After all, it's not the same time and space, and many things have changed. For example, in Shu Yan's world, the area that was supposed to be demolished in 1995 has already been notified to be demolished. In her world, the area that was supposed to be demolished is now completely silent. Shu Yan is not panicked at all. As one of the largest cities in China, Nancheng will expand in all directions in the future. There will only be not enough land in the city center. How could it not develop? Demolition is just a matter of time.

Nobody's stupid. The country needs to develop, the southern part of the city needs to develop, and the locals are all waiting to get rich from the demolition and relocation. Unless absolutely necessary, everyone will hold onto their houses tightly and will never sell them.

The best thing to do is buy a few old, uninhabited houses in the suburbs and wait for them to be demolished after 1999; that's when you'll really make money.

After spending the morning exploring, Shu Yan had a general understanding of the surrounding area. She knew she couldn't rush to get to the more distant places, so it was time to go back and cook for her daughter.

Ye Tianbao's kindergarten provides meals, while Ye Jingjing's school doesn't have a cafeteria. Many parents prepare meals and put them in insulated containers for their children to take to school. Shu Yan didn't know this before, but she'll buy an insulated container for her child to take with them, saving them the trouble of running back and forth in the hot weather.

"Mom, where's my little brother?" It's natural for children to be close to their mothers. After only a few days together, Ye Jingjing and Shu Yan have already developed a very good relationship.

"Tianbao eats at school. Do your classmates eat at home?" Seeing her daughter covered in sweat, Shuyan quickly wrung out a towel for her. "Wipe your sweat off. Take an umbrella with you when you go to school so you don't get sunburned."

The original owner of this body didn't know that Ye Zhiqiang had very fair skin. Ye Jingjing looked a lot like Ye Zhiqiang when she was born, and her skin was also very fair and tender. She just got tanned later in the countryside, but with some care, it should return to its original fair color. Ye Tianbao looked more like Shu Yan, with delicate features and fair skin. Shu Yan hoped that her skin would be like hers, which meant that her skin was naturally fair, so perhaps she still had a chance to become fair. But she decided to put these things aside for now and focus on losing weight.

“Except for a few who live nearby, everyone else brings food to school. I want to bring some to school too.” Ye Jingjing glanced at Shu Yan cautiously. She had never been with so many children before. The boys in the village were naughty and often bullied the girls. As for the girls, most of them had to help with housework at home, or take care of their younger brothers. They rarely had time to play outside. Besides, her deskmate was very nice and said she wanted to have lunch with her.

"Sure, that's what Mom was planning too. The sun's been too strong these past few days, and it's too hot to run around like that."

It was hot at noon, so Shu Yan didn't cook rice but bought steamed buns. She also cooked potato and pork rib soup in a pressure cooker, along with corn, taro, and mushrooms. It was a full pot with soup and vegetables. Ye Jingjing ate two big steamed buns and two bowls of pork rib soup full of vegetables.

"Mom, this is delicious." Ye Jingjing burped and said.

"If it's delicious, I'll make it for you again next time." This lazy method was learned from her own mother. Shu Yan's mother runs a fruit shop and is busy. Every summer, she would cook a big pot of pork rib soup at noon, with different side dishes every day. Today it's potatoes, tomorrow it's taro, and the day after it's corn. According to her mother, the dishes are different every day. She would also buy a bag of steamed buns, so the whole family would be full and well-fed. The leftovers could be used as soup in the evening.

Shu Yan often eats like this when she's out alone. Today, she ran around all morning, but because it was too hot, she took a break.

After dinner, Ye Jingjing helped clear the dishes, and Shu Yan didn't refuse. Many parents feel that their children only need to focus on their studies and don't need their help with housework. Most importantly, they worry that their children will only make things worse by helping. This is the case in Shu Yan's family. No matter how busy or tired her parents are, they won't let Shu Yan and her younger brother help with chores. They'll even scold them for not doing their homework properly after cooking. Over time, the two of them have developed a pattern of not doing any housework at home.

Shu Yan's experience with herself and her younger brother is that you shouldn't assume your child can't do things well. How can you know they can't do things well if you haven't even let them do them? Of course, it doesn't mean dumping housework on your children. It means letting them help with things they can manage and getting them involved in household chores. This way, children can better understand their parents' hardships, and they won't grow up to be lazy and ignorant about farming.

"Alright. Go to sleep for an hour. When it's time, Mom will wake you up to go to school." Shu Yan dried her hands and lit the mosquito coil. There are so many mosquitoes in Nancheng, and even more in this old neighborhood. The two children are so tender that they get big welts from mosquito bites. They can't sleep at all without mosquito coils.

With the midday sun high in the sky, Shu Yan dared not go out. She decided to take a nap instead, worried that sleeping too soundly would make the child late. Shu Yan woke up almost every ten minutes, which was even more uncomfortable than not sleeping at all. It seemed she needed to buy an alarm clock, otherwise she really couldn't handle it.

Ye Jingjing went to school, leaving Shu Yan alone at home. She laid out a straw mat on the ground and started doing burpees on it. She slipped after two, so she simply did them on the ground. She had done this before, so she knew how to do it. She rested for a few seconds after each burpee, and by the fifth one, her thighs started to ache, and the thought of giving up crossed her mind.

