Chapter 147: The Import

Chapter 147: Chapter 147: The Import

Basically, if the country is weak, its students abroad won’t be treated well. If they’re unlucky, they might even run into danger.

"Third Brother, it’s a bit dangerous to go to E Country right now."

"I know. The reason my school is having a student exchange with Capital University in E Country is to send a public message that the friendly ties between our two nations will not be severed."

"Even if things get hairy, we’ll be relatively safe as exchange students. The only real danger would be getting hassled by some extremists on the street."

"I think it’s worth it. Because if I complete this exchange program, I can take an exam when I get back and skip a grade. I wouldn’t have to take four years to graduate—I could cut it down to three at least."

Seeing his resolute attitude, Su Wan knew she couldn’t talk him out of it.

He had only come to tell her the news and put her mind at ease.

"Third Brother, I support you. How much money do you need? I’ll give it to you. That’s the only way I’ll be able to rest easy while you’re in E Country," Su Wan said.

Su Jue shook his head. "Wanwan, I don’t need your money. I have enough. I just wanted to see you before I left to set my own mind at ease."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Su Wan’s belly. It was very prominent, a clear sign that the babies inside were developing well.

"Wanwan, are the two babies healthy? It’s a shame I won’t be able to see them being born." Su Jue sounded reluctant, but he knew he had to make something of himself. Only then would he have the ability to provide a good life for the two children.

"It’s still within a controllable range. The little one is developing, but is still much weaker than the big one. As long as their organs develop fully, we can focus on building up their strength after they’re born."

"Mm, you just focus on taking care of yourself for now. When I get abroad, I’ll figure out a way to buy foreign milk powder and supplements to help nourish the two kids."

Su Jue hadn’t even left yet, and he was already thinking about buying things for the two children.

His words, however, gave Su Wan an idea.

"Third Brother, I’ll give you ten thousand RMB. When you get to E Country, buy me a lot of foreign milk powder and infant supplements. If the kids can’t finish it all, I’ll sell the rest. I won’t lose money, and I’ll even make a nice profit."

With two babies to raise, Su Wan had to think about making money.

Su Jue hadn’t wanted to take the money, but since Su Wan was asking him to do a job for her—and he really didn’t have ten thousand RMB in capital himself—he had no choice but to agree.

"Right now in Hua Country, you still need ration tickets to buy anything. You don’t need them abroad, but the exchange rate is an issue. It’s a raw deal converting RMB to E Country’s currency. One yuan only gets you forty cents of theirs." Su Wan winced at the thought.

Su Jue chuckled lightly. He knew that deep down, his sister was someone who cared a lot about making money. A loss this big was bound to make her miserable.

"Wanwan, I’m not stupid. I was already planning to take a batch of goods over to sell on this exchange trip. E Country’s light industry is underdeveloped, and they have widespread shortages of daily consumer goods and high-quality food."

"Things like soap, toothpaste, clothes, socks, and shoes—they’re all hot-sellers. I’m taking a big suitcase just to pack these goods."

"Plus, I’m bringing a few friends with me. With my help, they can get their passports issued, and it won’t be as dangerous on the train. We can earn a lot from one trip."

"As for the ten thousand RMB you’re giving me, I’m planning to use it to negotiate a deal with a manufacturer on the verge of bankruptcy. They’ll give me a shipment of daily necessities, which we’ll ship directly to E Country. We’ll split the profits after selling them."

At Su Jue’s prompting, the gears in Su Wan’s head began to turn.

She had a good head for numbers and instantly realized that if this trip was a success, they stood to make a huge profit.

Doubling or tripling her ten thousand RMB wouldn’t be a problem.

"Third Brother, you’ve really got a good head on your shoulders," Su Wan praised, then eyed him suspiciously. "You’ve been thinking about this for a while, haven’t you? There’s no way you just decided to be an exchange student and have already convinced your friends and found a factory on the brink of collapse."

Su Jue rubbed his nose. Seen through by the sister who knew him so well, he looked up with a smile and decided not to hide it.

"Wanwan, I have indeed been looking into this for a long time. I just never had the opportunity before. The exchange student program was the chance I was waiting for."

What could Su Wan say to that? Now she was certain she couldn’t stop him.

The only thing she could do was give Su Jue the money as a show of support.

She had enough savings on hand that giving him ten thousand wouldn’t break the bank.

Su Jue left with the money.

The thought that she wouldn’t see her third brother for at least half a year made Su Wan’s mood sink a little.

As she stepped outside, she happened to run into her next-door neighbor, Huang Qing, who was also seeing her family off.

She was about to walk past her, but Huang Qing enthusiastically called out, "Comrade Su Wan, why the long face after seeing your family?"

...Su Wan was taken aback. ’Wait, wasn’t she the one who was just giving me the cold shoulder? Isn’t this change of heart a little too quick?’

As if not noticing Su Wan’s suspicious gaze, Huang Qing grinned and linked her arm, saying, "Comrade Su Wan, that was my brother and sister-in-law who came to see me. I was actually hoping to introduce you."

Su Wan: "???" ’I barely know Huang Qing, why would she introduce her brother and sister-in-law to me? Talk about being overly familiar.’

"You must think it’s strange that I wanted to introduce you, right?"

Su Wan nodded. "Yes, it is pretty strange."

"Because my brother and sister-in-law know you," Huang Qing said, dropping a bombshell.

Su Wan carefully recalled the couple who had just left. She was certain she didn’t know them.

"They know me?" Su Wan was puzzled. "I don’t know them."

"Of course you don’t know them, but my brother and sister-in-law are related to you. Isn’t your maternal grandmother from the Qingguang Team? My sister-in-law’s grandaunt was sent to your grandmother’s family to be raised. Even though they weren’t blood sisters, they were extremely close."

Su Wan: "..." ’Such a distant relative.’ She had just thought Huang Qing was making small talk about family.

But Huang Qing’s next words made Su Wan speechless with exasperation.

"Back in the day, my sister-in-law’s grandaunt and your grandmother made a pact. If they had children, and one was a boy and one was a girl, they would be betrothed from childhood."

"But unexpectedly, your grandmother only had daughters, and my sister-in-law’s grandaunt also only had daughters. It wasn’t until the grandchild generation that a boy was born."

"So, according to the agreement, your brother should marry one of my sister-in-law’s sisters."

Su Wan laughed in exasperation at this. "That was just some idle talk between elders. Besides, this is the new era. We believe in the freedom to choose who you love. And on top of that, all my brothers are married. You can’t expect them to divorce their wives and remarry, can you? They’d be the laughingstock of the town."

Huang Qing looked up in surprise at her words. "Eh? Comrade Su Wan, my sister-in-law said your third brother isn’t married. And he’s a top student at the Foreign Language University."

’So someone has their sights set on Third Brother?’

Su Wan’s first instinct was to ignore it. After all, there was no way her third brother would pay any attention to this kind of thing.

But... her third brother was about to become an exchange student, and his business plans were all set. He couldn’t afford any slip-ups at this critical juncture.