Chapter 140: An Unexpected Surprise

A bustling crowd had gathered on the street east of the bazaar, about fifty meters to the right of Zhao Liang's front door.

They were discussing animatedly among themselves, some pointing fingers at the pretty woman in red who sat slumped on the ground.

Yet, strangely enough, not a single person dared to step forward and lend her a hand.

Close to the woman in red snuggled a skinny little boy. His small face was bruised, and fresh blood was seeping from a wound on his forehead.

Instead of crying, the little boy stubbornly wrapped his arms around the woman and declared, "Mommy, let's go home. Let's not stay here anymore. This place is awful, absolutely awful."

With that, he turned his head and glared fiercely at Zhao Wuliang, who was also sitting disheveled on the ground.

Zhao Wuliang was about three meters away from the woman. The ground all around him was littered with lively, wriggling loaches and swamp eels, but he remained utterly indifferent. Covering his swollen right face, he wanted to cry, but no tears would come.

It wasn't until the woman in red picked up the little boy and made to leave that he hurriedly scrambled to his feet. "Xinru, where are you going looking like that? You need to hurry and find a doctor to get that bandaged up! And what about Xiaodoudou? His forehead is still bleeding!"

"My affairs are none of your business. I'll go wherever I please!" the woman in red replied coldly. Covering the wound on the little boy's forehead, she headed toward the exit of the bazaar.

"Can you not be like this?" Zhao Wuliang reached out to block her path, his face full of anxiety. "If I don't care about your matters, who will? Don't forget, we're engaged."

"Don't bring that up with me! If you truly cared about me, and about Xiaodoudou, why did you run off and hide when that pack of scoundrels came to snatch the loaches and eels? Why did you leave me to be bullied by those thugs?" The more she spoke, the more indignant she felt, until finally, she burst into tears.

The little boy in her arms began to cry as well, wailing uncontrollably as he clung to her.

Seeing this, Zhao Wuliang wanted to offer a word of comfort, but a wave of guilt left him not knowing what to say.

Only a dozen minutes earlier, they had been collecting swamp eels and loaches when they ran into a group of local ruffians and hoodlums from a neighboring village.

Recognizing them, he had stepped forward to greet them.

Who could have foreseen that these thugs, seeing his fiancée—Nai Xinru—was so pretty, would start making lewd advances?

A few harsh words were exchanged, and a fight broke out.

How could a single man match four or five thugs?

In his panic, he had simply abandoned Nai Xinru and Xiaodoudou and fled.

That flight had led to disaster. These hoodlums actually resorted to hitting a woman and a child.

Not only did they beat Nai Xinru and Xiaodoudou, but they also robbed them of most of the collected eels and loaches.

Had Nai Xinru not fought desperately to protect them, not even a single loach would have been left behind.

At first, his immediate instinct had been to call for help, but the thugs had bicycles. Knowing they were in trouble, they ran faster than frightened rabbits, vanishing in the blink of an eye and leaving this mess for him to handle.

Yes!

He admitted he had been cowardly.

But it was only human instinct, wasn't it?

One couldn't just stand there and take a beating without running!

His only mistake was that he hadn't grabbed Nai Xinru and Xiaodoudou to run with him.

Thinking about it now, he was filled with endless regret.

Yet, what was done was done. Asking him to apologize to Nai Xinru in front of so many people was out of the question; after all, he was a man and needed to save face in public.

Seeing the crowd of onlookers growing larger by the minute, he quickly grabbed Nai Xinru's hand. "Stop crying and come home with me. We won't do this eel and loach business anymore."

"Then how do you expect to support me?" Nai Xinru demanded coldly.

If not driven by the harsh pressures of life, she would never have lowered herself to become engaged to the likes of Zhao Wuliang.

For some reason, the more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt.

If not for the fact that her family had no house of their own, and that she was completely penniless, she would have loved to slap him across the face.

After all, how could a man like Zhao Wuliang think only of his own safety when danger struck?

If she truly married such a man in the future, life would surely be worse than death.

"Don't worry, even if I don't work, I can still support you. After all, my parents still have some money," Zhao Wuliang replied with a sheepish laugh.

"Bah! How are you any different from a parasite?" Nai Xinru scolded him. "Let go of me! From this moment on, our relationship is over."

"Let go!" Seeing that Zhao Wuliang was reluctant, Nai Xinru let out a hysterical roar.

