In the following days, Xia Xiaolan only needed to deliver eels to Shangdu City every other day and bring back oil dregs on her return trip.

She didn’t have to worry about anything else – even selling the oil dregs in nearby villages was handled by Liu Fen. The two matters of divorce and Xia Xiaolan wanting to continue her education prompted Liu Fen to grow up quickly. Though she wasn’t as eloquent as Xia Xiaolan when selling things, the oil dregs had fixed prices, and she didn’t need to search for buyers as pig-farming peasants all needed it.

Delivering eels was even simpler for Xia Xiaolan.

Comrade Zhu Fang, the purchasing agent at Yellow River Restaurant, was truly a wonderful person. When Xia Xiaolan merely mentioned needing to find additional outlets for eel sales, Zhu Fang offered to help. He helped Xia Xiaolan connect with two other restaurants which, while not quite on par with Yellow River Restaurant, were still well-known in Shangdu.

The Municipal Party Committee Guest House ordered 20 jin, Yellow River Restaurant 50 jin, and the other two restaurants 20 jin each.

Every other day, Xia Xiaolan had to deliver 110 jin of eels to the city.

She could earn at least 0.4 yuan per jin, so 110 jin brought in about 45 yuan. On her return trip, she carried 300 jin of oil dregs, earning about 18 yuan per trip… After giving two packs of cigarettes to the oil mill’s guard and the oil dregs seller, the price indeed dropped to 0.02 yuan per jin. They weren’t checking that strictly – they only charged for 300 jin, and she could take as much as she could carry.

If Xia Xiaolan had more physical strength, she could have carried 400 jin. Loading an extra 50 jin without cost would earn her 4 more yuan she was making at least 20 yuan per oil dregs trip. Earning 65 yuan every two days meant Xia Xiaolan’s monthly profit was over 900 yuan. She planned to use several dozen yuan to maintain relationships, so she calculated based on a 900 yuan profit.

At the oil mill, she could have her uncle or someone else make the runs at any time – the guard only recognized her bicycle and just needed to be notified of any change.

The eel delivery locations, however, required careful explanation, as the relationships weren’t close enough to casually switch people.

Take Comrade Zhu Fang, the purchasing agent at Yellow River Restaurant, for example – he was always very enthusiastic when Xia Xiaolan delivered goods… While Xia Xiaolan might be slow in matters of the heart, she wasn’t stupid about understanding others’ emotions. She wouldn’t have held her previous executive position if she were socially inept. Though Zhu Fang’s words were proper, in their few brief meetings, he wore different clothes each time, changed his hairstyle, and by the third time was deliberately showing off his new watch and gleaming new leather shoes.

When a man courts someone, he naturally wants to show his best qualities.

Comrade Zhu Fang believed his advantage lay in his better family circumstances compared to others. To be fair, the young man wasn’t stupid – seeing Xia Xiaolan working hard trading eels, he figured her economic conditions weren’t great, so he targeted his displays accordingly.

Unfortunately, his flirtatious glances were wasted – Xia Xiaolan’s mind was full of formulas and symbols, leaving no room to appreciate Comrade Zhu Fang’s intentions… Coming from a sales background, she wouldn’t look down on a man in purchasing, but even if she were to find a male purchasing comrade in the 80s, it certainly wouldn’t be because he could afford new watches and leather shoes.

It would only be because she liked that particular man.

For the sake of making money, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t expose Comrade Zhu Fang’s intentions.

She had previously called those pretty female sales representatives vases, but now she understood – everyone was just trying to make a living, and it wasn’t easy for any of them!

“Xiaolan, could you come earlier the day after tomorrow? My friend gave me two movie tickets, and I thought…”

“I’m sorry, my uncle will be delivering the goods that day. I have something else to do.”

Zhu Fang was trying to ask Xia Xiaolan to see a movie but was cut off. Before he could feel disappointed, he focused on the key point in Xia Xiaolan’s words.

“Your uncle will deliver the goods?”

