She bit the end of her pen, considering how to phrase her thoughts.
After a significant amount of time, she began to write. A line of graceful, light, and small characters appeared on the paper.
Dear Big Brother Qin, hello!
It’s as if I’m seeing you in person.
When I received this letter, my heart was disturbed for a long time. During my most difficult times, you were like sending charcoal in snowy weather, helping me solve my problem. I’m extremely grateful and would like to take this opportunity to say thank you!
I have received the money, and I will do my best to repay it as soon as possible!
At this point, An Hao didn’t know how to continue writing. After much consideration, she decided to ask about his life in the provincial city.
So, she wrote a few simple sentences.
How is life in the city? You must be quite tired from work every day, right? Big Brother Qin, you should balance work and rest, don’t overwork yourself!
Lastly, I want to say thank you again!
This letter was very short, and it was awkwardly written. Although there were many things in her heart, she just couldn’t express them.
She read the letter over and over again a few times, folded it neatly, and pocketed it before heading out the door.
She went to the supply and marketing cooperative, bought an envelope and a stamp, stuffed the letter inside, and mailed it out overnight.
With money in hand, An Hao calculated that after repaying the debts, she still had over a hundred yuan left, which she could use to turn her fortunes around.
It was only by doing so that she could repay Qin Jian’s debt as soon as possible.
The Snowflake Cream she sold last time was a huge success. An Hao thought about doing a larger sale this time, but it was difficult to predict the current market conditions. After thinking for a long time, she decided to change the way she operated her small business.
She went around the village, taking inventory house by house, to see who wanted Snowflake Cream, agreeing on the price in advance, and then collecting a portion of the deposit.
If the Snowflake Cream was bought and they no longer wanted it, the deposit would not be refunded.
If they still wanted it, they just had to pay the remaining money.
This method was quite troublesome but very secure.
Considering that the people from her own village bought very little last time, An Hao lowered the price to a relatively low one this time—one yuan a box. If they ordered in larger quantities, the price could be eighty cents.
Using this method, An Hao surveyed all the young women in the village and sold a good amount of stock.
She also encouraged them to talk to relatives in other villages. For each box they sold, they could earn a commission of twenty cents. After two weeks of hard work, An Hao had sold her stock to villages for dozens of miles around.
Some people even wanted to buy stock directly from An Hao to sell themselves.
After investing all of her two hundred yuan of capital, An Hao calculated that after deducting various miscellaneous expenses, she had made over two hundred yuan.
After repaying her debts, she still had over a hundred yuan left.
Now, she had the funds for her and An Ping’s school expenses. She clutched the money tightly in her hand, and regardless of how Bai Xue would speak sweetly to An Shuchao, she refused to part with a single cent.
Within half a month, everyone in the village knew that An Hao, from somewhere, had borrowed a sum of money. Not only had she paid off her debts, but she had also earned a considerable amount.
Suddenly, the people in the village began to think highly of An Hao’s abilities. In fact, several families came knocking with marriage proposals.
An Hao refused to meet any of them, turning them all away.
On an afternoon at the end of March, the school had just finished a mock exam.
On the way home after school, An Hao walked back to the village with Shen Zhihua and Wang Li along the town’s main road, discussing the answers to the exam questions as they went.
The sound of a car horn came from behind. In those days, it was very rare to see a car in the village. Wang Li turned his head to look, and saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance.