Liu Fen had truly skilled hands.

Following Xia Xiaolan’s instructions, she could weave something presentable with just some straw.

After seeing Xia Xiaolan taking initiative, Liu Yong left her be and went out to drain the fields after eating. Some paddy fields still held water – they needed to drain them and let them dry for two days before harvesting could begin.

Draining the fields sometimes brought other rewards – loaches, eels, and palm-sized crucian carp… These wild catches, though highly sought after in future times, were treated with indifference now. The crucian carp were small and bony, making them troublesome to eat, while loaches and eels required lots of precious oil to taste good. Who would waste valuable oil on these?

Simply boiling them didn’t taste good – the muddy flavor was a major issue.

Xia Xiaolan sighed, thinking what excellent high-protein, low-fat meat these were, yet unappreciated by the food enthusiasts of the 1980s.

At first, Xia Xiaolan saw this as a potential business opportunity, her eyes gleaming with excitement, but Liu Yong said loaches weren’t worth much. Even dried loaches only fetched a few fens per jin, with market prices never exceeding one jiao… not even as valuable as an egg!

“These things are dirty and stinky. You’d better stick to your egg business!” Liu Yong casually caught a crucian carp and tossed it into the wooden bucket.

“Uncle, don’t waste the crucian carp! Make some fish soup for Taotao. It’s good for children’s growth and helps prevent illness!”

Liu Yong was startled, “Where did you hear that?”

Xia Xiaolan thought, isn’t this common knowledge?

Well, never mind – what counted as common knowledge in ’83? She made up an excuse: “I read it in a book.”

Please don’t ask which book, she really couldn’t answer that.

Afraid Liu Yong would probe further, Xia Xiaolan ran off with her little cousin trailing behind.

The villagers working with Liu Yong heaved a heavy sigh.

Xia Xiaolan was too beautiful. When she casually squatted by the field, most men didn’t dare look at her – Liu Yong used to be quite a ruffian, and in Qijing Village, anyone who dared make a move on his niece would be asking for trouble.

Liu Yong wiped the sweat from his neck and glared at those nearby:

“Let me tell you all, if any fool tries anything with my niece, I’ll kill them when I find out.”

The villagers felt wronged, “Brother Yong, she’s like a niece to me too, I wouldn’t dare have any thoughts…”

Liu Yong tossed the wooden bucket at them: “You talk too much! Hurry up and catch the fish. Didn’t you hear Xiaolan say children need to drink crucian carp soup?”

Xia Xiaolan wandered around Qijing Village with her little cousin.

Qijing Village was rich in water resources, with the reed marshes from Dahe Village extending all the way here. Anqing County’s white reeds had been famous since ancient times, making reed resources readily available, but Xia Xiaolan had no interest in reed weaving products. Firstly, the timing wasn’t right, and secondly, Anqing County’s weaving market was already saturated.

But the reed marshes clearly offered more than just weaving materials – they were also home to wild ducks and waterfowl.

To Xia Xiaolan, these represented waving banknotes… As for protecting the ecology, that could wait until after solving her basic needs! Compared to those who got rich through highway robbery, her money-making methods were quite clean.

Taotao walked proudly in front, with Xia Xiaolan being his prized possession – no one else had a sister as beautiful as her.

With the farming season approaching, even the scorching sun couldn’t suppress the hormones of Qijing Village’s young men.

They all greeted Taotao:

“Taotao, is that your cousin’s sister?”

“Taotao, want to catch fish with me?”

“Taotao…”

While calling out to Taotao, their eyes kept stealing glances at Xia Xiaolan. This roundabout way of trying to get attention made these young men blush furiously, making Xia Xiaolan reflect that most young people in the 80s were indeed quite innocent.

She had no interest in these pure-hearted young men.

When you can barely fill your stomach, who has the mood to appreciate fresh meat?

Xia Xiaolan had visited Qijing Village before, and her reputation among the young people was legendary, but she had always been proud and unwilling to engage with those who tried to curry favor with her… Now, she planned to maintain the original owner’s stance. She wasn’t interested in these young men, but rather in the children who could play with Taotao. Children over 10 generally had to help with family chores, and those 13-14 were practically half a working adult. Xia Xiaolan’s target group was children under 10, who were mischievous, resilient, and easy to coax.

