In the early years, Smuggler’s Street was just an ordinary residential street. When the reform and opening-up policy took effect, residents converted their houses into shops. Some ran small businesses themselves, while others rented out their properties for extra income. As a result, foot traffic on the street grew steadily, which in turn gave rise to many small street stalls.
Today was the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month—only half a month until the Spring Festival. The street was even livelier than usual, with many more vendors from nearby towns setting up stalls.
“Oh my, this place is really bustling!” Tian’s father said, carrying two baskets on a pole as he stood at the street entrance, unable to hide his amazement at the crowded scene.
Tian Tian frowned at the packed street. Just then, Niu Zai darted over from the roadside.
“I was just wondering how I’d find you guys! Who knew Smuggler’s Street would be this packed at only 7 a.m.?”
Before Tian Tian could finish her sentence, she noticed the awkward expression on Niu Zai’s dark face. Her heart sank—something had likely gone wrong with the deal. Otherwise, with Niu Zai’s carefree personality, he wouldn’t be making a face like that.
“Go ahead, what happened?”
Hearing that, Niu Zai visibly relaxed. Then he burst out, “Tian Tian! This is really some bad luck! Fei Qiang, the guy who was supposed to take the goods, got caught by the border patrol!”
Just thinking about it made Niu Zai angry.
He had gotten up early this morning because Tian Tian was coming to deliver the goods. The last thing he wanted was to hold up his friend’s business. He had gone to confirm the final delivery details with Fei Qiang, but before he even reached Fei Qiang’s place, he heard on the way that Fei Qiang had gone to the beach to pick up a shipment in the middle of the night and had been caught by the patrol.
What terrible luck, right?
After listening to Niu Zai’s story, Tian Tian couldn’t help but sigh. This really was some bad luck.
Originally, the biggest risk in this deal was Fei Qiang backing out and forfeiting the deposit. Who would’ve thought he’d be so unlucky as to get arrested outright?
Normally, someone like Fei Qiang, who was deep in the smuggling business, would have greased the right palms on both ends. Getting caught suddenly last night meant something had definitely gone wrong.
But that wasn’t Tian Tian’s concern.
The only saving grace was that she had collected a 400 yuan deposit—30% of the total—upfront, which was more than enough to cover the cost of the peanut candy.
So when Niu Zai started promising to help find another buyer, Tian Tian directly said, “Don’t skip work over this. It’s fine—I didn’t lose anything. My dad and I will walk around the street and maybe sell the stuff ourselves.”
Niu Zai knew it wasn’t easy to find a buyer on such short notice, and his shift was about to start. He could only say, “Alright, but don’t wander off. Set up your stall right outside our shop. With me keeping an eye on things, nobody will cause trouble.”
“Of course,” Tian Tian agreed without hesitation. Even though a crackdown had started at the end of last year, Smuggler’s Street was still full of shady characters. And with the Lunar New Year approaching, everyone looking to make a quick buck was out in full force. If she wasn’t careful, her wallet wouldn’t last long.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the electronics shop where Niu Zai worked. The shop mainly sold small household appliances. The owner was a distant relative of Niu Zai’s, and when he saw them, he warmly invited them to set up a stall in the open space in front of the shop.
Tian Tian took the opportunity to offer him two boxes of peanut candy as thanks. Then she turned to her father and said, “Dad, rest here and watch the goods for a bit. I’m going to the breakfast stall ahead to eat.”
Both of them had come to town on empty stomachs, hoping to have a good meal. Even if they didn’t sell the goods, they still needed to eat.
The breakfast stall was packed. Tian Tian squeezed in and ordered a bowl of pork organ rice noodles. As she ate, she kept an eye on the surrounding shops and stalls, looking for someone who might buy her entire stock.
She still had important business to handle at the supply and marketing cooperative—she couldn’t take time off just to sell peanut candy. And if she left the selling to her parents, they’d only be able to get the regular price, which wouldn’t be worth it.
