a pity I’m just a cat—I can’t help the host.”

Su Ling: …You really are quite the cat.

Suddenly sitting up straight, Su Ling took down two large trolleys from the online store and updated the delivery address to be the carts themselves. Problem solved.

After purchasing the carts, Su Ling laid back down in relief.

…

At Old Wang’s house—

The whole family broke their usual routine, even digging out a standing flashlight for illumination, clearly preparing for something important.

In the kitchen, around a chipped table, nearly twenty people squeezed together, with others bringing their own stools, standing against the wall, or squatting on the ground.

Faced with so many eyes staring at her, Lin Mei was a little nervous, but she quickly got into the groove.

“Yes, the boss said she’ll buy cooked food, no limit, but she will check the quality. If it doesn’t taste good or if you try to cut corners, she won’t accept it. You’ll have to bear the loss yourself.”

“You all better think this through. Don’t assume she’s easy to fool just because she’s nice. She’s not someone you can fool.”

“And you’ll have to buy your own ingredients and prepare the food before selling it.”

…

After Lin Mei finished speaking, a wave of chatter immediately rippled through the crowd.

Some people were tempted, while others began to hesitate.

Song Lianhua gripped her daughter tightly with both hands.

She was a widow. She had thought about remarrying, but her daughter was already grown. What if she didn’t adapt to the new family? What if she was bullied?

After thinking it over, she gave up the idea of marrying again. But life was hard—especially with her child still in school.

So when Lin Mei approached her today, she didn’t think too much and decided to give it a try.

She knew how to make marinated dishes and stewed pork, but what she lacked was start-up money.

After a lively round of discussion, quite a few people decided to give it a shot and gradually dispersed.

They also wanted to earn some money—maybe even buy a new flashlight. It was so bright!

When most people had left, Song Lianhua shyly approached Lin Mei, discreetly bringing up the idea of borrowing money.

Lin Mei wasn’t well-off herself, but she suggested, “You can try asking the boss for credit.”

Song Lianhua felt both awkward and embarrassed. She pulled her daughter along and thanked Lin Mei before leaving.

Halfway home, Wang Shengnan held tightly onto her mother’s hand. Just then, they saw that the light in the grocery store was still on.

“Ma, let’s just ask. Asking won’t cost us anything.”

Song Lianhua hesitated. “The boss is already kind enough… and now asking for credit…”

“It’s fine. Just ask,” Wang Shengnan said, pulling her mother and pushing the door open.

Su Ling was just about to close the shop. When she saw them come in, she stood up.

“Welcome. Are you looking to buy something?”

Song Lianhua looked at Su Ling, nervous and embarrassed. “Boss Su, I wanted to ask… do you accept marinated dishes here?”

“We do,” Su Ling nodded. “We’ll take as much as you’ve got, but it has to be clean, hygienic, and taste good. There will be a machine set up on the side here to collect them tomorrow.”

Wang Shengnan asked directly, “Boss Su, can we get goods on credit? Our family wants to make marinated food, so we need buckets, ladles, spices, some meat, and so on.”

Su Ling asked, “Are you from Dawang Village?”

Song Lianhua quickly nodded, “Yes, I married into Dawang Village. My daughter’s a native.”

Su Ling nodded. “Alright then. Come by tomorrow to pick up the items and ingredients. I’ll need to prepare. We’ll draw up a simple IOU, and you can sign it.”

Song Lianhua hadn’t expected it to really work—she stood there stunned.

Wang Shengnan gave a serious bow. “Thank you, Boss Su. I’ll remember your kindness. We’ll do our best.”

Song Lianhua also came back to her senses and quickly bowed to express her gratitude. Then the mother and daughter left.

Once they were gone, Su Ling closed the door, turned off the lights, and went to rest in the back.

【Ding——】

[The No-CP Female Lead is now online. Please help develop her culinary skills. Reward: Summer Beverage Machine.]

Su Ling exchanged a glance with Huahua.

The No-CP female lead was Song Lianhua—the little girl’s mother!

Su Ling returned to the back room and tapped open the virtual mall. It was time to seriously consider what she needed to buy next.