Children were running along the corridor outside.
A little girl noticed that the door of this usually unoccupied room was open, so she stood at the doorway and curiously peeked inside.
Xiao Hongyao waved at her in greeting, but the girl shyly turned around and ran away.
Song Kuoyang was holding a tape measure, measuring the size of the windows so they could get fabric for curtains.
“I’ll have someone make the curtains. One of my relatives knows how to make them.”
She already had fabric, so there was no need to spend extra money.
Song Kuoyang gave her the measurements. “Use thicker fabric if possible. It’ll block out more light. Give me the bill later, and I’ll pay for it.”
Just then, the little girl came running back.
Song Kuoyang glanced sideways at the child standing at the doorway. The girl shrank back in fright and suddenly burst into tears.
Xiao Hongyao tugged at him. “You scared her.”
Song Kuoyang looked completely innocent. “…”
“Don’t cry, don’t cry.” Xiao Hongyao had a habit of carrying candy with her. She took two pieces of pork-oil candy from her pocket and handed them to the little girl. The moment the child saw the candy, she stopped crying.
The girl’s mother had already come running after hearing her cry.
“You little rascal, running off again.”
The child’s mother was a round-faced woman in her late twenties, dressed very simply.
“Did this auntie give you candy? Did you thank her?”
The little girl sniffled. “Thank you, Auntie.”
“You’re welcome. What a good girl.”
“You two just moved in?”
“We just rented the place. We’ll move in after a few days.”
“I live in Room 201 by the stairs. My surname is Qi. What should I call you?”
“My surname is Xiao. You can call me Xiaoyao, Sister Qi.” Xiao Hongyao pointed at Song Kuoyang. “His surname is Song. We both work at the Fireworks Factory.”
Sister Qi said, “I work at the Meat Processing Plant. Our old dormitory building is about to collapse, so they temporarily moved us here. The environment here is pretty good—much better than the dormitory at our plant.”
Xiao Hongyao naturally complimented her. “Sister Qi, since you work at the meat plant, you must never have trouble getting meat, right?”
Sister Qi laughed. “That was true in my father’s generation. Nowadays, as long as you have money, you can buy meat. Honestly, I’d rather work as a sales clerk at the department store.”
“Can’t you buy meat lately?”
“It’s only temporary. Several counties and cities in the south are dealing with swine fever, so the pork from our meat plant has been diverted to the provincial capital. It’ll probably get better after this period.”
Sister Qi was also very friendly toward them.
The Fireworks Factory’s finest fireworks and firecrackers were sold to major cities or exported overseas to earn foreign currency. During this era, if people wanted to buy good and inexpensive fireworks for weddings, funerals, festivals, or the New Year, they often needed connections.
If you could help her buy meat, while she could help you buy fireworks, both sides gained another useful connection.
After chatting for a while, Sister Qi noticed that the male owner of the room had barely said a word. She tactfully said, “You two carry on. I won’t bother you anymore. We can chat again after you move in. Xiaomeitou, say goodbye to Uncle and Auntie.”
“Goodbye, Uncle. Goodbye, Auntie.”
The girl secretly glanced at the somewhat intimidating uncle, looking adorably shy.
Song Kuoyang was sitting beside the small square table writing something. Hearing the child’s voice, he looked up and squeezed out what he apparently considered a very “friendly” smile.
Xiao Hongyao could not help patting the little girl’s head. “Goodbye.”
After Sister Qi and her daughter left, Xiao Hongyao turned around and saw that Song Kuoyang was making a list of things they needed to buy.
Besides the shopping list, he had also written down the window measurements in case she forgot.
Song Kuoyang handed her the note and asked, “You were robbed on the road last week?”
“Yeah. They took seven yuan from me.”
“What did the police say?”
“They haven’t found anyone. Most likely, it’ll just be left unresolved.” Xiao Hongyao put the note into her bag.
She briefly went over what had happened that night, and Song Kuoyang also thought it was highly likely that someone from the factory was responsible.
“Everyone suspects Auntie Qian’s son, but he ran away and hasn’t dared come home lately.”
They locked the door and went downstairs. They planned to have lunch first, then go shopping once the department store opened in the afternoon.
