The idea of trading for eggs had been Yuan Ni’s.
Before this, everyone had only known that peddling eggs on the black market was speculation and profiteering—against the law.
But bartering, trading goods for goods, happened to sidestep the regulations perfectly.
Yuan Ni’s Mother had assumed that even if someone copied their approach, it would take a few days before word spread. But when she got a clear look at the person surrounded by the villagers, she flew into a rage…
The one encircled by the villagers was none other than the mother of Yuan Ni’s Second Aunt, Zhao Fuhua.
Beside Old Woman Zhao sat a large basket with a thin layer of eggs in it, and she was hawking with smug satisfaction, “Trading eggs! Malt candy for eggs…”
A young man stood beside Old Woman Zhao—Zhao Fuqiang, Zhao Fuhua’s younger brother. At his feet was a small basket piled full of malt candy.
Every household in Zhao Family Village knew how to make malt candy, and whenever market day came around, they would take their candy to trade for other goods.
But bringing malt candy to the village to collect eggs was clearly a direct copy of Yuan Ni’s idea.
No need to guess—Second Aunt Zhao Fuhua must have tipped off her natal family and passed the idea along.
Yuan Ni’s Mother’s face flushed red with anger. She was about to charge forward and argue with them when Yuan Ni grabbed her arm.
“Don’t get angry with them. We’ll do our own trading. Don’t worry—we’ve brought more goods than they have. They can’t outcompete us.”
Yuan Ni had long since seen through the essence of this business. Beyond the bartering itself, the key point lay with the Gongxiaoshe.
Being able to get small goods like needles and thread from the Gongxiaoshe at the cheapest price, then selling the collected eggs back to the Gongxiaoshe—that was the real foundation for making money.
Someone like Old Woman Zhao, flailing about blindly, might make a bit of profit, but it would be nothing more than scraps.
Yuan Ni’s Mother couldn’t see this. If she stormed over in a huff to argue with them, she’d only lower herself.
It was just like setting up a stall at the market—if you could set up a stall, others could too. What right did you have to stop someone from selling the same things as you?
Sure enough, once Yuan Ni set up her own stall and started calling out for egg trades, the villagers swarmed over in a rush.
Yuan Ni had plenty of goods—white sugar, salt, lamp oil, lamp wicks—all the daily necessities a household truly needed.
“Oh my god, I traded too early! I should’ve known to get some lamp wicks instead.”
“Exactly. It’s not even a festival—why did I trade for malt candy? What a trap! Now I’ve got no eggs left at home. What am I supposed to do?”
Soon, people spotted the genuinely useful items they needed, only to realize their eggs at home had already been traded away for malt candy…
Several of these villagers didn’t stand on ceremony. Clutching their malt candy, they marched straight over to Old Woman Zhao to make trouble. “We’re not trading anymore. Give us our eggs back.”
Old Woman Zhao had been gloating moments before, but now her face turned green. “What? Since when can you back out of a trade?”
“Malt candy’s good for nothing but sweetening your mouth. For everyday living, who goes around trading for this stuff all the time? I think you’re just trying to swindle people. Give us our eggs back, right now.”
The villagers didn’t bother reasoning with Old Woman Zhao at all—this was their village turf.
Old Woman Zhao started off stubborn, but in the end she knew she couldn’t outlast the locals. Forced to swallow her pride, she sullenly returned the eggs she’d collected.
The real problem was, not only had she wasted all her effort, but the malt candy the villagers handed back was also short on weight…
Watching Old Woman Zhao’s nose practically twist with fury, Yuan Ni’s Mother finally smiled.
The Xida Brigade had a large crowd, and Yuan Ni quickly forgot about the Zhao family, focusing entirely on bartering. She had no idea when the Zhaos had left.
Today’s haul was substantial—by the mother and daughter’s rough estimate, they’d traded for at least eight or nine hundred eggs.
On the way home, Yuan Ni offered her mother some advice. “When we get back, don’t argue with Second Aunt. Let’s tell Grandmother about this and let her deal with it.
