Chapter 36: A Minor Flaw?

Chu Xuan was never easily rattled, especially given her size—she had the upper hand.

The moment they collided, she caught a clear glimpse of the person under the courtyard lights.

It was Mu Chenze.

As Chu Xuan came to an abrupt stop, Mu Chenze nimbly dodged aside.

He had no intention of being bowled over by Chu Xuan.

Once she steadied herself, Chu Xuan was about to ask what he was doing here in the middle of the night when Mu Chenze got straight to the point. “I saw the lights on in your yard and guessed you were up late grilling fish jerky. I just happened to rent a truck to go into the city. Want to come along and sell your fish jerky?”

Talk about someone showing up with a pillow just when you’re feeling sleepy—Chu Xuan felt Mu Chenze was a godsend.

She nodded eagerly. “Yes! Where’s the truck? I’ll carry the fish jerky over. I can do two trips, maybe one more with a pole basket—”

Before she could finish, Mu Chenze gently interrupted, “Just wait at home. I’ll have the truck driver come pick you up in half an hour.”

Chu Xuan couldn’t help but praise him, “Man, you’re so thoughtful! Thanks! I’ll whip up some snacks for the road.”

“Sounds good.”

Mu Chenze left, flashlight in hand.

Chu Xuan watched him go until his figure disappeared into the darkness before turning away.

She went back to the kitchen to let her little brother know about the trip to the city, then started preparing some snacks.

Time was tight, so she could only make something simple.

She made scallion and egg pancakes.

With her brother’s help, Chu Xuan managed to fry up a dozen fragrant pancakes in under twenty minutes, leaving three for her brother’s breakfast and wrapping the rest in a clean white cloth.

She lined the cleaned and dried baskets and carrying frames with fresh white cloths.

The fish jerky, being light but bulky, filled two large baskets and two big carrying frames.

The siblings carried everything to the courtyard gate in several trips. Chu Feng also brought over an old scale and a mesh bag.

The old scale was from Gao Meijuan’s house.

Just as Chu Xuan was reminding her brother to buy a few more baskets and frames from Liu Zhaodi’s place, the truck arrived.

Its headlights were especially bright in the darkness.

Once the truck stopped, Mu Chenze jumped out of the passenger seat.

He helped move the baskets and frames to the back seat of the truck.

The truck bed was full of live seafood, lots of ice and water—not suitable for the fish jerky.

So Chu Xuan, her fish jerky, the scale, and the mesh bag all ended up in the back seat.

For most people, it would just be a tight squeeze, but for Chu Xuan, it was really cramped.

She was surrounded on all sides—at her feet, on her lap, and beside her.

Even so, Chu Xuan was still in high spirits.

Just thinking about selling over 200 jin of fish jerky and making over 200 yuan had her buzzing with excitement.

She handed the pancakes to Mu Chenze for safekeeping.

Once they were on the road, Mu Chenze introduced the truck driver to Chu Xuan. “This is Lin Yong. Just call him Brother Lin.”

Chu Xuan greeted him politely, “Hello, Brother Lin! Sorry for the trouble!”

Lin Yong, driving, replied heartily, “No trouble at all, this is my job. You’re Chu Xuan, right? Chenze said you run a fish jerky workshop.”

A potential customer—Lin Yong was very courteous.

Chu Xuan smiled. “That’s right. Where are you from, Brother Lin?”

“I’m from Wen Town, not far from your Deng Town. I usually work at the docks—just let me know in advance if you need a ride.”

“Great!”

Once they left the village, Mu Chenze suggested Chu Xuan catch some sleep while she could.

She was indeed tired and quickly dozed off.

Lin Yong and Mu Chenze chatted quietly.

Mu Chenze specifically reminded him not to mention that Chu Xuan was going to the city with him.

Lin Yong readily agreed—after all, she could become a regular customer.

After that, they just made small talk to stay awake.

Chu Xuan was woken by Mu Chenze.

“Chu Xuan, we’re at the market. Wake up. All the stalls near the entrance are rented out, so I got you one inside.”

Chu Xuan instantly perked up. “Thanks for getting me a stall. Don’t you need one?”