Faced with this outburst, Zhao Wuliang shrank his neck and took a few steps back.

This only made Nai Xinru see right through his cowardly and incompetent nature.

Just as she was about to leave with her son in her arms, a tall young man in black appeared before her.

Behind the young man followed a pretty farm woman. Seeing how disheveled Zhao Wuliang looked, she asked in a low voice, "What on earth happened? Around this bazaar, you're usually the only one bullying others. How did you end up being the one bullied today?"

"Sister-in-law... I... I..." Hearing this, Zhao Wuliang lost control, and amidst tears, briefly recounted what had happened.

"Coward, what are you crying for?" Seeing that Zhao Wuliang was still weeping after finishing his story, Nai Xinru couldn't help but snap at him.

The more she looked at him, the angrier she became. If not for the crowd of onlookers and the presence of the woman he called sister-in-law, she would have started cursing long ago.

"You must be Nai Xinru, right?" The pretty farm woman smiled at the sight. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Liu Dongju, Wuliang's sister-in-law."

"This is my younger brother, Liu Xing, who is currently in charge of this bazaar." Liu Dongju reached out and pulled the young man in black closer to her.

"You're Liu Xing? So... young?" Nai Xinru found it hard to believe her own eyes. Recovering her wits, she set the little boy down. "The bazaar you manage is in such a mess. Don't you know how to clean it up?"

"I'm sorry, I only took over a few days ago, and official notices haven't even been issued yet," Liu Xing replied with a smile, unperturbed. "If you have any grievances, you're welcome to report them to the higher-ups."

The woman in red before him—Nai Xinru—had a distinct black mole beneath her right earlobe, and her facial features bore a ninety-percent resemblance to the "Widow Nai" in his memories. If he wasn't mistaken, she was undoubtedly the billionaire entrepreneur Widow Nai from Xiangnan Province decades in the future.

Yet, unpredictable were the ways of the world; in her youth, she was living in such destitute straits.

To be honest, this was something Liu Xing had never anticipated.

Seeing that Widow Nai had no desire to speak further with him and turned to leave with the little boy, he quickly snapped back to attention. "Are you just going to leave like this? Don't you want to seek justice from the people who bullied you today?"

"Can you make that happen?" Nai Xinru turned back to look at Liu Xing, doubt lingering in her bright eyes.

"Of course I can. If you trust me, come and have a meal with me first. As for seeking justice, give me one day," Liu Xing replied with a smile.

It wasn't that he wanted to meddle in other people's affairs, but he was now in charge of the bazaar. Widow Nai and Zhao Wuliang being beaten by a few thugs might seem trivial on the surface, but it introduced a great deal of instability into what should have been a safe marketplace.

Therefore, for the sake of his future work,

and to give the merchants of the bazaar peace of mind,

he had to reclaim this justice.

The woman in red initially intended to decline Liu Xing's kind offer.

After all, she knew nothing of his background or his intentions.

However, the little boy clinging to her legs raised his small head and spoke up. "Mommy, I'm hungry."

These words tugged fiercely at her heartstrings.

Unable to worry about other matters now, she picked up the little boy and asked Liu Xing, "Where is your house? If we're going to eat, I must bring my son, Xiaodoudou."

"Follow me." Liu Xing turned, smiled, and walked in the direction of the shoe shop.

The onlookers quickly made way for them.

Thinking that Liu Xing was coming to his rescue, Zhao Wuliang hurriedly joined Liu Dongju and trotted along behind them.

...

At the entrance of the shoe shop,

Guazi, Xiaobudan, Lanlan, Zhao Jing, and several other children were playing eagle catching the chicks.

Their bright laughter and joyful expressions not only caught the attention of the returning Liu Xing, but also completely captivated Xiaodoudou in Nai Xinru's arms.

"Mommy, I want to play too." Seeing Xiaobudan smiling at him, Xiaodoudou bit his index finger and looked timidly at Nai Xinru.

"This..." Just as Nai Xinru was about to give a polite refusal, Liu Xing spoke up. "If the child wants to play, let him go! My sister, my niece, and the other children are all good people."

"Alright then." Nai Xinru set Xiaodoudou down.

"Hee hee..." With a giggle, Xiaodoudou scurried over to Xiaobudan. Though initially a bit shy, once Xiaobudan grabbed his hand and pulled him into the game, he let go completely. His joyous expressions and infectious laughter carried far enough across the fields that even villagers transplanting rice seedlings could hear them.

