Chapter 15: Starting to Make Money

The man was stunned by her bold, direct gaze.

He quickly grabbed the military cap on the table, straightened his uniform, and turned to leave.

No matter how you looked at it, he seemed like he was fleeing in panic.

“The car isn’t here yet, why are you in such a hurry?”

Lu’s father called after him.

“I’ll wait at the door,” Lu Hanzheng said without looking back, pushing open the door and leaving.

Wen Nian showed a small triumphant smile; she loved teasing men who were pure and restrained like this.

After Jiang Shanshan finished breakfast, Wen Nian quickly cleared the table.

She packed a lunchbox with care for her, then skillfully sent her off to school.

After dropping off the child, Wen Nian planned to visit the supply and marketing cooperative to check out the skincare products of this era.

To see if there were any business opportunities.

The supporting female character’s bag was full of junk, nothing valuable.

Nor any money.

She was currently penniless, her pockets as clean as her face.

But that didn’t stop her from shopping.

It was her first time seeing a supply and marketing cooperative of this era.

The cooperative was packed with people everywhere, crammed to the brim.

Especially the counters selling meat, fabric, grain, oil, pastries, and other food items—people pressed against each other tightly, completely packed.

Other counters were somewhat quiet.

The prices of the 1980s seemed quite cheap to Wen Nian.

If only the red notes in her space could be used here, she could buy at least half of the cooperative’s stock.

What a pity.

The skincare counter was also crowded with heads bobbing.

From a distance, the counters were full of clam oil products.

Only a few good “Friendship Creams” remained.

The best was the iron-boxed “Pechoin” brand, often out of stock, said to come from Shanghai; whenever it arrived, people fought tooth and nail to get it.

“Comrade Wen, Comrade Wen.”

Wen Nian was curiously watching the clips flying around the counter when she heard someone calling her.

He Xiuli squeezed out from the skincare counter and ran over to chat.

“Comrade Wen, are you here to buy skincare products too?”

“No, just looking,” Wen Nian replied.

He Xiuli grabbed her arm and stared enviously at her fair, smooth face.

“You’re already so beautiful, why do you need skincare products?”

Wen Nian wasn’t used to strangers getting close and struggled a bit but couldn’t shake her off, so she just let her hold on.

They were from the same military district compound.

He Xiuli was cheerful, straightforward, and a bit familiar—she got along well enough.

Mainly because He Xiuli’s older sister worked at the supply cooperative too, right at the skincare counter.

Wen Nian’s eyes flickered; she saw an opportunity.

“It’s because I used skincare products that I became this good-looking.”

“Actually, you don’t know, I used to look awful—skin dark, yellow, and rough. Later, my grandmother made a special snowflake cream with a palace secret recipe, and that’s how I became like this.”

“What? Really?”

He Xiuli’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Her skin was like that too; she had tried all sorts of skincare products with no results.

Lately, she’d entered the age of blind dates.

Her mother was constantly arranging meetings, but none were satisfactory.

Most men disliked her looks, but she wouldn’t lower her standards.

All the matches fell through, which worried her mother a lot.

Wen Nian looked sincerely at her.

“Of course it’s true, why would I lie to you?”

“You actually look pretty good, just a bit dull. I still have some leftover from before—you can try it first.”

Wen Nian pulled her to a corner.

Mysteriously, she took out a delicate little bottle and handed it to her.

He Xiuli touched the bottle, reluctant to let go.

“Wow, this bottle is so pretty, smells so nice—does it really work?”

Wen Nian continued to enthusiastically promote it.

“Of course it works! Apply evenly on your face before bed, and you’ll see results in less than three days.”

To prove it, she even brought her small face close so the other person could take a good look.

“This is exactly what I used. See? Isn’t my skin smooth and tender?”

Her fair, delicate cheeks were moist and flawless—not a single tiny pore to be found.

He Xiuli smelled the fragrance on her, looked at the fair and smooth face, feeling both envious and tempted.

If only her own skin were even half as good as Wen Nian’s, she would be satisfied.

“How much does this cost? Is it expensive?”

Although she didn’t understand what a “palace secret recipe” was, just from the name she figured it had to be something used by ancient royalty.

Her job was just finalized; she hadn’t started working yet, so her pocket money was limited.

He Xiuli held the bottle tightly with both hands, reluctant to give it back.

Wen Nian immediately understood.

“Money isn’t the issue between us. You try it first, and if it works, then we’ll talk about the rest.”

He Xiuli’s eyes filled with gratitude.

“That’s so kind of you, Nian Nian, thank you!”

Wen Nian had already done her homework.

He Xiuli’s father was a high-ranking military official, and her mother was deputy director at the supply cooperative.

Her eldest sister worked at the skincare counter, and the second sister at the women’s clothing counter.

She herself was assigned to the pastry counter. Although she was just a temp for now, sooner or later she’d get a permanent position.

It was necessary to establish good relations with her in advance.

Which girl didn’t love to look beautiful? And besides, this family wasn’t short of money.

The lotion Wen Nian produced wasn’t much and was never made in large batches.

At present, she had made a batch and only used it herself or gave it to relatives and friends.

She hadn’t sold any yet.

If she came here, making pastries wasn’t very realistic.

Firstly, she had no capital and couldn’t afford raw materials.

Secondly, given her current special identity, she was living in someone else’s home.

She had neither the space nor the tools.

Setting up a stall would attract too much attention.

If jealous people reported her for illegal profiteering, it would be more trouble than it was worth.

Making skincare products was much simpler.

All she needed was to buy ordinary skincare cream, add her lotion into it, and mix evenly.

What she gave to He Xiuli was actually the most ordinary face cream.

The only difference was that the bottle contained exactly three drops of her lotion, making it highly effective.

As long as He Xiuli used it, even once, the effect would be immediate.

The better the base skin condition, the less obvious the effect; the worse the skin, the more dramatic the improvement.

Someone like Wen Nian, who drank her lotion daily, already had skin at its best.

She didn’t need any skincare products at all.

He Xiuli was different.

For her, the lotion was almost like cosmetic surgery.

Once she tried it, she would definitely keep using it.

After all, who could refuse to become more beautiful?

He Xiuli was very popular in the military compound.

She was naturally outgoing, simple-minded, and sincere.

Her family was also top-tier in the compound.

More importantly, her family was harmonious with many sisters and not much drama.

Wen Nian had spent a lot of time wandering around the compound recently and had learned a lot about their family.

That’s why she chose He Xiuli as her test subject.

If He Xiuli’s early results were good, they could continue cooperating later.

If not, at least she could earn her first bucket of gold from her.

With startup capital, she could think of other ways.

She was sure she could open up sales channels.

Of course, Wen Nian was not greedy.

She didn’t expect to make a fortune from this.

As long as she could gather enough for the bus fare to Shanghai and rent costs there, that would be enough.