"Buying again?" Wen Qing asked.

"Yes, the clothes were just finished and we hadn't even had time to pack them up when people over there wanted to buy them," Bao Hong said.

Wen Qing remained silent for a while.

"Sister Wenqing, are we going to sell the clothes to them again this time?" Baohong asked.

"Sell, why not sell?"

"But they used to steal our business; they were really wicked."

“Bao Hong, if they have bad intentions, it’s not something you can avoid by simply not selling to them,” Wen Qing said calmly.

"What if they keep buying?"

Wen Qing pondered for a moment: "Then let's keep selling. We're in business; what's the point of opening a shop and doing business if we don't sell anything?"

Bao Hong hesitated before saying, "Alright then."

"Okay, that's all. I'm hanging up now."

"Hey, wait a minute."

"What's wrong?"

Bao Hong chuckled, "Sister Wen Qing, when are you coming back? I haven't seen you in so long."

Wen Qing smiled: "Thursday afternoon."

"Okay, we'll wait for you."

"good."

On Thursday afternoon, students at Nanzhou No. 1 Middle School were about to go crazy again. Unlike previous holidays, students from grades 10, 11, and 12 all crowded onto the playground. When there wasn't enough room, they squeezed outside the playground.

Standing at the highest point of the playground, surrounded by all the teachers, the principal, holding a megaphone, passionately proclaimed: "It is our motherland that gave us life, it is our motherland that gave us a way of life, it is our motherland that gave us everything!"

Thunderous applause erupted on the playground.

The principal, still holding the megaphone, shouted: "Tomorrow, tomorrow is the birthday of our great People's Republic of China..."

The principal stood on the stage for a full hour, finally bringing up the topic of studies: "You must study hard and serve your country!"

"Yes!" the audience shouted in unison.

The principal was finally satisfied. He adjourned the meeting, and the students left the playground under the supervision of their teachers to return to their respective classes.

Each class teacher inevitably gives a brief instruction, reminding students not to forget their studies, before dismissing them.

Although Wen Qing wasn't the first to rush out of the classroom, she was still among the top students.

Amidst the cheers of her classmates, "We're on holiday! We're on holiday!", Wen Qing ran to the school gate.

"Aunt Xiao!" Wen Qing called out, waving, "Over here!"

"Wen Qing." Aunt Xiao's gaze finally passed over the crowded school gate and settled on Wen Qing.

"This way."

Aunt Xiao walked toward Wen Qing.

Without saying much, the two met up and headed towards the state-owned garment factory in unison. This time, instead of renting bicycles, they rented an oxcart to go to the factory.

The efficiency of state-owned garment factories is truly remarkable. They said they would deliver all the goods by tomorrow, but they delivered them all today.

Wen Qing was on holiday, so she and Aunt Xiao went to transport the clothes back to the county town. If they rented bicycles, they would have to return them. If they rented an oxcart, they could simply pay and the owner would pull the cart away, which was much more convenient.

A short while later, Wen Qing, Aunt Xiao, and a man pulling an oxcart arrived at the state-owned garment factory. After packing all the semi-finished clothes onto the oxcart, Wen Qing paid the money according to the contract.

"I paid a hundred in advance last time, and I still owe you eight hundred. Here you go." Wen Qing counted out eight hundred-yuan bills and handed them to the garment manager.

The garment manager smiled and took it, asking, "Do you own your own factory?"

Wen Qing nodded: "Yes."

"That's a pity, we weren't originally planning to hire you to work for us."

Wen Qing smiled and said, "We'll have the chance to work together again."

"Um."

After leaving the state-owned garment factory, Wen Qing and Aunt Xiao followed the oxcart all the way to the bus station.

"Aunt Xiao, what do you think about me buying a car?" Wen Qing asked.

What car should I buy?

"Cars".

Aunt Xiao asked in surprise, "Who opened it?"

"I'll drive."

"You need a license or permit to drive a car, right?"

"drving license."

Do you have it?

"You'll learn it once you start learning."

Aunt Xiao didn't quite understand this; she just thought, "Cars are so expensive!"

Wen Qing laughed: "Money can be earned slowly. Once you buy a car, you won't have to wait for the bus every day. It's such a waste of time."

As they talked, the two arrived at the bus stop. The bus hadn't come yet, so they took off their clothes, paid the oxcart fare, and waited in front of the bus stop, chatting as they waited.

"Wen Qing, do you know?" Aunt Xiao said.

Wen Qing asked, "What?"

"Zhang Fangfang isn't buying clothes from our store anymore," Aunt Xiao said with a smile.

"Why?"

