As they were talking, the food arrived.
The waitress placed the two plates heavily on the square table, then turned around and continued chatting with her coworkers.
In those days, working as a waitress at a state-owned restaurant was considered a respectable job. Most of the staff were rather carefree and somewhat arrogant.
Their service was often poor, but customers rarely complained. After all, that was how service was everywhere, and people were used to it.
Several groups of customers arrived, and the restaurant gradually became busier.
Xiao Hongyao and Tong Weiqiang lowered their voices as they talked. She carefully asked about his uncle’s situation and discussed the details of their upcoming partnership.
Tong Weiqiang was extremely excited. He ate the cured pork with a delighted expression. Although he had only managed to put together three hundred yuan of the initial capital, Xiao Hongyao had promised that if she made money, she would also give him an additional bonus as a thank-you. They could even continue working together in the future.
The future suddenly seemed full of hope.
After finishing their meal, Tong Weiqiang took Xiao Hongyao home. They happened to run into Xiao Hongmin, who had just finished her morning shift and was returning home.
After Tong Weiqiang left, Xiao Hongmin frowned and asked her younger sister, “Wasn’t that Master Tong’s son? Why did you come home with him?”
“He’s Song Kuoyang’s good friend,” Xiao Hongyao replied without explaining further.
Xiao Hongmin couldn’t help complaining. “I heard he’s extremely unreliable. Last year, he blew up someone else’s fishpond, and his father had to clean up the mess for him. Stay away from people like that. You’ll become stupid too.”
“……”
Xiao Hongyao quickly changed the subject. “Second Sister, you came back with Tian-ge too.”
Xiao Hongmin immediately made a “shh” gesture and warned her, “Don’t say anything once we’re inside.”
Xiao Hongyao obediently replied, “Oh.”
After they entered the house and returned to the bedroom, Grandma Xiao followed them in and asked, “When did you meet Song Kuoyang? Why would he ask you to treat that Tong boy to a meal?”
Xiao Hongyao lied without the slightest hesitation. “I ran into him outside on the morning he left.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell us then?”
“Song Kuoyang asked me to help him with something.” Xiao Hongyao began making up a story. “I didn’t know whether I could get it done, so I didn’t dare say anything.”
Grandma Xiao rolled her eyes at her granddaughter and lowered her voice. “What did he ask you to do?”
“He has a relative who helped him a lot in the past. The relative has a batch of fabric to sell. Song Kuoyang knows that Liang Tian’s older sister sells clothes, so he wanted to ask whether she could help.”
Xiao Hongyao knew that if her family found out she was planning to trade fabric, they would firmly oppose it. They would never allow an inexperienced young woman to take such a risk.
They were simply afraid that she would be cheated out of her money. It was perfectly understandable.
She also couldn’t secretly do it without her family knowing. The matter required Liang Tian’s sister’s help, so Xiao Hongmin would inevitably find out. And if Xiao Hongmin knew, the rest of the Xiao family would know too.
Therefore, she could only put the blame on Song Kuoyang.
Since Song Kuoyang was away from the factory, the Xiao family had no way to verify her story with him in the short term.
Besides, the Xiao family was extremely satisfied with Song Kuoyang as their future grandson-in-law. They were afraid the marriage might somehow fall through before it was finalized, so they certainly wouldn’t stop Xiao Hongyao from helping Song Kuoyang build connections.
They might even try to help make it happen.
Sure enough, Grandma Xiao suggested, “Have your second sister find Liang Tian and ask him to talk to his sister.”
Then the old lady asked worriedly, “This isn’t illegal, is it?”
“If Liang Tian’s sister is willing to help, then it certainly won’t be illegal.”
Grandma Xiao wasn’t foolish either. She figured that although they said the fabric belonged to Song Kuoyang’s relative, there was no guarantee that Song Kuoyang himself wasn’t involved.
If Song Kuoyang had a share in it, then it was the family’s own interest.
Grandma Xiao said, “If Liang Tian really wants to marry your second sister, he should find a way to make this work. In the future, he and Song Kuoyang will be brothers-in-law. They’ll be family.”
Under Grandma Xiao’s urging, Xiao Hongmin took Xiao Hongyao to meet Liang Tian after work the following noon.
