Chapter 229: Starting a Business

Chapter 229: Chapter 229: Starting a Business

Once Ruan Xinxin figured this out, she made an immediate decision.

’I’ll humor her for now!’

She might be a bit lazy, but her prison record was a dead end on any letter of introduction.

No one would even hire her to wash dishes, let alone do any other kind of work.

Yao Yuzhen didn’t want to go through the trouble of moving again, either.

As long as Ruan Xinxin was willing to settle down, she had no real desire to uproot herself.

So Yao Yuzhen didn’t refuse. She lowered her head and ate the entire bowl of noodles Ruan Xinxin had brought her.

After a couple of bites of her own noodles, Ruan Xinxin couldn’t help but speak up.

"Mom, did you switch shifts with someone today?"

She glanced out the window. The edge of the sky was still tinged with orange.

"You’re back already. That’s over an hour earlier than usual."

"I’m not working that job anymore."

Yao Yuzhen hesitated for a moment before telling the truth.

"Huh? You quit?"

Ruan Xinxin’s chopsticks froze in midair, and the noodles slipped off.

Yao Yuzhen nodded.

"Mhm, I quit. I found a way to make money fast."

"What way? Tell me, quick!"

Ruan Xinxin’s eyes lit up instantly.

An image of Song Yao and her mother-in-law setting up their stall, calling out to customers, and counting money flashed through Yao Yuzhen’s mind.

Song Yao, her hair in a ponytail, smiling as she collected money.

"Running a street stall!"

"Run a..."

Ruan Xinxin only got one word out before she froze.

"Mom! Are you starting your own business?"

"I want to give it a shot."

Then, she explained in detail how Song Yao ran her stall and made dozens of yuan a day.

The moment Ruan Xinxin heard this, she slammed her chopsticks down.

"Mom! Let’s do it! I’ll do it with you!"

This was exactly what Yao Yuzhen had been planning.

"Alright! If you do a good job, I’ll pay you a wage!"

"Thanks, Mom!"

Ruan Xinxin grinned from ear to ear, so happy she nearly jumped for joy.

They had a neighbor go to Song Yao’s stall and buy a few of every item to bring back.

They set aside the things she didn’t know how to make. As for items like hair clips, beaded bracelets, and woven bangles, Yao Yuzhen picked it up as if it were child’s play.

After all, she had grown up surrounded by jewelry.

She could tell the material and quality of an item with a single glance.

After five days of preparation, the mother-daughter duo pushed a small cart and set up their new stall directly across from Song Yao’s.

Even the numbers on their price signs were identical to Song Yao’s.

Song Yao looked up and saw the two of them. She froze for a second, then let out a soft laugh.

’This is just the kind of thing Yao Yuzhen would do.’

’But I never expected she’d set up shop right under my nose, without even bothering to find a different spot.’

Wei Guilan didn’t recognize Yao Yuzhen at all. Seeing a new stall across the way, she casually praised Song Yao.

"You called it! Someone’s already copying you!"

Song Yao turned her head. "Mom, do you know who that is?"

’Of course, she’s free to run a stall and sell the same things.’

’If she’d just picked another street corner or a different alley, no one would have had a problem with it.’

But Yao Yuzhen only remembered what her father had told her when she was young.

"You don’t have to figure out what sells well on your own. When someone else strikes gold, you just copy them, squeeze in right next to them, and you’ll still make money!"

And she really did get a taste of success. On the first day, she netted over fifty yuan.

Meanwhile, at Song Yao’s stall, customer traffic had dropped noticeably. She only sold three or four items in half a day.

Wei Guilan noticed Song Yao’s strange expression and pressed her curiously.

"Huh? Do you know her?"

Song Yao stared across the way, her voice flat.

"My mother."

"Your birth..."

Wei Guilan was stunned.

The woman stood tall and straight, with a slender waist. Though time had left its marks on her face, she still possessed a certain charm.

Wei Guilan discreetly turned to glance at her daughter-in-law.

"Song Yao..."

Song Yao turned to face her.

"What is it?"

Her mother-in-law opened her mouth, wanting to suggest they move their stall, but she swallowed the words before they could escape.

’We’re not the ones in the wrong, so why should we be the ones to run away?’

’But if we don’t move...’

Song Yao was the one to speak first.

