Even after renting the house, there's still a ton of work to do. First, I need to find a renovation company to redo the renovations. Then, I need to find suppliers to stock up on goods and hire sales staff. There are just so many things to do.

Running a shop is a lot of work, and you can't neglect your two children. Picking them up, buying groceries, cooking, and bathing the younger one—Shuyan is busy until the two children are asleep around 8 p.m. Then she still has to clean, do laundry, and bring in the dried clothes, fold them neatly, and put them away. By the time she finishes washing up, it's already 10 p.m. every night. She pulls up a chair and sits down, too exhausted to even complain.

Can you really start a business with two children? Before even opening for business, Shu Yan already had doubts about herself.

Her frustration was partly due to not eating enough at night. When people are hungry, they are easily irritable and get angry at everything. She couldn't take her anger out on her two children for no reason, so she could only slowly process it all on her own. Whenever this happened, Shu Yan's nose would really sting. She used to have such a good life. She didn't have to lose weight, didn't have to take care of children, and didn't have to work so hard to make money. Why was she made to transmigrate here and bear everything that the original owner should have had to bear?

She took a deep breath. Life had to go on. She couldn't always think the worst. After transmigrating into the book, she was five years younger and had two children. She didn't have to go through the hardships of ten months of pregnancy and the pain of childbirth. The most difficult three years of raising children were over, and she also had a large sum of money. In this era full of opportunities, she could even make a name for herself. If she worked hard for a few more years, when Ye Jingjing was in junior high school and Tianbao was in third grade, she wouldn't have to work so hard. In the future, she could buy several houses and by the time she was thirty-five, she should be able to count money while lying in bed.

Sniffed, clutching her rumbling stomach, she drifted off to sleep. In the morning, she went to buy breakfast, prepare lunch for Ye Jingjing, and take the child to school.

"Shuyan, have you lost weight?" Lin Hui asked with a smile when she saw Shuyan.

"Well, I haven't lost weight since giving birth to Tianbao. I've been thinking about losing weight recently. Do you think I've lost weight?" Shu Yan could actually feel it herself; her original clothes felt much looser.

"You're not particularly fat, your health is the most important thing." Unlike a decade or two later, when being thin was considered more beautiful, people now thought that being slightly plump was more attractive.

Shu Yan shook her head. Being skin and bones isn't attractive, but she's too plump. At her height, around 90 pounds would be just right.

"Let's not talk about that. I heard you say last time that you work in a textile factory. Do you know anyone in the garment factory?" Shu Yan pulled Lin Hui aside. Anyway, she wanted to seize every resource she could get her hands on.

As fate would have it, Lin Hui worked in the finance department of a textile factory. People from garment factories always went to the finance department to settle their accounts, so she actually knew a few of them and even knew their factory addresses. When she heard Shu Yan say that she wanted to open a clothing store, Lin Hui said with a hint of envy, "It's still better to run your own business. You can earn more and have more freedom. Actually, I've wanted to start my own business for a long time, but my family has never agreed. Sigh!"

The traditional Chinese mindset is that a secure job is better, especially among the older generation. In their eyes, a stable job is everything, so how could they possibly agree to Lin Hui's resignation?

“I remember the addresses of several manufacturers we frequently contact. I’ll write them down for you.” Lin Hui took a notebook from Wang Yitong and wrote down three addresses in pencil. “Actually, we get our goods from several companies, but these three bosses are nice people. You can go and check them out.”

"Thank you so much. It would have taken so much effort for me to find this myself," Shu Yan said gratefully.

Tomorrow is Saturday, but both children have to go to their after-school classes. Tianbao's place includes lunch, so it's like a weekend kindergarten. Ye Jingjing's place doesn't usually include meals, but Shuyan specifically talked to the teacher and arranged for the children to eat lunch there on weekends. She'll pay ten yuan a month for meals, which is about enough for eight days of lunches.

Upon hearing Shu Yan's request, several other parents who had to work overtime made the same request. One reason was that they were too busy, and another was that the weather was so hot that they and their children would be tired from walking back and forth. They decided to let their children stay at the tutoring center for lunch and naps, and then pick them up after get off work.

The teacher readily agreed. Cooking for one person is the same as cooking for ten; it's just a matter of cooking more rice and stir-frying a couple more dishes. Besides, it's only for lunch on the weekend for eight days, so it's not too tiring. And it would earn her over a hundred yuan more per month.

In this way, Shu Yan doesn't have to worry too much about her two children on weekends, and she can do her own things. Even so, Shu Yan still feels that there is not enough time.

For example, today, after dropping her child off at tutoring class, she had to go to the new house. The foreman said that she needed to inspect it. Also, Shu Yan's kitchen and balcony were planned to be partially enclosed, and she needed to go and take a look herself. In short, there were many things that needed her approval before construction could begin. She originally thought it would only take an hour or two to finish, but it ended up taking until after 11 a.m.

In the afternoon, she was going to look for the addresses Lin Hui had given her yesterday. She planned to go and check out the clothing factories first, so she could buy some from them. The clothing factories were all in the suburbs, and there were already taxis available. However, taxis were really expensive at this time. After asking around, Shu Yan took a bus first. The passengers on the bus said that it was only a two or three-minute walk from the bus stop. Shu Yan looked around but couldn't find it. It was so hot that she went into a small shop, bought a popsicle, and asked the owner for directions.

"The factory you mentioned is right across the street. If you walk to the left from that bathroom, and when you see Risheng Clothing, turn right and keep walking until you see it."

