"Let's go out for a walk, it's too hot here," Zhi Xia said. "How long has third brother been here?"
"He came at noon. He was just about to leave if you didn't come back," An ZhiXian said grumpily.
Zhi Xia raised her eyebrows. "Did third brother come specifically to see me?"
"I guess you could say that," An ZhiXian replied. "Come inside to talk. You look hot. Go wash your face first. I'll wait for you in the living room."
Zhi Xia nodded and went to freshen up first before heading to the living room.
"I heard from fourth brother that you borrowed his shop. What are you planning to do with it?" An ZhiXian asked straight away.
Zhi Xia was not surprised that he knew about this. Second brother probably knew about it too. He was just the first one to come probe for more information.
"I didn't have any big plans for it. Fourth brother doesn't need it in the army anyway. I just wanted to borrow it for now and think about what I could do with it," Zhi Xia answered evasively. "Haven't you heard that the political climate is opening up soon? Many vegetable sellers are already operating without issue these days. Things should get even better going forward, no?"
She was not afraid of opposition from anyone. Su Ying was also doing business. Grandma even wanted to matchmake her with fourth brother. This showed that she was quite open-minded.
Perhaps sensing that Zhi Xia did not wish to elaborate further, An ZhiXian did not ask anymore. Instead, he took out the property ownership certificate he brought with him and handed it to Zhi Xia. "Whatever you plan to do, third brother just wants to tell you to be careful and stay safe. I'll be going overseas soon. This house will just be left empty so you might as well use it if you have a need."
From some behaviors, it was easy to see that Zhi Xia's relationship with fourth brother was much closer than with the rest of them. Even though fourth brother had been in the army for so many years, that had not changed.
An ZhiXian was not complaining. If he wanted to blame anyone, he could only blame himself. When Zhi Xia first returned, they did not have much affection for this unfamiliar younger sister. If not for fourth brother's mediation, their disregard for her would have been even more thorough.
Although things gradually changed as they interacted more over time, they had missed the best opportunity to foster closer ties.
Zhi Xia also did not expect that he would let her hold on to the property ownership certificate.
She laughed and joked, "Isn't third brother afraid that I would occupy his house?"
In this day and age, with the property ownership certificate in hand, she could really do just that if she wanted to, with some effort.
"If you really want it, I'll just give it to you," An ZhiXian said nonchalantly.
To him, the medical books Zhi Xia gave him were worth more than a few shops put together.
"I'm just kidding. I wouldn't dare," Zhi Xia quickly declined, frightened by his serious response.
An ZhiXian felt very helpless. He really wanted to give it to her but understood that she would not take it.
Since he had no use for it anyway, he would just let her do whatever she wanted with it.
After An ZhiXian left, Zhi Xia looked at the property ownership certificate in her hand and smiled silently.
Since he had lent it to her, she would hold on to it first. Who knew if it might come in useful.
Third brother would be overseas for about a year. No one knew what the situation would be like when he returned. For now, he definitely had no use for it.
When the appointed time came, Hu Zhou was already waiting at the door when Zhi Xia arrived.
Seeing the sweat on his forehead and the little girl he carried on his back, yet the bright smile blooming on his face like a flower, Zhi Xia walked over.
"An Jie, this is my daughter Yue Ya. The poor child has no mother. I have to bring her along every day," he explained, somewhat afraid that Zhi Xia would mind him bringing his child. But there were no elders at home and no one to look after her. His neighbor auntie occasionally helped out but he could not impose on others daily.
Zhi Xia looked at the little girl on his back. The child's skin was somewhat dark from too much sun exposure but she was well taken care of and looked spirited.
Under Hu Zhou's guidance, she called Zhi Xia "Auntie" in an indistinct voice.
Zhi Xia patted her head amicably and said to Hu Zhou, "Let's go in first before we talk."
She unlocked the door and went in first. Hu Zhou closed the door behind them and followed her to the warehouse at the back.
The moment the warehouse door opened, piles of neatly arranged fabrics appeared before them. Hu Zhou's eyes instantly lit up red.
"An Jie, did you get all these fabrics without ration coupons?" The last bit was key. Hu Zhou walked over excitedly to inspect them. He realized these fabrics had a wide variety, both thin and thick, clearly indicative of An Jie's powerful sources.
As Zhi Xia nodded, Hu Zhou's excited fingers trembled slightly.
He could already envision how much money he would earn from selling all of these.
After the initial excitement, his mind instantly cleared up. "An Jie, how are these fabrics priced? I think we could price them slightly higher than the state-run supply and marketing cooperatives and they would still sell well."
Zhi Xia already had plans for this. "Hu Zhou, I provide the goods. You have the connections. We can cooperate in two ways. First, you can work for me. I will pay you a salary based on sales volume. The more you sell, the higher your pay. This would probably be safer for you.
The second option is I sell you the fabrics at the sales price. After that, you handle everything. How much you earn depends on your capabilities."
Zhi Xia preferred the latter. She would not need to worry too much and could just sit back collecting money while letting Hu Zhou handle things. She wanted to help Hu Zhou get on his feet. Only when he earned a lot could he expand in future.
Hu Zhou also quickly discerned which option was more advantageous for him. But he still felt somewhat awkward. "An Jie, you think too highly of me. I don't have the capability to move so many fabrics."
Yet, Hu Zhou was reluctant to give up this opportunity to make money that had landed on his lap. He gritted his teeth and swiftly came up with a feasible solution. "Could I ask how the pricing is first before deciding?"
"I've written the prices on slips of paper. You can take a look," Zhi Xia pointed out to him.
When Hu Zhou saw the prices, it was clearly marked to give him money!
Then he heard Zhi Xia add, "These are wholesale prices, which also apply if you choose option two. Pricing will depend on sales volume for option one."
"I understand An Jie is trying to give me a leg up. But could I shamelessly make one more request?" Hu Zhou figured since the hero was not destroyed by a penny, he might as well go all the way. "Can I choose option two, to pay An Jie only after I've sold the fabrics off?"
If there was really no alternative, he would just have to choose option one.
Zhi Xia already knew he could not fork out over 10,000 yuan upfront. That was why she made this arrangement in advance.
After she told Hu Zhou the total price, he selected the fabrics, making sure not to take less.
Zhi Xia passed him a copy of the key since the goods were still in the warehouse. Moving forward, it would be up to Hu Zhou. She did not have the time to oversee things here.
After checking out the goods for a long time, picking and choosing again, categorizing them into several tiers, Hu Zhou finally left, the pricing tags Zhi Xia wrote tucked safely into his clothes.
"Melon seeds...soft drinks..."
Da Hu called out softly in front of the movie theater, slinging his shoulder pole while stealthily sizing up the surroundings.
Glancing back, he saw Hu Zhou walking over with a child on his back. Da Hu instantly straightened his back, baring his teeth. "Little Hu, you've got guts bringing a kid when I warned you not to come here."
In Da Hu's eyes, this was clearly provocation.
He had cautioned Hu Zhou several times that the movie theater turf belonged to him.
Instead of avoiding Da Hu this time, Hu Zhou walked right up to him. "Brother Tiger, we're all just trying to make a living without any deep grudges between us, right?"
Da Hu thought Hu Zhou was afraid and trying to make peace. But instead, Hu Zhou asked, "There's not much money selling melon seeds and soft drinks. I've got a good business opportunity here. Does Brother Tiger want to earn big bucks?"
Previously, Hu Zhou looked down on Da Hu. But now, Brother Tiger had the connections he needed. One should not let money get in the way.
