“Sister Tian, I really didn’t expect these clothes to sell so well!”
It was just past 5 p.m. when Tian Tian returned to her place, and Huizi excitedly ran in, carrying a lightweight snake skin bag.
“All sold out!”
Huizi nodded eagerly and rushed over to take the bucket from Tian Tian’s hand. “Sister Tian, my dear sister, you’re like my second parent. Whatever needs to be done, leave it to me.”
Tian Tian said, “No, no, no. You just got back—go sit down and rest. Wait until your Brother Ting gets here later, then you can share the good news with him.”
With that, Tian Tian carried the empty bucket to the hand pump well in the corner of the yard, drew half a bucket of water, and washed her face. She had just returned as well and had picked up a lot of dust on the road. If she didn’t wash up, she wouldn’t even be able to enjoy her dinner.
Thinking about the dump trucks she had seen on her way back, Tian Tian felt she needed to speed up her moneymaking. Some villages ahead had already had their land expropriated to build factories.
In her past life, the demolition of Tianfu Village hadn’t happened so quickly. The expropriation of farmland for commercial development came about a year later. As for Granny Cui’s vegetable plot, it wasn’t included in the expropriation zone. But because it was adjacent to the commercial area, the landowner would eventually make a fortune from the high-rises built there.
Meanwhile, Huizi was too excited to sit still and had already started chattering away to Granny Cui.
Seeing that he was helping Granny Cui pick vegetables while talking, Tian Tian didn’t call him over to help organize the clothes.
She had sold all day today, plus wholesaled part of the clothes to Huizi and Qian Lizhen. What remained would probably last another day at most. So, Tian Tian planned to wholesale all the remaining clothes to Huizi and Qian Lizhen. As for how to split them, she would wait until Qian Lizhen returned and see how her situation looked before deciding.
Soon, it was 6 p.m., and Zhou Haoting appeared at the doorstep on his motorcycle right on time.
The scene of Huizi sharing his good news played out again. Amused, Tian Tian went into the kitchen to help Granny Cui bring out the dishes. She had been busy these past two days, so she’d simply teamed up with Granny Cui to cook and eat together.
“Get out of the way, get out of the way…” Zhou Haoting pushed Huizi away with disdain and stuffed a roasted chicken he was carrying into Huizi’s hands.
“Go, go, go. Put that chicken on a plate.”
“Yes, sir!” Huizi shouted and ran off to the kitchen.
Seeing this, Granny Cui chuckled. “Huizi has been watching too many Hong Kong movies.”
“Granny, ignore him. He’s always like this.” Zhou Haoting crouched by the hand pump well to wash his hands. Tian Tian worked the pump handle for him. Hearing his comment, she reached over and patted his broad shoulder. “Is that any way to talk about your brother?”
Before Zhou Haoting could respond, Huizi dashed out and yelled, “Exactly!”
Seeing Huizi like that, Zhou Haoting raised an eyebrow at Tian Tian. She reached over and pressed his bouncing eyebrow back down.
More laughter and playful banter followed.
Once the table was set, the four of them sat down to eat.
During the meal, Tian Tian glanced upstairs. Seeing that Liu Chunfen hadn’t appeared, she didn’t ask. Qian Lizhen had to work overtime tonight and probably wouldn’t be back until 8 or 9 p.m.
Just then, the sound of Xu Songmei cursing came from the neighboring building, followed by a younger voice.
Huizi’s eyes lit up. He jumped onto the courtyard wall with his bowl in hand to watch the commotion.
Tian Tian didn’t go over, but she perked up her ears. She was genuinely curious how Xu Songmei, given her current state, still had the nerve to offend people.
“Hey, Zhou Haoting, isn’t the village kicking Xu Songmei out? And did you know her legs and arms were broken?”
These days, landlords don’t like troublesome tenants. The landlord of the neighboring building lived in Hong Kong but had entrusted the rental rights to the village committee. The village had a good atmosphere. Tian Tian didn’t think the committee would want a troublemaker like Xu Songmei around.
Zhou Haoting said, “My uncle does want to evict her. But she came back already with broken limbs—it’s not a good time to kick her out.”
Tian Tian thought about it and agreed. If they actually threw her out and something happened, the village committee would be in a tough spot.
“Was this Hecheng’s doing?” Though she had already guessed, Tian Tian asked anyway.
