Originally, Xia Xiaolan had been undecided between Shanghai and Beijing for her university studies after next year’s college entrance exam.

However, since she was trying to date Zhou Cheng, she couldn’t maintain a long-distance relationship, so her heart was already leaning toward Beijing. Her resolve even strengthened when she remembered that Xia Ziyu and Wang Jianhua were also in Beijing – she still needed to meet these two!

Zhou Cheng seemed only capable of grinning foolishly.

Why shouldn’t he dote on his wife? After all, she was so good to him too.

This trip to Guangzhou had been incredibly valuable, directly establishing Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan’s relationship. Upon returning to Shangdu, Zhou Cheng did something unexpected – he retrieved a briefcase from under the truck’s driver’s seat and handed it directly to Xia Xiaolan.

Xia Xiaolan felt the unusual weight, and upon opening it, found it full of money!

Stacks of hundred-yuan notes, probably several tens of thousands.

Zhou Cheng seemed to think it wasn’t enough, “Once I return to Beijing, I’ll send you all my bank passbooks.”

To Zhou Cheng, it was perfectly natural for a man to earn money and hand over his savings to support the family. He had grown up in such an environment – even in the Zhou family, his father didn’t handle money; his mother managed everything at home.

As his father would say, what kind of prospects could a man have if he focused on trivial matters?

Letting women manage the household meant never lacking clothes or food, and men could concentrate on their careers.

Now that he had found his wife, he could entrust his earnings to her management. Whatever amount Xiaolan gave him would be enough – she wouldn’t let him go cold or hungry.

Xia Xiaolan was touched, not because she was dazzled by the tens of thousands, but because compared to those matchmaking prospects who immediately asked about adding her name to property deeds, Zhou Cheng was adorable – she could earn money herself and didn’t covet Zhou Cheng’s money, even though these tens of thousands, considering future real estate appreciation, could be worth millions in the future.

“I won’t take the money, but I appreciate the gesture. If you have too much idle money and no time to manage it, I suggest you invest in real estate as much as possible. Especially Beijing properties – you can never have too many!”

This showed how easily women could be moved – Zhou Cheng offered tens of thousands, and Xia Xiaolan gave him invaluable advice in return.

People at that time had no concept of hoarding property; urban workers all waited for state-allocated housing. Zhou Cheng’s family, likely well-connected, wouldn’t lack housing. But who could predict the future? If Zhou Cheng’s family encountered difficulties and their privileged benefits suddenly diminished, they would still have a substantial economic foundation.

Clean, legitimate investment in fixed assets couldn’t be questioned.

Even the clever Zhou Cheng couldn’t foresee thirty years ahead; he thought Xia Xiaolan was worried about not having a house after marriage. That was impossible – he would be allocated housing. Even if Xiaolan didn’t want to join his work unit, how could he lack a marital home?

Never mind, why argue about this with Xiaolan? If she liked houses, he’d buy them.

“Don’t you need money for your business here? I have separate funds for buying houses. You can’t keep selling on the street forever; you need a permanent shop.”

Xia Xiaolan still refused, “A shop doesn’t need much money, and there’s no rush to open one. Let me understand the market first.”

Clothing was profitable. Although Xia Xiaolan wasn’t particularly fashion-conscious in her previous life, seeing enough had developed her aesthetic sense.

But this didn’t mean her business would be smooth sailing. She still needed to explore and test market reactions. Understanding customer psychology was fundamental to establishing herself – whether to open a shop and where to locate it were secondary concerns.

Xia Xiaolan hadn’t explicitly explained her relationship progress with Zhou Cheng, but Liu Fen and Kang Wei had their suspicions.

Especially Zhou Cheng – his joy was obvious, and his complete compliance with whatever Xia Xiaolan said showed his utter lack of principles.

Zhou Cheng and Kang Wei decided to return to Beijing tomorrow. Zhou Cheng wanted to help Xia Xiaolan sell clothes, finally having a chance to wear the outfit she had chosen.

The youthful energy radiating from her left Zhou Cheng stunned.

This was how it should be – this outfit suited Xiaolan; she shouldn’t be concealed by dull old clothes.

“You look beautiful.”

