"How about a discount, 6 yuan? I'll buy all these pieces of fabric from you." The old lady had a sharp business mind. Since she had already figured out that she could make a profit by making her own dresses, she certainly couldn't let go of such a good opportunity.

Xia Qingqing pretended to think for a moment, then readily agreed: "Okay, here are 3 pieces of cloth, 18 yuan in total. Would you like to check them, ma'am?"

The old woman took the pieces of cloth, quickly inspected them, nodded in satisfaction, and handed 18 pieces to Xia Qingqing.

After receiving the money, Xia Qingqing immediately put it into the system's warehouse. Adding it to the 6.3 yuan she had just earned, she had made a total of 24.3 yuan today, which was almost equivalent to the wages of a worker in this era.

Not far from the black market, Xia Qingqing sensed that someone was following her. Her heart skipped a beat. Was this for real? She had only earned 18 yuan, and she was already being watched?

Xia Qingqing was a little nervous and didn't bother to determine whether someone was really following her. She quickly walked towards the crowded area.

They didn't remember to look back until they reached a safe place.

As soon as she stopped, a hand patted her shoulder from behind, startling Xia Qingqing so much that she instinctively reached for the plate she kept in the system's inventory and slapped it.

Fortunately, at the last moment she saw that the person who came was a boy who looked to be in his early teens, and she quickly stopped what she was doing.

He asked in a harsh tone, "Little kid, why did you suddenly pat my shoulder?"

Honestly, if the child hadn't looked so small and thin, her brick would have already made intimate contact with the other person's forehead.

The little boy probably realized that his behavior was wrong, and he apologized to Xia Qingqing with embarrassment: "Sister, I'm sorry. Did I scare you? I just saw you selling cloth."

Before the boy could finish speaking, Xia Qingqing immediately distanced herself from him: "You want to report me? Don't talk nonsense. I didn't sell any fabric. What evidence do you have to prove that I sold fabric?"

She had already put the money into the system's warehouse, and there was no evidence of any wrongdoing on her. There were no cameras around, so she wasn't afraid of being reported.

Seeing that Xia Qingqing had misunderstood, the little boy hurriedly waved his hands: "No, I don't want to report you. I just asked if you need help selling cloth. You can give me a little errand fee."

He had done this kind of thing for others before. Because he was a small child, few people noticed him, making it easier for him to do this kind of thing than for adults.

Xia Qingqing wasn't stupid; how could she believe a stranger, even if the other person was a boy of about ten years old? She refused expressionlessly, saying, "No, you should go find someone else."

"Sister, wait a minute," the little boy grabbed Xia Qingqing's sleeve as she was about to leave.

The little boy's name was Qin Chuan. After pulling Xia Qingqing aside, he quickly explained his basic situation in a few words.

Then he said sincerely, "Sister, you should know that private transactions are illegal. If I get caught helping you sell things, I will definitely not betray you, okay? I just want to make some money."

He would take the risk of being arrested, all he needed was some reward from Xia Qingqing.

After hearing Qin Chuan's words, Xia Qingqing hesitated for a moment, but she had to admit that she was indeed tempted.

Doing business privately not only means worrying about getting caught, but also about being double-crossed. It would be ideal if someone could help you.

Even if something really happens, she will at most lose some supplies, but her safety will be guaranteed.

Looking at the boy's pleading eyes, Xia Qingqing questioned, "How can I trust you? What if I give you the thing and you just run away?"

Seeing that Xia Qingqing no longer denied having the cloth, Qin Chu'an's face lit up with joy. She pulled Xia Qingqing to a less crowded place and said, "Sister, come with me."

He looked around and, after making sure no one was watching, took a jade pendant off his neck: "I can leave this with you. It's a family heirloom, so don't worry, I definitely won't run away."

Xia Qingqing's eyes lit up when she saw the jade pendant the boy handed her. The jade pendant was of excellent quality. Although she didn't know much about jade, she thought it would be worth hundreds of thousands in the future. Of course, that was in modern times. In this day and age, the jade pendant was not only worthless, but taking it out might also bring trouble.

However, what Xia Qingqing valued was not the monetary worth of the jade pendant, but rather the boy's sincerity.

But Qin Chuan was lying. He found the jade pendant by chance; it wasn't his family heirloom at all. However, he had once heard a saying: "Gold in troubled times, jade in prosperous times."

Jade is worthless in today's chaotic world, but who knows what will happen in the future? Maybe one day I'll need it, which is why I've kept this jade pendant with me all this time.

"Okay, then you help me sell cloth. I'll give you a 30-cent commission for every piece of cloth you sell, how about that?"

Upon hearing that she would receive a 30-cent commission for selling a piece of cloth, Qin Chu'an nodded happily, "That's great, thank you, sister."

The two reached an agreement. Xia Qingqing thought it would be too troublesome for her to come to the county, so she simply asked Qin Chuan to wait for her there. Then she quickly found a secluded place and brought over 10 pieces of cloth.

"Here, sell these first. I'll come back to the county in about a week, and then you can give me the money."

Xia Qingqing wasn't worried that he would embezzle the items; she had plenty of these items in her system's warehouse. She believed in trusting those she employed and not employing those she didn't trust.

Qin Chu'an truly had no ill intentions. Fearing that Xia Qingqing might not be able to find him, he even gave Xia Qingqing an address: "Sister, this is where I live. You can just come here to find me next time."

Xia Qingqing nodded to indicate that she understood, and then said to Qin Chuan, "Xiao An, I have other things to do, so I'll be leaving now. Be careful when you sell things."

"Okay, sister."

After watching Xia Qingqing leave, Qin Chu'an picked up a large bag of cloth and took a shortcut home.

——

Qin Chuxin saw her brother carrying a large bag of things home and immediately went to greet him, asking curiously, "Brother, what are you carrying?"

Qin Chu'an affectionately patted his younger sister's head and showed her the contents of the bundle: "Look, this is all cloth. We can make a lot of money when I sell this cloth."

Hearing her brother's words, Qin Chuxin was not happy at all, but was startled: "Brother, where did you get so much cloth? Don't do anything stupid."

Qin Chu'an explained his deal with Xia Qingqing, which made Qin Chuxin frown more and more: "This is too dangerous. What if we get caught?"

Seeing that her younger sister's face had turned pale with fright, Qin Chu'an's smile faded, and she offered a dry reassurance: "Don't be afraid, I will be very careful."

Qin Chuxin shook her head and remained silent, tears finally falling one by one.

She and Qin Chuan are twins, a boy and a girl. Their mother died in childbirth. As the younger sister, Qin Chuxin has been in poor health since childhood and needs long-term nourishment and conditioning.

Fortunately, Qin's father was a driver for the county transportation team. Apart from the money he gave to his parents in the countryside each month, he spent most of his salary on taking care of his daughter's health, which is how he raised Qin Chuxin.

When the siblings were 12 years old, their father died in a work accident. After the accident, Qin's eldest uncle took over the work position left by their father, claiming that the siblings were too young and that he needed to take care of them. He also moved into their house.

As a result, the brother and sister were often bullied by the children of Qin's eldest uncle's family, and they were also poorly fed and clothed under their aunt's care.

Seeing that her younger sister was getting weaker and weaker because of poor nutrition, Qin Chu'an made a huge scene and kicked her uncle's family out of the house, completely severing ties with her relatives in the Qin family.