There was only a small restaurant nearby. Since it was lunchtime on Saturday, it was packed, and there were no empty tables. They had no choice but to ride their bicycles toward the Fireworks Factory to find somewhere else to eat.
In the end, they went to Fat Brother’s Rice Noodle Shop outside the Fireworks Factory.
There happened to be an empty table.
When Fat Brother saw Song Kuoyang walk in, he greeted him with a smile. “Engineer Song, long time no see. Haven’t seen you here in ages. And this is…?”
“My girlfriend,” Song Kuoyang said openly.
“Oh! You really are a handsome man with a beautiful woman. What would you two like? I lined up early this morning and could only get a little meat. The pork rice noodles are sold out, and so are the shredded-pork noodles.”
“What do you have?”
“Fried dried fish, eggs, pickled mustard greens, preserved vegetables, dried radish, fermented black beans…”
Song Kuoyang asked her, “Do you want some dried fish?”
“I’ll eat anything.”
“Then give us two portions. Fried dried fish with fried eggs, and a little of all the side dishes.”
“Sure. Have a seat.”
They had just sat down when the customers at the table in front of them paid and left. A man and a woman entered the shop.
The woman walked in angrily and sat down at the table near the entrance. The man called to the owner, “Could you clear this table?”
“Coming right up,” Fat Brother answered, but he was busy cooking noodles and couldn’t come over immediately.
“My mother is so biased. The baby in my sister-in-law’s belly is her grandchild, while the baby in mine is only her grandchild on the maternal side. She gave the eggs to my sister-in-law and left none for me. How am I supposed not to be angry? I really don’t want to live at home anymore. We’re getting our marriage certificate on Monday, and we’re moving out.”
The woman spoke quietly, her voice full of grievance.
The man gently tried to comfort her. “They won’t assign us a new apartment until the end of the year, and we won’t be able to move in until March next year. Just bear with it for now.”
“Can’t we rent a place and move out first?”
“Where outside would be more comfortable than living at home?”
“You just don’t want to spend the money,” the woman complained softly.
“I need to save money to repay your family. Three thousand yuan isn’t easy to come up with. You need to think about my situation too.”
“Forget about repaying it. Don’t repay it!”
“How could I not? Now whenever I go to your house, I don’t even dare stay long. Your father is still okay, but your grandmother and mother look at me with such ugly expressions. And your older brother…”
Xiao Hongyao was sitting with her back to them, but she immediately recognized the voices.
The couple sitting by the entrance were Pan Yunsong and Wang Jing.
What a coincidence.
Song Kuoyang didn’t know Pan Yunsong, but he had seen Wang Jing before. With a little deduction, he could figure out who they were.
He exchanged a glance with Xiao Hongyao, and the two silently agreed not to say anything.
Fat Brother quickly brought over their two bowls of noodle soup and then went to clear the other table.
After he left, the couple continued whispering.
Wang Jing said resentfully, “I ended up with a three-thousand-yuan debt for no reason. If I weren’t pregnant, I would have reported Xiao Hongyao for extortion.”
“Shh!” Pan Yunsong was afraid someone else would hear them. “Keep your voice down.”
There were five or six tables of customers in the shop, and the noise was loud enough that Wang Jing didn’t think anyone could hear them.
“I’m already speaking quietly.”
“Stop talking about it.”
“Do you still have feelings for her?”
“Not this again.”
The pair lowered their voices even further.
Their voices became too quiet for Xiao Hongyao to hear what they were saying. She glanced at Song Kuoyang guiltily.
He didn’t look up and continued eating his noodles seriously. She couldn’t tell whether he had heard Wang Jing accuse her of extortion.
Both of them wanted to leave as quickly as possible, so they finished their noodles. Song Kuoyang went inside to pay while Xiao Hongyao stood up to leave.
When she turned around, she bumped into a stool.
Pan Yunsong looked up and froze awkwardly when he saw her.
“What are you looking at?” Wang Jing followed his gaze and turned around, only to find Xiao Hongyao standing right beside her.
Wang Jing’s face immediately burned with embarrassment. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole.
