Chapter 15: Wan Zhenzhen Sells Popsicles Wan Zhenzhen immediately decided to get into the business. Selling popsicles was the lowest-cost individual enterprise of the era; all one needed was a bicycle and an iron box. Once the popsicles were wholesaled, as long as one could endure the heat and hardship, every stick sold meant pure profit. Wan Zhenzhen took out her only dozen or so yuan, prepared to ride her bicycle to wholesale some popsicles, and planned to set up shop right outside the No. 1 Staff Primary School at dismissal time to compete directly with Qian Qing. As she was about to leave, Old Lady Wang began speaking with biting sarcasm: "So many chores at home still unfinished, yet you're rushing out? Truly, people from small, humble families have no upbringing."

Wan Zhenzhen swallowed her anger. Upbringing? What great lineage did your family boast? A widow and her orphaned son barely clinging to worker status, yet acting as if they owned the sky! Nevertheless, she restrained herself and explained to Old Lady Wang, "Mother, haven't you noticed? Our neighbor Qian Qing is making good money selling popsicles. I see her pushing her tricycle every day; she must be earning several dozen yuan daily. Since I can't secure a permanent position at the factory, idling at home all day isn't sustainable. I thought I'd try selling popsicles outside too, just to bring in some extra income."

The Wangs lived next door to Qian Qing. Old Lady Wang, watching Qian Qing come and go, couldn't help but feel envious. Yet, concerned about saving face, she deemed individual entrepreneurship shameful and had frequently gossiped downstairs about Qian Qing's shortcomings.

"Just married and already causing trouble; clearly she's taking advantage of Zhou Hao being away. Just wait until Zhou Hao returns; he'll surely teach her a lesson!"

"Running an individual business so shamelessly, treating the factory housing as her own storefront—what thick skin!"

"A woman running around outside all day; who knows what she's really up to. Zhou Hao is such a fool, marrying someone like this and then daring to go on a business trip without even asking his mother to keep an eye on her."

… Hearing now that her own daughter-in-law was entertaining similar thoughts, Old Lady Wang instantly exploded.

"What? You want to become an individual vendor too? Is this house too small for you? Hah! I knew you were cozying up to that Qian woman next door. Are you planning to learn those disreputable tricks from her?"

In the past couple of days, when Old Lady Wang cursed Qian Qing, Wan Zhenzhen had secretly cheered, agreeing that Qian Qing was restless; after all, even before marriage, Qian Qing had often flirted with male classmates. But now, being scolded this way by Old Lady Wang, Wan Zhenzhen felt deeply unsettled.

"Mother, relying solely on Hua Zi's wages leaves us extremely tight. We adults can manage, but I might conceive at any time. Surely we wouldn't want your grandson to suffer hardship then? If I sell some popsicles, I can contribute a little to the household. Besides, why should all this business belong exclusively to Qian Qing? We are also part of the oilfield community. I'll only go out around noon and afternoon; it won't interfere with cooking."

Wan Zhenzhen knew exactly what words would resonate with her family. The mention of a grandson instantly struck Old Lady Wang's heart. Indeed, her daughter-in-law could become pregnant at any moment. Although Old Lady Wang currently held several hundred yuan, spending on a grandson was never considered excessive. Anyway, having this daughter-in-law loitering at home was eyesore enough; letting her go out to earn some money was fine. Her point was valid too: why should all the benefits go to Zhou Hao's family? Did the primary school gate belong solely to Qian Qing? Having secured her mother-in-law's approval, Wan Zhenzhen also gained permission to use the family bicycle. She immediately took advantage of the free afternoon to wholesale popsicles. Upon arrival, however, she realized disaster struck: she didn't have an iron box. After riding under the blazing sun for so long, Wan Zhenzhen felt as though she were melting, and she didn't want to ride back home.

