Was that Sister Xia?

It certainly was.

Xia Xiaolan’s face was the kind you couldn’t forget after seeing it just once.

With looks like that, she seemed better suited to be a movie star; any other profession would be wasting that face. Over a decade later, some Tsinghua graduates would indeed form a music group and enter the entertainment industry. But in ’84, that was impossible – acting was hardly a promising career then. A Tsinghua architecture student making a living off their looks would have been considered truly degrading.

The Zhou family had all remained silent earlier.

They had been waiting to see Zhou Cheng appear on television, but unexpectedly, right as the celebration began, they saw Xia Xiaolan.

Whether due to a broadcast signal anomaly or not, that camera shot lasted a full three seconds!

Perhaps it was because Xia Xiaolan’s position was just right for the camera to catch her.

Of course, the Zhou family could see her clearly, not only because Xia Xiaolan was beautiful but because she had the ability to stand in that position! It wasn’t just any position – she was first in the front row.

Grandmother Zhou, wearing her reading glasses, mumbled, “This girl is…”

Capable, and able to make things happen.

Without some ability, that position wouldn’t have been given to Xia Xiaolan.

After the honor guard had passed, Guan Huie’s feelings were incredibly complex. Out of sight, out of mind – but Xia Xiaolan just had to suddenly appear before her eyes!

Zhou Yi felt like crying, not from emotion, but from relief.

She had been right to keep quiet earlier, otherwise the humiliation now would have been excruciating!

…

Xia Xiaolan had no idea what the Zhou family was thinking.

At this moment, forget about the Zhou family – she couldn’t even spare a thought for her boyfriend Zhou Cheng!

Whether the camera captured her or not was completely unimportant!

Marching across Tiananmen Square to the March of the Volunteers and the sound of ceremonial cannons, Xia Xiaolan felt like her entire being was about to burst into flames. Her vision was filled with red, unable to distinguish individual figures or anything else, shouting slogans as she walked, feeling like she was floating!

She hadn’t expected to be so excited!

Nor had she expected to be so invested!

The seed planted during military training had not only grown but had fully blossomed!

Every cell in her body was crying out, every pore was shouting – she was truly living in this magnificent era, marching past Tiananmen Square as a Tsinghua student.

Xia Xiaolan felt pride from the depths of her heart.

Her disconnect from this era seemed to completely shatter at this moment, thoroughly dissolving.

She wasn’t a bystander to history.

She was a witness to history, a participant in history, and would become a creator of history!

No matter how exciting it was, the honor guard formation only took three or four minutes to pass. Behind them were the parade formations; the students were even bolder, not only throwing their bouquets into the sky, but some Peking University students had secretly made a four-character banner from bed sheets to greet the leaders!

Xia Xiaolan had known about this beforehand.

Anyone familiar with history knew that several Peking University biology students would do this.

When it happened, it was far more impactful than reading about it in historical records… She was living in 1984, where some places were still conservative, yet everywhere progressive and bold thoughts and actions were stirring!

…

In Pengcheng.

To watch the National Day celebration, and because “Anjia Building Materials” was officially opening, Liu Yong set up a large color TV outside the store for free public viewing.

At eight in the morning, the building materials store set off firecrackers and hired a lion dance troupe to perform.

The festivities attracted quite a crowd of citizens.

Some people Liu Yong knew in Pengcheng followed Hong Kong customs, sending flower baskets for the opening. Due to Liu Yong’s connections, the store received several pairs of flower baskets.

Chen Xiliang specially came from Yangcheng.

He had wire-transferred money to Xia Xiaolan in Beijing; how could he not personally come to celebrate the building materials store’s opening?

Little Wang also quietly sent two flower baskets, along with several friends of Bai Zhenzhu, making for quite a long display of flower baskets at the store entrance.

Liu Tianquan showed their face – a boss worth several million personally came.

Small wholesalers like Chen Xiliang could only look up to Boss Liu at this time – what was making seventy or eighty thousand compared to Boss Liu’s wealth? It was merely a drop in the ocean. The building materials store was truly large; when Liu Tianquan walked in, even he was a bit surprised.

While this scale wasn’t enough to shock him, the interior decoration was interesting.

A thought flashed through Liu Tianquan’s mind – could he perhaps copy this model?

Not in a small commodities market full of street stalls, but in other prosperous areas. A building materials store that was also like an interior design experience center… Liu Tianquan, true to his reputation as a shrewd Hong Kong businessman, immediately calculated many ideas in his mind. However, on the surface, he still smiled and exchanged brotherly pleasantries with Liu Yong, congratulating him on the store’s opening while weighing gains and losses internally.

Liu Yong was slippery as an eel, refusing to budge on the “Nanhai Hotel” no matter how much persuasion was applied.

Liu Tianquan wasn’t without temper either.

If it weren’t for Mayor Tang’s face, why would he bother with such a small businessman?

Perhaps paying attention to Liu Yong’s beautiful niece would be more worthwhile…

If Liu Yong didn’t want to cooperate with him, should he put all his eggs in one basket? Perhaps if he couldn’t establish connections with Mayor Tang, he should approach other leaders. While Liu Tianquan’s mind was full of calculations, his mouth maintained a smile: “Brother Liu, since you’ve hired the lion dance troupe, why not let them create more excitement?”

Opening at 8 AM, and it wasn’t even 10 yet – why stop the festivities?

Liu Yong had people adjust the large color TV, “Let’s watch the Tiananmen celebration. Brother Tianquan, please find a seat and watch with us.”

Liu Tianquan couldn’t figure out what Liu Yong was planning.

Hong Kong hadn’t yet returned to China, so Liu Tianquan’s sense of belonging wasn’t as strong. But since everyone at the building materials store was watching the celebration, he naturally had to watch too. Doing business in Pengcheng required patriotism, so the celebration had to be watched, and he might as well watch it here with Liu Yong.

Liu Tianquan also wanted to carefully observe the mysteries of this building materials store.

The television reception was fine, and at ten o’clock sharp, the celebration officially began.

Liu Tianquan was somewhat distracted, still thinking about whether he should also enter the building materials business – surely Liu Yong couldn’t monopolize this business in Pengcheng? If Liu Tianquan entered the building materials market, with his financial resources, he could squeeze Liu Yong until he couldn’t breathe. Perhaps he should try this approach – if Liu Yong wouldn’t take the carrot, maybe he’d be more amenable after feeling the stick.

Just as he was weighing these possibilities, Kang Wei suddenly shouted:

“It’s Sister-in-law!”

Kang Wei was deeply tanned, and Liu Tianquan had no idea that this person running errands at the building materials store all day was a “young master.”

However, when Liu Tianquan looked up, the television screen was focused on Xia Xiaolan’s face.

The color television faithfully reproduced Xia Xiaolan’s beauty, causing even Liu Tianquan to gasp. Even as a Hong Kong resident, he knew how grand this year’s 35th anniversary celebration was. In a nationally broadcast celebration, Liu Yong’s niece appeared on the television screen. This was participation in a historic event!

It was as if the camera had deliberately given her a close-up.

Liu Tianquan’s mind was buzzing.

While everyone watching the television was happy, looking like a bunch of country bumpkins, Liu Tianquan could no longer understand these supposed bumpkins’ methods.

Wasn’t she just Liu Yong’s niece?

She appeared more like Mayor Tang’s own daughter – how else could she appear on such an occasion?

So, these bumpkins carrying chairs to watch outdoor television at the store entrance – what kind of background did they have?