Chapter One Hundred and One: Illness

Thinking that Shen Qingyi ought to be in her room working at this hour, Lu Caiqing did not disturb her right away.

She pinched An'an's round little cheeks and whispered, "Auntie will make you something to eat."

When she reached the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, she found several new items had been added: meat and vegetables, ribs, and fish.

Life these days… she felt as though even her face had grown rounder lately.

She deftly prepared the meal and set it on the table, then sent An'an to wash his hands in the back courtyard for dinner before going up to knock on Shen Qingyi's door. "Second Sister-in-law, come out for dinner."

Shen Qingyi laid down the pen in her hand and glanced at her wristwatch; it was exactly noon.

When she opened the door, she saw Lu Caiqing all smiles. "Are the bags and wallets all sold out?"

The corners of Lu Caiqing's mouth lifted as she nodded. "And that's not the only good thing. Come eat first, and I'll tell you slowly later."

After washing her hands, Shen Qingyi returned to the dining table and saw An'an and Lu Caiqing sitting properly at their places, waiting for her.

She gathered her skirt and sat down, took up her bowl, and looked at the dishes on the table, fragrant, colorful, and tempting, with a smile. "Go on then—what other good news do you have?"

Only then did Lu Caiqing begin, recounting from start to finish what had happened today with Chen Haixia. When she was done, she asked with a bright smile, "Second Sister-in-law, doesn't it feel especially satisfying?"

Shen Qingyi smiled and picked up a bite of food with her chopsticks. "It does feel satisfying! I never expected her skin to be that thick. She couldn't borrow money, and in the blink of an eye she took your place. For someone so vain, she must have been desperate for money."

"Exactly! Otherwise she wouldn't have done something like this."

After speaking of Chen Haixia, Lu Caiqing asked again, "I heard a customer outside the textile factory bought fifteen of your bags in one go, and wants more tomorrow?"

Shen Qingyi smiled. "I don't have enough time, so I was thinking of becoming a wholesaler. The day I went to scout the place, there was a shop nearby selling accessories. Today, when I was selling bags, I set up next to her. She saw that my items had a high unit price and sold quickly, and she got a little envious.

"So I told her I could wholesale these goods to her for fifty cents to one yuan less per item, and she could resell them.

"Her profit on hair clips and the like isn't nearly as high as on my bags. The moment she heard that, she was tempted, and bought the remaining fifteen bags and wallets from me in one go.

"I stood there for half an hour, and she personally sold six of them. Only then did she ask me to bring thirty more tomorrow, because her husband has a stall in another place."

"Then how much profit were you making when you sold them yourself?"

Shen Qingyi smiled. "When you came back and told me that the stalls at the market were making one to three yuan each, I got the idea. So after I went there, I sold them at the same price as you did, and that created the margin in the middle.

"With the wallets discounted by fifty cents and the bags by one yuan, I made a total profit of seventeen yuan and fifty cents on fifteen wallets and five bags. From tomorrow on, it'll just be one trip, so I'm satisfied with that profit."

Lu Caiqing immediately gave her second sister-in-law a thumbs-up. "Following you really was the right choice."

When it came to business, she was truly flexible and adaptable, bold yet careful, with a sharp eye.

If it were her, she would never have thought of this; she would only have wanted to sell everything as quickly as possible and hurry back.

After lunch, the two of them went to take their afternoon nap separately.

In the afternoon, Shen Qingyi decided to buy a bicycle. Carrying twenty or thirty small wallets in her hand was fine, but ten backpacks hanging on her body would leave her laden all over and particularly conspicuous.

When Lu Caiqing heard they were buying a bicycle, she was overjoyed. The two of them took An'an and went straight to the department store, where they bought a black Phoenix twenty-eight-inch bicycle.

Early the next morning, Shen Qingyi got up before dawn. While Lu Caiqing was making breakfast, she said to her, "I'll make one delivery run first and come back. After breakfast, you can use the bicycle to push the goods to the back entrance of the market.

"Keep an eye on An'an."

