The circle landed about a meter behind the bear.

"Oops, I used a little too much force just now."

Jiang Xuan took out another ring and threw it out again.

This time, the circle bumped into the row of insulated buckets in front of it and landed in front of the big bear.

"Wait, something's not right."

Jiang Xuan threw the ring out again.

Seeing that she had fewer and fewer rings left, Jiang Xuan changed her strategy and started targeting the ones that were closer to her.

There's a sticker on the first row that you can give to Fanxing.

It was too close; without even thinking, she threw it out of the circle.

Then she was dumbfounded.

The plastic ring bounced halfway before going out again.

The rules for ring toss here are not just about touching or half-hitting the ring; you have to ring the whole ring.

And the plastic ring is quite small.

"Damn, this is poisonous," Jiang Xuan muttered to herself.

Lu Shengye looked at her hand warily: "What's poisonous?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just meant, why can't I find the answer anymore?"

"Have you used this before?"

"Um."

It's been used.

It happened in the previous life.

However, the rules for ring toss in later generations were different; as long as you touched it, it counted.

She can usually get one or two loops out of 20, and sometimes, if she's lucky, she can even get three.

Jiang Xuan shook her head, frowned, and pouted, saying, "Why is it so difficult? It looks so close."

"I refuse to believe I can't ring it!" Jiang Xuan puffed out her cheeks and continued trying. Soon, she only had one ring left, but she hadn't managed to ring anything.

The old lady just shouted, "See? See? I told you it was a scam, it wouldn't work, but you didn't believe me."

Seeing the angry look the stall owner gave her, the woman stopped talking.

Jiang Xuan was somewhat unconvinced. She picked up the last ring in her hand and carefully measured it several times.

Before she could react, Lu Shengye smiled slightly, took the ring from her hand, and threw it steadily.

The ring fit perfectly around the teddy bear's neck.

The people around gasped in amazement.

The stall owner was quite surprised, but after the surprise came a feeling of heartache.

This teddy bear isn't cheap; if he takes it, all his hard work for a month will have been for nothing.

Jiang Xuan jumped up in surprise, hugged Lu Shengye's neck tightly, and hung on him. "Wow, you're amazing! I should have let you do it."

Lu Shengye blushed, bent down slightly, and said in a low voice, "You come down first."

Although many people were watching, Jiang Xuan didn't feel embarrassed at all. She calmly said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I was too excited just now."

The middle-aged man hugged the teddy bear, his hand twitching with pain, but a smile plastered on his face. "This comrade has really good luck. Here, take it."

After saying that, the middle-aged man shouted to the crowd, "Everyone saw it, right? Someone won such a big toy. Everyone who likes it, come and try it!"

As he spoke, the middle-aged man recited his rhyme again.

Jiang Xuan took the teddy bear, grinning from ear to ear: "Sheng Ye, if I had known you were this good, I would have let you catch them all earlier."

"Oh right, let's get two more yuan worth of gifts. I want to get more gifts for Diandian and Fanxing, and that game console, I was originally planning to get it for you."

Lu Shengye nodded.

"Thirteen more laps, please." Jiang Xuan handed over two pieces.

The middle-aged man was sweating profusely with anxiety.

This young man looks calm and composed, and his technique is excellent. What if he manages to steal 13 items in a row? How will he continue doing business then?

But there were people all around, and the rules were clearly written down, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and let them follow them.

Once Lu Shengye determined what Jiang Xuan wanted to win, he took three rings from her hand.

One, two, three—in just three seconds, the three rings were accurately placed on the three gifts.

A toy water gun, a small game console, and a star hair clip.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

When Lu Shengye left, he had already changed into casual clothes, and everyone was speculating about his identity.

"Keep going, keep going." Jiang Xuan handed over a few more rings. "Put them on the big pieces at the back."

The stall owner really started sweating.

Lu Shengye also knew how difficult it was for these people. Before, when setting up a stall was not allowed, he would secretly set up a stall. Sometimes, if he was unlucky, he would be caught and all his things would be confiscated.

The policy now allows street vending, but this kind of entertainment-oriented activity doesn't actually earn you much money in a day.

He whispered, "You can use the remaining 10 as your own."

The stall owner wiped his forehead and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just like before, Jiang Xuan still didn't get any of them on the ring. Her best attempt was with a comb, but she still didn't get it completely on the ring; a small part of it was still outside the ring.

The stall owner took the gift he had just won from the game.

Jiang Xuan sighed and pouted, "It's so annoying, why can't I catch any of them?"

"You've got everything you wanted, haven't you? Let's go."

Jiang Xuan thought about it and agreed. She put the small gift into Lu Shengye's pocket, hugged the big teddy bear, and took his hand again.

"Let's go take a look over there."

The two had just reached the side of the road.

"Wow, look! The provincial military district is directly soliciting uniform design drafts from the public."

A young woman, holding a newspaper, walked along pointing to a news article and speaking to her companion.

"Really? Let me see."

Jiang Xuan was taken aback, shoved the teddy bear into Lu Shengye's arms, and quickly caught up with him, "Comrade, excuse me?"

The two girls stopped in their tracks.

"I just heard you say that the provincial military region is soliciting design ideas. May I take a look at your newspaper?"

"Look," the girl with double braids pointed to the upper left corner of the newspaper, "it's right here."

"Thanks."

The title is eye-catching: The Provincial Military Region Cultural Troupe is now soliciting costume design submissions from the public.

The following is a specific notice.

Jiang Xuan quickly scanned the document and memorized some key points.

Submission Requirements:

1. The design draft must include a style drawing, fabric selection, and a description of the design concept.

2. Considering actual production needs, the design should be both feasible and economical.

3. Innovative designs are welcome, while also emphasizing practicality and aesthetics.

Reward Mechanism:

Outstanding design drafts will be adopted and displayed in the troupe's performances, and the selected authors will be recognized on appropriate occasions.

Submission deadline:

September 29, 1980.

Jiang Xuan handed the newspaper back to them, saying, "I've finished reading it, thank you."

Jiang Xuan walked up to Lu Shengye and said, "Your military region is collecting design drafts for performance costumes, why didn't you tell me before?"

Lu Shengye shook his head: "I don't know about that. The costumes for the performances have always been made in cooperation with state-owned clothing factories, like Sister Lan's factory. We've never solicited designs from the public."

"Why did they suddenly open the call for entries to the public? But since it's open to the public, can I participate?"

Lu Shengye nodded.

This is great, this opportunity could be perfect.

Jiang Xuan lost all interest in shopping and couldn't wait to get back to designing clothes.

(End of this chapter)