The jeans hugged her curved bottom and straight legs, while the short jacket emphasized her proportions. This outfit downplayed Xia Xiaolan’s allure and highlighted her youthful vitality.

Beautiful girls and beautiful vixens were two different assessments – the current Xia Xiaolan belonged to the former.

Liu Fen also praised her appearance.

Liu Yong and Li Fengmei had already returned to Qijing Village. With Kang Wei’s help, Liu Yong easily recovered his investment from others – exactly the 5,000 yuan he had estimated. They even gave Liu Yong a red envelope, saying he had been frightened during this trip.

They misunderstood that Liu Yong had found powerful backing, and politely let him withdraw from the group.

Liu Yong owed many favors, but he didn’t approve of Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan’s relationship. Unable to repay the favors and face Zhou Cheng, he simply returned to the countryside.

Zhou Cheng wanted to sell women’s clothing with Xia Xiaolan – the scene was too beautiful for Kang Wei to imagine.

“Brother, I’ll stay and watch the truck.”

Zhou Cheng didn’t need Kang Wei as a third wheel. Helping Xia Xiaolan sell goods was both to care for her and to spend more time together.

Xia Xiaolan’s guess was right – her first two sweater designs had already been copied, with the fastest copies already being worn. It wasn’t anyone else but the tailor shop where she had borrowed the iron.

The owner was quite friendly upon seeing Xia Xiaolan. Looking at the wool coats hanging in the shop, Xia Xiaolan immediately abandoned the idea of borrowing the iron again.

Tailors had sharp eyes – after Xia Xiaolan had ironed clothes in the shop, they had copied her wholesale styles. The wool coat hanging in the shop was a copy, though Shangdu probably couldn’t source white wool fabric, so the tailor couldn’t produce a true high-quality replica.

Xia Xiaolan knew this was inevitable, but if they planned to keep copying her chosen designs, she wouldn’t be so agreeable.

She wouldn’t borrow the iron anymore and left immediately.

She could now afford to buy an iron, and Yu’s courtyard had plenty of space for ironing and organizing goods.

“Hey, what do you mean? Wait…”

The female tailor was quite displeased, but Xia Xiaolan didn’t look back.

The tailor hadn’t seen Xia Xiaolan’s new clothes and was quite regretful. Xia Xiaolan’s outfit looked good, but the glimpse was too brief to copy the pattern.

Xia Xiaolan’s expression was poor for a while before clearing up – why be angry? It wasn’t her design anyway.

Zhou Cheng could see through to the cause – ultimately, Xia Xiaolan was limited by capital, her scale too small.

If she could organize people and break down chosen styles herself, occupying Shangdu’s market before others realized, their copies wouldn’t have much opportunity.

“You have good taste.”

Zhou Cheng comforted her.

Indeed, she had good taste. After Xia Xiaolan’s street clothing stall disappeared for a few days, it still quickly attracted passersby when it reappeared. She was a living advertisement – solid-colored wool was popular, floral prints looked rustic, while plaid patterns looked quite good.

The short jacket that barely reached the waist definitely wouldn’t be warm in winter, but it looked so good on Xia Xiaolan, quite captivating.

Women’s shopping wasn’t always rational.

The first person who gathered around asked about the same style Xia Xiaolan was wearing:

“How much is it?”

“98 yuan. Sister, you’re taller than me, you’ll need a medium size. Shall I get one for you?”

“Department store wool coats are only a hundred or so, how much fabric does this even use?!”

It wasn’t cheap.

The female customer’s expression changed with pain, but she liked it and haggled with Xia Xiaolan. She bargained hard, dropping straight to 70 yuan – a price that would still bring profit, though not much.

Xia Xiaolan was firm – no merchant succeeded without being a bit ruthless. Too much compromise would make it pointless.

In the end, she only reduced it by three yuan. The customer almost didn’t buy, but Xia Xiaolan sealed the deal by throwing in a pair of gloves.

Later, many people gathered around, asking Zhou Cheng to get this piece or that, inquiring about jean sizes – they seemed to be teasing him. Xia Xiaolan was speechless at these women; she gave away plush gloves but wouldn’t reduce the price.

She didn’t know that someone was watching her and Zhou Cheng selling on the street.

“—Isn’t that Xia Xiaolan?”