Xie Lanhua asked the kitchen to cook a few special dishes, and the three of them sat down and started chatting.

The factory used to have a canteen, but it closed down in recent years due to poor performance. It has only recently reopened, firstly to make it easier for workers to have extra meals when they work overtime, and secondly to provide subsidies to families in need.

Before the dishes were even served, the female workers had already started coming in to eat, and Qin Xiaoyu became the highlight.

A plump female worker suddenly jogged over, placed a small dish of spicy cabbage on Qin Xiaoyu's table, and said shyly, "I made it myself. Factory Director Qin, try it. It goes well with rice. You're so thin, eat more."

The female worker hurriedly ran off, and others followed suit. Soon, more than a dozen side dishes appeared on the table. Although they weren't anything fancy, Qin Xiaoyu felt a warmth in her heart.

The three of them ate and talked until everyone else in the cafeteria had left before they finally got up.

"Manager Chen, are you going back tomorrow? Which hotel are you staying at? I have a car, I'll take you to the station." Qin Xiaoyu was very polite; apart from not providing the goods, everything else was negotiable.

"Director Qin, after this tour, I'm even more eager to cooperate with you. Could you really not give us a batch of goods? Even just a few dozen pieces, to try and sell first?" Manager Chen wanted to make one last effort.

"Really, I can't agree to that. To be honest, you're not the only one who's come to us. If we open that door, our factory really can't handle it."

Xie Lanhua knew that Qin Xiaoyu's words were a lie. She knew in her heart that besides Xin Xin, who else would come knocking on her door?

After seeing Manager Chen off, Xie Lanhua was still somewhat annoyed.

"Little Fish, do you think we should give it a try? If all else fails, we can always add more machines and hire more workers. It would be a shame to let this business opportunity slip away."

“Aunt Xie, do you think there are any secrets in the clothing industry? There are plenty of factories. If Xin Xin takes our samples and finds a place to have them made, wouldn't she be taking away our livelihood? Actually, that's not my biggest worry, because our clothes are sold openly, and they can get the samples sooner or later if they want to. What I'm worried about is that if a lot of counterfeit clothes come out, will the quality be substandard and ruin our brand?”

"You've thought this through. But what can we do? If we only sell in one city, how many customers will we have?" Xie Lanhua was quite ambitious.

"Then we'll have to find another way. Don't worry, there's no trade fair in the city. Manager Chen is here for us, she won't just leave like this. When she comes back, I have a way to deal with her." Qin Xiaoyu was confident.

When I started working again this week, my mood improved a lot, and I wasn't so depressed when I left work.

They went home early, having bought some groceries on the way.

"I'm going to learn how to cook," Zhou Yue said casually.

Qin Xiaoyu knew that she was growing up, and she was the only child in the family.

Zhou Xing's mother and younger sister were in the living room. The younger sister climbed on top of her, rubbing against her like a taffy. Zhou Xing's mother had no choice but to deal with her.

"Get down. Don't you know how much you weigh? Grandma is tired," Qin Xiaoyu scolded.

“How could I be tired? My eldest granddaughter, I can’t even kiss her enough, don’t you find it tiring?” Zhou Xing’s mother was displeased.

Zhou Yue stir-fried a dish of three shredded ingredients according to the recipe: dried tofu shreds, bean sprouts, and chives. The dish was simple, and although it wasn't very fragrant, it wasn't overly elaborate.

As usual, she put the food in a small dish and prepared to have Hanhan take it upstairs, but Commander Zhou refused to come down to eat.

"Xiaoyu, give me a haircut." Commander Zhou's voice suddenly came from the stairs. Qin Xiaoyu looked up and saw Hanhan leading Commander Zhou down the stairs.

In just ten days, his once gray hair turned snow-white, and his beard grew very long. His face became thin and elongated, and his eyelids drooped loosely; he had become an old man.

As usual, Qin Xiaoyu cut his hair and shaved his face. Several times, her eyes stung and she wanted to cry, but she swallowed them back.

“From today onwards, we start anew.” Commander Zhou reached out and placed his hand on Zhou Xing’s mother’s hand through his younger sister.

Zhou Xingma's hand trembled slightly, then she raised it and tightly grasped Commander Zhou's hand.

"good."

“We still have two daughters, a granddaughter, and a grandson. We can’t be too selfish. They need to be happy.” Commander Zhou’s lips twitched into a smile.

"Eat up, try my cooking!" Zhou Yue picked up a piece of food and placed it on Commander Zhou's plate.

"Pah, Sister Xiaoyue, did you beat the salt seller to death?" Qin Xiaoyu spat it out after taking a bite.

Commander Zhou was also busy looking for water. His younger sister tried to hand him her water cup, but her hand slipped and it fell onto the table. The cup didn't break, but as she spun it around, all the water spilled. Zhou Xing's mother hurriedly grabbed a rag. Hanhan was the worst affected; his pants were soaked. Qin Xiaoyu came over to help him wipe them.

The table was a mess, and the whole family started moving around.

That's why Qin Xiaoyu added an extra spoonful of salt to Zhou Yue's dishes. Life is like that, full of ups and downs, but you have to keep moving forward and can't stop.

Zhou Xing asked her to take good care of her parents and family, and she was able to do so.

She was right. Manager Chen refused to give up easily and came again, this time offering very generous terms, even increasing his commission.

“I thought about it last night. Manager Chen is very sincere, but we really don’t plan to export our factory’s clothing.”

Upon hearing the first half of Qin Xiaoyu's sentence, Manager Chen's eyes lit up, but upon hearing the second half, he knew it was all over.

"Sigh, is it really impossible to reach an agreement?"

"I have a suggestion. What if Riyue Apparel sets up a counter in Xinxin Department Store and gives Xinxin Department Store a commission?" Qin Xiaoyu's suggestion was not without basis.

At that time, most people wore Hailar felt-soled shoes in winter, so many stores had special counters for Hailar felt-soled shoes.

"Well, there's no sales data to refer to for Riyue Apparel. Setting up a dedicated counter directly seems a bit hasty, doesn't it?" Manager Chen hesitated.

"You've also been to Hengchang's building. You know, that sales point is in a very remote area, and since March, there has been a large-scale demolition project nearby, with residents gradually leaving. But sales are getting better and better. What does that mean?" Qin Xiaoyu was very confident in Riyue Clothing.

"I'll go back and discuss it. If it's feasible, I'll contact Factory Director Qin. When you come to the provincial capital, we can talk in detail, okay?" Manager Chen left himself an opening.

"Okay, it's a deal, let's do it this way." Qin Xiaoyu knew she would call soon. This new business model of department store counters was also attractive to Xinxin Department Store. Manager Chen couldn't have been that bad at business, given his position.

"Xiaoyu, there's nothing much to do today, you should go home early." Xie Lanhua was concerned for her and kept urging her.

"It's not convenient now either. It would be great if I had a portable phone," Qin Xiaoyu sighed.

"Excuse me, is Qin Xiaoyu here?" A man came to the door and knocked twice symbolically on the half-open door.