A delicate beauty takes a place in a marriage, while a cold, rough man seduces her every night.

The two tied all the mountain goods and game to the back of their bicycle. As Fang Zhijie pushed the bicycle, he excitedly asked:

"What happened? How did your wife become such a beauty?"

"Stop staring at my wife like that from now on," Xiao Jingye said.

"Hey—how could you be like this? You've forgotten your principles for the sake of beauty, haven't you?"

As they talked, the two gradually walked away.

Not long after Xiao Jingye left, Zeng Yumei got up. When Qiao Qingyan saw her come out, she quickly ladled out the warm porridge from the pot and brought it to her.

"Mom, are you feeling any better now?"

Zeng Yumei smiled and shook her head: "Mom is fine now. Thank you for taking care of Duoduo last night."

Seeing that her complexion had improved significantly, Qiao Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Xiao Jingye and Fang Zhijie arrived at Erlijing in the city.

This place has the largest market, bustling with people all day long.

Xiao Jingye arranged the various mountain products he had gathered one by one, leaving Fang Zhijie to stay behind and oversee the sales, while he carried three wild pheasants and headed towards the state-run restaurant.

Old Xu, the head chef of the state-run restaurant near Erlijing, had known Xiao Jingye for several years.

The wild game that Xiao Jingye hunted in the mountains, besides being sold to restaurants in town, was mostly sent to Lao Xu first.

Old Xu offered fair and straightforward prices, and his demand was also high, so the two have been cooperating for many years.

A while ago, he hunted a fat wild boar that weighed 190 pounds.

The restaurants in town were only willing to charge one yuan per pound, and they couldn't even sell all the meat, so Xiao Jingye couldn't bring himself to do it.

Later, when it was brought to Lao Xu, the man immediately recognized that the wild boar was plump and strong with excellent meat quality. He bought the whole thing for 1.2 yuan per jin and settled the payment on the spot without any delay.

"Uncle Xu, there are only three wild pheasants. I only caught some mountain produce this time, so I didn't hunt much. These three chickens were caught in a trap. Look, they're still full of energy." Xiao Jingye placed the wild pheasants on the ground in the back kitchen yard.

Old Xu was in his fifties, dressed in a clean white chef's uniform. He was slightly overweight and looked kind and capable.

He picked up the pheasant, examined it closely, and nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad, not bad."

Xiao Jingye took out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket, handed him one, and lit it for him.

Old Xu slowly exhaled a ring of smoke, squinted his eyes, and asked with a smile, "What good mountain produce did you get your hands on this time?"

"Gastrodia elata, Codonopsis pilosula, wild shiitake mushrooms, and some morel mushrooms."

"Wow, you've got some good stuff. Why didn't you bring me the shiitake mushrooms and morels too?"

He chuckled and said, "I didn't pick much this time, in case you don't like it. I'll stock up on more next time and bring it to you specially."

Old Xu patted him on the shoulder: "Our restaurant is doing very well lately. The private rooms on the second floor are frequented by respectable people from various bureaus and departments who have a particular fondness for wild game. They don't even look at ordinary ingredients."

"Your current supply can't keep up. If you really want to make more money, you have to find a way to stabilize and expand your supply."

Xiao Jingye nodded solemnly: "Thank you, Uncle Xu. I've got it. I'll think about it carefully when I get back."

By the time all the mountain produce was sold out, it was already past 1 p.m.

The mountain produce sold for about fifty yuan in total. Xiao Jingye immediately gave half of the money to Fang Zhijie, as the two of them had picked the produce together.

Fang Zhijie quickly waved his hand and declined, saying, "What are you doing? I'm just helping out, I can't possibly take your money."

Without a word, Xiao Jingye stuffed the money into his pocket: "Take it. Even brothers should keep clear accounts. You don't have a proper business to make a living right now, and you have expenses everywhere."

Fang Zhijie pursed his lips: "I was thinking of working with you and making something of myself in the future."

"I'm just a country bumpkin. I don't have any skills other than hunting and dealing in mountain products. You've had more education than me, how can you just mess around with me? Zhijie, listen to your dad and go work at the post office. You'll have a proper job, which is better than mine."

"Didn't you mention wanting to start a business selling mountain products? What, you're not planning to go all the way? Now that you've married the woman you've been longing for all these years, and Qingyan is a pampered city girl, what about her daily expenses? And if you two have a few more children in the future, the expenses will be even greater."

Xiao Jingye's expression turned serious as he said earnestly, "Selling a few mountain products here and there is easy, but if you really want to expand your business, it's not that simple. There are many intricacies and difficulties involved... I need to carefully plan my approach before proceeding cautiously."

Fang Zhijie put his arm around his shoulder and said, "Hey, hey, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go get some braised noodles and chat slowly."

After having lunch in the city, Xiao Jingye stopped by a herbal medicine shop to get some medicine for his mother to regulate her body.

As he left the pharmacy, he was greeted by the city's largest supply and marketing cooperative. Without hesitation, he stepped inside.

The supply and marketing cooperative was filled with a wide variety of goods. Xiao Jingye weighed out the most expensive loose biscuits and also asked for a bag of White Rabbit milk candy.

My gaze swept over the various pretty hair ties in the glass display case, and I suddenly stopped in my tracks.

Fang Zhijie also bought some things for the family. Seeing Xiao Jingye staring at the hair ties, he went up to him and teased him:

"What, planning to buy your new wife a hair tie to win her favor?"

He already knew how Qiao Qingyan had dramatically married into the Xiao family, and he was genuinely happy for his brother.

Xiao Jingye had a crush on Qiao Qingyan for so many years, but she didn't even recognize or remember him. He always felt it was unfair to his brother.

That's great, his brother's dream has come true.

Xiao Jingye did not respond, his gaze still fixed on the various hair accessories in the counter.

Upon seeing this, the sales clerk quickly struck up a conversation: "Sir, is this for your wife?"

"Um."

How old is your wife?

"nineteen."

"Oh, how about a headband? Look, all the young women in the city love wearing this style now." The saleswoman picked up a white headband and handed it to her. "This one is fashionable and elegant; your wife will definitely look good in it."

Xiao Jingye immediately pictured Qiao Qingyan's beautiful and delicate face in his mind, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes: "Take this one."

On the way back, Xiao Jingye rode his bicycle while Fang Zhijie sat behind him, exclaiming "Holy crap!" the whole time.

"Your wife is only 19?!" He was shocked to learn that Qingyan was even younger than Chunya, and he felt that his brother was a real jerk!

"She's just a young girl who hasn't been an adult for long, how could you do that to her?"

Xiao Jingye got annoyed by his words and deliberately rode his bicycle into a pothole, causing Fang Zhijie to be jolted violently and shut his mouth.

Upon arriving at the village, Xiao Jingye told Fang Zhijie to ride his bicycle back to the village first, while he walked home.

Along the way, he took out the small bag containing the hairband and looked at it several times.

As I approached my own courtyard gate, I could see two figures standing there in the distance.

Qiao Qingyan wore a simple bright yellow dress, her figure was graceful and her hair was loose, with soft strands falling over her shoulders, making her look gentle and beautiful.

The man standing opposite her was none other than her childhood sweetheart, Jiang Runsheng.

The man wore a light-colored striped short-sleeved shirt and black trousers, carrying a briefcase. He was handsome, refined, and well-mannered.

The two of them stood together, looking as perfect as a painting.

Xiao Jingye's eyes darkened, his gaze instantly becoming deep and dark.

He pursed his lips, suppressing his emotions, and walked towards the two of them as if nothing had happened.