Seeing this, the unhappiness on Nai Xinru's face quickly melted away, replaced by a comforted smile.

Noticing that Xiaodoudou was playing barefoot, Liu Xing shook his head slightly and stepped into the shoe shop.

Liu Dongju hurried off to the kitchen; since there were extra mouths to feed, she needed to prepare more food.

Emerging shortly from the shop, Liu Xing held two pairs of shoes.

One pair was a child's slippers.

Without waiting for Nai Xinru's permission, Liu Xing walked over to Xiaodoudou and slipped them onto his feet.

Finding they fit perfectly and delighted by the comfort, Xiaodoudou turned and handed the other pair of sandals to Nai Xinru. "Change out of those straw sandals."

"Are these expensive?" Nai Xinru asked cautiously, not taking the offered footwear.

"Five yuan a pair. The ones on your son's feet are two yuan," Liu Xing guessed her thoughts and replied casually with a smile.

"Then I can't accept them. This is too valuable." Nai Xinru walked over to Xiaodoudou, intending to take the slippers off, but the boy protested tearfully, forcing her to stop when he looked on the verge of tears.

Liu Xing shook his head in amusement. "I don't know why you're on guard against me. I'm the person in charge of this bazaar; do you really think I need to bully you or buy you shoes to win your favor?"

"Then why are you being so good to me and my son?" Nai Xinru asked, unconvinced. Generally speaking, when a stranger—especially a strange man—approached her or treated her well, there was always an ulterior motive.

"Because of me, of course!" Zhao Wuliang chimed in with a cheeky grin.

"Is that true?" Nai Xinru looked at Liu Xing, a trace of annoyance in her bright eyes.

"Of course not. Who does he think he is? Am I really going to suck up to you just for his sake?" Liu Xing chuckled.

"That's true." Nai Xinru smiled back, revealing a pair of shallow dimples on her oval face.

For some reason, through this brief exchange, her guardedness toward Liu Xing vanished entirely, replaced by a subtle sense of goodwill.

Hearing this, Zhao Wuliang was seething with anger.

Yet, he dared not direct his frustration at Liu Xing.

Left with no other choice, he slunk off to the kitchen to "help" instead.

Seeing this, Nai Xinru dropped the subject of the shoes and slipped them onto her feet. Finding them a perfect fit and of excellent quality, she couldn't help a slight gasp of surprise. "Why do these feel like they were custom-made for me?"

Implying, of course, that no other shoes she had ever worn felt this comfortable.

"Custom-made?"

"You're overthinking it." Liu Xing smiled and shook his head.

Though the materials used in his shop's shoes had minor flaws—being made from discarded old tires—

their craftsmanship and stylistic design were decades ahead of their time. If they didn't possess a unique appeal under such conditions, he wouldn't be worthy of being a time-traveler.

Realizing her assumption, Nai Xinru felt too embarrassed to reply.

Liu Xing did not continue chatting with Nai Xinru, as a customer had arrived at the shop.

The visitor was a middle-aged man, not particularly tall, dressed in a well-fitted outfit. He clearly looked less like a rural resident and more like a visitor from the city.

Seeing Liu Xing approach, he paused in surprise before stepping forward. "Excuse me, are you the owner of this Dongju Shoe Shop?"

"I am," Liu Xing nodded.

"Hello, hello! I was sent here by Xie Zhong. My name is Lu Jun, and I'd like to discuss a business proposition with you," the middle-aged man introduced himself.

"Oh, hello!" Liu Xing smiled. "What kind of business?"

"It's about shoes." Lu Jun glanced around the surroundings of the Dongju Shoe Shop. "Shall we go inside to talk?"

"Alright!" Liu Xing led the way into the shop.

Lu Jun cast a brief glance at Nai Xinru not far away before following him inside.

Inside the store, a dazzling array of shoes left Lu Jun momentarily mesmerized.

After inspecting the craftsmanship and manufacturing techniques of several pairs of sandals on display by the window, he turned to Liu Xing with a serious expression. "Recently, the supply of running shoes and cloth shoes in the black market has stagnated. I figured it wasn't a problem with the shoes themselves or their price, but rather their style and design. After discussing it with Xie Zhong, I wanted to find you to custom-make a batch of high-end sandals and slippers to meet the demands of various customers."

