Where was Xia Xiaolan?

She was at Shangdu University.

Shangdu University was the only key university in Yunan Province. As a comprehensive university with many majors, it was where Xia Xiaolan came today to find an art student. She needed some posters drawn, and since the size requirements were quite specific and she didn’t want to spend too much of her own time, she decided to find a student at Shangdu University to do the work.

It was the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, and some university students had already returned to campus. Due to transportation difficulties, many students didn’t even go home for the holiday, choosing to stay at school instead. Xia Xiaolan was asking for directions to the Art Department dormitory when, after parking her bicycle in the shed, she heard a surprised voice:

“Xia Xiaolan?”

She turned to see Zhuo Weiping, who had also just parked her bicycle.

“Officer Zhuo, what a coincidence! What brings you here?”

Zhuo Weiping also found it surprising. Xia Xiaolan’s clothing store was doing excellent business – shouldn’t she be helping at the shop right now? The last time Xia Xiaolan was brought to the police station, Zhuo Weiping felt the joint defense team had bullied a female comrade. Unexpectedly, the situation had reversed, with the joint defense team coming out worse. Their Captain Guo said they were acting on Ding Aizhen’s orders from the No. 3 State Cotton Mill. When the police brought in Ding Aizhen for questioning, before they could even get results about that incident, they uncovered a bigger case involving Ding Aizhen and the factory director embezzling state property.

This turned out well – Ding Aizhen’s original offense was now the lesser crime, while the latter case was major.

“Ding Aizhen’s case should be settled soon. From what I know, she’ll get at least ten years. But I wanted to ask – what brings you to Shangdu University?”

Ten years?

Xia Xiaolan felt indifferent. Even if Ding Aizhen’s sentence was halved, she wouldn’t be released until around 1990. By then, policies would be more relaxed than now, and Xia Xiaolan would be more established. A Ding Aizhen who had served prison time could no longer threaten her.

In high spirits, Xia Xiaolan replied, “I’m looking for an art student to help draw some posters…”

After Xia Xiaolan explained her purpose, Zhuo Weiping asked if she knew anyone in the Art Department. When Xia Xiaolan shook her head, Zhuo Weiping confidently said, “You’re in luck! Come on, I know people in the Art Department. I’ll introduce you.”

Zhuo Weiping didn’t just know someone – her sister Zhuo Na was a sophomore in Shangdu’s Art Department. She had come to visit her sister and coincidentally met Xia Xiaolan looking for someone to draw posters. Zhuo Weiping immediately recommended her sister Zhuo Na.

Zhuo Na, with her almond-shaped eyes, would normally jump at any chance to draw, even without payment. But when she heard Xia Xiaolan needed posters… well, posters hardly counted as real art and wouldn’t showcase her skills. She immediately lost interest, but not daring to refuse someone her sister brought, she offered to waive the fee if Xia Xiaolan would model for a portrait instead.

A portrait?

Sitting still for several hours – Xia Xiaolan had never done that and wasn’t keen to try.

Zhuo Na smiled sweetly, “Then let me introduce you to a senior student. He’s good at drawing and has been looking for outside work.”

Xia Xiaolan gave Zhuo Na another look. While Officer Zhuo Weiping was straightforward, her sister Zhuo Na was quite clever – probably from a well-off family that looked down on simple poster work. Xia Xiaolan had no choice; in 1984, you couldn’t just walk into any advertising shop in Shangdu and get the poster effects you wanted, so she agreed to meet this senior student Zhuo Na mentioned.

The student, Gong Yang, matched Xia Xiaolan’s image of an art student perfectly – messy hair and clothes stained with paint. He came from a poor family but was determined to study art. Anything related to art required significant expenses, and improvement only came through extensive practice… While sketching was manageable, other paints were quite costly. Given his family’s financial situation, Gong Yang took any work he could get to cover his art supplies.

Xia Xiaolan showed Gong Yang some magazines she’d bought and explained her requirements. He quickly sketched a draft with tasteful coloring, convincing Xia Xiaolan he could handle the posters.

She wanted three posters in total. After calculating paint costs in his head, Gong Yang said, “Eight yuan per poster—”

“I’ll give you ten yuan each, but you need to work quickly and deliver them to my shop when they’re done.”

Thirty yuan for three posters was more than a month’s school allowance. With such simple requirements, Gong Yang could finish in a day, making a decent profit after materials costs.

Student labor was already cheap, and Gong Yang was quite satisfied with the payment. Xia Xiaolan gave him a ten-yuan deposit, left her address, and departed.

Gong Yang thanked Zhuo Na for helping him get the business and offered to treat her to a meal. Everyone knew how poor he was, and Zhuo Na smiled, “We’ll talk about meals later. Didn’t you promise the boss lady you’d work quickly? Better get started on those posters, senior!”

After Gong Yang left, Zhuo Weiping was exasperated:

“You’re always complaining about not getting drawing requests, but when I bring you a friend, you pass it off to someone else.”

Zhuo Na pouted, “Well, she didn’t agree to model for me either. Sister, how do you know her? She seems young – why is she running a private business instead of studying?”

Zhuo Weiping was speechless.

If people had the choice, who would choose to struggle in business on their own? From what Zhuo Weiping knew, Xia Xiaolan had already been to the police station twice – being a private business owner wasn’t easy. Zhuo Na was being naive. Zhuo Weiping frowned, “What’s wrong with running a private business? Excellence can come from any of the 360 traditional trades – being a business owner isn’t inferior to studying art.”

Zhuo Na remained unconvinced.

Such a pretty face, yet working as a shopkeeper, counting bills – how vulgar!

Xia Xiaolan was unaware of being labeled “vulgar” by the young girl.

Even if she knew, she’d probably just laugh it off. Those living in ivory towers would quickly become unbearably common without their family’s financial support. She had no time to worry about a stranger’s opinion – Xia Xiaolan was using every spare moment to study. She woke up at six every morning, bought breakfast after washing up by six-thirty, and studied from seven until eleven before heading to the shop. She’d return home at two in the afternoon to continue reviewing until precisely eleven at night when she’d go to bed.

Spring clothing was selling sporadically, and Li Feimei and Liu Fen could handle the current customer flow.

Xia Xiaolan ate lunch at the shop when everyone gathered there. She used this time to rest her mind and tutor Liu Yong.

She needed to explain about renovations. While Liu Yong didn’t need to know design, he had to oversee everything.

Liu Yong was learning how much materials were needed, how to quote prices to make a profit, project timelines, and appropriate wages. He had been visiting tile shops and other places around Shangdu, desperately trying to memorize the prices of various materials.

Xia Xiaolan received a telegram from Zhou Cheng, who eagerly expressed that she could come to Beijing anytime, though she might need to visit him there.

Zhou Cheng didn’t mention the magazine matter, but given his personality, he was surely asking around. Xia Xiaolan wasn’t worried.