Liang Tian was a factory driver who drove heavy trucks. He was around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He wasn’t handsome, but he was tall and naturally wore a friendly, cheerful smile.
There was no sign that he had nearly broken up with Xiao Hongmin because of gambling.
As soon as they met, Liang Tian greeted them enthusiastically. “Xiao Yao! Wow, your hairstyle looks so fashionable. I almost didn’t recognize you. Your sister said you’ve forgotten a lot of people and things. You still remember me, right?”
Even if she had forgotten him, there was no way she could say so today when they had specifically come to see him.
What a silly question.
Xiao Hongyao didn’t want to criticize him, so she simply smiled and called out, “Tian-ge.”
“Good, you still remember me. Your head was injured by a rock, and Uncle Jiang and I were the ones who took you to the hospital. Remember that?”
Xiao Hongyao shook her head. She couldn’t pretend about this because she genuinely had none of the original owner’s memories.
“I don’t remember.”
Xiao Hongmin was getting impatient. “All right, how much longer do I have to thank you? Stop rambling. Hurry up. I still have to get back to work later.”
Liang Tian rode a large old-fashioned bicycle. Xiao Hongmin sat on the front crossbar while Xiao Hongyao sat on the back seat.
They left the East Compound and headed straight north. Yangcheng was a fairly large county, and the urban area wasn’t small. They crossed Jianshe Road, went around Shanghai Road, then turned through two small alleys before arriving at a tiny shop.
The storefront was small, probably only two or three meters wide. Above the entrance hung a sign with five large characters: Sister Zhen’s Clothing Store.
A piece of cardboard hung outside with the words: Clothing Repairs, Waist and Trouser Hem Alterations.
Inside, there was a slightly worn sewing machine near the entrance, with a piece of clothing being altered on top of it.
The shop wasn’t lit and was somewhat dim. A young woman with short curled hair was eating lunch with a three- or four-year-old boy at a small wooden table.
When she saw them enter, she quickly put down her bowl and chopsticks and came over to greet them.
This was Liang Tian’s older sister, Liang Zhen.
Liang Tian had deliberately come to explain the situation to her that morning. Liang Zhen looked troubled.
“It’s not that I don’t want to help. My shop is licensed to sell clothing, not fabric. You can sell clothes without selling fabric, and you can sell fabric without selling clothes. That’s the rule.”
Xiao Hongyao had already researched this.
“I know. I heard we can apply to the Industrial and Commercial Bureau to add another business category. Whatever the additional registration costs, we’ll pay. We’ll also give you an extra fee for selling the fabric through your shop.”
“Exactly.” Xiao Hongmin had been forced to come along to help, but once they were there, she had no choice but to support her sister. “Sister Zhen, you don’t have to invest anything, and you’ll earn some extra money. It’s a good deal.”
Liang Zhen’s husband had died after an illness, leaving her a single mother. She used to make money by repairing clothes for people. She had only opened this clothing shop earlier that year, and business had yet to really take off.
Who wouldn’t want an opportunity to make some extra money?
However, there were still problems she couldn’t solve.
“It’s not that I don’t want to help. The license to sell fabric is difficult to obtain. The Industrial and Commercial Bureau isn’t the main problem. The real issue is getting an approval document from the county textile company. Without connections, there’s no way to get it. Without that approval, you can’t add fabric sales to your business license.”
Xiao Hongyao had already thought about these difficulties.
“Sister Zhen, if you agree to work with us, I’ll take care of getting the additional business registration.”
No matter how many difficulties lay ahead, she had to try.
Xiao Hongmin couldn’t help asking, “How are you going to do that?”
“I’ll find a way.”
Liang Tian quietly persuaded his sister, “Sis, you won’t lose anything. If it works out, you’ll make extra money. It’s a great deal.”
Even if Liang Zhen wasn’t particularly interested in the money, she had to consider her younger brother’s marriage. Besides, she really did want to earn more.
“Of course I have no problem with it. We’re all family, so I’ll help if I can. What do they call it again? We help each other out.”
She paused, then added, “But, little sister, when I opened this shop, I practically ran my legs off dealing with the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, and I made some connections there. I can help you with that part later, but we’ll definitely need to spend money on cigarettes, alcohol, and gifts. Is that a problem?”