Zhou Haoting nodded. Hecheng hadn’t tried to hide it. Xu Songmei’s broken limbs were an obvious warning to scare off anyone thinking of going against Hecheng—to make them think twice about their own standing before acting, so they wouldn’t regret it later.
After clarifying that, Tian Tian asked Zhou Haoting if he knew a man named Jiang Fubin.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Haoting actually did know him.
“He’s a salesperson at a garment factory. I run into him occasionally in business settings.”
Upon hearing this, Tian Tian asked a pointed question: “What kind of business settings?”
She knew that many business settings back in those days were seedy. Hair salons with red lights had already appeared on the roadside. Places like “Dance Hall City” and “Fu X City” had also emerged, not to mention discos and nightclubs.
Zhou Haoting raised his hands in surrender. “The places I go to are all legitimate.”
Huizi chimed in at that moment: “Sister Tian, I can vouch for him. Brother Ting is still a virgin…”
Tian Tian: “…Uh…”
Zhou Haoting: death glare
Granny Cui: cackling with laughter
The atmosphere turned awkward for a moment. In the end, Zhou Haoting pretended nothing had happened and continued talking about Jiang Fubin.
“This guy often goes out socializing with their section chief. I have some dealings with that chief, so I kind of know him. He’s a very smooth operator—hasn’t offended anyone in all his time out there.”
Tian Tian asked, “Does he have any dealings with gangsters?”
Zhou Haoting said meaningfully, “What do you think?”
Tian Tian immediately understood and let out a long “Oh.” Then she pressed further: “Can you find out which groups he has more contact with?”
Zhou Haoting raised an eyebrow. “This is…”
Tian Tian said, “Just help me look into it first.” They were eating dinner in the courtyard, and although their voices were low, some things couldn’t be discussed in detail.
After dinner, Zhou Haoting didn’t leave. He helped Tian Tian take inventory of the remaining clothes. They were just discussing having Huizi and Qian Lizhen split them when Qian Lizhen showed up with Ye Lifeng.
“Sister Zhen, aren’t you working the night shift? And Boss Ye, what brings you here?”
“I swapped shifts with someone. On my way back, I ran into Brother Feng looking for you guys, so I brought him along.”
Just then, Liu Chunfen’s voice came from upstairs: “Lizhen, you’re back! Have you eaten? Who’s that young man?”
Tian Tian shot Qian Lizhen a sympathetic look and directly asked Ye Lifeng why he had come.
Ye Lifeng said, “Three hundred pieces of clothing are done. Do you want to test the waters first?”
Although Tian Tian had said on the day they signed the contract that there was no need to test and to go straight into full production, Ye Lifeng had made the trip anyway. Of course, his main purpose was to see Qian Lizhen. And his luck was good—he had run into her on the way over.
Tian Tian immediately knew what Ye Lifeng was thinking and teased him directly: “Thank you, Boss Ye. But just go ahead with full production. I’ll handle things on my end. If you’re free, Boss Ye, would you like to sit down for some tea?”
When Ye Lifeng heard he could stay as a guest, his eyes lit up, and he quickly thanked her.
Tian Tian nudged Zhou Haoting, signaling him to play host. Meanwhile, she pulled Qian Lizhen aside before she could go upstairs to discuss how to split the remaining clothes.
“People at our factory actually bought some.” Qian Lizhen’s eyes sparkled as she talked about selling clothes. She had known that doing business could make money, but she had been afraid of failure and had never dared to take the first step. It was only because Tian Tian was helping her out that she thought of trying to sell at the factory. The results were beyond her expectations—the clothes were hugely popular at the factory.
“If I could only sell during lunch break and evening break, I’d probably sell out. I really owe this to you, Tian Tian.”
Tian Tian waved her hand, saying it was nothing. The toy factory where Qian Lizhen worked employed many female workers. The clothes Tian Tian wholesaled to her were cheap and stylish—it was only natural that they sold well.
“Split the remaining clothes with Huizi however you two see fit. I won’t get involved.”
Qian Lizhen said, “You’re really letting us have this profitable business?”
Tian Tian replied, “It’s fine. Go discuss it with Huizi.”
Her energy needed to be focused on the batwing sleeves now.
Meanwhile, Ye Lifeng was drinking tea and chatting with Zhou Haoting. During their conversation, he expressed envy that Zhou Haoting got to spend time with Tian Tian every day. Although he now knew the two weren’t officially together yet, it was still better than his own unrequited longing.
“Oh, by the way, Brother Ting. Have you heard anything about the Hecheng smuggling case?”
