Mei Fang and Mei Li rode their bicycles along the highway, going from town to town. When they saw a department store in a town, they would go in and talk to the owner. "Boss, we've just opened a wholesale store in the county town. It's all freshly arrived goods. It's right next to the station, so it's very convenient to get your goods." They would then hand the owner a piece of paper with the store's address written on it.
"Now they're even doing door-to-door sales?" The boss was still quite intrigued by this approach.
"If I don't come and promote the store, how will you know the address?" Fang Meili said with a smile.
"Boss lady, with your business acumen, it's hard not to make a fortune."
"Small business, but still making a fortune, just enough to eat."
"You're someone who takes things seriously."
"You have to be serious and careful when doing business. We are very careful in selecting our goods. All the goods have been screened, so you can rest assured when you come to my store to pick them up."
"Okay, okay, we'll come and take a look when we need to order more stock."
"Okay, okay, I'll wait for you at the store. Keep this address handy, so you can find it next time you come."
Seeing a village nearby, I rode over there and didn't miss any of the small shops in the village; even a fly is meat if it's small.
The small river at the village entrance shimmered with light, and the willows on the banks drooped their green branches, which dipped into the water and gently created ripples.
A woman was squatting by the river, pounding clothes. The wooden mallet hit the stone slab with a "bang, bang" sound, accompanied by a few words of laughter. Several ducks floated on the river, flapping their wings and looking for food, splashing water onto the surface.
Fang Meili rode her bike while enjoying the scenery, treating it as if she were on a leisurely trip.
By the afternoon, Fang Meili had lost the lightness she had in the morning. Her steps were no longer as brisk as they had been in the early morning, and each step seemed to require a bit of effort.
Seeing that there were still a few sheets of paper with addresses written on them that hadn't been handed out, Fang Meili gritted her teeth and continued forward.
As dusk bathed the county town in a warm yellow hue, Fang Meili dragged her weary body back on her bicycle, her tires still stained with mud from the country road, and her trouser legs tucked with bits of grass.
Seeing her return, Yuan Xinkang hurriedly went to greet her, helped her sit down, and poured her a glass of water. "You look tired today."
Fang Meili didn't even have time to rest before telling him how many shops she had visited that day, which owners were interested, and that she would be going to even more distant towns tomorrow.
"Take a few days off. How about I go tomorrow? I regret it today. It's just a few words, I just need to give them the address. Why did I have to make you go? Are you hungry? What do you want for dinner? I'll make it."
"I don't want to eat right now, I can't eat, I'm not feeling well, I want to go to bed early." Fang Meili went to bed without eating dinner.
When Fang Meili woke up the next morning, she felt unwell and had no strength. "Xin Kang, I don't even have the strength to get up."
"It must be because you rode too far yesterday and got tired. Go to the hospital to get checked out."
"I'm just tired, what are you looking at? I'm going to lie down for a while longer."
Yuan Xinkang looked at Fang Meili's pale face and said, "It's convenient to go to the hospital. It'll put your mind at ease if you get checked out. Get up, I'll take you there."
Yuan Xinkang hailed a rickshaw and went to the hospital for a checkup.
The doctor smiled and handed over the test results. "It's nothing serious, just overwork. She just needs to rest and recover. Also," the doctor paused, "she's pregnant, so she can't keep running around like this and getting so tired."
"I've been thinking about the shop lately and haven't paid attention to this." Fang Meili and Yuan Xinkang exchanged a glance. Both of them had given birth to a child, yet they still seemed so inexperienced.
"Thank you, doctor!" As she walked out of the hospital with the test results in hand, Fang Meili seemed to have regained some clarity and her weakness had dissipated after hearing that this was the reason.
“I’ll take care of everything at the shop from now on, so you need to rest.” Yuan Xinkang said, supporting Fang Meili.
"Don't be so nervous. When I was pregnant with Tingting, I was running a shop just like that. It was just these few towns east of the county. I didn't even have time to go there yet."
“I’ll go, I’ll go,” Yuan Xinkang immediately replied.
"Then write down some more addresses when we get back to the store."
After Fang Meili and Yuan Xinkang took the initiative to promote their products, the wholesale business in the store gradually improved, and the store became busier.
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