Chapter 260: Chapter 260: The First Mention of the Soap Business

When Gu Qinghuan got home, she found that Erdan and Chen Fengqin had come over.

“Fengqin-jie, what brings you here? Did you and the kids like the qingtuan we sent?” Gu Qinghuan asked tentatively.

“They were delicious! You’re so talented—everything you make tastes great. I don’t even know what to say. You always think of us whenever you have something good.” Chen Fengqin clearly had something on her mind, but hesitated to speak.

Gu Qinghuan sent Dabao off to play in the next room with Beibei and Erdan, then invited Chen Fengqin to sit down and talk.

“Have some water, Fengqin-jie. If there’s something you want to say, just say it. We’re all family here.”

Chen Fengqin clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and finally said, “There is something I wanted to ask you, but please don’t take it the wrong way.

Remember those bars of soap you gave me before?

I gave one to my mother back home. She finished using it and came by yesterday to ask if I had any more.

That stuff is really good—not only does it clean well, it doesn’t hurt your hands, and you can use one bar for both washing your hair and bathing. The scent lasts for days.

There are a lot of people in my family, so we’ve already used up almost all the soap. I didn’t have any extra to give her.

I’ve been thinking about this for the past couple days, and I have an idea. I wanted to see what you think. If it sounds silly, just ignore me—pretend I’m talking nonsense, all right?”

Gu Qinghuan couldn’t help but laugh. This big sister really was as straightforward as they came.

She already had a pretty good idea of what Chen Fengqin wanted to say.

“Go ahead, don’t worry.”

“Right now, everyone’s still using wood ash for washing. The better-off families use pig pancreas soap, but it’s messy and doesn’t clean well.

I think your soap-making skill is really something. Homemade soap is cheap to make, and if we could sell it, I bet we could make some money.

If you’re willing to partner with me, we can split the profits fifty-fifty. You just provide the know-how; I’ll cover all the costs—labor, materials, everything—and I’ll handle the selling too.

I’ll take on all the risk. If I get caught for speculation or profiteering, I’ll never give you up—I’ll take all the blame. What do you think?

If you’re not interested, just pretend I never said anything.”

Honestly, for someone born and raised in the countryside, Chen Fengqin’s ability to come up with all this just from a bar of soap showed real business sense.

And her proposal was sincere—there was nothing off-putting about it.

Gu Qinghuan had already planned to help them out, so teaching her the soap recipe wasn’t out of the question.

But she had an even bolder idea.

“Fengqin-jie, let me ask you something first.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Once you’ve made the soap, how do you plan to sell it? Who are your target customers? What’s your sales strategy?”

That stumped Chen Fengqin. She’d just been thinking that since the soap was so good and cheap to make, if they sold it for less, people would definitely buy it—no need to worry about sales.

But as for the specifics, she hadn’t really thought it through.

Gu Qinghuan’s question hit the nail on the head, making her feel a bit embarrassed.

“I… I haven’t thought that far ahead. I guess I’d just go around the village and sell it to whoever wants it.” Good stuff sells itself, right?

“If I were a passerby and you tried to secretly sell me your soap, first of all, I’ve never used it and don’t know how well it works.

Even if it’s cheap and you talk it up, I might still hesitate to buy it—unless I have money to spare.

In that case, your product would probably only sell to people nearby who already know you, through word of mouth.

But that also increases your risk. If everyone knows you’re engaging in speculation, even if you barter instead of selling for cash, it’s not a long-term solution.

Bottom line: if you want to do the soap business, the biggest problem is sales. Soap is a small item—you need to sell a lot to make money. If you only sell one or two bars a day, you won’t make much, maybe not even enough to cover costs.

If you just want to make a little pocket money, it’s not worth the trouble. I actually have other, better ways to make money.”

Gu Qinghuan wasn’t stingy about her recipe, but judging by Chen Fengqin’s plan, trying to secretly sell a bit of soap wouldn’t be as profitable as just catching loaches.

