Qian Lizhen wanted to persuade him otherwise, but Tian Tian had already pulled her aside to talk about the clothes at Ye Lifeng’s factory.
“To be honest, Sister Zhen. The clothes at Factory Manager Ye’s place are quite stylish, and the quality is good too. Aunt Liu mentioned wanting to go into business with me before. I turned her down. But you two could try buying some wholesale clothes from Manager Ye to sell. I’m not saying you’ll get rich, but making a little money is definitely doable.”
Hearing this, Qian Lizhen shook her head. “My mom doesn’t really want to do business. She only wanted to follow you because she thought she could take advantage of you. If she had to sell clothes on her own, she’d probably lose everything.”
In the few years she’d worked in Shenzhen, she could see that doing business was a way out. Unfortunately, her mother didn’t dare go into business alone. She also wouldn’t let Qian Lizhen quit her stable factory girl job.
Hearing that, Tian Tian didn’t push further.
She could tell that Ye Lifeng’s price cuts had something to do with Qian Lizhen. And if Qian Lizhen wanted to change her fate, she couldn’t repeat the same path as in her past life. That was why Tian Tian had suggested she and her mother try buying wholesale clothes to sell.
Once they saved up enough, they could buy a house and settle down. Then mother and daughter wouldn’t have to worry anymore.
Ye Lifeng, who had been talking with Zhou Haoting, felt a stir in his heart when he heard Tian Tian’s suggestion. If Lizhen really started buying wholesale clothes from his place, they’d have more contact in the future. Wouldn’t that give him a chance?
With that thought, he sincerely joined the persuasion. “Lizhen, selling wholesale clothes really can be profitable. I specialize in this business, so I know how much money those clothing sellers make. If you don’t have much capital upfront, you can take the goods from me first and pay me after you’ve sold them. That would be fine too.”
Tian Tian was stunned. This Ye Lifeng really did like Qian Lizhen!
But Qian Lizhen shook her head. “No, I can’t take advantage of you. Besides, neither my mom nor I dare to go into business.”
Ye Lifeng wanted to persuade further. But then Tian Tian spoke up. “Sister Zhen, whether you dare to do business or not, you won’t know until you try. If you don’t want to take advantage of Manager Ye, how about taking advantage of me? Remember those two big bags of clothes I bought wholesale yesterday? Take some to sell at your factory. I’ll give you a commission of one yuan per piece, how about that?”
Earning ten or eight yuan would certainly not make someone dare to do business. But when Qian Lizhen discovered that selling clothes could earn her hundreds or thousands, would she still be afraid? By then, even a mouse’s nerve could turn into a bear’s heart and leopard’s audacity.
Anyway, Tian Tian hadn’t bought those clothes at a high price. Even with a one-yuan commission per piece to Qian Lizhen, she’d still make a profit. And not just Qian Lizhen—she also wanted to sell wholesale to Huizi and have him sell them.
After running around all day yesterday, she could see that Huizi was clever. He wouldn’t get the short end of the stick selling clothes.
Since the conversation had reached this point, Qian Lizhen knew that refusing any further would be biting the hand that feeds her. Besides, she did have some thoughts about doing business. She’d just been too afraid before. But Tian Tian’s repeated successes had given her hope.
With Qian Lizhen’s agreement, the atmosphere at the dinner table became even more relaxed.
The conversation turned to the smuggling case. Qian Lizhen mentioned Zhou Qiaoqiao’s mother, Xu Songmei, and what had happened with Hu Erhua and her son in the village.
After listening, Ye Lifeng suddenly said, “I know about this case. It started when someone reported Hecheng, which triggered a whole chain reaction.”
Seeing how well-informed he was, Tian Tian immediately looked at him. And Qian Lizhen, who had reported Xu Songmei herself, was even more curious about the outcome.
“Those selling gray market goods will probably be detained for a few days, fined, and then released.”
Hearing this, Qian Lizhen was a bit disappointed. Although she had let go of Jiang Fubin, she still wanted to see Zhou Qiaoqiao suffer. But a fine was fine too—Zhou Qiaoqiao loved money so much, a fine would definitely hurt.
Tian Tian had figured it would be something like that. Selling gray market goods, counterfeit goods, or shoddy goods didn’t quite rise to the level of smuggling. Fines were the most common punishment for now. As for the higher levels of the Hecheng organization, middle-to-upper level figures like Xiao Ming probably wouldn’t get implicated. In the end, a few scapegoats would be pushed forward and the case would be closed.