But by the time her father finished breakfast and returned, she still hadn’t spotted a suitable buyer.
—
Not wanting to dwell on it, Tian Tian stood up when her father came back and stepped into the electronics shop to look around.
By this time, electronics shops already sold electric rice cookers, fans, irons, hairdryers, water heaters, televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, and more. Many of the appliances here were foreign brands—no doubt smuggled goods.
Tian Tian’s neighboring town was by the sea, and she’d heard that many people there would run to the beach at midnight to carry goods back for money. Those goods, of course, were smuggled. This kind of human mule work paid decently and carried much less risk than actually running the smuggling operation.
The goods in front of her must have come that way.
She didn’t dwell on that. Instead, she started checking the prices on the appliances—though every price tag made her wince. Electronics were incredibly expensive back then. Several hundred or even a thousand yuan was standard. Tian Tian wanted to buy a washing machine for her family once she had enough money.
But for now, a washing machine costing over a thousand yuan? She’d have to pass.
Just then, Niu Zai, who was minding the store, shot her a glance. Right after, Tian Tian heard footsteps coming from the back door. She looked at Niu Zai in surprise, and he gave her a slight nod.
Tian Tian thought it was strange. Delivering goods in broad daylight?
Yes, she was certain someone was making a delivery through the back door. Normally, smuggled goods changed hands in the dead of night. A daytime delivery was truly odd.
With Fei Qiang’s arrest in mind, she couldn’t help but wonder if something had gone wrong with the smugglers themselves.
In her previous life, Tian Tian had been stuck at the supply and marketing cooperative at this time, trying to get ahead. She hadn’t paid any attention to the smuggling business at all. But deep down, she felt that this matter was very important.
About another hour and a half later, the back door went quiet.
Tian Tian stepped out of the electronics shop and happened to see a dozen or so dark-skinned men coming around from the back door onto the main street. Each of them was carrying a burlap sack.
As they passed by her, they carried a distinct smell of salted fish.
Salted fish?
A thought flashed through Tian Tian’s mind. Without hesitation, she called out to the group of men.
—
“Uncles, uncles. Are you selling salted fish?”
The men stopped. The one in the lead said impatiently, “Little girl, if you want to buy salted fish, go to a shop. Our salted fish is for wholesale to stores.”
Tian Tian knew right away that she had an opportunity. This group had come to deliver smuggled goods but still brought salted fish along—clearly, they wanted to make some extra money. Since they wanted to earn more, that made things easy.
Her father had been watching from the shop entrance, keeping an eye on their baskets. Worried about his daughter, he quickly stood up and asked, “Girl, what’s going on?”
Tian Tian waved at her dad. “Nothing, Dad.” Then she turned back to the men. “It wasn’t easy for you to bring all this salted fish here. I genuinely want to buy them. How about we borrow a place in the electronics shop to talk? I’m somewhat related to the shop owner.”
A young girl saying she wanted to buy that much salted fish didn’t sound very credible. But bringing the electronics shop owner into the picture changed things.
After all, this group was definitely delivering goods to the shop owner.
Sure enough, as soon as they heard Tian Tian was a relative of the shop owner, their attitude improved significantly.
—
“Tian Tian, you really want to buy all that salted fish?”
Inside the electronics shop’s meeting room, Niu Zai stared at the pile of salted fish on the floor, stunned by Tian Tian’s decision.
The market price for dried salted fish was about 1.5 yuan per catty. The pile on the floor added up to over a thousand catties. Buying that much salted fish—she wouldn’t be able to sell it all anytime soon! And after the New Year, the rainy season would arrive. By then, salted fish would easily get moldy and grow bugs.
Tian Tian’s father more or less shared Niu Zai’s concerns. But he didn’t say anything—he just looked at the salted fish, thinking about how they might sell them.
“I’ll buy them, but not with cash.”
