Wang Zhaodi shocked a group of women today when she brought cotton-padded jackets to sell.  

They even forgot about the eggs and milk powder they had originally wanted and immediately started feeling the jackets.  

“This padding is pretty thick. How much are you selling it for?”  

“Forty yuan each. In the store, it’s thirty-eight.”  

Wang Zhaodi answered the price openly—after all, none of them would actually go to the store to check.  

The women gasped in surprise. Forty yuan for a jacket was expensive, but the pattern and craftsmanship were indeed good, and the cotton filling was thick.  

“Are they all this big?”  

“The ones I brought today are all large sizes. If you’re handy with a needle or have a sewing machine at home, you can alter them into smaller ones for kids.”  

As she spoke, Wang Zhaodi spread out the jacket for them to examine closely.  

As they looked, some of the women began to waver. Soon, someone took the navy-blue one, and the remaining patterned and red jackets were quickly snatched up.  

The others, unwilling to miss out, gritted their teeth and placed deposits, asking Wang Zhaodi to deliver more jackets the next day—along with new fabric.  

Wang Zhaodi happily agreed, carefully tucking away the deposits and notes, then began selling the rest of the goods on her cart.  

Aunt Li nimbly picked up the little sun heater from the top of the pile and examined it.  

“Is this… an electric fan?”  

“It’s a little sun heater. It needs to be plugged in and gets very warm. But be careful not to leave it unattended or get too close to it.”  

After asking to borrow electricity from the house, Wang Zhaodi plugged it in.  

Soon, the little sun emitted a soft orange glow, and after a short while, warm air began radiating from it.  

Aunt Li moved closer to warm her hands, then made up her mind. “How much? I’ll take it.”  

“This one is thirty yuan,” Wang Zhaodi said.  

“Actually, there’s also a heated foot box for warmth. It’s like a deep wooden box—you put your feet inside and cover it with a small blanket, and your whole body gets warm.”  

“The foot box is bigger, so the whole family can use it, but it’s not easy to move. It also runs on electricity. The little sun heater is portable—you can even use it in bed to stay warm.”  

“Also, I have heat patches. You stick them on the outside of your undershirt. Some people get cold and damp around their lower back in winter, so these can help. Just remember—never stick them directly on your skin or wear them to sleep, or you’ll get burned.”  

Wang Zhaodi had planned to let people try them out, so she opened one on the spot and helped Aunt Li stick it to the back of her undershirt.  

After a while, warmth steadily seeped in.  

“It’s kind of like a medicated plaster—pretty comfortable. How much are these?” Aunt Li was tempted again.  

“These are cheap—ten cents for two.”  

Wang Zhaodi took out all the heat patches.  

Auntie Fatty immediately bought ten and, with Aunt Li’s help, stuck one on her back as well.  

A young married woman also took one and placed it on her lower abdomen. As the warmth spread, her menstrual cramps eased a little.  

Soon, the heat patches were all snatched up, and it was time to sell rice.  

Now, many new customers were among her regulars—all brought in by word of mouth from Auntie Fatty.  

Not a single person who bought from her was dissatisfied. In fact, if she weren’t working alone, they would’ve asked her to bring more carts of goods to sell.  

After finishing her sales for the day and waiting for most of the crowd to leave, Wang Zhaodi stopped a young woman.  

“Auntie, could you pass a message to the police officers? Tell them the boss will also take their snow.”  

Wu Rong froze for a moment, then nodded. On her way back, she detoured to the police station to relay the message.  

Meanwhile, Wang Zhaodi gave out the usual tips and prepared to head home—only to run into Liu Tong, who had been waiting for her.  

“Officer, did the auntie pass on the message?”  

Liu Tong nodded, nervously double-checking. “The boss said she’ll take our snow too?”  

Wang Zhaodi nodded. “Yes.”  

Liu Tong felt like he’d been hit by a stroke of unbelievable luck.  

Collecting snow? How easy was that!  

With a whole team of strong men, they could gather snow from outside the town all the way to the villages—though the journey would be a bit long.  

And once their snow could be traded, the cost of buying rice and flour would drop significantly!  

“Your boss… is truly a great person!”  

“No, I have to go back with you. I might as well buy some more stuff while I’m at it.”  

