The fried chicken shop launched a new burger, priced at two yuan each, which is several times cheaper than the one in Beijing.

Xia Baozhu took more than a dozen photos of the new products with the camera that Sun Xingyan had given her, made them into posters, and posted them at the entrances of the two stores.

Every store had long queues of people eager to try the new products.

"Boss lady, isn't this hamburger just a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger)?"

"Similar, just different tastes."

"Foreigners eat similar things to us, mostly flatbread and meat."

"You think they're eating dragon meat?" someone in the back of the line chimed in, eliciting a burst of laughter.

"Boss lady, one of each of the three flavors, plus a cup of pudding milk tea, to go."

Xia Baozhu uses different packaging paper for different flavors to make them easy to distinguish.

The introduction of hamburgers inspired other stores to follow suit, with some even using sesame seed cakes to sandwich fried meat chunks, which were sold at a low price of one dollar and fifty cents each.

Some people buy burgers from this store because they see that the burgers are cheaper.

"Boss, this burger isn't right, why isn't it made with bread?"

"What's wrong with it? Aren't they all just meat sandwiches?"

"The bread is soft, but this sesame flatbread is too chewy. Plus, the fried meat is dry. And why is there sweet bean sauce in here?"

"The sauce in the hamburger is sweet, so sweet bean sauce is the way to go. I'm using the real deal."

"This is completely different. You should change the name and just call it 'meat sandwich'."

"Changing my name isn't as effective as this one; it brings me more popularity."

The owner refused to change the name, believing that his meat-filled sesame flatbread was quite delicious, and that as long as people came to buy it, that was enough.

However, this behavior of cheating customers eventually led him to close his shop, change his name, and go to set up a street stall.

...

Xia Baozhu's two shops had always been doing well, so for convenience, she bought a red scooter.

Sometimes when Xia Laidi was busy, Xia Baozhu would help her pick up Liu Runan from school.

Liu Runan, being small, stood just above the handlebars on the footrest, allowing her to see the road ahead.

Liu Runan, who had been picked up by motorcycle a few times, would get upset whenever she saw her mother's bicycle.

"Auntie, pick me up." She expressed her dislike in a childish voice, her words slightly mumbled.

"Your aunt is busy at work, so Mom will take you to see her."

Xia Laidi understood her daughter's psychology and knew how to talk to her to calm her down.

Of course, she was happy to leave the child with her older sister and relax.

...

As autumn turned to winter, Xia Baozhu received another letter from Sun Xingyan, this time a very thick one.

The letter said they had been stranded for a while due to a small-scale conflict in the United States, but had just been released and were safe.

Sun Xingyan described his experience of being trapped in the book.

He hid in the home of a nobleman from the Great Bear Kingdom who was collaborating with him, and his life wasn't too difficult.

They could hunt in the forest outside the manor. His best achievement was shooting a black bear, but unfortunately he didn't kill it and was chased badly by the bear.

He said that he ran at a speed that was like divine intervention, as if he were possessed by Sun Wukong, and he leaped over fences that were more than a meter high and ditches that were more than two meters wide.

If I participate in the Asian Games, I can definitely win the 1000-meter championship.

Sun Xingyan complained that the old aristocratic family had countless rules, especially his friend's grandfather, who was over eighty years old, stubborn and rigid, like a puppet bound by rules.

However, he read a lot of books there and was amazed by the number of cultured people in the Great Bear Country.

Xia Baozhu enviously put away the letter. She thought about her current life, which, although she had drive and goals, lacked passion.

She wasn't someone who aimed to make money; she used to enjoy traveling, and sometimes she got bored of doing the same things over and over again.

She really enjoys activities like Sun Xingyan being chased by a black bear.

Of course, you can't just be passionate all the time, that's too tiring. It's best to balance work and rest.

...

After several autumn rains, Xia Baozhu was summoned by Yang Siqi to the provincial capital to take winter clothing photos.

After work, the enthusiastic Section Chief Huang treated everyone to dinner, and Xia Baozhu also went.

It was still the hot spring restaurant, and this time Section Chief Huang chose a spot in the second-floor lobby.

From here you can see the dance hall on the first floor, where you can watch the fun and listen to music, but it's much quieter than the first floor.

The hot spring restaurant is quite large, and there are two more such halls, but they both have hot springs and swimming pools. Since Xia Baozhu and the others were there, they didn't go in.

A singer downstairs is playing a rock song that's really uplifting.

Some diners on the second floor crowded in front of the railing, nodding and swaying as they listened to music.

Xia Baozhu was among them. Their dishes hadn't been served yet, and the conversation at the table was all the same old stuff, nothing but compliments and praise.

She was tired of hearing it all; she needed a change of pace.

"Xia, would you like to request a song?" Section Chief Huang leaned against the railing with a smile and handed Xia Baozhu a playlist.

"Then let's play 'Dream Chaser'," Xia Baozhu said, glancing at the playlist before handing it back to Xia Baozhu.

But she didn't expect the singers below to also host.

"Next up is a song called 'Dream Chaser' requested by Ms. Xia at table number 36 on the second floor."

One sentence made the people in the restaurant downstairs subconsciously glance up.

People on the second floor were also curiously looking for table number 36.

Xia Baozhu lowered her head speechlessly, covering her face with her long curly hair.

She only gave passersby a glimpse of her graceful back.

After the song ended, Xia Baozhu sat at the dining table, about to drink some water.

"Miss, would you do me the honor of having a drink?"

A handsome man in a black motorcycle outfit smiled and held a glass of wine, ignoring everyone at the table, and spoke to Xia Baozhu.

"I'm sorry, I don't drink alcohol."

The moment Xia Baozhu looked up, the handsome man's heart skipped a beat.

"Drinking is something you learn gradually. How about you take a small sip?"

The handsome man calmed himself down and looked at Xia Baozhu's face with increasing fondness. He was overjoyed and spoke in a very gentle tone.

“I’m sorry, I don’t drink things from strangers.” Xia Baozhu remained unmoved.

Xia Baozhu's words made the handsome man's expression turn somewhat unpleasant, but he did not give up and continued to smile.

"She really can't drink, otherwise I would have drunk this glass for her," Section Chief Huang said with a smile, trying to smooth things over.

"You? You look like a pig, how dare you talk to me!"

The handsome man's expression changed in an instant, his fair skin flushed slightly with anger.