Chapter 37: The Second Watch
Qian Qing transported the goods to the tube-style building her mother had rented, rather than bringing them back to their own home.
When initially renting the place for her mother, she had already considered the logistics of receiving and dispatching merchandise; this particular unit was located on the ground floor of the building.
The three thousand pillow towels and two thousand handkerchiefs were all packed securely in large cardboard boxes, so even if someone peeked surreptitiously, they would have no idea what lay inside.
It wasn’t that Qian Qing intended to be coy; rather, she planned to sell these items at the night market street. If she started selling them off just three or five at a time right now, what if an acquaintance showed up? Someone with thick skin might insist on a discount simply because there were few customers around.
Qian Qing’s stance was clear: for those with good relationships, giving things away for free was acceptable, but lowering prices was absolutely not an option.
Once you start cutting prices, there’s no holding back the floodgates.
Her mother still sold small items at the school gate; if prices were reduced here, should they be reduced there too? If you give someone a discount of thirty cents, why give another person fifty? Eventually, it’s precisely these kinds of trivial matters that drive people to madness.
It’s far better to set up stall and treat everyone equally, offering the same terms to all.
Zhou Hao helped them move everything inside, while Qian Qing pulled Qian Yu aside to discuss their plans.
She would set up her stall at the oilfield, whereas her sister intended to take the goods back to the countryside to sell.
Qian Yu had just returned and hadn’t yet had a chance to ask her mother about her daughter’s recent progress at school before Qian Qing dragged her into conversation.
“How should we sell? Right here in the village, of course. These items will surely fly off the shelves. In the past, buying even a single hand towel was a nightmare—you needed ration tickets and had to travel all the way to the city. Now, with no tickets required, everyone will be scrambling to buy them.”
Qian Qing sighed helplessly, “We’re from the same village. If someone tells you to take the goods first and pay later, but then never pays you, what would you do? Furthermore, when you sell things, shouldn’t you offer some to your elders? And what if your own family members take your merchandise, sell it elsewhere, and pocket all the profits for themselves?”
Qian Yu: !!!
Qian Qing, who always had endless patience for her own family, now offered her sister some advice.
“I know you haven’t thought this through. From a normal person’s perspective, being able to buy pillow towels and handkerchiefs at prices similar to the supply and marketing cooperative without using cloth coupons should make them grateful to you. But in business, you must never harbor moral expectations. Instead, relying on the most practical relationship of money for goods is far more reliable and less likely to spark disputes.”
Some time ago, when she was selling popsicles, she followed this very principle: be meticulous with the major accounts, but when it comes to minor details, if you wish to draw people closer to you, don’t worry about making a profit—just offer them a little sweetness. It’s impossible to satisfy everyone, so simply choose to satisfy those who matter slightly more to you.
“Here’s the plan: instead of returning to your village to sell, go to the town market. Tell everyone outwardly that you’re selling on my behalf, and have your brother-in-law help out. After the sales are done, set aside some of the goods to take back to the village. Sell part of them at cost price, and give the rest away for free.”
“Distinguishing between close and distant relationships must be made explicitly clear. You need to plainly show others that when good opportunities arise, only those with strong ties to me get priority. Also, don’t be too foolish; remember to give some to your village head and others in the village who hold influence.”
“Finally, regarding your own family: give four pairs of hand towels and four handkerchiefs to your mother-in-law, along with twenty yuan, telling her it represents half your earnings, and let her distribute it as she sees fit.”
The Huang family that Qian Yu married into was large, consisting of four brothers and an unmarried younger sister. The entire household was crammed together in one place, filled with constant noise and commotion without a moment’s peace.
Qian Yu was a city girl, and marrying into the Huang family was considered a step down for her. Yet, paradoxically, her mother-in-law liked her the least among all her daughters-in-law, constantly finding fault with her. While it was true that Qian Yu had given birth to a daughter, there were other reasons as well.
Qian Qing saw it clearly: some people believe that tormenting a daughter-in-law who comes from better circumstances is a way to assert their own status. Qian Yu’s mother-in-law suffered from precisely this flaw, thinking, “So what if you’re from the city? Once you marry into my family, you belong to us. Having borne a daughter, you deserve to eat the worst food and live in the most dilapidated room.”
