A Beauty in the 80s Goes on a Blind Date with Her Child, Captivating the Military Compound - Chapter 48

“Isn’t that a coincidence? I was just about to look for you too.” Shen Sisi reached into her basket and pulled out a mesh bag of free-range eggs, brought specifically as a gift for Cao Hua.

“These are for me?”

“Yes, take them!”

Cao Hua was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. He reached out to hook the mesh bag with his finger, and the irritability from a busy morning vanished instantly. He couldn’t stop himself from beaming.

“Thank you. We’ve known each other for a while now, and I haven’t even given you anything yet.”

“But you saved my life…” Sisi told him not to be so polite. “By the way, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Cao Hua finally remembered his business. “I wanted to say thank you for the fifteen bottles of medicinal oil you set aside. My brothers practically snatched them all up. After using it, they all thought it was excellent. We’ve already got nearly a hundred orders.”

“Nearly a hundred?” Shen Sisi’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

Was the demand for medicinal oil really that high? Just how many “brothers” did Cao Hua have under his wing?

“Brother Hua, you’re amazing!” In Sisi’s mind, it was raining gold coins. She had expected maybe ten or twenty orders, but nearly a hundred—plus the orders from the old uncle—would keep her busy for quite a while.

“However…” Cao Hua’s tone shifted, and he looked at Sisi with a hint of hesitation.

“However what?” Sisi urged him to speak his mind without any reservations.

Cao Hua pursed his lips. “Well… they have a small suggestion. Can you make the bottles smaller? Firstly, it would make the price more affordable, and secondly, it would be easier to carry. As you can see, when they’re on shift, they’re constantly moving cargo. It’s not convenient to carry a large bottle around.”

Sisi was already considering improvements. It wasn’t a major change—just a matter of finding different containers.

“No problem. I’ll handle the arrangements on my end. I’ll leave the coordination with your men to you,” Sisi said.

Cao Hua felt she was being too formal. “It’s only right that I put in the effort. This is my business too, isn’t it?”

During this time, he had truly gone all out to promote her medicinal oil. He had even given small samples to the boat owners who ran the shipping routes. Without exception, everyone who tried it praised it. A few bosses from the chambers of commerce had even sent people to inquire about it. However, since nothing was finalized yet, he didn’t want to mention it to avoid giving Sisi false hope. He would wait until the deal was set in stone to share the good news.

Seeing him lost in thought, Sisi called out twice, “Brother Hua? Brother Hua?”

He snapped back to reality. “Huh? What were you saying?”

Sisi couldn’t help but laugh. “I asked what you were thinking about so deeply.”

Before he could respond, a high-pitched, youthful voice exploded in their ears.

“He’s thinking about you, of course!”

Dong Xiaojiang was grinning mischievously, but he suddenly felt a murderous aura radiating from Cao Hua. He quickly corrected himself: “Thinking about your business together!”

Sisi’s heart nearly leaped into her throat. “Don’t scare me like that!”

Cao Hua’s face turned bright red. He stole a glance at Sisi; her face was also flushed, her eyes filled with a look of relieved reproach. Even when she’s angry, she looks so beautiful!

“Ahem!” He coughed twice. “This brat is always like this—no sense of propriety. He refuses to study and just follows me around the docks all day. He’s learned all the bad habits from these rough men.”

Sisi had always been curious about Dong Xiaojiang’s age; he looked like a mere kid.

Cao Hua glared at the boy. “He’s just a child, isn’t he?”

Dong Xiaojiang was highly offended. He just had a youthful face; why did everyone treat him like a toddler? “I’m eighteen!”

“Eighteen? You look three years old at most.” Cao Hua pushed him away playfully. “Is the cargo unloaded? No slacking off!”

“You slave driver…” Dong Xiaojiang grumbled, glaring at Cao Hua before ducking behind Sisi. “Sister Sisi, you have to protect me…”

“Hmph!” Sisi pretended to be annoyed, knitting her brows. “You won’t even call me ‘Sister,’ yet you want me to help you?”

Dong Xiaojiang immediately changed his tune, his voice dripping with sweetness. “Sisi-jie~ my dear elder sister~ I was just afraid of making you sound old!”

Sisi hadn’t expected that after only a few meetings, Dong Xiaojiang would go from being her adversary to a sweet-talking “younger brother.”

“Alright, stop playing. I still have things to discuss with your Sister Sisi.”

Dong Xiaojiang, looking for any excuse to avoid work, whined, “Tallying cargo is so boring. Just let me rest!”

Cao Hua, having no way to handle him, told him to just stay out of the way.

Shen Sisi held Niuniu’s hand and watched them bicker quietly before returning to the topic at hand. “Right, I forgot to ask—how many people have paid a deposit?”

The little abacus in Sisi’s heart began to click again. She had a lot of expenses coming up: buying oil, sourcing herbs, and finding a batch of small glass vials. She also needed to contact a printing house to get the “Golden Phoenix” labels printed. Hand-painting every bottle would take forever—she had nearly cramped her hand doing it last night.

Everything required money. A lot of money.

Cao Hua knew the deposit was important to her. “Don’t worry, leave the deposits to me. I’ll have them all collected by tomorrow morning. Come find me at the pier then.”

Sisi was amazed; Cao Hua’s efficiency was incredible. With him handling the promotion and networking, she could focus entirely on production. The thought of an order for a hundred bottles made her heart soar. She had never seen such a large order before!

She couldn’t let this opportunity slip through her fingers. Her ambition was ignited. She planned to contact “Dagger” later to find the address of the oil-pressing workshop and then go scout for bottles. She could also pick up some herbs along the way.

She was ready to go all out, but then she thought of the old lady back at the house. Her dreams hit a snag. Who knew what kind of trouble Xu Hongying was stirring up at home?

This was the first big deal of her life; she wouldn’t allow anyone to ruin it. Originally, out of respect for Gu Chengfeng, she had planned for a long-term psychological war with his mother, but it seemed she needed to settle things quickly instead.

After leaving Cao Hua’s pier, Sisi headed straight for the black market. It was a world of its own, with everything imaginable for sale. As she and Niuniu browsed through the streets, they saw all sorts of novelties.

Just as they finished walking one street, a youthful voice shouted from behind.

“Sister! My dear sister! Wait for me!”

Dong Xiaojiang, looking like a skinny mantis, came hopping through the crowd. He bounced in front of Sisi, out of breath.

“Why are you here?” Sisi looked around but didn’t see Cao Hua.

Dong Xiaojiang wiped the sweat from his brow. “Don’t look for Brother Hua; he’s busy talking business. But he entrusted me to follow you.”

Sisi’s expression softened. She hadn’t expected Cao Hua to be so thoughtful. She didn’t stand on ceremony and hung her basket on Dong Xiaojiang’s arm. “Let’s go then!”

“Sister Sisi, you really aren’t polite at all.”

Sisi laughed and was about to reply when her smile suddenly froze.