Chapter 164: There is No Honest Merchant

No sooner said than done; starting a day early meant earning money a day earlier.

After having a simple lunch and taking a short nap, Xia Yan grabbed the remaining money from her clothing purchase and headed straight to the vegetable market just as the evening rush was beginning.

"Are you that young woman from the residential compound? Come and see what you need."

The egg vendor recognized Xia Yan at a glance.

Surprised that the vendor remembered her, Xia Yan replied, "Aunty, I'm here to buy some eggs. Do people in business always have such good memories? It's been quite a while since I last bought eggs here."

"My memory isn't actually that good. But you asked about quail eggs last time, and secondly, you're so pretty that I naturally remembered you."

"Thank you for the compliment, Aunty. You're making me blush."

Xia Yan chuckled happily, her hands staying busy as she spoke, "Aunty, I need quite a few eggs today."

The elderly egg vendor looked at her, pointed at the eggs in front of her, and smiled, "You girl, I've only got about ten jin of eggs here. That won't even be enough for you to eat."

"Aunty, I'm here to buy wholesale. I'm planning to start a small business."

At the mention of doing business, the elderly woman grew slightly guarded, never expecting this young and pretty girl to be a middleman.

Noticing her tense expression, Xia Yan quickly added an explanation, "I'm going to sell tea eggs in the military family compound."

"Tea eggs? This is the first time I've ever heard of anyone selling those."

Hearing this, the old woman relaxed her guard. But did people actually eat such a thing? Still, business was business, and this sounded like a large order. "Girl, how many are you planning to buy?"

"At least thirty jin!"

"Thirty jin?!"

The elderly woman was startled, not expecting such a large quantity at once. "Do you need this much every time?"

"Yes. But I'll probably only be the one coming to buy them these first few times; after that, my mother-in-law will come." Xia Yan figured she should settle the price now and tell Chen Qiumei to buy them here later, so that her mother-in-law wouldn't run into price discrepancies and end up losing out if the cost was too high.

"How about this? I have a relative in a nearby village who runs a chicken farm, and my eggs come from him. If you think it's alright, I can introduce him to you. You two can negotiate, and once you set a schedule, I can have him deliver them to my stall."

The old woman figured that if this tea egg business thrived, it would lead to a long-term partnership, and since she was the one making the introduction, she could surely make a little profit off it.

Xia Yan was sensible too. "Aunty, I'll negotiate the price directly with you. I trust that whatever price you give me will definitely be the most affordable."

By putting it that way, the old woman wouldn't have the heart to quote too high a price.

"You really have a way with words, girl. Here is what we'll do: I won't make much profit off you. I usually get them from him for thirty cents a jin and sell them for fifty cents. I'll let you have them for thirty-five cents a jin. How does that sound?"

At thirty-five cents a jin, she would make a profit of one yuan and fifty cents on thirty jin. That wasn't a small amount.

Xia Yan agreed without a moment's hesitation. Even if she negotiated with the farmer directly, the price would likely be around this mark, and dealing with it herself would be too troublesome. "Alright, Aunty. From now on, I'll come a day in advance to let you know, and you can have them ready for me the next morning."

"Deal."

Since Xia Yan was straightforward, the old woman had no objections. "Girl, what's your name?"

"Xia Yan."

"Little Xia, just call me Aunt Wang from now on."

Aunt Wang was quite warm and offered her own name in return. "I'll take a trip down to the village after I finish business today, and you can come pick up the eggs tomorrow morning. How does that sound?"

"Oh, and Aunt Wang, please don't pick eggs that are too large. About ten eggs to a jin would be ideal, something around this size."

Xia Yan picked an egg of medium size from the stall to show Aunt Wang.

"I understand!"

Of course Aunt Wang understood. Large eggs commanded one price, while smaller eggs commanded another. Besides, if they were all on the smaller side, customers couldn't compare sizes and complain.

Indeed, there were no honest merchants.

Xia Yan then thought about checking the prices of spices and tea leaves.

Hearing this, Aunt Wang offered, "I'll take you there. I know quite a few people in this market."

With that, she led Xia Yan deeper into the market and introduced her to a young man: "Li Baibiao, Aunt Wang is bringing you some business. This young lady is a relative of mine and wants to start a tea egg business here. She's looking to buy some tea leaves and spices from you. Give her a good, cheap price."

The young man was smoking a cigarette, wearing a wide smile. "Easy enough! Since they're coming through Aunt Wang, of course it'll be cheap."

After speaking, he glanced at Xia Yan. He didn't for a second believe they were relatives; this girl clearly looked like she was from the city. Having known Aunt Wang in the market for so many years, how could he not know her ways?

She simply wanted to skim a little benefit off the top.

"How much do you need?"

Xia Yan stated the quantities and mentioned that if the quality proved satisfactory, they could establish a long-term partnership.

Li Baibiao nodded upon hearing this and quoted her a price—slightly higher than wholesale, but cheaper than retail.

Having bought spices before, Xia Yan nodded when she heard Li Baibiao's price, which was thirty percent cheaper than buying individual items.

Without another word, she pulled out her money and bought a pack.

Xia Yan gave Aunt Wang a small deposit, and after confirming the pickup time for the next day, she returned home fully satisfied.

When she arrived home and Chen Qiumei saw her carrying so many things, she realized her daughter-in-law truly was a woman of action who wasted no time once she made up her mind.

"You girl, why didn't you ask Lin You to go with you when buying so many heavy things?"

Xia Yan shook her hands. Though the spices didn't look heavy individually, hauling them back from the market was quite a workout.

"Mom, it's not that heavy. Lin You went to the military district for some meeting; I can't bother him every single time."

Now that all the preparations were complete, all she needed was for the eggs to arrive, buy a large pot, and get some honeycomb briquettes. Everything would then be in place.

Early the next morning, figuring it was still a bit early to pick up the eggs, Xia Yan decided to inquire about honeycomb briquettes first. As she reached the entrance of the compound, she ran into Sun Xiaofen.

Upon hearing that Xia Yan was looking to buy honeycomb briquettes, Sun Xiaofen immediately slapped her thigh. "I know someone who sells them! He's a friend of my husband's."

"Oh?"

Delighted, Xia Yan thought that truly, finding what you're looking for takes no effort at all. She had been wondering how to find a connection to buy briquettes more cheaply, and here one had practically fallen into her lap.

It seemed that transmigrators really did come with their own halo.

"Sister Sun, then I'll trouble you to introduce us."

"Think nothing of it, it's just a word. Besides, I'm waiting to eat more of those tea eggs you make."

Sun Xiaofen hadn't eaten the tea egg she brought home last time; she had given it to her daughter and husband, both of whom assumed Sun Xiaofen had made it herself. Her husband had even accused her of keeping such culinary skills hidden after all these years without ever cooking them for him.

She was dying to know what the secret to that flavor was.

"Rest assured, Sister Sun, you can eat them for free from now on," Xia Yan said with a smile.

Sun Xiaofen shook her head. "That won't do at all. Business is business, and you're trying to make a living. Whenever I eat, I pay!"