It was only because Qian Qing’s brother-in-law, Huang Sanping, could occasionally intervene and persuade his mother that Qian Yu’s sister hadn’t been worn down by that mother-in-law until she lost all spirit.
In Qian Qing’s view, if no one provokes trouble, then quietly minding one’s own business and holding onto one’s livelihood is the right approach; but if someone does provoke trouble, one cannot simply shrink back indefinitely.
She had at least completed high school; although those years were consumed by political campaigns, one saying held true: only through struggle could peace be won.
Since the entire household—mothers-in-law, daughters-in-law, sisters-in-law, unmarried aunts, elder uncles, and younger uncles—were none of them easy to deal with, then let no one remain idle. Let the struggle begin!
This was precisely why Qian Qing had limited the number of pillow towels and handkerchiefs her sister brought home.
All four sons of the Huang family were already married. Huang Sanping, the third son, had two older brothers above him and a younger brother and sister below; his sister was on the verge of getting married.
Qian Yu brought home four pairs of pillow towels and four handkerchiefs. By all rights, this should have been just enough: one pair of pillow towels each for her three sisters-in-law and her mother-in-law, plus her sister-in-law. However, there were also the eldest grandsons to consider. The son of the Huang family’s eldest branch had married just last year, and the eldest son of the second branch was on the verge of marriage himself.
Under these circumstances, how Old Lady Huang would distribute these four pairs of pillow towels became a thorny issue.
If she withheld a pair from her daughter to give to the eldest grandson’s wife, her daughter would surely be displeased. Conversely, if she reserved it for her daughter and skipped the new bride, wouldn’t the freshly married daughter-in-law cause a scene? Furthermore, the fourth branch also had a son; though he was young, he was still a boy. If the grandchildren of the first two branches all received their share, on what grounds could the fourth branch be denied an extra one?
Not to mention the even scarcer handkerchiefs. There were three daughters-in-law, one daughter, Old Lady Huang herself, plus one current granddaughter-in-law and one future one to account for.
The tale of “two peaches killing three warriors” will always find its market.
Qian Qing didn’t necessarily need to push her sister into divorcing the Huang family to extricate her from their quagmire; all she needed was for the Huangs to turn on each other. Once they did, no one would keep their eyes fixed solely on her sister.
After all, with so many members in the Huang household, conflicts were inevitable. The real issue was that Qian Yu made such a perfect target: an urban woman who had borne only a daughter. This gave Old Lady Huang ample reason to torment her exclusively. As long as the other branches of the family weren’t being harassed themselves, and harbored hopes that Qian Yu’s lack of a son might allow them to adopt one of their own boys into the third branch—thereby inheriting a share of that branch’s future wealth—they naturally sided with Old Lady Huang.
All her sister needed to do was give the family a symbolic amount of money now and then, occasionally returning with small favors designed to stir discord. Soon enough, they would be fighting among themselves.
Qian Yu wasn’t foolish; upon hearing her sister’s words, she quickly figured things out.
“…Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”
Qian Qing couldn’t care less: “What’s inappropriate about it? You’re busy every day, your hands covered in calluses, and look how thin Qianqian has become? Now we’re just making sure they don’t sit idle at home but find something to do. What could possibly be wrong with that?”
Actually, there was another advantage to this approach: since her older sister had openly paid the money, the other branches of the family, unless blind, would have to recognize that their sister was on the verge of prosperity. Whether they hoped to gain small favors in the future or harbored other motives to share in her success, at the very least, they would have to show her proper respect outwardly!
Feeding pigs, cooking, and doing laundry—don’t you have hands of your own?
After these past few days, Qian Yu had grown to admire her younger sister immensely, fully understanding that her sister’s actions were meant for her own good.
“All right, I understand.”
The mocking words from her sisters-in-law when she last returned home announcing her intention to become an individual business owner still echoed in her ears. If she didn’t make progress now, wouldn’t she be letting down those harsh remarks they had made back then?
Back home, Qian Qing took a shower and freshened up.
Zhou Hao had overheard every word exchanged between her and her sister just moments ago; now, he feigned deep sympathy.
