My sister broke off her engagement to marry someone richer? My older sister married me and became in

Winter has already arrived.

Snowflakes fell finely onto the bluestone slabs, quickly melting into a layer of cold water.

Lin Xiulan, wrapped in a gray rabbit fur scarf that Lu Qingshan had asked someone to bring from Hongshi County, and Chen Meili each pushed a tricycle full of "Xiushan Gift Boxes" and stopped at the back door of the Provincial Department Store.

As the receiving clerk, Lao Li, was stamping his feet and breathing out warm air, he saw the red lettering on the truck and quickly went to greet him.

"Oh, my dear sisters-in-law, you've finally arrived! With this heavy snow, I was worried the roads would be blocked and you wouldn't be able to deliver it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Section Chief Zhou, dressed in a sharp Zhongshan suit, pushed open the back door and came out.

He glanced at the neatly arranged Xiushan gift boxes, then at Lin Xiulan, his tone revealing urgency.

"Xiulan, can you increase the shipment volume from Hongshi County?"

Lin Xiulan did not respond immediately, but instead took out a handwritten form and handed it over.

"Section Chief Zhou, here are today's goods. Please check their quality first."

"No inspection required!" Section Chief Zhou waved his hand and signed the form directly.

"If we can't trust your goods, then there won't be any good mountain products left in the provincial capital. Let me be frank with you, Wei Biao went to jail, and the market is now completely empty."

"Next month, I'd like to increase your order by 50%. Can Xiushan Industry handle that all at once?"

Chen Meili listened from the side and swallowed hard. Half the quantity, how much money would they make!

Lin Xiulan folded the signed forms neatly, put them in her pocket, and shook her head with a smile.

"Section Chief Zhou, the bold get rich, the timid starve. But at Xiushan Industry, we believe in 'the bigger the pot, the more rice you can put in.'"

Lin Xiulan's voice was not loud, but it was steady.

"Adding 30% is the highest quality we can guarantee in Hongshi County right now. Any more, and the quality of the goods we receive will be inconsistent, which would damage Xiushan's reputation and also tarnish your image, Section Chief Zhou. We can't make that kind of money."

Section Chief Zhou was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, pointing at Lin Xiulan and nodding repeatedly.

"Good! Well said, 'You can only cook what you can handle!' Lu Qingshan is incredibly lucky to have married you! We'll do as you say, add 30%! I'll have my secretary draft the contract right away!"

After signing the new contract, Lin Xiulan led Chen Meili back home.

Passing by a grocery store, Lin Xiulan went in and bought two bags of freshly roasted sunflower seeds.

Just as I stepped out of the store, the wind and snow suddenly intensified.

Lin Xiulan stopped and pulled her scarf up a little.

Just then, her gaze froze.

At the corner of the steps in front of the department store, a woman was huddled up. She hugged her knees with both hands, her head buried deep in her arms, like a frozen stray dog.

The man was wearing a mink coat. The once shiny fur was now covered in mud and vegetable scraps, and the cuffs were greasy and clumped together.

Lin Xiulan stopped.

She recognized the coat, and she also recognized the person inside it.

When Lin Xiumei broke off the engagement at Lu Qingshan's home in Hongshitun, at the entrance of the state-run restaurant in the county town, and at the counter of the department store, she was wearing this coat, looking down at people with her chin down, and spewing out the most sarcastic and mean-spirited ridicule.

"Sister-in-law, look at that beggar..."

Chen Meili followed Lin Xiulan's gaze, but the words she was about to say got stuck in her throat.

Chen Meili rubbed her eyes, pointed at the dark figure, her voice trembling with excitement: "Sister-in-law! Isn't that Lin Xiumei? What's she doing in the provincial capital?"

Lin Xiulan stood still, her feet rooted to the spot in the snow, completely motionless.

"Beautiful." Lin Xiulan's voice was calm and expressionless.

Chen Meili exclaimed anxiously, "Sister-in-law! Do you still feel sorry for her? She's practically driven you to your death!"

Lin Xiulan looked down at the roasted melon seeds in her hand, the heat spreading through the brown paper to her palm.

"I don't feel sorry for her, but I don't want to go over and scold her either." Lin Xiulan raised her head, looking at the figure shivering in the wind and snow, her tone surprisingly calm.

"Sister-in-law, you have such a good temper..."

"This isn't about having a good temper," Lin Xiulan interrupted Chen Meili.

"Beauty, remember this. When we stand on high ground and look down, we don't need to step on the mud. Because she's already rotting in the mud. Stepping on her will only dirty our new shoes and won't do any good."

Chen Meili was stunned, her mouth half-open, unable to utter a word for a long time.

Lin Xiulan turned around and walked back into the wind and snow, her steps steady and quick.

All I can do is not hate her. But I will never look back at her again.

In the wind and snow, Lin Xiulan walked away resolutely. The mink coat, stained with mud, was completely left behind, without causing a ripple.

