“Shengnan, have you gone crazy? Even if you can’t stand the sight of that bastard Chen Weihua, you can’t joke around with your job!”
Zhou Jihong was so anxious he paced in circles. Ever since his sister had run into Chen Weihua, he felt she hadn’t been herself.
“Big Brother, this isn’t about Chen Weihua. It’s about Mom!”
As Zhou Shengnan searched through the original host’s memories, she couldn’t help sighing.
The original host had lent Chen Weihua money not only because she wanted to marry him, but also because she hoped to earn enough to pay for her mother’s treatment.
Ever since giving birth to the original host, her mother, Song Qiaozhen, had been frail. Later, she developed heart disease.
Although the family had done everything they could to keep her going over the years, her condition had continued to worsen little by little.
The original host had once overheard her father and brother talking. If her mother didn’t have surgery soon, the doctor had said she wouldn’t live more than two years.
The family had only a few hundred yuan in savings. Even if they got every cent back, it still wouldn’t be enough to solve the immediate problem.
The surgery alone would cost at least twenty thousand yuan. With postoperative recovery and all the rehabilitation expenses, they’d need to prepare at least thirty thousand.
Every one of the Zhou family’s relatives had their own difficulties. Even if they sold the house, they still couldn’t raise enough for the operation.
From the original host’s memories, Zhou Shengnan knew it was 1988. By then, private buying and selling was already permitted.
In her previous life, she’d heard people boast that going abroad as a shuttle trader in this era could be quite profitable.
The Soviet Union’s light industry was underdeveloped, and supply couldn’t meet demand. That created a market for shuttle traders from China.
They bought food, clothes, and daily necessities at home and sold them in the Soviet Union, making money on the difference.
Back then, even if you took a pig over there, you could make some money.
Of course, risk and profit went hand in hand. It was hardly unusual for people to be murdered or robbed over there.
“You mean you want to go to Russia and become a shuttle trader?
“No. Absolutely not. You’re a young woman! What if something happens to you over there? How are Dad and Mom and I supposed to go on living?”
Listening to his sister, Zhou Jihong envied the money those shuttle traders could make. But the thought of the dangers put him right back on edge.
Zhou Shengnan rolled her eyes, set down the television and tape recorder, then grabbed Zhou Jihong by the waistband and lifted him effortlessly over her head.
The original host’s brother took after their mother: fair-skinned and delicate-looking. He was the same height as Zhou Shengnan, both of them standing at 175 centimeters.
He was gentle by nature and an excellent cook, but because he was so mild-mannered, people bullied him whenever he went out to work. That was why he could only get odd jobs.
Now that Zhou Shengnan had hoisted him into the air, his face flushed at once. He flailed his arms and legs, trying to get down.
“Zhou Shengnan, put me down right now, or I’ll tell Mom you’re picking on me!”
The original host had been strong since childhood, lively and always breaking things. Her strength also made people wary of her.
So her mother, Song Qiaozhen, had told her to keep it under control as much as possible. For years, she’d carefully hidden her strength because she didn’t want anyone to think she was a monster.
Over time, even Zhou Jihong had forgotten that his little sister was a super-strong Barbie.
Zhou Shengnan, on the other hand, couldn’t understand why the original host had hidden such a wonderful talent instead of showing it off.
If she’d ever let it out, beating Chen Weihua would have been as easy as beating a dog. Things wouldn’t have ended up this miserable.
Zhou Shengnan lowered Zhou Jihong to the ground and looked at him seriously.
“Big Brother, with Mom in this condition, if I don’t become a shuttle trader, sooner or later I’ll have to become a robber. I can’t just stand by and watch her die.
“Better for me to go take my chances in Russia than to swindle… to prey on our own people!
“Besides, I beat Chen Weihua up, and his father-in-law is the director of the city food factory. I’ve offended them. Shouldn’t I lie low for a while?”
Zhou Shengnan had pulled so many stunts that she’d left those people completely confused.
Once they figured out what had happened, they might come looking for her. So getting out of there as soon as possible was the best plan.