Zhou Haoting’s next words confirmed Tian Tian’s guess.
“I found out today as well. Hecheng has already set up a new gray market hub near Renmin Road.”
See? Tian Tian knew this kind of thing couldn’t be wiped out. For the next ten years, until she was hit by that flowerpot, this would still exist.
Still, Hecheng had lost their Renmin Road distribution channel this time, which wasn’t a bad outcome.
Although there was no open enmity yet, Tian Tian already had a very poor impression of this organization. She wished they’d be wiped out by the authorities, so she wouldn’t have to worry about them targeting her again.
They were just talking about Hecheng when, right after finishing their seafood feast and stepping out of the private room, they ran straight into Hecheng people.
Of course, Tian Tian only recognized them because she spotted Brother Meng.
When Brother Meng saw Tian Tian, his eyelid twitched. He tried to pretend he hadn’t seen her, but Brother Xiao, walking in the middle, was staring at Tian Tian with that half-smile of his.
Tian Tian wanted to pretend she hadn’t seen him either. But this man’s gaze was too intense. Seeing this, Zhou Haoting tried to step in front of Tian Tian. But Tian Tian had already glared back first.
Zhou Haoting’s frustration immediately dissipated. Calmly, he took Tian Tian’s hand and walked right past Xiao Ming. As they passed, their shoulders brushed against each other.
Two equally built handsome men—one handsome and clean-cut, the other dark and dashing—from an outsider’s perspective, the scene was full of tension.
But Tian Tian just found it annoying.
This guy named Xiao Ming or whatever was just trying to look cool.
Tian Tian rolled her eyes directly, quickened her pace, and pulled Zhou Haoting forward.
A light laugh came from behind them.
Tian Tian rolled her eyes again and poked Zhou Haoting’s arm. “Don’t you dare act like that. What a poser!”
The words “Poser” made Zhou Haoting burst out laughing.
Xiao Ming, who was just stepping into the private room, heard the words “Poser” and also heard Zhou Haoting’s laughter. His temple twitched. That half-smile he had been maintaining cracked slightly.
Brother Meng noticed from the side and felt a chill run down his spine.
Just then, Brother Xiao had already regained his composure, walked into the private room, and sat down.
Brother Meng immediately collected himself and began his report: “We’ve found out that the person who initially filed the report is named Xu Songmei. She took a bus from a village under Huijiang City to Shenzhen. On the bus, one of our people tricked her into going to Renmin Road. She spent two thousand yuan wholesale on a batch of electronic watches. Later, when she discovered the watches were defective, she called the police.”
Mentioning this made Brother Meng want to curse. He had no idea which bastard had conned such a fool. It had cost the company all their connections on Renmin Road.
Of course, Brother Meng knew this was just the trigger. There were plenty of people selling counterfeit goods. The reason Hecheng had been targeted was that the boss wanted to get into the white powder business in the mainland. The authorities couldn’t tolerate that, so they’d struck hard and wiped out Hecheng’s entire operation.
This was a warning.
“This Xu Songmei character—where is she now?”
Xiao Ming understood the organization’s affairs better than Brother Meng. This crackdown had happened. The boss wouldn’t make a move, and neither would he. But anyone who dared to report Hecheng’s business would pay the price.
Mentioning this made Brother Meng’s expression twitch.
“This Xu Songmei reported to the police and handed over a batch of defective electronic watches. But she was greedy—she kept some for herself and found someone to sell them off. Then someone reported her. She’s in detention now.”
Brother Meng had seen plenty of these stupid, greedy people before. But this Xu Songmei still opened his eyes.
Upon hearing this, a look of contempt flashed in Xiao Ming’s eyes. He said lightly, “Find someone to break one of her legs and one of her arms.”
Brother Meng nodded and immediately gave the order.
—
The next day, Tian Tian went out with her clothes.
After dinner the night before, Qian Lizhen had come to her place to pick out some clothes to sell at the factory.
Tian Tian had sent Zhou Haoting to call Huizi over, and she’d told him about selling clothes. Huizi agreed on the spot and also took some clothes.
Tian Tian spent the second day selling clothes in the village, while Huizi sold in the surrounding villages.
Just as Tian Tian was selling clothes like hotcakes, she heard Xu Songmei’s heart-wrenching wails coming from the village road.
