The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

In the dead of night, Li Kaixin disguised himself and appeared in an alley in the south of the city.

People come and go here, all of them wearing masks, and there are many stall owners on both sides of the road.

That's right, the place he's standing in now is the black market that Boss Guan set up for Hu Laoliu, which has been open for nearly three months.

Li Kaixin simply observed his surroundings and, after confirming that there was nothing unusual, walked straight towards Hu Laoliu's stall.

Hu Laoliu was lying on a recliner with his eyes closed, legs crossed, looking quite relaxed and content.

It seems they have moved on from the shadow of being wiped out in one fell swoop by their superiors.

"Brother Hu Liu, you're living a good life!" Li Kaixin approached and looked at him with a smile.

Upon hearing this voice, Hu Laoliu suddenly opened his eyes.

"Oh, it's Brother Zhou! I've almost forgotten that today is the day we're supposed to trade."

As he spoke, he stood up from the recliner with a chuckle.

"Really?" Li Kaixin replied, raising an eyebrow at him. "Alright then, I also forgot to prepare my stock. Let's trade next time!"

After saying that, he pretended to turn around and leave.

Seeing this, Hu Laoliu quickly stepped forward to stop him: "No, no, no, Brother Zhou, I was just joking with you, why did you take it seriously?"

"Brother Hu Liu, how could you have known I was serious!"

Li Kaixin stopped and looked at him with a half-smile: "I just wanted to see if you'd gotten over what happened last time."

Hu Laoliu was taken aback for a moment, then grinned and said, "Thank you for your concern, Brother Zhou, but I haven't cared about this matter for a long time."

Since he found out that the dozen or so underlings who had been arrested and imprisoned would only have to undergo one or two years of labor reform, he felt less pressure.

"That's good."

Li Kaixin nodded and glanced around at him: "Brother Hu Liu, have you prepared all the manpower and resources for today's transaction?"

"Alright, I'll go get them now. See you at our usual spot."

After Hu Laoliu finished speaking, he walked over to one of his underlings, whispered a few words to him, and then quickly left.

Li Kaixin didn't delay either. He turned around, left the black market, and headed towards the usual trading place.

A little over an hour later, the two parties completed the transaction.

This time, Li Kaixin shipped more goods than ever before.

There are 1,200 chickens, ducks, and rabbits of each kind, as well as 6,000 catties of eggs, and five wild boars and five goats each.

In the past, it would have been impossible for Hu Laoliu and Guan Laoda to digest so much within a week.

However, Li Kaixin came up with a solution for them: to directly distribute the goods to their counterparts in the east, north, and west of Beijing.

Furthermore, to motivate them even more, the price of each chicken, duck, and rabbit was reduced by one yuan.

He now essentially controls the entire sales network of Beijing.

Although the selling price was lower, the money came in just as quickly; this time alone, I made fifteen large yellow croakers.

Compared to before, my income has increased by a full 50%.

.......

In the blink of an eye, six days had passed since the last transaction with Hu Laoliu, and the day of Li Kaixin's engagement had finally arrived.

Early in the morning, the sound of car horns could be heard outside the gate of No. 94 courtyard.

Upon hearing the noise, Li Kaixin immediately sat up on the kang (a heated brick bed) and put on the new cotton-padded clothes that had been prepared the day before.

After tidying everything up, he pushed open the door and went out without stopping.

Outside, Song Anting, Lu Chunhua, and Song Qiang, a family of three, were already waiting.

Song Anting was wearing a brand new red cotton-padded jacket today, and she also had blush on her face.

Song Qiang and Lu Chunhua were dressed the same, clearly prepared specifically for today.

Li Kaixin saw them the moment she stepped out.

"Uncle Song, Aunt Lu, An Ting, you're up so early!"

As he spoke, he greeted them with a smile.

"Of course!"

Lu Chunhua, with a smile on her face, continued, glancing at her daughter beside her:

"An Ting got up before dawn to get ready in order to impress you today."

"Mom! What did you say?!" Song Anting stomped her foot in embarrassment upon hearing this, her face turning even redder.

As soon as the words fell, Li Kaixin was already close by, taking her hand: "An Ting, you look so beautiful today!"

"Brother Kaixin, as long as you like it, that's fine." Song Anting lowered her head and replied softly.

At this moment, Song Qiang walked up and patted Li Kaixin on the shoulder:

"I'm so happy! After today, I'll be handing An Ting over to you."

As he finished speaking, his eyes reddened.

"Father, don't worry."

Li Kaixin looked at his father-in-law and solemnly promised, "I will definitely treat An Ting well and will never let her suffer the slightest grievance."

Upon hearing this form of address, Song Qiang paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded repeatedly, "Good, good! I'm so happy to hear that, I'm relieved."

Seeing this, Lu Chunhua was also happy for her daughter.

She raised her hand to wipe her eyes and urged, "Alright, alright, let's hurry up and go, don't keep the driver waiting outside."

"Okay, Mother!" Li Kaixin replied, taking Song Anting's hand, and walked with Song Qiang and his wife towards the courtyard gate.

Outside the gate, two jeeps were parked directly in front of the gate.

The car was currently occupied by the brothers Chen Yongtai and Chen Yong'an, as well as Liu Jianming and Zhou Anran.

As soon as Li Kaixin stepped out, Liu Jianming saw him and immediately shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Hey! You finally showed up, kid. Where's your fiancée? Bring her out so we can all have a look!"

Song Anting, who was following behind Li Kaixin, stopped in her tracks upon hearing these words.

"It's alright, An Ting, they're all my friends!"

Li Kaixin patted her hand, turned around and said with a smile, "Brother Jianming, don't talk so loudly. My fiancée isn't as shameless as you."

"Hey kid, you're already protecting her before you're even married, huh...?"

Before Liu Jianming could finish his joke, Zhou Anran, sitting in the passenger seat, pinched his waist:

"Jianming, shut up, or you'll really scare the girl."

At this moment, Chen Yongtai, who was in the driver's seat of the car in front, leaned out and urged with a smile:

"Kaixin, today is your big day! Hurry up and help your fiancée into the car, or you'll miss the auspicious time."

"Okay, Yongtai!" Li Kaixin nodded and said softly to Song Anting beside him, "Anting, let's get in the car!"

Song Anting gave a soft "hmm," but tightened her grip on his hand even more.

Upon arriving, Li Kaixin first arranged for his parents-in-law to sit in the back car before walking with Song Anting towards the front car.

Once all four were in the car, the two drivers, Chen Yongtai and Liu Jianming, didn't delay and immediately started the car, leaving the alley and heading towards Beijing.

As for Li Kaixin's parents and younger siblings, they are already in Lijia Village.

They took leave the day before yesterday and rushed back early yesterday morning to make arrangements.