Ran Shuyu lowered her voice:

“Why haven’t we been able to return to the city? Isn’t it because no one’s speaking up to clear our names? Jianhua got into university, but how many more years until he has enough influence? Those who returned to the city, even if they hadn’t been restored to their original positions, surely got new positions from the state. Guangping, you’re already in your fifties – if you stay at the farm for several more years, what can you do when you return?”

Private entrepreneurs? So what.

Ran Shuyu read newspapers when she could.

The papers said the state had established Special Economic Zones. Sure, being a private entrepreneur wasn’t prestigious, but they could make money!

The farm staff all took bribes, and others surely did too – it just depended on whether the bribes were substantial enough. Ran Shuyu thought that if they gave gifts to the right people, at least they might remember Wang Guangping’s existence and not let him rot away forgotten on this northern farm.

The Wang family’s old connections were all dormant now, and Wang Jianhua couldn’t visit them empty-handed.

With financial support, Wang Jianhua could reconnect with the family’s old acquaintances. Ran Shuyu had placed her hopes of returning to the city on her son, and what was wrong with a wealthy daughter-in-law who was completely devoted to her son? She just didn’t know exactly how wealthy Xia Ziyu’s family was, and whether they would be willing to spend money to help clear the Wang family’s name and smooth things over.

Why would the Xia family spend money when they were just dating?

Being engaged would be different – if Wang Guangping could be reinstated, the Xia family would rise alongside their in-laws.

Ran Shuyu’s calculations left Wang Guangping silent.

After a long while, Wang Guangping finally squeezed out a few words like toothpaste:

“…A private entrepreneur, you’re grasping at straws!”

Grasping at straws?

Maybe so!

Ran Shuyu didn’t deny it.

She was truly fed up with these dark days of suffering. If Wang Jianhua hadn’t gotten into university, she might not have even made it through this winter. Fortunately, Wang Jianhua had succeeded, and the Wang family had some hope of turning their situation around.

Ran Shuyu certainly wouldn’t make demands of Xia Ziyu. When they shared a room that night, she didn’t even mention money. In her words, she just expressed gratitude for Xia Ziyu’s contributions, saying Wang Jianhua was truly lucky to find such a wonderful girl.

“Auntie approves of you marrying after graduation. For now, both of you should focus on your studies.”

Ran Shuyu’s words were reasonable, and Xia Ziyu was delighted, feeling that Wang Jianhua’s mother was manageable after all, making her money and efforts worthwhile. Wang Jianhua’s father seemed unable to accept her yet, but Xia Ziyu was mentally prepared for a long battle… Wang Jianhua was a filial son, and as his future wife, she naturally needed his parents’ approval.

Moreover, Wang Jianhua’s father wasn’t just any ordinary person.

Xia Ziyu firmly believed that helping in times of need was better than adding flowers to brocade.

While Xia Ziyu was freezing on the northern farm, Xia Xiaolan was yawning in her warm room. If she knew of Xia Ziyu’s efforts to gain Wang Jianhua’s parents’ approval, she would surely exclaim her admiration – Xia Xiaolan could never humble herself like that.

This made her refuse to think about settling down with Zhou Cheng. If Zhou Cheng’s family wouldn’t accept her as a country girl, while Xia Xiaolan liked Zhou Cheng, she definitely couldn’t humble herself to please his parents.

She could speak softly to customers and endure temporary frustration to close a deal, but even in business, Xia Xiaolan had her principles and bottom lines.

Love wasn’t business. Xia Xiaolan was with Zhou Cheng because she liked him, but if too many other factors got involved and the relationship made her uncomfortable, she would naturally choose to separate. Fundamentally, she didn’t have an obsessive need for Zhou Cheng. When a woman had nothing else, she tended to invest all her emotions in a man.

Even without Zhou Cheng, Xia Xiaolan had her studies and career, keeping her so busy she barely touched the ground. She might suffer and miss him for a while, but would eventually move on. The emotional balance between them wasn’t equal – at present, Zhou Cheng clearly liked Xia Xiaolan more.

Love was inherently unfair – whoever liked the other more would care more and be willing to give more!

Xia Xiaolan hadn’t rushed to discuss the building materials and decoration store with Kang Wei. She was waiting for Zhou Cheng’s letter, wondering if she could meet him in Beijing. By the time she returned from Yang City, the spring clothes Li Fengmei had brought back first were already selling.

Xia Xiaolan returned to Shang City on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival. Though the temperature hadn’t warmed up by late February, this didn’t stop female customers from starting to shop for spring clothes. Xia Xiaolan had early on setting the price for stockings at 10 yuan per pair. Li Fengmei had wondered who would spend ten yuan on a pair of thin stockings, but these semi-transparent stockings turned out to be the most popular items they’d brought back.

The actresses in fashion magazines wore them, they often appeared in foreign films, and women in Hong Kong and Taiwan all wore them – why couldn’t the women of Shang City wear them too? The female servers at the Municipal Party Committee Guest House were willing to trade their reception work compensation for a pair of stockings from Xia Xiaolan, showing how desperately they wanted these fashionable items.

Those female servers earned 20 yuan per day, and while Li Fengmei thought Xia Xiaolan’s stockings were expensive at 10 yuan a pair, people could still afford them!

Whether goods sold well didn’t depend on whether they were expensive or cheap.

The goods at farmers’ market stalls were cheap, but customers still picked and chose carefully.

“Blue Phoenix” clothes hadn’t been cheap since their street vendor days, so why did customers still pay for them? Scarcity, satisfying both customers’ needs and vanity… If people only cared about price, with so many local clothes in Shang City, why would customers buy the expensive ones? They wanted expensive, they wanted to be different from others.

The same applied to stockings at 10 yuan a pair. Ten yuan could buy several jin of meat or rice for a month – was it worth it for a pair of thin stockings? Li Fengmei’s opinion on worth didn’t count, nor did Xia Xiaolan’s – the customers would judge the value themselves.

They weren’t pursuing “stockings” but the fashion they represented.

Afraid they wouldn’t be able to buy them later, some people bought two or three pairs at once. Given “Blue Phoenix’s” customer flow, 200 pairs of stockings could sell out in just a few days. Xia Xiaolan had to send another telegram to Bai Zhenzhu, asking her to gather another batch of stockings to send to Shang City.

“This time, we’re not selling our stockings – we’re giving them away!”

Li Fengmei looked up from the fashion magazine.

“Give them away?”

Each pair of stockings cost several yuan – if they announced they were giving away stockings, wouldn’t people grab as many as they could?

While Li Fengmei worried about costs, Xia Xiaolan smiled mysteriously, “Yes, give them away. I’ll find someone to draw two posters in the next couple of days.”

Xia Xiaolan could draw simple posters herself, but she didn’t want to waste her time. This kind of work that required little technical skill could be completely handed over to professionals. Xia Xiaolan spent lots of time making money, and now she could spend a little money to save time, which she found particularly worthwhile.

“Oh right, today’s the Lantern Festival. Shall we have dumplings tonight?”