Mother Lu was not a vague person and immediately took Meng Suihuan out. The two of them walked for about twenty minutes. Just when Meng Suihuan thought she couldn’t walk any further, Mother Lu stopped, pointed in a direction, and said, “Xiao Huan, we’re almost there, it’s right ahead.”

Meng Suihuan immediately looked in the direction she pointed. The terrain here was wide, surrounded by crops, and she could easily see the surrounding area. Not far away, there appeared to be an abandoned factory, with roads connected around it. It was large enough to meet her needs, though she wasn’t sure about the other details.

“This is an abandoned flour mill from a few years ago. Both the roads and the water and electricity are connected… The only problem is it’s been idle for too long, so there might be a lot of dust inside,” Mother Lu explained, her excitement barely hidden in her voice.

Meng Suihuan nodded. “Let’s check it out and see.”

The two walked toward the factory, and there was a figure standing there. Upon seeing him, Mother Lu greeted him warmly. “Zhitiao!”

“You’ve been waiting long?” the man said as he walked over, smiling warmly.

Mother Lu noticed the man’s eyes briefly scanning her daughter-in-law and quickly pulled Meng Suihuan closer. “Zhitiao, this is my daughter-in-law, Meng Suihuan. You can call her Xiao Huan. The issue this afternoon was about her.”

The man’s face showed a brief moment of shock, but it was quickly replaced with an understanding look. “So it’s Meng girl. You’ve become quite well-known around the village lately. Thanks to you, life in our village has improved a lot.” With new ways to earn money, the pressure on this side was significantly reduced, and it was all thanks to the person in front of him.

Hearing this, Meng Suihuan didn’t shy away or act awkward. She responded confidently, “I just took the lead. The reason everyone is able to make money is that they are willing to work hard.”

After exchanging a few pleasantries, they got down to business. He Zhitiao led them into the factory. Meng Suihuan carefully examined the structure, layout, facilities, and stability. Aside from a few minor issues, everything met her requirements. The best part was that this place could be moved into with minimal adjustments, saving her a lot of work.

She turned to He Zhitiao and said firmly, “Captain, I want to rent this factory. As long as the price is right, I’m ready to sign anytime.”

Rent… a factory? He Zhitiao had never thought about this before. He was simply happy that if she liked the place, she could use it. After all, it had been empty for a while and was just going to waste. However, since Meng Suihuan insisted on paying, he knew such matters had to be handled carefully. He didn’t want any conflicts later if things went wrong.

But He Zhitiao couldn’t make the decision on his own; he would need to discuss it with other village leaders. The decision wouldn’t come until the next day or the day after. Meng Suihuan wasn’t in a hurry. “When you get an answer, just let me know.”

“No problem,” He Zhitiao assured her.

Soon enough, the matter was settled, and they reached an agreement. Meng Suihuan paid the rent for the entire year upfront. Now, this prime piece of land was temporarily hers.

Meanwhile, Meng Changsheng had returned home, driving his cart. As soon as he parked, he saw his wife walking out, looking worried and anxious. The concern was written all over her face.

“Changsheng, what did Meng girl say about that matter? Did it affect your work?” She was filled with regret. She knew full well the character of that family—how had she let slip the information so easily? She had spoken carelessly.

“I told Xiao Huan about it. She didn’t blame us at all, and she even…”

Meng Changsheng leaned close to his wife’s ear and quietly finished what he had left unsaid.

“Ah!” The woman instinctively screamed, but Meng Changsheng was quick, covering her mouth with his hand. “Don’t get too excited.”

“Let’s go inside and talk slowly.” Once they were inside, the woman immediately clung to Meng Changsheng, urging him to explain in detail everything that had happened today.

“Did Xiao Huan really say that?” The woman lowered her voice, but her tone was full of joy. The leader of the transportation team! If this really worked out, their son’s marriage funds would be secured, and maybe in a few years, they could even build a house. As the excitement settled, the woman looked at Meng Changsheng and gave him a serious reminder.

“It’s a good thing that Meng girl trusts you, but you also need to be cautious. My suggestion is that we keep this a secret for now, to avoid any relatives coming to us.”

“We still need to find reliable people; we can’t let Xiao Huan’s trust go to waste.” Meng Changsheng’s heart warmed, and he looked at his wife with more satisfaction, his lips curling into a smile.

“I know all of this, don’t worry,” he reassured her. The days ahead were truly looking brighter.

—

After finalizing the location, Meng Suihuan planned to head to the county town to look for sales channels. She took a few hours’ drive to get there. The county town was much more bustling than the small town, with street vendors selling snacks and treats, occupying half of the street. Besides these, there were many stores selling clothes, cosmetics, and even phones.

Oh, according to the current terminology, they should be called “big brother phones.” These phones were roughly the size of half a brick, with very few functions—they could only make and receive calls, and the signal was not very stable. But that didn’t stop them from becoming a global sensation. In this era, if someone was holding a “big brother phone,” they were definitely rich, because one of those phones cost ten to twenty thousand yuan!

Looking at that price, Meng Suihuan felt deeply hopeless. After all this time earning money, she couldn’t even afford a phone… Back then, whenever a new phone came out, she could buy a few of them. Who could have imagined that, in the golden 90s, she would be broke and could only look at the phones longingly through the window?

Sigh. When would these hard, impoverished days end?

Since she wasn’t familiar with the county town, the two of them decided to do a field investigation, just like when they first went to the town, to get a feel for the area. Meng Suihuan followed her usual method and tried to negotiate business deals like she did in the small town, but the people in the county town were far more savvy. It wasn’t that easy to make a deal.

In the end, she only managed to strike deals with two or three small restaurants. After a few setbacks, Meng Suihuan felt for the first time that doing business was much harder than she had thought.

She walked around some more, but the number of deals she managed to close was very small. After all, these shops had long-term partners and weren’t easily willing to trust her. Just as she was pondering how to break this stalemate, a woman’s voice came from behind her.

“Can I talk to you?”

“…About business.”