“Isn’t Colorful Butterfly produced by Shangdu Cigarette Factory? How can there be no stock?”

A carton was only 3.5 yuan, and it wasn’t like Xia Xiao Lan couldn’t afford it.

Although she knew 30 years ahead of her time, she knew nothing about the 1983 cigarette market. Tobacco was a state monopoly. Take ‘Colorful Butterfly’ for example – Shangdu Cigarette Factory had fixed annual production quotas, and the produced cigarettes weren’t all sold within Shangdu City or even the province but were distributed nationwide – ironically, Shangdu residents could hardly buy the ‘Colorful Butterfly’ cigarettes produced in their city.

If you wanted to buy them, you needed connections and had to pay a premium! Even buying one or two packs was difficult for Shangdu residents, yet Xia Xiao Lan asked for a whole carton. Nobody bought cigarettes by the carton now, unless it was for a government meeting with special approval from leadership to buy scarce cigarettes in bulk.

Shanghai-produced ‘Great Front Gate’ was also 0.35 yuan per pack. Xia Xiao Lan’s uncle smoked these, which were already quite prestigious in Qijing Village. ‘Great Front Gate’ was famous nationwide, being Shanghai’s bestselling cigarette. Yet Xia Xiao Lan could buy ‘Great Front Gate’ in Shangdu but not ‘Colorful Butterfly’… The thought that tobacco reselling must be hugely profitable kept nagging in her mind.

Tens of thousands of cases of cigarettes annually were distributed nationwide. The tobacco industry had strong regional characteristics – apart from a few top “famous brands,” people in different regions had their own smoking preferences. Shangdu people insisted on their cigarette factory’s three brands while neighboring cities might prefer their local products. While Shangdu people couldn’t get ‘Colorful Butterfly,’ it might be sitting unsold elsewhere.

What about bringing back the ‘Colorful Butterfly’ allocated to other regions to sell in Shangdu?

Xia Xiao Lan’s head was spinning.

“Are you buying cigarettes or not?”

Called back to reality by the clerk, Xia Xiao Lan nodded, “Then give me a carton of Great Front Gate.”

They did have Great Front Gate cartons.

However, without cigarette vouchers, the cigarettes priced at 0.35 yuan per pack cost her 0.5 yuan each, and this was only because ‘Great Front Gate’ had high production volume – otherwise, she couldn’t have bought any at all.

Carrying the cigarettes she’d talked her way into buying, it took Xia Xiao Lan quite a while to calm down.

Yes, tobacco was extremely profitable, but she needed to find connections. This wasn’t private business – she needed official contacts. Xia Xiao Lan couldn’t manage this in the short term, but that didn’t mean she could never get to know these people. Building connections would start with Hu Yong Cai.

The original goal was finding buyers for loaches, but that didn’t mean she had to stick to selling just loaches.

Xia Xiao Lan cycled westward.

Previously, the western suburbs had been a wasteland, but after the 1950s, large industrial plants like National Cotton, Grinding Wheels, Coal Machinery, and Textile Printing and Dyeing had successively settled in Shangdu’s western suburbs. The Shangdu City Committee decided to build new office buildings there. Since the office location had changed, they naturally needed to build a City Committee Guest House too. The guest house building was completed in ’63, and now 20 years later, its appearance was well-maintained. The five-story building was encircled by a colonnade with protruding eaves, giving the overall structure a balanced appearance, topped with glazed tiles and carved decorations that combined grandeur with elegance.

This area had been developing for twenty or thirty years and wasn’t as desolate as Xia Xiao Lan had imagined – it was just that old Shangdu residents habitually called it the “western suburbs” to distinguish it from the old city center. Of course, it wasn’t as bustling as the snack street or farmers’ market. Those who came to the City Committee Guest House were either attending meetings or on official business – all legitimate unit employees and government workers.

Xia Xiao Lan arrived on a bicycle, without an introduction letter, dressed like a farmer despite her beauty.

The guest house didn’t explicitly forbid farmers from entering, but without an introduction letter, meals and lodging were out of the question, completely impossible. When Xia Xiao Lan said she was looking for a relative, the staff had her wait at the back door.

After a while, a short man in his thirties came out the back door. He looked no different from others Xia Xiao Lan had met in this era, except that he was quite fat. When everyone else was undernourished, fat people were rare in ’83 – truly befitting someone in charge of procurement for the City Committee Guest House, it was a cushy job.

With a fat face came small eyes.

Hu Yong Cai widened his bean-sized eyes, completely unable to recall when he’d acquired Xia Xiao Lan as a relative.

With Xia Xiao Lan’s striking looks, even if she were a distant relative, Hu Yong Cai would surely remember meeting her. Xia Xiao Lan didn’t let him think too hard:

“I’m Xia Xiao Lan, Uncle Zhu Liang told me to find you.”

Hu Yong Cai thought for a moment, “Hu Zhu Liang who sells eel noodles?”

He was indeed related to Hu Zhu Liang, but the two families didn’t interact frequently. Hu Yong Cai had some minor authority and was wary of people seeking favors. Xia Xiao Lan quickly handed over her bag, “I need to trouble Brother Hu with something.”

Hu Yong Cai’s eyelid twitched at the sight of the bag’s contents.

How big a favor could it be, to warrant a carton of Great Front Gate?

His first reaction was to refuse, but Xia Xiao Lan didn’t let him overthink, directly explaining her request for help connecting with loach buyers.

“If you think it’s feasible, I brought some samples.”

What samples – clearly leftovers from the farmers’ market.

Hu Yong Cai understood the situation. Buying some goods wasn’t a big deal, but Xia Xiao Lan giving a carton of cigarettes was too much.

The loaches Xia Xiao Lan brought were quite large, honestly meeting procurement standards. But Xia Xiao Lan making a special trip, bearing such a generous gift – it couldn’t just be for twenty-some jin of loaches. How much money could that make? Not worth using a carton of Great Front Gate to build connections.

Hu Yong Cai wanted to give face to Hu Zhu Liang who had referred Xia Xiao Lan, and considering the Great Front Gate, he told her the truth:

“The guest house may look big, but we don’t use many ingredients like loaches. Whether leaders or ordinary cadres coming for meetings, everyone gets a 1 yuan daily food allowance. I can decide to buy all the loaches you brought this time… but we definitely can’t handle this much every day.”

The guest house had its food standards. Besides accommodating various levels of cadres visiting Shangdu, it was also the venue for major meetings organized by the city government and committee, including People’s Congress meetings. Regardless of the cadre’s rank, everyone got the same food standard – one yuan per person per day from the treasury, with diners only needing to provide one jin of grain coupons.

One yuan would provide enough staple food, and there would be meat dishes too, but they couldn’t eat loaches every day!

Xia Xiao Lan wasn’t disappointed – there was meaning behind Hu Yong Cai’s words. If they couldn’t handle twenty-some jin daily, what about every few days? Business required investment – she wasn’t after quick profits. As long as she established a good relationship with Hu Yong Cai, she wasn’t worried about selling her loaches.

“I’ll follow your guidance.”

Seeing that she wasn’t pushy, generous, and beautiful to boot, Hu Yong Cai had a very good impression of Xia Xiao Lan.

“Uncle Zhu Liang is a generation above me, no need for formalities – just call me by name.”

Xia Xiao Lan immediately took the opportunity:

“Elder Brother Hu!”

Hu Yong Cai smiled until his eyes became slits, “Wait here, I’ll call someone out to weigh the loaches.”