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

Outside the gate of the provincial party committee's residential compound, amidst wind and snow.

Monkey Three, carrying a thick bamboo basket half the height of a person, was so cold that he kept stamping his feet on the spot.

Inside the iron gate of the guardhouse, the old guard held a chipped teacup and scrutinized him through the glass.

Monkey Three forced a smile, took a bag out of his basket, and handed it to the gatekeeper.

"I understand, Uncle, it's my duty. Please have a taste; our boss is giving them away for free anyway, so I'm just offering them to you."

The gatekeeper refused twice before accepting it, then asked curiously.

"Are you really giving it away for free? What's your boss after?"

"I don't know either. They just let me deliver it for free. Sigh, our boss has a lot of ideas. I don't understand. They told me to finish the delivery before I go back."

Several nannies and older women were walking back with empty shopping baskets, complaining that the market had closed early.

Monkey Three seized the opportunity, quickly stepped forward, and took out several brown paper packets tied with hemp rope from the bamboo basket.

"Auntie, our new store is opening! We have some top-quality mountain products from Changbai Mountain, please take some home and try them!"

The older women avoided them as if they were the plague.

A plump nanny reluctantly took it, weighed it in her hand, and rolled her eyes.

"Where did this unorthodox method come from? Is this paper package filled with coal ash?"

Monkey Three's lips trembled from the cold. "Big sister, this is genuine mountain produce. There's even our shop's business card inside. Please keep it safe..."

The other person ignored him completely and casually tossed the paper package into the shopping basket.

The old gatekeeper stuck his head out of the window.

"Xiao Liu, Xiao Lan, you should each take a pack. It's free, so you can try it out."

"I wonder how many days this snow will last. I'd better store up more. If it snows too heavily, it'll be hard to go out, and it'll be difficult if the leaders ask me questions."

The gatekeeper had been doing this job for so many years that he knew who came in and out, and the nannies who had been trying to dodge him stopped.

"Uncle Li is worrying again. I'll take one pack then, but the commander is picky about food."

Several people took the paper package.

Monkey Three rubbed his frozen face, thanked them repeatedly, and turned to run towards the government compound on the next street.

The wind picked up even more on Zhongshan Road.

Monkey Three ran back to Xiushan Industry's new store, covered in snowflakes, his bamboo basket empty.

Across the street, under the eaves of a dried goods store, Wu Dafa was sitting with his hands in his pockets, eating sunflower seeds with several other business owners.

"Hey, the money-giving boy is back!" Wu Dafa spat out a mouthful of sunflower seed shells. "How many pounds did you give away?"

Monkey Three ignored him and walked silently into the shop.

Wu Dafa's eyes darted around, and he grabbed a strong worker who was following behind Hou San.

The burly laborer, being honest, casually replied, "They were all given away; I didn't receive a single penny."

Wu Dafa was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh and burst into wild laughter, the sound of which was particularly jarring in the empty street.

"Did you guys hear that? It's free! We didn't even see a penny!"

Several dried goods vendors gathered around, pointing at the shop across the street and laughing.

"A country bumpkin coming all the way to the provincial capital to do charity work? Is his brain filled with mush?"

"Boss Wu, I think their shop won't survive this snowfall and will have to close down. What a waste of such a good location."

Monkey Three stopped in his tracks, his eyes red, ready to rush forward and fight to the death.

The old carpenter, quick-witted and agile, grabbed Monkey Three's arm and dragged him into the shop.

Inside the room, sparks crackled in the charcoal brazier.

Lin Xiulan ignored the mocking voices outside the door and was busy cutting the packaging rope with scissors.

Lu Qingshan stood in front of the provincial transportation map against the wall, his brows furrowed.

"Xiulan, I have to go back to Hongshitun immediately."

The scissors in Lin Xiulan's hand stopped in mid-air.

"This snowfall is unusually heavy." Lu Qingshan pointed to several red circles on the map.

"Those newly built timber transport roads in Hongshi Forest Farm can't withstand this blizzard."

"The lifeblood of our shops in the provincial capital depends entirely on the forestry farm's motorcade."

"If I don't go back to oversee and coordinate, and the source is cut off, no matter how much effort you put in, it's like cooking without rice."

Lin Xiulan put the scissors on the table and went to get the old military overcoat draped over the back of the chair.

She patted the dust off her coat. "The roads are icy, so please drive very carefully."

Lu Qingshan took the coat and then grabbed her wrist with his other hand.

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over Chen Meili, Hou San, and the old carpenter in the room, before finally settling on Qian Shouyi.

"I'm not in the provincial capital, so all the affairs of the shop, big and small, depend on your manager's word."

Lu Qingshan's tone was crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

"How to spend the money in the account, and where to invest it, is up to Lin Xiulan."

"Anyone who dares to disobey me..." He looked at Monkey Three, "even if you're an old brother who followed me from Hongshitun, I'll skin you alive."

