Zhang Wenfeng returned to see the stall, while Xie Sui and Sister Gu went to the plastics factory.
It was just a bit far, separated by a county town. Plastics factories, after all, had pollution. One factory was in the south of the city, the other in the north, a good hour's walk.
Sister Gu was prepared. She rode her "28" bicycle, patted the back seat, and said, "Get on, I'll take you."
Xie Sui's old face blushed. "Isn't this inappropriate? I should be taking Sister Gu. I'm strong!"
"Forget it. With your scrawny frame, I'm afraid you'll throw up from exhaustion. You're about the same age as my son, and I'm not afraid, so what are you worried about?"
Sister Gu looked down on him. He wasn't old, but he had plenty of issues.
"Alright."
Sister Gu pushed off with her foot. "Dead start or live start?"
A dead start meant she would pedal once Xie Sui was settled, and then she'd start riding. A live start meant the bicycle would be moving, and Xie Sui would hop on. If he wasn't quick enough, he'd fall. It depended on Xie Sui's agility.
"Live start. I have that much skill."
With a dead start, Sister Gu would have a hard time pedaling. Xie Sui had ridden this kind of bike for a long time in his previous life, then switched to motorcycles, and later to various luxury sedans. He had changed cars countless times.
"Alright, let's go."
The bicycle started moving slowly. Xie Sui leaned to the side and hopped onto the back seat with a shift of his hips. His movements were light and agile. However, it had been a long time since he'd ridden such a "deluxe" vehicle. He gripped the back seat with both hands, his whole body tense.
Zhang Wenfeng watched with some envy. Riding a bicycle seemed more respectable than driving a mule cart. He wondered when he could get one and take his wife into town for a stroll.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the plastics factory. The guard recognized Director Gu and let them in directly.
"The director of this plastics factory is an old classmate of mine. He has a production line here specifically for packaging for the county's food factories. It can definitely meet your requirements."
"That's wonderful, Sister Gu. My gratitude is beyond words. If you ever need help from your younger brother, I will go through fire and water for you, and never refuse."
"Don't be so glib. It's not easy for rural children to start a business. The state is encouraging individual enterprise now, letting some people get rich first. I'm just responding to national policy."
As they spoke, they arrived at the director's office. A polite and upright middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed glasses stood up upon seeing Director Gu. "What brings you here personally? A phone call would have sufficed."
A secretary entered with tea. Director Gu pointed to Xie Sui and said, "I've brought you an order. My relative is making small snacks and needs plastic bag packaging. Give him a good price."
"The young man is quite spirited. Sit, please sit down and talk."
The director of the plastics factory was surnamed Ma, with a name very characteristic of the era: Ma Jianguo. Ma Jianguo looked troubled. "Our production line is only enough to meet the needs of the food factory. If you want it, it's not easy to arrange."
Xie Sui offered a cigarette. Ma Jianguo waved his hand. "No need to be polite. I don't smoke. Director Gu introduced you, so I'll help if I can, but..."
Xie Sui asked, "What's the daily capacity of your production line?"
"We can produce two thousand packaging bags per hour, sixteen thousand in eight hours. It sounds like a lot, but small snacks rely on small profits and quick turnover. We're not wealthy."
Xie Sui's cheeks stiffened. He didn't know what to say. Don't they have overtime?
They were pushing away money that was already in hand. Truly...
In his past life, those factories worked three shifts. The exploitative bosses worked two shifts, and the machines ran twenty-four hours a day.
The state-owned factory's thinking was rigid and uninspired. No wonder it would go bankrupt?
"Director Ma, I'm just starting out, and I don't need much. How about this: discuss it with the workers. Whoever is willing to work overtime, I'll pay them an extra fifty cents per hour for overtime. I'll bear the cost. I apologize for troubling the workers."
Ma Jianguo heard about the overtime pay. No one disliked extra money. The monthly wages for workshop workers were only a little over thirty yuan, and even skilled workers only earned a little over fifty. Two hours of overtime would earn them a yuan. They would definitely scramble for it.
"This can be considered. How many do you need for the first batch? Do you need printing?"
"No, just transparent packaging bags, the size of those for plum powder. I need a hundred thousand to start. Is that okay?"
"Yes. I won't charge extra. It's five fen per bag for the food factory, and the same price for you."
One hundred thousand bags was only a two-hundred-yuan order, less than the overtime pay for the workers. They didn't even need to collect a deposit. He could pick them up tomorrow.
It was also faster because Xie Sui didn't need printing.
Xie Sui bid farewell to Director Ma. Director Gu, always helpful, saw him back to the gate of the cotton mill. Xie Sui's gratitude was boundless, like a surging river, even greater than that for a biological sister.
Zhang Wenfeng's canned goods were also almost sold out. He gave the remaining three or five cans to the neighbors, both to foster good relations and to avoid waste.
"Brother Xie, did you get it done?"
"Yes. Does your Brother Xie ever fail to get things done? Let's go home. We have to travel at night today. Thank you for your trouble."
"It's nothing. Making money is a small matter. Director Gu is really good to you, Brother Xie. I've noticed you have excellent rapport with women, from the young to the old, you can win them all over."
"It's because I'm handsome!"
Xie Sui liked hearing this. He just felt a little regretful that he hadn't won his wife over yet. The road ahead was long. Who else could he blame but himself for being such a scoundrel in the past, hurting her so deeply?
It was very late when they returned to the village. Zhang Wenfeng dropped Xie Sui off at the fork in the road. Xie Sui walked home. It was only a few minutes' walk. Under the faint moonlight, Xie Sui stumbled along, one foot deep, the other shallow, towards home.
"I'll repair the road first when I make money. Damn it, what is this? Is it dog shit?"
Xie Sui felt something sticky and disgusting under his feet.
"Xie Sui, I've finally found you."
Suddenly, a woman in white jumped out. Her hair was loose, her lips were scarlet, and her teeth were white and bare. She held a dim oil lamp, illuminating a face as pale as a ghost.
"Oh my god, a ghost! Don't come for me! I was wrong, I've changed. I'll be a cow or a horse to repay you in the next life..."
Xie Sui feared nothing in the world, except ghosts. Perhaps it was Lin Wanwan's death in his previous life, especially a female ghost, that made him fear them. He was afraid it was her come to claim his life.
He was so scared that he didn't even care about the dog feces under his feet and bolted home.
Zhao Xuefei: "..."
He could come up with such a clumsy excuse to avoid her? Just you wait. You can run, but you can't hide. I'll catch you eventually.
She scratched the red envelope on her neck, almost being eaten by mosquitoes. It ruined her carefully applied makeup. She stamped her foot and returned home helplessly.
Xie Sui rushed home in one breath. The door was wide open. He slammed it shut and leaned against the door, panting heavily, afraid the female ghost would chase him.
"What's wrong? You look like you've lost your soul."
Lin Wanwan had been waiting for him. Two oil lamps were lit in the yard. She stood elegantly under a tree. Xie Sui looked at her and suddenly burst into tears. "Wanwan, can you forgive me?"