Nan Hai Tao saw her all the way home and helped her carry the fabric into the house before driving away.
With the fabric, Chen Lishu first sent some to the Wang family. After returning home, she began to seriously make underwear.
She made four pieces of underwear in the afternoon. Glancing at the time, she knew Gu Xing Ping would be home from school soon. Thinking that Ding Yong Feng and Sun Shu Zhen were not home during this time, and Ding Chen would probably have a simple meal alone at home, she got up and went out.
Before leaving, she took the pickled mustard greens and frozen tofu brought from the village to the kitchen to thaw, then put on her hat and scarf to go to the food store to buy meat.
After buying the meat, she started to cook dinner. She simmered rice in the pot while stewing vegetables on the stove. The timing was perfect, and just as the food was about to be served, Gu Xing Ping arrived home from school.
"Little sister, wash your hands first. Uncle Ding and the others are not home, so I'll go next door and call Ding Chen over to eat with us."
"Okay, third sister, you go ahead." Gu Xing Ping put down her schoolbag and took a washbasin to get water.
When Chen Lishu went over, Ding Chen was about to soak some flatbread in hot water. Hearing Chen Lishu call him to dinner, he immediately threw down the hard flatbread in his hand and followed her.
"Any news about Uncle and Aunt?" Chen Lishu asked, dishing out rice.
Ding Yong Feng and Sun Shu Zhen were selected as teachers responsible for grading exam papers for the entire province. Shortly after Chen Lishu and the others finished their exams, they were arranged to go to another county to be quarantined.
"They have to grade all the papers and record and organize them. It'll probably take ten to twenty days."
After all, tens of thousands of students from the entire province meant a considerable amount of work. Even with dozens of teachers working overtime, it would take a long time to finish grading.
Ding Chen replied briefly before lowering his head to continue eating.
Sun Shu Zhen had baked him a pile of fermented flatbreads before she left. He also occasionally went to Zhao Kang's place to freeload meals. He had been eating flatbreads for the past couple of days, and his stomach was starting to feel acidic.
In the evening, Ding Chen left, Gu Xing Ping did her homework, and Chen Lishu began to cut fabric for underwear.
For the next two days, she stayed home making underwear, and Gu Xing Ping also began her final exams.
During this time, Gu Xing Ye sent over more grain. Because his wedding was also on the agenda and a lot of preparations were needed, the matter of selling grain had to be temporarily handed over to Gu Xing Min.
After Chen Lishu took him to the black market twice, she handed over the grain selling business to him entirely.
Gu Xing Ping finished her exams, and it was also the day Chen Lishu and Zhang Li had agreed to deliver the goods.
"Third sister, I'll go with you," Gu Xing Ping said. Having just started her vacation, she wasn't in a hurry to write her holiday homework and felt a bit eager seeing Chen Lishu busy earning money.
"Okay," Chen Lishu said, packing some underwear into her shoulder bag. Gu Xing Ping also packed some.
This time, Zhang Li, as usual, ordered thirty pieces. After the delivery, the three of them parted ways.
Since the students were on holiday, the sisters-in-law could only pick a residential area for workers and promote their products slowly.
In the entire afternoon, they only managed to sell twelve pieces.
It was cold, and it got dark early. The sisters-in-law had no choice but to decide to go home for dinner and then consider what to do next.
"Third sister, why don't we store them and wait until school starts?"
She had plenty of time during this period. By the time school started, it would be March of the following year, and she didn't know what else she would be busy with then.
The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee would not be held until next year, and it would likely be the end of the year before it was fully implemented.
Thinking this, Chen Lishu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. If she had a shop, it would be easier for people to find her. For her to find customers, it was like a blind cat catching a blind mouse, purely a matter of probability.
"If only I had a shop," Chen Lishu muttered to herself. As soon as she finished speaking, a flash of inspiration struck her, and she suddenly raised her hand and patted her forehead heavily. "I'm really getting more and more foolish. How could I have forgotten about them?"
"Third sister, who did you forget?" Gu Xing Ping asked curiously.
Chen Lishu smiled. "Who else could it be? Don't you remember the supply and marketing cooperatives I visited when we first started making hair ornaments? Their coverage is much wider than ours."
The sales of hair ornaments had relied on them initially. Now, hair ornaments had almost no profit, and many people had stopped selling them.
Now that Chen Lishu was asking, it must mean she had found something good again. She had to seize the opportunity immediately.
Thinking this, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "What is it this time, sister?"
Seeing her interest, Chen Lishu took out a piece of underwear from her shoulder bag. "Underwear like this, the market price is three yuan. Sister, if you want to sell them, I can let you try selling two pieces on consignment. You'll get a commission of ten cents for each."
After all, the cost was high, so Chen Lishu couldn't put too many in each store at the beginning.
"I agree to sell them," the store clerk nodded repeatedly.
Without having to spend any capital, she could steadily earn ten cents. Even if she only sold one piece a day, that would be thirty yuan a month, which was much more profitable than selling hair ornaments.
Thinking this, the clerk happily took the two pieces.
The effect was the same for the next few stores. In total, there were eight stores. Seeing that the entire town was covered, Chen Lishu and Gu Xing Ping started heading back.
For the next two days, Gu Xing Ping studied, while Chen Lishu continued to make underwear at home. She waited until the third day before picking up her shoulder bag again to check the situation at each store.
"Sister, you're here! I sold those two pieces of underwear not long after you left."
Chen Lishu was surprised. "So quickly?"
The store clerk said proudly, "You don't know, even though you're selling underwear specifically for young girls, you don't actually need to target them specifically. Think about it, how often do they get a chance to come out and buy things? I've been doing this for so many years, and I know every family in the vicinity that has grown daughters. Think about it, if the adults don't pay, where will the children get the money?"
Chen Lishu felt that what she said made a lot of sense and couldn't help but secretly admire her.
No wonder she couldn't sell them before; she had found the wrong target.
"Sister, my current stock is limited, so I'll leave ten pieces with you for now. I'll come back in three days. If they sell well, I'll give you more."
The other party readily agreed. "Okay."
Then Chen Lishu visited the remaining seven stores. The situation was generally similar to the first one. Due to limited quantities, some stores could only get three to five pieces later on.