Chapter 89 One was tall and imposing, the other handsome and refined.

Upon hearing his daughter's words, Chief Le's face was full of disapproval: "What do you mean by 'zero, first, second'? How can your name compare to the nicer one your mother gave you? Besides, things are so chaotic abroad now, with reactionary forces everywhere, protests every day, and the security is terrible. How can your father be at ease with you, a young lady, living away from home!"

Le Yunyun, or rather Linda Le, scoffed at her father's explanation.

She rolled her eyes and tightened her arms around her chest: "Dad, that's called ideological liberation! It's an essential path to modernization! Look at the country, everything is gloomy and dusty. You need cloth coupons to buy a piece of cloth, and grain coupons to eat a meal. What's the point of living like that? It's poor and backward!"

She said, "Besides, I studied so hard all these years just so I could leave this poor place and live a better life."

Upon hearing this, even Gu Feiyan, who had been silent all along, frowned slightly.

Listening to this, Jiang Wanqiu seemed a little unconvinced by Le Yunyun's words: "Comrade Le, I believe that we study not to escape our impoverished hometown." She paused, "but to help our hometown escape poverty."

Upon hearing Jiang Wanqiu's words, Commander Le immediately nodded in agreement: "Well said! Absolutely right! Comrade Jiang Wanqiu, your ideological awareness is truly outstanding!"

He turned to his daughter, who was still pouting, and scolded her, "Yunyun! Listen to this! Listen to the awareness of Zhao Wenchang's husband! And look at yourself! You really should learn from him!"

"Tch," Le Yunyun scoffed, glancing sideways at Jiang Wanqiu, "Easier said than done. Lifting our hometown out of poverty? That's just something you poor people talk about. Who are you trying to fool into being a sucker?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanqiu gave a wry smile: "Comrade Le, you may have misunderstood. My family wasn't poor before, quite the opposite."

She met Le Yunyun's probing gaze with composure: "My family did business in Shanghai before liberation, specializing in business with foreigners, and we made a bit of money. At that time, many people advised our whole family to immigrate abroad, but my parents didn't leave. They chose to stay and wanted to contribute to their hometown. As a result... you know, later the movement came, and our family was labeled as hedonists and capitalist tails, and we were sent down here."

Jiang Wanqiu said, "Although life has been tough, I have never regretted it."

These words made Chief Le nod repeatedly.

Le Yunyun then began to scrutinize the fair-skinned, slender woman in front of her from head to toe.

Have you lived abroad? Are you in Shanghai? Doing business with foreigners?

Le Yunyun was forced back to the freezing Northeast by her family with the threat of cutting off her financial support. She was worried about not being able to find someone to talk to when she unexpectedly met one today!

When she spoke again, Le Yunyun's attitude had softened considerably, and she lowered her arms: "You...you've been abroad too?"

"I went to some places with my parents when I was a child," Jiang Wanqiu replied casually.

“No wonder…” Le Yunyun nodded, then, as if she had found a kindred spirit, began to pour out her grievances, “You have no idea how feudal the people here are! People point and whisper even when I wear a skirt, not to mention foreign movies and music, they’ve never even heard of them! And the food and clothing, they’re simply incomparable to those abroad…”

Jiang Wanqiu had experienced all of these things she complained about in her previous life, so she naturally understood them.

She didn't interrupt, but listened quietly, nodding occasionally and adding a word or two.

"...Tell me, when will a place like this ever catch up with foreign countries? I think there's no hope," Le Yunyun concluded dejectedly.

“No, there is hope,” Jiang Wanqiu said firmly.

Jiang Wanqiu experienced the country's rapid economic growth in her previous life. In order to get rid of the Wang family, she also started a small business with her business acumen. Therefore, she understands the huge potential for the country's development better than anyone else.

"Our current backwardness is only temporary. Our country is vast and rich in resources, with a large population and market potential that no other country can match. Just you wait and see, in less than twenty years, this place will undergo earth-shattering changes. At that time, foreign brands will be begging to squeeze into our market."

"Really?" Le Yunyun looked incredulous, as if she were listening to some kind of fairy tale.

“I assure you with the business acumen of a capitalist’s descendant,” she added playfully at the end.

Le Yunyun fell silent for a moment, lowering her eyes as if pondering the truth of the woman's words.

Chief Le was truly surprised that Jiang Wanqiu had such high vision and insight, and that she could persuade his daughter, whom he had tried to persuade for years, with just a few words.

He quickly pressed his advantage: "Yes, yes, yes! Comrade Xiao Jiang really sees things clearly! Come on, let's not stand here anymore. Yunyun, didn't you say there's nothing good in China? Today, let Comrade Xiao Jiang accompany you to browse through the department stores and see the new developments in our country!"

Le Yunyun looked at Jiang Wanqiu, her clear black and white eyes darting around, still harboring a trace of doubt in her heart.

This woman... could she be a plant her father found somewhere to keep her in Northeast China? She's making it sound so convincing, who knows if it's true or not.

She had her own plans in mind, but she agreed verbally: "Okay, let's go take a look. But let me make this clear first, if there's nothing I like, I'll turn around and leave."

She wanted to see just how much this woman really was!

The group soon arrived at the county's only department store.

It was midday, a warm time of day, and the building was bustling with activity. Salespeople behind the counters were shouting their wares, and the area in front of the counters was crowded with people, many of whom were there to buy fabric to make winter clothes or ready-made cotton-padded jackets before the weather turned cold.

As soon as Zhao Wenchang, Jiang Wanqiu, and the other three entered, they immediately became the focus of attention in the crowd.

There was no way around it; one of the men was tall and imposing, the other refined and handsome; the other of the women was radiant and beautiful, the other fashionable and stylish. When these four walked together, at first glance, you'd think they were figures from a painting come to life.

Zhao Wenchang naturally pulled Jiang Wanqiu to his side, using his broad shoulders to shield her from the crowd, and whispered in her ear, "Be careful, don't get jostled."

Le Yunyun didn't care about any of that. She had a clear goal and dragged Jiang Wanqiu straight to the counter on the second floor that sold "high-end goods".

"Comrade, bring out your best face cream." Le Yunyun said with a flourish of her chin.

The salesperson took out a beautifully packaged box of clam oil and a bottle of face cream with foreign writing on it.

Le Yunyun picked up the bottle of face cream and handed it to Jiang Wanqiu: "Comrade Jiang, you are knowledgeable and experienced, can you help me take a look? What do you think of this brand? What level is it considered in foreign countries?"

Jiang Wanqiu glanced at it and then smiled.

“Comrade Le, this isn’t a foreign brand.” She picked up the bottle of face cream, pointed to the letters on the bottle, and said softly, “Look at this ‘R’. On the genuine product, the stroke at the bottom right of the ‘R’ will be slightly upturned, but this one is flat. Also, the ink on this packaging is too bright, and it smells a bit pungent. This must be a domestic factory imitating a foreign brand, commonly known as a ‘counterfeit.’”

Le Yunyun leaned closer to take a closer look, then smelled it, a look of surprise on her face.

It's true! She wouldn't have noticed these details at all if Jiang Wanqiu hadn't pointed them out!

It seems this woman really does have some skills.

Just as her doubts about Jiang Wanqiu were mostly dissipating, an older woman wearing a blue work jacket suddenly squeezed past her.

The older woman stared intently at Jiang Wanqiu. The next second, she suddenly reached out her rough hand and grabbed Jiang Wanqiu's slender wrist.

"Young lady!" the middle-aged woman said warmly, with a heavy southern accent, "Are you from the south?"