Xiao Hongyao walked forward and passed by them, and both of them lowered their heads, hoping she would leave quickly.
But she suddenly stopped.
Xiao Hongyao bent slightly, placed one hand on the table, and slowly looked from one of them to the other.
In a low voice, she asked, “You want to report me for extortion?”
Wang Jing was usually spoiled at home, and everyone at the factory tended to indulge her. Within the Fireworks Factory compound, she had never been afraid of anyone.
Except Xiao Hongyao.
After all, Wang Jing had stolen her boyfriend and become pregnant before marriage, leaving her with something she could use against her.
If the matter became public, not only would Wang Jing’s family have wasted those three thousand yuan, but it could also affect her father’s promotion.
Wang Jing remained silent and could only look at Pan Yunsong as if asking him for help.
Pan Yunsong stammered softly, “Xiaoyao, um… don’t take it to heart. She’s just been in a bad mood lately. She was only venting. We would never actually report you. Really. Really, she was just angry.”
“You don’t think that getting your marriage certificates means you can do whatever you want, do you?” Xiao Hongyao’s voice gradually grew louder.
Pan Yunsong hurriedly waved his hands. “No, no. Of course not. Please don’t speak so loudly.”
He was practically begging her.
Xiao Hongyao had just heard them say they were getting their marriage certificates on Monday. She deliberately decided to make things difficult for them.
“Song Kuoyang and I are getting our marriage certificates on Monday too. So you’d better be sensible and don’t choose the same day. I don’t want us to start our marriage by having to deal with bad luck.”
Wang Jing clenched her fists angrily and gritted her teeth. “Xiao Hongyao, don’t push it too far.”
“I’m pushing it too far? How about we ask everyone here to judge for themselves and see whether I’m the one being unreasonable?”
Pan Yunsong practically pleaded with her. “Don’t! Xiaoyao, please don’t. We agree. We’ll choose another day.”
At the same time, he held Wang Jing down.
“We’ll change the date. We’ll change it. It’s fine.”
Wang Jing was also afraid that Xiao Hongyao would really call people over to judge the matter, so she could only swallow her anger and turn her face away.
Xiao Hongyao reminded Pan Yunsong, “Don’t forget, you wrote a letter of repentance at my house back then. If I ever hear you discussing me behind my back again, I’ll make sure everyone knows about your little affair.”
The muscles in Pan Yunsong’s face twitched uncomfortably. He was furious inside, but he didn’t dare say a word.
She still had that letter of repentance.
For the rest of his life, he would be at her mercy.
Xiao Hongyao straightened up and saw Song Kuoyang approaching after paying the bill. She walked outside first.
Song Kuoyang looked down coldly at Pan Yunsong.
So this was the type she used to like—fair-skinned, delicate, and pretty.
Pan Yunsong had heard that Song Kuoyang was extremely difficult to deal with. He didn’t dare meet his eyes and simply lowered his head, pretending not to notice him.
Outside the shop, Xiao Hongyao got on her bicycle and headed toward the department store.
She didn’t give Song Kuoyang a chance to ask her about what had happened or explain the accusation of extortion.
However, her women’s bicycle had smaller wheels, so Song Kuoyang quickly caught up.
Fortunately, he seemed not to take the matter to heart and didn’t ask about it along the way.
It happened to be Saturday afternoon, and the area around the department store was bustling with people and bicycles.
There was a bicycle repair shop beside the department store. Song Kuoyang’s bicycle hadn’t been ridden in a long time and had lost most of its air, so he went to the repair shop to pump up the tires.
Xiao Hongyao waited nearby. There were so many pedestrians entering the department store that the crowd flowed like a river. She moved her bicycle farther to the side to make room.
The contrast with the quietness of Pomegranate Street was striking.
If only Sister Zhen’s shop could be opened here.
Behind the department store, they paid two cents to park their bicycles before entering the building together. They planned to buy all the essential household items on their list first.
She didn’t actually need to come, but she also wanted to buy some personal necessities, so she came along.
They bought pots, bowls, chopsticks, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, towels, washbasins, soap, and other daily necessities. There were too many customers, and the sales clerks were overwhelmed. There was no point expecting good service—being able to buy what you needed was already good enough.