Liu Tong told Wang Zhaodi to go ahead while he returned to gather more men. Soon, a group of several dozen arrived—though it was a different batch of people this time, since they also wanted to see what this was all about.  

When Liu Tong caught up with Wang Zhaodi, the wind and snow suddenly grew fiercer. Everyone quickly covered their mouths and noses, bowing their heads as they trudged forward.  

As she walked, Wang Zhaodi thought to herself: I should go back and ask the boss to stock more hats, scarves, and face masks…

…

The group struggled back to Dawang Village, where Song Lianhua and her daughter had just finished placing all the braised dishes into the food-collecting machine.  

A spicy, savory aroma filled the shop.  

While Wang Zhaodi went to settle her orders, Liu Tong and his colleagues observed the machine, noting that it announced transactions with a voice prompt—and paid surprisingly well.  

“Boss, you buy cooked food too?” Liu Tong asked casually.  

Su Ling nodded. “We do.”  

She then motioned for Wang Zhaodi to check the fabric section, where she pulled out hats, scarves, and skeins of yarn—some finished, some raw.  

There was yarn of all thicknesses, including chunky wool for knitting scarves, in various colors, some even fluffy.  

“Baozhu mentioned it was too cold today, so her mother asked if we had yarn for knitting scarves and hats,” Su Ling explained.  

Wang Zhaodi’s eyes lit up. “I know many knitting patterns! I can crochet shoes, hats, even decorative stitches. I could buy yarn, have the villagers knit them, and sell the finished products.”  

Su Ling smiled. “Do whatever you like—I don’t interfere.”  

“Boss, I’ll take a roll of yarn and some needles first. I’ll be back soon.” With that, Wang Zhaodi hurried off.  

Su Ling turned her attention back to Liu Tong. “So… you need a lot of rice and flour again?”  

Liu Tong nodded.  

Su Ling took a deep breath. “Alright, go ahead.”  

After Liu Tong listed his order, Su Ling resignedly went to the back to haul out rice, flour, and cooking oil. Liu Tong and his men waited outside the counter, ready to load up.  

Once the food was loaded, Liu Tong started listing his wife’s personal requests.  

“Boss, I also need a small cart, four thick winter coats in different colors, two rolls of navy-blue fabric, a sewing kit, two thermoses, and one of those wooden foot-warming boxes—what were they called?”  

Su Ling nodded. “Got it. How deep and long do you want them? How many?”  

“Two, each big enough to fit two adult feet.”  

Su Ling confirmed, went to the warehouse to place the order, and brought everything out.  

Liu Tong continued, “Boss, do you have dried noodles? Sesame oil? Soap? Canned fruit? Biscuits? Sugar? Canteens? Pencil cases? Pens? Notebooks?”  

Su Ling nodded. “We have all of that. Do you want everything?”  

Seems like only people from this era truly know what’s missing in a general store. This must be what they really need.

“I’ll take it all!” Liu Tong racked his brain for anything else. “Snacks too, and lunchboxes… oh, and bicycles!”  

“Then bring more new customers next time,” Su Ling urged.  

Soap counted as a daily necessity, so unlocking it required meeting certain conditions.  

Realizing that new customers might be important to Su Ling, Liu Tong quickly lined up his colleagues—each had to buy something.  

By the time Su Ling finished gathering and packing everything, Liu Tong stuffed it all into a cart. Seeing some space left, he added a few extra eggs to gift to elderly relatives.  

“Boss, thank you so much—especially for taking our snow,” Liu Tong said sincerely.  

Su Ling, dizzy from the rush, finally remembered the main issue. “By the way, where near you would be a good spot to set up a snow-collecting machine?”  

Liu Tong looked surprised. “I thought we had to deliver it here.”  

Su Ling shook her head. “No, that’s too far, and it might cause conflicts with local villagers. That wouldn’t be good.”  

“Then right outside our station would work.” Liu Tong provided the address, then asked, “You buy cooked food too, right?”  

Su Ling nodded. “The food collector has to be indoors. Also, the food must be hot, delicious, and fresh—if it’s subpar, the machine will reject it.”  

“We’ll take one then. Put it here.” Liu Tong pointed to a spot on the map: the canteen.

Su Ling agreed. “Settlement goes to the cook directly unless you provide written authorization for someone else to collect payment.”  

“No problem. Thanks, boss!”  

With that, the group departed, pushing carts piled high with goods.