Instead, she directly asked at the counter whether she could buy a secondhand one. The clerk was unusually enthusiastic today; flipping secondhand boxes earned him several yuan each time. He had sold quite a few to Qian Qing just days ago and had tasted the sweetness of profit. Thus, he was exceptionally accommodating now.

"Ten yuan per box. I'll line it inside with cardboard for you; you can add more thick clothing at home. One box can hold a hundred popsicles."

Wan Zhenzhen didn't think ten yuan was expensive. After all, having been reborn from several decades in the future, she had grown accustomed to future prices; hearing "ten yuan"

now didn't bother her much. However, she only had eighteen yuan on her: ten saved before marriage, and eight secretly taken from Wang Hua's pocket. Wang Hua, being a man, never kept track of his money; even if Wan Zhenzhen sneakily took one or two yuan daily, he wouldn't notice.

"Can you lower the price? Even if I made an iron box myself, it wouldn't cost more than five yuan. Isn't charging ten rather heartless?"

The clerk immediately frowned. Does she know how to speak properly? Who doesn't know making one costs just a few yuan? But aren't you in a hurry to use it? If I sold them at five yuan each, what profit would I make?

"Do you want it or not? If not, forget it."

He wasn't going to waste any more time on her. Wan Zhenzhen hesitated reluctantly for a moment but ultimately didn't want to ride back again under this blazing sun. If she went back to find someone to make one, she wasn't sure whether she could sell anything today.

"Give me one then."

The clerk rolled his eyes. All that talk, yet she still buys? Couldn't she have spoken more politely earlier?

"Comrade, truly can't you lower the price even a little?"

"No."

Actually, reducing it by one yuan was possible; previously, the lowest price had been eight yuan. But right now, he simply didn't feel like dealing with her, so he insisted on selling at ten yuan each. With a pang in her heart, Wan Zhenzhen paid ten yuan and received an iron popsicle box. She stared carefully at the price list on the wall, momentarily thinking she should stock a bit of every variety, then worrying that the expensive ones might not sell. After long consideration, she finally decided: "Give me twenty saltwater popsicles, ten red bean and ten mung bean."

Cheaper ones sell better; with limited capital, she'd try this approach first. After purchasing the popsicles, Wan Zhenzhen laboriously pedaled away on her bicycle.

Not long after, Qian Qing arrived riding her tricycle. Apart from the initial chaotic couple of days, Qian Qing had now become extremely proficient and experienced. She wore a dress but had long sun-protection sleeves on her arms, crafted herself from thermal underwear. An umbrella was mounted on the handlebars, shielding her face and lower body, and a small rattan basket holding a water bottle was attached beside the handlebars. Seeing her like this, the clerk smiled. He'd seen people afraid of the sun, but never anyone this afraid. The key point was that despite such fear of sunlight, she still came out to do business, enduring hardship more than some men.

"You're here. What will you stock today?"

Qian Qing rode her tricycle into the shade, first unscrewing her water bottle and taking a few gulps.

"Give me four hundred saltwater popsicles, half red bean and half mung bean—one hundred each. Also, one hundred orange and one hundred grape. For the milk-flavored ones at twenty fen each, give me fifty."

She had posted notices, and over the past two days, customers had gradually started coming, usually buying ten or twenty at a time. Some requested delivery, but not many. Mainly, she currently couldn't spare extra hands. Originally, the advantage of doing business at the school gate lay in its short duration—just the busy two hours around noon and afternoon. But now, adding requests from residents in the compound and deliveries, Qian Qing felt stretched too thin. She couldn't possibly abandon her stall to make deliveries. These past two days, she had been worried, wondering whether she should hire someone to help share the workload.

"No more of the fifty-fen milk popsicles?"

Qian Qing wanted them too. Running a stall primarily required complete inventory; an item might sell out, but it shouldn't be unavailable.

"Give me ten then."

