Ye Qiu chatted and laughed all the way, but the closer she got to Suzhou, the heavier her mood became. By the time the train was about to enter the station, she had fallen silent.

"Is Sister Ye feeling unwell?" Qin Xiaoyu asked with concern.

"No." Ye Qiu forced a smile.

As they walked off the platform, they saw a gray-haired man waving at them.

"Was it sent by the manufacturer to pick you up at the station? Sister Ye, you're really lucky."

"It's from the manufacturer." Ye Qiu hesitated, then could only manage a wry smile.

"My surname is He, and I'm from the sales department. Xiao Qiu asked me to pick you up." Section Chief He was quite polite, taking their suitcases and putting them away.

Ye Qiu sat in the passenger seat. Qin Xiaoyu had already sensed that Ye Qiu and Section Chief He had a somewhat unusual relationship.

She had heard that Ye Qiu was divorced. Could this be her ex-husband? Or her current boyfriend?

Qin Xiaoyu decided to stop guessing. It's other people's privacy; they can say what they want to say or not.

Section Chief He took them directly to the factory guesthouse. Entering the corridor, they saw a bustling crowd, indicating that many people were coming to buy goods.

"Let's report on it from the front," Section Chief He said with a smile.

At this time, participants were responsible for their own travel expenses at the trade fair, which were usually reimbursed by their employers. They would go to the trade fair's reception desk, hand in a letter of introduction, and pay the corresponding amount before checking in.

Since Qin Xiaoyu brought Ye Qiu along, she naturally couldn't pay for it herself, so she directly paid for both of their expenses. It wasn't until room arrangements were made that it became clear that Section Chief He had done his bidding; both Qin Xiaoyu and Ye Qiu were assigned single rooms. Judging by the guesthouse's occupancy rate, assigning single rooms was likely a calculated move.

"Little Fish, don't laugh at me. This man, with me..." Ye Qiu lowered his head.

"Is he your boyfriend? I can tell." Qin Xiaoyu came to her rescue.

"No, he has a wife." Ye Qiu's words silenced Qin Xiaoyu.

"Are you looking down on me?" Ye Qiu didn't dare to look up at Qin Xiaoyu.

"Sister Ye, this is your private matter, and I shouldn't say too much," Qin Xiaoyu sighed.

That evening, it was supposed to be a welcome dinner hosted by Section Chief He, but Qin Xiaoyu declined, saying she wasn't feeling well. Ye Qiu noticed her hesitation and helped her decline, much to Section Chief He's delight.

Qin Xiaoyu had been in the Guangzhou store for so long but had never seen Section Chief He. It seemed that they would only have a chance to meet when Ye Qiu came over, and she was just hoping that no one would get in her way.

Because of the trade fair, the factory also hosted a dinner party in the evening. Qin Xiaoyu heard from Section Chief He that it was on the first floor, and she could enter the restaurant by simply going downstairs with her room card.

Qin Xiaoyu wasn't interested in Suzhou cuisine, but she was interested in who was eating there. This was probably a gathering of clothing factories or fabric dealers from all over the country, but it was a big event, and she wanted to see what her competitors were like.

The restaurant was already packed with people, with dozens of tables. It was quite a sight, Qin Xiaoyu couldn't help but exclaim.

There were about ten people at each table, and some tables had more. This was because the people attending the meeting were usually two or three from one company, and they all wanted to sit at one table.

Qin Xiaoyu found a seat and sat down. There were eight people at the table, divided into three groups, all talking to their companions. She sat down alone, which attracted some attention, and all eyes were on her.

"Where are you from?" The woman opposite me was in her forties, and she looked like she worked in a retail store, with the face of a sales clerk. She wore a sincere and professional smile.

"I'm from Northeast China," Qin Xiaoyu said with a smile.

"What level station is it?" the woman asked, still very curious.

"It's a garment factory. This is my business card." Qin Xiaoyu took out her business cards and respectfully presented one to each person with both hands.

They were all from state-owned enterprises and didn't care about such things. No one returned the gift; they all started studying her business card.

"A garment factory? Do you process them yourself? Where do you sell them?" The woman was even more curious.

"I have four garment factories with more than a thousand employees, and I have counters in four cities, selling to all parts of the country," Qin Xiaoyu explained one by one, and everyone present was already filled with respect.

"Did you come with your boss?" The woman looked at the name on the business card and still couldn't believe that someone so young owned four garment factories.

"I am the leader." Qin Xiaoyu tried hard not to smile, and had to be patient when having a serious conversation with these people.

The waiter had already started serving the dishes. Qin Xiaoyu had never been interested in sweet dishes, so she only ate a little before putting down her chopsticks.

"Where are you from?" Qin Xiaoyu began interrogating the female comrade.

"I work at Liangyang Department Store," the woman said proudly. Liangyang is the provincial capital, so she only needed to state the city name, which was something she was proud of.

"Liangyang Department Store is quite remarkable in the retail sector," Qin Xiaoyu praised sincerely.

Back then, department stores mostly sourced their goods through wholesale stations, going down the chain of suppliers. The ability to source directly from large manufacturers indicated impressive sales volume, and Qin Xiaoyu immediately thought of the idea of ​​opening a department store counter.

The woman was initially a bit resistant to Qin Xiaoyu when she saw her business card, thinking it was unconventional. However, after Qin Xiaoyu showered her with compliments, she gradually relaxed. They chatted and discovered they were from the same family, both surnamed Qin.

"Sister, do you have any fashion boutiques where you live?"

"We don't really have that." Sister Qin shook her head.

“Let’s have a proper talk. I have a counter at Shanghai No. 1 Department Store, and sales are very good. Now, major department stores are all piloting this model. Do you have any ideas?” Qin Xiaoyu pulled Sister Qin out of the restaurant, and the two strolled along the Qinhuai River, basically clarifying the general direction of their discussion. They exchanged contact information and would discuss the details further when they got home.

When Qin Xiaoyu returned to her room, she was standing on tiptoe. It seemed she would need to hold more meetings in the future; discussing cooperation here was much more convenient than carrying her suitcase and visiting each company one by one.

She had just changed her clothes when she heard someone knocking on the door.

"I brought you some late-night snacks, in case you didn't have enough to eat. I knocked on the door several times, but you didn't answer." Ye Qiu walked in, her eyes red for some reason, as if she had been crying.

"Sister Ye, I just closed a deal," Qin Xiaoyu said with a smile, pretending not to notice that she had been crying.

"Little Fish, I really envy you. One wrong step leads to another. What am I going to do?" Ye Qiu sat down by her bedside and lit a cigarette.

Qin Xiaoyu knew that she couldn't refuse to hear the story.

Ye Qiu was originally a country girl who married a man who was always causing trouble. He was always out doing business, selling everything he could, except for human trafficking.

There was only one problem: the man was a gambler, so he never saved any money. Ye Qiu endured the hardships with him, never abandoning him. The reason was simple: they had a son who was born with cerebral palsy.

Ye Qiu always felt that having such a man was better than not having one; she couldn't handle it alone.

But to everyone's surprise, the man still got into big trouble. During a gambling argument, he stabbed someone and was sentenced to prison.