With Ruan Jie's help during the summer vacation, Ruan Xi felt much more relaxed every day. At least she didn't have to work on the sewing machine and sell things at the stall at the same time. When she is busy, she will move the sewing machine back home at night. When she is not busy, she will read and rest at night.

Ruan Jie stayed to help Ruan Xi do the work within her ability, and naturally did not ask for any wages. She followed Ruan Xi out of the mountains, lived and ate at Ruan Changfu's home for nearly three years, studied and was admitted to university, and now her living expenses during school are also provided by Ruan Xi. She is helping Ruan Xi with some work now. If she still wants to get paid, she would be an ungrateful person.

She borrowed a lot of books from the library before the holiday. Every day when she had free time at the stall, if Xie Dongyang didn't talk to her, she would sit in front of the stall and read. After closing the stall in the evening and returning to school, I would also read under the lamp all night.

The goddess whom Xie Dongyang had been pursuing for several years only came to see him once. After she turned away and left, she never came again. But halfway through the summer vacation, Xie Dongyang gave the key to the repair shop to Ruan Xi and disappeared for a few days.

Ruan Xi thought that he had "turned over a new leaf" and was planning to give up his street stall business and go back to his old job of repairing cars, or find some other decent job, like being a factory worker or something like that.

But he reappeared three or four days later, still transporting goods to the street stall with Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie.

Ruan Xi asked him curiously: "What have you been doing these days?"

Ruan Jie: "The goddess doesn't let you come?"

Xie Dongyang looked much more serious than before, and it was obvious that he had something on his mind. He didn't smile either. He looked quite manly when he was serious. He just looked at Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie and said, "We had a falling out. We won't talk anymore."

Ruan Jie looked at him and blinked, "You're not... going to lose your temper with the goddess, are you?"

Xie Dongyang lowered his head, "I'm not worthy of her, I admit it."

In fact, this incident was not caused by the goddess coming to find him. He set up a stall in Dazhalan, and whenever someone from the alley came to the street to play or buy things, they would naturally see him. The goddess kept telling him to stop, but he didn't listen.

This has been said more than once or twice, so the goddess just gave me a sour face the last time she came to the stall.

Later, she educated Xie Dongyang twice and forced him to find something decent to do.

Xie Dongyang did consider whether he should quit this job, find a decent job to satisfy his goddess and her parents, marry her and live a stable life, and have a baby and become a father.

But these few days he was at home, and the more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt.

The goddess came to educate him and scold him again. He was just holding his temper in his heart. At that moment, he didn't want to be a grandson anymore, so he got angry for the first time and refuted the goddess' words. Then the goddess got angry and they started arguing, and they broke up directly.

Xie Dongyang even slammed the table and said, "I know you look down on me, you think I am shameful because I don't have a decent job, and I look down on myself too! From now on, I won't delay you, you can find whoever you want, I won't serve you anymore!"

The goddess blushed with anger and said to Xie Dongyang: "Xie Dongyang, don't regret it! I gave you a chance but you didn't cherish it. It's not that I look down on you. It's just that you are like this. You have no ambition and don't work hard. You only want to do speculation. You will never achieve anything in your life! Just set up a stall on the street for the rest of your life and see who looks down on you!"

…

After Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie heard this, Ruan Jie looked at Xie Dongyang with sympathy and said, "You are so miserable."

Xie Dongyang: “…”

As he was talking, someone came to buy something, and Xie Dongyang hurriedly stood up to greet the person.

After Xie Dongyang and his goddess had a complete falling out, he never missed the stall again. Except when the weather is bad and it rains heavily, I come to Dazhalan with Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie every day. Because the weather was hot, they also set up large parasols for shade.

Ruan Xi's craftsmanship has been recognized by more and more people, and there is a constant stream of people coming to her to ask her to make clothes, after all, her skills are scarce. Some people came to see her two or three times and became repeat customers, and after a few more words they became familiar with each other.

