“Third sister-in-law, I’ve heard all about it. Some people are just traitors, unable to stand seeing others do well. You must not take it to heart. I’ll always be on your side!”
Chen Lishu smiled at her, "Thank you, little sister."
"Third sister-in-law, you won't stop selling hair accessories because of this, will you?" Then she wouldn't have any money to earn.
Chen Lishu shook her head, "No, I will continue to sell hair accessories."
"Really?" Gu Xingping saw her nod and was relieved. Thinking of something, she took down her schoolbag, which she hadn't had time to put away, and opened it, taking out two sets of practice materials.
"Third sister-in-law, I borrowed these from a classmate. These are exercises she did before. The answers are already written on them."
Chen Lishu took them and flipped through a few pages. Gu Xingping's classmate must have been a careful and diligent student. Not only were the answers written, but the solution steps were also clearly explained, making them easy to understand at a glance.
This was incredibly helpful to the current Chen Lishu, and she immediately felt like she had found a treasure.
"Thank you, little sister."
"Third sister-in-law, why are you being so polite with me?" Gu Xingping waved her hand and left with her schoolbag.
During dinner, the atmosphere was a bit stifled due to what had happened earlier.
After eating, Chen Lishu got up and went back to her room, taking out the small bookkeeping ledger to distribute money to everyone.
"Mom, five yuan. Eldest sister-in-law, seven yuan. Second sister-in-law, six yuan and five jiao. Little sister, four yuan."
She habitually rounded up everyone's share.
Everyone received money, and their faces beamed with joy. The atmosphere also improved significantly.
"The third son's wife is sensible and understanding." Gu Shoufu said with relief after the children had dispersed.
Chen Lishu returned to her room, looked at the pants laid out on the kang, thought for a moment, put them away, and took them to Zhang Qin's room.
"Eldest sister-in-law, my tailoring skills are not as good as yours. Please take a look at these pants and help me alter them. I won't hide anything from you; I bought these clothes at a cost of five yuan each. You help me alter them, and whatever money I make selling them in town, we'll split fifty-fifty."
Zhang Qin was overjoyed to have a business opportunity. She readily agreed, taking the pants without any hesitation.
In the following days, Chen Lishu worked during the day and spent her free time altering clothes and studying. Her days were quite fulfilling.
Soon, the intensive spring planting ended, and the commune members had a few rare days of leisure.
One morning, Chen Lishu took the altered clothes to town.
Selling forty-odd pieces of clothing one by one would be time-consuming and risky, as she might be caught. After some thought, she decided to try her luck at the black market.
She had always heard about places for private transactions but had never been. Firstly, she was afraid of being caught, and secondly, she was afraid of running into acquaintances.
However, she heard that the place offered a wide variety of goods and attracted many people who were not short of money and specifically went there to find treasures.
With her mind made up, Chen Lishu shouldered her bag and headed to a relatively secluded alley in the northern part of the city.
From afar, she saw many people sitting or standing in the not-so-wide alley, but they were mostly quiet. When they saw her approach, they first eyed her with suspicion, and then upon seeing the large bag she carried, they realized she was a newcomer.
As Chen Lishu got closer, she saw that some people had a few vegetable leaves in front of them, some had a small bowl of rice, and some had assorted sundries. She was a bit perplexed. Wasn't this supposed to be a place to sell things? Why did these people look like they were just out for a stroll in the sun?
"Girl, are you new here?" an old man with a few pieces of broken porcelain shards in front of him asked.
Chen Lishu nodded.
The old man kindly whispered, "To avoid being caught, we only display a few things we intend to sell. If someone wants to buy, we negotiate privately. This way, even if the Red Guards come, we're not afraid. Carrying so many things so openly like this, you're easily at a disadvantage."
Chen Lishu suddenly understood. She hadn't expected there to be so many nuances involved.
She nodded her thanks to the old man and, carrying her bag, found an empty spot at the end of the street to place her goods. She chose the end of the street because, although it was a less prominent location, if anyone came to apprehend them, she would have enough time to escape with her numerous items.
Just as she put down her things, a tall, thin man in his twenties with an elongated face stopped in front of her stall. "Comrade, what are you selling?"
Chen Lishu glanced at him warily before opening the bag to reveal a corner of the clothes. "Selling clothes."
Selling clothes? Her voice was not loud, but several people nearby heard it. They all turned their heads, their gazes falling on her.
Chen Lishu felt a little uncomfortable being watched by so many people. She thought to herself that she was just selling clothes, not opium, so why were they so surprised?
She didn't know that most of the items brought to the black market were things people saved from their own use or no longer needed. Someone like her, who came specifically to sell clothes, was truly rare. Fabrics and grains had always been scarce commodities in the black market.
"Can I see what kind of clothes you're selling?"
Chen Lishu had only shown a corner, and the young man assumed she was selling her old clothes. However, he still held onto a sliver of hope.
Since she was already here, hiding things was useless. Chen Lishu simply pulled out a piece of clothing and displayed it to him. "I'm selling the latest styles of clothes from the provincial capital. Twelve yuan per piece plus one foot of cloth coupons. If you take them all, it's ten yuan per piece, plus half a foot of cloth coupons. If you don't have cloth coupons, other coupons can be considered depending on the situation."
After all, there was a difference between retail and wholesale.
The man's gaze fell again on the clothes in Chen Lishu's hands. The styles and quality were definitely top-notch. A finished garment like this, if sold in a department store, would cost around fifteen yuan and still require cloth coupons.
"Shall we find a place to talk?" the man suggested.
Chen Lishu hesitated.
In a place like this, with so many eyes watching, if she went to another location and the other party snatched her goods and ran, she would incur a significant loss.
She couldn't afford to gamble on such a thing.
The man noticed her hesitation, smiled at her, and pointed to a relatively secluded corner not far away. "I just want to examine the goods. Comrade, is that spot okay?"
Chen Lishu estimated the distance to be less than twenty meters. If anything happened, she could react. So, she nodded and walked over with him, carrying her bag.
The man first examined the goods she brought. The more he looked, the more satisfied he became. There were many small details, such as the corsages and floral waistbands, that were very eye-catching and beautifully coordinated.
In fact, he didn't know that these were all small design elements Chen Lishu had incorporated to cover up any flaws in the clothes.
"I'll take all of these. However, I don't have many cloth coupons with me right now. Can you consider other coupons?"
The man said this as he took out a stack of colorful coupons from his pocket. Besides the cloth coupons at the top, there were also grain coupons, oil coupons, industrial vouchers, and the like below.
What surprised Chen Lishu the most was that he actually had a sewing machine coupon.
This was something that money alone couldn't always buy.
The man saw her gaze fall on the sewing machine coupon and smiled. "Comrade, if you want it, how about one hundred yuan for this sewing machine coupon?"