"Alright, she's already heartbroken, don't kick her when she's down," Chen Lishu said with a smile, coming to 'Da Wang's' rescue. "Go wash your hands, it's time to eat."
'Da Wang', already deeply discouraged, had no appetite. After a few bites, it returned to its spot, tucked its paws, and dozed off.
Seeing it like this, Chen Lishu felt a pang of sympathy. "It's okay, there are thousands of mother cats in the world. We can get another one if this doesn't work out. I'll make you dried fish next week when you come back."
Upon hearing the words "dried fish," Da Wang's pointed ears finally twitched.
"I have two days off next weekend. Is there anything you particularly want to do? I can accompany you."
"Really?" Chen Lishu's eyes suddenly brightened at the thought of him having time off to be with her.
Gu Xingdong felt a sudden pang of guilt seeing her so happy. Due to his work, he was destined not to be with her all the time like other ordinary couples.
"I want to go boating in the park, and I want to go to the movies."
Gu Xingdong nodded. "Okay."
The next day, Chen Lishu woke up to find Gu Xingdong already gone. Unusually, 'Da Wang' hadn't gone out. Seeing her get up, it started circling her feet.
At first, Chen Lishu didn't understand what was happening. Only when she fed it and saw it gobbling its food did she realize that it hadn't eaten enough last night due to its mood, and was now hungry.
After eating, it disappeared again in a flash. Chen Lishu shook her head helplessly, slung her bag over her shoulder, locked the door, and headed to the city.
Wang Aixiang was already waiting at the apartment. Chen Lishu called her along to the textile factory.
"Do you know someone at the factory, sister?" Wang Aixiang asked curiously as Chen Lishu greeted the guard and went in.
Chen Lishu vaguely replied, "Mm."
They arrived at the building for the factory office. Chen Lishu asked Wang Aixiang to wait to the side while she went straight up to the second floor.
"Xiao Chen is here," Li Zhengxing said with a smile, gesturing to a stool nearby. "Sit there and wait for me for a moment."
Seeing that Li Zhengxing had someone in his office, Chen Lishu didn't say much and went to sit and wait.
Soon, the other person finished their business and left. Li Zhengxing then smiled and asked, "Want to get some fabric again?"
Chen Lishu smiled. "This time I'm here to discuss cooperation with you, Section Chief."
"Oh?" Li Zhengxing raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued by her statement. "What kind of cooperation?"
"Didn't you say last time, Section Chief, that you had a 'gap' in your supply? So, I propose you be responsible for the fabric, and I'll handle sales. We can split the profits fifty-fifty, what do you think?"
Fifty-fifty? Honestly, in all his dealings with others, no one had ever proposed a fifty-fifty split. Most people just paid money and were rarely willing to share profits, and even then, they would expect him to bear the corresponding risks.
"What if the fabric is confiscated?"
Chen Lishu readily replied, "That will be my responsibility."
After working with others for so long, Chen Lishu had come to understand a principle: they would take small favors, just a slight move to give you what you wanted. But as long as the profit was large enough, they would treat the matter as their own business to manage, rather than her having to beg them each time.
As expected, Li Zhengxing's expression became significantly more serious upon hearing her words.
"If you're not at ease, Section Chief, we can write an agreement."
"There's nothing to be uneasy about. Xiao Chen, I trust your character," Li Zhengxing said, taking out paper and a pen from his drawer.
The two parties quickly signed an agreement. From then on, Li Zhengxing would be responsible for providing the fabric, Chen Lishu would handle sales, and profits would be split fifty-fifty. Any loss of goods in transit would be entirely Chen Lishu's responsibility.
"How about this, the factory warehouse currently has a batch of plain fabric. I can move about twenty bolts. Would you prefer to take some first, or take it all at once?"
Taking it all at once might be too conspicuous. Chen Lishu thought for a moment and said, "Let's take ten bolts first, and I'll come back next week for the other batch."
Li Zhengxing nodded and quickly prepared the tickets for the ten bolts of fabric.
Wang Aixiang had been waiting downstairs. Seeing Chen Lishu come out, she hurried forward. "Sister, how did it go?"
"Let's go find a tricycle first. I've paid for it, now we just need to pick it up."
Wang Aixiang was deeply impressed seeing that Chen Lishu had bought the fabric in such a short time.
Hearing that Chen Lishu was going to hire a tricycle, she thought for a moment and said, "Sister, I don't think hiring someone to transport the goods is very safe. Why don't we buy a tricycle?"
"Buy one?" Chen Lishu had never considered this before, but Wang Aixiang's reasoning made sense. After all, hiring someone also carried risks.
"But, Sister Aixiang, can you ride it?" She had only learned to ride a bicycle recently, let alone a tricycle.
"What's there not to know? Anyone with two legs can pedal."
Chen Lishu: "..." Well, her two legs were probably just for show.
With Wang Aixiang's confidence, Chen Lishu took her directly to find a tricycle driver and bought his vehicle for 180 yuan.
"I've never seen anyone bargain as well as you two," the tricycle driver said as he collected the money.
Wang Aixiang chimed in, "That's still quite a lot. A new Phoenix brand bicycle costs about the same, and yours is made from used parts. If you break it down, it wouldn't even cost a hundred yuan."
Upon hearing that she was knowledgeable, the driver shut his mouth and said no more. He handed over the vehicle and turned to leave.
Chen Lishu laughed. "Sister Aixiang, you're really amazing."
"Nonsense, my maternal family lives next to a bike repairman."
After that, they looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.
After buying the vehicle, they first went to the textile factory to pick up the goods and then delivered them to the apartment.
"I'll have to pick up another batch next week. I got this batch of fabric for four mao per chi. We don't need fabric coupons, and we should avoid selling it retail. Let's sell it at the same price as the stores. You try selling it first."
It would be too much trouble to make clothes after transporting them back, so Chen Lishu decided to have Wang Aixiang try selling them first. She would also contact Zhou Bin later. If necessary, she would consolidate all the fabric and transport it again.
After parting ways with Wang Aixiang, Chen Lishu returned to school.
"The neighbors, the Liu family, their sons are back," Li Xiulan said at dinner.
"Mom, didn't the widow Liu come back ages ago?" Liu Yuemin said, placing a large piece of fish belly into the bowls of her two sons, and then another large piece into Gu Xingmin's bowl.
Gu Xingye's face darkened. He had specifically gone to the river to catch the fish for Zhang Xiaoju to recuperate, but before he could eat, Liu Yuemin had already taken two generous portions, picking out all the good meat.
Seeing that he was about to speak, Zhang Xiaoju subtly kicked him under the table. It didn't matter how much she ate or not, but if they quarreled with her second sister-in-law over such a small matter, their parents would be troubled again.
"I'm talking about the Liu brothers coming back."
"They're back too? It hasn't been that long, not even a year, has it?" Gu Xingmin asked curiously.