“That’s no problem.” Xiao Hongyao immediately replied. “We’ll prepare the cigarettes and alcohol.”
The cigarettes and alcohol that Pan Yunsong had given them were safely stored away by Grandma. They could finally come in handy.
Liang Zhen continued, “But we still need the approval document from the county textile company before we can apply. That approval is difficult to get. Without connections, there’s no chance. You should figure out how to get the approval first. Once you have it, I’ll handle the Industrial and Commercial Bureau.”
The two sides sat down and talked for more than half an hour. They reached a preliminary agreement with Liang Zhen on how they would cooperate, with her taking a five-percent commission.
On the way home, Xiao Hongmin told her younger sister to contact Song Kuoyang’s relatives and ask them to find a way to help.
“Isn’t that Tong Weiqiang the contact person? I don’t think he’s reliable. Why don’t you go directly to Song Kuoyang’s relatives? Since they can get such a large amount of fabric, they must have connections with the county textile company.”
Xiao Hongyao agreed. She did indeed need to find someone to help.
But that person was Tong Weiqiang.
Knowing that Tong Weiqiang started his night shift at four in the afternoon, she figured he should be home at this time. She went directly to the West Compound and found the Tong family’s home.
However, when she knocked, nobody answered.
There wasn’t a single person at home.
She had no choice but to return home, planning to wait for Tong Weiqiang near the mountain later in the afternoon.
The West Compound wasn’t far from the East Compound. It only took a few minutes to walk home.
But when she was almost there, she noticed Tong Weiqiang’s bicycle parked outside her family’s courtyard.
Tong Weiqiang had come to find her at home.
What if he said something careless to her grandmother and exposed her lie?
She had already reminded him to keep the matter secret, but she was still worried because he wasn’t exactly the most reliable person.
Just as she was about to hurry into the courtyard, she heard someone call out, “Xiao Yao!”
Xiao Hongyao turned around and saw Tong Weiqiang walking over from the small shop, eating a tube of puffed rice.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
Tong Weiqiang handed her another puffed-rice tube.
“It’s for you.”
“Thanks, Brother Qiang. I went to your house earlier, but you weren’t there.”
“I’ve been waiting for you here. I told my uncle about our investment arrangement. He agreed to bring the fabric back and let us sell it ourselves. But a ten-percent profit commission is too low for him. He wants ten percent of the purchase price instead. I begged him for a long time, but he wouldn’t lower it. It’s not easy for my uncle to make that trip…”
Xiao Hongyao had expected this.
Tong Weiqiang had previously estimated his uncle’s commission at half the actual amount, which had been overly optimistic.
She was mentally prepared. Ten percent of the purchase price meant they would pay his uncle 300 yuan if they bought 3,000 yuan worth of fabric. That was still less than the 480-yuan commission he would receive under the buy-and-resell arrangement.
And if they kept the fabric themselves, they could potentially make more money.
“There’s one more thing. I forgot to tell you that we’ll also have to pay shipping separately. If we buy 3,000 yuan worth of corduroy, the freight will cost another 100 yuan.”
Xiao Hongyao asked, “Do we still have to pay shipping if your uncle handles the buying and reselling for us?”
“Yes.”
All right.
No matter which world she was in, the people who controlled resources were always the ones with the most power.
There was no other way. If she wanted to make money, she had to compromise with those who controlled the resources.
Seeing that Xiao Hongyao agreed, Tong Weiqiang immediately grinned.
“How did things go on your side?”
“Almost done. The only thing we’re missing now is the approval from the county textile company. You told me yesterday that your uncle also needs approval from the county textile company when he goes to Guangzhou to buy the fabric. He’s very familiar with the people there, right?”
“My uncle’s former classmate is a section chief there. But I don’t know whether my uncle will agree to help us get the approval.”
After all, there was nothing in it for his uncle. If he refused to help, he could actually earn more by handling the entire buying-and-reselling process himself.
Most people wouldn’t agree to help with something like this.
Xiao Hongyao said, “I want to meet your uncle.”
Before handing over any money, she definitely needed to meet him first—not only because of the approval, but also because she wanted to establish a long-term partnership.