Last time Zhou Cheng had cycled with her, but Xia Xiao Lan hadn’t realized how exhausting it was to cycle to Shangdu City!

Since arriving in ’83, fatigue had become her normal state. Yesterday, instead of going to the city, she cycled to over twenty villages and collected more than 50 jin of loaches. Today’s task was to sell the loaches and several hundred eggs she’d brought along to the city. With the busiest days of rice harvesting over, fewer people were willing to sell eggs to Xia Xiao Lan. Besides, using Qijing Village as a center, she had combed through villages within dozens of li multiple times, like casting a net, and villagers needed time to accumulate eggs.

After selling these hundreds of eggs, Xia Xiao Lan could focus on trading loaches, which were already grown and just waiting to be found in the paddies and ditches. Xia Xiao Lan thought, selling loaches was one thing, but wasn’t it wasteful to return with empty baskets after bringing full ones to the city? Could she bring some goods back from Shangdu City to sell in the countryside?

But rural purchasing power was terrible now. Except for necessities like oil, salt, and condiments, rural folks held onto every cent, avoiding spending whenever possible… No, they didn’t even buy oil – some households only spent money on salt all year. Going without sauces and oil was fine, but without salt, people had no strength!

What could she bring back that would make farmers willing to spend money?

In the future, marketers would say women’s and children’s money was easiest to earn, but now women barely dressed up, and children ran wild everywhere. The One-Child Policy had just begun implementation, hadn’t it? Which family didn’t have several children? Only children were precious – with many children, just being able to eat was good enough. There wasn’t extra money to spend on children, which was why Tao Tao’s new schoolbag drew his classmates’ envy – their families couldn’t afford such expensive new schoolbags.

Children’s clothes weren’t worth considering either. Older children’s clothes were passed down to younger ones, like family heirlooms lasting several years, only fulfilling their purpose when they were too worn to wear anymore.

Xia Xiao Lan pondered without reaching any conclusions as she cycled to the first eel noodle shop.

“Comrade, do you need loaches today?”

She tried to make her voice sound as proper as possible, but it was indeed too sweet. At her greeting, before the shop owner could come out, all the customers eating noodles looked at her.

Young people’s skin heals quickly, and the wound on Xia Xiao Lan’s forehead has long since scabbed over and scarred, leaving only a light pink mark. Although she wore no makeup, she was neat and clean, making her uncommonly pretty.

Xia Xiao Lan waited a while, but instead of the owner who had bought loaches that day, a middle-aged woman came out with an unfriendly tone:

“We’re not buying loaches. Our shop has regular suppliers. Don’t come back!”

“But…”

“Why can’t you understand simple words, young woman? We don’t want loaches, our shop doesn’t want your loaches!”

The middle-aged woman’s tone was nasty, and the customers eating noodles couldn’t help but speak up:

“If you’re not buying, just say so nicely.”

“Your loud voice is scaring the young lady!”

“Spilled all the aged vinegar at home!”

The middle-aged woman didn’t argue with the customers, but there was a series of crashing sounds from the kitchen. Xia Xiao Lan understood – this must be the owner’s wife. That day when she came to sell loaches, she’d only thought the owner was honest, not expecting his wife to have inexplicably turned sour – Xia Xiao Lan felt wronged, but if she argued with the owner’s wife, could she still do business in this area?

It was just impossibly unlucky.

Xia Xiao Lan maintained her composure, though her expression changed several times.

As she was about to leave with her bicycle, the eel noodle shop owner rushed out, “I’m sorry, you see how unreasonable my wife is… The shop can’t dare buy your loaches anymore, but I have a relative who manages procurement at the City Committee Guest House, his name is Hu Yong Cai. If you’d like to try there, just say Hu Zhu Liang referred you.”

Owner Hu was very ashamed. His wife had essentially publicly humiliated Xia Xiao Lan – someone with a worse temper might have caused a scene in the shop. It was rare for Xia Xiao Lan not to make an issue of it, but they couldn’t bully her too much.

The City Committee Guest House?

Official institutions weren’t easy to deal with, but if successful, it could be a long-term partnership.

“Thank you, Owner Hu!”

Xia Xiao Lan thanked him, and Hu Zhu Liang couldn’t stay long as his wife was firing up again in the shop.

Xia Xiao Lan didn’t go to the City Committee Guest House immediately.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Owner Hu’s referral, but upon asking around, she learned that despite its grand name, the guest house wasn’t even in the city center but in the western suburbs. Who knew what Shangdu City’s leaders were thinking, building the City Committee Guest House so far away?

Xia Xiao Lan went to the previous farmers’ market to sell her goods. She came earlier today, and the market was quite busy.

After paying the management fee and getting assigned a small spot, Xia Xiao Lan set up her sign and people came to browse. Her memorable looks meant some shoppers recognized her. Some asked where her boyfriend was, and Xia Xiao Lan responded to all such questions with just a smile.

“Can you make the loaches cheaper?”

“Just one jin, only one jin, make sure you weigh it properly!”

Business came, and shoppers surrounded Xia Xiao Lan, chattering away, wanting things weighed and money exchanged. Some bought eggs, some bought loaches – anyone who reacted slowly would get confused. Xia Xiao Lan was busy for a full two hours, her clothes soaked with sweat before she had a break.

These were all people buying for home consumption, with few bulk purchases. After the scattered sales, she still had over a hundred eggs and twenty-some jin of loaches left.

The farmers’ market sold all sorts of goods, but the best-selling items were either daily necessities or rare items like the loaches Xia Xiao Lan brought from the countryside. If Xia Xiao Lan brought something like green vegetables, at a few fen per jin, it wouldn’t be worth the effort and wouldn’t be competitive.

After persisting a while longer at the farmers’ market, Xia Xiao Lan still had some eggs and loaches left.

Retail sales like this every day indeed carry high risk. Xia Xiao Lan still wanted to find someone who could buy in bulk, so she remembered Owner Hu’s words and prepared to check out the City Committee Guest House. Someone who managed procurement at the guest house might not buy much directly, but they would surely know others in the trade – the 1980s was a time when relationships mattered greatly. If she could establish a connection with Hu Yong Cai, Owner Hu’s relative, it might open up more than just one market.

Xia Xiao Lan prepared to use the sugar-coated bullet tactics she’d learned from her future sales experience to win over Comrade Hu Yong Cai.

Gift-giving had its rules. For male comrades, cigarettes and alcohol were never wrong. Among liquors, Moutai and Wuliangye were certainly the most prestigious, but never mind the price – these two special supply liquors were rationed to cadres. Even with money, Xia Xiao Lan couldn’t even touch a bottle. They were unavailable at any price!

As for cigarettes, Shangdu Cigarette Factory produced Golden Leaf, Scattered Flowers, and Colorful Butterfly. ‘Golden Leaf’ was a Grade B cigarette for lower-middle class smokers, ‘Scattered Flowers’ was a Grade A (Special) cigarette for various levels of leadership and meetings, and ‘Colorful Butterfly’ was between these two. Although it was a Grade A cigarette at 0.35 yuan per pack, Xia Xiao Lan thought it would be suitable for Owner Hu’s relative – but reality immediately slapped her in the face when she tried to buy a carton of ‘Colorful Butterfly.’ The seller looked at her like she was crazy:

“A carton? No way! You need to buy at least two packs, and you must show me a voucher!”