“Wife, the way you egged on our sister earlier was terrifying—you looked like a demon king.”
Qian Qing, expressionless, tossed the towel in her hand into Zhou Hao’s grasp: “If I’m the demon king, then what are you?”
Zhou Hao’s eyes darted playfully as he pitched his voice high: “I am Daji, my King.”
Qian Qing settled herself into Zhou Hao’s lap. “Very well then, Daji, dry your King’s hair.”
Pitching his voice into a coquettish falsetto, Zhou Hao shot Qian Qing a flirtatious wink. “Right away, my King.”
“My King, is this pressure comfortable?”
“Your Majesty, the ends of your hair are a bit dry; you should make sure to get more rest.”
“Your Majesty, your hair has been dried. Let Daji attend to you as you rest.”
“…Zhou Hao!”
****
News about the night market street eventually broke, but with Qian Qing having laid the groundwork with Chen Yan, the director of the comprehensive management office, and Li Hongmei, the women’s director who could vouch for her character, securing a fixed stall was hardly a difficult task for her.
This short street, less than five hundred meters long, was less a night market and more a modest gathering of street vendors.
The factory itself was feeling its way across the river by touching the stones, so it avoided any fancy arrangements. It simply marked out areas on the ground, assigned them numbers, and set the rent at ten yuan per stall per month for a one-year lease, giving priority to families of oilfield workers. The morning market cost only five yuan a month; after all, it mainly catered to people buying vegetables, with few oilfield residents involved, and its establishment was meant to bring convenience to everyone.
As one of the first selected vendors, Qian Qing successfully secured a prime spot not far from the intersection.
On that evening, Qian Qing finished her dinner early. Zhou Hao helped her carry everything over and set up a small folding bed. Unlike other goods, pillow towels and handkerchiefs couldn’t just be placed directly on the ground; it felt somewhat unclean to do so.
Qian Qing and her mother worked together, though the latter’s small shop was still in the midst of renovation. Zhou Hao had drawn up a design and sent it off to have the shelving built—a new style featuring single-tier rows equipped with numerous small hooks, allowing certain items to be hung for better visibility.
Naturally, crafting these modern shelves took time, which is why Qian Mother’s shop had yet to open its doors.
But good food is worth the wait. During these days, Qian Mother devoted herself entirely to cooking for Qianqian, occasionally treating the young couple, Zhou Hao and Qian Qing, to her culinary delights as well.
The night market street gradually grew busier, with more vendors setting up stalls; after all, no one is truly foolish. While some outdated notions might still linger among the oilfield employees, which family doesn’t have a few relatives from the outside world?
The stalls were set up with remarkable speed, clearly demonstrating how many people saw great potential in this untapped market.
Qian Qing and her mother laid out all the pillow towels and handkerchiefs. Along the night market street, the factory had specially strung up electric lights, making everything perfectly visible even after dark.
Stacked high in neat piles, the display was strikingly impressive; almost instantly, Qian Qing was engulfed by a surging crowd of customers.
“Don’t push, please—take your time.”
“Three yuan for a pair of pillowcases—no coupons needed, any pattern available.”
“Handkerchiefs at thirty cents each, also no coupons required.”
……
These shouts immediately drew even more people.
No tickets required! And just look at the patterns and quality—these would sell for three or four yuan at the supply and marketing cooperative! Who wouldn’t rush to grab them? Hurry and call over everyone you know! If we wait any longer, who knows if such a good deal will still be available!
Qian Qing laid out five hundred pillow towels and two hundred handkerchiefs in a single evening; good merchandise must give people the urge to snatch it up, otherwise how could one possibly draw a crowd?
Zhou Hao stood to the side, his sharp eyes scanning for any pickpockets or petty thieves, while Mother Qian chatted with a group of women about fabric patterns and quality; Qian Qing, for her part, focused solely on collecting payments and handing out goods.
In the blink of an eye, half the items on the folding bed were gone.
Just then, someone pushed their way in, shouting loudly, “I’ll take all of these! All of them!”
Qian Qing looked up and saw Wan Zhenzhen, whom she hadn’t seen much of lately.
But…
“…How have you gotten so fat?”