Chapter 5: Starting with Toys

Looking at the somewhat shy young man in front of her, Jiang Ning’s eyes curved into two crescent moons as she smiled.

Who would have thought—

That in ten years, this young man would rise from nothing, using his gift of eloquence to establish his own sales company, bringing in an annual income of over a million.

In her past life, he had helped her many times. Without him, her life back then would have been even more difficult.

And yet, this young man who would later achieve small success now stood before her like an innocent little brother in a pure love story.

Tsk tsk, time is truly fascinating.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ning sighed with a touch of melancholy.

Then, within less than half an hour, she finalized the plans for tomorrow.

Before leaving, something suddenly came to her mind, and she casually reminded him:

“Cousin! Don’t forget to bring Auntie’s tricycle over tomorrow afternoon.”

With that, Jiang Ning pedaled her bicycle and rode off in another direction.

---

Half an hour later.

Jiang Ning arrived at a sparsely populated area.

This was the back entrance of a well-known tourist attraction in Jiangzhou. Compared to how it would be developed in over a decade, this place was still in its early stages.

Farmlands, factories, and residential buildings were scattered haphazardly.

But Jiang Ning knew that in nine years, a large, comprehensive toy wholesale market would be built here. All the surrounding factories within a few kilometers would develop around this toy market.

As for how she knew this so well—

It was because, in her past life, she had also run a small business in that toy market and had dealings with several factory owners.

Jiang Ning clearly remembered that some of those owners had just started their businesses around this time, running operations barely above the level of a small workshop.

This time, she had come to find those small-time workshop owners.

And so, Jiang Ning pedaled her bike, navigating the uneven gravel paths.

The bumpy, pothole-ridden road numbed her backside.

Finally—

She stopped in front of a small two-story building.

Listening to the rhythmic “da da da” sound of sewing machines coming from inside, Jiang Ning gathered her thoughts, parked her bike, and locked it to an electric pole.

Then, she steadied herself and walked toward the building.

Just as she reached the entrance and was about to knock, a curious voice sounded beside her.

“Little girl, who are you looking for?”

Hearing this, Jiang Ning turned her head in the direction of the voice.

A woman with a round face and a sturdy build was standing nearby, holding a large plastic basin filled with clothes. She was looking at her with confusion.

“I…”

Jiang Ning had just uttered one word when she suddenly noticed something familiar in the woman’s features. Instinctively, she blurted out:

“Sister Lan?”

“You know me?” Du Meilan frowned, scrutinizing the girl from head to toe.

No matter how she searched her memory, she couldn’t recall knowing such a pretty city girl.

Unable to resist, she asked, “Who are you?”

Jiang Ning suddenly realized how abrupt she had been and quickly explained:

“Sorry, I’m Tian Minggang’s niece. My name is Jiang Ning.”

Tian Minggang was a distant relative of Jiang Ning’s. He lived nearby and even held a minor official position in the village.

“Oh, that guy from the village.” Du Meilan nodded in understanding. “So, why are you here?”

Hearing her blunt words, Jiang Ning felt an odd sense of familiarity.

Even ten years later, Du Meilan’s personality remained the same. She had offended quite a few people and suffered a lot of setbacks because of it.

Jiang Ning had even tried to advise her back then, but it was no use.

“I came to see if I could get some plush toys from you.”

The moment she heard it was about business, Du Meilan gave Jiang Ning another assessing look.

Plenty of people came to buy goods from her, but none were as young and pretty as this girl.

Still, since it was business, she didn’t pry into personal matters.

She set the basin of clothes on a nearby windowsill, wiped her hands, and motioned for Jiang Ning to follow her.

Then, she opened a small side door and walked inside.

Jiang Ning followed.

Inside, the floor was covered with plush toys.

There were bears, pigs, monkeys—along with some internationally famous cartoon characters.

Of course, none of these were officially licensed.

After all, at this stage, small workshops didn’t even consider things like copyright.

“Sister Lan, can I get a price list?”

Hearing this, Du Meilan realized that this girl wasn’t a novice.

Beginners, or first-time buyers, usually picked out products first and only calculated the cost later.

But experienced buyers always checked the price list first before choosing their stock.

So, Du Meilan pulled open a drawer from a nearby table, took out a handwritten price list, and handed it to Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning took it, glanced over it briefly, and put it away without much comment. Then she smiled.

“Sister Lan, I’m traveling light today, so I can’t take any goods with me. I’ll come by tomorrow to pick up a batch.”

“If possible, I’d appreciate it if you could help arrange a delivery truck. I’ll cover the transportation costs separately.”

“Alright.”

---

By the time Jiang Ning got home, it was already evening.

After putting her bike away and closing the garage door, she looked up at the sunset sky.

She stretched her stiff limbs, sore from the long ride.

Taking a deep breath, she felt a growing excitement for the future as she walked into the house.

Inside, her mother wasn’t home, but dinner had already been prepared on the table.

Jiang Ning walked over and saw a note left by her mom.

She could guess that her mother had probably gone off to play mahjong.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning clicked her tongue but said nothing.

She ate her meal, cleaned up, and went to her room.

Then, she took out the price list.

Big Teddy Bear (Brown, White, Dark Coffee)

1.2m / 1.4m / 1.6m – 5 RMB / 8 RMB / 12 RMB

“Rogue Dog” (60cm) – 12 RMB

“Khaki Rabbit” (80cm) – 15 RMB

“Giraffe” (30cm) – 2 RMB

…

There weren’t many types, just over a dozen.

The most expensive was nearly 30 RMB, while the cheapest was 2 RMB per unit.

As for how much to buy—

Jiang Ning thought for a moment, then pulled out a chubby piggy bank from her bedside table.

She opened the bottom latch and emptied out the coins inside.

Carefully counting them—

1,273 RMB.

Huh, that’s all?

So, in this life, she was actually this poor.

In her past life, she had managed to save almost 3,000 RMB. If it weren’t for what happened later…

Forget it, no point thinking about it.

She quickly calculated the purchase plan, took out the largest banknotes, and supplemented with some smaller ones to make exactly 1,000 RMB.

The rest went back into the piggy bank.

Before putting it away, Jiang Ning shook the “clunking” piggy bank and murmured to herself—

“Brother Pig, I’ll definitely fatten you up in the future.”

(End of Chapter)