Zhang Meihua sat with her legs crossed in the center of the shop entrance, giving Jiang Yu a resentful look, as if she wanted to devour him across the street.

Zhang Xinhua slammed the lunchbox she was holding onto the table, spilling the soup all over the floor. The loud noise startled her.

"No, what's wrong with you?"

Zhang Meihua was seething with anger and had nowhere to vent it. When she saw someone provoking her, she angrily approached and saw that the woman's mouth was covered in blood and her eyes were darting around.

She paused for two seconds, seemingly realizing something, and hurriedly rummaged through Zhang Xinhua's belongings, turning the drawers and cabinets upside down. Seeing everything was normal, a question arose in her mind: the shop was perfectly safe, how could there be blood? She lowered her head in thought, then suddenly understood. Could it be that the lack of business was due to attracting something unclean? She'd have to find a Taoist priest to take a look another day.

Zhang Xinhua thought that even in her current state, her older sister would at least show some concern. However, seeing her sister so engrossed in the shop, her anger flared up.

It was you who got greedy when you saw Jiang Yu selling pickled vegetables, which made me go to the village to spread rumors and ruin her reputation. Not only did I get no benefit, but I almost got beaten up by Shen Ying and Zhang Ergou behind him. If I hadn't promised Zhang Ergou twenty yuan this morning, he would have killed me.

That's twenty yuan! Zhang Xinhua felt a pang of pain just thinking about it.

"Can't you see my tooth broke?"

Zhang Xinhua covered her mouth, wanting to get justice from her sister. She shouldn't have been so talkative as to remind her; not only did it bring her no benefit, but no one even cared when her tooth fell out.

Relieved by her reminder, Zhang Meihua breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn't anything supernatural happening in the shop, so she let it go. She took a moment to examine Zhang Xinhua, puzzled as to why her tooth had suddenly come loose. Looking down at the spilled lunchboxes on the table, she clutched her hips in distress, then pointed at her younger sister and launched into a tirade:

“Zhang Xinhua, I didn’t believe your parents when they said you were greedy since you were little, but now look at you, you even dare to mess with the business that makes money in my shop. Do you know that this boxed lunch can sell for two yuan? Right now, stop hanging around in front of me and pay up and get out of here.”

As she spoke, she pushed and shoved Zhang Xinhua, who stumbled and nearly hit the door frame.

Seeing her sister's ugly face, Zhang Xinhua could no longer bear it and pounced on her, tearing at her hair. Zhang Meihua was not to be outdone, and the two wrestled together.

Jiang Yu, busy at work, didn't witness the intense struggle between the two. After scooping five cents' worth of pickled vegetables for Zhang Meihua's shop assistant, she prepared to call it a day.

When I looked up, I saw a crowd gathered in front of the shop across the street, and my curiosity got the better of me.

"Oh no, the boss and her sister are fighting. Stop them, stop them!"

The man slapped his knee, not even bothering to grab his pickled vegetables. He ran and shouted, his voice so loud it drowned out the factory's start-of-work bell.

Jiang Yu was about to remind her that the pickled vegetables hadn't been taken when she realized the person had already walked to the middle of the road. She still needed to buy things and couldn't afford to waste time. Without thinking, she put the vegetables down in the corner and went to catch her bus.

Compared to the countryside, there are more cars in the city, and if you miss one, there will be another one soon. Jiang Yu waited a short while before a bus arrived. She waved and headed straight for the supply and marketing cooperative.

We're running low on meat, so we need to stock up. We also need to buy more seasonings, otherwise the marinade won't taste right. And for the kids' snacks, like biscuits and candies, it's best to buy some mung beans, glutinous rice flour, and granulated sugar to make some pastries for the two children.

Jiang Yu went to the supply and marketing cooperative and picked out two chickens, five catties of pork, and a large carp. She also bought some seasonings and finally took three packs of calcium milk biscuits from the counter. Since she had too much to carry, she put it in a jar. On her way out, she saw someone selling sugar figurines and bought two more.

Having learned from her previous experience, Zhang Yanfang from the supply and marketing cooperative became very polite when she met Jiang Yu, hoping to get information from her about her relationship with Li Xue.

Jiang Yu looked at her coldly, remaining silent. Zhang Yanfang found it pointless and stopped talking.

After paying, a familiar voice called out to her.

"Jiang Yu, you're here to buy more goods again?"

Li Xue saw Jiang Yu from afar and excitedly ran all the way. With the year-end approaching, the army was having a party. As Commander Li's wife, she also needed to attend. So she came to the department store to see if there was anything she could use.

Jiang Yu was delighted to see who it was. This was the person who had given her the initial investment for selling pickled vegetables, and also a person of great influence and power; naturally, she had to treat him well.

"We're out of ingredients at home, so I came to get some."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Xue felt comfortable revealing her needs.

"The military is having an awards ceremony these two days, and I was wondering if I could help you choose another set of jewelry? If you don't have time, then never mind."

The clothes and jewelry that Jiang Yu modified last time caught the eye of the entire unit. After the event, many wives came to ask for her advice, which greatly boosted Li Xue's vanity. Having tasted the sweetness of being the center of attention, how could she possibly miss seeing Jiang Yu again?

"this..."

Jiang Yu glanced at the clock hanging at the shop entrance, feeling a little embarrassed that she might miss her appointment with Shen Ying.

"To be honest, girl, looking at jewelry was just something I did on the way. There's a clothing store inside the department store that went out of business, in a really good location. With your abilities, you could definitely make it a huge success. If you're interested, I'll go back and talk to my husband, Mr. Zhang, and see if I can get you a discount on the rent. How about that?"

Li Xue frequented the department store, so nothing could escape her notice. After hearing about this recently, she'd been wanting to meet with Jiang Yu to talk, assuming she wouldn't come often from the countryside, but she'd unexpectedly run into her today.

The shop is located in the heart of the department store, with a high volume of customers. If it weren't for the abundance of trendy clothes lately, and the owner not keeping up with the times, it could probably stay open for another thirty or fifty years. But Jiang Yu is different. She's young and knowledgeable. Just altering a single garment can garner praise; if she were to do it herself, how many people would line up to order custom-made clothes?

Jiang Yu listened to her description and felt a surge of excitement. Selling pickled vegetables was ultimately not a long-term solution. If it was really as she said, taking over the shop and making clothes for people might not be a bad idea.

"Okay, then please take me to see it, Sister Xue."

With such a good deal, who cares about the promised meeting time this morning? These days, making money is much more important than men.

Li Xue beamed with joy when she saw that Jiang Yu had agreed. She wanted to be Jiang Yu's first customer and also attract other military wives; everyone would owe her a favor.

There were staff on duty at the entrance of the department store. Li Xue called out to Jiang Yu and told her to put her things there, otherwise it would be too heavy to carry them around.

Jiang Yu didn't stand on ceremony; she put down her things, thanked him, and left.

When she came in again, there were more people inside. Li Xue introduced the place to her from the front:

"With the Lunar New Year approaching, everyone is coming here to stock up on New Year's goods; it's incredibly lively."

Jiang Yu smiled in response, thinking to herself: If I work harder, I can save up enough money to buy a house, and then I won't have to rush to pick up goods every few days.