Ruan Xi also takes special care of regular customers. For example, Mrs. Zhou who lives near Qianmen has difficulty walking, so Ruan Xi will deliver the finished clothes directly to her home.

Old Mrs. Zhou's family is well-off. Her son and daughter went abroad very early and are no longer in the country. Her husband passed away a few years ago. She didn't want to live abroad, so she stayed in Beijing alone and lived in a courtyard house.

A few days ago, she came to Ruan Xi to ask her to make a piece of autumn clothing. Perhaps the older she gets, the more she wants something new, so she particularly likes the clothes made by Ruan Xi. This is the third piece of clothing she has asked Ruan Xi to make.

Ruan Xi finished her dress that day, took it back to the dormitory in the evening to iron it until it was smooth, and then brought it to the stall the next day.

She chose to go to Mrs. Zhou's house after lunch with her clothes.

Ruan Xi came to Grandma Zhou's house once at the beginning of summer vacation. That time, Grandma Zhou asked her to make clothes for her. Ruan Xi saw that she was not feeling well, so she sent her back since she lived closer.

Ruan Xi knocked on the front door, but fearing that she might not be heard from far away, she went in and stuck her head out of the second door to look into the yard, then called out, "Grandma Zhou, are you home?"

Old Madam Zhou responded by saying from inside the house, "Yes, yes, yes, come in."

Ruan Xi then took the clothes and went through the second door. When she entered the main room, she saw Old Mrs. Zhou sitting on the kang couch, preparing to eat. There was a small kang table in the middle of the kang couch, with two plates of fried dishes on it.

These pieces of furniture are all old and are often seen in Qing palace dramas.

Mrs. Zhou smiled when she saw Ruan Xi, asked her to sit down on the other side of the kang, and asked her, "Have you eaten?"

Ruan Xi sat down holding her clothes and nodded, saying, "I've eaten."

Then, just as she finished speaking, someone suddenly came in from outside the door, or to be exact, a young girl. The girl was wearing an apron, holding white rice and chopsticks in her hands. She went straight to the kang after entering the room.

But she stopped before she reached the kang, and stood there in a daze, staring at Ruan Xi.

Ruan Xi didn't expect that she would see Ye Qiuwen again, and in a place like this.

Mrs. Zhou saw Ye Qiuwen standing still and said, "Bring it here quickly."

Ye Qiuwen came back to her senses and hurried over, placing the bowl and chopsticks in front of Old Mrs. Zhou.

Ruan Xi glanced at Ye Qiuwen and asked Mrs. Zhou with a smile, "Grandma Zhou, who is this? I don't think I saw her last time I came."

Old Mrs. Zhou said to her calmly, "Bring a distant relative of yours over to keep me company."

After that, he said to Ye Qiuwen: "You can also serve some rice and eat together."

Ye Qiuwen quickly whispered, "No need, just eat, and call me if you need anything."

Then she hurried out and escaped from Ruan Xi's sight.

Ruan Xi couldn't help laughing and shook her head.

If it wasn't Ye Qiuwen, Ruan Xi wouldn't doubt what Old Lady Zhou said, but this person was Ye Qiuwen, so she naturally knew that Old Lady Zhou was lying, because hiring a nanny was not something that could be discussed now.

Their Ruan family does not have any distant relatives with such a rich family background.

Ye Qiuwen ran to the kitchen as if escaping, sat down on the bench and covered her face. After a moment, she pulled her hair hard. She felt like Ruan Xi was a ghost that would haunt her and she would bump into her wherever she went!

She didn't want to be a nanny, but Lu Yuanzheng couldn't find anything else for her to do. He asked various classmates for help and it took more than a month or two to find one. Thinking that it would be embarrassing to set up a stall on the street, at least no one would know about being a nanny, and she could talk to her relatives, which was quite prestigious, so she chose to come.

But who knows!

Met Ruan Xi again!

