Chapter 40: Both Aching and Yearning Part 2

She felt both heartache and a restless itching desire.

If only it were 2023. They wouldn’t be on this expensive, fuzzy, sub-2G landline call; they would be on a video call. She would be able to see Su Ye’s little face hidden beneath her wet hair. She missed her so much. Only one day without seeing her or hearing her voice, and she already wanted to run over and hold her tight.

But it was 1998. Video calls didn’t exist, and transportation was slow. She couldn’t rush to the capital to see Su Ye and be back by morning to run the shop. Unfortunately, the other person didn’t read into her longing. Su Ye said, quite unromantically, “Stop talking nonsense. Don’t waste money.”

“…”

Fine.

Yue Chengqi suppressed the flickering romantic tension in her heart. “And then? What was in the warehouse? What did Manager Xie say?”

Su Ye tilted her head to hold the phone against her shoulder. “Later, we went to the warehouse. More than half the stock is contract manufacturing for other brands. Only a small portion is their own goods. There was one area with about six hundred units of their new product that nobody is buying. Sigh.”

Su Ye recalled Xie Chunhua patting the mountain of unsold goods, saying: “This is the workers’ livelihood. But we were too slow to enter the market. These electric water heaters can’t compete with the big brands from Guangzhou. Our only advantage is that we’re cheaper once you factor in their shipping costs.”

“Once they start building OEM factories here in Shan Province, our advantage will be completely gone. You’re one of the few people who has actively come to see the factory in months.”

Su Ye had opened a package to inspect it. “As long as the product is good, you don’t need to worry about being in a hidden alley. Sister Chunhua, tell me more about this new product. What tests did you run? Especially safety tests. When electricity and water are involved, safety is no joke.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Xie Chunhua had said, prying open a unit to show the interior. “We have a specialized leakage protection device. It won’t fail even if submerged in water. It’s got a national patent.”

“Okay, I’ll look into it. But Sister, let’s be blunt. I’m going to visit other factories tomorrow and the day after. There are many appliance factories in the capital. But rest assured, I won’t leak anything I saw here.”

Xie Chunhua had nodded. “I know. You should be thorough. We’re used to it.” Then, she had looked at her with doubt. “But are you really here representing yourself?” The girl was just too young. Even if she had started at fifteen, how could she have saved enough to contract an entire stock?

“I have a partner,” Su Ye had said, standing up slowly. “I represent both of us. My partner is twenty-two.”

“…Young and promising indeed.”

—

Hearing the gloom in Su Ye’s voice, Yue Chengqi quirked her lips. “Sounds like President Su is feeling sympathetic?”

“It’s a township enterprise. And it really was successful once. Do you know what that takes? It means when the economy first opened up, the whole village or town had to find the right direction and pool every resource they had to build a brand. Then they moved to the capital and ended up like this.”

Su Ye leaned her chin on her knee, gently rubbing her calf. “The business world is so cruel. Prosperity can vanish just like that.”

“We are in the growing pains of transition for small private firms and township enterprises,” Yue Chengqi explained. “Moving forward, as foreign investment deepens and domestic brands grow, more of these enterprises will face this crisis. Those who survive become national brands. Those who don’t either become mere contract factories or say goodbye to this world.”

“…I don’t fully get it, but it sounds like you have a point.”

Yue Chengqi could imagine the girl’s dazed, wide-eyed expression—a mix of confusion and a thirst for knowledge, her mind spinning to keep up. She smiled. “Just come back and read the books. I’ve summarized over ten pages. You’ll have to memorize it all when you return.”

“I’m not afraid of memorizing!” Su Ye huffed. “Alright, let’s stop wasting time. You get off work, and I need to organize the info for the factories I’m visiting tomorrow.”

The parting words stuck in Yue Chengqi’s throat. She didn’t want to hang up yet. “President Su…” she called out hesitantly.

“Yes?”

“…Don’t let your personal feelings cloud your judgment. That…”

Across the static of the line, the girl patted her own chest. “Don’t worry. I have you, don’t I? I can’t let you go down with me! I’ll investigate everything, think it through, and make the most suitable judgment.”

Suitable, not necessarily the most ‘correct’? Yue Chengqi thought. That was classic Su Ye. She could already guess what the result would be. But that was fine; this factory was no worse than the big ones and would be a perfect starting point.

If she remembered correctly, a major event was coming to Shan Province: Qining Group, the appliance giant from Guangzhou, was about to establish a direct OEM factory here to level out national prices and eliminate high shipping costs. They needed to gain enough sales and networking experience before then to earn a seat at Qining Group’s table and negotiate with the people from Guangzhou. Maybe… they could even help this township enterprise along the way.

But that was months away. For now, they had run out of things to say. Yue Chengqi lightly touched the tip of her tongue to her teeth and whispered, “Okay.”

“Goodnight.”

“…Goodnight.”

If companionship was a slow staircase for emotions, then a brief separation was surely a fountain from which feelings surged. This was true for both of them.

