Free Bia's War by Joanna Larum

I was
older than you. You have the very rare ability of analysing why a
person does what they do. I think you will make a very good teacher
because you will want to know how and why children learn and how to
motivate them so that they do learn from you.”
    “So what did you decide to do?”
Victoria asked, uncomfortable with the praise that Nana was giving
her because she wasn’t used to being praised in any way. “Did you
decide to invest the money in another business?”
    “There was a lot to consider
before I made a decision about it. We had got to a point in the war
where the enemy was going all out to sink the merchant ships which
provided our island with a lot of its food. I think the Hun had
reasoned that if they could starve us out then that would ensure
their victory, but in the end, they only succeeded in forcing the
United States into the war, because they sank a lot of American
shipping. But I had known that my income would drop if their
tactics succeeded and I had already negotiated deals with a couple
of farmers who farmed the land on the outskirts of the town, to buy
their produce as it was harvested. I had contracts lodged with Mr
Vine so that they couldn’t renege on them, but I was still worried
that, at some point, my income could drop sharply as the result of
shortages and I didn’t want all my eggs in one basket.”
    “How did you decide what to do
then?” Victoria wanted to know.
    “Well, one evening, Annie and I
were discussing the effect that enemy action could have on my
business when Sammy Lymer called in to collect Hannah. He had taken
to dropping in regularly when his shifts allowed and I had grown so
used to his easy presence that I included him in the conversation
as though he was a member of our little family.”
    ‘If I were you, lass, I’d think
on why I started selling groceries in the first place and look for
a business that would fit that same criteria.’ he said, when I
asked him for his opinion on the matter.
    ‘I decided to open a grocery
shop because people would always need to eat.’ I answered
immediately. ‘And also, it was a subject which I could understand
fully. I couldn’t have opened a solicitor’s office, for example,
because I’m not trained. But I don’t see where I can go from here,
apart from opening another grocery shop in another part of the town
and then I would have to get someone in to manage it, which would
mean more expense and less profit and there would still be the same
problem of supply and what would happen to my business if the
supply lines were cut off.’
    ‘I mean that you should continue
along the line of what will people always need?’ Sammy smiled.
‘Look around for other ways of making money that won’t depend
solely on supply but that will provide the answer to the question
of what people will always need. They will always need food to eat
and…’
    ‘They’ll always need somewhere
to live.’ I finished for him. ‘You’re right! And if you take that
argument to its conclusion, they will always need clothes to wear
as well.’
    ‘Yes, well I hadn’t gone as far
as your last point, but I was ahead of you on the subject of
housing. So much so that I’m arranging to buy a house in Cromwell
Road which I intend letting out at a reasonable rent. I’ve been
doing so much extra work since this war started and with George and
Bill away and Hannah working, I’ve got a few quid put by that could
be better spent on bricks and mortar than sitting in a bank. That
way, I’ll always have an income, should anything stop me from being
able to work.’
    “I fully agreed with Sammy that
investing in property would be a very sensible thing to do and,
when he told me the price of the house he was arranging to buy and
the rental return he could get on it, it didn’t take me long to
work out that it was a bigger return than my money was earning in
the bank. The drawback was that I had never owned a property in my
life and I didn’t have the