She bought herself a box of moisturizing cream, a bottle of floral water, and several pretty hair clips.
Song Kuoyang watched from beside her as she chose them. She picked up two different-colored headbands and pulled her hair back with them.
“Which one looks better?” she asked, turning to him.
Song Kuoyang looked carefully.
One was yellow and the other blue. Both looked rather ordinary.
She actually looked better without either one.
Instead of answering, he asked, “Which one do you like?”
“The yellow one is brighter.”
“Then get the yellow one.”
Xiao Hongyao could tell that he didn’t really like either of them.
That was fine. She liked the yellow one.
She bought it.
When buying her own personal things, she paid for everything herself. He didn’t insist on paying, which was good. Neither of them needed to be overly polite with each other.
Before leaving, she deliberately walked over to the fabric counter and took a look around.
Quite a few customers were buying fabric. The saleswoman was extremely proud and impatient.
“Look carefully before you ask me to take anything out. If you aren’t buying it, don’t touch it.”
“Think carefully about how many feet you want. Once I cut it, I can’t change it.”
There was nothing wrong with what the saleswoman said. Her tone was simply too harsh, and no one dared complain.
Looking at all the potential customers around her, Xiao Hongyao wished she could hand every one of them a little flyer and tell them to buy her cheap, high-quality fabric on Pomegranate Street.
Unfortunately, she had no way to approach them.
After leaving the department store, Song Kuoyang tied all the things they had bought onto his bicycle. He planned to take them to their new place on Xiaoyang Street first.
Xiao Hongyao was going to help at the shop.
Before they parted, he said, “I have a meeting at eleven next Monday morning. So let’s go early. Shall we meet at the Civil Affairs Bureau at eight-thirty?”
Xiao Hongyao froze.
So he had heard her telling Pan Yunsong that they were getting their marriage certificates on Monday.
The two families had originally chosen Friday of the following week.
But this was fine.
Getting the marriage certificate earlier would also give her some security and reduce the chance of him changing his mind before then.
She quickly nodded. “Sure. Eight-thirty works for me.”
“Remember to bring your household registration booklet and marriage introduction letter.”
“I know.”
After they parted ways, Xiao Hongyao rode around the busiest part of Anyang County again.
This location really was excellent.
As she looked at the bicycle repair shop beside the department store, an idea suddenly came to her.
At Sister Zhen’s Clothing Shop on Pomegranate Street, customers were buying fabric while others were looking at clothes. Xiao Hongyao arrived at just the right time.
Since it was Saturday, the shop had been busy for a while that afternoon, and they had sold quite a lot of fabric.
Still, there was no comparison with the department store.
Sister Zhen calculated that the day’s sales were nearly one hundred yuan, and she was extremely satisfied.
Everything was developing in a positive direction.
For an ordinary small business, this would already be an incredible fortune.
But Xiao Hongyao wanted to make three million US dollars within three years, so this pace was still a little too slow.
She handed Liang Zhen the paper with the measurements of the windows in the rented room.
“Use these measurements, but make the curtains slightly larger. Could you help me piece them together using scraps of the printed fabric? I don’t want to waste the owner’s fabric.”
“Piecing them together will save fabric. I just need to think about how to arrange them so they look nice. If I don’t do it well, they’ll look like beggar’s clothes.”
“I trust your skills, Sister Zhen. Just calculate how much you should charge me for the work.”
“It’s only a few turns of the sewing machine. What would I charge you for that? We’re family. How could I not help you with something as small as this when you’re getting married?” Liang Zhen smiled and poked her lightly. “Besides, I should be thanking you for helping me earn these commissions.”
Xiao Hongyao smiled. “Then I won’t be polite.”
“Don’t be polite with me. If you’re too polite, you’ll be treating me like an outsider.”
After finishing up at the shop, Xiao Hongyao hurried home before dark.
As soon as she arrived, she saw her second brother, Xiao Yuanming, tinkering with his bicycle in the courtyard.
Next to him was a chicken coop containing three large, plump ducks.
Xiao Yuanming had brought them back from town.
Two of the ducks had been bought with Xiao Hongyao’s money. She had asked her second brother to get them so she could give them to Li Bin at the County Textile Company as a little “gift.”