"After all, the craftsmanship and quality of the shoes here are truly exceptional," Lu Jun added after a brief pause.

There was actually another sentence he left unsaid: summer was fast approaching, and high-quality slippers and sandals would undoubtedly be in huge demand during the scorching months.

Even a fool would realize that, but Lu Jun kept it to himself.

His goal was to prevent Liu Xing from arbitrarily jacking up prices.

"Custom-make sandals and slippers?" Liu Xing was momentarily stunned. Recovering his wits, he shook his head. "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

"Why?" Lu Jun asked, puzzled.

Would someone really turn away business delivered straight to their doorstep?

"Need you even ask why? The prices of the slippers and sandals I make cannot be sold to you at wholesale rates," Liu Xing sidestepped the real issue.

The actual secret was that the entire city of Hengyang had run out of discarded tires.

If he supplied Lu Jun with a massive quantity of shoes, his shop would likely have nothing left to sell on market days.

"You still haven't understood my point. I'm talking about custom-making high-end sandals and slippers, with prices set by you. As long as they sell well, money is no object," Lu Jun smiled. "Oh! I almost forgot to mention—Huang Xiaoxia, the tractor driver, is a good friend of mine. He already told me the secret about your shop running out of old tire supplies."

"Since you already know my material supply is constrained, why come to me?" Liu Xing spread his hands.

"I can solve that problem for you! As long as you're willing, I can get you as much material for slippers and sandals as you need," Lu Jun picked up a finely crafted pair of sandals, a smile in his eyes. "Well? Do you dare to collaborate with me?"

"You only need to provide the craftsmanship and shoe designs," Lu Jun turned to look intently at Liu Xing.

"That's not a bad proposal," Liu Xing pondered for a moment. "Only, I don't understand why you're doing this. What if the slippers and sandals I design don't sell? Wouldn't you suffer a huge loss?"

"Not at all. My wife bought ten pairs of sandals and slippers here during the last market day to sell at her black market stall, and they were completely snapped up within ten minutes." Lowering his voice, Lu Jun shared the inside story.

"You don't say?" Liu Xing looked somewhat astonished.

If that was truly the case, he should consider opening a shoe shop in the black market himself.

After all, the foot traffic there, even on ordinary days, was massive.

"If you don't believe me, you can sell me every single pair of shoes in this shop and see if I dare take them," Lu Jun teased.

"Well..." Liu Xing didn't dare take up that challenge.

He could tell that Lu Jun was not a man lacking money.

If he really bought out the whole store, the shop would have to close its doors.

Material supplies, after all, couldn't just be pulled out of thin air on demand.

"Don't stay quiet on me! I plan to take away one or two hundred pairs of shoes this time. As for the price, I won't bargain with you; whatever price you sell them for here, I'll pay you," Lu Jun reminded him.

"And what if I refuse to sell?" Liu Xing smiled.

"You'll sell. Here is a letter of introduction from Xie Zhong." Lu Jun produced an envelope and handed it across.

"I don't need to read it. I trust you," Liu Xing replied.

The main reason he believed him was because the shortage of waste tires in his shop was a secret known to no outsiders other than Huang Xiaoxia.

Since Huang had told Lu Jun,

it proved that Lu Jun's relationships with Xie Zhong and Huang Xiaoxia were genuine.

Seeing this response, a look of gratification crossed Lu Jun's eyes. "Since you say so, I'll be completely frank. I need your shoe designs to break into the high-end footwear market here in Hengyang. As for materials, I can have my friends ship them over from Dongzhou Province in the coastal region. Prices and terms are all negotiable."

"I see," Liu Xing hesitated. "Can you give me a few days to consider?"

Though no real consideration was necessary—it was a win-win scenario for him—

he still needed to confirm things with Xie Zhong.

After all, one could never be too careful.

"Of course," Lu Jun nodded.

"Let's leave it at that for today, then," Liu Xing suggested.

"No way, sell me two hundred pairs right now just to stock my shelves." Without waiting for an agreement, Lu Jun pulled out a thick stack of ten-yuan bills and laid them on the shoe cabinet beside him. "There's a thousand here. Whether you like it or not, you're taking it."