Chen Fengqin mulled over Gu Qinghuan’s words. They made sense.

She knew the soap was good, but others didn’t! And since they couldn’t advertise, they’d have to sell it on the sly, which meant only people they knew would buy it.

But how many people in the village could actually afford soap?

She’d been too naive.

“So what’s your idea?”

At this moment, Chen Fengqin genuinely admired this young woman. Even though Gu Qinghuan was nearly a decade younger, she was much more capable. As the educated folks say, she had a mind like a strategist.

“Fengqin-jie, honestly, even if you hadn’t come to me, I was planning to come find you.

We’re sisters—let’s make money together.

There are two options. You choose.

First, I have a connection—an out-of-town merchant who buys loaches and eels long-term.

He pays 0.25 yuan per jin for loaches and 0.5 yuan per jin for eels.

If you want in, just bring the goods to my house and we’ll settle up on the spot.

Second, we can do the soap business! But we can’t do it under the table—we have to go the proper route if we want to make real money. It might even help Huainian-ge get a better future. But you’ll have to follow my lead.”

Every word Gu Qinghuan said struck a chord with Chen Fengqin.

Her heart was pounding.

“Eels for half a yuan a jin? Loaches for a quarter? Qinghuan, you’re not pulling my leg, are you?

Since when did these things from the mud fetch such a price?

And what did you mean about Huainian-ge’s future, and selling soap openly? What’s all that about?

Please explain it to me—I can barely keep up!” Chen Fengqin anxiously grabbed her arm.

“The prices are real, but I can’t say if they’ll stay that way.

As for the details, don’t worry about it. Just deliver the goods and get paid. Remember, keep it secret. I’ve only told you and a couple of close friends in the village, so there’s not much competition.

If too many people find out, my business will dry up and there’ll be no money to make.” Gu Qinghuan didn’t want to explain too much, so she kept it mysterious.

Chen Fengqin nodded immediately. “I understand, I won’t tell a soul. You can trust me—I’m tighter-lipped than a locked door.

But what about the soap business?”

She still couldn’t let go of the idea.

After all, you could only catch so many loaches and eels—once they were gone, or if the buyer stopped buying, there’d be no money. That was just a short-term gig.

But soap could be sold long-term—every household needed it, and it was a real skill. In China, people admired those with a craft; you’d never have to worry about food or clothing."

"Chapter 261: The Soap Factory

Gu Qinghuan knew Chen Fengqin was anxious, so she didn’t beat around the bush.

“Making soap privately isn’t easy to sell and can easily cause trouble.

But if we turn it into a collective operation, that solves the problem!

Not only can we openly advertise and promote the product, we can also sell it to the city’s supply and marketing cooperatives, or even further afield, all over the country.

Once sales go up, the money will naturally follow.”

Chen Fengqin’s eyes lit up.

“I think I’ve heard of something like this. I heard that a production team in the neighboring county started a small factory with five people, called ‘Xinghua Incense Factory.’

That ‘incense’ is actually just something to get rid of bad smells. If there’s an odor in the house, you light a stick and in no time, the smell is gone—and the room smells nice, too.

I heard they got a ton of orders and made a lot of money. The value of the whole team’s work points jumped from twenty cents to a whole yuan. Everyone in the team, young and old, was over the moon!

That production team even made it into the newspaper and became famous.”

Gu Qinghuan hadn’t expected there to be such a precedent, so she didn’t need to explain further.

“That’s basically what I mean. You and Huainian can take the lead and get this little factory going.

On the surface, it’s for everyone’s benefit, but you two can also make a legitimate profit—much better than doing things on a small scale.

Most importantly, if you can get this factory running and bring in wealth for everyone, Huainian’s position might just change.”

Xu Huainian was in his prime. If he could do something real to increase everyone’s income, he might even catch the eye of the leadership.

The village secretary is elected every three years. Next time, wouldn’t it be his turn?

