Don’t be like this.

He Congsheng chased Chen Xiliang for over ten meters, making him howl in pain.

“You dare mention those wool coats! You should have stuck to being a small business owner, but no, you had to meddle. You thought the foreign client’s design wasn’t good enough and made me modify it… I must have been possessed to listen to your nonsense. When the clothes were produced, the client rejected them for failing quality checks! You lost us guaranteed foreign exchange. Do you know what people in the factory are saying? Every garment factory director in Yangcheng calls me He Congsheng a complete idiot! If I don’t beat you to death today, I don’t deserve to be called your brother-in-law!”

He Congsheng chased Chen Xiliang through the huge factory, even losing his shoes in the process.

Seeing his brother-in-law gasping for breath, Chen Xiliang endured a few more hits to explain Xia Xiaolan’s rescue plan.

As He Congsheng kept hitting, his attention started to drift.

The foreign exchange was gone, but they at least needed to recover the capital for this batch. Though Chenyu was sizeable, the 29,000 wool coats were keeping He Congsheng awake at night. Originally there were 30,000 pieces – they’d sold 1,000 here and there, leaving 29,000. With costs over a million yuan, He Congsheng truly felt like killing Chen Xiliang.

Chen Xiliang, running his small business while harboring design dreams had caught He Congsheng when he was drunk and rambled about making some minor design changes. The foreign client rejected the goods and threatened to sue He Congsheng for breach of contract… If they had sued, forget about killing his brother-in-law, Director He would have considered divorcing his wife. Fortunately, the client didn’t sue, so He Congsheng didn’t kill Chen Xiliang.

“…Having male actors wear the coats on the covers of ‘Fashion’ and ‘Popular Cinema’? You dare to dream! I don’t know anyone in the magazines, let alone any actors!”

Though he said this, He Congsheng had stopped hitting, showing he was considering the idea.

“Besides, we’ve missed this year’s season. Your method would have to wait until year-end, and by then I might have sold all these coats, leaving you no chance to show off.”

Chen Xiliang moved closer, “It would be best if they sell, but what if – just what if – they don’t? Couldn’t we at least try this method?”

He Congsheng was just being stubborn. The season had passed, and selling off-season clothes wasn’t easy, especially expensive coats like these.

Moreover, if this method worked, couldn’t it be used for other Chenyu clothes too? Garment factories were increasing in Yangcheng, with some small private ones whose flexible production systems put large factories like Chenyu at a disadvantage.

The wool coats weren’t their only slow-moving inventory. Clearing stock meant more profit for the factory, money for new equipment, and worker bonuses – that’s what a factory director aimed for.

After long consideration, He Congsheng thought it was worth trying, but eyed his brother-in-law suspiciously:

“Did you come up with this idea?”

“Hehe, never mind who thought of it, I just wanted to help solve your problem, Brother-in-law. Don’t be angry anymore!”

“Whether I’m angry depends on if your method works.”

Chen Xiliang believed it would work, and He Congsheng wasn’t stupid, so the atmosphere between them improved considerably.

Chen Xiliang had initially asked Xia Xiaolan as a last resort. Though the foreign client had rejected the order early on, He Congsheng thought they could sell domestically. Who knew the clothes would be so unpopular – distributors didn’t want them from the factory, and they weren’t selling well at Chen Xiliang’s wholesale stall either.

However, after Xia Xiaolan took the stock back to Shangdu, though sales weren’t fast, she did sell several dozen pieces and dared to take more. That’s when Chen Xiliang asked about the situation. Xia Xiaolan thought Chen Xiliang had several hundred pieces in stock, not knowing the factory had nearly thirty thousand.

Chen Xiliang had asked before the New Year, and Xia Xiaolan said there was no solution then, but now after the New Year, she had one.

Chen Xiliang didn’t want to probe whether Xia Xiaolan had this idea originally or thought of it after seeing some magazine – they weren’t close, and she had no obligation to tell him.

People shouldn’t be lenient with themselves and harsh with others. After a long discussion, Chen Xiliang and He Congsheng decided Chen Xiliang should lead a team to Beijing, where both “Fashion” and “Popular Cinema” were published.

“Better to build relationships early than ask for favors at the last minute. Make several trips – the factory will cover your travel expenses.”

Chen Xiliang nodded glumly.

He didn’t care about the travel expenses – multiple trips would disrupt his own business.

But since he caused this problem by meddling, he had to solve it.

Xia Xiaolan stayed in Yangcheng for two days until a telegram from Shangdu confirmed Li Fengmei and the goods had arrived safely without incident. However, her border pass hadn’t been approved, so Xia Xiaolan decided to sneak into the special zone with Bai Zhenzhu. At this time, the 2.8-meter-high, 86-kilometer-long fence separating the special zone hadn’t been completed. Though guarded, people familiar with the terrain could still slip in.

Bai Zhenzhu went to Pengcheng first, planning to meet Xia Xiaolan’s group at an arranged time.

The heavily guarded areas were where the fence hadn’t been joined. Where the fence was complete, people entering Pengcheng had cut openings. Xia Xiaolan even copied a method used by a future tycoon, crawling through the fence to “smuggle” herself into the Pengcheng Special Zone.

This city was very familiar to Xia Xiaolan.

But she was familiar with the special zone of over a decade later, even thirty years later.

Currently, as Bai Zhenzhu said, though construction was everywhere, overall it wasn’t as prosperous as Yangcheng. None of the landmark buildings Xia Xiaolan knew existed yet… But that didn’t matter – looking at the people on the streets, regardless of how they dressed, their spirit was completely different from inland cities like Shangdu.

Pengcheng changed daily, developing at high speed. Locals felt these changes first, and the influx of construction workers filled the special zone with vitality.

Bai Zhenzhu took Xia Xiaolan to her stall at the People’s Bridge Small Goods Market, where vendors selling housedresses, electronic watches, and various small goods lowered their voices.

Bai Zhenzhu had secured a fixed spot in the market, with a two-square-meter oilcloth on the ground piled with cheap western-style trousers, and a simple rack displaying some samples. Besides trousers, she sold other clothes too but mainly focused on men’s wear.

Senior Wan was quite disappointed after seeing this.

He’d thought Bai Zhenzhu was running some big business in Pengcheng, but she was just a street vendor.

Why bother coming to the special zone then? Might as well set up a stall in Yangcheng.

Senior Wan felt he had some reputation and found it shameful to resort to street vending for survival. Of course, if Senior Li knew, he’d roll his eyes – what reputation did they have? Bai Zhenzhu was from the main line of the Bai family martial arts school, and with Bai Zhiyong serving in the army up north, wasn’t she also street vending?

Xia Xiaolan stared longingly at the storefronts.

So much empty land – how many shops could be built?

But she wasn’t a Hong Kong tycoon; the special zone government wouldn’t grant land to a rural girl from Yunan Province. Even if they would, she couldn’t afford such projects. Better to start small for now.

Having ten thousand yuan made you wealthy in Qijing Village.

But in Pengcheng? Though these market vendors dressed casually, any random one might be wealthier than Xia Xiaolan.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t have much money, but she carried herself with presence.

With Wan and Li following behind her and being so attractive, she didn’t look like someone shopping for cheap goods at a small commodities market.

After touring the entire market, Xia Xiaolan turned to ask Bai Zhenzhu, “How much money do you have on hand now?”