"Aren't you just forcing a sale?" Liu Xing laughed, half-amused, half-exasperated. "Fine, fine! Pick them out yourself. Two hundred pairs at most—any more and I won't have enough, I'm out of stock myself!"

Seeing that Liu Xing had agreed, Lu Jun hurried out of the store.

A moment later, he returned pushing a brand-new "Phoenix" heavy-duty bicycle.

Unstrapping a large woven sack from the back rack, he walked back into the shop and began loading shoes from the cabinet.

Liu Xing watched with a faint smile, not bothering to count the quantity, as he knew precisely how many pairs were in the cabinets.

Seeing Liu Dongju and Nai Xinru walk back in, he reached over, picked up the stack of bills from the cabinet, and handed them to her. "Sis, do you have any cash on hand lately?"

"If not, take this thousand yuan to cover expenses." With that, Liu Xing pressed the stack of banknotes into Liu Dongju's hands.

It wasn't out of mere generosity, but because the expenses at his eldest sister's house had been mounting. Zhao Gou, Zhao Liang, Li Qing, and the others were constantly eating and drinking here for free; if he didn't provide extra living expenses in advance, people would start gossiping, and at the very least, he wouldn't have his sister worrying about money.

"I have money, I don't need your cash."

Startled by Liu Xing's gesture, Liu Dongju hurriedly refused once she regained her composure.

Nai Xinru, standing nearby, was equally stunned.

In all her life, she had never seen so much money at once, let alone large-denomination ten-yuan bills. Handing it all over to Liu Dongju in one go meant Liu Xing's shoe business must be making an absolute fortune!

"Just take it," Liu Xing brushed it off with a smile and pocketed the bills instead, since she refused. Observing that Lu Jun was packing up the shoes quickly, he called out, "My sister's cooked a meal. Care to stay for a bite?"

"No thanks, my wife's waiting for me to bring the goods back. Besides, I already ate before coming," Lu Jun replied, looking up before returning to his packing.

A moment later, he dragged the sack of shoes over to Liu Xing. "That's exactly a hundred pairs. Count them if you like; I'll come back for the other hundred this afternoon when I have time."

He would have taken them all at once, but the woven bag simply couldn't hold them.

"No need to count. Take them," Liu Xing glanced at the empty spaces in the cabinet and nodded.

If he wasn't mistaken, Lu Jun had taken an extra pair by mistake.

Yet he chose not to point it out—there was no need.

Lu Jun wouldn't ruin his own reputation over a single pair of shoes.

"You said it!" Lu Jun grinned. After exchanging pleasantries with Liu Dongju, he hoisted the sack over his shoulder and strode out of the shop.

Liu Xing walked him out and helped strap the heavy sack onto the bicycle's rear rack.

"I'm off. If you ever have time to visit the black market, I'll treat you to a drink." Lu Jun patted Liu Xing's shoulder, mounted his bicycle, and rode down the bazaar street.

Watching him disappear from view, Liu Xing turned to Liu Dongju. "Sis, our shop might need to scale up production. We might even open a branch."

This wasn't baseless talk; it was prompted not just by Lu Jun's large order, but by his realization that summer was quietly approaching, and having a pair of comfortable slippers or sandals to wear in the heat would be a wonderful relief.

"We're out of materials, how are we supposed to scale up production?" Liu Dongju said with a chuckle.

"That Lu Jun just now said he could solve the problem. Plus, he mentioned our shop's shoes are selling like wildfire in the black market," Liu Xing replied teasingly.

Noticing that Zhao Geng, Zhao Dongkui, Zhao Gou, Zhao Liang, and Li Qing had returned from transplanting rice to have their meal, he led the way toward the wooden table under the pomelo tree.

Liu Dongju had wanted to ask more about Lu Jun's background, but seeing the crowd, she kept her mouth shut and followed behind with Nai Xinru.

Just as everyone had gathered around the wooden table to eat, two jeeps and two sedans appeared on the bazaar street, turning abruptly to pull up right in front of the shoe shop.

As they came to a halt, Bureau Chief Wu and Niu Lianfang stepped out of the lead jeep.

Zhang Xiangjun and Ding Lan followed from the second jeep, trailed by Li David, Liu Siwen, and several strange middle-aged men in Zhongshan suits.

Surprised, Liu Xing hurried forward to greet them. "Uncle, what brings you here today?"
"To freeload a meal!" Bureau Chief Wu answered with a hearty laugh.

