I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

Fenglin and Qiaoqiao stayed in their room all morning.

Qiaoqiao tried on the new coat Fenglin had given her, pairing it with different pants.

"Fenglin, this coat is so beautiful, I almost don't want to wear it."

"These beautiful clothes are only suitable for you. Jin Tao said there are summer clothes for summer, and he'll send you a dress next year, so don't buy one."

Feng Lin looked at Qiao Qiao with delight, feeling even happier wearing the nice clothes than if they were on herself.

"Fenglin, I know you're good to me. You're still having difficulties right now, so don't think about sending me clothes. I have clothes; you can take them and sell them for money."

"You're allowed to be nice to me, but I'm not allowed to be nice to you? When I see a pretty dress, I think, 'Qiaoqiao would look so good in it.'"

"Fenglin, you're too good to me. You only think about others."

"You're not just anyone."

Qiaoqiao took off her coat, carefully put it away in the closet, and planned to wear it again when she went back to her parents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

"Fenglin, when you return to the village this afternoon, there may be some rumors going around, but don't take them to heart."

"Jin Tao said that I went back to my parents' house to stay, and I don't see my mother-in-law. She's unhappy with me, but I can't hear her."

Fenglin smiled happily as she returned to the village. What she feared most was her mean-spirited mother-in-law.

"Brother Jintao is so kind; he's thought of everything for you."

"Yes, Qiaoqiao, sometimes I feel like it's unreal. I'm not well-educated, how did I end up marrying such a good man?"

"You're great too, kind and hardworking, you've devoted your whole heart to Brother Jintao, he's so lucky."

"Qiaoqiao, we're friends. You think I'm great, but I'm really not that great."

Fenglin smiled happily. She had always felt inferior and worried that she was not good enough for Zhao Jintao. With Qiaoqiao's encouragement, her confidence also improved.

"Qiaoqiao, Sister Sanhua who helps me sell clothes is the most shrewd and capable person I've ever met. I give her six yuan for a sweater, and she can sell it for ten yuan."

Fenglin started telling interesting stories about the provincial capital.

"Fenglin, I'm studying marketing management. The book says that sales are the soul of a company. You've met a benefactor. Good things are only good if they can be sold."

"Really? It's written in the book? Thanks to Sister Sanhua, otherwise I would have had to mend and sell clothes. I might not have been able to sell all those clothes before the New Year."

Fenglin is truly grateful to Sister Sanhua.

"A person's energy is limited. You can't hoard all the profits. If you want everything, you'll end up losing more."

"Qiaoqiao, you scholars are truly remarkable. Just one sentence has enlightened me. If I have a lot of clothes next year, I'm thinking of buying another sewing machine and hiring another person. Jin Tao said that the resources he has are very valuable."

"Exactly. Even among cadres, how many of them frequently go to Shanghai and Guangzhou? Even if there are many good things outside, information is scarce, and ordinary people don't know where to buy clothes. Brother Jintao just happens to have this resource. Fenglin, I think you're going to make a fortune."

"I'm rich right now, over a thousand!"

"Fenglin, you need to have higher standards. Ten thousand is what it means to be rich."

"Ten...ten thousand? No way, Qiaoqiao, I'll never earn ten thousand in my entire life. Clothes might sell well during the New Year, but that's uncertain after the New Year."

When Fenglin heard that it was 10,000, he was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly.

"Once you have 10,000 yuan, go buy a house. Brother Jintao has an urban household registration, so he can't buy a house privately, but you can. Buy one in the nearby suburbs, and you can transfer your household registration to the local area. The suburbs of the provincial capital are always better than Dashui Village. My classmate Yao Xing bought two courtyard houses in the shantytown. Although he has a rural household registration, they are very close to the city, which is pretty good."

"What if Jin Tao doesn't work in the provincial capital anymore? I'll go wherever he goes. I'll buy a house after he's settled down."

"Fenglin, Brother Jintao will definitely be going to the provincial capital in the future. If you sell clothes well in the provincial capital, you can buy a house there."

"Buying a house, Qiaoqiao, that sounds unrealistic."

"Xiaoqi's family is building a new house because they make kimchi, why can't you buy a house? Dad said that in the early days of economic opening up, people needed so many things, even a rag could fetch a good price. Fenglin, this is the right time to act, we're standing at the forefront of this trend, even pigs can fly."

Qiaoqiao patiently analyzed the current economic situation for Fenglin.

"Pigs can fly now? Does that mean I, Feng Lin, can fly too?"

"Yes, you'll be among the first to get rich."

"Qiaoqiao, you're so good at flattering me, but I'm happy to hear it."

In the early stages of economic reform, everything was recovering, and as long as you had some resources, the speed at which you could make money was frightening.

Meanwhile, Yao Xing, Xiao Qi, and Feng Lin, centered around the Zhou family, firmly grasped the pace of reform and easily earned their first pot of gold in an era when workers' wages were only thirty or forty yuan.

Even the Yang family, who sold tofu, earned profits they never dared to dream of before.

With Feng Lin's help, Qiao Qiao's mother also started mending clothes and selling socks, and her life became rich overnight, but that's another story.

Qiaoqiao packed two bags of gifts in two military travel bags. One bag was for Yang Zheng to take back to his parents, and the other bag was for Fenglin.

Besides lamb legs, beef, and fish, Qiaoqiao also bought candy and cookies for the family.

During the Lunar New Year, villagers would visit the Yang family to offer New Year's greetings, and they would always bring some gifts to entertain their guests.

The economy was still very poor, and fruit candies from the city were the dream of the village children.

After finishing the candy, I washed the wrapper clean and tucked it inside the book, reluctant to throw it away.

Zhou Zhonghai didn't return at noon, so he specially sent Gu Quan to take Yang Zheng, Zhao Jintao, and Feng Lin back, and then pick up Xiao Wei on the way.

Qiaoqiao also wanted to go back with the car, but unfortunately, the big bluefish at home needed to be fried, and Sister Hu couldn't handle it all by herself, so she had to go back on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

"Qiaoqiao, I'll be waiting for you in Dashui Village." Fenglin bid farewell to Qiaoqiao with reluctance.

"Qiaomei, go home early on the second day of the Lunar New Year. I'll heat the kang (heated brick bed) nice and warm," Yang Zheng said.

"Okay, brother, remember to eat the lamb leg you brought back, don't leave any for us."

"Okay, Qiaomei, go back now. See you on the second day of the Lunar New Year."

"Qiaomei, thank you for taking care of me, and thank you for the gifts," Zhao Jintao said sincerely.

"Brother Jintao, you have to stay with Fenglin after she returns to the village, so that the villagers won't gossip," Qiaoqiao whispered to him.

"Yes, I know."

The car started, and Qiaoqiao felt a little melancholy. She absolutely couldn't let Fenglin know that she couldn't have children.

Qiaoqiao entered the house, and the courtyard gate rang. She looked up and saw that it was Chef Li from the Armed Forces Department's canteen standing at the door.

"Hey, Uncle Li, what brings you here? Is something wrong at Songming's house?" Qiaoqiao quickly opened the door.

Master Li smiled and said, "Minister Liu's family is fine. I'll help you fry the fish and clean up the leftover meat. You can just do a little processing for the New Year."

"cocoa……"

Qiaoqiao's mind is closed off. The head chef of the Armed Forces Department's canteen, is he here to help his family prepare food?

When Qiaoqiao got married, Chef Li helped cook a table of dishes. Yesterday, at the family gathering, Chef Li roasted a whole lamb. Those were all orders from the boss.

Today, he came to help fry fish. Could it be that Songming also instructed him to do so?