Xu Mingshan was already old. People still chose him out of respect for his past leadership during the land reform.

Besides, there weren’t any other capable candidates in Xujia Village.

But if someone came along who could actually do things and bring in real money for everyone—well, you can guess who people would vote for.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t say this directly, since Xu Mingshan was her father-in-law.

But Chen Fengqin was no fool—she got it right away.

How did Gu Qinghuan get such a clever mind? She really was impressive!

Educated people really do think differently.

At that moment, Chen Fengqin made up her mind—she had to push her youngest son to study hard.

“Qinghuan, thank you for showing me the way. But I feel a bit embarrassed.

After all, this recipe is yours. If we use it to set up a factory for the village, you won’t get a cent out of it,” Chen Fengqin said, a bit uneasy.

It was true. If they did it this way, apart from the share everyone would get later, Gu Qinghuan wouldn’t really get any extra income.

It was like she was giving away her recipe for free to benefit everyone else—not exactly fair to her.

Chen Fengqin thought about it, but she just couldn’t let go of such a great opportunity.

She gritted her teeth and said, “How about this: I’ll give you a hundred yuan for the recipe. That’s all I can come up with right now.”

She had several sons—her eldest was about to get married, and her youngest was still in school. She was under a lot of pressure.

Gu Qinghuan shook her head. “You don’t need to pay me. I have other ways to make it up. Don’t worry, I won’t let myself lose out.”

“What way?”

“Think of it as me providing technical support for our future soap factory!

There’s more than one soap recipe. If the basic formula makes money, I have all kinds of upgraded recipes. When the factory wants those, they’ll have to pay for them. That’s fair, right?”

“Of course that’s fair! Don’t worry, if this factory really gets off the ground, Huainian and I will never forget what you did for us.”

“The credit isn’t important. I won’t be involved in the factory, and don’t tell anyone it has anything to do with me. I prefer to make money quietly, haha.” Mostly, she just wanted to avoid trouble.

“Deal!” Chen Fengqin agreed readily.

“It’s just, if we run into anything we don’t understand, we’ll need your guidance.”

“No problem.”

And just like that, the two women settled the matter of the factory.

When Chen Fengqin got home, she excitedly told Xu Huainian all about it.

Xu Huainian was so shocked he almost jumped off the kang.

“You two women really have guts—just come up with something and want to do it!

Starting a factory isn’t a small thing, you know?”

“Why not? That production team in the next county started a factory with just five people and brought in income for the whole village. Why can’t I start a soap factory?

Have you tried the soap Qinghuan gave us last time? Isn’t it great?

If it’s that good, I don’t believe we can’t make money from it!”

Chen Fengqin broke down everything Gu Qinghuan had told her and explained it to Xu Huainian.

Once he heard about all the benefits of starting a factory—and how it could even affect his career—Xu Huainian was tempted.

A team leader who doesn’t want to be village secretary isn’t a good team leader.

He didn’t want to be just a small production team leader forever. If he was going to do it, he wanted to be secretary, even a commune leader.

He didn’t dare dream of anything higher.

Alright, this factory had to be set up, and fast—and it had to be done well!

The new village secretary election was next year. He had to give it his all.

That night, Xu Huainian was so excited he didn’t sleep a wink, his mind full of plans for the factory.

The next morning, he went straight to Gu Qinghuan to get the details. The more he heard, the more he believed it could work.

He sprang into action right away.

Xu Huainian was so busy organizing the factory that his feet barely touched the ground.

Meanwhile, Chen Fengqin hadn’t forgotten about the loach and eel business Gu Qinghuan mentioned.

Kids make choices—adults want both.

While her husband was busy with the big stuff, she took the kids to earn some small money—well, not that small, actually.

She and her children worked all day, catching two full buckets of loaches and one bucket of eels, and brought them to Gu Qinghuan’s house.

