When had she ever needed to partner with Ke Yixiong?

If she didn’t care about background, anyone could be her business partner – she would have directly accepted Du Zhaohui’s offer of “mutual benefit” cooperation.

Du Zhaohui had said he could provide a few million in support.

A few million to gain access to Tang Hongen and the Zhou family through her, to improve Kang Lianming’s poor impression of him… Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t have had to give anything substantial.

Yet she had flatly refused such terms!

Having rejected a partnership with Du Zhaohui, how could she possibly work with Ke Yixiong?

She preferred developing independently – slower but steadier.

“Whether he’s Boss Ke or Businessman Ke, he’s nothing to us. In business, if Boss Ke wants to buy construction materials from us, he’s a customer and we’re the sellers – we’ll sell to him if he brings money. If he comes to my uncle for renovation work, that’s fine too – paying customers to get served!”

Business people could hold grudges against anyone, but they couldn’t turn away money when opening their doors to customers.

But any deeper cooperation was impossible.

Yangcheng Station was full of swindlers, and Ke Yixiong controlled that area. Even if not all those unsavory characters were his subordinates, they had to pay tribute to operate in his territory.

Ke Yixiong, as a gang leader, protected those swindlers.

Xia Xiaolan had never liked gangsters – they were organized crime!

Ke Yixiong kept the station’s criminals orderly for easier management, not out of goodwill.

Having just reported two human traffickers on the train, Xia Xiaolan was disgusted by such things. Ke Yixiong wanted cooperation. To hell with that!

It wasn’t surprising such a person would associate with Du Zhaohui – birds of a feather.

Xia Xiaolan added another instruction to Kang Wei: “No need to tell Zhou Cheng and Third Brother. They came to Pengcheng for more important matters – it’s not worth wasting time on Ke Yixiong.”

Xia Xiaolan worried that Pan Third Brother might kill Ke Yixiong just to hear his name.

The matter with Jiang Wu wasn’t settled yet – why invite more trouble?

“I won’t say anything!”

Kang Wei knew Xia Xiaolan always had the best judgment.

Others hiding things from Zhou Cheng would anger him. But if Xia Xiaolan kept something from him, she surely had good reasons.

“Brother Chengzi and Pan Third Brother came to Pengcheng…”

“Of course, it’s about the Jiang family matter. I invited Jiang Yan to meet in Pengcheng!”

Kang Wei looked like he’d swallowed a fly:

“Sister-in-law, why meet Jiang Yan? I think she has ulterior motives for studying at the academy. Brother Chengzi isn’t interested in her, but she’s just so thick-skinned.”

Jiang Yan had certainly been Zhou Cheng’s friend before.

What Tong Lili couldn’t achieve in years, Jiang Yan had managed first.

Though Zhou Cheng didn’t like Jiang Yan, he would at least look at her properly. Many girls pursuing Zhou Cheng never entered his thoughts, but Jiang Yan had found her way to be his friend.

But the Jiang family was so shameless. Even with Pan Third Brother’s discharge incident, when Zhou Cheng despised the Jiang family, Jiang Yan still brazenly tried to repair their friendship.

Thinking of the materials Jiang Yan gave Zhou Cheng, Kang Wei couldn’t help but shudder.

People said Jiang Yan was a heroine equal to any man, but Kang Wei felt that in terms of ruthlessness, she surpassed men.

If the materials were genuine, not only would the Jiang family be severely weakened, but Jiang Wu would certainly not escape punishment.

That was her cousin!

No matter how much Kang Wei had disliked his Second Uncle before, he’d never thought of causing his uncle to lose his position and suffer misfortune. They shared the same surname – glory and disgrace affected them all. Why would he go out of his way to harm his uncle?

The more he thought about it, the more troubled he became. Like Zhou Cheng’s bad habit he’d picked up, his throat itched for a cigarette whenever he pondered problems.

“Sister-in-law, Jiang Yan is ruthless – don’t underestimate her.”

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “Thanks for the warning. I’ll be careful.”

Zhou Cheng walked over. “What are you discussing with Kang Wei?”

“Just about you – you scared him. He’s afraid you’ll deal with him. Zhou Cheng and Kang Wei are different now. He’s more measured in his actions. If he does something you don’t like, listen to his explanation. Whether it’s good or bad, his intentions are purely for your benefit.”

Though Xia Xiaolan was covering up, Kang Wei still felt touched.

What was wrong with siding with Sister-in-law? Their sister-in-law always protected him!

“Third Brother’s here – why would I blame Kang Wei for anything?”

Zhou Cheng’s words carried this meaning, but his expression suggested Kang Wei should quickly get lost and stop being a third wheel between him and Xiaolan.

Sigh, such thin brotherhood, like a plastic wrap – how disappointing.

Kang Wei decided to write another letter to Shan Yujun tonight.

He told Shan Yujun about his experiences in the South, which she particularly enjoyed hearing. Kang Wei felt hopeful about his romantic prospects.

While Kang Wei was thinking about Shan Yujun, she had just received his letter.

She opened it, ignoring his enthusiastic, mushy greetings, more interested in the content.

The opening was the usual greetings, and only after several lines did he describe his recent experiences in Pengcheng.

Shan Yujun read this part particularly carefully.

After finishing the letter, she still pondered its contents.

Kang Wei wrote that he wanted to resign, but his family thought it too hasty, so he could only arrange “unpaid leave” to focus on developing Pengcheng for two years.

An intelligent Huaqing student would certainly care about China’s changes. Information collected from newspapers couldn’t compare to hearing directly from someone with firsthand experience like Kang Wei.

Kang Wei’s continued correspondence with Shan Yujun wasn’t because he’d read all the books she liked to cater to her interests.

He shared his genuine experiences in the Special Economic Zone, sincere and without fabrication. Shan Yujun found him quite insightful, not just someone who talked big.

Some male students around Shan Yujun were quite outstanding too, but their excellence was academic. None had started working yet, and they only discussed national policy matters.

Or they were artistic youths, always talking about “Freud,” confident and bold but lacking groundedness.

Kang Wei was different. Though less educated, he was amusing, and everything he told Shan Yujun came from his personal experience.

From initially responding to his letters out of politeness, their correspondence had become quite frequent.

“Even Huaqing students would be tempted by a job in the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, yet you thoroughly despise it, only wanting to develop in the Special Zone… The tide of Reform and Opening Up has grown so strong that you’re full of confidence, wanting to make your mark!”

Shan Yujun tucked the read letter into her notebook.

Because of Kang Wei, she knew more about Xia Xiaolan than even her dormmates in Room 307.

In doing business in the Special Zone, Kang Wei couldn’t avoid mentioning “Xia Xiaolan.”

Their idle speculation about Xia Xiaolan at the start of the semester had been completely wrong.

Xia Xiaolan had no family background, didn’t rely on men, yet had built a business from scratch through her efforts.

“What right do we have to discuss her? Compared to her, we’re just flowers in a greenhouse, untested by wind and rain…”

Xia Xiaolan had taken Yang Yonghong to the Special Zone this summer.

Yang Yonghong was from the class of ’84, a year below Shan Yujun, both in Civil Engineering. Shan Yujun was particularly curious to see what changes there would be in Yang Yonghong when the new semester began!