Xia Xiaolan purchased two large bags of inventory.

Bai Zhenzhu was remarkably strong and helped carry everything back to the guesthouse. For this first trip, Xia Xiaolan focused mainly on sweaters and trousers. She didn't dare stock too many coats. 

Good coats were expensive, and winters in Henan were much colder than in Guangzhou. Thin jackets wouldn't sell well back home. She planned to bring heavier outerwear on her next trip.

She had come to Guangzhou with 900 yuan and spent over 500 in one go.

After deducting transportation, food, and lodging expenses, she had less than 300 yuan left. She planned to use the remainder to buy a couple of quality wool coats. 

The upfront cost was higher, but so were the profits.

Xia Xiaolan insisted on treating Bai Zhenzhu to dinner. 

Bai Zhensu initially refused, but eventually agreed to a cheap plate of changfen (rice noodle rolls). Since they would be sharing a room that night. 

Bai explained: " Guangzhou can be pretty rough after dark. If you don't like sharing a room, I can sleep next door. "

Until Zhou Cheng arrived, Bai Zhenzhu intended to stay with Xia Xiaolan.

" Not at all, Sister Bai. I'd love the company. "

After spending the day exploring wholesale markets, Xia Xiaolan was exhausted. The guesthouse wasn't luxurious, but it had hot water. After a bath, she felt completely relaxed.

Curious, she asked how Bai Zhenzhu knew Zhou Cheng. To her surprise, Bai shook her head.

" I didn't know him at all before this. My brother told me to pick you up and look after you, so I did. "

Her family had operated a martial arts school before Liberation. Her older brother had joined the army in the north, leaving her to support the family alone. 

Nowadays, people aren't interested in martial arts anymore— they are obsessed with qigong instead. Unable to make a living from her family's old trade, Bai Zhenzhu switched to selling fruit.

She had no prejudice against private business owners because she was one herself.

" You're amazing, Sister Bai. " Bai shrugged.

" If someone causes trouble, I beat them up. Whoever has the stronger fists is right. "

Xia Xiaolan couldn't help laughing. Bai Zhensu knew little about clothing sales, but if Xia Xiaolan ever wanted to sell fruit, she claimed she could secure the cheapest supply channels in Guangzhou.

Unlike Xia Xiaolan, Bai wasn't a transmigrator or reborn soul. She was a genuine Guangzhou native. 

The city's atmosphere was far more open than Henan's, and people running private businesses were everywhere.

In the 1980s, money was astonishingly easy to make. As long as you weren't cheated, worked hard, and had a little common sense, it was difficult to lose money.

Still, what made Bai Zhenzhu proudest wasn't her fruit business, it was her brother.

" He's been promoted to officer rank. Once he finds me a sister-in-law, what more could he want in life? I'll keep making money so no one can look down on my future sister-in-law's family. " Another self-sacrificing woman.

Xia Xiaolan understood it was partly the product of the era. She believed people should live for themselves first. 

Bai Zhenzhu found happiness in supporting her brother. There was no point trying to change her mind.

Chatting casually, Xia Xiaolan drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Bai accompanied her again as she toured several wholesale markets throughout Guangzhou.

The city dazzled with merchandise. In fact, electronics were even more profitable than clothing. Watches, calculators, radios, televisions— anything one could imagine could be found here. 

The restrictions that still existed elsewhere in China barely applied in Guangzhou.

The markets were flooded with shuǐhuò— smuggled goods. Every day, boats brought products over from Hong Kong. Customs seized most of them, but plenty slipped through.

If you had connections, you could buy almost anything from customs warehouses at bargain prices. Confiscated smuggled goods weren't destroyed. Instead, they were quietly sold off to people with the right relationships.

Electronic watches were sold by the crate. Washing machines, televisions, refrigerators… even confiscated imported cars were available if you had enough money.

Xia Xiaolan had courage. If others dared sell it, she dared buy it…. the problem was capital. 

Standing amid endless opportunities in Guangzhou, a city far wealthier and more open than Shangdu, her heart practically bled. 

She almost wanted to leave immediately.

The goods were already purchased. Every extra night at the guesthouse cost money. Was it really worth staying just to meet Zhou Cheng? She could just as easily return to Anqing County and wait for him there.

Unfortunately, this was an era before mobile phones. Even the famous Dageda cell phones hadn't appeared yet. Pagers had only recently emerged in Shanghai. 

Landlines were the fastest means of communication, followed by telegrams. And every method required at least one person to stay put. Who knew where Zhou Cheng was driving at the moment?

Meanwhile, Zhou Cheng had run into trouble. His truck and Kang Wei's had been ambushed. 

Without hesitation, Zhou Cheng fired his gun, creating an opportunity for both of them to escape. Then, by the side of the road, they found someone familiar.

Kang Wei's eyes nearly popped out.

" Isn't that Sister-in-law's uncle?! "

Liu Yong's clothes were soaked in blood. Most of it belonged to other people. Some of it was his. Either way, the sight was terrifying. A deep gash across his back poured blood nonstop.

Zhou Cheng arranged treatment immediately, but Liu Yong developed a severe fever. Neither he nor Kang Wei could simply abandon the man in a roadside hospital.

It seemed likely Liu Yong had been attacked by the same group that had tried to rob them.

Xia Xiaolan had mentioned that her uncle had gone away for masonry work. But who traveled from Anqing County to near Shanghai just to do masonry?

Unable to leave, Zhou Cheng contacted someone and managed to place a call to the guesthouse in Guangzhou.

" Xiaolan, I can't make it to Guangzhou this time. Go back to Anqing on your own. I'll come see you when I'm heading back. "

" Okay! "

His future wife hung up without the slightest hesitation. Zhou Cheng could only laugh helplessly. Still, wasn't this fate?

Liu Yong might only be her uncle, but in Xia Xiaolan's heart he clearly mattered more than Xia Dajun ever had. Saving Liu Yong's life was practically the same as saving his future father-in-law.

" Uncle, you really are something… " 

Kang Wei thought Zhou Cheng's smile looked disturbingly pleased.

Even a weasel that had successfully stolen a chicken wouldn't look so smug.

On the hospital bed, Liu Yong shifted restlessly in his feverish sleep.

Xia Xiaolan knew nothing about any of this. She had no idea someone was earning merits on her behalf.

There was a saying: a liter of rice creates gratitude; a bushel creates resentment. When a favor became too great, people either became lifelong enemies… or family.

After Bai Zhenzhu saw her safely onto the train, Xia Xiaolan began the journey back to Shangdu carrying three enormous bundles of women's clothing. Those bundles represented nearly all of her current capital, including the 300 yuan borrowed from Li Fengmei.

If anything happened to the merchandise, she would be back where she started.  A trip to Guangzhou consumed four or five days, most of which were spent sitting on trains.

Elsewhere, Xia Hongxia had spent days lurking outside County No. 1 High School. At last, she spotted Chen Qing. He hadn't gone home for two weekends.

A few days earlier, Xia Xiaolan had visited the school and given him some English study notes she had compiled herself. Following her methods, Chen Qing had finally started making progress.

Not dramatic progress, but enough to give him confidence. Thrilled, he had decided to go home that weekend and find another opportunity to ask Xia Xiaolan for advice.

The moment he stepped outside the school gates, however, Xia Hongxia intercepted him.

" Are you Xia Xiaolan's boyfriend? "

Chen Qing's ears instantly turned bright red. Seeing his reaction, Xia Hongxia knew she'd guessed correctly.  Like a hunter who had finally caught her prey, she struggled to hide her excitement.

"I have something to tell you about Xia Xiaolan."