The next morning, Li Guifang went to find Lao Tietou and his wife Feng Chunlian.

Last night, as soon as the store closed, she turned a corner and went to Lao Tie's house to find Feng Chunlian.

As the sky darkened, the aroma of dinner wafted from every household.

Li Guifang had just turned into the alley when she saw from afar Lao Tietou squatting on the doorstep, repairing a three-legged bench with a plane.

Sawdust fell to the ground. Looking up, he saw Li Guifang and put down the plane in his hand. "Jiang Hai's family, here you are! Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet." Li Guifang looked into the yard. "Is Sister Chunlian back yet? I want to discuss something with her!"

"Oh, that's unfortunate. They've been a bit busy at the factory lately, so they'll be back later." Old Tietou brushed off the sawdust on his body. "How about you come inside and sit for a while while I go get her?"

Li Guifang waved her hand: "No, I'm waiting to cook at home, it's not a big deal."

Li Guifang gathered her hair and said, "My dear, when Chunlian comes back, tell her I'll be waiting for her at the Hongxing Street intersection tomorrow morning."

"Okay, I'll remember that."

After saying that, he was about to leave, but turned back and reminded, "Remember to tell Chunlian!"

"Don't worry, I won't forget it!" Old Tietou replied with a smile, "Just walk slowly. Watch your step when it gets dark."

At the intersection of Hongxing Street, Li Guifang stood beneath a telephone pole, rubbing her hands. It was early in the morning, and few people were on the street when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching from afar.

"Oh, my dear sister!" Feng Chunlian ran out of breath, his forehead covered with sweat. "Have you been waiting for a long time?"

Li Guifang took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat: "Why are you so anxious? I'm not running away."

Feng Chunlian was roaring in her heart, you are not anxious, but I am. Last time, she brought Guifangzhai business to the factory and she got a bonus of 23 yuan.

Last night, when she heard Lao Tietou say that Li Guifang came to see her again, she knew that there must be business again!

If she hadn't gotten home a little late last night, she would have gone to Mule Alley to find out everything!

"Old sister," Feng Chunlian said after recovering his breath, "What do you want to talk to me about this time? Are you going to take care of my business again?"

"I'd like to order some boxes..."

"Packaging box? Oh my!" Feng Chunlian was delighted when she heard it, and she grabbed Li Guifang's hand, "Sister! You finally found the right person."

She said with a smile on her face, "The German machine we just bought is printing beautifully. Last time, I made boxes for the supply and marketing cooperative, and people said they were better looking than the ones in the provincial capital!"

Plus, our factory just got a batch of imported cardboard, and the quality is, wow..., absolutely amazing!

Otherwise, how can we say that some people are born to be in sales?

Feng Chunlian kept praising his own products! Li Guifang listened for so long, but she didn't hear a single word repeated!

When she finally got to the point, she lowered her voice mysteriously and said, "Our quality is even better than that of the state-owned factories!"

As for the price... you're a regular customer... I have to give you an even bigger discount!" She deliberately dragged out her tone, her eyes fixed on Li Guifang's expression.

Seeing Li Guifang's interest, Feng Chunlian immediately pressed the issue: "Well, how much do you want to order? I'll get you an internal price!"

She patted her chest and guaranteed, "It's guaranteed to be 20% lower than the market price!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and scribbled something in it: "Look, the minimum order is 100, and I'll give you 10 free. If you want gold stamping..."

The two stood at the street corner and chatted enthusiastically for a long time. Feng Chun counted on his fingers to calculate the price for Li Guifang and talked about the advantages and disadvantages of various styles.

"Sister Guifang, it's settled!" Feng Chunlian slapped his thigh. "I'll bring all the samples tomorrow for you to choose from. I guarantee you'll find something you like!"

Li Guifang nodded: "Okay, then let's meet at..."

"Your Guifangzhai!" Feng Chunlian rushed to say, "I'll come as soon as I have time!"

The two exchanged a few pleasantries before parting ways. Feng Chunlian headed towards the factory, while Li Guifang turned and headed home.

The sun had just risen, and the golden sunlight was shining on the stone road.

The frying pans at the street breakfast stalls were steaming, and several workers working the early shift were squatting on the sidewalk, sipping soy milk. Li Guifang glanced at the clock at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative. It was only five minutes past seven.

Feng Chunlian walked a long way away and turned back to shout: "Sister Guifang, see you tomorrow!" He was so excited as if he had picked up a big ingot.

In the Li family's courtyard on Mule Alley, the sun had already crept up the window lattices. Li Jianghai drowsily opened his eyes and habitually moved to the headboard—where the wad of money he'd counted last night was hidden.

"Oh my god!" He sat up with a start, felt under the mattress but found nothing, and a cold sweat broke out. He was panicking when he suddenly remembered the argument last night and finally came to his senses.

"Guifang must have put it away..." Li Jianghai muttered to himself, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He slipped off the kang in his cloth shoes and saw porridge and pickles warming on the stove, along with a note: "The money is in the blue cloth bag at the bottom of the box. Don't think about it."

Li Jianghai scratched his head awkwardly, his face flushing as he recalled his bold words from last night. He lifted the lid of the box and saw the blue cloth bag nestled neatly at the bottom, bulging with stuff.

"This bitch..." He muttered, but carefully tucked the bundle back in. The old hen outside the window was clucking, and the sunlight came in through the window paper, illuminating the room.

Li Jianghai yawned as he pushed open the door. He immediately spotted his daughter-in-law, Wu Xiaomei, busy at the stove. Porridge was bubbling in the pot, steam rising from the steamer, and the aroma of steamed buns wafted through the air.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!