Liu Xing didn't believe that for a second, but he kept it to himself.

Seeing them, Liu Dongju hurriedly got up and retreated to the kitchen.

After all, the food on the wooden table was only enough for a dozen people.

Noticing that Liu Dongju had taken his words seriously, Bureau Chief Wu called out, "Dongju, don't bother cooking more. We ate on our way here."

"That's right, don't waste food on our account," Zhang Xiangjun added with a faint smile.

Hearing this, Liu Dongju smiled and unfastened the apron from her waist.

However, she couldn't leave the kitchen just yet, as the two foodies, Niu Lianfang and Ding Lan, had rushed in to beg her to roast some rice cakes for them.

Implicitly, they had eaten, but they weren't full.

Left with no choice, Liu Dongju had to comply.

Bureau Chief Wu intended to scold Niu Lianfang and Ding Lan, but instead led Liu Xing, Li David, and Liu Siwen toward the roadside. "We're here today on special instructions from higher-ups, ordering me to assist in repairing the bottling equipment at the Hengshui and Zhongyi distilleries over the next month, and they must be fixed."

"What?" Liu Xing was momentarily dumbfounded.

Repairing large-scale bottling machinery was no child's play.

With neither proper tools nor manpower at hand, fixing dozens of bottling machines in a mere month sounded impossible.

"What? Is it too difficult?" Bureau Chief Wu asked with a smile.

Hearing this, Li David and Liu Siwen assumed funds hadn't arrived yet and turned to head back to the sedans parked outside.

Liu Xing glanced at them before answering Bureau Chief Wu. "It's not a question of difficulty. I just can't figure out why you're getting mixed up in this, Uncle."

"I'm being forced by the leadership above, because up to now, you're the only one I can talk to, and you're the only one whose advice I can actually take," Bureau Chief Wu sighed bitterly, revealing the inside story.

This wasn't an exaggeration; it was the absolute truth.

Hengshui and Zhongyi distilleries were among the top ten enterprises in Hengyang. If they went bankrupt due to poor management, the fallout would be immense.

Consequently, the top official in Hengyang had issued a strict order to Bureau Chief Wu, demanding he help the two distilleries tide over their difficulties within the next month or two.

The leadership's stance was simple: regardless of personal grudges between Liu Xing and Li David, and regardless of what conditions Liu Xing demanded, they only wanted results—getting the distilleries back on track.

Otherwise, allowing the situation to rot further wouldn't just mean four or five thousand workers losing their livelihoods; it could trigger widespread social unrest.

Though Bureau Chief Wu didn't spell all this out, Liu Xing understood it clearly enough.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, he spoke frankly. "Uncle, repairing bottling lines isn't as simple as you think. Procuring special materials alone could take half a month. With the sheer volume of equipment at Hengshui Distillery, finishing repairs in a month is wishful thinking. I can't do it—you'd better find someone more capable."

"You rascal, are you playing games with me now? I'll ask you just one thing: can these machines be fixed or not? Just give me a straight answer," Bureau Chief Wu said, shaking his head with his hands on his hips.

To be fair, he didn't want to pressure Liu Xing either, but trapped within the bureaucratic system, he had his own unmentionable hardships and was merely following orders.

"They can be fixed, and I'm entirely confident in doing so," Liu Xing said earnestly. "But a month is too short. Even if you give me enough hands, it can't be done in that timeframe."

"With that answer, nothing else needs to be said!" Bureau Chief Wu burst into laughter. "Hurry up and eat, then come help transplant rice at your place."

"Huh?" Liu Xing looked stunned.

Had he not known better, he would have thought his ears were failing him.

The dignified deputy bureau chief of Hengyang was going to help transplant rice? Was this some kind of sick joke?

"Don't look at me like that. I didn't want to, but the leadership specified that I must satisfy your demands, including rice planting. Didn't you see I brought your aunt along? And Niu Lianfang and Ding Lan too—they're all here to help in the fields," Bureau Chief Wu explained.

"My family's fields don't need that many people," Liu Xing replied, half-laughing, half-crying as it dawned on him.

"Cut the crap. I've already cleared it with the superiors. Since it's a rare chance to get out and clear our heads, don't give me a hard time about it," Bureau Chief Wu scolded playfully.

"Right!" Coming to his senses, Liu Xing let out a breath and asked, "I can understand you, Aunt, Li David, and Liu Siwen coming today, but who are the others?"

