Even after returning home, Xia Zuoji and Xia Harry were still somewhat excited. Instead of rushing back to their rooms to rest, they squatted outside their grocery store, smoking India cigarettes and chatting.
Xia Zuoji said to Xia Harry, "Do you think what Song Tianyao said is believable? One Hong Kong dollars for a woman's Braid."
Xia Harry breathed a sigh of relief, "Song Tianyao has already made it very clear that he can sign a contract with us and pay us a deposit of Hong Kong dollars 10,000 in advance. Moreover, his considerations are quite reasonable. China is currently engaged in the Korean War, United Nations probably doesn't want to see the China person exchanging hair for money and supplies. Choosing India to supply hair is the safest option."
"Ten Paisa for a woman's Braid? Ten Paisa isn't enough; in some small city-states, five Paisa are sufficient." Xia Zuoji, well aware of the situation in India, stated confidently, "In rural areas of those regions with sectarian conflicts, two Paisa might even be enough to exchange for hair."
"Should we give it a try?" Xia Harry his finger and tentatively asked his brother, "At least Song Tianyao is right about one thing: the more you collect, the more money you make. Besides, if we take control of the India hair business, since he's making wigs, if he makes money, other China person will definitely start making wigs too. Then we can even proactively ask Song Tianyao to raise prices, and if he doesn't raise prices, we can prioritize supplying hair to other merchants. Of course, that's for the future, but right now I think this is an opportunity. We're India; if we do well, even if he wants other people he trusts to go to India to collect hair in the future, those India won't sell to him. We can become the largest supplier of raw hair."
Xia Zuoji looked down at his feet. "Doesn't he look a little stupid, doing something like handing over an opportunity to someone else?"
"He had no choice. He's not India, and he doesn't know India as well as we do. A China person going to places with intense sectarian conflict could be killed at any time," Xia Harry said. "Besides, he doesn't dare to go to Mainland China to buy hair now. I think the first thing we should do after we make money is to bribe the officials in the Hong Kong Industrial and Commercial Administration Office to block any possible opportunities for smuggling hair and monopolize this business."
"Yes, Harry, you're absolutely right. That's how business should be done. Tomorrow, go and ask a Britain lawyer how to draft a contract safely. Once it's settled, I'll personally go to India and have someone from our hometown collect the hair." Xia Zuoji said to his younger brother, "This is an opportunity, a chance for us to return to the life we had when the Japan ruled Hong Kong, instead of being stuck with this tiny grocery store."
"I don't know if Song Tianyao is stupid or genuinely kind-hearted. The fake business is really lucrative," Xia Harry said to Xia Zuoji, throwing away his cigarette butt. "I can't believe he'd rather trust two India."
"He's not important, Harry. This opportunity is what matters. Seize it, don't let it slip through our fingers again." Xia Zuoji stood up and turned to look at their humble abode. "We don't want to live like this anymore."
"What a rare guest! You actually know how to come home?" Still looking sleepy, Zhao Meizhen opened the door for Song Tianyao, who had knocked. Her face darkened as she looked at her son as he entered. "Didn't you rent a room on High Street and elope with that Miss Wanqing of yours? Haven't you forgotten you still have Dad and mother?"
Song Tianyao looked at Song Chunliang, who was sewing cloth shoes in the living room where there were electric lights but an oil lamp was still lit. "Dad, why is Mom like this?"
Song Chunliang, stitching the shoe uppers without even looking up, muttered, "I lost over two yuan playing mahjong with the neighbors today, and my whole family got scolded by her."
"Keep the change." Song Tianyao took out ten yuan from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Meizhen, saying with a grin, "Calm down."
"Do you think your mother is a beggar? You can disappear for two or three months at a time... Have you eaten yet?" Zhao Meizhen ignored her son's antics, complained bitterly for a moment, and then asked him if he had eaten dinner.
"I ate out." As he spoke, Song Tianyao walked to the door and shouted upstairs, "Scribe Hui, come down here, I have something to tell you!"
"Scribe Hui hasn't lived upstairs for a long time. Now Wenwen is staying upstairs with Lou Fengyun. Scribe Hui specially moved to the warehouse in the New Territories to harvest vegetables," Zhao Meizhen said from the side when she heard her son call Scribe Hui.
Song Tianyao was stunned for a moment, then turned to his mother and said, "That guy's brain... Why doesn't he just live here by himself and go to the dock every morning to wait for the trucks to deliver goods together? If everyone were like him and did everything themselves, wouldn't they have been worked to death long ago?"
"Sister Yun, are you asleep? Come down and chat for a bit." After learning that Scribe Hui wasn't staying here, Song Tianyao called Lou Fengyun upstairs again.
This time, it didn't take long for Lou Fengyun to come downstairs. Her hair was still dripping wet, indicating she had just washed it. Upon seeing Song Tianyao, Lou Fengyun showed no unusual expression, only a hesitant gesture before slowly saying, "You're back?"
"Come into my room for a chat. I need your help with something." Song Tianyao gestured to Lou Fengyun as if nothing was amiss, and led her towards his bedroom.
Before Zhao Meizhen could even criticize Song Tianyao for being shameless, Song Tianyao said to her, "Mom, could you pour me a glass of iced tea? I just got back from the United States this morning and have been busy ever since I got off the plane. My mouth is dry. Thanks."
Without even looking at Song Tianyao's tone and expression, Lou Fengyun knew that he hadn't called her down to tease her, because he addressed her as "Scribe Hui" first. He only acted this way when he needed someone to do something for him.
Following Song Tianyao into the bedroom, Song Tianyao lazily flopped onto the bed, finding a comfortable position. Lou Fengyun gracefully sat down on a rattan chair next to him, looking at Song Tianyao and waiting for him to speak.
"Is the pharmacy busy every day?" Song Tianyao asked Lou Fengyun.