Niu Zai was full of question marks. If not with cash, what—robbery? Their shop might sell smuggled goods, but they were still law-abiding citizens.
Several middle-aged men representing the sellers had also heard Tian Tian’s words. One of them immediately scowled and demanded, “Not with cash? What are you trying to do?”
If not for the electronics shop owner, these men might have resorted to violence.
But Tian Tian was unfazed. “Uncles, don’t get worked up. You don’t even know what the deal is yet. Hear me out—it doesn’t cost anything. Worst case, you don’t like it and leave.”
At the mention of leaving, the men relaxed a bit.
“You said it yourself. Don’t try to force us to sell cheap.”
Tian Tian smiled. “Of course not.”
With that, she took out a box of finely packaged peanut candy from her basket.
The moment the box appeared, the middle-aged men froze.
“Is that from Hong Kong?”
These men all smuggled goods for a living, so they recognized many products from Hong Kong. The packaging on this item—it was definitely in the style of Hong Kong goods.
Tian Tian smiled but didn’t lie. She said directly, “Locally made, but the owner has relatives in Hong Kong.”
The wording was vague, but it wasn’t a lie. Her family had plenty of relatives in Hong Kong.
The middle-aged men, however, had already filled in the blanks themselves.
Because of their region, most families had relatives in Hong Kong. Some of those relatives sent money and goods back. Others came over to invest in small businesses.
These men assumed the latter.
Without further explanation, Tian Tian opened a pack of peanut candy, offered it to the men, and warmly urged them to try it.
Now they felt a bit embarrassed. The packaging was so exquisite—it looked expensive. They didn’t feel right accepting something so costly for free.
By now, Tian Tian’s father had figured out his daughter’s plan. He stepped in warmly and said, “Brothers, don’t be shy. This is homemade—nothing to feel awkward about. We’re talking business here. Even if we don’t make a deal, we can still be friends.”
Tian Tian added, “That’s right, uncles. The business we’re talking about is closely related to this candy. If you don’t try it, it’ll be hard to discuss the deal.”
Niu Zai naturally chimed in as well.
The room quickly became lively.
Tian Tian’s father had already exchanged names with several of the middle-aged men. They’d even made loose plans to visit each other’s homes if Tian Tian’s family ever came to the seaside for fun.
With relationships warmed up, business became easier to discuss.
“Brother Tian, and this little miss, I think I understand what you mean. You want to trade this peanut candy for our salted fish, right?”
Seeing how direct the other party was, Tian Tian didn’t beat around the bush either. “Right, Uncle. You really are a sharp businessman!”
“Oh no, no, no. We’re not big bosses. We’re just laborers.”
At first, Tian Tian had assumed they were just manual laborers because they were carrying smuggled goods for the shop. But after talking with them, she realized these men had ambition. Especially the one leading the group—from the way he spoke, he was probably planning to get into the seafood business.
So this deal really might work out.
“Little girl, this candy is tasty. But we have no use for that much of it. We can sell our salted fish to wholesale shops and get cash right away.”
See? He didn’t refuse outright—that definitely meant there was a chance. Now he was just haggling.
“Uncle, that’s true. But wholesale shops only pay seven or eight mao per catty for salted fish. Retail is half again as much, but you can’t set up a stall in town every day. Looking at your salted fish, I’d say there’s a bit over a thousand catties here. At most, you could sell it for around eight hundred yuan.”
Seeing the man nod, Tian Tian continued, “And my peanut candy—to be honest with you, another buyer wanted to take the whole lot for four fifty a box. Just what I have here is worth over thirteen hundred yuan.”
The expressions on the men’s faces were quite something when they heard that Tian Tian’s peanut candy was so valuable.
But the leader quickly collected himself. “That’s high-end peanut candy. If we trade for it, we’d hate to eat it ourselves, and we’d have nowhere to sell it either!”