The third duck was one her second brother had previously promised to bring home to improve the family’s meals.
Xiao Yuanming was extremely pleased with himself. “Look at the ducks I bought. They’re big and fat. Compared with the ones Pan Yunsong’s parents gave us, they’re worlds apart.”
Xiao Hongmin, who was standing at the kitchen doorway peeling wild scallions, couldn’t help teasing him. “What, did you buy white swans? Worlds apart?”
“They’re almost like white swans. Look at their build—curves in all the right places, fat but not overweight.”
“Tsk, tsk. Since they’re so good, why don’t you pick one to be your wife?”
“Xiao Hongmin, you’re not allowed to eat my ducks.”
Xiao Hongyao took the opportunity to stir things up. “If Second Sister isn’t eating any, I’ll have a couple more bites.”
“Third Sister can eat as much as she wants.”
Xiao Hongmin rolled her eyes at them. “Fine. You two are the real siblings.”
Hearing the commotion, Grandma Xiao came out of the inner room. She was more concerned about her granddaughter’s rental.
“Did you find a place?”
“Yes. It’s on Xiaoyang Street, upstairs from the old government kindergarten. It’s a single room with a bathroom and balcony. The kitchen is shared.”
“That sounds excellent.”
Who wouldn’t be envious of a rental with its own bathroom?
The family then asked how much the rent was, how long they had rented it for, and whether it was empty or furnished.
Finally, Xiao Hongyao said, “We’re planning to move the marriage registration up to Monday morning.”
The Xiao family looked at one another, momentarily unable to understand why they had changed the date.
“Didn’t you say Friday?”
Xiao Hongyao told them about running into Pan Yunsong and Wang Jing at the rice noodle shop.
“They need a good lesson!” Xiao Yuanming couldn’t help cursing.
Grandma Xiao didn’t want any more trouble, so she warned them, “Don’t tell your Third Uncle about it. Otherwise, he’ll go and cause trouble for them again.”
“Got it.”
Xiao Hongyao noticed that Xiao Yuanming was squatting beside his bicycle with his hands covered in grease.
“Second Brother, is your bicycle broken?”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with it. The chain keeps coming off, and I can’t fix it properly.”
Since Xiao Hongyao was going to the repair shop anyway, this was the perfect opportunity.
“I have time tomorrow. I’ll take it to the repair shop for you.”
“Do you really need your little sister to do something like that for you?”
“I’m going to the department store tomorrow. It’s on the way.” Xiao Hongyao insisted. “You’re treating us to duck, and I’ll get your bicycle repaired. It’s settled.”
Xiao Yuanming raised his eyebrows at Xiao Hongmin.
“See how filial our little sister is? You should learn from her.”
As usual, Xiao Hongmin fired back.
“Last year you asked me to buy you that harmonica, and you still haven’t paid me back. Pay me.”
“No money to give you, but I can give you a duck.”
With that, Xiao Yuanming went inside.
The siblings were only a year apart and had been bickering with each other since childhood.
Early Sunday morning, Xiao Hongyao pushed her second brother’s bicycle to Limin Repair Shop beside the department store.
At this hour, most people were still at home eating breakfast, so there weren’t many people on the streets. Xiao Hongyao was probably among the repair shop’s first customers of the day.
The bicycle repairman examined the bike.
“The chain is loose, and the sprocket is a little crooked. I’ll fix it up and oil it. Fifteen cents.”
“Master Liu, could you also check whether the valve core on the rear tire needs replacing?”
“This valve core is about to go too. I can replace it for another ten cents. Want me to?”
“Replace it.”
Xiao Hongyao readily paid the repair fee.
She then sat on a small stool nearby and watched Master Liu work.
“What should I call you, Master?”
“My surname is Liu.” Master Liu glanced at her. “This isn’t your bicycle, is it?”
“My brother’s. He didn’t have time, so I brought it here for him.”
“This bike has been through quite a lot. What does your brother do?”
“He works in Shanyang Town.”
“That explains it. The road to Shanyang Town is terrible—very bumpy. It wears out tires the fastest.”