By "others," he clearly meant the strange middle-aged men in Zhongshan suits.

Standing beneath the pomelo tree with solemn expressions, they clearly weren't ordinary folks.

"Oh, them? They're cadres from the Hengshui and Zhongyi distilleries, here to help out in the fields too," Bureau Chief Wu explained.

"Cadres in Zhongshan suits coming to plant rice?"

"Are they serious?"

Liu Xing felt a headache coming on.

"Well..." Bureau Chief Wu didn't know how to respond to that.

After all, this was an arrangement made by Li David and Liu Siwen; he couldn't possibly interfere.

Seeing how things stood, Liu Xing let the matter drop for the moment. After a brief pause, he said, "Before we head to my fields, there's a matter I need your help with, Uncle."

"Oh? What is it?" Bureau Chief Wu looked curious.

Knowing Liu Xing's temperament, he wouldn't usually ask for favors on a whim.

In brief terms, Liu Xing recounted how Nai Xinru and Zhao Wuliang had been accosted and bullied by thugs in the bazaar earlier that day.

Listening intently, Bureau Chief Wu grew visibly angry. "Daring to commit daylight robbery right in the marketplace? Those hoodlums must have a death wish."

"Tell you what, I'll have Niu Lianfang handle this right away. As long as Zhao Wuliang can give us their names, those scoundrels won't get far," Bureau Chief Wu declared after scratching his head.

"Alright! Let's go tell Zhao Wuliang right now," Liu Xing suggested.

"Lead the way," Bureau Chief Wu said, walking toward the kitchen with his hands behind his back, followed by Liu Xing.

Along the way, Li David and Liu Siwen blocked his path.

"What do you two want?" Liu Xing frowned.

"Here is the twenty thousand yuan for repairing the bottling equipment," Li David said with a smile, handing over a leather handbag. "Count it and see if the amount is correct."

"And please check my twenty thousand as well," Liu Siwen chimed in with a grin, holding out an identical handbag.

Given the exact match in style and color, they had evidently been withdrawn from the same bank branch.

Shaking his head, Liu Xing ignored the bags for the moment and led the two men over to Zhao Wuliang.

Noticing Bureau Chief Wu's presence, Zhao Wuliang was sweating profusely in terror.

"What are you scared of? My uncle is here about what happened in the bazaar earlier. Do you know the names of those thugs?" Liu Xing frowned.

"Yes, I know them. I know them," Zhao Wuliang stammered.

"Follow me," Bureau Chief Wu instructed, walking toward the kitchen, with Zhao Wuliang trailing behind.

Turning to Nai Xinru, who was busy feeding Xiaodoudou, Liu Xing said, "You should go explain what happened to the bureau chief too. Just tell the truth. Don't worry, with my uncle stepping in, you'll get justice."

"Alright," Nai Xinru shot Liu Xing a strange look, picked up the little boy, and walked into the kitchen.

Leaving her to it, Liu Xing told Zhao Liang, who had finished eating: "Go to the rural cooperative and call Yang志 (Yang Zhi) over. I need to make a deposit."

"Got it!" Finishing his meal in a few large bites, Zhao Liang jumped up and sprinted off toward the cooperative.

Ignoring Li David and Liu Siwen, Liu Xing picked up his bowl and resumed eating.

Shortly after, Niu Lianfang emerged from the kitchen with Zhao Wuliang in tow. "The ruffians he named are from Luoshi Village, and they all have criminal records. I'll take him there right now."

"Right! Right!" Zhao Wuliang nodded repeatedly.

"Does... does my fiancée need to come along?" Zhao Wuliang asked cautiously, noticing Nai Xinru refused to step out of the kitchen.

"No need." Niu Lianfang opened the jeep door, motioned for Zhao Wuliang to climb in, and stepped on the gas, speeding off toward Luoshi Village.

Having watched the whole exchange, Liu Xing kept his thoughts to himself until Bureau Chief Wu emerged from the kitchen with Nai Xinru and Xiaodoudou. "Uncle, if the bazaar encounters such unpleasant incidents again in the future, how should I handle them?"

Decades later, a single phone call would suffice.

But this was the early 1980s; landlines were non-existent in the bazaar.

Preventing crime required laying more groundwork in advance.