Aunt Xiao laughed before she spoke: "Don't you think Zhang Fangfang is stupid? Her shop is right across from ours. She's buying our clothes and selling them across the street. Where is she supposed to sell them? Isn't that stupid?"

Wen Qing didn't laugh like Aunt Xiao. She turned her head and saw Ji Ningzhi and Zhang Fangfang walking over from not far away.

At the same time, Ji Ningzhi and Zhang Fangfang also saw Wen Qing.

"What a small world!" Ji Ningzhi rolled her eyes at Wen Qing.

Zhang Fangfang laughed: "Ningzhi, don't be like that. Wen Qing is fine."

"Fine, fine! She's the most vicious!" Ji Ningzhi muttered angrily. "My brother keeps calling home, and my parents are so worried."

“Yanjun isn’t a child, there’s no need to worry,” Zhang Fangfang said.

Ji Ningzhi turned her head to one side.

Zhang Fangfang walked to the bus stop with a smile, looked at Wen Qing, and said with a smile, "Hello, Wen Qing."

Wen Qing smiled and said, "Hello."

Zhang Fangfang looked at the clothes on the ground and asked, "Where are the clothes?"

Wen Qing: "Mm."

Zhang Fangfang added, "My aunt bought some clothes from you a few days ago, and the customer liked them very much."

"Thank you." Wen Qing said calmly, thinking to herself that Zhang Fangfang had a knack for "lying through her teeth." No matter how strong the facts were, she would shamelessly pretend not to see them.

For example: Does the tailor shop across the street belong to her aunt? It's clearly her own.

For example, in their past life, Wen Qing and Ji Yanjun were husband and wife in name and in reality, but Zhang Fangfang acted as if she were the victim.

"The car is here," Aunt Xiao said.

Zhang Fangfang and Ji Ningzhi immediately tried to squeeze onto the bus, since at this time, if they were late, there would be no seats left.

Wen Qing didn't say anything, but bent down, grabbed half a bag of clothes, and threw it over his shoulder. It almost hit Zhang Fangfang and Ji Ningzhi in the face, scaring them into backing away and choking on the dust.

"What are you doing!" Ji Ningzhi shouted.

Wen Qing turned around: "Oh, sorry, the bag is blind, please stay away."

Ji Ningzhi stomped her foot in anger.

Zhang Fangfang needed to maintain a good image in front of so many people, so she grabbed Ji Ningzhi's arm and said, "There are a lot of people here."

Wen Qing chuckled inwardly. She had someone carrying the bags stand at the door and let Aunt Xiao get on the bus. Everyone else got on the bus, but Ji Ningzhi and Zhang Fangfang were blocked from getting on by using the bags as a barrier.

"Wen Qing!" Ji Ningzhi stomped her foot and shouted.

Almost everyone had boarded, so Wen Qing pulled her bag onto the bus. There happened to be a seat available, so she sat down next to Aunt Xiao.

"Are you getting on the bus or not?" the ticket seller shouted at Zhang Fangfang and Ji Ningzhi. "Hurry up, hurry up, we don't know when the next bus will arrive, there are still a lot of people, hurry up, it's only five cents per person."

Zhang Fangfang and Ji Ningzhi were forced to get on the bus, only to find that everyone else was sitting while they were standing.

Ji Ningzhi was furious.

Zhang Fangfang couldn't help but grit her teeth.

"Drive!" the ticket seller called out.

The bus swayed and wobbled forward, stopping and starting every now and then, letting a few people on board, until finally the bus was packed to the brim.

Ji Ningzhi and Zhang Fangfang are both delicate and rarely take the bus. During holidays, either Ji Yanjun or Zhang Fangfang's uncle picks them up, as they can't stand being in a crowded place.

"Hey, why are you squeezing in? Look how dirty you are!" Ji Ningzhi shouted.

"Those who work are never clean."

"Stay away from me!"

"..."

During the half-hour drive, we heard Ji Ningzhi speaking erratically, and she even argued with one of the guests.

Zhang Fangfang also hated having so many people crowding around her. Seeing Wen Qing sitting leisurely and chatting happily with Aunt Xiao, she wished she could go up and strangle Wen Qing.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing, get off the bus, everyone get off," the ticket seller shouted.

As soon as the door opened, Ji Ningzhi and Zhang Fangfang irritably pushed past everyone, got out of the car angrily, and glared at Wen Qing before leaving.

"Who does this person think they own the bus? Everyone's struggling, we all just want to get home quickly, I've never seen anything like this before," the ticket seller muttered under her breath.

Other passengers chimed in.