If Second Aunt asks why we were competing with her family for business, just say we didn’t see the Zhao family.”
Yuan Ni’s Mother gave her daughter a curious look. “Since when are you more resourceful than me?”
“Just tell me—is my idea right or not?”
Her mother said nothing, and after returning home, went straight to Grandmother to lodge a complaint.
Yuan Ni was right—if her mother confronted Zhao Fuhua directly, it would be a sister-in-law quarreling with her brother’s wife, and she wouldn’t have the upper hand. But Grandmother disciplining Zhao Fuhua was a mother-in-law correcting her daughter-in-law, which was only natural and proper.
After hearing the story, Grandmother was furious and relayed it to Maternal Grandfather.
That evening, an earthquake shook the Chen household. Maternal Grandfather slammed the table and gave Second Son Chen Xenong a thorough scolding, saying he couldn’t even keep his own wife in line.
“The family just came up with a way to make money, and your woman runs back to her family to tip them off. Why didn’t you go along with her? From now on, don’t call yourself my son—you might as well become a live-in son-in-law for the Zhao family.”
Yuan Ni’s Eldest Aunt wore a knowing expression as she looked at Zhao Fuhua. “So that’s why you ran to your mother’s house in the middle of the night—you were delivering information?”
Chen Xenong stared at Zhao Fuhua in disbelief. “Yesterday you said your mother wasn’t feeling well and you just wanted to check on her—turns out you were undermining Guiying’s business?”
Zhao Fuhua stammered, “I didn’t—it’s just trading goods for eggs, isn’t it? It’s not like it’s some secret technique.”
The moment those words left her mouth, she received a hard slap across the face, her mouth knocked askew.
“Guiying has it hard enough. How could you scheme like this? I’ll beat you to death.” Chen Xenong had a fiery temper, and once he confirmed his wife had done something shameful, he swung his heavy fists at her.
Yuan Ni quickly pulled Pandi aside to get out of the way.
In the end, it was Eldest Uncle Chen Xuegong who stepped in, grabbing his younger brother in a bear hug, which gave Zhao Fuhua the chance to escape.
Zhao Fuhua didn’t even dare enter the house, wailing that she was going back to her mother’s home.
Chen Xenong slammed his fist on the table. “Brother, why did you hold me back?”
“Why? You were hitting too hard. I couldn’t just watch you cause real trouble.” Chen Xuegong released him and went back to eating.
Grandmother tapped the table with her chopsticks. “Eat. Let her run—let her go back to her family and think things over properly. Second Son, if she doesn’t admit her mistake, don’t go bringing her back.”
Chen Xenong gave a sullen grunt of acknowledgment, and with that, the matter was closed.
The next day when they went to collect eggs, they didn’t run into anyone from the Zhao family—whether they’d learned their lesson or had gone to other villages, no one knew.
On the way back, Yuan Ni’s Mother was quite optimistic. “I reckon your Second Aunt got scared straight. The Zhaos definitely won’t dare come back. Ni’er, with what we collected today, we’ve got over a thousand eggs now. So tell me—what’s your next move?”
The road ahead was flat for now, but a slope lay just beyond. Yuan Ni stopped, setting down the cart to catch her breath before the incline, and to answer her mother’s question.
In that very instant—no sooner had she set down the cart—she saw a bicycle hurtling down the slope toward them.
And riding that bicycle was none other than Zhao Fuhua’s own younger brother.
“Oh, watch out! Our cart is full of eggs!” Yuan Ni’s Mother cried out in panic.
But she was still in a plaster cast and couldn’t use her arms. With only Yuan Ni to rely on, there was no way they could avoid the oncoming bike.
Zhao Fuqiang pedaled furiously, charging straight at them with malicious intent. His target was the handcart parked on the road.
Why should Yuan Ni’s Mother be allowed to collect eggs and make money while the Zhao family couldn’t?
Today, Zhao Fuqiang was going to show Yuan Ni and her mother what it meant to have everything smashed to pieces.
The bike was about to crash into them…