"Mom, it’s really okay. From the day I found out she was the one who personally sent me away, she’s been nothing more to me than a stranger on the street asking for directions. A familiar face, but that’s all."

"At most, she’s a competitor trying to steal my customers."

Song Yao knew exactly what she was thinking.

’She can refuse to acknowledge me all she wants; it’s her business.’

’But try to steal my livelihood? Not a chance.’

That day, after packing up her stall, she didn’t rush home. Instead, she sat on her small folding stool and spread her inventory lists, loose change, and account book across her lap.

By that evening, she had already come up with several new sales tactics.

Two bracelets for one-fifty. Spend three yuan and get a free hair tie.

After her first day, Yao Yuzhen had over fifty yuan in her pocket and couldn’t stop grinning.

Ruan Xinxin was jumping for joy right alongside her.

"Mom! This is incredible! If we make this much in one day, won’t that be over a thousand a month?"

She counted on her fingers.

"A thousand yuan! That’s enough to buy a big color TV! I wouldn’t even mind if the screen was full of static!"

Hearing this, Yao Yuzhen’s lips thinned as she immediately poured cold water on her daughter’s excitement.

"This isn’t pure profit. What about the cost of inventory, bus fare, the two steamed buns and a sausage for lunch? All of that costs money."

"What about hot days with no foot traffic, or rainy days when we can’t even set up? Or a couple of slow days in a row... You have to plan for all of that."

As expected of an experienced businesswoman, she laid out the finances clearly in just a few sentences.

Ruan Xinxin verbally agreed, saying, "Right, right, right," but she didn’t really take it to heart.

’At this rate, life will definitely be better than it was with the Shen Family.’

The next day, the two of them combined only made about ten yuan. All the customers were flocking to Song Yao’s stall.

A man in a blue cloth jacket stopped in front of Song Yao’s stall and offered her a cigarette from his pack.

Song Yao smiled and waved it away, instead accepting the bunch of bok choy he was holding.

That’s how business works. If a stall is empty one day, even fewer people will dare to approach it the next.

The fewer customers you have, the more people assume you’re selling fakes.

A middle-aged woman lingered in front of their stall, hesitating and looking back several times before finally turning and walking away.

Ruan Xinxin took two steps to follow her, calling out, "Ma’am!"

She stopped, her eyes fixed on a small patch of sun-peeled skin on the back of the woman’s neck, and slowly swallowed the rest of her sentence.

A dozen or so yuan might sound like a lot.

But who could stand being served a bowl of plain vegetable soup right after tasting braised pork?

"Where did everyone go?!"

Ruan Xinxin stomped her foot so hard her heel nearly broke off.

Yao Yuzhen frowned and shook her head.

"Maybe... we just got lucky yesterday, and today it’s her turn to be busy?"

’It’s just one slow day,’ she thought. ’What does that prove?’

But for the next three days, her stall was so quiet you could hear the cicadas buzzing.

People were constantly walking by, but she barely managed to make a dozen yuan a day. After deducting her costs, the amount she took home was no different than what she’d make doing odd jobs at a factory.

’This won’t do.’

’It’s a complete waste of time!’

She grabbed a woven straw hat, plopped it on her head, and turned to pat Ruan Xinxin’s shoulder.

"Xinxin, watch the stall for a minute. I’m going to go check out what’s going on over there. How come she’s surrounded by people while we’re dead?"

She hunched over and snuck across, then stood on her tiptoes to peer through a gap in the crowd. Right away, she saw a wooden sign propped up in front of Song Yao’s stall. Scrawled crookedly on it were the words: "Bracelets: one yuan each, or two for just 1.80! Spend three yuan and get a free colored hair tie!"

Yao Yuzhen had a flash of inspiration.

’I’ll go home, nail a sign together, and copy it exactly!’

She didn’t even stop when splinters pricked her hands, focused only on finishing it quickly so she could hang it up first thing in the morning.

Dark clouds hung low in the sky as muffled thunder rumbled over the rooftops.

’Is it going to rain?’

’Then there’s no way we can set up the stall.’

Song Yao and her mother-in-law decided to just stay home and work in peace.

By now, she had accumulated over thirty different design sketches.

A little after two in the afternoon, the rain finally let up.

Song Yao slapped her thigh.

"Mom, let’s go! Time to head out for a walk!"