"Oh, Daddy pooped," the two little ones chirped, their laughter echoing through the small courtyard.
"You ungrateful little things, you dare mock your father? You're rebelling! Let me see how I'll deal with you..." Xie Sui pretended to be an eagle chasing chicks, scaring the two little ones into hiding behind Lin Wanwan. Lin Wanwan helplessly said, "Hurry up and take them to pee and poop, don't wet their pants. How old are you, still playing with kids?"
Xie Sui then let go, "Alright, I'm off to serve you two little ancestors."
The next morning, Xie Sui went to sell canned goods alone, this time to a different village. One couldn't keep milking the same cow. Lin Wanwan was busy at home making canned goods and picking peaches.
When Xie Sui returned, he detoured to the town and bought more white sugar, replenishing their stock of white sugar and pork. He ensured they would have meat to eat once a day, and eggs for breakfast and dinner, so the children would grow up plump and sturdy.
"Comrade, how much are cigarettes?"
"Do you want expensive or cheap ones? Shilin cigarettes are one yuan a pack, Five Golden Flowers are seventy mao, and the cheapest Daqianmen is fifty mao. We have pipe tobacco, which is cheap, only one yuan per jin."
"I'll take a carton of Shilin cigarettes. This is ten yuan."
The sales clerk was stunned. Being able to buy a carton of cigarettes at this time was a sign of wealth. One wouldn't see such a customer even once a year. So young and so generous, it was rare. Her eyes held a different gleam. She asked him, "What do you do? Buying so many things?"
Xie Sui chuckled, "I won't tell you."
Sales clerk: "..."
Why is this guy so annoying!
"I don't need that much, just five packs."
"Five packs it is, thank you. Stock more next time, I'll be back for more." Cigarettes were a hot commodity, and it was difficult to buy them without connections.
He wrapped the cigarettes in clothes. Of course, they weren't for him to smoke; they had a greater purpose.
...
The next morning, Zhang Wenfeng arrived at the Xie family's place with a mule cart, helping Xie Sui load grain onto the cart. "My dad said if anything happens to this mule cart, I don't need to come back. Xie Sui, you can't let me down."
"No way, do I look like such an unreliable person, your brother Xie?"
Zhang Wenfeng scoffed. You're the most unreliable person in the whole village.
"Hey, that method of yours is really effective. My wife loves it. Thanks."
"What?"
"The shirts, they're so sexy!"
Zhang Wenfeng winked. When men get together, they like to talk about these things. It was precisely because of this that Zhang Wenfeng was willing to help Xie Sui, even risking a scolding from his father.
"I'm glad you like it."
He couldn't imagine what Zhang Wenfeng's wife looked like wearing bright red shorts and a white shirt. He had only seen a glimpse from afar when he got married, and couldn't see clearly. Judging by the size, she seemed to be quite a substantial woman.
"What are you two talking about?" Wang Tie Zhu helped move grain, thinking they were slacking off.
"Nothing, let's get to work."
They tacitly understood that Wang Tie Zhu wasn't married yet, so it wasn't appropriate to discuss such things.
Lin Wanwan came over and asked, "Do you need me to go with you?"
"No, Wenfeng is with me. You stay home and look after the kids. I'll be back in the afternoon." Su Dan Novel Network
Lin Wanwan made some pancakes and packed two thermos flasks of cold boiled water for them to have for lunch. She watched the two of them leave.
This time, Xie Sui was heading to the county town. There were no grain stations in the towns. Food rationing was still very strict then, managed by the state, and private grain trading was prohibited. They also had to pay grain tax, unlike in his past life where there were subsidies for farming.
Zhang Wenfeng was skilled at driving the mule cart, and these two yuan were well spent. He even brought a cart driver.
After asking for directions, they arrived at the grain station. The old man at the gate poked his head out and asked, "What are you here for? It's not time to pay the grain tax now."
Xie Sui stepped forward and offered a cigarette. "Uncle, could you help us out? We're having a wedding at home and urgently need money. Can you be lenient about selling some grain?"
Shilin cigarettes! The old man squinted. Only the leaders in the station could afford to smoke them. Xie Sui then handed him another pack, and the old man's eyes immediately lit up like he was looking at his nephew. "You wait outside with the mule cart. Go inside to the second floor and find Manager Yang. He's in charge of this area."
"Alright, thank you, Uncle."
Xie Sui registered and found Manager Yang's office. He was dressed like a typical state employee, a white shirt, blue pants, and a potbelly straining the fabric. He was middle-aged and on the verge of baldness, exuding an air of authority.
"Hello, Manager Yang. I'm from Yushu Village. I'd like to sell some grain. Could our grain station possibly accept it? We farmers need to earn some money for our children's tuition." Listen to that, at the gate it was a wedding, and here it's for tuition. Xie Sui could lie fluently without even a stutter.
"This..."
"Please help us out; it's also a contribution to national construction. Now that life is better, every household has surplus grain. The Party's leadership is good."
Manager Yang smiled. The young man spoke well, and it was pleasant to hear. They had grain quotas from above and would buy as much as they could. However, few people would voluntarily sell. If they didn't meet their quota, it would be distributed to the villages, and the grain station would drive out to collect it. Free grain delivered to their doorstep was a welcome sight.
"The young man has good awareness. Of course, we'll buy it. Corn is fifteen mao per jin, wheat is thirty-eight mao. But it must be top-quality grain; no old grain."
"It's definitely top-quality grain. You can inspect it. Thank you so much."
Xie Sui handed him two packs of cigarettes. "Next time I come, I'll bring you some local specialties from home."
"Next time?"
"The neighbors' children also need to study!"
Manager Yang burst into laughter. This young man was probably here to resell grain, but it was harmless for him to earn some hard-earned money. The state encouraged individual business, and he should support it.
"I'll write you a note. Show it to the people in the warehouse. Next time, you can go directly to them."
"Thank you, thank you so much. With a leader like you, it's a blessing for us common people. If you don't get promoted, it would be an injustice of heaven!"
Flattery never goes amiss, especially when it concerns promotions. As he left, Manager Yang personally saw him out. For officials, there was no better blessing than promotion.
Xie Sui was pleased. Earning two fen per jin of corn might not seem like much, but it added up. A thousand jin would be twenty yuan. Wheat earned three fen per jin. A cart could carry about a thousand jin, meaning at least twenty yuan per trip. This was enough to cover the cost of the mule cart and have some left over. This was just a side hustle; the main income was from the canned goods.
Upon reaching the warehouse, he slipped a pack of cigarettes to the staff and successfully passed the weighing. Then he took a note to the accounting office to get paid. This time, the accountants were all women. Xie Sui unleashed his sweet talk, which women adored. He even saved on cigarettes and successfully received his money.
"Next time, bring some candy for us sisters. We didn't prepare anything today, not knowing so many of you were here."
"Okay, sisters, wait for me."
"Absolutely, goodbye sisters."
Zhang Wenfeng, waiting outside, wondered, "Does his wife know he's so flirtatious?"
"Let's go, what are you staring at?"