"Thank you." Shu Yan finished her popsicle, rinsed her mouth, and made sure everything was alright before heading towards the garment factory.

The factory area was really dirty at this time. In the middle of summer, countless flies swarmed over many garbage heaps, and Shu Yan could smell a lot of urine. She tried to reduce the frequency of her breathing and finally found the factory that Lin Hui had given her.

"Hello, is this Hongsheng Garment Factory?" Shu Yan asked politely when she saw the old man guarding the gate.

"Yes, is there anything I can help you with?" the old man asked, raising his eyes.

"I want to buy some goods, but I don't know who to contact." I learned from Lin Hui that this factory is a private factory, so surely they wouldn't refuse customers.

Of course, refusing customers was out of the question. As soon as the gatekeeper heard that Shu Yan was taking goods, he enthusiastically led her to the factory manager. That's right, directly to the factory manager, since the factory wasn't particularly big and didn't have that many departments; he did most of the work himself.

Just as Lin Hui had said, the boss seemed very kind and warmly invited Shu Yan to sit down.

"Are you buying goods to open your own clothing store?" The shop owner, surnamed He, made tea for Shu Yan and got down to business.

"Yes, I'm currently preparing to open a clothing store, so I'd like to check out local clothing factories. If the goods are good, I've decided to source them directly from Nancheng." Shu Yan didn't beat around the bush.

Instead of praising his clothing factory to the skies, Boss He took Shu Yan directly to the sample room to see the samples. There were quite a few clothes, but not many of them caught Shu Yan's eye. It can only be said that their aesthetics are different. After all, Shu Yan's aesthetics are from twenty years in the future, so she naturally thinks the clothes from the 1990s are outdated and unfashionable. But she can't buy clothes based on the aesthetics of twenty years in the future. Different eras have different aesthetics, and being too far ahead of time is just strange clothing. Shu Yan is very clear about this and doesn't do things her way.

I learned about the latest fashion trends from Boss He, and they happened to be the same styles that Shu Yan had her eye on. It seems that her taste isn't entirely outdated even now.

Especially the trench coats that Mr. He released, there are practically 19 different styles. Fashion is a cycle, and Shu Yan has truly experienced that firsthand.

"My place is still under renovation, it will take at least a month. The opening will be around the time we start selling autumn and winter clothes, so are all your latest styles here?" Shu Yan had already ticked off these trench coats in her mind, but trench coats alone weren't enough, she mainly wanted the clothes to wear underneath.

“We still have a lot of clothes. I have twenty or thirty new styles. You could say that no other factory in the area has as many as us. But the designs haven’t been finalized yet. It will be ready in about a week. Why don’t you come and see them in a week?” Boss He said with a smile.

“Okay.” Shu Yan nodded and gave Mr. He the address of her store. “You can come and visit me next time you have time, and I’ll help you see if there’s anything that needs to be improved.”

Leaving her address was to let Mr. He know that she really was the owner of the clothing store, so that he wouldn't think she was a con artist hired by another factory to spy on him.

Sure enough, Mr. He, who had the address, spoke much more sincerely. He saw Shu Yan to the door and arranged to come and see the sample garment next week.

For Mr. He, twenty or thirty styles of clothing is a lot, but for Shu Yan to open a clothing store, having less than a hundred styles would be considered a failure.

It's too late today, so tomorrow she'll go see two more factories. After the renovations are almost finished, she'll go to the wholesale market in Hangzhou to buy goods. It'll be tiring at first, but it will get better later.

When Shuyan arrived at the tutoring center, Tianbao was the only one left. Shuyan apologized to the teacher, feeling embarrassed.

"There was a bit of traffic on the road, I'm really sorry."

"It's alright, everyone has their inconveniences sometimes. Go home now, Tianbao must be hungry." The teacher gently saw them off.

Ye Tianbao was late, and Ye Jingjing was late too. Shu Yan apologized to the teacher there again. She was a little silent on the way home, determined to learn from this experience and not be so stingy with time next time. Who knows how long the bus would be stuck in traffic?

"Mom, how about I pick up Tianbao from now on, and we can go home by ourselves?" Ye Jingjing looked at Shu Yan. Her mother had been very busy lately, taking care of them as well, and she wanted to help her mother share some of the burden.

"I will be a good boy and listen to you." Perhaps it's because he's seen how busy Shu Yan has been lately, Ye Tianbao seems to have become much more sensible.

When the children are too naughty, it's a headache. I just want them to be well-behaved. But when the children are old enough to understand, I feel sorry for them. One is seven years old and the other is only three. If they are too sensible, it is the adults' fault.

"It's okay, Mom just didn't time it right today. It won't happen next time." Of course, it would be fine in the countryside, but in a big city like Nancheng, with two such young children, Shu Yan is worried about letting them go to and from school on their own. She absolutely cannot take chances in this matter; if something happens, she'll be devastated.

Ye Jingjing helped pick vegetables, and Tianbao even helped out. Shu Yan smiled gently and quickly cooked rice and stir-fried vegetables. It was already past six o'clock, and the two children must be starving.

Shu Yan didn't eat her diet meal tonight, not because she couldn't stick to it, but because she's so busy right now. She really can't go on without eating anything. If she collapses, who will take care of the two children?

Having not eaten dinner for almost a week, Shu Yan felt that even the rice tasted sweet. However, she still tried her best to restrain herself and only ate half a bowl of rice and some vegetables. She couldn't eat any meat.