The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

After passing through the food-related living support area, the things inside became increasingly mixed and varied as you walked further in.

There are vendors selling clothes, shoes, socks, pots and pans, bonsai and flowers, as well as ring toss and balloon popping games, and people drawing portraits and writing artistic calligraphy on the spot... you name it, they have it.

Just as she passed a stall that offered screen protector application, Zhi Qiu's eyes lit up and she stopped in her tracks.

She tugged at Ye Shu's arm, pointed with her chin to a small stall next to them, and sounded a little excited in her voice:

"Little Shu, take a look at this."

Ye Shu followed her gaze and turned to look at the small stall selling bracelets.

A red cloth was spread on a folding table, on which were placed dozens of small, transparent plastic boxes, each containing plastic beads with engraved words.

The characters above are easy to imagine; they're probably things like fortune, prosperity, longevity, happiness, peace, and joy, roughly categorized by the first letter of the pinyin.

There were also some accessories such as small gold ingots, small chili peppers, and small flowers placed next to it.

"My sister wants one, is that okay?"

Zhi Qiu turned to look at Ye Shu, not out of politeness, but rather as if she were being coquettish.

Ye Shu looked at Zhi Qiu, who always maintained a mature image, and laughed, surprised to see her with such a girlish side.

"Go away, why are you being so polite with me? If you want one, just get one."

As he spoke, he pulled Zhi Qiu toward the stall.

The stall owner was a middle-aged woman who looked to be in her fifties. She was sitting on a plastic stool, holding a red string in her hand and stringing beads into a bracelet. It seemed that she had already chosen the beads and was stringing them on the spot.

When the auntie saw that a customer had come to her door, and that they were clearly a young couple, she immediately greeted them warmly.

Because if it's a family of three, they'd probably only buy one for the child. But if it's a young couple, wouldn't they buy two? Sales doubled!

"Come pick a bracelet. Pick any beads you like. They're all one dollar each, and the red string is fifty cents each."

This woman clearly knew the ropes of this market; there were so many people that if you didn't seize the opportunity, you might just take a quick look and leave.

Before Ye Shu and his companion could even ask the price, the auntie had already rattled off the prices.

Ye Shu nodded. The price wasn't too expensive. He lowered his head and started rummaging through the several large boxes of beads, trying to find the character he wanted.

These beads are not very big, and the characters are also small. When they are mixed together, it is really hard on the eyes to pick them out.

Zhi Qiu stood to the side, her eyes scanning the stall, and noticed several small boxes placed on the table.

She picked one up and looked at it. Inside the box was a finished bracelet that had already been woven, made of imitation jade material.

Seeing that Zhi Qiu was interested in this item, the aunt immediately shifted her focus and began to promote it to Zhi Qiu:

"Young lady, you have excellent taste! This bracelet is made of imported Hetian jade! Look at the clarity and luster, how translucent it is! It usually sells for thirty-five yuan a piece, but seeing how handsome and beautiful you are, I'll give you a discount—thirty-one yuan a piece! Two pieces for fifty! How about it? It really enhances your elegance!"

Ye Shu, listening nearby, almost burst out laughing. "Auntie, do you even know where Hetian is? And you're talking about importing Hetian jade..."

He glanced at the imported Hetian jade in Zhi Qiu's hand. Wasn't it just dyed glass? It could only fool a young girl.

He was really afraid it was made from a bottle of snowflakes; if he carried it, he'd be ready to brave the world.

Zhi Qiu was not the kind of girl who was easily fooled. Upon hearing this, she simply smiled faintly at the aunt, shook her head, put the box back in its place, and lowered her head to start rummaging through the beads.

The auntie didn't seem embarrassed at all when she realized she hadn't made the deal for the imported Hetian jade. She just smiled and said, "Okay, take your time choosing. Call me when you're done." Then she sat back down on the stool and continued putting on the bracelet on her wrist.

For her, these "high-end goods" were just a matter of luck, a way to fool laymen and make some extra money. Her main business was still selling affordable beads, one yuan each.

The two huddled together, rummaging through the pile of beads for a while. Ye Shu nudged Zhi Qiu's arm and held out her hand in front of her:

"Sister Zhi Qiu, look."

Zhi Qiu turned her head and saw that Ye Shu had four pairs of beads in her palm, with the words "Xiao Nuan", "Xia Qing", "Zhi Qiu", and "Xiao Xue" on them.

Zhi Qiu nodded:

"Hmm, this is perfect as an accessory."

She picked out a few small golden leaves from the box of accessories next to her, placed them in Ye Shu's palm, and paired them with a pair next to each of the four names.

Ye Shu certainly understood Zhi Qiu's meaning; the meaning of Ye's accessories, combined with their names, was directly written on the surface.

"it is good."

Then, Ye Shu looked up at the aunt and said:

"Auntie, I've chosen four. Let's braid them in this order using red string. Could you add a small bead or a silver clasp at the end?"

"Yes, absolutely! You have great taste in fashion, young man. It looks good."

The auntie beamed, her silver back tooth practically showing in her smile. She took the beads Ye Shu had chosen, placed them on the table in the order Ye Shu had instructed, and began threading them.

This is a big customer; they bought four at once.

Ye Shu watched as the aunt put a bracelet on him, then turned his head and found Zhi Qiu still looking down and fiddling with it.

"Sister Zhi Qiu, what are you still choosing?"

He thought that Sister Zhi Qiu wanted to buy one for Aunt Shen or Uncle An as well.

Upon hearing this, Zhi Qiu looked up, smiled at him, and showed the beads in her hand to Ye Shu:

"I'll pick one for you too, a matching couple's set, of course you need one too."

Ye Shu looked at Zhi Qiu's hand, which already had several beads, and wondered if her name was really that long.

Upon closer inspection, the characters are 【Spring】, 【Summer】, 【Expression】, 【Autumn】, and 【Winter】, with two golden leaves placed at each end.

"This is good!"

Ye Shu immediately nodded and gave Zhi Qiu a thumbs up.

This bracelet connects the five people together. The character "Shu" is surrounded by the other four, and the other four are also sandwiched between the leaves of the bracelet. It can be said that you are in me and I am in you. What a wonderful meaning!

Ye Shu nodded repeatedly as she thought to herself. She didn't know if Sister Zhi Qiu thought the same way, but it didn't matter. She would just assume that was what she thought.

"Auntie, braid this one too, with the same red string, and add the same knot at the end."

"Okay! Ready in a minute!"

The older woman was even happier, thinking that it was still easier to make money off young couples.

Five bracelets made of red string, adorned with cheap plastic beads and accessories, cost a total of about twenty yuan.

When Ye Shu saw that the woman had even used five small resealable bags to secure the bracelet, he thought to himself, "Wow, that's some service awareness."

Zhi Qiu couldn't wait any longer. She took out the bracelet with her name on it, unfastened the clasp at the back, and put it on her left wrist.

There, where she already wore the star bracelet, now she has another bracelet with her name on it.

She then helped Ye Shu put on the "Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter" bracelet, which was also worn together with the star bracelet on his wrist.

"How is it?"

Zhi Qiu shook her wrist.

Ye Shu looked at hers, then at the one on her own wrist, and said:

"Mine isn't as nice as yours."

Upon hearing this, Zhi Qiu smiled, reached out and grabbed his arm, laughing as she said:

"You're so good at talking."

The two smiled at each other, then linked arms and continued walking forward.

And the two red ropes, connected by each other's pulses, move forward together with their heartbeats.