That would work too – an uncle was a close elder relative. Getting to know Xiaolan’s uncle would bring him closer to her, wouldn’t it? Though he’d only met Xia Xiaolan four times, Zhu Fang couldn’t be more fond of her.

Zhu Fang had never seen such a beautiful girl. Xia Xiaolan was beautiful, and no matter how many times he saw her, that kind of exquisite, radiant beauty made his mouth go dry, the visual impact never diminishing. Her eyes sparkled when she looked at people, her waist was slender and soft, and her chest was full… Yet such an exceptional beauty spoke and acted with utmost propriety.

She wasn’t trying to be coy; her voice was naturally that way.

If she deliberately acted coy, Zhu Fang might have lost his head and impulsively ordered 100 jin of eels daily just to see her.

It was precisely this straightforward and proper manner that kept Zhu Fang, though preening like a peacock trying to attract Xia Xiaolan’s attention, from ever speaking frivolously to her.

People treat you the way you treat them.

This rule works with normal people, and Zhu Fang, though quite proud, fell within the normal range. Xia Xiaolan couldn’t possibly earn money while enduring harassment – she was a reincarnated person with principles, after all.

“Yes, my uncle will deliver. Is that alright?”

How could Zhu Fang say it wasn’t all right?

Xia Xiaolan smiled and said goodbye, and Zhu Fang’s soul seemed to follow her.

By the time he came to his senses, Xia Xiaolan had already disappeared on her bicycle down Zhongyuan Road. Zhu Fang felt a bit regretful:

“Forgot to ask what she had to do.”

How could he show off his capabilities if he didn’t seize opportunities to help?

Xia Xiaolan spent a week looking through the high school textbooks.

She temporarily gave up reviewing Chinese and Politics, didn’t need to review English, and focused mainly on Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Since Biology carried less weight, she just needed to organize Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry that week.

Looking at the high school textbooks again, she was surprised to find she could still remember some of the knowledge she thought she’d forgotten.

Take the 1984 mathematics exam paper – though she’d graduated many years ago, the memory was still hidden in her brain, waiting for a trigger to slowly recall most of it. It was the same with other subjects – as she slowly took time to review, she could always learn from the old while discovering the new, picking up what she’d learned in her previous life.

While Xia Xiaolan was confident, Chen Qing was very worried. What Xia Xiaolan saw as “reviewing,” Chen Qing saw as “learning” for the first time.

High school knowledge was different from middle school in difficulty. Xia Xiaolan’s middle school grades weren’t known to be particularly good, and without teacher explanations, Chen Qing worried she wouldn’t understand the high school materials at all and would give up on the County No. 1 High School exam. When Xia Xiaolan appeared at the school gate on her bicycle on the agreed day, Chen Qing finally felt relieved!

The scar on Xia Xiaolan’s forehead had faded to a light mark, which she covered with self-cut bangs. The wispy bangs that girls of the future world constantly took selfies with, combined with Xia Xiaolan’s naturally internet-celebrity-like face, gave her an added touch of innocence.

What could she do about being born with looks that weren’t serious?

At least she was trying hard to be a proper person.

“Xiaolan, you’re here.”

Only after Chen Qing vouched for Xia Xiaolan did the school’s gatekeeper let her in. Xia Xiaolan hadn’t brought family members to accompany her for the exam, though Liu Fen had insisted she wear new clothes – fabric bought by Liu Yong from the county town, sewn by Li Fengmei on a borrowed sewing machine. The style naturally wouldn’t be very fashionable, but Xia Xiaolan understood her family’s unwillingness to let her wear old clothes to County No. 1 High School, fearing she might be looked down upon.

In her previous life, no one would have cared for her this way.

Xia Xiaolan was full of confidence today, not intimidated even when Chen Qing led her to meet the County’s No. 1 High School teacher.

The young female teacher didn’t take this exam very seriously, simply pointing to an office desk:

“The test papers are there, do them yourself.”