Chapter 18: The Good of Parents

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Xu Niannian had long thought it through, she would sell ice-chilled sugarcane water. She would boil the sugarcane in water to infuse the sweetness into the water, then cool the water down and chill it with ice cubes.

It would be sweet, wouldn't make your mouth dry the more you drank, and it was cheap, just 8 Mao a cup. It was bound to sell well.

When she shared this idea, Yang Cuihua and Xu Dawei both fell silent. Their thinking was rather traditional and, having been accustomed to poverty, they didn't understand what those who were slightly better off might think.

Eight Mao was indeed cheap, but for them to spend eight Mao on a cup of water instead of enduring the thirst until they got home seemed outrageous.

However, since it was their daughter who wanted to do this, Yang Cuihua clenched her teeth and agreed.

But she figured that this business probably wouldn't make money.

The reason Xu Niannian discussed it before taking action was that she needed financial support; she had to prepare some things in advance.

But all these things required money, and she didn't have a penny to her name.

Although she had never run a business, Yang Cuihua knew that starting a business required capital.

"Niannian, tell me how much money you need, and I'll get it for you," she said.

In front of Xu Niannian, Yang Cuihua never admitted to being poor, even though their family was so impoverished they were nearly unable to put food on the table.

Xu Niannian had already calculated the cost, so as soon as Yang Cuihua asked, she had an answer ready: "Five yuan."

Upon hearing it would cost five yuan, Yang Cuihua immediately panicked, her anxious lips blistering, "What, that much? How much can you make from selling sugared water?"

No wonder Yang Cuihua was shocked. In this era, workers at the textile factory in town, the ordinary ones, earned just over ten yuan a month. Even those in management only made thirty yuan a month. Five yuan was almost half a month's salary for an ordinary worker.

And the Xu family's circumstances were far from those with family members working in factories.

The family had a total savings of eight yuan. Could you blame Yang Cuihua for being shocked?

"Niannian, how about we don't do this after all? I can support you, and you don't need to worry about your dowry," she suggested.

Xu Niannian didn't know exactly how much savings they had, but judging from Yang Cuihua's reaction, it couldn't be much.

Fearing that Yang Cuihua would be reluctant to part with the money, Xu Niannian quickly assured, "Mom, don't worry. I will definitely earn this money back for you."

"But..." Yang Cuihua hesitated.

She adored her daughter, but she dared not frivolously spend what little emergency funds they had.

Seeing Yang Cuihua's hesitation, Xu Niannian continued to press on: "Mom, life at home is so hard. I want to do my part for the family with my own ability. Don't you trust Niannian? And don't forget, I've graduated from high school, I have a lot of knowledge and won't make a losing deal."

Xu Niannian was playing the emotional card as well as boasting about herself.

Yang Cuihua had always believed her daughter Niannian was the smartest. Since her daughter said she could make money, then she definitely could. Biting her lip, she finally agreed.

"Wait here, I'll go get you the money," she said.

In her heart, Yang Cuihua thought that even if they couldn't make money, with her daughter having spoken to such a degree, she absolutely could not negate her daughter's intention.

It was five yuan, so be it. If they lost it, they could earn it back later. They could not let their daughter feel sad and heartbroken, and they couldn't undermine her confidence.

When Xu Dawei heard that the capital needed was as high as five yuan, he immediately felt a bit disheartened.

The dragon boat races lasted only one day. Forget making a profit; it would be good enough if they could recover the capital.

But like Yang Cuihua, he couldn't bear to dampen his daughter's enthusiasm either.

Xu Zhiqiang, with his clever mind, had listened from the beginning and thought Xu Niannian's approach was workable: "Sister, let me go with you!" he exclaimed.

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Xu Niannian had already planned to ask Xu Zhiqiang for help, so when he offered voluntarily, she naturally wouldn't refuse.

"Okay, you'll come with me when the time comes."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhiqiang nodded vigorously: "Alright."

Yang Cuihua hurried into the main house and grabbed the cloth bag where she kept her money.

It was a floral-patterned handkerchief, so old that its original colors could no longer be discerned.

Xu Niannian watched as Yang Cuihua opened the cloth bag and took out a bunch of change—all Mao notes, along with a few fen coins.

Yang Cuihua counted out the notes one by one, giving fifty Mao notes to Xu Niannian.

The handkerchief was all the money Yang Cuihua had, and seeing as she gave more than half of it to her, Xu Niannian felt a bitter taste in her heart.

This floral handkerchief was Yang Cuihua's money hiding spot; losing five yuan meant more than half its thickness was gone, indicating that she had, at most, only four yuan left.

With so little money at home, Yang Cuihua was still willing to give her so much to do business—how could Xu Niannian not be moved?

This was more than half of the family's savings, and besides, she could tell that ever since she mentioned needing five yuan as capital, Yang Cuihua and Xu Dawei didn't believe she could make any money.

Even so, they were still willing to take out the money; the only reason other than fear of her disappointment, was love.

Xu Niannian once again profoundly felt the depth of love Yang Cuihua and Xu Dawei had for her.

Glancing at Xu Zhiqiang, who looked on with envy, Xu Niannian thought how wonderful it would be if these parents could treat her brother just as well.

The reason Xu Niannian needed five yuan was to buy some additional tools and to have a safety buffer.

Early the next morning, Xu Niannian got out of bed. The dragon boat race was scheduled for tomorrow, so she had to get everything ready in advance today.

She sent Xu Zhicheng with Xu Duoyu to the mountain to cut down all the sugarcane, while Xu Dawei borrowed a bull cart from the production team leader and hauled the sugarcane back with Xu Zhicheng.

As they passed by, if anyone asked, Xu Dawei vaguely answered, "We're fertilizing the vegetable garden."

With reform and opening up, although land reform had not yet been implemented in Hongshan Town and villagers were still collectively working for work points, households were allowed to cultivate their own vegetable gardens.

Many families didn't have enough fertilizer and liked to cut wild vegetable stalks to use as fertilizer for their gardens, so the villagers did not suspect anything when they heard Xu Dawei's explanation.

Meanwhile, Xu Niannian went shopping with Xu Zhiqiang for the necessary items.

To sell sugary water, first and foremost, one definitely needed buckets to hold the water; secondly, clean white cloth was needed to cover them, as many buckets sold nowadays didn't come with lids.

After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee in 1978, China entered a era of reform and opening up. To stimulate the economy, the state encouraged private entrepreneurship, and various ration coupons gradually became obsolete, starting in the big cities.

The winds of reform, blowing for two years, finally reached Hongshan Town.

Now in the year 1980, going to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things, one no longer needed various coupons for most items, except for the particularly scarce ones.

This greatly relieved Xu Niannian—things would have been difficult if they still required coupons.

With five yuan in her purse, Xu Niannian walked into the supply and marketing cooperative with Xu Zhiqiang.

The staff member at the entrance of the cooperative was a woman in her thirties, seated in the front, knitting a woolen sweater.

Xu Niannian searched for a while before she found the buckets. After looking over the various sizes of buckets, she decisively chose the largest size and took six of them.