Chapter 11: The First Earnings, Twenty-Four Yuan and Sixty Cents

A crowd immediately swarmed forward, craning their necks to scramble for the fish.

Not far away, the older woman came running back carrying her basin. Snow dusted her shoulders, and her face was flushed with excitement and surprise.

“My goodness! Tell me if he isn’t amazing! Three jin and six liang^[1], not a single liang more, not a single liang less! Ha! I’ve lived most of my life, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone with such a precise touch!”

The older woman gave Xie Zhao a thumbs-up, leaving the surrounding crowd utterly astonished.

Good grief!

To be so young yet have such a precise touch; even people who had been in business for half their lives probably couldn’t match that!

Xie Zhao merely smiled. He took a fish handed to him by another customer, hefted it, and said, “This one is one jin and three liang. If you’re worried, you can weigh it when you get home. It’ll only be over, not under. If it’s short, I’ll pay you back double!”

The crowd was instantly pleased.

Tsk!

This kid really knew how to do business!

Over there, the older woman had already pulled out her money and handed it over.

She said with a smile, “We agreed to count it as three and a half jin. Here, take a look, seven yuan, not a penny short!”

Xie Zhao took it, carefully tucked it into his pocket, and thanked her earnestly.

Some people in the crowd recognized the woman, and their eyes darted back and forth.

This was Auntie Xu from Mingzhu Street on the south side of town. Her family ran a tailor shop, and she was as shrewd as they came!

If she said it was correct, then the scale was definitely accurate!

Right then and there, everyone paid up happily without another word.

“Here, here, weigh this one for me! I’m in a hurry to cook dinner!”

“I’m next! My daughter can’t wait!”

“Hey, hey, hey! That grass carp is mine! Don’t take the wrong one!”

…

The crowd was noisy and chaotic, and a few tried to slip away with their fish without paying. But Xie Zhao had spent most of his past life in business; his eyes were sharp!

He stood smiling in the center of the crowd. Though he looked young, he was perfectly organized, working quickly and precisely.

With just a single glance, he could remember who had paid and which fish they wanted.

Half an hour later.

The basin was empty.

Xie Zhao’s pockets were bulging. Some latecomers who hadn’t managed to buy anything were left sighing with regret.

Seeing him prepare to leave, several people shouted, “Are you going to catch more tomorrow? Any kind of fish will do! It’s the New Year, and having some fish head hotpot with tofu is better than anything! I didn’t get to buy any today!”

Xie Zhao didn’t hesitate.

He agreed with a smile.

“Sure! I’ll catch some when I go back tonight! I’ll bring them over first thing tomorrow morning, and you’ll definitely have them for lunch!”

In this day and age, although most families in Hudong County had no savings, those living in the county seat still had enough money to buy fish and meat for the holidays.

After all, starting from the previous year, the local authorities in Hudong County had quietly relaxed their stance.

A few years ago, doing any small business had to be done in secret. The higher-ups didn’t allow it, and if you were caught, it was labeled as “cutting off the tail of capitalism^[2].” You were lucky if you didn’t end up in prison.

However, the wind of economic freedom was like an unquenchable spark blowing in from the south, and Hudong County was affected by it as well.

Consequently, the authorities turned a blind eye to minor, small-scale businesses.

The county seat was the first to benefit from this shift.

Take Chen Donghai, for instance; he was among the first group of people to strike it rich through the clothing trade.

He was bold, straightforward, and dared to think and act.

In just one short year, he had become the wealthiest man in Hudong County.

…

When Xie Zhao returned to the ward, Tian Xiufen was dozing off, slumped over the edge of the bed.

The bowl Lin Muyu had used for the fish soup was already clean.

Seeing Xie Zhao enter, she quickly explained in a soft voice, “Mom washed it.”

Xie Zhao nodded.

He glanced out the window.

It was already seven o’clock.

The sky had darkened, but it wasn’t snowing. The snow on the ground looked cold and white, contrasting beautifully with the bright red lanterns, creating an exceptionally festive and lovely scene.

“I need to head back home. I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

Lin Muyu was startled.

“Right now?”

Feeling a bit anxious, she struggled to sit up, her delicate brows furrowing.

“It’s too cold outside. You only just got here, and now you’re heading back. The mountain roads are hard to travel in the dark, and you’re all alone…”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Xie Zhao chuckled softly.

He walked over, tucked the blanket around Lin Muyu, and then pulled a wad of loose bills from his pocket.

“This is the money from selling the fish.”

Xie Zhao straightened the bills and slowly counted them.

There were nine fish in total. The grass carp was the largest at two jin and three liang, while the rest were mostly just over one jin.

“It comes to twenty-four yuan and sixty cents.”

Xie Zhao smiled, pulled out four yuan to slip into his own pocket, and handed all the remaining money to Lin Muyu.

Lin Muyu’s eyes widened.

“You, you…”

She couldn’t form a complete sentence for a long moment.

“There’s a house near the mouth of the alley outside with an Eight Immortals table^[3] at the door. You can buy food from them. Since you can’t go out, just ask someone to bring it to you. A few cents for their trouble should do it.”

Xie Zhao instructed her in detail, “I’ll earn the money. Whatever you and Mom do, don’t neglect your health. It’s cold in the winter, which makes it easy to fall ill, so make sure you don’t go hungry.”

Lin Muyu stared blankly at the twenty yuan that had been stuffed into her hand.

It was a mix of loose bills and a few fen coins.

It felt heavy and warm, as if it could melt her heart.

Without her realizing it, her eyes had grown moist.

Her nose tingled, her eyes turned red, and as a tear rolled down, she hastily lowered her head out of instinct, unwilling to let anyone see.

Over the past year.

She had cried far too many times.

She had thought she had run out of tears long ago.

Yet today, when these twenty yuan were pressed into her hand, and when Xie Zhao looked at her with such caring, gentle eyes, she could no longer hold them back.

“I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

Xie Zhao gently patted her shoulder.

He paused, noticing her tears, and a sudden pang of pain shot through his heart.

“Don’t cry,” Xie Zhao said softly, reaching out to wipe away her tears.

His rough fingertips meeting her warm tears felt, in that brief moment of contact, like the first delicate winter jasmine blooming in the freezing cold.

Tian Xiufen was still asleep.

Xie Zhao quietly scooped the crucian carp out of the bucket, then turned and walked out of the hospital room carrying the bucket.

The moment he pushed his handcart out of the hospital, he glanced up at the overcast, gray sky.

He exhaled.

Twenty-four yuan and sixty cents.

To him, this sum of money held an unspeakable, extraordinary significance.

Actually, in his past life, the first money Xie Zhao had ever earned was through reselling goods. It had been much more than this, a full one thousand six hundred yuan.

But back then, once the initial excitement and thrill faded, they were replaced by a lingering sense of loss and immense melancholy.

He was only one person; how much could he possibly spend on food and drink?

If only he had come to his senses sooner, would his child, his wife, and his parents still be gathered around him?

Xie Zhao had woken up startled from his dreams in the dead of night countless times.

Yes, he had money.

But what of it?

His child, his family, they would never return.

He remained alone until the day he died.

“Phew!”

Xie Zhao let out a long, deep breath.

His palms were burning hot, and a fire seemed to blaze in his chest, making him feel incredibly, wildly happy.