Chapter 48: Selling Drawings
An Ning drew up a few simple designs, but she wasn’t comfortable letting An Guoming go by himself.
An Guoming was even thinner now, and An Ning felt that a strong gust of wind could blow him away. If he ran into someone who got physical, he would have no chance of escaping.
For the moment, only the An Family was in the hospital room.
"I don’t feel right about this. You just recovered. Do you really have to go?"
Lin Cuihua looked at An Ning, her face full of disapproval. When she saw An Guoming squatting by the door, she grew even angrier.
An Ning took a step to the side, blocking the view of An Guoming.
"Mom, I’m fine now. If Second Brother goes by himself and something happens, we won’t be able to make any money."
As she spoke, An Ning crouched down and whispered to Lin Cuihua, "We’re planning to sell them for this much."
An Ning held up one finger in front of Lin Cuihua’s eyes.
"A hundred?"
An Ning shook her head and whispered, "A thousand."
"What!"
Lin Cuihua shot to her feet. Realizing she shouldn’t be so loud, she frantically sat back down and grabbed An Ning’s hand.
"Honey, listen to me. We can’t be doing anything downright wicked."
"Mom, we’re just going to sell something. We won’t resort to murder and arson unless it’s absolutely necessary."
An Ning was getting lost in the local dialect, but her words made Lin Cuihua’s heart pound even harder. ’What does she mean, "unless it’s necessary"? Does she actually have plans for that?’
She gave An Ning a light rap on the head, her heart in a turmoil.
"And your father isn’t even here..." Lin Cuihua looked at the well-behaved An Ning, feeling torn. She took a deep breath.
"Go on, then. Just come back early, and we’ll all go home together."
An Ning gave a placating smile, stood up, and called for An Guoming to join her.
"Don’t worry, Mom. We’ll be back soon."
Lin Cuihua nodded, unable to stop herself from adding a few more reminders, which An Ning agreed to one by one.
The two of them walked out of the hospital. The place felt a bit familiar; it was the county town An Ning had visited before.
"Second Brother, let’s buy a notebook and a pen first."
An Guoming expertly led An Ning to the supply and marketing co-op. He bought what An Ning needed and also picked up a large envelope.
An Ning looked at the large envelope and said approvingly, "Second Brother, you’re so thoughtful. Buying an envelope to hold the money."
’Hold the money?’
An Guoming gave an awkward chuckle.
"Little Sister, wait for me a moment."
An Ning watched An Guoming enter the co-op again. When he came out, he had another envelope in his hand.
"Alright, let’s go now."
An Ning found a shady spot. She sat on a brick, sketching and drawing until she had completed three design sheets.
"Second Brother, what do you think? Will these work?"
An Guoming took them for a look. The drawings were perfect, and the design was quite different from the school bags he’d seen before.
There were side pockets, and some even had hidden compartments. It was quite interesting.
"Little Sister, what’s this you’ve written here?"
An Guoming pointed to a bunch of unfamiliar symbols next to the diagrams and asked An Ning.
"Pinyin. I don’t know how to write the characters."
The siblings shared a somewhat awkward look. An Ning broke the silence, asking, "Can you write them?"
An Guoming shook his head, then nodded, saying sheepishly, "Well... I don’t recognize many characters myself, let alone write them."
An Ning had an epiphany.
"So we’re both illiterate."
An Ning started making plans in her head, but her eyes remained fixed on An Guoming.
Her stare made An Guoming’s skin crawl.
"Little Sister, the last time you looked at me like that, you dragged me out for a run the very next day."
An Ning suddenly broke into a wide grin, her eyes bright as she gazed at An Guoming.
"Second Brother, you really are smart. I’ve decided to teach you how to read and write."
An Guoming’s face fell as he trailed behind An Ning.
"Little Sister, I already know a fair number of characters. I don’t need to practice writing, do I?"
An Ning, walking ahead, suddenly stopped and turned around, her expression uncharacteristically stern.
"Second Brother, if you want to be in business, reading and writing are the most basic skills you need. It’s not enough to just be clever and a smooth talker."
An Guoming wasn’t stupid, of course. He nodded and promised, "Okay. We’ll do it together when we get back."
An Ning smiled.
"And don’t forget to make up for the five days of running you missed."
"What? I have to make up for—"
The moment An Guoming met An Ning’s gaze, he lost his nerve.
An Ning started walking again, and An Guoming followed, muttering under his breath, ’Who’s the older sibling here, anyway?’
"You’re the second brother. Our big brother is at home."
An Guoming was left speechless by An Ning. The ’big brother’ he was referring to wasn’t their actual big brother.
An Ning and An Guoming took one of the county town’s unique buses to a factory.
When An Guoming was selling his school bags, he had struck up a conversation with someone from this factory. He went to the guardhouse and chatted with the old man there, who cheerfully helped him make a phone call to summon someone.
An Ning didn’t say a single word the entire time. With an aloof expression and her arms crossed, she stood as steady as a Door God.
She had learned a lot about business from her teacher, but she didn’t personally enjoy it. She did, however, quite like money.
Right now, she was doing all this to build a solid financial foundation so she could become a better farmer.
"Little Sister, let’s go."
An Ning followed An Guoming and the man who had come out to meet them into the bag-making factory.
They arrived at an office, where the man An Guoming called Director Wang introduced the two of them to the factory director.
But the director in front of them didn’t even lift his head, merely grunting noncommittally.
From this posture alone, An Ning could tell that this negotiation was likely to fail.
"Hello, Director Zhu. My name is An Guoming. That backpack was our—"
"Do you need something? If not, I have a meeting to get to. As for that bag you mentioned, it’s nothing special. There’s nothing particularly new about it."
Director Zhu stood up to leave. Director Wang, the middleman, was suddenly caught in an awkward position, but his loyalty naturally tilted toward his own director.
An Guoming wanted to say more, but An Ning pulled him back.
"You’re right, the bag is nothing special. We’ll be on our way, then. Sorry to have bothered you."
Since An Ning had spoken, An Guoming didn’t say another word. After a polite goodbye, the two of them left the factory.
Outside the factory, the first thing An Ning said was, "Second Brother, how much money do we have?"
"One thousand and seventy-eight. Everything left over from before and from selling the bags is here."
An Ning started calculating. A sewing machine cost one hundred and twenty yuan. They could buy nine machines. If they bought seven, they could use the rest of the money for fabric.
They could first cash in on the school bag boom, and then they could resell the sewing machines later.
"Second Brother, let’s go to the textile factory and find Director Li."
"Okay."
An Guoming’s mind was in a knot; he couldn’t quite keep up with An Ning’s train of thought. He followed behind her, watching her back.
’No matter how you look at it, she’s amazing. She makes you want to listen to her without even trying.’
An Ning, walking ahead, didn’t think much of it. She disliked long, pointless social interactions. Simplicity and directness were the principles she had always lived by in the interstellar era.
It was obvious from one look that the director wasn’t going to work with them, so they had to find another way.
Most importantly, she was in a hurry to get home.
According to the information she’d gotten from Miao Xiaohua, it hadn’t rained in the village for days. She needed to get back and check on the seedlings.
The two once again boarded an old-fashioned bus and arrived at the textile factory.
Perhaps An Ning had left a deep impression last time, because the old man at the gate recognized them immediately.
"Here to see Director Li, are you? I’ll go call for him right now."