Master Liu was quite talkative and could chat about just about anything under the sun.
After talking for a while, Xiao Hongyao looked at the steadily growing crowd at the intersection.
“Master Liu, you’ve got a great location. You’re right beside the department store, so there’s plenty of foot traffic. You don’t have to worry about business.”
“Business isn’t particularly hard these days, but it isn’t easy either. I’m just making enough to get by.”
Xiao Hongyao stood up and walked around the shop twice. Then she pointed at the half-wall facing the department store.
“That wall of yours is going to waste.”
“How so?”
“You should put an advertisement there.”
“What?” Master Liu clearly didn’t understand.
“You could let someone advertise there and make enough extra money for a few packs of cigarettes.”
Master Liu laughed and shook his head.
“Who would want to advertise here?”
Xiao Hongyao didn’t immediately reveal that she was interested in advertising. Instead, she went along with him.
“That’s true. This isn’t a big city. Who would be willing to spend money on advertising?”
One of the biggest advantages of not being a big city was that there was no urban management authority constantly policing advertisements.
“Anyang County isn’t all that big. If someone wants to advertise, they might as well just use a loudspeaker and shout. That would be more effective.”
Xiao Hongyao thought so too.
But if she stood here shouting, the department store staff would probably chase her away after only a few sentences. Besides, simply shouting wouldn’t be very effective. She needed someone to help attract customers.
She had no experience with this, but she had already imagined the entire scene in her head—she and her “promoter,” Tong Weiqiang, walking around with a loudspeaker, luring customers over.
Her older sister had once taught her that when you needed to ask a stranger for something, especially someone you had no connection with, you should never reveal your true purpose right away. Otherwise, the other person might see through you, deliberately make the cooperation more difficult, or assume there was some huge profit involved and refuse to cooperate altogether.
So she needed to approach things indirectly.
She didn’t directly ask Master Liu to rent her the wall for advertising.
After the bicycle was repaired, she rode away.
Around twelve-thirty, she came back.
The department store was closed for its lunch break, so there were fewer customers at the repair shop, although Master Liu still had some work to finish.
He was patching a tire.
“Master Liu.”
Master Liu looked at the brand-new women’s bicycle she was riding and smiled.
“Is something wrong with your new bike too?”
“My bike is fine.”
She nodded slightly toward the half-wall.
“Uncle Liu, I’ve brought you some business. My sister has a shop and wants to rent half of your wall to put up an advertisement. If it works out, you don’t have to give me any commission. Whenever my bicycle gets a flat tire in the future, you can patch it for me once for free. How about it?”
Patching a tire cost almost nothing, so there was no reason for him to refuse.
Master Liu asked curiously, “What kind of shop does your sister run?”
“A clothing shop. She sells clothes and fabric. Don’t worry, Uncle Liu. She’s not competing with you.”
Master Liu stood up and took out a cigarette, lighting it.
“How much can she pay?”
The cigarettes Master Liu smoked cost around forty or fifty cents a pack. Since he had such a prime location, he clearly wasn’t short of money for cigarettes.
“Lately, it’s been hard to buy pork. My son is in high school and needs good nutrition. If your sister is willing to give me two jin of pork every month, I’ll let her put an advertisement on half the wall.”
Two jin of pork?
If only she hadn’t eaten yesterday’s meat.
“Pork is pretty difficult to get. Could we exchange it for something else?”
“Pork.” Master Liu insisted.
Xiao Hongyao thought of Sister Qi from the meat processing plant, but she wasn’t familiar enough with her yet. Asking her for two jin of pork out of nowhere would be too presumptuous. A few ounces might be manageable, but two jin would be difficult.
Then she remembered the cured pork Grandma Xiao had been drying.
That should work.
Without even asking for Master Liu’s opinion, she said directly, “Then it’s settled. I’ll go home and ask my sister if she can get the meat. I’ll come back and talk to you later.”
“Sure.”
Xiao Hongyao was planning to go home for lunch and bring some cured pork with her.
But when she reached the corner near the Fireworks Factory, she saw a man walking toward the factory grounds.
His hairstyle and back looked very much like the robber who had stolen from her that night.
She immediately pedaled hard and chased after him.