They hadn’t realized before, but once they started catching them, they were shocked—there were loach holes all over the fields in Xujia Village, and the loaches were huge.

Gu Qinghuan hadn’t expected them to be so efficient.

She quickly weighed everything.

Each bucket was about twenty jin, some a bit more, some a bit less.

Altogether, Chen Fengqin brought forty-three jin of loaches and twenty-one jin of eels.

Gu Qinghuan immediately counted out twenty-one yuan and twenty-five cents for her.

Chen Fengqin and her kids stared wide-eyed at the money in their hands, their faces full of longing.

These loaches and eels really could make money.

Chen Fengqin took the money, but instead of pocketing it, she carefully counted out three yuan and twenty cents and handed it to Gu Qinghuan.

Gu Qinghuan was confused. “Sister Fengqin, I didn’t overpay you!”

“This is your commission. We bring the goods, but you still have to deliver them, and the sales channel is yours.

Honestly, giving you only five cents per jin is too little. Take it, or we’ll feel bad selling to you next time,” Chen Fengqin insisted, pushing the money into her hand.

Gu Qinghuan, not wanting to make her suspicious, accepted it—after all, who would turn down money handed to them?

She considered it her hard-earned fee. Seeing all those slimy creatures every day was scary enough!"

"Chapter 262: Heaven Favors the Simple, and the Meaning of a Partner

After giving Gu Qinghuan three yuan and twenty cents, Chen Fengqin and her children still made a net profit of eighteen yuan today.

You have to know, this was pure profit—no cost at all, just some manual labor, and not even the exhausting work of earning work points.

The three of them could go out to earn work points, but even then, they’d only get a little over twenty points a day. At ten cents per point, that’s at most two or three yuan, and they’d be dead tired by the end of it.

Catching loaches isn’t tiring; it just tests your hand speed.

On their way home, the three of them couldn’t stop smiling, even happier than during New Year’s. They were already planning to go out again that evening to catch more loaches—and hopefully some eels, which fetch an even better price.

Chen Fengqin repeatedly reminded her kids to keep their mouths shut about this.

She knew Gu Qinghuan was looking out for them—after all, she hadn’t even told her own in-laws about this.

If word got out about selling loaches, not only would the business dry up, but Gu Qinghuan probably wouldn’t trust them again.

The kids understood the stakes and nodded earnestly, promising not to say a word.

If anyone asked, they’d just say they were catching loaches for their own dinner—after all, it’d been ages since they’d had any meat, and they were craving it!

Luckily, hardly anyone in Xujia Village knew about this yet, so there wasn’t much competition.

If they worked hard, maybe they could even earn enough for the eldest’s bride price.

The whole family was fired up.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t get a moment’s rest that evening.

After seeing Chen Fengqin off, Zhu Chunlin arrived, carrying two buckets.

No idea where he’d been fishing, but it was like he’d struck gold—one whole bucket of eels, and another of loaches.

There were too many nosy people at the educated youth compound, so he didn’t dare bring the buckets back there. He’d hidden them in the woods outside and only dared come over after dark.

“Comrade Zhu, did you stumble on an eel nest or something? That’s a lot!”

Talk about luck—Chen Fengqin’s family had spent all day to get just one bucket, and Zhu Chunlin had managed a whole bucket of eels by himself.

Heaven really does favor the simple-minded.

“Heh, I caught them by the riverbank. No one else bothers with these things, so the place is full of holes. Before I knew it, I’d caught this many!” Zhu Chunlin grinned sheepishly.

Gu Qinghuan weighed his catch as usual.

“This bucket of eels is twenty-two jin, the loaches are twenty jin, and the half-bucket of loaches from yesterday is fifteen jin.

Oh, I forgot to tell you the prices yesterday: eels go for fifty cents a jin, loaches for twenty-five cents.

So altogether, that’s nineteen yuan and seventy-five cents.”

“What?!” Zhu Chunlin yelped so loudly that he startled the kids inside, who ran out asking, “Mom, what happened?”

