Chapter 57: Threading the Needle for Him

Because Li Kai was Li Sheng’s younger brother, everyone knew each other well, so Chen Liguo didn’t bother to avoid him when he spoke. Yet, his words still startled them—both Li Kai and Tang Xin were stunned.

Goodness, he was charging ten cents a packet for something so trivial from a patch of worthless farmland? Even pork only cost a few dozen cents per jin. And he talked about seeking the public good, when in fact he was simply chasing obscene profits for himself.

Tang Xin found herself deeply impressed. No wonder this man would play a critical role in Lu Liqin’s later rise; he truly was a talent.

But now, Tang Xin narrowed her eyes with a smile. Since she’d intercepted this talent ahead of time, could she snatch up the business opportunity first?

“This stuff tastes good, doesn’t make much noise to disturb the moviegoers, and it doesn’t cause any health issues. The price is more than fair.”

To be honest, anyone who could afford the time and money to come to the cinema wasn’t from a poor family.

This was just a small sideline attached to the cinema’s ticket sales, much like the seeds and popsicles they already sold—a little extra income to supplement their lives.

Generally, leaders didn’t care much for such things, figuring there wasn’t much money in it and the work was humble anyway.

Indeed, to those who sat in offices, petty businesspeople were always looked down upon.

Still, Tang Xin advised, “Besides keeping a steady hand, you should also set aside a portion of the profits for your supervisor.”

Perhaps Chen Liguo would be a business magnate one day, but right now, he was still a greenhorn. Inspired by Tang Xin’s idea for a little business, he hadn’t thought it all through.

So he simply answered, “I actually applied to my supervisor before starting this, so everything’s above board. My supervisor said the money I make can count as my overtime allowance.”

Tang Xin shook her head and told him, “Whether your supervisor wants it is his business. But you should offer it—that’s your attitude. If he accepts your share, in a sense he’s your partner, and in the future, he can shield you if any issues arise.”

Chen Liguo considered this and couldn’t help but give Tang Xin a thumbs up. “Brilliant, sister-in-law, you really are amazing. How did you come up with that?”

She really was a city-educated youth—her way of thinking was just different from those of them from small towns.

He added, “Since this idea came from you, if I make money, you’ll get a share.”

Tang Xin quickly laughed. “No need for that; I don’t deserve a reward for no effort. I only mentioned it in passing—it was your own cleverness.”

There would be other ways for her to make money. For now, her main aim was to win Chen Liguo over.

Although Li Sheng had said this was a brother he trusted with his life, brotherhood was one thing—when money was at stake, feelings hardly counted for much.

Not that Tang Xin deliberately saw everyone as self-serving; she just wanted to handle things steadily and give herself more security.

Chen Liguo didn’t insist further, just thinking to himself that once he made money, he’d see about it then. After all, this was his sister-in-law—even if he lost money, he couldn’t mistreat her.

The reason he brought Li Kai along was mainly to introduce him to useful connections. But Tang Xin hadn’t immediately asked Chen Liguo to mentor her brother-in-law. It was only the beginning; as long as she set things in motion, there would be plenty of chances later.

Afterward, they wandered around the county town a bit more. Tang Xin’s sharp eyes even spotted a few places that looked like black market trading spots. She kept this to herself, saying and doing nothing for now; today was just for reconnaissance, anything else would be inappropriate.

Then the two decided to head back—there was still a long way to go, and it would be bad to get caught out after dark.

First, they stopped by the commune’s post office to collect a package and said goodbye to the young lady there. Tang Xin slung her big bag on her back and sat on the rear seat. Li Kai pedaled hard, and the two of them headed toward Harvest Brigade.

“Sister-in-law, was it you who gave Brother Chen the idea for his latest venture?” Having held back the whole way, Li Kai finally spoke.

Tang Xin nodded, then remembered he couldn’t see her from behind, so she quickly added, “Yes.”

She didn’t elaborate—after all, in these times, going into business was still considered speculation and profiteering.

She couldn’t encourage Li Kai directly; he needed to develop an interest himself before he’d have the courage to try.

In the early days of reform and opening up, wasn’t there a saying: “The bold are fed, the timid starve”?

How many people seized the tide of reform and made a small fortune, and how many hesitated and missed their chance, only to regret it later?

Li Kai wanted to ask, “Sister-in-law, what do you think I could do?” But he didn’t dare, nor did he want to. On one hand, he’d seen her mock Li Xiyue these past few days and doubted his own skin was thick enough to take it. On the other, he remembered how he’d once wanted to put his new sister-in-law in her place during her first days in the family. Now, even thinking about asking her for advice felt embarrassing.

They rode in silence for several more minutes. Tang Xin simply relaxed quietly on the back seat.

At last, Li Kai couldn’t hold back. “Sister-in-law, do you think there’s anything I could do?”

He remembered that, when he’d asked her for advice recently, she’d told him a classic case and explained that the essence of things mattered more than appearances. Vanity was just a human weakness.

The key was to consider what you put in and what you got out, and how that ratio balanced.

So, no matter his hesitance, Li Kai finally asked his question.

In truth, Tang Xin breathed a sigh of relief. If her brother-in-law hadn’t asked, she wouldn’t have known how to proceed. She’d wondered if perhaps he was too young and timid for his ambition to show.

After all, in the book, Li Kai only became a successful businessman after his family suffered a major upheaval and he left home to struggle in the outside world, building his fortune from scratch.

Now that he’d opened his mouth, Tang Xin was happy to give a few sincere pointers. “If you want to pursue that path, you need to observe carefully for yourself. Of course, there aren’t many opportunities in the brigade; you have to go out into the world to find a broader stage.”

She also told him about the importance of connections. In any case, it was always right to get out and see more.

Li Kai agreed—she made sense—and didn’t ask further. Just this one outing had given him a lot to reflect on; he would need to organize his thoughts later.

Both of them felt that, in the future, they ought to spend more time in the commune and county town, and get to know more people like Chen Liguo.