Tian Tian pressed harder. “That’s not quite right, Uncle. Think about it—this candy has such beautiful packaging. Whether giving it to relatives or using it to build connections, isn’t it a real status booster?”
Back then, local goods didn’t carry as much face as goods from elsewhere, and goods from elsewhere didn’t carry as much face as imported goods.
Tian Tian’s peanut candy, dressed in the shell of an imported product, made for a pretty good value gift.
After all, every local bought some peanut candy for the New Year!
Without pausing, Tian Tian kept persuading. “Think about it—salted fish is just hauled out of the sea. There’s almost no cost, just the labor. My peanut candy is honestly made from sugar, peanuts, and sesame. You’ve already tasted how good it is.”
“Besides, your salted fish can sell for at most eight hundred yuan. My peanut candy can sell for over thirteen hundred. That’s a difference of five hundred yuan! If our family weren’t so busy with no time for retail selling, I wouldn’t be willing to take such a loss trading for salted fish.”
Tian Tian put on a reluctant expression as she finished speaking.
Her father chimed in at just the right moment. “Girl, that’s a pretty big difference. Why don’t I just work a little harder and sell them at the shop entrance every day? We could still sell a good amount by the New Year.”
Then he turned to the middle-aged men. “Brothers, that’s a lot of money. I’m a stingy man—I’d hate to lose that much…”
The man who had been about to negotiate the price down immediately made a decision when he heard this. “Brother Tian, we were having such a good discussion. Your daughter here just said she doesn’t want her father to work too hard. You’re a lucky man to have such a good daughter.”
While some kept Tian Tian’s father occupied, others turned to Tian Tian and agreed to the trade. They even brought out a ten-catty bag of dried cuttlefish they had with them and offered it as a little extra.
Tian Tian naturally didn’t refuse. Smiling, she had Niu Zai fetch paper and a pen. She wrote up a simple trade agreement, and both parties signed it with their fingerprints.
After seeing the men off, Tian Tian’s father looked at the salted fish covering the floor and asked with a headache, “Girl, what are we going to do with all this salted fish? I feel like we took a real loss.”
“On paper, it looks like we lost money, but actually, we didn’t.”
Because the cost of the peanut candy, not counting labor, was only about one hundred yuan.
As for what to do with the salted fish—she already had an idea. When she’d smelled salted fish outside the shop, it had reminded her of something from her previous life. Around this same time, an out-of-town merchant had taken a wrong turn and ended up in their village.
The man was from inland and wanted to buy a large quantity of seafood products. With the New Year approaching, he was eager to make a big profit, so he was offering excellent prices.
Of course, none of that had happened yet, so she couldn’t explain too much to her father. She just said, “First, find a cart to take the salted fish back home.”
Tian Tian’s father agreed without further questions. He trusted that his daughter must have good reasons.
Niu Zai, on the other hand, was worried. He was afraid Tian Tian would get stuck with all that salted fish.
Seeing his concern, Tian Tian said, “Don’t worry, I have a plan. And if I really can’t sell them, the supply and marketing cooperative can take them.”
The price just wouldn’t be very good.
Speaking of the supply and marketing cooperative, Tian Tian’s expression turned serious. “Niu Zai, when we were talking just now, you heard them let it slip—they mentioned the supply and marketing cooperative, right?”
While they had been chatting and doing business, the lead middle-aged man, knowing that Tian Tian was already aware of their background, hadn’t been too careful. He’d accidentally let slip that they had some involvement with the supply and marketing cooperative.
Niu Zai looked around, lowered his voice, and said, “I’ve heard some rumors, but I’m not sure.”
Tian Tian thought about it. In her previous life, the supply and marketing cooperative had never had any major problems. But then she remembered the receipts and documents she had seen in the few days since being reborn.
She had been thinking about how to deal with certain people at the cooperative. Now it seemed she wouldn’t need to waste time setting things up herself.
The leads were practically falling right into her lap.
< Previous chapter | TOC | Next Chapter >
Leave a Reply