Gu Qinghuan quickly reassured them, and Zhu Chunlin finally came back to his senses.

Outside, Ji Linhai had also arrived with a heavy load for Gu Qinghuan. Hearing the commotion, he thought something was wrong and was about to rush in, but after hearing her calm the kids, he realized it was nothing serious.

Not wanting others to know how close he was with Gu Qinghuan, he decided to wait behind the house until she was done.

“Sorry, did I scare the kids? It’s just… that price is way higher than I expected. I never knew loaches could sell for so much.” Zhu Chunlin felt like he’d missed out on a fortune.

“It’s because of some special circumstances. Don’t ask too much—just focus on making money.

For now, don’t bother with the usual work points. You’d only get eight or nine points a day, which isn’t worth it compared to catching eels.

If anyone asks, just say you’re making mud bricks for a new house—no one will suspect a thing.

Make as much as you can while you can. The baby’s almost here, and you’ll need the money. This way, life will be easier for you and Shengnan.” Gu Qinghuan advised.

“Thank you, thank you so much for thinking of us.” Zhu Chunlin wasn’t ungrateful—he knew she was genuinely helping them, so he thanked her sincerely.

Gu Qinghuan counted out nineteen yuan and seventy-five cents and handed it over.

But Zhu Chunlin, ever the simple soul, kept only nine yuan seventy-five and handed back a ten-yuan note.

“We’ll split it fifty-fifty.”

Gu Qinghuan sighed helplessly and repeated what she’d told Chen Fengqin, urging him to keep the money.

“I get a kickback from the buyers—that part’s yours.”

“No way! We agreed to split it. If you don’t take it, Shengnan will scold me when I get home.”

Zhu Chunlin insisted, and since he couldn’t shove the money into her hands, he just left it on the ground, grabbed his buckets, and dashed off faster than a rabbit.

Shengnan had told him before he left: they had to split the money evenly.

Gu Qinghuan had already given them plenty before—this time, they couldn’t take advantage of her.

Gu Qinghuan was speechless. This big lug was stubborn, but Shengnan really had found herself a treasure—he listened to her so well.

It was late, and she didn’t want to chase after him. She’d just return the money to Shengnan later, or use it to buy them some supplies.

Last time she’d visited the educated youth spot, she’d noticed they were short on all sorts of things—they needed to buy everything.

With that in mind, Gu Qinghuan put the money away, making a mental note to keep track of it.

No sooner had Zhu Chunlin left than the courtyard welcomed its third visitor of the day.

Ji Linhai came in carrying buckets—not just any buckets, but the biggest ones in the whole village.

Labor reform wasn’t just for show; his daily workload was the heaviest in the village. While others carried regular buckets, he always carried the largest ones—standard procedure for him.

“These two buckets are from your mom’s side. The ones I caught are still in the cowshed—I’ll bring them over later.

She said the tools you gave her worked great; she caught a lot today.

I was going to check on her, but she’d already caught so much, so I brought these over first.

I’ll have to head back and keep her company. Judging by her enthusiasm, she probably won’t even want to sleep tonight.” Ji Linhai set down his load with a wry smile.

What do you do when your partner’s obsessed with making money?

You just go along with it!

That morning, Gu Qinghuan had brought batteries and tools for Zhong Zijun—fishing tools she’d casually bought from the vending machine, not knowing if they’d work.

Turns out, they worked great. Zhong Zijun and her family had caught two huge buckets in just one day.

Gu Qinghuan had planned to check in later, but Ji Linhai, her soon-to-be stepfather, was so thoughtful he’d already delivered them.

That saved her the trouble.

“Uncle Ji, thank you!” To be honest, Ji Linhai was truly a good man, especially to Zhong Zijun—he was caring to the core.

He might never say “I love you,” but his actions spoke volumes.

Love is always hidden in the little details of daily life.