Zhou Jihong looked at his sister helplessly. He had a feeling that her last point was her real reason.
Still… going abroad to do business was risky, and Zhou Jihong wasn’t entirely in favor of it.
“Big Brother, after what happened, I’ve realized how immature I used to be.
“Our family’s struggling, and you and Dad have both been working so hard to earn money for Mom’s treatment, but all I cared about was romance.
“As a member of this family, I really want to do something for Mom. Please talk it over with Dad and let me go.”
Zhou Shengnan had a thousand yuan in her pocket. The television and tape recorder could probably fetch seven hundred, and she could get three thousand for her job at the very least.
She could pool the money, buy food and clothes wholesale, and resell them. Little by little, she’d make more than she ever could on a fixed wage.
Besides, a few years from now, the factories in the Northeast wouldn’t be making as much money, and then the wave of layoffs would hit…
If she didn’t make money while the shuttle-trading boom was on, she’d miss her chance completely.
Listening to Zhou Shengnan’s reasoning, Zhou Jihong really did feel as if his sister had grown up overnight.
She was smart enough to have gotten into high school, but the family couldn’t afford it, so she’d deliberately failed her exams.
Along with his relief, Zhou Jihong felt guilty. He was no use to anyone; otherwise, his sister wouldn’t be thinking of becoming a shuttle trader.
“All right. I’ll go talk to Dad!”
Zhou Jihong gritted his teeth and went to tell Zhou Ren’an what Zhou Shengnan had in mind. Meanwhile, she carried the things over to the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative.
A brand-new television and tape recorder, no ration coupons needed, and dozens of yuan cheaper than the original price—everyone was interested.
Zhou Shengnan put on quite a performance, too, weeping as she said her mother was gravely ill and urgently needed money for treatment, so she had no choice but to sell off her dowry.
Seven hundred yuan for the two big-ticket items was a real bargain.
Before long, someone came to inspect them, and half an hour later, both items were sold.
After that, Zhou Shengnan headed to the factory.
“Zhou Shengnan, I’ve been looking for you all day. Where have you been?
“Normally, you can’t keep your mind on your work, but today you actually skipped work. Do you even want to keep your job?”
As soon as Zhou Shengnan entered the factory, she came face-to-face with the workshop supervisor.
He frowned at her, looking disappointed. That girl was so dazzled by some pretty boy that she’d lost her bearings and let him scam her out of all her money.
And now she wasn’t even doing her job properly. What would become of her family?
Zhou Shengnan searched the original host’s memories and knew the supervisor wasn’t a bad man. He just didn’t mince words, which frightened a lot of the young women.
Before he could continue scolding her, Zhou Shengnan spoke up.
“Supervisor, I heard your daughter’s looking for a job. Would you be interested in buying mine for her?”
The words caught in the supervisor’s throat. He hadn’t expected Zhou Shengnan to want to sell her job.
But thinking about it, he could understand. She’d been swindled out of her money, and her mother urgently needed treatment. Selling her job seemed like the only way she could raise the money.
“You won’t regret it? If you sell this job, I won’t be able to give it back to you.”
“I won’t regret it. I’d sell anything if it could save Mom.”
Zhou Shengnan had never actually met Song Qiaozhen, but when she thought of the gentle, kind woman in the original host’s memories, she couldn’t just stand by.
From now on, Song Qiaozhen was her mother, too.
Zhou Shengnan’s position was an ordinary Textile Factory worker, usually worth only three thousand yuan. But seeing how devoted she was to her mother, the workshop supervisor immediately offered her thirty-two hundred.
At the sight of the extra money, Zhou Shengnan’s eyes flickered. She bowed to the supervisor.
“Go on, hurry and pay your mother’s medical bills!”
The workshop supervisor was just about to leave when Zhou Shengnan called him back.
He thought she was going to change her mind, but instead she said something even more surprising.
“Supervisor, how much do our factory’s padded cotton jackets cost? I’d like to buy a batch!”