As December approached, the weather grew colder and colder. Xia Baozhu spent a morning buying a lake-blue, mid-length down jacket.
The baggy sleeves, loose shoulders and waist offer little in the way of style; they serve only to keep you warm and comfortable.
Xia Baozhu chose it because of its hood, which is convenient and makes it even warmer when paired with a scarf.
It's too cold outside, so Xia Baozhu keeps the stove burning brightly every day. When no one is around, she sits in front of the stove roasting sweet potatoes, potatoes, and vermicelli.
The days were peaceful and tranquil, sometimes making her mistakenly believe that she had returned to the time she spent in the flower shop.
They still miss the Xia family, and wonder if any of their family members are here.
Soon it was Chinese New Year, and Sun Xingyan returned.
San Gou stood up when he heard the door open and exclaimed with delight when he saw Sun Xingyan, "Oh, Brother Sun, you're finally back! You've been to Haicheng and you look so much more sophisticated now."
"Isn't it handsome? I think I'm more than just a little bit handsome." Sun Xingyan took out a small mirror he always carried with him and looked at himself.
"Wait, Brother Sun, why do you carry a mirror with you all the time? It's a bit effeminate."
"What do you know? I have to pay attention to my appearance when I'm out in public, so as to make our Taicheng people proud."
Sun Xingyan went to a grand hotel in Haicheng to broaden his horizons, where he got into an argument with a high-ranking official's son from Beijing and was mocked as a country bumpkin.
He was a well-known figure in the city, with a good family and personal background. I never expected that he would be called a country bumpkin.
So, in a fit of anger, he bought himself the standard attire of a Hong Kong businessman: a suit, tie, leather shoes, sunglasses, and a well-tailored long cashmere coat.
Needless to say, his attire always earned him respect wherever he went, and he received a lot of high-class treatment. Even when he squeezed onto a bus, there was always a space available for him.
In order to maintain a perfect appearance, he simply bought a small mirror and would take it out to look at himself when no one was around to see if there was anything wrong with his appearance.
"Little Sun, you look really good in this outfit. Aren't you cold? Come in and warm yourself by the fire."
Sun Xingyan came here after wandering around the upstairs and downstairs because he thought of the stove at Xia Baozhu's place.
"We recently got a new pudding, would you like to try some?"
"Pudding? I just tried it in Haicheng, and you have it here. I wish I hadn't spent the money." Sun Xingyan took the glass Xia Baozhu handed him and took a sip.
"This is not only a large quantity, but also delicious. Do you have any chicken feet? Give me a pound, and a cup of milk tea too."
"Brother Sun, shall we go out for a bit? Is the food at Sister Xia's place still the best?" With that, San Gou chuckled and went to fetch it.
Sun Xingyan listened to the three dogs boasting without saying a word.
"Brother Sun, here's your milk tea and chicken feet. I added red beans to the milk tea for you. Try it and see how it tastes." San Gou placed the items on the low table next to Sun Xingyan.
"San Gou, put my coat in a clean place."
Sun Xingyan was worried that the juice from eating chicken feet would splash onto his clothes and be difficult to wash, so he took off his overcoat, and then, after thinking for a moment, took off his suit jacket as well.
"Brother Sun, it's so troublesome for you to eat something. You have to take off your clothes to eat."
"Of course! Do you know how much I paid for this outfit?"
"How many?"
"A coat costs 1,800, a suit costs 800, and leather shoes cost 500."
"What? So expensive! Brother Sun, are you just being wasteful? You can't eat or drink these clothes. Buying appliances would be much better."
“If I say you don’t understand, then you don’t understand. People are more impressed by your appearance than your clothes. If others see you dressed well, they will look at you with more respect, and things will go more smoothly. This time when I went to Haicheng, I not only bought stocks, but also brought back a batch of fresh goods. I sold them on the way, and now I only have one home karaoke machine left for myself.”
"Looks like you made a lot of money this time, Brother Sun. How about treating the brothers to dinner at Qingfushun tonight? It's been a long time since we've gotten together."
"no problem."
Sun Xingyan asked Xia Baozhu if she wanted to go, but she refused.
It was all men who went, and they spoke without thinking, which was embarrassing to listen to.
After get off work, San Gou and Sun Xingyan left, taking a group of their buddies out for drinks.
On the second floor of Qingfushun, Sun Xingyan requested a private room.
A tall, bald man with a striking red tattoo on his neck that extended all the way down to his clothes came out of the next private room. He greeted Sun Xingyan as soon as he saw him.
"Sun Xingyan, it's been a long time since I've seen you. Have you gone to the south again?"
"He Fuming, you look radiant, your business must be doing well."
"It's alright, not as good as you. You can earn more in one trip than we do in half a year of hard work."
"That's an exaggeration, it's all rumors. If I wanted to earn that much at once, I would have gone abroad to make a living long ago."
"Let's put that aside for now. I was planning to come find you on purpose, but we just happened to run into each other today. I have something to ask you."
"What's up?"
“A while ago, one of our brothers’ relatives disappeared for a period of time, and we only got in touch with him a few days ago. It turns out he was detained. When we went to visit him, his face was distorted. He said he was beaten by the owner of the fried chicken shop.”
"Why was he detained? Why was he beaten?" Sun Xingyan pointed out the key points.
Isn't the fried chicken shop owner Xia Zhaodi? Xia Zhaodi once said she could easily take on three opponents, and maybe she wasn't just bragging.
"Hey, it's not that they saw the fried chicken shop was doing well and knew she was alone, so they came up with the idea of robbing her."
"He was alone?"
"There are three more." He Fuming felt ashamed for the cowardly robbers. They robbed a woman of her money and got beaten up like that. How shameful!
"All four of them were attacked?"
"Yes, I didn't expect that boss lady to be so amazing."
It seems Xia Zhaodi wasn't exaggerating; she might be able to handle several more without any problem.
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