In the provincial capital, in the residential compound of the light bulb factory, is Li Mingzhu's home.

Li Mingzhu looked at the portrait on the desk and smiled like a fangirl.

She drew a headshot of Wang Peng from memory and even made a funny joke about it; it turned into a cartoon.

Bang bang.

Someone knocked on the door.

She hurriedly put the comic book in the drawer, put on her slippers, and went to open the door.

"Mingzhu, time for your milk powder." Duan Cuilu placed a bowl of soy milk powder on the writing desk.

The extra two hundred yuan made her very happy, and she specially bought a box of soy milk powder for her daughter.

There was also a painting on the desk, depicting a banyan tree and a Santana sedan, but Wang Peng was not sitting in the sedan.

"This car costs over 200,000 yuan!" she couldn't help but exclaim. "How rich must a tycoon be to drive a car that costs over 200,000 yuan?"

“Mom, a lot of people are going into business now, and many of them are making money,” Li Mingzhu said.

She knew the car didn't belong to Wang Peng, but to Li Longfei, the owner of the video arcade she ran with him.

Suddenly, he remembered the pretty girl who had ridden in the car with Wang Peng during the last provincial math competition.

"Hmph! You womanizer!" Li Mingzhu pouted.

"Girl, what did you say?" Duan Cuilu asked. "Who's the womanizer?"

"I was just kidding!" Li Mingzhu quickly explained. "Mom, I'll paint a few more pictures these next few days, and we can set up a stall in People's Park, how about that?"

"We'll not only sell paintings, I'll also paint portraits for people on the spot, how about that?"

Li Mingzhu remembered the idea Wang Peng had given her: to draw portraits of people on the spot.

"Will this... will this work?" Duan Cuilu was intrigued.

Setting up a stall in People's Park doesn't require any payment or investment; all you need is to borrow a tricycle.

"Why not give it a try? We're just killing time anyway," Li Mingzhu said.

"Okay, let's try it tomorrow morning." Duan Cuilu couldn't resist the temptation.

...

Hope Bookstore, Ping'an County.

Wang Peng and Li Mengjiao moved a hundred math workbooks, a hundred grid workbooks, ballpoint pens, and a bunch of other stationery to the bookstore.

The Chinese New Year is just around the corner, which is the best time of year for business, and Li hopes to stock up on more goods.

"Hey bro, here's your money." He took out 430 yuan and gave it to Wang Peng.

"Thank you, brother. Happy New Year in advance," Wang Peng said with a smile.

"Ahead of schedule? You're not doing business this year?" Li Xiwang said.

Wang Peng nodded, "In a few days, my cousin will get married and move to the provincial capital, so she won't have time to do business."

"Wow!" Li Xiwang gave a thumbs up. "For a country girl to marry a teacher from the provincial capital is like becoming a phoenix on a branch."

"Why? It's because Xiaofang has a capable cousin, haha." Li Xiwang flattered her.

"Haha, don't say that, I'll get arrogant," Wang Peng laughed.

They chatted back and forth, getting happier and happier, and gradually lost track of time.

Li Mengjiao glanced at her watch and whispered, "Wang Peng, it's getting dark."

Wang Peng glanced at his watch. "Brother Li, let's talk another day. I'm going to deliver some goods."

"Okay." Li Xiwang saw the guest out. "Let's get together sometime after the New Year."

Wang Peng started the car and continued delivering goods to the next customer.

After a lot of work, we finally finished delivering to the last house at 8 p.m.

After tallying up the revenue, the sales figures actually exceeded one thousand.

"Brother Peng, how much money did you make? I mean profit," Li Mengjiao asked.

“There should be three hundred,” Wang Peng said.

He roughly calculated the profit margin, which was around 30%.

"I'm in a good mood today, let's go out to eat. What do you want to eat?" he said.

Li Mengjiao shook her head. "That painting on your bedroom wall is very beautiful. Who painted it for you?"

A hint of resentment flashed in her eyes.

The painting bears the inscription: "Wishing Wang Peng eternal happiness and that he always gets first place in his exams."

The handwriting is delicate, clearly indicating it's a woman's watch.

“Yesterday I went to the stationery factory to stock up on goods, and I took a break to go to People’s Park. There was someone drawing portraits in the park, and I thought she was pretty good, so I asked her to draw one for me,” Wang Peng said.

"Oh? The girl in this portrait is quite pretty, isn't she?" Li Mengjiao pretended not to care.

"He's just average-looking, not as tall as you, and not as good-looking either," Wang Peng said honestly.

Li Mingzhu's looks are only average, but she was my wife in my previous life, so of course I can't care about her looks.

"Hmph!" Li Mengjiao said arrogantly, "Let's go eat Lu Family Stewed Noodles, it's been so long since we've had them."

The next morning, someone called again to order stationery, and Wang Peng began another busy day.

People's Park in the provincial capital.

Li Mingzhu and Duan Cuilu set up a stall next to the banyan tree.

A borrowed pedal tricycle had a wooden board on it with seven landscape paintings on it.

As the year draws to a close, many young couples go on dates, and the Wishing Tree in People's Park has become a popular spot for them.

"Young man, young lady, let's take a picture together." Duan Cuilu stopped a couple and said with a smile, "My daughter is very good at drawing, it's only five yuan."

"No need." The young man shook his head, took his girlfriend's hand, and left to make a wish under the banyan tree.

Duan Cuilu was very discouraged after setting up her stall for two hours without making a single sale.

"Mingzhu, aren't we asking for too much?" she asked softly.

“It’s not expensive.” Li Mingzhu shook her head. “Mom, it takes at least an hour to draw a sketch.”

In the distance, Chen Yinghao and Liu Yili were quietly observing this side.

"Why does Xiaopeng like this girl?" Liu Yili shook her head. "This girl isn't pretty, she's not good enough for Xiaopeng."

"What do you know? It's just a matter of beauty being in the eye of the beholder." Chen Yinghao was also a little annoyed.

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