Chapter 14: Netting 18 Yuan

Ning Ning raised her eyebrows, took two strands of Lin Xiao’s hair, and styled it into a simple princess look, then clipped four hairpins onto it. Lin Xiao’s natural cuteness suited the hairstyle perfectly. Any girl passing by wouldn’t be able to resist stopping to look.

“Well? Pretty?”

“P-pretty… is this really me?”

Lin Xiao nearly wanted to crawl into the mirror and kiss herself. Heavens, how could she look this good!

“Don’t stutter. Speak properly. If you carry yourself with confidence, you’ll look even better.”

Ning Ning tapped her on the forehead in admonishment. Then she tied her own hair into a neat, high ponytail, pinning two clips on the sides. Together, one looked sharp and spirited, the other fresh and adorable—their turn-head rate on this street was nearly one hundred percent.

Within minutes, a few young women were drawn in, staring at them with eager eyes.

“How did you do your hair? It looks so nice. And these hairpins—I’ve never seen them before. How much are they?”

Ning Ning signaled Lin Xiao with her eyes. Lin Xiao took a deep breath and tried to speak in a normal tone.

“Ning Ning… did my hair. The hairpins are fifty cents each, eighty cents for two. Sisters, would you like to buy some?”

“So expensive! The supply-and-marketing co-op sells hairpins for twenty cents each, and they’re even cheaper outside.”

The women complained, but their hands lingered, still sorting through the pile of clips, reluctant to leave. Lin Xiao’s face turned red under the scrutiny. She looked helplessly at Ning Ning, who only gave her an encouraging look without speaking.

“O-ours… ours are different. Ours look better!”

But that was all she managed to say. The women hesitated, then began to walk away. Only then did Ning Ning step in, and with just a few words, she turned the situation around and closed the sale—two yuan in one go.

Lin Xiao’s admiration for her surged like a never-ending river.

Ning Ning gave her practice opportunities but also never missed a chance to make money herself. When Lin Xiao couldn’t handle a customer, she stepped in. In just two short hours that morning, they sold forty-three hairpins, earning eighteen yuan—a profit of more than thirteen yuan.

For the rest, Ning Ning didn’t bother waiting around. She went straight into the department store and sold the last fourteen to the salesgirls at a discount, earning another five yuan. That brought the total to twenty-three yuan. After setting aside ten to return to her parents, they still had thirteen left.

“Ning Ning, aren’t there three clips left? Why did you tell that lady we were sold out?”

Lin Xiao, folding up the cloth, suddenly found three small clips tucked inside.

“These are for us—one for me, one for my mother, and one for you. We can’t sell every last one and then just sigh over how pretty they looked.”

Ning Ning teased her. Lin Xiao lowered her head in embarrassment. She really liked the hairpins, but they were supposed to be for sale. How could she keep one for herself? She had already caused Ning Ning enough trouble.

“I don’t want it. Sell mine. Two left are enough for you and Aunt Ning.”

She said sensibly.

“We’re family. If I have one, my mom and you must have one too. Besides, you know what these cost us, and how much we’ve sold them for. Keep it. If we want more, we’ll just restock.”

Without giving her a choice, Ning Ning clipped the pin into her hair. If not for worrying about Lin Xiao’s feelings, she wouldn’t have saved one for herself at all—she had no interest in such things.

“Thank you, Ning Ning.”

Ding.

Mission One progress +1. Total progress: 53.

So much effort, and Lin Xiao’s progress had only risen by one. Clearly, after passing fifty percent, progress would be harder to gain. It was time to move on to Missions Two and Three. Ning Ning frowned slightly, then quickly laid out a new plan.

“Hey, Ning Ning, isn’t that Momo?”

Suddenly, Lin Xiao tugged her sleeve, pointing in a direction. Speak of the devil—Ning Ning followed her gaze and saw a thin, sickly-looking Chen Momo.

“Come on, let’s go say hello.”

She pulled Lin Xiao along.

Chen Momo was the false “younger sister” of Chen Xinxin, the wealthy beauty. When they were children, the two families had lived out a swapped-at-birth drama.

Chen Momo’s biological mother and Chen Xinxin’s biological mother had given birth in the same hospital. The babies were switched by mistake, and the truth was only discovered eight years later when Chen Xinxin was found to look exactly like her real mother had as a child. The Chen family investigated and uncovered everything.

But less than a year after the swap was corrected, Chen Momo’s biological parents died. The Chen family, unable to part with the child they had raised for eight years, and well-off enough to afford another daughter, decided to keep her and raise both girls together.

Unfortunately, Chen Xinxin resented Chen Momo for “taking her place.” Using her status as the biological daughter, she constantly bullied her and often made her do her dirty work. In the novel, she even coerced Chen Momo into drugging the male lead so that Chen Xinxin could take advantage of him.

But in the end, Ning Ning accidentally became the one involved, ended up pregnant, and married Xing Yuan instead.

Chen Xinxin, furious at Chen Momo’s failure, pushed her until she committed suicide. From beginning to end, Chen Momo was a tragic figure.

Luckily, the story was still just beginning—there was time to change things.

“Momo!”

Ning Ning called out. But when Chen Momo heard, she didn’t stop or turn around. Instead, she walked faster.

“Momo?”

By the end, she was running. Ning Ning, stubborn as always, immediately quickened her pace, caught up, and grabbed her hand.

“Momo, why are you running?”

At this point, Chen Xinxin hadn’t yet set her against Ning Ning, so their relationship was still decent. Saying hello should’ve been natural.

“It’s nothing.”

Chen Momo’s face was pale, her forehead covered in sweat. She hid her hand behind her back, uneasy. Ning Ning’s gaze fell on it and saw the corner of a white bun—squeezed flat in her palm.

“You—”

“I didn’t mean to steal it. Please, don’t tell anyone. I beg you.”

Chen Momo’s eyes filled with tears as she pleaded. Ning Ning tightened her grip on her wrist and said calmly:

“You just forgot to pay. Don’t call it stealing.”

“Where did you get the bun? I’ll go with you to pay for it.”

Chen Momo’s lips parted, her gaze at Ning Ning full of shock, shame, and gratitude—all mixed together. After a long silence, she finally led Ning Ning back to the bun stall.

The vendor recognized her immediately. When he saw her return, he snarled angrily:

“You! You stole one of my buns, didn’t you? I knew one was missing! And you’ve got the nerve to come back? Pay up!”