“You want to find out who needs large quantities of eels?”

After their busy morning, Xia Xiaolan’s fair cheeks were flushed pink from the heat, like a ripe peach—strikingly attractive.

Zhou Cheng found everything about her pleasing, but knowing she disliked his overly direct gaze, he reluctantly shifted his eyes aside.

Xia Xiaolan nodded.

“Not just eels. There are actually many good things in the countryside. Asking around doesn’t hurt, maybe I’ll discover a new business opportunity.”

Farmers couldn’t save much money because agricultural products were purchased at very low prices. After being sold collectively to the state, supplies were distributed first to large cities.

Buyers didn’t have much money, and in places where rations were insufficient, even people with cash struggled to buy goods. Urban workers weren’t necessarily wealthy either, but they could afford occasional better meals. Xia Xiaolan was searching for opportunities created by information gaps between buyers and sellers.

Seeing her happy made Zhou Cheng happy too.

Even under the fierce autumn sun, he didn’t feel tired.

But Xia Xiaolan’s business wasn’t going smoothly. After visiting several noodle stalls, none were interested in committing to a steady supply of eels. Besides Xia Xiaolan, others already supplied them. While eels couldn’t be caught in Shangdu City itself, farmers from surrounding areas brought them in to sell.

If Xia Xiaolan wanted to dominate this supply market, she would have to push others out. But one person couldn’t fight many opponents.

As a young woman, she wasn’t like Zhou Cheng or Kang Wei, she couldn’t solve problems through force.

Competing by lowering prices wouldn’t work either.

Disrupting the market with artificially low prices would only hurt herself.

Others sold eels individually, usually ones they had caught themselves. Their only cost was time and effort, not money. Xia Xiaolan, however, bought her eels from others and earned the price difference. The lower she pushed the price, the thinner her profit became.

Could she only sell retail?

Sell to state-run restaurants?

But anywhere labeled state-run, the staff tended to look down on people.

They wouldn’t give her special treatment just because she was pretty. Seeing her troubled expression, Zhou Cheng almost told her to give up. Kang Wei could simply bring goods from the south to Anqing County every half month,.

It would be better than selling eels.

“You can only keep this business going for another two months anyway, right? By November, eels will be hard to catch. You’re not planning to do this forever, so why think so much? Once you’ve saved enough capital, have Kang Wei bring back some clothes for you to sell.”

Xia Xiaolan looked at him suspiciously.

“How did you know I want to sell clothes?”

Zhou Cheng laughed.

“At the farmers’ market just now, you stared at that clothing vendor without even blinking. You looked like you wanted to push him aside and take over the stall yourself. Selling clothes is good. Clothing is cheap in Guangzhou.”

What Zhou Cheng didn’t say was that the vendor might have misunderstood Xia Xiaolan’s intense stare as romantic interest.

That was why he had deliberately told the man Xia Xiaolan was his girlfriend. Being too beautiful had its downsides, he felt he had to stay on guard wherever they went.

Let Kang Wei bring clothes back?

Xia Xiaolan shook her head.

It wasn’t that she refused all help... she simply didn’t trust a straight man’s fashion sense. She would have to go to Guangzhou herself to choose the clothes. There was a train from Shangdu to Guangzhou, even if conditions were poor and the trip long.

Knowing how determined she was, Zhou Cheng stopped trying to persuade her and suggested going to a restaurant again. This time, Xia Xiaolan firmly refused. She wanted to be comfortable within her limited means, but eating out every meal exceeded her circumstances.

Even if Zhou Cheng was usually the one paying, why should she spend his money so comfortably?

With no other option, Zhou Cheng bought a few buns instead.

On their way back, Xia Xiaolan stopped again at the farmers’ market. Some ribs remained unsold at the meat stall. People preferred fatty pork, while lean meat was often criticized, and ribs with bone included were considered even less economical.

But Xia Xiaolan liked them, so she bought the remaining two jin.

Zhou Cheng knew Xia Xiaolan was staying at her uncle’s home. Otherwise, he would have shamelessly tried to taste her cooking.

On second thought, perhaps not.

Her fair, delicate appearance didn’t suit smoky kitchens. In the future, they could hire a cook. Big bosses in the south hired domestic helpers, and even senior officials’ families in Beijing had household staff.

Why couldn’t Zhou Cheng do the same?

He hadn’t even held Xia Xiaolan’s hand yet, but by the third day of knowing her, he was already thinking about married life.

The Chairman had once said: Romance without the intention of marriage is hooliganism.

Since Zhou Cheng liked Xia Xiaolan and wanted to be with her, it was natural for his thoughts to turn to marriage.

On the return trip, Zhou Cheng stacked the two baskets from the bicycle’s back seat to one side so Xia Xiaolan no longer had to curl her legs. Once she sat steadily, her hands touched his waist less often, which made him feel disappointed.

He sighed inwardly—too softhearted. He couldn’t bear to let her sit uncomfortably, even if it meant losing a small advantage for himself.

They reached Anqing County fairly early. Zhou Cheng wanted to escort Xia Xiaolan back to Qijing Village, but she refused.

“You don’t even have a vehicle. If you walk me back, you’d have to walk all the way to the county again. That’s too inconvenient.”

Zhou Cheng thought he didn’t mind the trouble at all, he even hoped it would get late enough that he could stay overnight in Qijing Village.

Still, showing up empty-handed wasn’t his style, and he was concerned about Kang Wei’s progress, so after repeatedly reminding Xia Xiaolan to stay safe, he let her go.

After she had ridden more than ten meters away, Zhou Cheng suddenly remembered something.

“Are you going to Shangdu again tomorrow?”

“No. At most I’ll come to Anqing County. I need to visit other villages to collect goods.”

Zhou Cheng understood.

When he returned to the guesthouse, Kang Wei was squatting beside the truck smoking. Next to him crouched a bruised and battered man who had clearly been beaten into submission.

The man was Zhang Erlai from Shipuo Village.

Normally he was a local bully, not someone who would surrender easily.

But Kang Wei’s fists were ruthless and he had pointed a dark gun barrel at him.

Zhang Erlai had nearly wet his pants.

With the recent anti-crime crackdown and heightened tension in the county, Zhang Erlai thought he had been arrested by undercover police for something he’d done. Instead, Kang Wei brought him to the county guesthouse rather than the police station.

Zhang Erlai grew even more terrified.

“Brother Cheng, you’re back. This bastard was so scared he wet himself, nearly suffocated me with the smell.”

No wonder Kang Wei was standing several meters away from him.

“Take him inside the room.” Zhou Cheng said.

“Standing in the guesthouse courtyard like this doesn’t look good.”

They weren’t locals in Anqing County. Even a powerful outsider shouldn’t provoke local forces. Since Kang Wei had brought the man back, he must have had his reasons. The mystery of why Xia Xiaolan’s reputation was so bad might finally be solved through Zhang Erlai.

Zhou Cheng’s expression darkened.

Zhang Erlai thought Kang Wei was frightening enough—he had no idea he had provoked someone far more dangerous.