Xia Xiaolan returned to Qijing Village.

As she had said, if one was strong enough, many troubles could be nipped in the bud. Zhang Cui and Xia Hongxia’s scheming was because they didn’t know Xiaolan was now considered a potential top university candidate at No. 1 High School.

Even if they sent Principal Sun a hundred pig legs, he wouldn’t expel such an excellent student.

What did it matter if Xiaolan had a bad reputation? She could score so well on tests that the school couldn’t care less about student conduct issues. Xiaolan hadn’t caused any trouble at school – they couldn’t forbid her from taking university entrance exams just because she was pretty!

Principal Sun’s personal opinion didn’t matter; Xiaolan could help improve the school’s college acceptance rate, and he certainly wouldn’t hand her over to No. 2 High School.

The Xia family members were like clowns, and Xiaolan couldn’t be bothered with them. She returned to Qijing Village to convince her aunt to become her business partner.

Xiaolan didn’t lack capital – she needed help!

For now, she could only handle the purchasing herself, but once the store opened, she couldn’t just close shop every time she needed to restock – no business could survive being closed so frequently. She could hire someone to sell clothes, but she needed family watching the store to feel secure. To be blunt, without surveillance cameras, she couldn’t be sure if hired help would sell things properly or at the right prices.

She first went to the Chen family with some gifts.

Though Xiaolan didn’t want the Chen family to misunderstand her relationship with Chen Qing, it didn’t mean she was ungrateful. When Chen Wangda asked about her situation in Shangdu, Xiaolan didn’t mention how much she earned, but she shared only the good news, not the bad.

“Chen Qing says your grades are good. Studying is the right path – don’t give up halfway.”

Chen Wangda still added a few words of advice. It was for Xiaolan’s good, and she wasn’t ungrateful.

She brought two cartons of cigarettes for Chen Wangda, saying “Try a different brand.”

Chen Wangda usually smoked hand-rolled cigarettes. He could certainly afford filtered cigarettes, but the old man wasn’t particular about such things. Where did Xiaolan get these cigarettes? This time they weren’t marked-up purchases – Zhou Cheng had left a small box of cigarettes in Grandmother Yu’s courtyard when he left, saying they were for Liu Yong after Xiaolan refused to take his money.

“Uncle doesn’t like me,” Zhou Cheng had said somewhat pitifully.

Indeed, Liu Yong didn’t like Zhou Cheng, been wary of him since their first meeting.

Xiaolan thought Zhou Cheng was quite charming and suitable for dating, but Liu Yong probably felt this young man couldn’t be trusted for life – good looks weren’t reliable, and his honey-sweet words about never having dated before weren’t entirely convincing to Liu Yong.

Zhou Cheng had plenty of cigarettes to spare. He left Xiaolan a box, not even the expensive Zhonghua brand. Zhou Cheng knew how to handle things appropriately – he could use money to shame the Zhu family, but could the same method change Liu Yong’s opinion?

Liu Yong would probably dislike him even more.

The box of cigarettes Zhou Cheng left was the “Caidie” brand that Xiaolan knew well – popular in Shangdu but hard to buy locally.

A whole box – Zhou Cheng said there were sixty cartons.

Xiaolan figured she could use these cigarettes as sweeteners to pave her way – maybe not enough for high-level officials, but sufficient to smooth the business license application process. Though supposedly for her uncle, how could Liu Yong smoke sixty cartons?

Even a heavy smoker would take two years to finish them. Zhou Cheng left them for Xiaolan to use as gifts.

“Caidie” cigarettes weren’t available in Shangdu, yet Shangdu people specifically wanted them. Recipients of such hard-to-get gifts would be in a better mood when handling business matters.

Xiaolan didn’t want money, but she couldn’t avoid all economic ties with Zhou Cheng.

A box of cigarettes – might as well accept it.

Xiaolan brought twelve cartons to the village – two for Village Chief Chen Wangda, and ten were placed on the Liu family’s table.

Liu Yong sighed, “That boy isn’t reliable. Your uncle fears you’ll be deceived.”

How fresh – Xiaolan herself wasn’t afraid of being deceived. She’d been deceived plenty of times, falling and getting back up again, leading to her becoming “President Xia” in her previous life.

There was no real deception in male-female relationships. She wasn’t relying on Zhou Cheng for a good life anyway – they could stay together while happy and separate if unhappy.

But she couldn’t explain these advanced views on relationships to Liu Yong – he would insist on teaching her how to live properly.

“Let’s just date for now. We don’t see each other much anyway, and I xlike Zhou Cheng right now.”

Xiaolan looked pleadingly at her uncle, but Liu Yong wouldn’t budge.

Li Fengmei mediated, “Marriage is a lifelong commitment – you should date first and see if you’re compatible!”

Xiaolan held onto her aunt’s arm and swayed it. Liu Yong temporarily set aside the Zhou Cheng matter: “Why did you come back? Isn’t business keeping you busy? I was planning to bring Taotao to Shangdu during his vacation, but you came back first.”

“I want Aunt to partner with me in opening a store.”

Li Fengmei was quite tempted by the idea of partnering in a clothing store, but Liu Yong, unwilling to take advantage of his niece, had refused when it was previously mentioned.

“Is your capital insufficient? I can lend you some.”

Liu Yong had gotten back 5,000 yuan but hadn’t thought of what business to do with it. Plus, with his injury not fully healed, he could lend the money to Xiaolan.

Xiaolan wasn’t here for money – she already had over three thousand yuan, and after another trip to Yang City, she’d have enough to open the store.

“If Aunt doesn’t help, I really can’t find anyone suitable.”

Li Fengmei shook her head, “I need to take care of your cousin…”

Liu Yong softened a bit. Everyone knew his sister Liu Fen’s personality. She could handle hard labor, but a clothing store required dealing with people and making money through conversation – she really couldn’t help with that.

If Xiaolan was talking about helping the family make money, Liu Yong felt he wasn’t so desperate as to need his niece’s help.

But when Xiaolan pitiful said she had no one to help her, Liu Yong’s heart softened.

Indeed, she had no help – Liu Fen couldn’t manage it, the Xia family were all rotten-hearted, and Xiaolan had to support both mother and daughter – it was a heavy burden.

Liu Yong actually didn’t want to stay in Qijing Village either. He had made good money before, and he no longer had the patience to scratch a living from the soil. With Xiaolan and Liu Fen moving to Shangdu, Liu Yong wanted to go too – he was still traditionally minded about protecting his sister and niece.

“Your aunt can partner with you in business, but what about your cousin’s schooling?”

Xiaolan thought for a moment, “We still need to find a suitable store location, and renovation will take some time. During this period, I’ll try to find a school in Shangdu that accepts transfer students. Actually, it’s perfect timing for Taotao to study in Shangdu – he’s only in first grade, and Shangdu’s primary schools can give him a good foundation!”

And so the partnership was settled.

Xiaolan first repaid the 300 yuan Li Fengmei had previously lent her. Li Fengmei refused to take any profit, saying their previous arrangement wasn’t a partnership.

Xiaolan also compromised – since they agreed to be partners today, future profits would be shared.

While Xiaolan could put up 3,000 yuan, Liu Yong thought about it and offered only 2,000 yuan:

“You should hold the majority stake in the store. You make the decisions, and if you need more money, just ask your uncle.”