As Su Xiaosi eagerly anticipated, Su Laosan set off on his first long journey to Rongcheng.
The scheduled return date was twenty days later.
Although this was a considerable amount of time, there was no better solution at the moment.
Su Xiaosi provided Su Laosan with a detailed list, asking him to help Mumu with order fulfillment.
A portion of these items was intended for Su Xiaosi to sell himself, to cover his funding gap.
However, the majority were goods for the shop he was preparing.
The shop had not yet opened, but the merchandise needed to be organized; otherwise, it would be troublesome to place a large order all at once.
Su Laosan’s mouth split into a grin as he looked at the sheer volume of goods.
He instantly felt that the days of making big money were not far off.
Even just transporting these goods, without doing anything else, would earn him a considerable sum.
Su Laosan immediately patted his chest, promising to deliver all these goods safely back to the capital.
While Su Laosan was happy, Liang Xiu felt a pang of worry. It was one thing for her husband to drive for short trips, but every long journey filled her with anxiety.
After seeing Su Laosan off, the family members continued their busy routines.
Su Xiaotian was occupied with constant studying and also handled the translation work for two factories.
Currently, she was responsible for translation at both the silk factory and the electronics factory, earning a substantial income.
Her reputation in the translation field had already been established, with people from other factories constantly reaching out to ask for her translation services.
Su Xiaotian couldn't manage every request, so she referred some to Chi Yiyuan.
For others that seemed simpler, she introduced them to Su Shouwen, leaving herself with not much work.
Even so, it was enough to keep her busy.
Even her plans to visit the antique street were only possible during occasional free moments. While she never returned empty-handed, she didn't always find treasures that would make her rich.
Su Xiaotian was quite content.
The result of her hard work was that Su Xiaotian had earned a significant amount of money during this period.
Su Xiaotian felt that if she worked a little harder, she could quickly earn back the more than three thousand yuan she owed Su Xiaosi.
However, she didn't want to voice this thought, fearing it might destabilize her fourth brother's state of mind.
For the sake of earning money, Su Xiaosi was becoming almost obsessed.
Amidst everyone's busyness, the weather gradually grew warmer, and the young girls' innate desire for beauty began to manifest as they shed their winter clothes.
When Su Xiaotian saw the girls taking off their hats and scarves and replacing them with various hair clips and flowers, she remembered that she had brought back quite a few nice trinkets from Rongcheng.
She took out the small items she had brought back from Rongcheng from the cupboard.
When she bought them, they didn't seem like much, but now, looking at them, there were quite a few. She couldn't possibly wear them all herself, and Liang Xiu and Grandma Su would certainly not be interested in these girlish items.
She pondered that small gifts should be shared with good friends.
With this thought in mind, Su Xiaotian selected four hair ties, five hair clips, and three bracelets from the pile of small accessories, intending to take them to school and let her closer friends choose one or two to wear for fun.
Su Xiaotian was genuinely fond of her friends, and when she had good things, she wanted to share them.
Moreover, these were just small trinkets that weren't particularly valuable, so Su Xiaotian wouldn't feel heartbroken giving them away.
However, Su Xiaotian forgot that these items, which she considered not very valuable, might not be viewed the same way by others.
Fifty cents or a dollar might not be much for her, someone with a steady income.
But for those who had to ask their families for money and might not even have fifty cents in pocket money per week, it was a significant sum.
Jealousy can always cloud one's judgment. A few people in the class who looked down on Su Xiaotian, the "country bumpkin" from the Northwest, felt resentful seeing her eat well and dress well.
Having seen Su Xiaotian selling accessories at school some time ago, they had already harbored ill intentions.
This time, seeing Su Xiaotian bring so many items to school again, their jealousy flared, and they immediately hatched a plan.
Before Su Xiaotian could do anything, she was reported.
Su Xiaotian herself was unaware that she had been reported.
Taking advantage of the break between classes, she placed the trinkets she had brought on her desk and invited her friends to pick out what they liked.
"Xiaotian, where did you get these? They're so pretty."
Xiao Jianghong was a very cheerful girl and Su Xiaotian's best classmate.
Hearing Su Xiaotian's call, the girl happily rushed over and casually picked up a light purple hair tie.
This hair tie was made of ordinary gauze, and the craftsmanship was decent, with no real technical skill involved.
It was just very brightly colored, truly eye-catching among the pile of small accessories.
"Jianghong, if you like this one, it's yours!"
When Xiao Jianghong heard Su Xiaotian say she was giving it to her, she was so happy she almost jumped up.
It was being given to her!
Such a beautiful hair tie, and it was just being given to her?
Xiao Jianghong was so delighted she almost hugged Su Xiaotian.
Su Xiaotian then explained, "I bought these from my hometown when I went back during the New Year. I meant to give them to you all when school started, but I was too busy and forgot."
"I always wore a hat in winter, so I couldn't wear hair accessories, but now is perfect."
As Xiao Jianghong spoke, she tied the hair tie in her hair and showed Su Xiaotian.
"Yu Min, Xiao Rui, which one do you like? Come over and pick, don't be shy," Su Xiaotian called out to two other girls she got along well with.
Yu Min, seeing that Xiao Jianghong had already chosen a hair tie, naturally began to choose without hesitation.
Xiao Rui was a more introverted girl and felt a bit embarrassed.
Su Xiaotian helped her choose. The chatter of the girls created a lively atmosphere.
The other classmates watching couldn't help but feel envious.
However, their relationships with Su Xiaotian were only average, so it was perfectly normal that she wouldn't give them gifts now.
"Little Eight, Little Nine, you guys are no good. When you go home, look at Xiaotian, she knows to bring gifts for her sisters. Why don't you bring us a small gift too?" A boy nearby teased Su Xiaoba and Su Xiaojiu.
Su Xiaoba pouted and said, "Do you want these girly things?"
The teasing boy immediately fell silent.
He had no use for such trinkets, so he didn't want them.
While the boys had no interest, the girls were very enthusiastic.
Who wouldn't like such beautiful small accessories?
However, their relationship with Su Xiaotian was only average, so getting them for free was out of the question.
Su Xiaotian had no intention of trying to win over people with whom her relationship was only so-so.
The small accessories Su Xiaotian had brought were too beautiful and attracted several other girls.
These girls were too embarrassed to ask directly, so they tentatively inquired, "Xiaotian, your hair tie is so pretty, can you sell it to me?"
With the first person asking, a second and then a third followed.
Su Xiaotian hadn't thought of making money from these, but these people's relationships with her were also just so-so, and giving them away for free was definitely not an option.
After considering for a moment, Su Xiaotian nodded and said, "If you like it, I bought it for fifty cents. I'll sell it to you at the original price!"
Su Xiaotian was telling the truth. The girl who bought the desired hair tie happily tied it in her hair.
Although fifty cents wasn't cheap, the hair tie was genuinely exquisite, and the female classmate felt she had gotten a good deal.
Su Xiaotian quickly sold a few more small accessories, all priced at a few cents each.
She had brought over a dozen small accessories today. Six were given away, and the remaining few were quickly snapped up by other classmates.
Su Xiaotian's hands held a few more yuan in small bills, which she casually put into her pocket.
The wealthy Su classmate truly didn't care about these few dollars.
Just then, the class teacher, Huang Wenbai, entered the classroom with a grim expression.
Huang Wenbai happened to see Su Xiaotian putting money into her pocket, and his grim expression deepened.