In the dormitory compound in town.
Shu Ning stood at her aunt’s door and knocked.
There was no response from inside.
“I calculated it—my aunt has a rest day today.”
Her aunt worked at the department store and was a distant cousin of her mother. Ever since learning Shu Ning had been sent to the Hongqi Commune, she had taken great care of her.
During her time in the countryside, Shu Ning would come here whenever she had time.
Her aunt was also very generous—whenever she bought things and thought Shu Ning might need them, she would always prepare an extra share for her.
“How about we wait a bit?”
Since they were already here, Gu Zhao wasn’t in a hurry.
Sensing her concern, he added, “There’s water in the bucket. The loaches won’t die.”
The bucket had been covered with a damp cloth the whole time. Shu Ning suddenly realized she hadn’t actually seen the loaches he caught.
She walked closer, lifted the cloth, and leaned in. “Let me take a look.”
At one glance, she sucked in a sharp breath.
There were so many loaches inside!
More than half a bucket!
With that many loaches swimming in water, Gu Zhao had still been walking so fast.
She had thought there were only one or two jin.
She really thought it was just that little.
But from this glance—there had to be at least six or seven jin!
Seeing Shu Ning frown slightly, Gu Zhao asked, “Not enough?”
“There were already three or four jin at home. You said it wasn’t enough, so I went to catch a few more last night.”
“If it’s still not enough, I can go catch more tonight.”
Shu Ning turned around, her beautiful eyes wide. “I was being shallow.”
“When you said there were some at home, I thought it was just a little. Who would’ve thought there’d be this much?”
“It’s more than enough! It’s just… with this much, my aunt definitely won’t take it all.”
“…” Gu Zhao was speechless.
Who complains about having too many loaches?
If Gu Kai and Gu Yao weren’t picky eaters, he would’ve already thrown all of these into a pot.
“My aunt isn’t back yet. How about we go sell some first?” Shu Ning looked up at him, her eyes glinting with mischief.
“?” Gu Zhao looked at her in surprise, his expression changing slightly. “It’s not market day today.”
Her sudden suggestion made him instantly alert.
He couldn’t tell why she had such a bold idea.
Was she testing him?
Or did she, like him, want to make money?
If it was a test, that would be trouble.
But if she wanted to make money too… then maybe they could get closer.
“It’s fine. I know where the black market is.” Shu Ning said mysteriously.
“…” Gu Zhao’s expression changed again.
She even knew where the black market was?
Staying cautious, he warned, “If we get caught, it won’t end well.”
And honestly, he didn’t want her going today. Ergouzi had mentioned trying retail tofu sales again—if they ran into each other, things could get complicated.
“What’s there to worry about? When we trade, we can let people exchange grain coupons, cloth tickets, or other goods. Soybeans for tofu works too. Leave two or three jin for my aunt, and we’ll sell the rest. Let’s make it quick!”
“In this world, nothing matters more than tickets!”
Originally, she had planned to give the loaches to her aunt and then ask Gu Zhao to accompany her to scout the black market.
But now that they had goods, she could directly experience selling there herself.
Whether something sells well or not—you’ll know after trying once.
“Old Li, your leaders have gone too far! Such a big batch of fabric has issues, and they’re putting all the blame on you? And now they want you to fix it? How are we supposed to fix this?”
“Look at this fabric—it’s terrible! Even the dyeing is messed up. What are we supposed to do?”
“What can I do? I just didn’t supervise for half a night, and the workers messed everything up. Good fabric turned into waste like this.”
“We can’t sell it, so what now? You were about to get promoted—how did this happen? It’s infuriating! Did you call all the distributors? None of them are willing to compromise?”
“If they were willing, would I be this anxious?”
Just as Shu Ning and Gu Zhao were about to leave with their bucket, they heard frustrated voices coming from the neighboring house.
This dormitory building wasn’t strictly assigned yet—any employee could live here.
Shu Ning’s aunt worked at the department store and lived here.
The couple next door, Chen Dawei and his wife, worked at the textile factory.
Shu Ning perked up, listening carefully.
So she really had run into this situation.
In her previous life, her aunt had mentioned this couple.
Chen Dawei had been about to be promoted to deputy factory director, but at a critical moment, production problems caused a large amount of defective fabric.
His rival used this to hold him accountable, and he lost the promotion.
The dyed fabrics had defects, and distributors refused to accept them.
The cut fabrics were only half a meter to one meter each—not suitable for independent sale.
The factory couldn’t sell them, and even if they tried to absorb the loss themselves, they didn’t have enough funds.
The couple had worried themselves sick overnight.
In the end, not only was he demoted, but he was later suppressed and became one of the first laid-off workers.
In her previous life, Shu Ning had only found this interesting gossip.
But in this life, she didn’t.
Because—
She had her eye on these so-called “waste” fabrics.
“Oh, Shu Ning, you’re here!” Chen Dawei’s wife, He Mei, noticed her and greeted her with a smile. “Looking for your aunt? She was supposed to be off today, but a colleague had something come up, so they switched shifts. Just wait a bit—she should be back soon.”
He Mei looked to be in her forties, plump and friendly. She was always warm when Shu Ning visited.
But today, her smile was forced—full of bitterness.
“Thank you, Aunt He.”
“If you’re tired, why not come sit at my place?” He Mei invited politely.
Normally, Shu Ning wouldn’t intrude when others were clearly troubled.
But today was different.
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony,” Shu Ning said with a smile.
“Let’s go sit at Aunt He’s place,” she turned and said to Gu Zhao.
“…” Weren’t they going to the black market?
Why were they suddenly visiting someone instead?
Gu Zhao was puzzled but said nothing, following her inside.
He had also heard their conversation just now.
Though he had been doing black market business, he knew it wasn’t sustainable.
If he wanted to make real money in the future, he needed to meet more people and explore more industries.
“Oh right, Aunt He, we brought some fresh goods from the countryside. You should try some too! Can I borrow your basin?”
As soon as she entered, Shu Ning moved naturally, taking a basin from the washstand. She lifted the cloth covering the bucket.
Gu Zhao immediately understood, reaching in with both hands and lifting out a hefty portion of loaches.
“Aunt He, it’s just a little—nothing much. Just enough for one meal,” Shu Ning said with a smile, handing over half a basin of lively loaches.
He Mei’s gloomy face finally brightened. “Child, how is this just a little? This is over a jin—enough for several meals!”
Loaches were as expensive as meat—six or seven mao per jin.
Shu Ning was truly generous.
“If you give all this to me, what about your aunt?”
“There’s still plenty for my aunt. Even after that, we still have more—we were planning to sell some later,” Shu Ning replied with a smile.
Only then did He Mei notice Gu Zhao.
The young man was tall and lean, serious and reserved. But from the way he handled the loaches, he was clearly hardworking.
And unlike some people who pretended to give while holding back, he genuinely handed over a large amount without hesitation.
This was someone sincere.
Shu Ning had never brought a young man here before.
But she vaguely remembered hearing that Shu Ning had someone she liked in the commune.
Could it be him?
Her curiosity was piqued.
With a smile, she asked, “Shu Ning, who is this young man? I don’t think I’ve seen him before.”
Shu Ning had been waiting for this question.
She pulled Gu Zhao to her side and introduced him confidently, “Aunt He, I almost forgot. This is Gu Zhao—our Hongqi Commune’s information liaison officer.”
“…” Gu Zhao.