“No, I have regular customers. I just need to deliver the goods. Once I’m done, I’ll come find you.”

“Okay.”

Chu Xuan hopped out of the truck with a basket of fish jerky.

With Mu Chenze’s help, they had everything set up at the stall in under five minutes.

As soon as she finished, someone came over. “How much for the fish jerky? Can I try some?”

“Of course! Less than five jin is two yuan per jin; more than five jin, it’s 1.8 yuan per jin. There are three flavors—spicy, sweet and spicy, and sweet and salty…”

Chu Xuan greeted customers with a smile, too busy to notice when Mu Chenze left.

After getting back in the truck, Mu Chenze couldn’t help glancing at Chu Xuan’s stall, thinking to himself, She’s got a real knack for business.

The truck drove off.

The unique, tempting aroma of Chu Xuan’s fish jerky wafted through the market, drawing in many customers.

Most of the early customers were wholesalers.

They bought ten or twenty jin at a time.

In less than half an hour, Chu Xuan had sold over a hundred jin.

She had already set aside five jin for Liu Chao, a market staff member, planning to deliver it when she packed up.

She weighed it and put it in a mesh bag.

Just then, a portly man in his forties, dressed in a suit and weighing at least 200 jin, walked up to her stall. “Last night, I heard Liu Chao say there’s some amazing fish jerky at the market. That wouldn’t be yours, would it?”

Chu Xuan hadn’t expected Liu Chao to help spread the word. If this turned into a sale, she’d give him a cut.

She responded warmly, “That’s right, it’s mine. I just set aside five jin for him. Try before you buy—three flavors, please sample them all…”

She patted the mesh bag of jerky.

The man didn’t stand on ceremony. He tried every flavor, sampling from different spots like a quality inspector.

Chu Xuan didn’t stop him, since he was very considerate and used his own small bamboo tongs.

After tasting, he asked, “If I buy it all, how much per jin?”

“Over five jin is 1.8 yuan per jin. If you take it all, I’ll give it to you for 1.6 yuan per jin. How’s that?”

Small profits, quick turnover.

Who knows, he might become a regular.

The man didn’t haggle. “Deal! You don’t have a big scale here, so I’ll have someone come move it and we’ll weigh it at the market office.”

“No need to call anyone, I’ll carry it over myself.”

With about ninety jin left, Chu Xuan gritted her teeth and managed to carry everything in one trip—basket on her back, frame in hand.

She also brought the five jin set aside for Liu Chao.

When she set everything down at the market office, the man looked impressed. “You really put your weight to good use. Me, I get out of breath just carrying a few dozen jin!”

Chu Xuan, panting, replied, “I’m just…excited to make money. Normally, I couldn’t carry this much either…”

The man laughed heartily, clearly in a good mood.

“We’re both big folks—must be fate that we’re doing business together. Let me introduce myself: I’m Yuan Yueban.”

Chu Xuan suppressed a laugh—Yue and Ban together make the word ‘fat’ in Chinese. She introduced herself, “Nice to meet you, Boss Yuan. I’m Chu Xuan. As long as it doesn’t rain, I’ll be here selling fish jerky every day.”

“Excellent! If your goods sell well, I’ll work with you long-term.”

“Looking forward to it! I’ll wait for your good news.”

While they chatted, the fish jerky was weighed—96 jin and 3 liang, totaling 154.08 yuan.

She took 154 yuan, and gave him the baskets, frames, and white cloth as a bonus.

After settling up, Chu Xuan took the five jin she’d set aside for Liu Chao, intending to ask one of his coworkers to pass it on, but just then Liu Chao arrived for his shift.

Liu Chao tried to pay, but Chu Xuan stopped him. “Thanks to your promotion, I met a big client like Boss Yuan! I’ll go grab my things from the temporary stall and come back to chat.”

She gave Liu Chao a knowing look.

He was quick on the uptake. “Got it.”

Her other empty baskets, frames, scale, and mesh bag were still at the temporary stall.

When she got back, she searched for a while but couldn’t find the scale.

“Did someone borrow my scale?”

She kept her tone polite.

She didn’t shout, “Who stole my scale?”"