Monkey Three immediately stood up straight and shouted back, "Don't worry, brother! I'll go wherever my sister-in-law points!"

Qian Shouyi held the teacup and smacked his lips.

"Brother, you're just handing over a business worth hundreds of thousands like that?"

Lu Qingshan patted Lin Xiulan on the shoulder.

"My wife deserves half the credit for how I, Lu Qingshan, am where I am today. I trust her to get things done."

The sound of the jeep's engine rose in the wind and snow, gradually being swallowed up by the white snow curtain.

Suddenly, a piercing electrical hum came from the loudspeaker on the street corner.

"Urgent Notice! Due to the impact of a strong cold wave from Siberia, our city has issued a red alert for severe blizzard conditions..."

"All businesses and organizations are to cease operations and production; citizens are advised to minimize going out..."

The wind suddenly picked up, whipping up the snow on the ground and making a pattering sound against the glass windows.

The entire Zhongshan Road was instantly deserted.

Wu Dafa, who lived across the street, had also put his door panel up early, leaving behind only a string of gloating curses.

Xiushan Industrial's new store has become an isolated island completely surrounded by wind and snow.

At night, the light bulbs inside the house flickered on and off.

The clinking of the abacus beads was particularly crisp in the empty shop.

Lin Xiulan sat behind the counter, checking the day's income and expenditure accounts.

Chen Meili pushed several receipts in front of her, her voice a little dry.

"Sister-in-law, we've...lost a fortune today."

Chen Meili pointed to a row of glaring red characters on the ledger.

"Rent is ten yuan, wages for the workers plus meals are thirty yuan, and there's a deposit for the lion dance troupe and firecracker shop..."

"Also, the batch of goods that Monkey Three and his gang gave away for free this afternoon."

Chen Meili swallowed hard, her hands trembling slightly.

"Those were all carefully selected autumn ear fungus and linden honey. Based on the purchase price, it cost more than six hundred yuan."

"Just today, the amount of money flowing out of the account is almost a thousand."

Monkey Three squatted by the brazier, scratching his head in frustration.

"Sister-in-law, are we still opening tomorrow? There's not a soul on this street, opening it would just be burning coal."

Lin Xiulan stared at the deficit in the ledger.

She stood up, walked to the window, and wiped a small patch of condensation off the glass with her sleeve.

"Don't open it yet, the snow is too heavy. Take out the beef and lamb, we'll have hot pot tonight."

Lin Xiulan turned around, her eyes calm and composed.

The group was overjoyed; they had been so busy these past few days that they were relieved to finally have a break.

Lin Xiulan looked at the vast expanse of white snow outside the window, then gently closed the account book.

"The goods have already been distributed; now all we have to do is wait."

……

The provincial party committee's residential compound is located a few streets away.

The kitchen on the first floor of Building 2 was dark.

Nanny Liu placed the vegetable basket on the stove and picked out two wilted bok choy from it.

The tightly wrapped kraft paper package at the bottom corner of the basket was getting in the way.

"What kind of junk is this? They're treating it like a treasure and forcibly stuffing it into people's hands."

The nanny, Liu, disgustedly picked up a corner of the paper package and casually tossed it next to the slop bucket in the corner.

In the living room, retired cadre Mr. Song was wrapped in a wool blanket.

The radio was broadcasting the latest developments in the fight against the snow disaster.

"Little Liu, what's for dinner?" Old Song called out. "With the heavy snow blocking the roads, the vegetable trucks from the special supply department probably won't be able to get in."

"Old sir, the vegetable market closes this afternoon. All we have left at home are two cabbages and half a pound of noodles."

The nanny, Liu, poked her head out from the kitchen, looking troubled.

Old Song sighed, and just as he was about to speak, his nose suddenly twitched.

A peculiar aroma was wafting out from under the kitchen door.

It was the unique richness of aged dried mushrooms, mixed with the fresh scent of pine needles, forcefully penetrating the nasal cavity.

This taste reminded him of the mountain delicacies stewed by the villagers when he was leading troops in battle in the Changbai Mountain forest area in his early years.

"What delicious food have you been making behind my back? This wild mountain flavor is so pure."

Old Song lifted the blanket, slipped on his slippers, and walked toward the kitchen.

The nanny, Liu, stood there, stunned.

The kitchen stove was cold and unlit; not a single match had been struck.

She looked down following the scent and her gaze fell on the garbage bin.

The fragrance was coming from the brown paper package she had thrown away.

"Well... this afternoon some wild kid forced some promotional material on me, saying it was from Changbai Mountain."

The nanny, Liu, went over and picked up the paper package.

"Open it and take a look." Old Song swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the paper package.

Nanny Liu grabbed the rough hemp rope on the outer layer of the kraft paper and forcefully tore open a hole.