Hughes Lawrence didn’t mention buying Whitaker Scarlett’s eggs.
He wasn’t stingy; the reception center’s daily supply of eels couldn’t guarantee a specific weight, but eggs were a staple item. Still, the reception center was a government unit, not like ordinary folks who had to pay high prices for eggs.
If Hughes Lawrence were to buy Scarlett’s eggs, it wouldn’t be to make her money—it’d actually cause her a loss!
The twenty-something pounds of eels Scarlett brought could be carried with one hand, but Hughes Lawrence didn’t want to get himself wet or fishy-smelling. So, he called a young man from the kitchen to help, officially passing the eels through the procurement process.
The young worker didn’t dare look at Scarlett for too long. He weighed the eels—Scarlett had brought 24 pounds—and Hughes Lawrence offered her $1.20 per pound, the same as her retail price. That’s the power of a carton of cigarettes.
With just those 24 pounds of eels, Scarlett could make at least $9 in profit—far more than the cost of the cigarettes. In these times, there weren’t many sharp-minded individuals like Scarlett, allowing her to maneuver. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had the chance to connect with someone like Hughes Lawrence.
“Alright, make sure you get home safely. Deliver 20 pounds of eels again the day after tomorrow. I’ll let you know if I need more or less,” Hughes Lawrence said.
It seemed that the procurement frequency he set was 20 pounds every two days, averaging 10 pounds per day, or 300 pounds a month. If Scarlett could maintain that quantity, selling eels to the reception center alone would give her a stable monthly income of nearly $100.
Her smile became even warmer. “Got it. Goodbye, Brother Lawrence.”
She rode off on her bicycle, and the young man who had helped carry the eels stood there, staring at the fish in a daze.
“Brother Lawrence, is she your relative?”
Hughes Lawrence rolled his eyes. “Do you think my family hit the jackpot and got such a stunning relative? This is official procurement, so don’t spread nonsense.”
The young man laughed awkwardly. “Brother Lawrence, I didn’t mean it that way. I just thought that this lady was way too pretty—even prettier than the women working at our reception center.”
Hughes Lawrence thought to himself, You don’t know anything.
The female staff at the municipal reception center were all exceptionally beautiful, chosen from hundreds of candidates. But their beauty was the kind recognized by mainstream standards—elegant and dignified. From a man’s perspective, Scarlett’s kind of beauty was far more captivating. Yet someone like her? Too alluring. No way would they hire someone like her as a receptionist.
She’d be too much of a distraction—practically asking the leaders to make mistakes!
For women, beauty wasn’t enough. It came down to whether they could take advantage of their two opportunities in life: one being their birth, and the other being their marriage.
Take Whitaker Scarlett, for example. From the looks of it, she wasn’t born into the right circumstances. Families who cared for their daughters would ensure they got respectable, easy jobs. For someone as stunning as Scarlett to end up as a small business owner meant her family had no connections to secure her a job.
A girl like her, with her looks, could have been placed in a department store as a clerk with just basic literacy. But judging by the situation, she was likely from a rural background without even the qualifications for recruitment.
Hughes Lawrence, an experienced logistics and procurement officer, could accurately guess Scarlett’s background with near certainty.
He didn’t look down on her, though. She was just too beautiful. Who knew? Maybe one day she’d take advantage of her second opportunity in life and turn everything around.
Lawrence thought, This girl is calculated. Harborfield is such a large city, yet she chose to sell goods specifically at the municipal reception center.
People who frequented this area were, of course, mostly government officials and cadres.
Tsk tsk, who knows? Maybe one day she’ll soar like a phoenix.
