Liu Fen and Li Fengmei were both pulling small carts loaded with goods. Some clothes had been shipped by train, while these newly acquired ones could only be temporarily stored in their guesthouse room.

Liu Fen was already small and thin, so Tang Hongen naturally took the cart from her hands. When he reached for Li Fengmei’s cart, she quickly declined:

“You- you don’t need to, I can manage.”

The receptionist, having been caught gossiping behind their backs and lectured by Tang Hongen, wore an awkward expression and tiptoed away despite her thick skin.

Liu Fen anxiously tried to take back the cart from Tang Hongen but touched his hand in the process.

She withdrew her hand like lightning, her face hot enough to fry an egg.

Tang Hongen pretended not to notice Liu Fen’s blushing – if he smiled, she’d probably cry from embarrassment.

“Aren’t you staying upstairs? I’ll just help carry these up, won’t enter the room.”

The small guesthouse had no elevator, so they had to carry everything up the stairs.

Liu Fen and Li Fengmei had climbed these stairs countless times over the past two days. Doing business away from home was tough – even men developed skinny legs from all the running around. Two women handling everything themselves, from selecting goods to carrying packages – how could it not be exhausting?

Yet despite such hard work, people still gossiped behind their backs – truly showing how difficult it was to make money.

Liu Fen and Li Fengmei used to do farm work, easily carrying hundred-jin loads of grain. But Mayor Tang was an office worker with chronic stomach problems, and he was slightly winded after carrying the goods upstairs.

Liu Fen was too nervous to notice, but Li Fengmei saw the rope marks reddening Tang Hongen’s palms, and how he kept his hands behind his back after finishing. Li Fengmei silently reflected: her sister-in-law had suffered enough in previous years. Life had its bitters and sweets – Liu Fen had consumed all her bitterness early on, leaving only sweetness ahead.

How else could she have such luck?

Having a high-ranking official interested in her – how many would envy that?

Officials were seen as unreachable by common folk, yet Tang Hongen was willing to humble himself. When a man cares for a woman this way, even if he weren’t an official, Li Fengmei thought he’d be worth marrying!

But while Liu Fen now dared to source goods in Yangcheng and run a business, she remained timid in matters of the heart.

Li Fengmei had one word for it: Coward!

What was there to fear? Letting such a good match slip by, only to have someone like Tian Laosan show up later – those mange-ridden dogs who thought a mother and daughter were easy targets, pestering them endlessly. Even if they could eventually shake them off, it was still disgusting!

Mayor Tang was different. Xiaolan said he wasn’t a bad person, and though Liu Yong had his reservations, even he admitted Tang Hongen was a good official.

With such a good prospect, Li Fengmei worried for her sister-in-law. Unless she’d decided never to marry again, if she were to marry, she should choose well. Besides, with Zhou Cheng’s family background, when Xiaolan married into the Zhou family, what if their relatives and friends looked down on Xiaolan?

Having a scoundrel for a birth father but a capable stepfather – wouldn’t that make things better?

These were Li Fengmei’s private thoughts. Perhaps she wasn’t being completely upright, but everything was for her sister-in-law and niece’s sake.

She didn’t have such grand ambitions, thinking about Liu Fen marrying Tang Hongen and the Liu family climbing up the social ladder… Li Fengmei was content with modest wealth, having moved to the city for her son Liu Zitao’s sake. Now the couple owned a house in Beijing, Liu Yong’s company was thriving, and all the Shangdu clothing stores were under Li Fengmei’s management. She had no dreams of becoming a millionaire, only wanting to earn money for a few more years before reuniting the family.

While Liu Fen was shy and had many concerns, Li Fengmei had none.

Tang Hongen said he wouldn’t enter the room and kept his word. While Liu Fen was organizing the goods inside, Li Fengmei deliberately fell two steps behind, boldly striking up a conversation with Tang Hongen:

“Mayor Tang, are you serious about Ah Fen?”

“I’ve already paid respects at her parents’ graves – of course I’m sincere.”

Li Fengmei nodded vigorously at his words. Officials were usually cautious in their actions – why would anyone randomly visit the Liu family graves? He was determined to win Liu Fen, already considering himself the Liu family’s son-in-law, showing filial piety in advance.

With someone as clever as Mayor Tang, when he set his mind to something, how could Ah Fen resist?

Li Fengmei felt it was just a matter of time before her sister-in-law gave in, so she didn’t feel guilty giving an early push, lowering her voice further:

“Mayor Tang, today Ah Fen and I ran into that scoundrel Xia Dajun on the street. He brought his family members and charged at us, spouting nonsense about Ah Fen being unfaithful. Judge for yourself – they’re both divorced, what faithfulness does she owe him?”

Behind his glasses, Li Fengmei couldn’t see clearly, but Tang Hongen seemed to narrow his eyes. She dared not look too long.

Until Tang Hongen asked her: “Then what happened?”

“Fortunately, Manager Chen helped – oh, Manager Chen is Xiaolan’s business partner. He and Xiaolan are building some brands while running a wholesale business. We get most of our goods from him! Manager Chen is young but capable. He had the factory workers take Xia Dajun’s family to the police station, saying they could be detained for two days, but who knows!”

Tang Hongen knew Chen Xiliang, not yet 30, who had always been Xia Xiaolan’s partner and naturally had no relationship with Liu Fen.

But Xia Dajun didn’t know this.

Tang Hongen recalled his previous encounter with Xia Dajun and frowned.

With arms full of muscle knots and brute strength, suddenly appearing before Liu Fen and Li Fengmei – the two women would naturally be frightened.

Thinking of Du Zhaohui’s convoy encountered when entering the city, Tang Hongen replied:

“They probably won’t be held for two days – his boss was in Yangcheng earlier.”

Taking them to the police station was useless; with the Cheng Rong Group’s intervention, they could easily bail them out.

The current environment was just like this – reform and opening up needed foreign investment, which meant foreign investors received various preferential treatments in China. With a Hong Kong company intervening, unless it involved serious crimes like murder or arson, the police station couldn’t keep them detained.

Li Fengmei told him this hoping he could help manage the situation.

Of course, Tang Hongen would handle it. Even if he weren’t mayor, when pursuing a woman he cared for, how could he remain indifferent when her ex-husband was harassing her?

“I understand the situation. Don’t tell Ah Fen for now.”

Li Fengmei felt relieved.

Liu Yong had told her that Xia Dajun worked for a Hong Kong boss, and with that backing, he’d naturally become arrogant!

Running into him on the streets of such a big city as Yangcheng felt like bad luck.

It happened at Luna’s store too. Since they knew Chen Xiliang, if the Xia family held a grudge, what if they specifically waited to ambush Ah Fen at Luna’s stores? She quietly told Mayor Tang, knowing a high-ranking official would be smarter than them – if he cared for Ah Fen, he wouldn’t let Xia Dajun continue harassing her!

Liu Fen had pulled all the goods into the room, while Tang Hongen still waited outside.

“Tang—”

Before she could finish, Tang Hongen quickly showed both his hands, all ten fingers red and swollen from the rope marks:

“Comrade Liu Fen, considering these hands, could you treat me to dinner today?”

Looking at Tang Hongen’s hands, Liu Fen couldn’t bring herself to say “no.”

Li Fengmei was dumbfounded.

Pursuing Ah Fen, yet asking her to treat him to dinner?

And saying it so straightforwardly without offending – Li Fengmei had truly learned something new today!