Back in the shop's backyard, Monkey Three was directing his employees as they busily unloaded empty boxes.

Lunch was braised pig's trotters that Hou San had packed from a state-run restaurant on the street. Everyone gathered around the stove, gnawing on them with their mouths dripping with oil.

Monkey Three swallowed a large mouthful of fatty meat, wiped his mouth, and moved closer to Lin Xiulan.

"Sister-in-law, Wei Biao's down! That bastard's six large warehouses and his dozen or so stalls in the market are all empty now! Should I take the brothers and go take over the places this afternoon?"

Old Sun nodded vigorously beside him, "Yes, boss! This is a golden opportunity; if we're late, someone else will snatch it up!"

Lin Xiulan put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and looked at Hou San, whose face was flushed.

"Monkey Three, think about it, don't Wei Biao's six warehouses look like a big piece of freshly cut fat?"

"It looks just like it! It's so fat it's dripping with oil!" Monkey Three exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"Have you ever thought about how Wei Biao is the tiger in this market? Now that the tiger has been caught, how many eyes of those wild dogs who are usually afraid of tigers are eyeing this piece of meat?" Lin Xiulan explained the situation in detail.

Monkey Three scratched the back of his head and froze.

"If you lead your men to rush over and grab it now, you'll be the first dog to pounce."

"Before you even get a bite of the meat, you'll be attacked by dozens of dogs from behind, who will surely tear you to shreds, leaving not even bones behind," Lin Xiulan said, taking a sip of hot water from her teacup.

Old Sun gasped, "Boss, are we just going to stand by and watch? That's a lot of hard-earned money!"

"We won't steal it." Lin Xiulan slammed her teacup heavily on the table.

"Let's move a stool, sit high up and watch. When those wild dogs are fighting tooth and nail over the bone, and they're all bleeding and badly injured, then we can rightfully use our knives and forks to cut the fattest piece."

Monkey Three slapped his thigh, suddenly realizing, "Sister-in-law! I get it! We watch others fight, then we clean up the mess afterwards!"

"Smart." Lin Xiulan smiled. "Go, after you finish eating, make sure the front door is locked tight. No one is allowed to go out and cause trouble this afternoon."

At eight o'clock in the evening, the provincial capital was completely dark, and the snow stopped.

Lin Xiulan sat in her office and dialed the phone number at her home in Hongshi County.

The phone was answered after two rings, and Lu Qingshan's deep voice came through the receiver: "How was today?"

Lin Xiulan recounted in detail what happened during the day when she met Section Chief Zhou at the department store and when she saw Lin Xiumei.

There was silence for about ten seconds on the other end of the phone.

"Didn't you go over and stomp on her feet a couple of times?" Lu Qingshan asked.

"No," Lin Xiulan said, holding the hot receiver. "It's not worth it."

Lu Qingshan chuckled softly on the other end of the phone.

"Xiulan, you're better than me. If it were me, I might walk over and toss two coins in front of her. Your complete disregard is the sharpest knife."

Lin Xiulan smiled and changed the subject.

"Qingshan, that big stall Wei Biao left behind—several brawls broke out in the market this afternoon over territory. When are we going to make our move?"

"It'll be soon." Lu Qingshan's voice turned serious. "The higher-ups won't sit idly by and ignore this kind of double-crossing that disrupts market order."

"You mean the authorities are going to intervene?"

"Yes," Lu Qingshan stated his judgment.

"Wei Biao's case involves too much money. The Industry and Commerce Bureau will definitely take back his stalls and market share and redistribute them. What we need to wait for is the official document."

Lin Xiulan's eyes lit up: "I understand. We won't fight with petty thugs on the streets, we'll talk to the authorities about our qualifications!"

"That's right. We have the inspection-free signboard of the Provincial No. 1 Department Store, and we are the main source of goods in Hongshi County."

"Once the official notification is issued, we will openly and legitimately take on the largest share."

Lu Qingshan paused for a moment, then said, "In Hongshi County, I've already had Li Erniu working day and night to prepare the goods. We're just waiting for the right opportunity in the provincial capital."

"I'm sure I can catch this opportunity," Lin Xiulan said firmly.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Xiulan opened a drawer and took out an account book.

On the blank space of the last page, she picked up her pen and wrote six words with force.

No hatred, no debts, no looking back.

This is an explanation to the past.

At 10 a.m. the next day, a Jeep with the red characters of the Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce printed on it stopped in front of Xiushan Industry.

An officer got out of the car and handed over an official letter stamped with a bright red seal.

The content is extremely brief and direct.

Regarding the issue of "the redistribution of market share left by Heilong Trade after its deregistration," all qualified mountain product enterprises in the province with no bad records are required to submit an application to the Administration for Industry and Commerce within five days.

Lin Xiulan accepted the official letter with both hands and glanced at the still somewhat muddy street outside the door.

The long-awaited feast at the provincial capital's mountain produce market is finally about to begin.