Chapter 259: Chapter 259: Discussing How to Make Money

There were no middlemen taking a cut, no costs involved—just catching and selling directly. That meant all the money earned was pure profit.

But how to explain this to the couple was a problem.

She definitely couldn’t tell them the truth.

Selling eels for one yuan per jin and loaches for sixty cents per jin—prices like that were unheard of and unimaginable in this era.

After all, out in the market right now, these eels and loaches weren’t even worth ten cents a jin—nobody wanted them.

That’s because making these taste good required a lot of oil and seasonings, and honestly, no one was willing to buy them.

It was only country folks who would occasionally catch some to stew at home, and even then, it didn’t taste great—they just wanted a bit of meat, however little.

Gu Qinghuan hadn’t figured out how to explain the price to them yet, so she could only say she’d take them to test the waters and see if anyone would buy.

Zhu Chunlin decisively carried the half-bucket of loaches over to Gu Qinghuan’s house to sell, keeping only two eels for himself to cook for his wife.

Lin Shengnan saw the two eels he kept and felt a warm glow in her heart, though she said, “Don’t keep them for me. It’s not like I have to eat them. We need money right now—let’s sell them all!”

“No matter how tight money is, I won’t let you and our daughter go without. Eel is nourishing—it’s good for you.” Zhu Chunlin insisted on keeping the two eels, and Lin Shengnan let him have his way.

She wore a happy smile on her face.

Gu Qinghuan was caught off guard by another mouthful of “dog food” (public display of affection).

She started missing Xu Huai’an.

All of a sudden, she missed him terribly.

Zhu Chunlin dropped off the goods and left. Gu Qinghuan sent the two kids to deliver a bowl of green rice balls to Erdan’s family.

She should have gone herself, but she was anxious to see if the loaches and eels could be sold.

She reminded the kids to be careful on the road and watched them leave.

Gu Qinghuan hurried into her space.

The half-bucket of loaches weighed in at fifteen jin.

She thought for a moment and wrote: “Wild-caught loaches, limited quantity, first come first served. Ten times compensation for any fakes.”

Price: sixty cents per jin.

As usual, her farm products sold out in seconds as soon as they were listed, and this time was no exception.

No matter what, everyone rushed to buy as fast as they could.

By now, people had developed a kind of reflex: anything Gu Qinghuan put up for sale was guaranteed to be high-quality and genuine.

So, no matter what it was, they just snapped it up.

Some people even became resellers, buying her goods and selling them at a markup to those in need. Honestly, it was a bit crazy.

Gu Qinghuan’s little shop had earned a reputation:

The most capricious shop online.

The shop with the best quality guarantee online.

Holding the nine yuan she had just earned, Gu Qinghuan felt incredibly satisfied.

It was different from making money for herself—helping her friends made the money feel even more meaningful.

But how to split the money with them was another issue.

If she went by the market price of ten cents, they’d be losing out too much, and she’d feel bad keeping all the money.

But she couldn’t tell them the real price either—money can stir up suspicion and jealousy, and she didn’t want to cause trouble.

After thinking it over, Gu Qinghuan decided to pick a middle ground: she’d give them twenty-five cents per jin and say she sold it to an out-of-town merchant, and she didn’t know what they wanted it for.

If the sales went well, Erdan’s family and Zhong Zijun’s family could join in too.

Everyone could make money together.

It was getting dark. Gu Qinghuan left her space and brought ten savory green rice balls to Ji Linhai—men usually preferred savory flavors.

She casually mentioned to him, “Do you want to sell eels and loaches together? I know someone who’s buying.”

Eels at fifty cents per jin, loaches at twenty-five cents per jin.

Ji Linhai knew she had her own channels and didn’t think much of it—after all, Gu Qinghuan had helped him sell wild game many times before.

These days, wild game was getting harder to catch. In the places he frequented, he could go a day or two without catching a single animal.

Ji Linhai was planning to take a break and wait until autumn to go hunting again, giving the animals a chance to recover.

So he happily agreed to work with Gu Qinghuan and even offered to split the profits fifty-fifty.

Gu Qinghuan refused. She was already keeping half for herself—how could she take another half?

Besides, Ji Linhai was likely to become her stepfather in the future—she couldn’t be too greedy.

She just said the buyer would give her a commission, so he didn’t need to pay her extra.

After chatting briefly with Ji Linhai, Gu Qinghuan headed to the cowshed next door by moonlight.

Besides the green rice balls, she’d also prepared some food supplies: rice, white flour, cornmeal, and so on.

Every so often, she’d bring supplies to the cowshed.

She never brought too much at once, to avoid drawing attention and causing trouble.

When Zhong Zijun and the other two saw her, they asked about her recent life at school.

Everyone had been busy since the New Year and rarely saw each other. The last time they met, Gu Qinghuan had only stayed for a few words before leaving.

Gu Qinghuan told them everything so they wouldn’t worry.

Then she mentioned that someone was buying loaches and eels, and asked if they wanted to join in.

Whenever she tried to give Zhong Zijun money in private, Zhong Zijun always refused, though she never turned down food.

She always said she had enough money.

In reality, she’d been living off the money from selling schisandra berries, and even handed out red envelopes at New Year’s. She couldn’t have much left.

Gu Qinghuan understood—a mother has her pride and doesn’t want to burden her children.

That’s why she wanted to create opportunities for them to earn money themselves, so they could spend it with peace of mind.

Sure enough, Zhong Zijun’s eyes lit up.

“Really? You can really sell those? Loaches for twenty-five cents, eels for fifty?”

Gu Qinghuan suddenly remembered that Zhong Zijun had grown up pampered—maybe she was as afraid of those slippery creatures as she was.

“Mom, aren’t you scared?”

“Scared of what? If it means making money, I’d even catch snakes.” Zhong Zijun said boldly.

She was no longer the pampered girl she once was.

She might look delicate, but inside, she was tough as iron.

The first year they were sent down, they survived the winter on potatoes and sweet potatoes. When spring came and food ran out, she secretly went to the fields to catch loaches and roast them to eat.

Later, she even caught non-venomous snakes to eat.

When it comes to survival, people have limitless strength.

Hearing the word “snake,” Gu Qinghuan shuddered.

She really was terrified of those slippery creatures.

Back to business—if they wanted to make money this way, they’d have to go out at night. During the day, it would be too conspicuous.

Zhong Zijun planned to sneak out with a flashlight at night to catch them in the fields.

But their flashlight batteries were almost dead.

Gu Qinghuan promised to buy some at the commune the next morning and bring them over, and also said they might need some nets."

"Chapter 260: The First Mention of the Soap Business