"Do you even need to ask me? Just have someone lock them up," Bureau Chief Wu said with a smile, taking a seat next to Liu Xing. "Though incidents like this won't happen around here for the next two or three months."

"Why's that?" Liu Xing asked casually.

Li David, Liu Siwen, and the others looked equally intrigued.

Bureau Chief Wu smiled mysteriously. "Can't tell you just yet. You'll understand in a few days."

"Fair enough." Glancing at the sky, Liu Xing turned toward the kitchen. "Sis, come out for a second."

"Coming, coming!" Liu Dongju hurried out of the kitchen, followed closely by little Xiaobudan, who was still chewing on a rice cake.

"I'm heading back to the fields to transplant rice now, so I'm leaving the shoe shop in your care," Liu Xing said with a smile as he scooped up Xiaobudan. "If things get too busy at home, feel free to close the shop. Or, if you prefer, you can ask her to watch the store."

He pointed toward Nai Xinru, who was still busy feeding her son.

"Huh?" Liu Dongju blinked in surprise.

She hadn't expected this arrangement at all.

Though Nai Xinru was Zhao Wuliang's fiancée, there was no need to go out of her way to butter her up by handing over the management of such an important shoe shop.

After all, Nai Xinru was still essentially an outsider.

Seeing her bewildered expression, Liu Xing chuckled. "Sis, don't worry. My arrangements are always sound; you'll understand later."

Nai Xinru would turn out to be a multi-billion-dollar corporate giant decades from now. If she couldn't even manage a small shoe store, running a massive enterprise would have been impossible.

Naturally, his move was also a calculated favor to Nai Xinru.

Perhaps that favor would be worth hundreds of millions in the future.

Oblivious to his thoughts, Liu Dongju didn't question it further, nodding gently. "Alright, if you say so."

Absorbed in feeding Xiaodoudou, Nai Xinru hadn't overheard their conversation until Liu Dongju walked over to relay the plan. Surprised, she turned to Liu Xing and asked, "Why do you trust me like this?"

"Because of Zhao Wuliang, obviously," Li Qing chimed in with a grin after finishing his meal.

The remark annoyed Nai Xinru, but instead of blowing up, she waited for Liu Xing's answer.

"You really want to know the secret?" Liu Xing smiled.

"Mmm," she nodded.

"It's nothing much, really. To me, it boils down to eight characters," Liu Xing replied.

"Oh?" Nai Xinru looked puzzled.

Li Qing, Liu Dongju, and the others were equally curious.

Setting down the playful Xiaobudan, Liu Xing stated, "Those eight words are: 'Though mothers are gentle by nature, motherhood makes them indomitable.'"

It wasn't just a casual platitude.

It was an accurate reflection of Nai Xinru's current reality.

If not for Xiaodoudou, would she have subjected herself to public exposure trying to run a business in the bazaar?

Seeing that the perceptive woman understood the underlying sentiment and caught the glimmer of tears welling in her eyes, Liu Xing stood up, sighed softly, and added, "When Xiaobudan ran back to tell me you'd been beaten, my first thought was that your emotions must have completely collapsed, leaving you helpless and desperate."

"Yet when I arrived at the scene, I realized I was entirely mistaken." With his hands behind his back, Liu Xing walked closer to her. "Not only had you not broken down, but you had the courage to call out Zhao Wuliang's cowardice and even challenge me."

"If... if that isn't the strength forged by motherhood, what is?" Pausing briefly, he added with a smile, "And someone with that kind of resilient character is precisely what my shoe shop needs."

He left the rest unsaid.

Yet everyone present understood the implication.

Liu Xing respected Nai Xinru's maternal fortitude, which was why he entrusted the shop to her.

In truth, beyond that consideration, a far more critical factor was that Liu Xing was investing in the future.

With Widow Nai slated to become a titan of Xiangnan Province decades later, failing to leverage his rebirth memories to forge a connection now meant losing the chance to even speak to her once she rose to prominence.

This wasn't mere opportunism; since life had given him a second chance, he intended to ride the winds of change, seize every opportunity, and carve out a domain of his own.

Above all, he knew that the woman colloquially dubbed Widow Nai in later decades was not ungrateful or untrustworthy; rather, she was a person of deep loyalty and honor, rarely breaking a promise once given.

***

*Chapter one of ten thousand words delivered! Requesting monthly tickets and subscriptions!*