Living like a widow? My rough neighbor is coaxing me to have a baby every night.

As the sun began to set, its golden-red afterglow cast long shadows on the concrete ground in the transport team's backyard.

On the stone table, colorful scrunchies were piled up like a small mountain.

The fabric was already bright and vibrant, the red like fire, the green like scallions, and the delicate floral pattern was now sewn into a fluffy circle, making it look like a high-end item in a department store's glass display case.

"Stop! Everyone stop!"

Xiao Lan clapped her hands, perfectly embodying the aura of a business owner. "Time's up! Everyone, finish up what you're doing, then we'll inspect the goods and settle the accounts!"

Upon hearing the words "checkout," the eyes of the women instantly lit up like light bulbs.

Aunt Hua was the first to put down the scissors, rubbing her slightly sore neck. Her plump face was filled with barely suppressed excitement: "Girl, look at these! I made them, twenty in total, not one missing! I followed your specifications exactly; the stitches are so tight you can't even let a breeze through!"

The other women also rushed to push their finished products forward, afraid of falling behind and not getting paid.

Xiao Lan didn't hesitate either. She picked one up and checked the elasticity of the elastic band and the concealed location of the joint over and over again.

She did it meticulously, yet her expression remained calm. This invisible pressure caused the women, who had been laughing and joking, to hold their breath.

Li Xianglian sat to the side, holding a small notebook and a pencil in her hand, her palms sweaty.

This was her first time doing this kind of "supervisor" work, and she felt both nervous and excited.

"Not bad." Xiao Lan finally spoke, casually tossing the acceptable hair tie back into the "mountain" of hair. "Aunt Hua's skills are truly impeccable; she's got the makings of a team leader."

Aunt Hua was immediately relieved, and her smile widened, revealing her back teeth: "That's right! These hands of yours are the result of half a lifetime of sewing shoe soles!"

"Ah Lian, put in the books."

Xiao Lan pulled a bulging coin purse from her pocket and dumped it onto the stone table with a "clatter".

These days, the sound of a coin hitting a stone table is the most beautiful music in the world.

The coins, worth a few cents, and the paper bills, worth one or two mao, gleamed with a captivating luster in the setting sun.

Several women's eyes were practically glued to it and couldn't be pulled off.

"Aunt Hua, twenty, twenty qualified. Two cents each, forty cents in total."

Xiao Lan deftly counted out four brand-new one-cent bills and slapped them in front of Aunt Hua with a snap. "Here, this is your hard-earned money for the afternoon."

Four cents!

Aunt Hua's hands trembled as she clutched the money; the touch was so real it made her heart tremble.

That's four cents!

At the supply and marketing cooperative, a pound of high-quality wheat flour costs only 18 cents, and that 40 cents is enough to buy more than two pounds of wheat flour!

Normally, she works herself to the bone at home taking care of the whole family, which is only natural. But when she asks for money, she has to be mindful of her husband's attitude.

But now? Just sitting here chatting and doing needlework, they can earn two days' worth of groceries in an afternoon?

"Oh my goodness..." The woman surnamed Liu next to them swallowed hard. "They're really giving cash?"

"Sister Liu, here you go. Twenty bills, forty cents." Xiao Lan didn't waste any words and handed over four more bills.

In less than five minutes, all five people's wages were settled.

Everyone had four cents in their hands, and their expressions were even more satisfied than if they had eaten meat during the Lunar New Year.

"Hey girl! Will you be doing this kind of work again in the future?"

Aunt Hua carefully tucked the money into her inner pocket. "My hands are still warmed up; I can make twenty more!"

"Yes, Xiao Lan, this job is easy, much better than sewing shoe soles!"

Sister Liu was afraid of leaving her behind, saying, "There are still so many scraps of cloth left, we can finish making it even if we have to work late into the night!"

Once a wolf has tasted the sweetness of success, it's impossible to drive it away.

Xiao Lan slowly put the remaining change back into her bag: "Ladies, our business is just beginning. We'll be doing this kind of work often in the future, but there's one rule I have to set in advance."

The courtyard fell silent instantly, and several pairs of eyes stared at her.

"From now on, all work must be done in this backyard. You are not allowed to bring fabric home; if you ruin it, you will be fined."

Firstly, I was afraid of damaging the fabric if I took it home, and secondly, I was also worried about others learning the technique.

After all, it's not that difficult; as long as you have the materials, you can make it.

What Xiao Lan needs to do is to seize the first wave of popularity.

She pointed to the pile of hair ties. "We're doing this for the long haul, selling to fashionable young women in the city. The quality has to be top-notch. Can you please follow the rules?"

"Yes! Absolutely!" Aunt Hua pounded her chest loudly. "From now on, if anyone dares to smuggle fabric home, you won't even have to say a word; I, Hua Guifen, will be the first to tear their mouths apart!"

Money makes the world go round, and this principle was especially true in the 80s.

"Alright, that's all for today." Xiao Lan glanced at the sky. "Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, still here, start work on time. Aunt Hua, as the group leader, please take care and bring two more skilled people with you tomorrow. We need to increase production."

"Yes, ma'am!" Aunt Hua's awareness was frighteningly high at this moment; she was treating Xiao Lan like a god of wealth. "Sisters, let's go! Go back and cook! Come early tomorrow to reserve seats!"

A group of women, clutching their warm wages, walked out of the transport team's gate with beaming smiles.

Throughout the journey, he stood up straighter than usual and spoke in a louder voice.

With this four cents as a safety net, I'll have a completely different confidence when I go home tonight and face my husband!

The courtyard fell silent again.

Looking at the expenses recorded in the ledger and then at the pile of exquisitely crafted hair ties, Li Xianglian finally understood the situation.

"Sister-in-law..." Li Xianglian asked, "If all these hundreds of pounds of cloth scraps were used to make so many things, how many would that be?"

"At least several thousand to tens of thousands could be made."

Xiao Lan stretched, revealing her curves, "When the time comes, we can just put them up at the entrance of the movie theater, or find a department store counter to sell them, and that will be a big business worth several thousand yuan."

Several thousand dollars...

Li Xianglian felt a little dizzy.

A few months ago, she was still worried about a few dollars, but now, following Xiao Lan, it's as if she's stepped into a new world full of gold.

When Li Xianglian returned to the empty tile-roofed house, it wasn't completely dark yet.

There were still some cold steamed buns left in the kitchen from that morning. Qin Rushan wasn't there, and she was too lazy to cook, so she broke off a piece and swallowed it with cold boiled water.

The four cents clutched in my hand were warm from the sweat on my palm.

This was the first time in her life that she had earned money with her own two hands, without relying on Qin Rushan or anyone else.

Although it's not much, it makes me feel at ease.

She treasured those few bills, placing them under the mat beneath her pillow.

Lying in bed, the faint smell of engine oil and fabric still seemed to linger around my nose.

"Tomorrow..." Li Xianglian looked at the dark roof beams, and couldn't help but smile. "Brother Shan should be back by then."

The nights without Qin Rushan by their side always seemed exceptionally long and quiet.

She turned over, hugged the blanket Qin Rushan had used, and drifted off to sleep amidst the familiar smell of tobacco.

He slept soundly, his dreams filled with colorful banknotes and Qin Rushan's rugged face.