The team members who were on duty today could all tell that their team leader was in an unusually good mood. He usually had a stern face, but today his face was all wrinkled with smiles.

The onlookers couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Captain, what happy event happened at home? You seem so happy, are you going to be a grandfather again?"

Zhang Yougen was waiting for someone to ask him a question. Seeing that everyone working around him was waiting for his answer, he laughed and said, "Nonsense, what do you mean by 'grandfather'? It's my son Jianguo who's going home to visit his family soon."

"Wow, so Jianguo is coming back. It's been two or three years since he last came back."

"Yes, Jianguo is the most outstanding person in our brigade. The brigade leader is really lucky to have such an excellent son."

The discussion was lively and noisy, with most of the comments being flattery of Zhang Yougen, the team leader.

Of course, some people couldn't help but secretly envy Zhang Yougen's good fortune. Not only did he become a battalion commander, but he also had four sons, the second of whom was a soldier. It was said that he had already become an officer in the army. Just thinking about it made them feel envious.

Zhang Yougen felt very pleased to hear everyone praising his son. For once, he didn't scold everyone for being lazy; instead, he listened to their casual conversation.

The same scene unfolded on the women's side as well, with the team leader's wife, Lan Meili, receiving envious glances from a large group of women.

Suddenly, a woman brought up a topic: "Meili, has your Jianguo not found someone yet? He's over twenty, isn't he?"

Lan Meili shook her head: "No, it gives me a headache just thinking about it. He hasn't been home for more than two years now. If he doesn't come back, who can we ask him to find someone else?"

"Although we are in a hurry, our family would never arrange a marriage," Lan Meili said with considerable pride.

Her eldest and third sons both found wives they liked, and now the family is harmonious and peaceful, unlike some families where there is constant arguing.

"Yes, the brigade leader's family is the most enlightened," an auntie said, giving Lan Meili a thumbs up.

Suddenly, he changed the subject and said, "I have a niece on my mother's side. She's really beautiful and has a great figure. Why don't we let the two of them meet? Maybe they'll hit it off."

Before Lan Meili could speak, someone interrupted: "Oh, speaking of this, Meili, what do you think of my Xiaohua? She and Jianguo grew up together, so they'll get along better."

These words were spoken by He Xiaohua's mother. Her eyes lit up immediately when she heard them talking about Zhang Jianguo's marriage.

If her daughter Xiaohua could marry Zhang Jianguo, having a family member who is a brigade leader and a son-in-law who is a soldier, then she and her husband would be set for a life of luxury.

Seeing everyone recommending various girls, Lan Meili couldn't take it anymore. She forced a smile and said, "My husband Jianguo hasn't come back yet, so marriage is still a long way off. Let's get back to work, otherwise it'll be hard to calculate our work points this afternoon."

As soon as she mentioned work points, everyone dispersed.

Lan Meili wiped the sweat from her forehead and took a deep breath: "These old women really have a dream. They want to stuff all sorts of things, good or bad, into Jianguo's house."

Hmph, she already has a choice for her second daughter-in-law in mind.

——

Xia Qingqing was injured and did not show up on the day she had agreed to meet Qin Chuan.

Qin Chu'an waited anxiously in the county, fearing that something had happened to Xia Qingqing, and he hadn't been in a good mood for the past few days.

At the dinner table, Qin Chuxin saw her brother start to space out again, sighed helplessly, and advised, "Brother, don't worry, maybe Sister Xia was just held up by something."

Qin Chu'an frowned and put the bowl down: "Sister Xia is a capable person, otherwise she wouldn't be able to get so much fabric and dresses. I'm just worried that if she makes them too conspicuous, they will be targeted by someone with ulterior motives."

Hearing her brother say this, Qin Chuxin felt a little anxious: "It shouldn't be, right? Brother, do you know where Sister Xia lives?"

"I don't know. If I had known, I would have gone to her house to find her long ago."

After Xia Qingqing recovered from her injury, she resumed her routine of gathering pig feed in the morning and studying in the afternoon. It wasn't until Zhang Hongyan asked her if her classmate needed help making a dress that she remembered she had forgotten to go to the county.

"Then I'll go to the county tomorrow to ask my classmate. If she still needs it, I'll bring the fabric back. She even praised your dress last time."

Zhang Hongyan nodded repeatedly: "Okay, then go and ask tomorrow if it's feasible to bring back a few more pieces of cloth. I can finish making them."

She had already tasted the sweetness of the 10 yuan she received for making dresses last time, and she was full of enthusiasm.

Early the next morning, Xia Qingqing took an oxcart to the county.

When Qin Chuan heard someone knocking on the door, his first thought was that Xia Qingqing had arrived, since they usually didn't have any other guests at home.

She rushed out to open the door and, seeing that it was indeed Xia Qingqing, finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Xia Qingqing, you're finally here! We were all so worried!"

Xia Qingqing gave an awkward laugh, too embarrassed to admit that she had forgotten.

"I was delayed by some urgent business. So, did you sell those dresses?"

"It sold out in just two days, even better than the cloth," Qin Chuan said, unable to hide the smile on her face.

The price set by Bulajixia Qingqing is 12 yuan per piece, no cloth coupons required, and Qin Chuan receives a commission of one yuan for every piece sold.

Although the commission was much higher than that for fabric, the profit margin for the fabric was large, and Xia Qingqing was not a stingy person. Since the other party had taken the risk, they should also be allowed to have sufficient benefits.

With her freshly minted 55 yuan in hand, Xia Qingqing's spending desires were reignited, and she immediately went to the black market.

Xia Qingqing originally only planned to buy some rice and other grains to keep in the system warehouse, because having grain on hand would give her peace of mind.

But once he entered the black market, his thoughts immediately changed. He saw this and thought it looked good, and wanted to try that too. Before long, he had spent almost all of his 55 yuan.

Having encountered no problems on her several trips to the black market, Xia Qingqing lowered her guard, thinking that she was there to spend money, not to make money, so she shouldn't be targeted.

As luck would have it, her extravagant spending was witnessed by a pair of brothers who came to the black market to buy grain.

"Brother, isn't this a bad idea? She's just a young girl," Yang Gang said hesitantly after hearing his brother's plan.

Yang Jian got angry at his younger brother's spineless appearance: "You have the guts of a rat, you can't even eat hot shit. That girl spent tens of yuan in a short time. We won't rob too much, just ten or twenty yuan. It's nothing to her."

Yang Gang felt that there was some truth to this. The young girl wasn't short of money, so grabbing some points shouldn't be a problem.

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say, big brother."