Su Ye hung up and crawled to the other side of the bed to organize her notes. But as soon as her pen touched paper, a strange sadness welled up. Why were phone calls so expensive? she wanted to call back, but the cost made her heart ache, and Yue Huan might not be at the shop waiting anymore anyway.

The PHS phones were expensive, the calls were expensive… why was communication so difficult?

She unconsciously gripped the bottom corner of the paper, her nails leaving marks she didn’t notice. Her shoulder felt a faint chill. After all, a few days ago, Yue Huan would have been holding her there while they slept. Yue Huan was strange; when she protected someone, she always put one hand behind their neck and the other around their shoulder. Whether they were sleeping or just lying side by side, it was always the same.

She had become dependent on it. Without that support, her shoulder felt cold.

Bad Yue Huan! It’s all her fault!

The girl wrote two words in her notebook, found she couldn’t continue, crossed them out fiercely, and slapped her own cheeks. No, Su Ye. This isn’t the time for that. You have to earn money tomorrow. Remember the money. Pull yourself together. Don’t let these little things distract you.

She slumped back onto the bed with a long, heavy sigh. She felt that something had definitely shifted.

But what exactly changed?

*

Time gave Yue Chengqi no chance to wallow in her melancholy. She had just hung up and hadn’t even begun to process her loneliness when the shop door was suddenly pushed open.

It was past ten o’clock. Normally, no one would come to the market for supplies at this hour. She walked out from behind the counter, her greeting dying in her throat as her eyes recognized the visitor. The word “Mom” almost escaped her lips.

Why was Yue Wenfeng here in the middle of the night?!

Yue Wenfeng was surprised and smiled when she saw her. “Ah, it’s you! Is this your shop?”

“I… I’m just working here.” The natural suppression of their bloodline made Yue Chengqi’s words stumble. Cold sweat was already beginning to coat her palms.

Please, don’t let this synchronize with our future selves, she thought. She was terrified of what the future Yue Wenfeng would say if she knew her current state. She might point at her nose and scold her for having no ambition, for falling so low as to work in a department store. Or maybe she wouldn’t be that harsh, but she’d definitely scold her…

Why? Why did she have to meet Yue Wenfeng so early? And Su Ye was the one who was supposed to be friends with her. Why was it her meeting Yue Wenfeng?

Yue Chengqi gripped her sweating hands, unaware that she was trembling. Yue Wenfeng approached with a bag. “Am I that scary? You look like you’re terrified of me.”

The girl’s lips were pale. Yue Wenfeng couldn’t tell if she was scared of her or her profession. “That’s not right. Aren’t you friends with Zhu Yan? She knows about this shop. The kid I was with the other day was Zhu Yan’s daughter, Zhu Xiaoyang. You shouldn’t be afraid of me.”

Who is Zhu Yan? Who is Zhu Xiaoyang? Her short-circuited brain couldn’t find a single scrap of information about those names. They must be Su Ye’s friends; they had nothing to do with her.

Yue Chengqi forced a smile. “No… I just worked overtime. I have a bit of anemia, so…”

“Have a candy.” Yue Wenfeng pulled one from her pocket and offered it. Seeing the girl’s startled look, she realized: “Oh, this is a department store; you probably don’t lack candy. But I’m giving it to you anyway, so take it.”

Yue Chengqi accepted it with both hands, whispering, “Th-thank you.”

“What a polite child. Why use both hands for a piece of candy?”

Because you taught me to, Yue Chengqi complained internally.

Yue Wenfeng continued, “But it’s good. Very polite. Don’t be so afraid of me; it’s not working hours now anyway. We’ll probably be inspecting your shop in a day or two, so save your fear for then.”

Yue Chengqi slowly peeled the candy, asking hesitantly, “You… did your work transfer go through?”

“Yes, both mine and my husband’s. He’s at the Traffic Police Brigade. He’s working overtime now, so I came to buy some things for him.”

“…Oh.”

“These items, please. Calculate the total for me.”

Yue Chengqi bit into the sticky milk candy, looking down at the small pile of goods. “It’s the last sale of the day. These are just leftovers; you don’t have to pay.”

“What? That sounds like a bribe. Even if it’s leftovers, you have to charge at least the cost price.”

“No, there’s no cost.” The sticky White Rabbit candy began to melt, making it hard to speak. She took a breath. “I don’t want it. You can go.”

“Aren’t you an employee?” Yue Wenfeng found it even stranger. “There have been counterfeit goods in the market lately. This shop isn’t…”

“No, no! It’s just… ugh, fine, I’ll take the cost price. For all this, just give me six yuan.”

The woman laughed. It was an informal laugh, unlike the way she would later teach Yue Chengqi—to only show eight teeth, to be dignified and square. She pulled out six yuan and stuffed it into Yue Chengqi’s hand. “You should get off work soon, too. Remember to have your business license and everything ready these next few days to handle the inspections.”

“…Okay. Uh…”

The milk candy became even more viscous. Yue Chengqi chewed hard twice before managing to speak: “Are you going to the Traffic Police Brigade? Let’s walk together. It’s late; it’s not safe for you to be alone.”