"Big sister is so pretty, like someone on TV."
The little girl looked up at the stall on the street, and when she saw the smile on An Ning's face, her bright eyes locked onto her immediately.
Even after hearing An Ning say thank you, she didn't look away. When An Ning picked up a butterfly spring clip from the stall and showed it to her, she let out a "wow": "So pretty, the butterfly wings are covered in gems. Mommy, I want to buy this!"
A five or six-year-old girl was exactly at the age of being obsessed with shiny things—sequins, rhinestones, and fake gems were all the loves of their hearts.
Especially since the butterfly An Ning was holding wasn't just sparkling—its wings could flutter, unlike the other hair clips.
The mother holding her daughter's hand had already noticed the hair clips on the stall.
Hearing her daughter say she wanted one, she asked, "How much are these hair clips?"
"Three yuan for one, five yuan for a pair."
Upon hearing the price, the mother didn't say whether she'd buy it or not. She just looked at her daughter: "If you spend five yuan on colorful little clips, you can get a whole big pack. Think carefully—do you want a big pack of colorful clips, or do you want this one?"
"I want this one!"
"Then what are you going to trade for it?"
"I'll obediently eat my vegetables, not just meat, brush my teeth by myself before bed, and draw your foot-washing water for you, Mommy."
It was clear the little girl really wanted the hair clip. Counting on her fingers, she didn't just promise one thing—she promised everything she could think of that would make her mother happy.
An Ning couldn't help but smile watching from the side, and the little girl's mother was barely holding back her laughter too. She gave An Ning five yuan and let her daughter pick out a pair of clips from the stall.
"I want big sister to put them on for me."
After choosing, the little girl handed them to An Ning, looking up at her with eager eyes.
"Did I give birth to a little boy or what? She can't take her eyes off a pretty big sister."
The little girl's mother teased from the side.
"Little boys are stinky, so I can't like pretty big sisters."
The little girl stuck out her tongue and stretched her neck out so An Ning could put the clips in her hair. The little girl had two buns just like An Ning, except hers were much smaller, with two thin braids hanging down.
An Ning clipped one on each side of her head.
"Pretty big sister likes pretty little sisters too."
Pinching the little girl's cheek, An Ning admired her work. "So cute."
The little girl shyly ran back to her mother: "Mommy, I want to buy another pair. If you buy them for me, I'll draw your foot-washing water tomorrow too."
"Oh, so you were only planning to do it for one day."
With the little girl's enthusiastic support, An Ning didn't even need to call out—her stall attracted plenty of attention on its own.
The Saturday night market had a large flow of people, and the area around it was mostly local residents. With more residents, more families brought their kids out for evening strolls and shopping.
An Ning even ran into a few customers who had bought breakfast from Grandma Xu's stall that morning.
"A young lady dressed up like this is just beautiful!"
"She helps her grandma sell breakfast in the morning, and now she's running a stall here—such a hardworking girl."
An Ning greeted everyone who talked to her with a smile. If they complimented her, she'd compliment them back—if they had kids with them, she'd praise the kids; if not, she'd praise their hair or their clothes.
Either way, she never let a conversation end on an empty note.
An auntie was so delighted by An Ning's compliments that she felt the young girl really knew how to handle people. "It's a pity I don't have a daughter, so I can't support your business. Xiao Ning, next time you stock some hair clips for women our age, I'll definitely come and buy from you."
"Sure thing! I'll pick out some hair accessories suitable for you, Auntie. You'll have to come browse when I do."
Zhao Wen had been hiding in a corner secretly watching An Ning. Seeing more and more people crowding around her stall, she worried An Ning couldn't handle the sales alone and decided to come over and help.
The moment she arrived, she overheard An Ning dealing with customers with seasoned ease.
Back when An Ning used to skip class and act out, Zhao Wen had suspected the An family might have problems at home, but An Ning's temperament was simply too stubborn.
When she brought An Ning back to the Xu household, she'd made a point of telling her husband and Grandma Xu that An Ning was young, her parents were irresponsible, and that they should be lenient with the child if she was difficult.
But now she truly felt that An Ning's parents were worthless—they'd pushed a perfectly good young girl into becoming what she'd been before.
Thankfully, An Ning had managed to pull herself back up on her own.
On weekend night markets, the busiest hours were from eight to eleven.
An Ning's goods hit their sales peak at eight o'clock. She even took off the pair of clips from her own hair and sold them to a little boy who said he wanted to bring them to kindergarten on Monday to give to the girls he liked—one clip for each.
Hearing that his son had a crush on a girl in kindergarten—and that there were two of them—the boy's father happily paid up.
