In 1983, doing fruit business was just mediocre, even though Sablewick’s economy was wealthier than inland cities.
The overall environment was like this; selling food could yield small profits.
The profit from Whitaker Scarlett selling two pieces of clothing could be more than what Sanders Wren’s fruit stall earned in a day.
The profit from reselling women’s clothing was not as good as that from reselling electronics.
When Whitaker Scarlett asked Sanders Wren if she had considered changing industries, Sanders Wren honestly nodded:
“I thought about opening a pork stall.”
A pork stall?
A pork stall wouldn’t have trouble making money; one could survive without fruits, but one couldn’t go long without meat.
Sanders Wren clearly had plans. Whitaker Scarlett was smart, so she voiced her thoughts for Sanders Wren to consider, “I could go to the countryside to buy live pigs, slaughter them myself, and sell them. I could make some money; I could sell two pigs a day, and the profit would be not much less than what I made from my fruit stall.”
The purchase price for live pigs was only a few dimes, and the meat yield from a pig was around 65%. The selling price could be half more than the purchase price, making money from the difference. With current meat prices, if Sanders Wren slaughtered one pig a day and sold it all, she could earn about 20 dollars, and two pigs would earn her 40 dollars.
Not everyone had Whitaker Scarlett’s ambition. For Sanders Wren in 1983, earning nearly a thousand dollars a month would already allow her and her grandmother to live well in Sablewick. The premise for this income was that she could guarantee the purchase of two pigs every day, slaughter them, and sell them all!
It was impossible to think that way; buying live pigs would take time, and slaughtering them would also take time. Not to mention, the daily income of 40 dollars would likely be cut in half, if not more.
She calculated that she could earn between 600 to 800 dollars a month from this line of work.
She had never dealt with these matters in her previous life, but she always had a reserve of knowledge. From the moment Whitaker Scarlett started reselling oil residue, she had inquired about the entire industrial chain. Was large-scale pig farming feasible? Was there potential in establishing a meat processing plant? Whitaker Scarlett could draft a plan… However, it was of no use; the investment was large, and profits came slowly. With that time, she could have flipped countless goods.
Sanders Wren was impressive; she could slaughter pigs herself!
Whitaker Scarlett clicked her tongue. Which young woman would dare to run a pork stall? Only someone as bold as Sanders Wren could do it.
If Sanders Wren dared to slaughter pigs, could she do something else?
“Sister Wren, have you thought about finding some opportunities in the special economic zone…”
“You mean the Pent Special Zone?”
Whitaker Scarlett lightly hummed in agreement.
Established as a city in 1979, the country approved the establishment of the Pent Economic Special Zone in 1980. How fast was that place developing? The multinational company Whitaker Scarlett worked for in her previous life had its headquarters in Pent.
She was somewhat familiar with Pent. If one wanted to get rich, no other city could compare to Pent!
Even now, the capital and Zoriville couldn’t match Pent’s economic development speed. With national policy support, various factories were established in the Pent Special Zone, and everything produced could make money. Whitaker Scarlett thought of those cheap electronic products and appliances and felt a surge of excitement.
Grandma Sanders and Elizabeth continued to communicate in the kitchen, while Sanders Wren pondered for a while and straightforwardly asked Whitaker Scarlett:
“What do you want me to do?”
Sanders Wren was indeed not foolish; whoever tried to deceive her was the real fool. That junior brother who had taken over her fruit stall would eventually regret it. A fruit stall was just a fruit stall; Sanders Wren had given it up, and their relationship had been exhausted!
“Sister Wren, you first need to get a border pass.”
Sanders Wren had a city household registration in Sablewick. Although it wasn’t easy for her to apply for a “border pass” to the Pent Special Zone, it wasn’t impossible. For Whitaker Scarlett, a person from Duskhaven without a formal unit’s rural household registration, applying for a border pass to the Pent Special Zone would be extremely difficult. It would require layers of approval from the village, township, and county, much harder than applying for a outside the country travel permit in later years!
She couldn’t just follow the example of a certain real estate tycoon, who, unable to obtain a border pass, sneaked into the Pent Special Zone by crawling through barbed wire—when one was desperate to succeed, Whitaker Scarlett would also be willing to crawl through barbed wire, but for now, she could still rely on Sanders Wren.
She couldn’t truly roam freely yet; to make money, Whitaker Scarlett needed a partner in Sablewick.
After having a meal at the Bai family, Whitaker Scarlett and Elizabeth took their leave.
Elizabeth thought they were just visiting friends, unaware that Whitaker Scarlett had already preliminarily convinced Sanders Wren. With the rapid development of the Pent Special Zone, having entered early in ’83, if Whitaker Scarlett could establish a foothold in Pent, she wouldn’t have to worry about anything in the future.
