Li Chunmei helped herself to the shoe cabinet to change into her sandals for going out, and the front door was open.

Xia Jianguo stood in the hallway staring at Li Chunmei's black stiletto sandals. "Chunmei, the roads near the factory are difficult to walk on. How about you change into some Forrest Gump shoes?"

"Forrest Gump shoes don't match my outfit."

Li Chunmei was wearing a burgundy V-neck halter dress, which made her skin appear even whiter.

Xia Jianguo took out a pair of white Cordon Bleu shoes from the shoe cabinet and placed them next to Li Chunmei's feet. "Listen to me, the factory we're going to see today is not like the one in the city. The environment is too bad. Your feet will be ruined after this round."

"Ah!? Then I'll just wear long pants." With that, Li Chunmei went back to the bedroom. When she came out again, she was wearing black chiffon wide-leg pants and a floral halter top.

After changing into the Forrest Gump shoes that Xia Jianguo had placed on the carpet, Li Chunmei raised her voice and said into the room, "Xiaomin, are you really not coming with us to see the factory?"

"I'm not going," Xia Minmin replied without looking up. There were half-finished building blocks on her desk, and her attention was entirely focused on the blocks in front of her.

Li Chunmei stood at the top of the stairs with a shoulder bag on her back, and Xia Jianguo gently closed the door.

"It's only eight o'clock. Do we think we'll run into the seller if we go so early?" Li Chunmei asked.

Xia Jianguo took Li Chunmei's shoulder bag with his right hand and carried it in his hand. "It's getting late. I've arranged to see the factory with the seller at ten o'clock. It takes two hours to get there from the community by car."

"Two hours? That's so far. Sitting in the factory is probably not suitable; it's difficult to manage. A round trip would take four hours," Li Chunmei said.

As they approached the first floor, Xia Jianguo quickly took two steps to open the unit door, and after Li Chunmei passed through smoothly, he gently closed it.

Xia Jianguo explained, "There's no other way. The land price there is cheap. A 1,000-square-meter factory like the one near the discount supermarket would cost at least five million. The one we saw today only costs two hundred thousand. With the cost of equipment and materials, it's less than six hundred thousand. The factory can be set up right there."

Li Chunmei greeted her neighbors with a smile, then continued, "It's not far to the next county town in two hours. Does the factory have property rights? Can it be transferred? Or should we rent a factory near the discount supermarket?"

“Last time I went there, I didn’t meet the seller. I only saw the appearance. The transportation is very convenient. The logistics transfer station is about 15 kilometers away from the factory. My only concern is whether I will be hindered by the local residents and village committee.” This is also one of the reasons why Xia Jianguo is hesitant. There are many interpersonal relationships in small places, and doing business is troublesome. If you are not careful, you will be tripped up.

"Let's go take a look first," Li Chunmei said.

The two greeted their neighbors and business owners with smiles along the way. When they arrived at the bus stop, Li Chunmei rubbed her cheeks, which were stiff from smiling.

"Is there a direct bus?" Li Chunmei asked Xia Jianguo, looking at the bus route sign in front of the bus stop.

"No, you need to transfer to another bus at the terminal station." Xia Jianguo's eyes were fixed on the approaching bus.

Xia Jianguo's answer made Li Chunmei have an even worse impression of the factory she was about to visit; she found it hard to imagine how remote the factory would be.

"Chunmei, the bus has arrived." Xia Jianguo took Li Chunmei's hand and boarded the bus. The bus card was in Li Chunmei's bag. Xia Jianguo brought the bag close to the card reader on the bus, and after the fare was successfully deducted, he helped Li Chunmei walk to the back of the carriage.

During rush hour, the bus was crowded with neatly dressed office workers carrying bags, and you could easily have your foot stepped on if you weren't careful.

As always, the buses in Shenzhen are a testament to speed and passion. Li Chunmei is now incredibly grateful that she changed her shoes. Over the years in Shenzhen, even her motion sickness has been cured by bus drivers.

Xia Jianguo stood behind Li Chunmei to block her; the bus was too crowded, and there were bound to be some gropers.

Commuters on the bus got off one after another after stopping at each station. With three stops left before the final destination, Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo finally managed to get seats. After standing for almost an hour, their calves were a little swollen, and Li Chunmei rubbed her calves.

"Are you alright?" Xia Jianguo asked, observing Li Chunmei's actions.

"It's not a big problem, it's just tiring to stand, it's too far." Li Chunmei's expectations for the factory building have dropped from 80% to 60%.

After getting off at the terminal, transfer to another bus heading to the suburbs.

It was said that the suburbs and the countryside were no different. The closer Li Chunmei got to her destination, the colder her heart became as she looked out the bus window. There were large rice paddies on both sides of the road, many houses nearby, and a few factories that could be seen occasionally, none of which were very large.

Hearing the announcement of the bus stop, Xia Jianguo nudged Li Chunmei, "Chunmei, we've arrived at our stop."

Xia Jianguo led Li Chunmei from the bus stop, walked forward for about 100 meters, and then turned right onto the country road, which was still paved with small stones.

Li Chunmei was once again thankful that she wasn't wearing sandals, otherwise not only would the shoes be ruined, but her feet would be even worse.

"Jianguo, who introduced you to the factory?" Li Chunmei asked.

“Jiang Hao made the connection. He drives a taxi, so he knows a lot of people. This seller is also a friend of his. He had an emergency today and couldn’t come,” Xia Jianguo said.

After walking another two hundred meters along the country road, a white tin-roofed house came into view for Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo. A man in his forties or fifties, wearing a shirt, shorts, and slippers, was pacing back and forth in the shade at the entrance of the factory.

Xia Jianguo took out a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket and handed it to the man. "Brother, hello! We were introduced by Jiang Hao to look after the factory."

The middle-aged man looked Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei up and down, his tone unfriendly, "This is the factory you want to buy? My factory isn't cheap."

Xia Jianguo felt a surge of anger rising within him from the man's unfriendly stare. What kind of people were these? You get what you pay for, that's so true.

As his wife, Li Chunmei knew Xia Jianguo's state of mind very well. "Can we see the factory?"

The man reluctantly took out a bunch of keys and tried to open the factory gate one by one. "This factory is newly built and uses the best materials. It will be acquired by the developer soon. The 200,000 yuan that I told Jiang Hao before will not be enough. It will cost at least one million!"

Upon hearing the seller's words, Xia Jianguo immediately said, "Brother, the price is beyond our budget. We won't look at the factory anymore. We won't delay your fortune. We hope you achieve your goal soon."

After Xia Jianguo finished speaking, he led Li Chunmei away. What kind of people are these? They change prices every few days, and they even dream of a million. They've already done more than enough by not trying to lower the price, and they still want to raise it.

The seller, holding the keys, watched the two walk away and quickly chased after them. "Hey, the price is negotiable! Let's take a look at the factory first! We're Jiang Hao's friends, so we'll definitely give you a discount."

Xia Jianguo stopped and turned to look at the seller. "The price is only a small part of the reason; the main problem is the poor location."

Hearing this, the seller stopped chasing the two. Judging from Jiang Hao's words, this deal was originally almost certain to be made, but it was all ruined by that foul mouth. Thinking of this, the seller slapped himself hard.