Zhao Wen had never sold anything before; she usually dealt with students. At the stall, she was far less at ease than An Ning, working up a sweat. When they got back to the Xu house, she immediately sat down and fanned herself.
"It's not even nine yet."
Checking the time, Zhao Wen couldn't help but marvel at how fast money could be made at a stall.
But thinking about the money, her delight turned to worry. She looked at An Ning, afraid that the earnings might go to the girl's head and make her say she wanted to quit school and sell at the market full-time.
An Ning hadn't expected business to be this good either. Unfortunately, she had evening self-study tomorrow and couldn't continue selling.
But since she couldn't sell at night, she remembered there was a park nearby—maybe she could move some inventory during the day.
Feeling Zhao Wen's gaze on her, An Ning pulled eighty yuan from her pocket. "Forty yuan is for the stall fee you covered for me, and the other forty is spending money for you, Teacher."
Zhao Wen swatted An Ning's hand away. "You little rascal, teasing your teacher like that. I don't need your few dozen yuan. You're smart enough to know what I'm worried about."
An Ning still pressed the money into Zhao Wen's hands.
"Even brothers settle accounts clearly—and so do teachers and students."
She paused, then continued, "Teacher, don't worry. I know what matters more to me. Making money gives me a sense of security, but going to school doesn't just give me security—it gives me a sense of order, like a ship having the right anchor point. If I'd planned to focus on making money, I wouldn't have chosen to go back to school in the first place."
An Ning was someone with rather old-fashioned values.
In her view, one should do what's appropriate for their age. So even though she'd already graduated from university in her previous life, when she transmigrated into this body and became sixteen again, her first thought wasn't to use her past life's knowledge to make money immediately—it was to go back to school.
Reliving her student days didn't bother her; it only gave her the steady reassurance of being on the right track.
Hearing An Ning say that, what more did Zhao Wen have to worry about? She tucked away the eighty yuan. "Boss An, don't dawdle. Go back to your room and count your money."
An Ning did indeed want to count the money. Hearing Teacher Zhao say that, she smiled and carried the money pouch back to her room.
When she bought the hair clips, the vendor had said the craftsmanship was good and that she could sell them for eight or ten yuan. But after considering the prices of accessories at the night market, she settled on three yuan for a single clip and five yuan for a pair.
Today, quite a few customers at the stall tried to haggle. She told them these were cost prices, and seeing how young she was, they didn't push too hard when she refused to lower the price. Most paid the full amount, with only a few walking away because she wouldn't budge.
The wholesale price was two yuan per clip, and she had two hundred pairs in total. After deducting the cost of the clips, the bags, and the eighty yuan she owed Teacher Zhao, An Ning had earned five hundred and ten yuan today.
Compared to translating, it wasn't much, but it was a good start.
After putting the money away, An Ning took a shower, ate the white fungus and red date late-night snack Grandma Xu had prepared for her, and finished the homework she hadn't completed during the day before going to sleep.
The next day, she got up at the same time as yesterday and went downstairs to find Teacher Zhao already awake.
But unlike her and Grandma Xu, who were full of energy, Zhao Wen yawned every few minutes, clearly not having gotten enough sleep.
"Since I'm here to help today, you should go back and sleep."
"Exactly, your Teacher Zhao is right. You're young and still growing—why get up so early every day?"
Grandma Xu chimed in beside her, but she wasn't just shooing An Ning away—she also shooed Zhao Wen. "You go rest too. I usually manage on my own, and I've never been too busy to handle it."
"Well…"
An Ning looked at Zhao Wen, then at Grandma Xu. "Then let Grandma Xu take a day off, and Teacher and I will be responsible for selling all the breakfast."
"Hm?"
Zhao Wen had originally wanted An Ning to rest a bit more, but hearing her say that, it seemed fine too.
So in the end, it was Zhao Wen and An Ning who went out to the stall.
All the food was prepared in advance by Grandma Xu. An Ning had learned to fry youtiao yesterday, so she dropped the pre-stretched dough strips into the oil. When the dough ran out, Grandma Xu took over and shooed both An Ning and Zhao Wen away.
Seeing that the stall wasn't busy, An Ning didn't insist on staying. She washed her face, said goodbye to Teacher Zhao, and headed to the wholesale market again.
She still planned to sell butterfly hair clips, so this time she grabbed the goods quickly.
She was back at the Xu household before noon. After lunch, she rested until a little past one. This time, without needing Teacher Zhao to accompany her, she took her simple portable stall to the nearby park.