You already have children, a house, and money, so why go through all this trouble to lose weight? Give it up! Is lying down bad? Or is delicious food bad? Once you give up on dieting, you'll find that life is really easy.

No way! Shu Yan shook off the dangers of her youth, her mind filled with images of beautiful dresses. She wanted to grow up beautiful and dazzle everyone in Xicheng. She needed to change, to look like she was twenty-five. Only then would her real life begin…

After finishing five minutes of burpees, Shu Yan really wanted to lie on the ground and not get up. She took a few small sips of water, rested for two minutes, and then continued exercising.

"Keep going, I will keep going, victory is just around the corner! I want to wear a dress, I want to wear a cheongsam, I want to dazzle that scumbag! I want to be praised when I pick up my child, people will say, 'I didn't know you already had a child...'"

Ten minutes later, Shu Yan's legs were trembling, and her clothes were already soaked with sweat. Today, she started with ten minutes. At the beginning of the training, the intensity should not be too high, as it is easy to strain muscles. She should proceed step by step.

After recovering, it was already past three in the afternoon, and the sun wasn't so strong anymore, so Shu Yan decided to go find Lao Hu.

She roughly had a business idea: food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Housing and transportation required too much investment, which was beyond her capabilities. Food and clothing were businesses with lower entry barriers and high returns. In fact, selling food at a street stall was a good business to start now, but she didn't have the skills. So, clothing was the only option left.

Having a direction isn't enough; you also need connections. In this regard, it's naturally most convenient to find a local expert like Lao Hu.

After Lao Hu left last time, he gave her an address not far from the sales center. This area was still undeveloped and mostly consisted of old houses. Shu Yan knew that Lao Hu's house was right there when the gate of one of the courtyards was open.

"Ms. Shu is here, please come in." Old Hu was sitting under a big tree in the yard enjoying the cool shade. When he saw Shu Yan, he immediately got up and went inside to greet her.

"I've come to ask for your help." Shu Yan followed her in, looked around, and saw that what used to be a living room had been converted into an office. There were several maps of Nancheng hanging on the left wall. "Boss Hu, you should be very familiar with Nancheng, right?"

"You can leave that bar behind. As long as you're in the South City area, there's no place I don't know."

Seeing his expression, Shu Yan just smiled. She'd find out whether he was bragging or not later.

"I'd like to know if there are clothing and shoe stores on Chengnan West Road? Is it lively now?"

"Yes, that whole street is lined with clothing and shoes shops. It's been getting more and more lively in the last two years. What? You want to start a clothing business?" Old Hu looked at Shu Yan suspiciously. To start a clothing business, you have to be good-looking. Otherwise, if you don't look good in the clothes, who will buy them?

Shu Yan was delighted to find that Chengnan West Road was still there. Chengnan West Road was a street full of clothing, shoes and jewelry, targeting the mid-to-high-end market. It was the first choice for many white-collar workers to go shopping. In her own world, Shu Yan often went there to shop and buy a beautiful outfit or two to treat herself.

Once, when I went there with a colleague, he said that the rent there was several million yuan a year, and if it were to be sold, it might be worth tens of millions. In a prime location, it might be worth hundreds of millions, but there was still no market for it. So when Shu Yan decided to start a clothing business, she planned to go to Chengnan West Road and buy a storefront. She could do business now, and if she didn't want to do it anymore in the future, she could rent it out. A few million yuan a year would be more than enough for her.

"You want to buy it?" Old Hu asked happily.

Buying and renting are not the same thing. How much commission do you get for renting?

“Yes, if the location is good and the house is nice, then we’ll just buy it.” Shu Yan nodded.

“Yes, it’s always better to own your own house. You can decorate it however you want, and you don’t have to worry about the landlord taking it back when the lease expires. You can stay open as long as you want. Besides, the area on Chengnan West Road is pretty good. I think the prices will definitely go up in the future.” Old Hu listed all the advantages of owning a house.

"It's probably not going to be easy for prices to rise, mainly because I plan to start my own business, and buying a storefront will be more convenient." Shu Yan smiled. Houses have hardly changed in the next few years, but storefronts have really skyrocketed in price.

With the storefront situation handed over to Lao Hu, Shu Yan planned to buy two mosquito nets and pick up her clothes from the tailor shop on the way.

There were clothes suitable for Shu Yan in the department store, but most of them were ugly and unfashionable. Shu Yan simply bought the fabric and took it to the master tailor to make. Before making it, Shu Yan specifically asked him to make the clothes high-waisted and the pants not baggy. It was a very slimming set, and she looked much better when she put it on.

"Master, your skills are excellent. I'll come back to you again." By covering her belly, buttocks, and thighs, she transformed from obese to slightly plump. And by changing her messy hair, she looked younger.

There's not enough time today, Ye Tianbao will be out of school soon, so he'll go to the barbershop tomorrow to get a new hairstyle.

When Ye Tianbao saw his mother, he rubbed his eyes and asked, "Mom?"

"You don't recognize me just because you changed your clothes?" Shu Yan couldn't help but pat his little head and lead him to the elementary school to pick up Ye Jingjing.

"Mom." Ye Jingjing ran out of school with her schoolbag on her back, took Shu Yan's hand, and turned back to wave to her classmates, "Mom, you've become more beautiful."

Shu Yan: (*^▽^*)

"Thanks."