Chapter 91: Doing Business Properly
Xie Huaizheng froze, stunned by Su Zhaozhao’s kiss.
By the time he came to his senses, the girl had already vanished.
Xie Huaizheng couldn’t help but raise a hand, gently touching his lips.
Her warmth seemed to linger there, a soft, fresh scent of jasmine floating on his lips.
Then, the man let out a low chuckle.
When Su Zhaozhao got back to her room, she could feel her cheeks burning.
Her heart was pounding wildly, a sensation that felt foreign to Su Zhaozhao.
’Is this what it feels like to be in love?’
She recalled the descriptions in the novels she had read, and it seemed to be just like that.
Before this, Su Zhaozhao had never liked anyone, and she certainly couldn’t say she liked Xie Huaizheng when they first met.
But after spending so much time together, she suddenly felt that having someone by her side wasn’t so bad, compared to being all alone.
She rolled around on her bed for a moment before entering her space to begin her skincare routine again.
The weather in West State was too dry. She had to do the full routine every day, or her skin would dry out quickly.
Thankfully, the spiritual spring water was very effective. After being nourished by the spiritual spring water, her skin, which had felt a bit dry from being outside all day, felt much more comfortable.
She was still thinking about what Xie Huaizheng had told her. The fact that he’d spoken about it proved that the pressure from that past event had lessened considerably in his heart.
But...
It still wasn’t enough.
After so many years, that incident had likely become Xie Huaizheng’s personal nightmare.
Despite his usual calm, collected, and roguish demeanor, which made it seem like he didn’t care about anything and nothing could faze him, it was precisely people like him whose hearts were often the most sensitive and fragile.
He was constantly trying to protect himself, to keep from getting hurt.
The fact that he could tell her all this meant he trusted her.
’So, I have to work harder too, to help lead him out of the shadows of his past.’
’I have to be worthy of the trust Xie Huaizheng has placed in me.’
The next day, Su Zhaozhao woke up bright and early to deliver supplies to the military district’s elementary school cafeteria first.
This early, she wouldn’t run into Xie Huaizheng.
At this time, he was usually at the training grounds with his men.
After making the delivery, Su Zhaozhao decided to head to the West State Textile Factory.
She planned to wait until she was nearby before taking the Chinese cabbages out of her space.
’First, I should go scout the terrain nearby. I have to find a relatively safe place.’
’It’s not practical for me to carry so many cabbages by myself.’
’Maybe I should find a pushcart in West State to deliver them?’
The factory cafeteria’s consumption rate was quite high, and cabbages were easy to store. Liang Zhongcheng had said his uncle needed one hundred and sixty-five pounds of cabbage.
She couldn’t carry that much; she didn’t even weigh one hundred and sixty-five pounds herself.
Su Zhaozhao was about to get on the bus when she realized she had forgotten to tell Xie Huaizheng.
So, Su Zhaozhao turned back to the guest house and told Yu Huijun, "Little Yu, if Camp Commander Xie comes looking for me, could you please tell him I’ve gone to the city?"
Hearing Su Zhaozhao was going to the city, Yu Huijun immediately asked, "Um, I have a small favor to ask. Could you help me buy a red hair tie from the Friendship Store? It’s the kind that looks like a small scarf, for tying up your hair."
Lately, she’d seen many girls wearing that kind of hair tie, and they looked so fashionable and pretty.
She wanted one too.
She had been working here for a few years. The shop belonged to her older sister and brother-in-law, who provided her with food and lodging, so she had saved up some money.
She wanted to dress up a little and look pretty, too.
Especially since not long ago, Huang Ting had mocked her, calling her a country bumpkin. It made her so mad!
Hearing Yu Huijun’s request, Su Zhaozhao immediately said, "Of course."
Yu Huijun handed the money to Su Zhaozhao. "Thank you so much."
Su Zhaozhao took it.
Yu Huijun’s words suddenly gave Su Zhaozhao another idea for making money.
She had plenty of jewelry in her space, not to mention all sorts of fancy and colorful hair ties.
’Young women these days all want to look pretty. Maybe they’ll like them too?’
Su Zhaozhao got on the bus to West State.
Although she felt a little worried getting on the bus after the accident last time, there was nothing to be done about it.
She had studied psychology, so she knew how to overcome that kind of fear.
You had to face it directly, to go through the experience again.
That would lessen the panic.
Su Zhaozhao gazed at the scenery outside the window, her mind still calculating.
’After the rice, it’ll be time to plant wheat.’
’And after that,’ Su Zhaozhao thought, ’I’ll have the black soil grow some daikon radishes.’
Like Chinese cabbage, daikon radishes were also easy to store.
’All of these are my precious assets.’
After arriving in West State, she transferred to another bus and made her way to the West State Textile Factory.
The textile factory wasn’t far from the city center, and the surrounding area was quite prosperous.
And, probably because the factory was well-off, the supporting infrastructure in the area was well-developed.
There were factory-provided housing units, as well as a school and a hospital.
The streets were lined with shops, and there were also people with stalls doing business.
By the time she arrived, it was almost noon, and many people were outside eating or taking a stroll.
It had a very lively atmosphere, even more bustling than the part of the city she had visited before.
Su Zhaozhao found a public phone booth on the street and called Liang Zhongcheng’s uncle.
When he heard she had arrived, he immediately said, "Okay, so you’ll be here in about half an hour, right? In that case, wait for me at the factory’s back gate."
"Um, could you bring a pushcart? I came here on someone’s tractor to deliver the goods, but he’s leaving now. If it’s just the two of us, we won’t be able to move everything inside."
"I can do that."
Su Zhaozhao went to the factory’s back gate, where there were fewer people than at the main entrance.
She glanced around and saw that no one was nearby.
So she took all the cabbages out of her space, packed into two large gunny sacks.
Of course, she couldn’t carry them herself.
She had originally thought about finding a pushcart, but there weren’t any shops selling them nearby.
Besides, a pushcart on the street would attract too much attention.
So she gave up on that idea.
Just as she finished, a man who looked to be in his forties or fifties walked over.
He had a round, plump figure and was wearing a white work uniform while pushing a cart.
Although Su Zhaozhao had never met Liang Zhongcheng’s uncle, the moment she saw him, she realized he was the spitting image of Liang Zhongcheng!
He saw her too and was a little surprised. "Comrade, you’re so small. How did you manage to bring so many cabbages here?"
"Oh, I know an uncle from around here. He gave me a ride on his tractor."
Su Zhaozhao had her face mostly covered, and her clothes were dusty and gray, so she didn’t attract much attention.
Still, she looked far too frail.
Liang Jianye squatted down to inspect the cabbages. Seeing the enormous, beautiful, and plump heads of cabbage that looked as if they had just been picked...
...his eyes immediately lit up. "These Chinese cabbages are so fresh and beautiful!"
A small smile touched Su Zhaozhao’s lips. "I know your nephew, and I hope to do long-term business with you. I certainly wouldn’t cheat you."