It was only when she mentioned it to Grandma Xu that she learned the park was so lively because the Children's Palace was located inside it.
That worked out perfectly for her. Once she arrived at the park, she set up her stall right at the entrance of the Children's Palace. When the foot traffic thinned out, she moved to the busier areas of the park, and when it got close to five o'clock, she moved back to the entrance of the Children's Palace.
Students who could afford extracurricular classes never lacked pocket money, and kids loved to follow the crowd. This time, An Ning had brought three hundred pairs of clips, and when she packed up, she counted two hundred and twenty pairs sold.
Three of them were defective, so she set them aside to exchange or return on her next restocking trip.
As for the rest, she left some at Grandma Xu's shop, giving Grandma Xu one yuan for each one sold, while keeping ten pairs on herself.
These past two days, her main customers had been young girls, but girls her own age had also bought some—you never know.
After arranging her goods, at six o'clock An Ning sat on the back seat of Teacher Zhao's bicycle. "Teacher, are you tired? Want me to pedal instead?"
Zhao Wen woke up early in the morning. As soon as An Ning left, she went back to bed for a nap. After lunch, she took another afternoon nap. What could she possibly be tired from? She was more worried about An Ning being exhausted and lacking energy for evening study.
But looking at An Ning—her back straight, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, her palm-sized face full of vitality like a flower blooming in summer, and her eyes sparkling with a bright, luminous light—
Zhao Wen: "…"
She had thought her own health was pretty good, but seeing An Ning, she suddenly felt like an old woman with creaky limbs.
Old arms and legs or not, she still steadied the bicycle handlebars: "If you want to ride and carry me, you'll have to wait until you've gained some weight."
"Grandma Xu cooks so well—I'll get chubby in no time."
"Then from now on, come home with me more on weekends and eat more of Grandma Xu's cooking."
"Okay."
An Ning replied sweetly and obediently sat behind Zhao Wen.
When the bicycle entered the school, An Ning attracted a lot of attention.
Not just because she was with a teacher, but also because of her hairstyle.
No. 1 High School wasn't strict about students' appearance—no weird clothes, no long nails or nail polish, no dyed hair, and no wearing hair loose.
Other than that, whether you tied your hair in one ponytail or two was all within school rules.
It's just that high school girls weren't like when they were younger. Even if they still loved to look pretty, they tended to follow the crowd, afraid that a different style would invite gossip.
An Ning didn't care. If people looked at her, she let them look openly. When she reached the classroom, Shi Jiayan kept going "wow," and An Ning took out a pair of clips to give her.
"Ningning, you're so nice! I want to tie my hair the same way as yours."
After saying that, Shi Jiayan turned her head toward her.
An Ning looked at the thick-haired head in front of her. Even without seeing Shi Jiayan's face, she could imagine her expectant little eyes.
"…I don't know how."
She'd had to trouble Grandma Xu again at noon for this hairstyle.
"I know how."
Quite a few girls in the class were looking at An Ning. When they heard her conversation with Shi Jiayan, Lu Jingya chimed in. After speaking, she looked up at the rest of the class: "Does anyone have a comb?"
After borrowing a comb, Lu Jingya got to work. In just a few strokes, she had styled Shi Jiayan's hair into the same bun as An Ning's, then clipped the butterfly on.
Shi Jiayan had a round face, and her baby fat paired with the playful hairstyle made her look both obedient and sweet.
"Pretty! This butterfly clip is so beautiful—it sparkles."
"An Ning, where did you buy these? I didn't see them at the little shop by the school gate."
An Ning took out the remaining clips from her backpack: "I bought them in bulk to sell at a street stall. Five yuan a pair—do you want some?"
Everyone: Wow.
The remaining nine pairs of butterfly clips were sold out before evening study.
The double-bun style didn't suit everyone, so most girls just tied a single bun and clipped the butterfly around the hair tie.
The math teacher, who planned to use evening study time to go over problems, walked into the classroom. Catching a glimmer in his peripheral vision, he looked down at the class and let out a "Whoa": "Are we holding a school talent show? All the girls in the class look so pretty today."
The class burst into laughter.
The only one in the crowd who couldn't laugh was Shu Xiaoshan.
"She probably bought those for a few cents each. You're all so happy letting her make money off you."
"If it's just a few cents, then sell them to us yourself. If you've got the guts, come make money off us too."
The moment Shu Xiaoshan finished speaking, the girl beside her shot her a glance.
Shi Jiayan rolled her eyes and chimed in, "All you ever do is spout sour remarks, and then you go tattle to Teacher Zhao that we're excluding you. Why don't you actually do something to make us like you for a change?"