Ye Qiu was only 23 years old at the time, and her son was 6. She and her friends came to Suzhou to find work in silk factories to make a living.

Everyone else was doing well, but she worked day and night and also had to take care of a child. One day she was going to break down. She went to the Suzhou River alone, cried for a long time, but didn't jump in. What would happen to her son if she died? He was her own flesh and blood; she couldn't bear to kill him.

It was at this time that she met Section Chief He. Back then, Ye Qiu wasn't so overweight; she was quite a beauty. When she was at her lowest point, someone offered her some warmth, and she believed him, ending up in his bed.

Section Chief He really had a way with things. He found a family in the countryside and sent Ye Qiu's son there. He also helped her set up a shop selling silk pajamas.

That's how Ye Qiu started out. The two of them, one real and one fake, have been mingling for about ten years.

"Doesn't his wife know?"

"You should know that he's spent a lot of money over the years. Both of our sons are in college, and I've given him a lot of money. I've thought about cutting ties, but... sigh, it's hard to say. It seems like I have nothing left to hold me in this world. If I cut ties with him, who am I living for?" Ye Qiu said, tears welling up in her eyes again.

How is your son now?

"He's gone. He died of a serious illness the year before last, so he doesn't have to suffer anymore," Ye Qiu said with a smile, but as she smiled, tears streamed down her face again.

"Sister Ye, you have such a hard life." Qin Xiaoyu couldn't help but go over and hug her.

They were locked in a tight embrace, Ye Qiu holding her tightly, not allowing her to turn around. She could only feel his shoulders heaving, and Ye Qiu was crying his heart out.

After Ye Qiu had finally cried herself to sleep and calmed down, Qin Xiaoyu sat down opposite her, took her hand, and whispered, "Do you want to break up with him?"

"Yes. You're really smart." Ye Qiu sniffed.

“Break it off. Dragging it out will only hurt you both, and his wife is innocent too.”

“No one who suffers in this world is innocent. If it weren’t for my money, his wife would have separated from me long ago. Now that his two sons have graduated from university and are working, they are not short of money and are getting married, so he wants to ask me for one last sum of money to settle things.”

Will you give it to me?

"Here, consider it my redemption." Ye Qiu said resolutely.

The next day, they went to the main venue on their own. The meeting was well-organized; the main venue was nearby, just two blocks away.

Qin Xiaoyu almost gasped when she entered the venue. It was like an ocean of silk, with bolts of fabric hanging from the ceiling. Bathed in sunlight filtering through the skylights, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

The venue was packed with people, and Qin Xiaoyu was overwhelmed by the sights. Every booth was crowded with people, and Qin Xiaoyu finally managed to squeeze into one.

This is a display of high-quality silk. The factory has stock, but some of the brightest colors are not available.

"Comrade, may I take a look at the color chart?" Qin Xiaoyu tried to raise her voice, but still couldn't attract the salesperson's attention.

Ye Qiu burst in from behind, snatched the color card without any hesitation, and shoved it into Qin Xiaoyu's hands.

She was a little embarrassed and quickly lowered her head to look through the pages. The colors were comprehensive, many times more abundant than what she had seen at the textile station.

"Each horse is about 45 meters long, and each color requires a minimum order of ten horses. Those who need them can come here to place an order." The salesperson's price was very tempting, but the quantity was too large, and Qin Xiaoyu couldn't handle it.

"Comrade, I'm a garment factory, not a wholesale market. Could I order one bolt of a single color?"

"Comrade, are you joking? We're not a retailer. If you don't need much, just go to the textile station for wholesale," the salesperson said rudely.

Qin Xiaoyu was taken aback. She did want to pick up the goods directly from the textile station, but she couldn't stand the bizarre aesthetic of the Northeast first-level station. They even had to get gaudy and tacky fabrics, and she couldn't settle for that.

"Boss Qin, what a coincidence." Qin Xiaoyu recognized the man in front of her; he was Ding Zhanglong. It seemed he was also a supplier.

"Boss Qin, don't turn your back on me. I've heard that you've partnered with Man Aihong's factory. If Zhu Xu doesn't ruin you, I'm not a Ding."

"Just don't ruin me." Qin Xiaoyu gave him a cold look.

"That's not how it works. I saw it all just now. You didn't buy enough, so the manufacturer won't supply you, is that it? Come buy from me, and I'll give you an extra two yuan per meter. I'll even sell you half a meter if you buy half a meter." Ding Zhanglong's despicable face is truly disgusting.

Qin Xiaoyu ignored him and plunged into the crowd at another booth.

Ding Zhanglong was right; she really was hitting walls everywhere. This was a huge trade fair, with people from wholesale stations all over the country coming, and the orders from each one were staggering.

She did order a little too little because she was producing two hundred different styles of fashion, and the demand was too scattered.

This is a collaboration of four factories; if it were just one factory, it would be a laughing stock.

She squeezed into a few booths, but then became a little discouraged.

"Sister Xiaoyu?" she heard someone call out, and then she was pulled out of the crowd, with Bald Qiang standing in front of her.

"Wang Qiang, you're here too!" Qin Xiaoyu said with surprise.

She had a very good impression of Bald Qiang after their last collaboration, but the guy only mentioned collaboration briefly and then nothing more.

"A friend of mine has set up a booth, come and take a look." Bald Qiang led Qin Xiaoyu to the back.

After leaving the silk booth, it became noticeably quieter. This was a booth for niche fabrics, which couldn't compare to the mass-market silk, linen, and cotton fabrics in front.

In the most inconspicuous corner, there was a seersucker booth. There was no one in front of the booth, which contrasted sharply with the crowd in front.

"This is Boss Qin. He owns four garment factories. He's very powerful." Bald Qiang first introduced Qin Xiaoyu, then pointed to the man in the booth and said, "Kong Fenglin. His factory specializes in producing seersucker."

"Hello!" Kong Fenglin walked around the booth and warmly extended his hand. He was almost moved to tears by the rare customer.

"Hello, Xiaoqiang, you're busy. I'll go take another look." Qin Xiaoyu was in a hurry to get some goods from the front and wasn't very interested in seersucker.

She's currently focusing on preparing items for the fashion show and hasn't considered using seersucker fabric in any designs.

"Sister Xiaoyu, don't rush off, take a look." Bald Qiang saw through her thoughts and even started to act coquettishly, pulling on her arm and refusing to let go.