The several aunts who had been picking through clothes at Tian Tian’s stall immediately stood up, craning their necks to see down the road, their mouths already chattering:
“Hey, isn’t that Xu Songmei, the one who got arrested? She’s back!”
Tian Tian hadn’t expected Xu Songmei to be back so soon. She’d heard the fine was substantial and that she’d be detained for several days. But not even two days had passed!
As Xu Songmei got closer, Tian Tian realized why she had been released early.
Xu Songmei was lying on a cart. Her right hand and left foot were wrapped in thick bandages. Judging by the shape, boards were inside for stabilization. When boards are used to stabilize limbs, ten times out of nine, it means they’re broken.
Having her limbs broken while in detention—it was clearly revenge.
Connecting this to the series of actions Xu Songmei had taken since arriving in Shenzhen, Tian Tian was a hundred percent certain Hecheng was behind it.
Over there, Xu Songmei was still howling.
The people pushing the cart were Jiang Fubin and Zhou Qiaoqiao. Hearing Xu Songmei howl, Jiang Fubin’s expression darkened. Zhou Qiaoqiao patiently persuaded her: “Mom, stop carrying on. All the money at home went to pay your fine. I also borrowed quite a bit from Bin Ge. We have no more money to take you to the doctor. Just lie still and don’t move. You don’t want your arms and legs to heal crooked.”
Hearing this, Xu Songmei was like a screaming chicken with its neck squeezed shut.
She wanted to keep howling, but she was terrified of becoming a cripple with useless limbs. So she forcibly choked back her cries.
Seeing this, Zhou Qiaoqiao finally sighed in relief. She looked at Jiang Fubin ingratiatingly. “Bin Ge, you’ve worked so hard. Once we carry my mom inside, I’ll treat you to a meal out.”
Jiang Fubin shook his head, his face full of affection. “Qiaoqiao, what kind of relationship do we have? Your mom is my mom. No need to be so polite.”
Watching their interaction, Tian Tian felt that Jiang Fubin seemed very fake.
The several aunts were already whispering among themselves: “This young man is devoted and righteous. Not bad.”
“Who would’ve thought that greedy family would be lucky enough to find such a good son-in-law.”
“Hard to say. By a long sickbed, there are no filial children. With a family like theirs, this young man might just turn tail and run.”
Tian Tian didn’t comment on these remarks. She kept her eyes on Jiang Fubin. She watched him push Xu Songmei to the house’s entrance. Then he took down a door panel and, together with Zhou Qiaoqiao, carefully moved Xu Songmei onto it.
During this process, both Xu Songmei and Zhou Qiaoqiao tried to call on the villagers for help. But everyone knew Xu Songmei’s character, and no one was willing to help.
Xu Songmei started cursing. Zhou Qiaoqiao’s expression turned ugly.
Jiang Fubin kindly persuaded her a few times. Then he convinced Zhou Qiaoqiao to help him carry the door panel all the way from the yard gate up to their second-floor rental room.
Watching the whole process, many people gave Jiang Fubin a thumbs-up. Some even started asking about him, thinking that if things fell through with Zhou Qiaoqiao, they could quickly step in.
Hearing talk of stepping in, Tian Tian was speechless.
Could you determine that Jiang Fubin was a good person just by watching this? Not necessarily.
Connecting this to Qian Lizhen’s fate in her past life, Tian Tian strongly suspected that Jiang Fubin was the trafficker. But she hadn’t met him many times. Proving it would be very difficult. Besides, she wasn’t a professional, and she was reasonably attractive herself. She was truly afraid of being kidnapped and sold.
After thinking it over, Tian Tian decided to wait for Zhou Haoting to arrive and have him look into Jiang Fubin’s background.
For now, she should focus on selling her clothes.
But she had barely sold a few pieces when she saw Jiang Fubin coming downstairs. Not only did he come downstairs, but he walked straight up to her stall. He opened his mouth and asked, “Hello, may I ask what your name is? I saw you with Lizhen a couple of days ago. Do you know what she’s been busy with these days?”
Tian Tian glanced at him. His expression was normal with a hint of concern. Someone who didn’t know better would really think he cared about Qian Lizhen. Never mind that there was an aunt right there who looked ready to speak.
“Sister Zhen? She goes to work every day—didn’t you know?”
Jiang Fubin’s expression flickered. He seemed to want to say something but stopped. In the end, he sighed and walked away.
Tian Tian: What a poser!
Leave a Reply