Chapter 148: A Prime Opportunity to Stand Out

Early in the morning, Tang Xin pushed her bicycle out of the courtyard. Since she needed to run errands at the commune, Li Xihua had already ridden the production brigade's bicycle back the previous night.

The two bicycles stood side by side, and Tang Xin announced her plan: she would ride her bike with her youngest sister, while the eldest sister would carry their mother.

Due to her work, Li Xihua had also learned to ride a bicycle and was quite skilled at it.

Hearing this, Madam Fang froze for a moment, and then couldn't help but start wiping away her tears.

Hearing their mother's reaction, the two sisters Li Xihua and Li Xiyue exchanged glances, each seeing a heavy wave of guilt in the other's eyes.

Even though they usually fancied themselves good daughters who were filial to their mother, they had actually failed to fulfill many of her wishes.

In the past, they could always find excuses, claiming their mother had never told them.

Yet, their mother hadn't told the eldest daughter-in-law either, so how did she know?

Especially Li Xiyue, who was always sharp-witted and overthought everything. Her mind began racing with wild thoughts:

She had always felt that her mother was biased, but now it seemed there was a legitimate reason for her mother's favoritism?

Feigning ignorance of the complex expressions flickering across the sisters' faces, Tang Xin simply slipped her arm through her mother-in-law's and smiled, saying, "It's fine, Mother. From now on, we can often visit the commune and even go to the county town to watch movies."

She then informed the other three women that Li Sheng had a good brother working at the county cinema, making it very easy to get a few movie tickets.

At this, not only Madam Fang, but the sisters Li Xihua and Li Xiyue as well, were overjoyed to the point of losing their minds.

And so, the group rode their bicycles toward the commune. True to form, the sight of four women riding bicycles all the way forward

turned out to be a unique and scenic view in the Eighth Production Team of the Bounteous Harvest Production Brigade, provoking envy and curious onlookers from many in the brigade.

Upon arriving at the commune, Tang Xin first led them on a tour of the supply and marketing cooperative, converting the grain coupons, oil coupons, and non-staple food coupons in their possession—which were nearing their expiration dates—into practical items for the household.

There was no need to deliberately spend money on things like candies, biscuits, and pastries. As for items like fruits, she planned to wait for another opportunity to take a batch into the county town to sell.

In addition, she bought her mother-in-law, Madam Fang, a black hair comb—the kind that could be used as a hairpin to keep hair neat.

She also bought her mother-in-law two bun nets, and got the pair of sisters some small rubber bands and colorful hair ribbons.

It only cost a few dimes in total, but Li Xihua still felt she was being overly extravagant and wasteful.

Tang Xin: ……

Sigh, the eldest sister-in-law was much cuter when she wasn't speaking!

Aside from those, there were also hair ribbons, silk scarves, sanitary items needed by the household, and various other things, forming a quite large bundle altogether.

Come to think of it, Li Xiyue had accompanied her eldest brother to the commune before, but she had never dared to go on such a carefree shopping spree like her eldest sister-in-law.

And she knew that since her mother and eldest sister were married, the family's finances were tight, making it impossible to spend money carelessly.

Watching her sister-in-law's actions, Li Xiyue experienced a flash of understanding.

Whenever she talked about marrying a good man, her sister-in-law would tell her that a woman's independence was the most important thing.

It was indeed true. If one had status and money, whatever one wanted could be attained through one's own efforts.

Living like that, why would anyone worry about not having a good life?

While the two sisters Li Xihua were purely excited looking at the colorful array of items, Madam Fang felt somewhat nervous.

Faltering, she murmured, "Tang Xin, it's enough that you bought things for yourself. Don't buy them for us; I don't need those—"

"Mother, you need them." Tang Xin cut her off. "In this family, the ones who contribute the most are Father and Mother. Father is a grown man, so I can't meddle. But Mother, whatever you want to eat or use, it's only right that we show our filial piety to you."

Madam Fang felt a sourness in the bridge of her nose, contrasting sharply with how her two biological daughters felt like they had just been picked up off the street.

With the experience gained from the previous few times, Tang Xin was much more generous when she went to the county town again to sell the inventory from her warehouse, and she also knew better how to handle things.

Actually, her apples weren't cheap, but there were still quite a few people coming to buy them.

Tang Xin had also discovered that once a price was set, customers could not be given room for bargaining.

Those who could afford it would buy, and those who couldn't didn't need to. In any case, whatever didn't sell wouldn't spoil if she put it back into the space farm's warehouse.

Apples were already a rare sight in this place, and Tang Xin's apples were large and of superior quality, so many people were willing to buy a lot without haggling upon seeing them.

After a few trips, Tang Xin realized that these people mostly bought the apples to give as gifts.

Naturally, apples were delicious and attractive, and giving them away carried a very auspicious meaning, making them sell relatively much better than other fruits.

During the process of selling these apples, Tang Xin thought of an idea: what if she hired someone to weave some nice baskets?

Combined with other items and made into the style of a gift fruit basket, the selling price would definitely multiply several times.

Her father-in-law knew how to make handicrafts. If doing this required cooperating with someone, wouldn't that be a great opportunity for Li Kai to step forward?

Of course, this was currently just an idea in Tang Xin's mind; she would wait until she had sold everything and returned before bringing it up.

Once the fruits were sold out, it was time for the pastries she had made in the processing workshop. Without needing grain coupons, there were plenty of people rushing to buy them on the black market.

Tang Xin was extremely cautious. Not only did she disguise herself before coming, but she also played guerrilla warfare by changing locations several times.

Therefore, her outing today went smoothly, and she didn't encounter anyone from the market management until all the goods were sold out.

After returning home and finishing dinner, Tang Xin openly called Li Kai outside, saying she had some things to discuss with him.

The others didn't pay too much attention because they all knew that the eldest sister-in-law taught everyone in the family how to read and write, not through a uniform teaching method like a school teacher, but through individualized instruction.

That was, tailoring a unique study plan based on each person's individual characteristics.

Take Li Kai, for instance: he had no interest in farm work, but enjoyed small-scale trading.

His sister-in-law would often teach him knowledge related to that field, frequently causing everyone—including Father Li, Mother Li, and Third Uncle Gu—to sigh in admiration:

The eldest sister-in-law is truly amazing to understand so many things!

Li Kai walked with Tang Xin into the courtyard, stopping right at the courtyard entrance where everyone could see them, and openly began whispering.

Tang Xin told Li Kai that while wandering around the county town, she had noticed that certain goods seemed very ordinary when sold in their raw state.

However, if they were packaged, the perception changed entirely.

Li Kai knew that his sister-in-law had recently been going to the county town alone all the time, acting rather secretive.

Although he didn't know what specific things she was doing, Li Kai also knew that not everything needed to be probed in detail with others.

In any case, he knew his sister-in-law had a sharp mind and extensive connections, and most importantly, she treated everyone in their family very well. That was enough.

Li Kai's business acumen was quite good. With just a slight bit of guidance here and there from Tang Xin, he understood.