"My mother is more outgoing." Sun Cuilan hurriedly closed the door behind her. Zheng Dandan looked at Cheng Huadong with an awkward smile.

"Auntie is hospitable, approachable and makes people feel very warm." Cheng Huadong praised Sun Cuilan generously and he has a deep affection for her.

"Do you want to drive?" Zheng Dandan asked Cheng Huadong, the awkwardness slightly relieved. Although she still felt a little awkward, she had already agreed to go to Cheng's house for dinner.

"There's an old Chinese saying, 'Steal a little time to relax from your busy life,' and I like it. Longxing Street isn't far away. If you don't mind, why don't we take a walk?" Cheng Huadong expressed a different opinion.

As his feelings gradually became clear, he hoped to spend as much time alone with Zheng Dandan as possible, and traveling by car was obviously not a good option.

"Okay." Zheng Dandan did not resist.

The two of them strolled along the street. The streets that were a little deserted in the past are now quite prosperous. The opening of individual businesses has made the entire county full of fireworks and increasingly vibrant.

"Tanghulu, sweet and sour Tanghulu!"

"Hair ties and hair bands, buy them cheap!"

"Rubber shoes, cloth shoes, old BJ shoes, authentic shoes, 50 cents cheaper than the supply and marketing cooperative, no tickets required!"

"Sugar painting, dragon and tiger painting, whatever you want to draw..."

Familiar voices came into my ears one after another, mixed with many new hawking sounds.

Cheng Huadong and Zheng Dandan both felt a slight movement in their hearts. They looked at each other, exchanged glances, and seemed to understand each other's meaning. They walked together towards the place where there were many vendors.

However, the two men who strode forward confidently had no idea that they had parted ways halfway and were heading in completely different directions.

“How much are your shoes?”

In front of the shoe stall, Zheng Dandan looked at the goods on the stall and asked.

"Rubber shoes are six yuan, old BJ shoes are five yuan, and ordinary cloth shoes are three yuan. They are all authentic products and very cheap!" The vendor introduced enthusiastically, in stark contrast to the indifferent salesperson at the supply and marketing cooperative.

"Are you sure it's authentic?" Zheng Dandan picked up a pair of shoes and examined them carefully, pretending to be skeptical.

"I guarantee that if the product is fake, I will compensate you ten times!" the vendor said, patting his chest, looking very confident.

"Young man, it's not that I doubt you. It's just that the authentic goods are all in the hands of the supply and marketing cooperatives. How can you get them?" Zheng Dandan's gaze fell on the hawker from time to time, with hesitation in her eyes.

"Of course I'm related!" the vendor said proudly. He looked around and made sure no one was around. Then he leaned over to Zheng Dandan's ear and whispered, "You don't know, the head of the supply and marketing cooperative is my relative. He gave me all these goods."

"Don't your relatives have to answer to the higher-ups?" Zheng Dandan was very confused. The quantity of goods, sales price, and receipts all had to be reported in detail. Even the supply and marketing cooperative leaders were just staff members with a fixed salary.

The vendors sell cheaply, but who will fill the gap?

"What do you know? Do you know what a defective product is?" The vendor looked at Zheng Dandan mysteriously.

"Are these defective products?" Zheng Dandan looked at the vendor in surprise.

"What are you talking about? These are all top-quality goods!" the vendor said with an unhappy look on his face. "You look energetic and good-looking, but why can't you think straight?"

"I really don't understand the twists and turns in it. Can you explain it to me?" Zheng Dandan generously admitted her shortcomings and asked with a smile.

"Why are you asking this?" Zheng Dandan's repeated inquiries aroused the vendor's vigilance.

"What else can I do? I don't have any relatives in the supply and marketing cooperative. I'm just curious. Tell me and I'll buy you five pairs of shoes!" Zheng Dandan said to the vendor.

"Forget it, since you are good-looking, I will tell you. My uncle is the leader of the supply and marketing cooperative. Under his operation, the supply and marketing cooperative selects the goods from the factory. In return, the factory leaders will give him some defective products. In the end, the defective products are placed in the containers of the supply and marketing cooperative, and all the good things are with me!" said the peddler proudly.

After hearing these words, Zheng Dandan instantly understood the mystery.

For factories, defective products are worthless and should be destroyed, and whether the supply and marketing cooperatives select goods directly affects the sales of their products.

Therefore, the factory leaders suddenly had an idea and used defective products, which they thought were worthless but were actually valuable, to bribe third parties who had the power to make choices.

"One pair of size 42, three pairs of size 43, one pair of size 36, and two pairs of size 37, thank you."

Zheng Dandan kept her word and bought seven pairs of shoes in one go, including her parents, brothers and sisters-in-law.

She owns her own shoe factory and originally didn't want to buy so much. But the problem isn't the lack of shoes, but the disparity. Shoes aren't a rare commodity, but if others have them and she doesn't, it's inevitable that she'll feel a sense of imbalance.

"Are you sure you want seven pairs?" The vendor was surprised at Zheng Dandan's generosity. At that time, it was not popular to buy one pair per person. Many families shared the same shoes with their entire family.

"Sure." Zheng Dandan didn't waste time arguing with the vendor. She took out the money directly to dispel the vendor's concerns.

Sure enough, after seeing the money, the vendor no longer hesitated and neatly packed the seven pairs of shoes according to Zheng Dandan's request.

"Are you buying shoes?"

Cheng Huadong's surprised voice sounded behind Zheng Dandan. Realizing that he had separated from Zheng Dandan, he quickly rushed over and happened to see Zheng Dandan struggling to carry seven pairs of shoes.

Because he knew Zheng Dandan's identity as the director of the shoe factory, he was extremely surprised when he saw this scene.

"I bought a pair for each of my family members as a New Year's gift." Zheng Dandan summarized and walked in the opposite direction of the shoe stall.

"Let me help you." Cheng Huadong immediately stepped forward to help and took the shoes from Zheng Dandan's hand.

"Thank you for your help." Zheng Dandan thanked politely.

"It's just a piece of cake." Cheng Huadong was very humble. Seven pairs of shoes were not heavy for him. Although they took up a little space, it was not a big deal and he could do it with ease.

"Where were you trying to go?" After walking a few steps, Zheng Dandan finally realized the misunderstanding between them.

"The sugar painting last time was quite interesting. When I heard the vendors hawking their wares, I decided to go and take a look." Cheng Huadong looked calm and unconcerned.

"Well, let's go, if you're not tired." Zheng Dandan lowered her eyes and said, looking at her toes.

"Are you still tired from doing this little thing?" Cheng Huadong raised his eyebrows and smiled wantonly.

The two chatted and laughed as they came to the sugar painting stall. The old man selling sugar paintings still remembered them. When he saw them, he said, "It's you, what do you want to draw this time?"

"Tiger." Cheng Huadong seemed to have the answer already, and he blurted out.

"What about you?" The old man looked at Zheng Dandan.

"Then...dragon." Zheng Dandan hesitated for a moment, remembering what the vendor was selling - drawing dragons and tigers, and gave a hesitant answer.

"Okay, I'm an old man who is very good at drawing dragons and tigers. Just wait a moment, I'll be done soon." The old man selling sugar paintings was very excited to come to the field he was good at.