Back in the village, He Wenlin first went to find He Na and said that she was going to give her fourteen camisole bras to sell. She told her to ask her classmates if they wanted any after school started, and she would settle the bill with He Na after all the goods were sold.
In other words, He Na doesn't need to spend a single penny now.
Because these are leftover stock items, He Wenlin only needs to charge six yuan per piece. If she can sell them for fifteen yuan per piece, or even more, the extra money is all hers.
"Linlin, are you serious?" He Ni, who was studying at a university away from home, got excited.
"It's true."
He Ni: "If you're not home, how will you get the money?"
"I always come back for Chinese New Year, don't I?"
"OK."
"Thank you for your trouble. I'll head back now."
"Linlin, haven't your parents come back yet?" He Dayong asked, having arrived home yesterday. "You can never earn all the money in the world."
"They'll be home tonight. They left at 10 p.m. last night, and called at noon to say they expected to be home by 7 p.m. They're probably in the county town by now."
Originally, Mr. He and his colleagues were supposed to return yesterday, but the supply and marketing cooperative added an extra order. In addition, business was good because of the Chinese New Year, and He Ling also wanted to sell goods for a couple more days. So Mr. He and He Yongping (He Shan's father) discussed it and decided to set the return date for last night.
So He's father and the others haven't arrived home yet. Because He's father is a new driver, he drives a little slower. He also needs to take Tang Jianguo and Tang Kai, as well as Lin Fei and his mother, home, so their journey will take a little longer.
As soon as He Wenlin left, He Ni said to He Na, "We'll take these dozen or so tank tops with us when we visit relatives for the New Year. We'll ask our cousins if they want them. We'll sell them for 15 yuan for two. If there are any left over, you can take them to your school when school starts and ask around."
"If we can sell two items for fifteen yuan, we can make twenty-one yuan!" He Na calculated the figures, feeling quite pleased with herself.
She's in her final year of junior high and boards at a rural middle school. It's no exaggeration to say she only gets five yuan a week. That five yuan covers everything except food—daily necessities, school supplies, transportation—it's simply not enough!
He Ni's eyes lit up, and she said, "You and Linlin are such good friends, you can ask her to stock up on more goods, and you can sell them too."
"Hasn't she sold them all out by now?"
"Are you stupid? If you sell out this time, there will be next time, right? You can tell her that she can order more next time she goes to restock. Shanshan helps her so much, she doesn't even go home to work, she's definitely not working for nothing. You're just stupid, you sleep all day and never get up."
He Ni looked at him with a disappointed expression.
“I was already up, just a little late, they didn’t wait for me.”
"It's the Lunar New Year, and people who do business are racing against time. They're still waiting for you, and you can't even be punctual! Linlin is willing to pay for your travel expenses and treat you to a meal, but you don't even know to go and train yourself or learn something. You're such a blockhead!"
...
He Wenlin was unaware that He Ni had scolded He Na. After leaving He Na's house, she called He's father to ask where they were. She said that they hadn't cooked yet and were hoping to have dinner together when they got back.
"Grandma, my dad said he's already taken Lin Fei and his daughter home, and they're on their way. They should be home in half an hour at most," He Wenlin told her grandma and He Shan.
"Then I'll go back and tell my grandma too."
He Shan's parents and sister were also in the car, so they hadn't had dinner yet and were all waiting.
At 7:15 p.m., they heard a horn. Nobody in the village had a car, so everyone guessed that it was He's father and the others returning.
"Daming, Aizhen, you're finally back."
"I got back so late that I missed the family reunion dinner (here we celebrate the New Year early, usually in the morning)."
"You must have made a lot of money to come back so late."
"Big boss, you've got the truck and the van too, two vehicles, you really are a big boss."
...
Hearing the envious compliments from everyone, Mr. He couldn't stop smiling.
He took out the Furongwang cigarettes he was carrying and lit them one by one, laughing as he said, "I'm not making any money, I'm just in debt. My car is secondhand, and I bought it on loan. I have thousands of yuan in debt every day when I open my eyes."
"The big boss is still complaining about being poor, is he afraid I'll lend him money?" a neighbor in the village joked.
Mr. He: "If I had money, would you lend it to me or not? I really don't have any!"
"If you have no money, we're even poorer!"
"Da Ming, I'll be waiting for you to play cards tonight."
Mr. He laughed and said, "I haven't eaten yet. You guys play, and win more."
"How long will it take to eat? It's New Year's Eve today. We're playing Bullfighting and Texas Hold'em all night long, waiting for you to come."
"Don't wait for me. I've been driving all day, and my eyes are almost closed. You guys play, and win more."
As he spoke, Mr. He waved and went home.
He Wenlin and Grandma He also timed their cooking perfectly, so that when He's parents came in, there was a ready-made meal.
"Big brother, second brother, eldest brother, and sister-in-law are ready for dinner," the younger brother called out.
Soon, my second brother and his family arrived.
My uncle, elder brother He Wenhua, and future sister-in-law Xia Lijuan returned yesterday afternoon. Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, so we only had a brief meeting during our reunion dinner this morning.
The whole family was together, and He Wenlin and her second brother poured drinks for everyone.
"Linlin, have you sold out of clothes?" asked her older cousin, He Wenhua.
"Yes, they're sold out."
"How much did you earn?"
"It's a partnership of four people, and we haven't made much money. We haven't calculated the exact figures yet; we'll have to wait for Lin Fei to arrive so we can do it together."
These goods were purchased and sold by He Wenlin and others themselves. The second brother did not hide them from his father and eldest brother, but he did not say the specifics.
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