After walking around twice, Xia Xiaolan finally caught her target. Several children slightly older than Taotao came running, laughing: “Taotao, my mom says your cousin’s sister became stupid after getting hit!”

Xia Xiaolan’s face darkened.

Compared to the young men mesmerized by her beauty, these brats were quite unfriendly.

Starting with insults right away!

Taotao defended her, “My sister Xiaolan isn’t stupid! You’re talking nonsense!”

Xia Xiaolan chuckled coldly, pulling out twenty fens and stuffing them into her loyal little cousin’s hands: “Go buy something to eat at the store. Sister is tired and will wait for you under the tree.”

The bratty kids immediately became envious.

Someone who could give money for snacks – who said Taotao’s cousin’s sister had become stupid?

These innocent and pure children were no match for the cunning Xia Xiaolan. When Taotao returned with candy, everyone was salivating.

Xia Xiaolan seized the opportunity, “Would you like some candy?”

They nodded in unison.

“Then trade something for it. Taotao is my cousin, but you’re not, and you called me stupid.”

The leader of the children swallowed hard, “Sister Xiaolan, what can we trade for candy?”

This one had switched sides the fastest, already following Taotao’s way of addressing her.

“You know about the wild duck eggs in the reed marshes, right? Three wild duck eggs can be exchanged for twenty fen, which you can use to buy candy. But you must go in pairs to look for eggs, and don’t go near the water’s edge!”

“Really?”

“If I’m lying, I’m a puppy.”

Whether it was true or not, they’d find out by trying.

Duck eggs in the county certainly cost more than twenty fen for three, but business was business – why would Xia Xiaolan bother if she wasn’t making a profit?

Having children help find wild duck eggs was using the cheapest labor force, reducing labor costs to the absolute minimum. Xia Xiaolan thought she was something, reincarnating to ’83 only to think of exploiting child labor.

Twenty-fen was very attractive to children.

These children were born in the 70s, and in the countryside, New Year’s money for children was just a few fen, with the most generous giving one yuan. Even this small amount could buy candy and firecrackers, keeping them entertained for a long time.

An hour later, when a nine-year-old girl and her younger sister brought Xia Xiaolan more than ten wild duck eggs, Xia Xiaolan checked that the eggs were good and kept her promise. She didn’t take advantage of children who weren’t good at math or calculating money properly.

“You brought 16 eggs, so here’s one yuan and seven fen.”

The change was exchanged at the village store.

The little girl clutched the money, so excited she didn’t know what to do with her hands. The younger child drooled while saying “candy,” and the older sister took her home – with over one yuan, they definitely wouldn’t dare spend it without adult permission.

Xia Xiaolan called after her:

“If you have chicken eggs at home, you can sell those to me too. I’m staying at Taotao’s house, but make sure to ask your parents first about selling eggs.”

The children’s brigade mobilized by Xia Xiaolan cleared out the nearby reed marshes within two hours. Wild ducks quacked and flapped their wings frantically in the reeds, and some even asked Xia Xiaolan if she wanted newly hatched ducklings.

Now that she had a place to raise ducks, Xia Xiaolan planned to take them back to give Liu Fen something to do.

She had collected over 90 wild duck eggs in total.

As for whether anyone would come to sell her chicken eggs, she’d know by evening.

When Xia Xiaolan returned home, she found her uncle had caught half a bucket of loaches, many eels, and over ten jin of crucian carp from the paddy fields, all kept in a water vat by the wall.

“We’ll keep them for a few days, let them clear out their insides before eating!”

Li Fengmei was cooking radish with pork bones, filling the courtyard with fragrant aromas. Nobody would visit during meal times – it wasn’t easy for people to enjoy something good, so they wouldn’t pretend to be confused and visit at this time.

Liu Fen was weaving baskets under the eaves, having already made quite a pile.

“Xiaolan, take a look, are they woven well?”

Of course, they were – perfect for holding wild duck eggs and chicken eggs. Taotao proudly puffed out his chest, “Sister Xiaolan bought lots of duck eggs, and she bought me candy too!”

Li Fengmei smiled from the kitchen.

Xia Xiaolan had never been so patient with Taotao before. This child was Li Fengmei’s treasure, and how could a mother not like someone who treated her child well?

For a moment, the whole family’s atmosphere was relaxed and happy.

Xia Xiaolan felt this life had prospects – leaving Dahe Village had been the right decision!