He noticed when Zhong Zijun’s hands were chapped and brought her clam cream, helped with chores whenever he could so she could rest, and always supported her from behind. That’s worth more than a thousand “You’ve worked hard”s.

When someone understands your struggles, the burden seems lighter.

What truly touches the heart isn’t sweet talk or expensive gifts, but the subconscious care, the tenderness in their eyes, the invisible concern, a soul you can communicate with, and a peace that no one else can give.

Maybe Heaven really does favor the simple. Zhong Zijun had been naive half her life, but she’d finally found someone who truly cared for her.

Gu Qinghuan had never thought a partner was all that important—if you’re compatible, love; if not, live alone, and be happy.

But in that moment, she suddenly understood the meaning of a partner.

You can live without children, but not without someone who understands and loves you.

After all, children are only with you for part of your journey—they’ll grow up and have their own lives. In the end, the one who stays with you till old age is your partner.

A good partner can halve the hardships of life.

As a daughter, Gu Qinghuan suddenly realized that after growing up, everyone has their own life and journey, and there’s only so much she can do for Zhong Zijun—an occasional visit, some money or supplies, but not much else.

How many children can really stay by their parents’ side forever?

So, for Zhong Zijun to have a good partner was truly a blessing.

Gu Qinghuan was deeply grateful to Ji Linhai for doing what she herself couldn’t.

“It’s no trouble—your mom is worth it.” Ji Linhai’s face flushed slightly.

He wasn’t good with words, preferring to show his feelings through actions, but he wanted his future stepdaughter to know that he didn’t mind doing any of this—because Zhong Zijun deserved it. She was a wonderful person.

Gu Qinghuan was caught off guard by this unexpected display of affection—especially coming from an older couple.

She didn’t even know how to respond.

Uncle Ji, do you have to be so direct?

Luckily, Ji Linhai left soon after, only to return a few minutes later with two more buckets—his own catch.

They discussed freeing up the buckets, since they’d need somewhere to store all the loaches and eels caught that night.

Gu Qinghuan rummaged around the house and finally found an old stone vat behind the eaves, covered in moss. She wasn’t even sure what it had been used for, but it would do.

The two of them, both strong, carried it into the yard, cleaned it out, and used it to store the catch.

Business is business, friendship is friendship.

Ji Linhai wanted her to weigh everything together and give all the money to Zhong Zijun, but Gu Qinghuan insisted on weighing their catches separately.

She knew Zhong Zijun wouldn’t accept Ji Linhai’s money.

Zhong Zijun’s two buckets: twenty-eight jin of loaches, twenty-five jin of eels—nineteen yuan and fifty cents in total.

Ji Linhai’s catch was a bit less: fifteen jin of eels, twenty jin of loaches.

Zhong Zijun’s family of three worked together, so they caught more. Ji Linhai was on his own, so his haul was still impressive—twelve yuan and fifty cents in total.

Gu Qinghuan handed Ji Linhai his share directly. Seeing she insisted, he accepted it.

But, like Zhu Chunlin, he felt the money should be split fifty-fifty, since it was Gu Qinghuan’s channel.

Gu Qinghuan was less guarded with Ji Linhai and told him directly that she didn’t care about the money—he should just take it.

Ji Linhai needed the money more right now.

He understood, and after some back and forth, finally accepted ten yuan, saying the remaining two-fifty was for Gu Qinghuan to buy sweets for the kids.

Gu Qinghuan used to be a very straightforward person, but ever since coming to this era, she was constantly haggling over money, sometimes even having to lie—it was exhausting.

But what could she do? Everyone was poor. The only thing to do was to keep working hard to help everyone make money!

Ji Linhai took the money and quickly left—he still had to help Zhong Zijun. It was late, and he didn’t want her out in the fields alone.

With him there, Gu Qinghuan could rest easy, knowing Zhong Zijun had someone by her side."

"Chapter 263: Harvesting Velvet Antlers