Damn Ruan Xi!

Ruan Xi had to go back to make clothes, so naturally she didn't stay at Old Lady Zhou's house for long. She sat down and talked to Old Mrs. Zhou for a few words, collected the labor fee, put the clothes down, then got up and went back to Dazhalan Street.

Before leaving, she went to the kitchen door and said to Ye Qiuwen with a smile, "Hi, distant relative."

Ye Qiuwen blushed with anger and replied, "You stinky stall vendor!"

Ruan Xi laughed, "You forgot, I am a top student of Peking University. After graduation, I will have a stable job assigned by the state. I am a person of the state. I am afraid your brain is muddled. You can only see that I am setting up a street stall now."

Ye Qiuwen was so angry that she was about to explode, but she didn't dare to make trouble at Old Lady Zhou's house.

Ruan Xi didn't have time to chat with her. She waved at her and said with a smile, "Bye, distant relative."

After saying this, he stopped standing and walked away.

Ye Qiuwen was so angry that she wanted to smash things, but nothing here belonged to her and she couldn't afford to pay for it if she broke anything, so she had to hold it in.

As long as you don’t die, just hold it in.

Ruan Xi didn't care or pay attention to whether Ye Qiuwen returned home or what she was doing in Beijing, so she naturally didn't think too much about it. She still took care of her own business, setting up a stall to make money and save funds.

After the summer vacation and the start of school, Ruan Jie could no longer help her.

Going to college at that time is completely different from going to college in modern society. Students in modern society have been forced to study for more than ten years in primary, middle and high school. When they go to college, they will relax and no longer focus on studying.

Many people only require themselves to get a degree without failing any courses.

But most of the college students at this time have been away from campus for many years and want to learn but cannot. If you study hard for a month and get into university, that means you are here to study and to make up for your knowledge.

Ruan Jie is like this, as are Ruan Xi's roommates, and even almost all college students.

Apart from attending classes, I spend my spare time either studying in the study room or reading in the library.

Many people's goal is to read all the books in the library during their four years in college.

There are very few people who stay in the dormitory when they have nothing to do. At most, they will get up a little later on Sunday morning, or come back a little earlier occasionally at night, because there is no learning atmosphere in the dormitory and it is not suitable for peace of mind to study.

Ruan Xi is an outlier among these people. She stays in the dormitory during her spare time.

Since most other people were not in the dormitory, she had some peace and quiet and could do her own things in peace.

When her roommate came back from outside and it was time to wash and rest, she put away the sewing machine, washed and prepared to go to bed. If there is still some time, she will sit on the bed and read for a while.

The summer heat slowly fades away on the surface, and the winter in the north is very cold.

When going out to set up a stall, Ruan Xi would wrap herself tightly with a scarf and wear thick woolen gloves, the kind that can cover the hands or half of the body. If there is work to do, show your fingers.

At lunch, Ruan Xi and Xie Dongyang still used the sewing machine as a table.

Ruan Xi could tell that Xie Dongyang was in a bad mood, so she asked him when she had some time during the meal, "Why do you look so sad?"

Xie Dongyang took two bites of shredded potatoes and rice, stuffed his mouth with it and said, "She's married."

Ruan Xi was stunned for a moment, then asked, "With whom?"

Xie Dongyang said: "A cadre from the grocery store."

Ruan Xi looked at him and sighed softly, "There are always better fish in the sea."

Xie Dongyang took another big mouthful of rice. His eyes turned red as he chewed and he could see tears were about to fall.

Seeing him like this, Ruan Xi felt both pity and wanted to laugh.

Of course she didn't laugh, nor did she talk about this topic again. She asked Xie Dongyang again: "How much money did you make this year?"

He felt better instantly when he mentioned this. Xie Dongyang sniffed and said in a clear voice, "It's almost ten thousand. If I keep it for another ten and a half months, it will definitely be ten thousand."