She had already arranged the delivery address the day before. The stall owner's wife lived near the textile factory and had given Shen Qingyi her home address clearly. Since her husband set up his stall early, she had told Shen Qingyi to deliver the goods as soon as possible.

Riding the bicycle, Shen Qingyi quickly reached the place. After the delivery was made and payment collected, she came straight back.

By the time she returned, Lu Caiqing had just finished breakfast, and An'an was still asleep. Shen Qingyi handed the bicycle over to her and let her count the goods herself.

"Sister-in-law, you made more than twenty yuan from that one run, didn't you?"

Shen Qingyi smiled. "Mm. I'll keep the accounts."

Lu Caiqing hurriedly waved her hands. "That's not what I meant. I just admire how you use your head to make money. Even if you didn't split so much with me, I'd still be willing to follow you and work."

She still had over two hundred yuan in savings.

"It's fine. Even among brothers, accounts should be settled clearly. There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Shen Qingyi said with a smile.

After counting the goods, Lu Caiqing went out.

For several days in a row, business went smoothly, and Shen Qingyi had not felt this kind of drive in a very long time.

Design work could also make money, but it came once a month; it lacked the satisfaction of money arriving every day.

Shen Qingyi was thinking that she would buy some fruit in the afternoon and visit the Cheng family when a guest came to the house.

After hearing Wang Zhifang's introduction, Shen Qingyi did not dare be negligent. She had to set aside her plan to go to the Cheng family and poured him a cup of water.

When Lu Yan left, he had said that if there were difficulties, one should go to his superior, Wang Zhifang. He ought to be someone worth trusting.

Wang Zhifang studied Shen Qingyi. The last time he had seen her at close range was four years ago, when Lu Yan had just gotten his marriage certificate and was treating people to wedding liquor.

The young girl had been rather shy, with a small face carrying a hint of baby fat, and she matched Lu Yan very well.

She was still beautiful now, but her bearing was entirely different, much more calm and restrained.

He took a sip of tea, a troubled look on his face. "Qingyi, Lu Yan has fallen ill in Lincheng. If you have the time, could you go take care of him?"

Lu Yan was sick? Shen Qingyi's heart tightened. "What illness is it? Is it serious? Doesn't he have a doctor and orderlies?"

"It's not a major illness, but if he refuses to follow the doctor's instructions, it can still be deadly. Who among the orderlies would dare persuade him?" Wang Zhifang looked worried.

Shen Qingyi hesitated. "An'an only started school yesterday."

"I'll speak to the kindergarten and arrange for two months' leave. Take An'an with you. Food and lodging won't be a problem," Wang Zhifang said.

Shen Qingyi thought about the matter of divorcing him, hoping they could part on good terms. After she left, she wanted Lu Yan to treat An'an well. She nodded. "All right. I'll go buy train tickets tomorrow."

Hearing this, Wang Zhifang finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Then thank you for your trouble, Comrade Shen Qingyi. There's no need to go buy train tickets. Taking An'an on the train would be inconvenient, and there are quite a lot of kidnappers these days. I'll have the unit driver take you there directly.

"If there's anything else you need, just tell me, and I'll do my best to arrange it."

"No, that should be enough. Could we leave the day after tomorrow?" Shen Qingyi was planning to have Xia Xiyue take Lu Caiqing to buy goods, and she also needed to make a trip to the Cheng family.

"All right."

After Wang Zhifang left, Lu Caiqing returned from the supply and marketing cooperative after buying seasonings. Hearing that Lu Yan was ill and that Shen Qingyi was to take An'an to care for him, she agreed at once. "Does the wholesale business still need delivering on your side? With our current sales, I reckon it could at most last another week, but we've already made in one month what others make in half a year. Even if we stop for two months, that's fine too."

"No need to stop that long. I'll have Xia Xiyue take you to Yangcheng. You've seen all these styles before, and over these days you should already have a sense of which sell fast and which sell slowly. The ones that move quickly, keep taking. As for the slow ones, decide for yourself whether to replace them with other styles."