Xia Xiaolan had thought she herself was popular.

She was wrong.

Women might compete with each other, but no matter how sweet-talking she was, business still couldn’t compare to Zhou Cheng simply standing there. Even though he didn’t say anything charming or flatter anyone, yet the aunties couldn’t help crowding around him.

Zhou Cheng seemed good-natured, and if it weren’t for Xia Xiaolan’s striking looks—so outstanding that none of their daughters or nieces could compare. Someone might already have tried to set him up on a blind date.

Even the usually frugal housewives became generous. Xia Xiaolan remembered one woman who had bought twenty eggs yesterday... today she bought more.

She had been too naïve. She’d thought the Anqing County market was already saturated. Yet in less than an hour outside the agricultural machinery factory, all the eggs she’d brought were sold out.

Xia Xiaolan wondered whether it would seem rude to leave Zhou Cheng there and run back to Qijing Village to bring another batch.

After leaving the factory, Zhou Cheng looked as though he wanted to say something.

Finally, unable to hold it in, he asked, “How much do you earn per egg?”

“One cent. You probably look down on this kind of business.”

Zhou Cheng said he was a driver, but Xia Xiaolan wasn’t entirely convinced. His clothes were plain, yet the watch on his wrist was a high-end Rolex.

In later years people, Rolexes would be mocked as nouveau-riche accessories, but in the 1980s, because of gold import restrictions, many luxury watches with gold casings couldn’t enter the country.

Rolex was considered first-class among imported watches.

There were probably few people in Anqing County who could recognize it.

When Xia Ziyu left home for school, she took all the Xia family’s savings. Just over 500 yuan. But even the most basic Rolex model in 1983 cost more than 800 yuan.

Was that really the spending power of a truck driver?

To equal the value of Zhou Cheng’s watch, Xia Xiaolan would have to resell over eighty thousand eggs. Even if she earned ten yuan a day, she would need nearly three months without eating or drinking to afford the most basic Rolex.

As a self-employed vendor she could still dream of it. Ordinary urban workers earning a few dozen yuan a month would need two years of savings.

Thinking this way, Xia Xiaolan’s earlier awkwardness faded. The gap between her circumstances and Zhou Cheng’s was simply too large.

Zhou Cheng didn’t say he looked down on her.

It was a hot morning, not yet ten o’clock, and both of them were already sweating.

“Reselling eggs is too hard. If you want to do business, you could work with Xiao Wei—”

They had known each other for less than twenty-four hours, yet Zhou Cheng was already trying to plan for her future.

He didn’t say doing business was bad... that would have sounded ignorant of reality, like that Emperor who said 'If the people have no rice to eat, why don’t they eat meat porridge?.' But he wanted to find an easier path for Xia Xiaolan. She was a young girl, too eye-catching, and this egg-trading work was exhausting.

“Sure!” Xia Xiaolan cut in quickly.

“Once I’ve saved enough capital, I’ll ask Brother Kang Wei if I can invest.”

She had insight far beyond her era. Did she really need to rely on a man’s pity to survive?

She appreciated Zhou Cheng’s kindness and would seize opportunities when they came, but she wouldn’t shamelessly take advantage. This wasn’t like someone treating you to a bowl of noodles. Without family ties or reason, why would someone share a profitable opportunity with you?

She wouldn’t feel at ease accepting it.

Zhou Cheng nodded slowly.

Xia Xiaolan looked delicate, but she was proud at heart.

He didn’t have much experience pursuing women, but he guessed she wouldn’t like him making decisions for her.

“Then we’ll talk after you’ve saved enough capital. Xiao Wei’s connections won’t disappear anytime soon.”

He had originally planned to take Kang Wei to Shanghai once and then stop handling the business himself.

But now he realized that traveling from Beijing to Shanghai meant passing through Anqing County, and since Xia Xiaolan was here, he couldn’t let go of the business just yet.

If he disappeared for too long, some Aunt Huang selling noodle soup or Sister Ma buying eggs might enthusiastically start introducing Xia Xiaolan to potential matches.

Since Zhou Cheng didn’t press the matter, Xia Xiaolan felt relieved.

When they returned to the guesthouse, Liu Yong and Kang Wei had already arrived.

Liu Yong signaled to Xia Xiaolan and pulled her aside to talk.

Zhou Cheng tossed Kang Wei a cigarette.

“So? What did you find out?”

Kang Wei hesitated.

One glance from Zhou Cheng, and he didn’t dare hide anything.

“I went to the police station with Uncle Liu. Those three bastards are still locked up. While Uncle Liu was chatting with the officers, I slipped the old gatekeeper two packs of Red Double Happiness cigarettes and went in alone to beat those scum again. They said…”

Kang Wei steeled himself and lowered his voice almost to a whisper.

“They said Xiaolan is known in Dahe Village as a loose woman. That she rolled in haystacks with some idle guy in broad daylight, that someone saw her strip naked to seduce her future brother-in-law, and when her family tried to deal with her, she pretended to commit suicide…”

“Brother Cheng, they sounded convincing. If Xia Xiaolan didn’t have a bad reputation, those three scum wouldn’t have dared try anything.”

No wonder. When Zhou Cheng and Kang Wei rescued her in the alley yesterday, even after being beaten half to death, the men had invited them to have some fun together. They had looked down on Xia Xiaolan completely, believing she was a woman any man could have.

Kang Wei didn’t want to believe it.

Yet Liu Yong seemed to have heard similar rumors, and his expression was terrible.

Kang Wei found himself half-convinced.

Watching Zhou Cheng run around helping Xia Xiaolan, Kang Wei’s feelings grew complicated. Finally, he couldn’t hold back and said all this.

Xia Xiaolan was extraordinarily beautiful. Even knowing her reputation was supposedly bad, Kang Wei hardly dared look at her directly.

But a girl like that wasn’t suitable for Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng had never dated anyone. If he fell for her, the Zhou family might not know how to deal with Xia Xiaolan, but they would certainly skin him alive first for keeping quiet.

Zhou Cheng silently finished his cigarette.

Kang Wei expected him to be embarrassed and furious at being deceived by such a woman. Instead, Zhou Cheng tossed away the cigarette butt and smiled.

“Xiao Wei, do you think your brother here is handsome?”

Kang Wei nodded vigorously.

The girls in their compound all chased after Brother Cheng. They couldn’t be driven away. Zhou Cheng’s good looks were universally acknowledged.

“Am I rich?”

Kang Wei nodded again.

Their Shanghai trip had taken only half a month, yet the profits were enormous and Zhou Cheng was planning to hand the business over to him.

If that wasn’t wealth, what was?

Zhou Cheng exhaled the last puff of smoke.

“I think I’m handsome and rich too. I haven’t hidden that I’m interested in her. If she were really as bad as those punks say, wouldn’t she have pounced on a big fish like me?”

Unfortunately, Xia Xiaolan hadn’t tried to seduce him at all.

She remained unmoved even when he flirted with her.

“Huh?!”

Kang Wei’s mouth fell open.

Zhou Cheng sneered lightly.

“Watch your attitude from now on. Sooner or later, she’ll be your sister-in-law.”

...

Meanwhile, Xia Xiaolan and Liu Yong finished their conversation and walked back, both looking troubled.

Kang Wei’s expression changed as dramatically as a Sichuan opera face-changing act.

He was sure now.

What was that foreigners called Cupid?

He had shot Brother Cheng right through his heart.

T/N: 

Happy Chinese New Year!