Ruan Xi smiled and whispered, "I've exceeded 10,000."

Xie Dongyang understood, "You have a skill."

The weather was cold, and Ruan Xi quickly finished the remaining meal for fear that it would get cold.

After finishing her meal and putting down her chopsticks, she cleared her throat and looked at Xie Dongyang, "Are you familiar with the countryside here?"

Xie Dongyang also finished his meal and put down his chopsticks.

He raised his head and looked at Ruan Xi. "Not very familiar, but okay, right? What's wrong?"

Ruan Xi put her hands into the sleeves of her cotton coat and said, "I have some money now. I want to buy a yard. I can't afford a yard in the city for now, so I want to buy one in the countryside."

Xie Dongyang looked at her and said, "You earn more than 10,000 yuan. What kind of courtyard can't you afford in the city? Not to mention those shabby bungalows and compound courtyards, I really can't afford a courtyard house with two or three entrances, but a courtyard house with one entrance is enough."

Ruan Xi put his hands in his pockets to keep warm. "Then I have to save the money to do something else? I used it all to buy the yard, and now I have no money left. I can't do anything else, and I can't even borrow money."

Xie Dongyang said: "How much money can you get for the purchase? Just keep some."

Ruan Xi snorted, "Do you really expect to set up a stall here for the rest of your life? There are fewer people this year, so we made a profit. Just wait and see, this year people will know how much we make, and next year stalls selling these small groceries will spring up like mushrooms after rain."

Xie Dongyang: "We didn't make any noise, so who knows how much we earned?"

Ruan Xi pushed his head with her hand, "Are you stupid? We are not the only two people setting up stalls in the whole city. There will always be people showing off. Soon people will know that we make 10,000 yuan a year!"

Xie Dongyang blinked and thought for a while, "Yes."

He looked at Ruan Xi again, "What should we do next?"

Ruan Xi told him: "You have made money, and this money is your capital. You can do whatever you want. Think about it. We get the goods from the factory and work hard to sell them here. Who makes the most money?"

Xie Dongyang thought about it, "Which factory makes the most money?"

Ruan Xi nodded and said nothing more.

Xie Dongyang thought for a moment and said, "But we can't afford to open a factory. We don't have people. Those factories are owned by the state."

Ruan Xi looked at him, "You don't pay attention to current events? Not long ago, there was a person selling roasted nuts. His sales were so good that he couldn't handle it, so he hired a few people to work at home. He was reported to the higher authorities."

Xie Dongyang opened his eyes slightly, "Then what?"

Ruan Xi said: "It said there's no rush, let's wait and see, what do you think this means?"

Xie Dongyang slapped the sewing machine hard, "So that means you tacitly agree to hire someone to do the work?"

Ruan Xi pursed her lips and hit his hand, "You broke my sewing machine and I have to pay for it!"

Xie Dongyang put away his hand, "But opening a factory is still a big deal."

Ruan Xi put his hands in his pockets again, "If you can't do a big business, why don't you start from a small workshop? It doesn't mean you have to open a factory or something. Anyway, there are plenty of opportunities now. You have to be sure and don't hesitate to do business. You are so familiar with the city, don't you know what is needed here? Just trade in what is needed, trade in valuable big things, don't just focus on small groceries like pots and pans. If you can't get the goods here, then go to other places, to the well-developed south. Aren't you very familiar with speculation and profiteering?"

Xie Dongyang also put his hands in his pockets, looked at Ruan Xi for a moment and said: "You are worthy of being my Master Xi, you have foresight!"

Ruan Xi still looked at him with her hands in her pockets, "Help me find a yard in the countryside. It's better if it's bigger and has a vegetable garden where I can grow vegetables. I'm going home during the winter break, so it'd be best if it's done before the break."

Xie Dongyang patted his chest and said, "Leave it to me."

Ruan Xi raised her hand and bowed to him, "Then I would like to thank you, Third Master."