Zhou Haoting had been busy with work and business these past two days, but he hadn’t let up on gathering information about Hecheng. He nodded. “You mean the customs auction, right?”
Ye Lifeng clapped his hands. “That’s right. I heard that this auction features goods seized from several of Hecheng’s smuggled goods warehouses. There’s a lot of trendy fabric and various foreign products.”
Tian Tian had already joined them for tea earlier. Upon hearing about the customs auction, she asked about it with interest.
Ordinary people don’t have access to this kind of auction. Only those with connections to customs or ties to officialdom are qualified to attend.
Zhou Haoting refilled Tian Tian’s teacup and said quietly, “I’ve heard there are quite a few garments made in Hong Kong. Among them are the jeans you mentioned before. Apparently, there’s a large batch.”
Hearing about the jeans, Tian Tian’s eyes lit up.
This product wasn’t being manufactured domestically yet, so there probably wouldn’t be many people interested. If she could get her hands on them, combined with the batwing short-sleeved tops she was making, she could totally set a new fashion trend.
“I want to go to this auction.”
Zhou Haoting said, “Alright.”
Ye Lifeng chimed in, “Then I’ll go with you guys when the time comes.”
—
Time quickly arrived on the day of the auction.
Early in the morning, Tian Tian excitedly got up and started getting ready. Of course, to make it easier to inspect the goods, she wore a simple top with long pants, paired with a light jacket.
Just as she finished getting ready, Zhou Haoting was already downstairs waiting with Huizi.
Huizi had made quite a bit of money selling clothes over the past few days and had changed his entire look from head to toe. If he dyed his hair yellow, he’d be the spitting image of a yellow-haired punk.
“Don’t you ever rein in your brother?”
Zhou Haoting looked at the aviator sunglasses perched on Huizi’s face. “Anyway, if anyone’s embarrassed, it won’t be me.”
“How is it embarrassing? Isn’t it fashionable?”
Tian Tian looked at all the chains hanging off him and those big aviator sunglasses. She chuckled dryly. “Just don’t come crying to us if you can’t find a girlfriend.”
As soon as he heard that, Huizi immediately took off all his accessories, wincing with each removal. It was a bit exasperating to witness.
Luckily, Ye Lifeng arrived just then.
This time, he had driven a Santana to take them all to the customs house, as they had arranged beforehand.
The drive went smoothly. They didn’t encounter any traffic until they got close to the customs house.
It was the first time Tian Tian had seen so many cars in this era.
All kinds of cars and jeeps were crammed outside the customs house. The people getting out each looked incredibly impressive.
When the three of them got out of the car, a few people called out greetings to Zhou Haoting and Ye Lifeng.
Tian Tian didn’t speak. She just carefully observed these people, thinking that someday, they might become her business partners or competitors.
It was only after following the signs to the customs warehouse that Tian Tian turned her attention to the piles and piles of goods.
There was so much stuff!
And the variety was immense. From appliances to clothes, daily necessities, fabric, and food—it covered almost everything needed for daily life.
“Hecheng’s inventory is really comprehensive. They’ve got quite a few tricks up their sleeve.”
“Is that so? Miss Tian, which one do you like?”
A man’s voice suddenly sounded from behind. Tian Tian turned around, frowned, and pretended not to hear. She turned back to continue inspecting the goods.
But the person behind her was as hard to shake off as a fly.
“Is it because I’m too scary-looking? Miss Tian, why won’t you acknowledge me?”
Zhou Haoting spoke up at that moment. “Xiao Ming, no one will think you’re mute if you don’t talk.”
The people around had already been stunned by Xiao Ming’s appearance. After all, today’s customs auction featured Hecheng’s smuggled goods. And here he was, the owner of those goods, blatantly showing up at the scene.
Although nominally these goods had nothing to do with Hecheng, everyone knew they were Hecheng’s goods.
This Xiao Ming was truly arrogant!
Hearing Zhou Haoting’s words, Xiao Ming narrowed his eyes. “Oh? Say that again if you dare.”
Tian Tian found this kind of exchange so annoying. Anyone listening would think he was acting out a Young and Dangerous movie scene, fighting for turf.
“Let’s go. Don’t stoop to their level.”
As soon as Zhou Haoting heard that, a smile suddenly broke out on his face. “Okay, I’ll do whatever you say.”
Xiao Ming, who had been completely treated like a ghost, saw his faint, smirking expression change.
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