Wen Qing got out of the car in a good mood, and said while carrying her clothes, "Aunt Xiao, when I was carrying my clothes, I swung them over my shoulder and my shoulder hurts a little."

Aunt Xiao laughed: "You... I'll take a look at it for you when we get back."

"good."

Wen Qing and Aunt Xiao had only taken a few steps when Bao Hong and Yao Shiling came to greet them.

"Mom." Wen Qing felt at ease as soon as she saw Yao Shiling.

Yao Shiling smiled as she accepted the clothes.

"No need, no need, I can carry it," Wen Qing said.

Yao Shiling forcefully grabbed the clothes from Wen Qing's hand: "Look how thin you've become these past few days."

Wen Qing covered her face and looked at Aunt Xiao: "No, I think I ate quite a lot."

Yao Shiling, holding her clothes, smiled and said, "Let's go back."

Wen Qing, Yao Shiling, and others walked along laughing, with Ji Ningzhi and Zhang Fangfang leading the way.

Ji Ningzhi, looking displeased, tugged at her clothes and sniffed, saying, "It's all the smell of those people's sweat. It's disgusting."

Zhang Fangfang was also unhappy: "I'm going back to take a shower first."

"I replied too."

Ji Ningzhi returned home with a displeased expression, and as soon as she entered the house, she saw Ji Yousheng arguing with Liang Wenhua.

Ji Yousheng: "Why didn't you tell Yanjun about Wen Qing?"

“What are you saying? What’s there to say? What’s wrong with me letting my son go out and earn money in peace?” Liang Wenhua said.

Ji You angrily ignored Liang Wenhua.

Ji Ningzhi stepped forward and asked, "Mom, what's wrong?"

Liang Wenhua said with a smile, "Your brother called back."

"What did my brother say?"

"Your brother said he'll come back for the New Year."

“Oh, that’s good. I really don’t want him to come back to see Wen Qing,” Ji Ningzhi said.

“I didn’t want to either,” Liang Wenhua said.

Meanwhile, Wen Qing had arrived at Feng Qing Clothing Store, where everyone was making khaki high-waisted wide-leg trousers in an orderly manner.

"Young boss!" the twenty tailors called out.

Wen Qing couldn't help but laugh and looked at Aunt Xiao, asking, "Who told you to call him 'little boss'?"

Bao Hong raised her hand and said, "Sister Wen Qing, I told you to call him that. We can't always call the boss by his name. It's not cool enough."

“That makes sense.” Wen Qing agreed, then got down to business: “After you finish the pants you’re working on, stop for now and turn today’s semi-finished products into finished products. This is the last batch, so let’s deliver it first, okay?”

"Good!" the twenty tailors said in unison.

Wen Qing smiled and said, "After you deliver the goods, I'll treat you to dinner, and you'll each get an extra 50 cents on Saturday when we get paid."

As soon as Wen Qing finished speaking, the tailors' interest was piqued. They worked with extra energy, and many of them continued making clothes even after it was time to leave work. This pleased Wen Qing, so she told them to go home first and continue tomorrow.

Then, Wen Qing rode his bicycle home with Yao Shiling on the back.

Sitting in the back seat, Yao Shiling asked, "Wen Qing, if each person gets an extra 50 cents in wages, that'll mean paying more than ten yuan more!"

Wen Qing laughed: "Mom, prices are rising. Instead of letting their wages rise passively with prices, why don't I raise theirs? It'll do them a favor, right? Besides, we made a lot of money this time. I'll give Aunt Wang and the others a 50-cent raise later."

"Why is it going up again!" Yao Shiling felt bad about the money.

Wen Qing said with a smile, "When all the women in our village are making money, the men in our village can't just sit idle."

"Then what are they doing?" Yao Shiling asked.

Wen Qing said, "From now on, Shuiwan Village will be a shoe-making village, and Fengqing Clothing will be a clothing-making village. If we want to sell clothes, we'll do it in Nanzhou. The men in our village can bring their shoes and clothes to our own shops and sell them in other people's shops."

"Will this work?" Yao Shiling asked. "Who will do the work in the fields?"

Wen Qing: "I'll discuss it with the village chief later and find someone from the neighboring village to do it."

Do the villagers agree?

“Of course I’ll agree if there’s enough money,” Wen Qing said with a smile. “Also, Mom, I think our second team leader is a pretty good guy. I’d like to ask him to help manage the store.”

Please, team leader?

Yao Shiling became worried: "Wen Qing, won't this work? You've expanded this business too much. Can you manage it all?"

Wen Qing laughed: "Sure, Mom, just wait and see."