Selling even a little was better than nothing; worst case, she could discount them later to clear stock. Generously, Qian Qing handed over eight ten-yuan notes. Nowadays, her purchases amounted to dozens, sometimes even over a hundred items. Naturally, her earnings were substantial too; counting money always energized her. Now considered a major customer, after calculating her discounted total, the clerk returned one ten-yuan note along with some smaller bills, practically giving her the lowest price available factory-wide. The clerk lent a hand, helping her load the goods onto her tricycle.Qian Qing had modified her tricycle: she laid a thick quilt on the bottom, stacked nearly ten boxes of popsicles in the middle, tucked small cotton quilts around the sides, and draped another heavy quilt over the top. With this insulation, the popsicles could stay frozen two hours longer than before. She placed one popsicle into an empty cup, screwed the lid on tight—the heat along the route was unbearable, and with the dog days not yet over, the weather kept getting hotter.

She put the cup with the popsicle into her wicker basket; along the way, she could use it to cool her flushed, overheated cheeks. After exchanging a few words with the clerk and taking her leave, Qian Qing thought that the few yuan she'd spent had been well worth it. Paying ten yuan per popsicle cooler here had been a smart buy. It was pricey, yes, but since the clerk now had something to gain, things would be easier for her going forward. For one thing, each time he handed over the popsicles, he'd give them a rough inspection, making sure no broken ones were mixed in. Humming a tune, Qian Qing rode her tricycle to Zidi No. 1 Primary School. Over the past few days, she had figured out the timing perfectly, always arriving just ten minutes before dismissal. Upon arrival, she unloaded only a few boxes into the room, leaving the rest outside to sell.

Once everything was set, she took a milk popsicle worth twenty fen and went over to greet the gatekeeper. The warning from that female teacher last time had made her extra cautious; lately, when selling popsicles, she paid close attention, not even daring to keep them inside the tricycle for fear of jostling these precious students. Now she had even set up a long table here and used chalk to draw a queuing path on the ground, worried that crowding might lead to an accident. From time to time, she also gave the gatekeeper one or two popsicles; if anything unexpected happened, she could count on him to lend a hand. This time, however, things were different. As soon as she approached, the gatekeeper, looking as if facing a great enemy, told her, "Just now I saw a woman pushing a popsicle cart. She said she might come to sell around dismissal too."

Qian Qing was slightly puzzled: "Didn't they say no selling at the gate?"

The gatekeeper waved his hand.

"Seems like they won't enforce that anymore, but I'm not sure." Qian Qing silently thought, What a hassle.

It was precisely this kind of vague wording she feared: when higher-ups issued ambiguous instructions, those below either opened everything up completely or banned everything outright. Judging by the gatekeeper's demeanor, he probably wouldn't dare intervene later. Still, Qian Qing didn't feel too much pressure. Her spot was fixed, and her prices were low. If the other popsicle cart sold at the same price, they'd barely break even—one box held a hundred popsicles; selling at the school would earn them only five yuan, whereas elsewhere they could make ten. Selling popsicles was hard work, far from easy. Running back and forth under the blazing sun required people who could endure hardship. Those who could bear hardship weren't afraid of fatigue; they feared losing money. Before the dismissal bell even rang, Qian Qing spotted the "woman pushing the popsicle cart."

Wan Zhenzhen was drenched in sweat, her hair sticking wetly to her forehead, stray strands soaked through. She didn't know where she'd bumped herself, but she was limping. Both women saw each other. Qian Qing withdrew her gaze and let out a cold smile. She had never targeted Wan Zhenzhen. Even though Wan Zhenzhen had bound herself to Qian Qing and provoked her anger, Qian Qing didn't feel compelled to do anything to her. Harming others for one's own benefit, once begun, has no end. She didn't want to become someone like Wan Zhenzhen. As long as she remained strong enough to crush every conspiracy, that would suffice. Thinking differently, harming others was, to some extent, harming oneself. If one spent all day not focusing on building oneself up but instead following others around, over time one would waste one's own life. Wasn't that another form of erosion?

"Ding-ling—"

The dismissal bell rang, and a huge crowd of students surged out.