"Don't think about it anymore. At worst, I'll just have to bow my head again."

"We cannot bow our heads forever."

Yang Yanzhou took a deep drag on his cigarette and exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke.

Lu Yuncheng glanced at him but didn't say anything.

The heat rose from the never-dry ground, making people feel irritable.

The two sat on the stone steps of the harbor, gazing at the boundless sea, each lost in their own thoughts.

Before starting their company, they took a trip abroad together.

After visiting ports abroad and then returning to the port near their small fishing village, the stark contrast convinced them to invest in building a larger and more convenient port after establishing their company.

"Brother Shen, if you weren't injured, you should be training in the military camp right now..."

Yang Yanzhou smiled and sighed.

He resigned from his government job to start his own business, and so far only his maternal grandfather has supported him.

The Lu family, being a military family, was even more opposed.

"There are no 'what ifs' in life."

Lu Yun Shen spoke calmly, his eyes resolute, never regretting his choice.

"Let's go to town and call Xiao Jin in Country D."

Yang Yanzhou nodded, the gloom in his eyes vanished, and he returned to his carefree demeanor.

…

In the town.

Lin Ziyan rode her bicycle, stopping and starting, observing the streets of the 1980s.

Most of the street vendors simply lay out burlap sacks and dump their goods on them.

The vendors sat on a rock, most of them with their heads drooping, waiting for people to come and pick their food.

There are many things in the town, and the variety is greater than at the wholesale market.

She walked around for a while, found a suitable spot to set up her stall, and then slowly pushed her bicycle along.

Lin Ziyan saw a food stall with a worker processing seafood at the entrance.

The food stall is made up of two storefronts combined, and it looks very impressive.

"Without ice, all the seafood I brought back from the port today will be stuck with me."

"In this sweltering heat, how can your ice factory just refuse to deliver..."

The proprietress was sweating profusely, shouting loudly into the red landline.

Her eyes were slightly red, and her mouth was dry from talking. The other end of the line said they had no stock and hung up immediately.

Lin Ziyan locked her bicycle and went into the food stall.

"Miss, we only open at night, we don't sell anything now."

The proprietress greeted everyone with a smile, subtly wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes.

Lin Ziyan walked to the cashier and asked, "How many ice cubes do you want?"

The proprietress was stunned, and after regaining her senses, she looked at her warily.

She was talking a little loudly on the phone just now, and this girl heard her?

"Do you have ice?" the proprietress asked doubtfully, but seeing the bicycle parked at the door and her attire, she felt relieved.

These days, if you can afford a bicycle, your family must be quite well-off.

"I have two kinds of ice cubes: one is a large one that is not edible, and the other is a small one that can be eaten directly."

Lin Ziyan remained calm, allowing the proprietress to scrutinize her.

Lin Ziyan wouldn't have gone into the store if she hadn't overheard her making a phone call.

Large round wooden tables and blue plastic chairs are standard features of a seaside food stall.

Although this is a town, you can see the sea just across the street.

"Really?" The proprietress's eyes lit up as she swept away her earlier displeasure.

The fat on his face twitched, and his chubby hand suddenly grabbed Lin Ziyan's wrist.

"Cash on delivery." Lin Ziyan withdrew her hand, her eyes crinkling into a smile.

The proprietress was rubbing her hands together anxiously, looking towards the door as if she was waiting for someone.

Lin Ziyan wasn't in a hurry. She could tell from the phone call that the ice factory wouldn't be delivering any ice.

"Young lady, when can you deliver the ice?" the proprietress asked anxiously.

The ice in the store can only last for 3 hours at most, but we received a lot of seafood today. Without ice to keep it fresh, it will spoil in no time in this hot weather.

Instead of relying on the ice factory, she might as well take a gamble.

The large blocks of ice at the ice rink cost one yuan each, but each time the store charges tens of yuan.

They're used up so quickly that I have to beg and plead every time I call to buy ice.

Not only are they expensive, but they're also frequently out of stock.

"Two hours later."

"Price..." Lin Ziyan didn't know what price the ice factory would offer, so she paused tentatively.

"Large blocks of ice from the ice factory cost one yuan each, and the specifications are..."

The proprietress spoke frankly, with no intention of hiding anything.

It's normal not to know the price if you don't buy ice from an ice factory.

Moreover, the proprietress guessed that the edible ice the little girl was talking about might be a little different.

"I've never seen the edible ice cubes you mentioned, so I don't know the price."

Lin Ziyan pursed her lips and pondered for a moment, "I charge 80 cents for a large ice block of the same size here."

"Edible ice cubes are more expensive. The same size costs 1.5 yuan. They are already cut into small pieces. You can take a look before deciding whether you want them."

The proprietress hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "I want 80 large ice cubes of the same size, and 10 edible ice cubes of the same size."

Lin Ziyan nodded. "Write down a form."

The proprietress didn't ask any questions, wrote down the order, and even took out 5 yuan from her pocket as a deposit.

After agreeing on a time, Lin Ziyan hurriedly left.

…

Lin Ziyan returned to the village.

She rented an oxcart from the village to load the ice from her backyard onto it.

The old man driving the cart was smoking his pipe and helping to lift it.

The strong smell of cigarettes made Lin Ziyan cough incessantly.

"Uncle Chen, I can carry it myself," Lin Ziyan said, stopping him from helping.

She's an impatient person; she can lift a block of ice weighing over 10 kilograms faster by herself than by two people.

Grandpa Chen sat back down at the front of the oxcart, squinting as he continued to smoke his pipe.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!