Finally, two people were willing to become agents. After signing the contract, they immediately placed an order for five hundred yuan worth of goods, a total of twenty bolts of fabric, which halved the stock in one go.
With agents, Wang Aixiang felt much more relaxed. She no longer had to spend all her energy finding places to sell the fabric; the agents would simply come to pick it up.
Before school started, Chen Lishu went to the underground market by the river again.
Due to the limited supply of seersucker fabric, her swimwear would have to wait for another opportunity.
This time, she wanted to buy some buttons, zippers, and elastic fabric.
Preparations for autumn clothing had already begun, and these items would be needed.
Having had contact before, Chen Lishu felt that Dong Ji'an was a good person, so she went directly to his stall this time.
“Comrade, are you here to buy more things?” Dong Ji'an, who remembered her from their shared experience of escaping danger, greeted her warmly when he saw her standing at his stall.
“How much are your buttons, zippers, and elastic fabric? Can you give me a discount if I buy a lot?”
Dong Ji'an knew she was a major customer and quickly nodded with a smile, “Comrade, rest assured, if you buy a large quantity, I promise not to make any profit except for the shipping costs, selling them to you at cost price.”
Since the small items themselves didn't yield much profit, Chen Lishu asked for the prices and found them acceptable. She bought all the stock Dong Ji'an had on hand, spending over ninety yuan in total.
After finishing her purchases, Chen Lishu found two post offices and mailed the items to Lin Qi in two separate shipments. She also called him, just to check in.
Knowing that everything was proceeding smoothly, she felt at ease.
Time flew by, and it was the day school started. Gu Xingdong had been away on a mission for over a week. Chen Lishu first sent "Da Wang" to the Wu family, then took a bus to send Chen Liyuan to school.
After helping her settle into her dormitory, she left her twenty yuan and five jin of grain coupons, gave her a few more instructions, and then returned to the Normal University.
Banners welcoming new students were still hung at the school entrance. The admission rate for new students this year was nearly double that of the beginning of the year, and normal universities were particularly popular choices. Therefore, the school had specifically arranged for a large truck to facilitate student transportation.
As Chen Lishu arrived at the school gate, she saw a truck fully loaded with students carrying their luggage, getting off the truck bed.
“Chen Lishu!”
As she walked into the crowd, preparing to head towards her dormitory, she suddenly heard someone call her name. Turning her head, she saw Li Zhiwei and Feng Pangzi, whom she hadn't seen since the break. In front of them was a long table with a large sign for the English major displayed on it.
Chen Lishu walked towards them.
“You’re here just in time! Emergency rescue! Quick, help me watch this spot for a bit while I go to the restroom.”
Chen Lishu smiled, “Isn’t welcoming new students a job for your student union?”
“You don’t know, Zhiwei has taken a liking to a girl from another department, and he’s looking for an excuse to get away. Since you’re here, Chen Lishu, absolutely don’t agree to help him, he just wants to escape to the restroom!” Feng Pangzi mercilessly exposed Li Zhiwei.
“You good-for-nothing Li Zhiwei, dragging me here to help, and you’re thinking of escaping! I’m not doing this anymore.”
Before Chen Lishu could reply, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind her. She turned around and called out happily, “Xue’er.”
Having not seen each other for a holiday, Zhang Xue seemed to have tanned a bit. As she had just escorted two freshmen from her department to their dormitory, sweat beaded on her forehead from the heat.
“Lishu, let’s ignore that unrighteous person like Li Zhiwei. Come with me back to the dormitory, I brought you some good food.”
As Zhang Xue spoke, she pulled Chen Lishu along. Li Zhiwei quickly stepped forward and blocked them, “My dear aunt, I really have an upset stomach and need to go to the restroom. Could you two please help us out? Just for this morning, other student union members will take over this afternoon. I’ll treat you to a meal afterward, at that restaurant outside the campus, anything you want to eat.”
Chen Lishu nodded, “Ten minutes. If you’re not back in ten minutes, your credibility with us will be in the negative.”
“No problem.” Seeing that they had agreed, Li Zhiwei turned and ran towards the main teaching building.
Soon, some freshmen saw the sign and came over. Chen Lishu was assigned to sit by the table to handle the registration. Feng Pangzi was responsible for directing the boys, while Zhang Xue was in charge of the girls.
The lingering heat of autumn was not to be underestimated, especially under the strong midday sun with no shade. Although Chen Lishu wasn't moving around much, she was soon covered in sweat.
Before long, Li Zhiwei returned, and the four of them busied themselves for another hour before other student union members finally came to take over.
Li Zhiwei kept his promise and treated them to a meal at a restaurant outside the campus.
“First, four orange sodas, chilled with ice,” Li Zhiwei said to the waitress as soon as they entered the restaurant.
After ordering their dishes, the four of them found a seat by the window.
“This is really not a job for humans. I must have been out of my mind to join the student union back then. We don’t get any of the good things, and we just end up being workhorses for the school.”
Feng Pangzi was nonchalant, “Weren’t you the one who said joining the student union looked impressive and offered more opportunities to interact with girls?”
Li Zhiwei shot him a warning glare, then cleared his throat and said to Chen Lishu with a smile, “With our classmate Chen Lishu as a shining example, other girls simply don’t measure up.”
Zhang Xue chimed in, “You can give up on that idea. Lishu is married to a soldier, and disrupting a military marriage is a serious offense that lands you in jail.”
As they were talking, the ordered dishes gradually arrived. Everyone was hungry, so they quickly picked up their chopsticks and began to eat.
After the meal, Chen Lishu and Zhang Xue went straight back to their dormitory. Yang Lili had also recently arrived and was busy organizing the items she had brought.
Throughout the summer, apart from studying, she had been working at the team to earn more work points. She had become tanned and thin from the sun, but her spirits were still quite good.
To save as much money as possible, she had brought a thick stack of fermented pancakes, baked until dry. Although the weather was still hot, they would last for more than ten days to half a month. She also brought two large jars of pickled vegetables, which should last her for the next half month without needing to spend any money.
“This time, my mother specifically made meat sauce for me. Oh, and my mother also fried some twisted dough sticks. They don’t keep well in the heat, so I didn’t bring many. I ate some on the bus, and there are three left, so we can each have one.”
As Zhang Xue spoke, she opened the oil-paper package she had brought. Yang Lili and Chen Lishu each received a twisted dough stick, and then she distributed two small apples to each of them.
“The tree at my home bears fruit ten to fifteen days earlier than other trees, so I brought them for you to try.”
In the afternoon, Li He and the others also arrived one after another. Except for Jiang Yuwei and Sun Ling, the other six members were present.
The next day was the school's opening ceremony. Chen Lishu and the others got up early. After tidying themselves up, they all returned to the classroom.
Having been apart for a holiday, they had endless topics to discuss upon meeting again. Soon, all the members were present, and the counselor came to call them to gather on the sports field.