"Yo!"

A short while later, Xie Fengxia came out of the inner room after changing into a dress.

Yan Sulan looked at her daughter, who had undergone a complete makeover, and exclaimed, "Clothes really do make the man! Daughter, you look so beautiful in this dress!"

Xie Fengxia blushed and said shyly, "Mom, I'd better go change my dress first, so I don't get it dirty."

"Okay, go change it quickly, go change it quickly!"

Yan Suhua was also afraid of getting the dress dirty, so that it wouldn't show off her daughter's full beauty when she wore it on the engagement day.

"Qiaoqiao, this dress costs twenty-five yuan, right?" Xie Fengxia readily handed the prepared money to Jiang Qiaoqiao. "Here you go."

Jiang Qiaoqiao originally thought that Yan Suhua would try to negotiate the price with her, but she didn't expect her to be so straightforward.

The other party was straightforward, and Jiang Qiaoqiao was no slouch either. She counted out five yuan and returned it to Yan Suhua, saying, "Auntie, we're neighbors, I'll only charge you twenty yuan, just enough to break even. But please don't tell anyone about this, or my business will suffer in the future."

Yan Suhua was filled with gratitude. "Qiaoqiao, don't worry, Auntie understands this. I'll tell everyone that we bought them for 25 yuan each."

Jiang Qiaoqiao still trusted Yan Suhua.

Although she didn't interact much with the people in the compound during her stay there, she was secretly observing them.

Besides Aunt Zhao, who always loves to spread rumors, there are a few other people who gossip under the banyan tree every day.

But Yan Suhua was an honest person who didn't talk much.

She rarely goes under the banyan tree unless it's too hot to stay indoors, in which case she takes her needlework to do it under the banyan tree.

When she goes to the banyan tree, she usually doesn't participate in conversations or spread rumors.

Jiang Qiaoqiao felt that she was someone worth befriending.

Jiang Qiaoqiao neatly folded Xie Fengxia's discarded dress, put it in a bag, and handed it to Xie Fengxia.

"Let me know when your sister gets engaged, and I'll come over for a drink at her wedding."

Xie Fengxia, a shy young girl, blushed instantly and hid behind Yan Suhua.

As Jiang Qiaoqiao saw Yan Suhua and her daughter off, she saw Huo Beixiao, with his tall and straight figure, standing in the courtyard.

Huo Beixiao's personality is quite something.

Hearing the commotion, Huo Beixiao knew that no one else was home, so he followed Jiang Qiaoqiao inside.

On the other side, Yan Suhua and Xie Fengxia, mother and daughter, had just reached the stairwell when they ran into Yang Hongying and You Dongyun, who had just mentioned wanting to buy stirrup pants, heading towards Jiang Qiaoqiao's house.

"Auntie, you've already bought a dress from Qiaoqiao's house?" The two greeted Yan Suhua warmly when they saw her carrying a bag.

"Sister-in-law, the red dress you bought for Fengxia? How much did it cost?" Yang Hongying stepped forward and asked Yan Suhua in a low voice.

"Twenty-five yuan," Yan Suhua answered frankly.

"ah?"

Yang Hongying and You Dongyun exchanged a knowing look. "We live next door to each other, and she sells it for such a high price. Doesn't she feel guilty?"

Hearing their conversation, Yan Suhua chuckled. "Doing business isn't charity. If someone has capital, would they sell to you at a loss?"

Yang Hongying immediately pouted, "I thought we were neighbors, so she would at least give me a discount! It's so expensive, I might as well just buy it at the market."

“Exactly,” You Dongyun immediately agreed, and the two turned back.

Yan Suhua glanced at the two people's backs, said nothing, and led her daughter home.

Jiang Qiaoqiao knew nothing about what was happening outside.

If she knew, she'd probably say it's best if this kind of person didn't buy from her.

Yang Hongying and You Dongyun were two of those people who deliberately stirred up trouble and spread rumors in the compound.

Right now, Jiang Qiaoqiao and Huo Beixiao took turns showering and washing up.

Huo Beixiao had already taken out the military folding bed and installed it.

The two didn't say much and silently went to bed.

Jiang Qiaoqiao thought of what Huo Beixiao had said to her outside the family compound, and her heart was still pounding wildly.

She placed her hands neatly on her abdomen, lay upright, organized her thoughts, and was just about to speak.

Then I heard a strange sound like something breaking.

"Snap!"

"Thump!"

Immediately afterwards, a loud crash was heard, and the folding bed fell apart, with Huo Beixiao and the bed frame crashing to the ground.

Jiang Qiaoqiao was startled and quickly got up and jumped out of bed.

"How are you? Are you alright?"

When Huo Beixiao met Jiang Qiaoqiao's concerned gaze, a hint of embarrassment flashed across his cold face.

"fine."

"Let me help you up."

Jiang Qiaoqiao reached out and helped Huo Beixiao up.

She was innocent and didn't think much of it, but when her cool fingertips touched the hot muscles on Huo Beixiao's arm, her heartbeat involuntarily became erratic.

"hiss--"

Just as she helped Huo Beixiao sit down on a stool, Huo Beixiao suddenly let out a soft hiss, barely containing his emotions.

Jiang Qiaoqiao noticed Huo Beixiao's slightly changed expression and his hand instinctively supporting his lower back. "Did you twist your back?"

Huo Beixiao: ...

His embarrassment deepened, and a slight blush even appeared at the base of his ears.

As a man, to fall like that and twist your back!

How shameful! So incredibly shameful!

The lighting was dim, and Huo Beixiao had a tanned complexion, so Jiang Qiaoqiao didn't notice at all that he was blushing.

He asked anxiously, "Can you still move? Let me help you to bed."

A sharp, stabbing pain shot through Huo Beixiao's lower back, but he endured the pain and let Jiang Qiaoqiao help him to the bed.

After helping him adjust his position and lie down comfortably, Jiang Qiaoqiao wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Wait a moment, I'll go call Dr. Xu for you."

Dr. Xu is a doctor at the cement factory's clinic, and he lives in the tenement building behind Jiang Qiaoqiao's building.

*

"Dr. Xu, is Beixiao's back alright?"

After Dr. Xu massaged Huo Beixiao's entire lower back, Jiang Qiaoqiao asked nervously.

Dr. Xu and Huo Beixiao are about the same age.

She usually has a pretty good relationship with Huo Beixiao.

After feeling Huo Beixiao's injury and seeing how worried Jiang Qiaoqiao was, he looked at Huo Beixiao and said seriously, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, his back is fine. Pour me some white wine, I'll set his bones."

Jiang Qiaoqiao quickly went out to pour the wine.

When they got back to the door of the inner room, they heard Dr. Xu click his tongue and say, "How hard did you have to work? You even twisted your back. With your physique, can your wife's petite frame handle it?"

Jiang Qiaoqiao: ...

Her face flushed red.

I really didn't expect Dr. Xu to think in that direction.