Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 386: As Much Oil as the Black Market Requires

Su Yijia was aware of her entanglements with Yin Zhenglin, having witnessed her send him to prison a few times. She assumed she’d take the chance to gloat this time as well. However, to her surprise, she shook her head without a moment’s hesitation.

"I won’t go; there’s nothing to see."

"Ah?" Gao Huabin was taken aback.

Su Yijia shrugged, explaining, "Yin Zhenglin will still need to seek help from the people in Jingdu City. If he sees me, he might spill everything to them and create a bigger mess."

She knew there would be opportunities to gloat later, perhaps even on the day of his sentencing, so she wasn’t foolish enough to flaunt her victory now.

"Then we’ll listen to your sister-in-law," Qin Kaize agreed calmly. Normally, the legal process would take at least three months, and with enough obstacles, it could drag on for half a year.

"By the way, the garment factory is pushing for winter clothing. They said if we don’t get it out soon, it’ll be too late." Gao Huabin quickly shifted topics, not lingering on the previous matter.

"Oh no, I completely forgot about that!" Su Yijia raised her hands, covering her face in embarrassment. She had gotten so comfortable in Fu Province that the deadline slipped her mind.

"It’s fine; if you haven’t figured it out, just wait. The National College Entrance Examination is coming up soon, and we’ll discuss it afterward," Qin Kaize reassured her, giving her a gentle pat on the back.

Lately, most of Su Yijia’s thoughts revolved around the last Detoxification Pill, and aside from that, she only focused on tinkering with experimental equipment.

Qin Kaize, while also thinking about that last Detoxification Pill, had other matters on his mind. However, the timing was a bit off—after taking the medicine that morning, they had two days of rest before the exams.

Just thinking about it left him feeling a little heated, and he couldn’t help but lightly stroke Su Yijia’s back. Although Gao Huabin couldn’t see, Su Yijia felt the sensation acutely.

Even through her not-so-thin autumn outfit, it felt like an electric current rippling through her.

Subtly shifting forward to create distance, she turned to Gao Huabin and said, "I won’t wait until after the exams. I’ll stop by tomorrow afternoon."

Sketching a few clothing designs wouldn’t take much time.

"By the way, what’s the status with Zhu Zirui? He’s now the factory manager in Fu Province. What’s happening with the oil refining business you two started together?"

To Su Yijia, the oil business seemed more profitable than sketching a few designs.

"It’s still a partnership, but right now we’re focusing on refining soybean and peanut oil. We’ve got Xu Lian’s grandfather handling the peanuts and soybeans, plus a couple of friends from the old team helping with the extraction. Each of them earns thirty a month, so they’re trustworthy, but the output is still falling short, and the black market is pressing us for more."

Gao Huabin’s mixed feelings were evident; while making decent money was gratifying, the frustration of not being able to expand their workforce was tough to bear.

"Since you’re back, can’t we expand the oil business?" Gao Huabin looked hopefully at Su Yijia, then at Qin Kaize.

He wasn’t sure how long Qin Kaize would be resting, but he figured they could seize the moment to earn some more money.

While Qin Kaize didn’t seem to lack funds, there was a clear difference between a single man living well and a married man supporting a family, especially since their relationship was strong—who knew when they might have kids, adding to the financial responsibilities?

"Aren’t you worried I’ll produce too much oil and take away your business?" Su Yijia teased, noticing Gao Huabin’s eager expression, who seemed oblivious to the potential competition.

His response was incredulous. "Sister-in-law, what are you thinking?! This oil business was handed over to us by you! We’ve taken advantage of it for long enough; if you want to take it back, that’s only fair! How could we be so ungrateful as to feel like you’re stealing from us?"

Su Yijia couldn’t help but laugh at his earnestness. Just as she was about to speak, she noticed Gao Huabin’s determined expression, and she became serious.

"Alright, I was just joking. Do the people in the black market have any idea how much oil they can take?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"They want as much as we can supply. I’ve asked; they’re not only selling in Hu City but also have contacts in several big cities. With the nationwide food shortage, oil is even scarcer. Even though it’s precious, there are plenty of affluent households that want it, especially from the black market," Gao Huabin explained.

A worker consuming rationed grain would only get half a jin of oil a month. That little bit wasn’t enough to cook for a family.

"Okay, I’ve upgraded the oil press to be more efficient. You can refine as much as you can manage, but don’t hire more people; it’s too risky. When Kaize and I have the time, we’ll help refine more. The black market can take it all," Su Yijia instructed before heading to her room to fetch the manual oil press she had brought back.

Gao Huabin’s eyes lit up when he saw the all-metal, threaded press. He was ecstatic, eagerly inspecting it.

He wanted to return it to Su Yijia, feeling a bit shy. "Sister-in-law, this is your treasure; I can’t take it. You and the boss can use it, and I’ll just find someone to make another two."

Gao Huabin didn’t want to be a burden to Su Yijia. If he let her handle everything, it would be like waiting for her to feed him.

With Qin Kaize disapproving of them, it felt wrong to keep relying on Su Yijia.

"I have two more; this one’s just an extra I made for you guys." Su Yijia came up with an excuse.

In truth, she had already obtained a new oil press in her space and didn’t need this one.

"Thank you, sister-in-law!" Gao Huabin said with genuine appreciation, holding the manual oil press like a prized possession, grinning like a fool.