Old Man Zhao was quite particular, considering himself a resident of the imperial city. With both the good and bad traits typical of Beijing locals, he was boastful, warmhearted, and loved to lecture others.

His warmheartedness was genuine. After recommending Chef Gu to cater for Xia Xiaolan’s family gathering, he even inquired about the menu when Chef Gu left their house.

“So, what is it? Must be extravagant and refined.”

Chef Gu played coy and wouldn’t show the menu to Old Man Zhao, who grew anxious and pointed at Chef Gu, scolding, “I recommend you for work, and you immediately turn ungrateful!”

The “ungrateful” Chef Gu walked away with a grin, waving at Old Man Zhao: “I’ll thank you with two jin of tobacco leaves tomorrow, and bring you a set of pig offal too.”

A set of pig offal included pig intestines, heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys – these were called the soft offal. Pig heads and trotters were considered hard offal. Beijing locals had no objections to eating offal; both stir-fried liver and braised offal were common dishes. Some disliked the smell of intestines, while others specifically enjoyed that flavor.

“Just how much did they pay you, that you can afford to give me a set of pig offal?” Old Man Zhao grew more curious. As the intermediary who recommended Chef Gu, he deserved a thank-you gift. Two jin of tobacco leaves would have been sufficient, yet Chef Gu insisted on adding a set of pig offal.

Though pig offal wasn’t as expensive as pork meat, which cost over one yuan per jin, a set of soft offal would still cost at least ten yuan… Old Man Zhao was so curious about the size of Xia Xiaolan’s family’s red envelope that he wanted to peek over the wall – were they preparing an imperial feast?

Early the next morning, Old Man Zhao sat on a stool outside his house, pretending to play with his bird while secretly observing the activity next door. Chef Gu’s apprentices had different tasks – some built stoves, others moved tables and chairs, and some delivered ingredients.

Impressive! The meat came in large baskets – pork in one, seemingly lamb in another, along with two proud roosters. A large wooden barrel arrived by bicycle, with fish tails splashing water over its rim!

Yet Xia Xiaolan remained nowhere to be seen.

Old Man Zhao watched for a long while, then returned home without saying anything. At lunch, he only allowed his grandson to use a small bowl for noodles: “If you eat too much now, you’ll regret it tonight.”

Xia Xiaolan only needed to provide the money; she couldn’t help with hosting guests, nor did she have the time. Guan Hui’e and Zhou Guobin would visit on March 3rd, the twelfth day of the first lunar month. The neighbor gathering was scheduled for March 5th, the fourteenth day, deliberately avoiding the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth.

March 5th was also the registration day for Huaqing University’s new semester. Xia Xiaolan rode her disguised old bicycle to school early that morning. Though still a freshman, she was now familiar with the registration process and successfully reunited with her dormmates in Room 307!

“Xiaolan, it’s been a year since we last met!” Su Jing pulled Xiaolan’s luggage into the dorm. “Hey, your bag is so light.”

“My mother’s in Beijing now too, so I can go home on weekends. I don’t need to bring much,” Xia Xiaolan said casually.

Su Jing gaped: “Your family moved to Beijing?”

The word “home” wasn’t used carelessly – people generally wouldn’t say it unless they owned the property. The phrase “going home” carried a special sense of belonging, and Su Jing was sensitive to this.

“Yes, we moved to Beijing. My mother runs a clothing store, and since I’m studying here, she decided to open her store in Beijing too.”

Zhou Limin, who had been organizing her clothes, immediately came over. “Your store is opening in Beijing? Oh my, my pocket money!” She clutched her wallet dramatically.

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t stand such theatrics. “There’ll be discounts. Everyone in our dorm gets discounts on clothes.”

They all had an idea of the price range from last winter when they helped Zhou Limin buy a down jacket. For the girls in Room 307, Xia Xiaolan’s family store sold high-end women’s clothing that they could barely afford.

Who would spend dozens of yuan on clothes unless their family was well-off?

Only after getting their jobs could they consider such purchases – Yang Yonghong listened silently on the side. Her career goal was to earn a monthly salary of 200 yuan, though she didn’t know how many years after graduation it would take to reach such a high wage. Even then, clothes costing dozens of yuan would still be too expensive for her.

Coming from a rural hometown, they made their clothes from fabric. Clothes were passed down from older to younger children – conditions were that harsh, and Yang Yonghong was used to it.

Only after coming to university did she realize the vast wealth gap between people. Fortunately, Yang Yonghong was quite accepting; if she’d been more radical, she would have lived in constant misery.

While Xia Xiaolan was considered wealthy, there were even richer people – like the Hong Kong businessman’s son, barely two years older than Yang Yonghong, who donated several million to Huaqing University. If Yang Yonghong dwelled on life’s unfairness, she would have made herself sick with worry.

“Before you all think about Xiaolan’s clothing store, the school’s scholarship list should be out. I heard from senior students that the Chengrong Scholarship can be received alongside the National Scholarship.”

The Chengrong Group was offering scholarships.

Yang Yonghong wanted to apply, especially since it wouldn’t conflict with the National Scholarship, making it even more appealing.

Even Xia Xiaolan had no reason to refuse this scholarship.

Should she stubbornly reject the Chengrong Scholarship just because Du Zhaohui donated it? That would be foolish. The money was already donated to Huaqing with a specified purpose. If she qualified for the scholarship, it proved her hard work last semester – why shouldn’t she accept it? After all, her mother had been more proud of receiving the Anqing First High School scholarship than of any amount of money earned.

“Are the grades out?”

“Yes, you can check them with our class advisor.”

Their advisor, Teacher Dai, was unpredictable about his appearance but would likely come to inspect the dormitory tonight. They’d probably be able to see last semester’s grades then.

Xia Xiaolan quickly made her bed. “I need to go back home again – there’s something to take care of. I’ll return after dinner… And here’s an announcement: this weekend, everyone in our dorm is invited to my house for dinner. My mother will cook.”

Room 307 erupted in cheers, drawing curious looks from the neighboring rooms.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t cycle back to Shichahai but instead headed to Nanluoguxiang. With classes starting, she could only come for training during her free periods, and she wondered how much these people had learned. Mere memorization wouldn’t be enough; practical application was crucial.

The store would open in mid-March, leaving only ten days. During these ten days, Liu Fen had to travel south to Yangcheng with Li Fengmei to select new spring styles.

Chen Xiliang’s wholesale business would inevitably be affected, and he probably wasn’t focusing much on it anyway, with his main attention on Luna’s opening. He only had about ten days to get the finished products transported from Yangcheng to Beijing and fill the Luna boutique in Xidan.

How difficult was it to launch your brand?

Fortunately, Chen Xiliang had connections, otherwise, they wouldn’t dare produce the first batch in large quantities – factories would complain about making just dozens of pieces per style.

He didn’t dare order more either. With dozens of pieces per style in two colors, the numbers doubled quickly. The brand’s spring collection included dresses, tops, pants, outerwear, and more, easily totaling dozens of items.

Tens of thousands of pieces were produced effortlessly.

To launch the brand in spring, the manufacturing capital alone was one to two hundred thousand yuan, plus the renovation of two boutiques – Chen Xiliang felt enormous pressure. Xia Xiaolan wasn’t relaxed either. The year’s plan begins in spring; spring is the season for sowing seeds, the season of bustling activity!