The crowd was mesmerized, many of them not recognizing her, and they began to whisper among themselves.

“Who is this person? Is she from our factory? I’ve never seen her before, she’s so beautiful!”

“I don’t know, her looks are a hundred times more beautiful than Wu Meihua…”

Then they heard her introduce herself, and she took out a camellia flower, turning it into a handful of candies with a gesture, which she then distributed to everyone.

In an instant, the atmosphere was ignited. Soon, the small square was filled with people, all clamoring for her to do it again.

Taking advantage of this moment, Ji Meng threw out two jokes in quick succession and smoothly expressed the content and purpose of the event.

Ji Meng had a remarkable ability to control the crowd, guiding everyone along with her arrangements.

She managed to keep the atmosphere lively at the beginning, and as a result, the subsequent segments unfolded smoothly.

The fifty-six models, though not performing standard runway walks, showcased their unique and diverse beauty in an extraordinary way.

In an era not long after ^[1]“Black, white, and gray” typically represents neutrality and simplicity in color schemes. It can also symbolize moral complexity, indicating situations that aren’t purely good or … Continue readingblack, white, and gray had passed, when the aesthetic of the tape from the Hong Kong had just become popular, this was a stunning and visually impressive feast.

Down in the audience, it was lively and thunderous, filled with cheers and discussions.

“So beautiful! Is this really our factory’s employees? They’re almost as beautiful as the stars in the magazines!”

“Look, isn’t that Wang Mingli? My goodness, when did she become so beautiful?”

The audience was in awe, and the two factory leaders sitting in the judges’ seats were also discussing the event.

“Who came up with this event idea? It’s really great! Old Feng, this joint event between the two factories is quite innovative, it’s very impressive!”

The speaker was a factory director from the clothing factory, who was staring intently at the stage as he spoke to Deputy Chairman Feng, the union Deputy chairman applauding this event.

Deputy Chairman Feng was also pleased. When he was called over by the textile factory earlier, he had gone over to return a favor, but now it was a pleasant surprise. He smiled and said, “This was done by Old Zhang’s little daughter.”

“Oh, so this time Old Zhang is leading the charge? Old Zhang is quite something, your in-laws are really strong. That host on stage, is she your in-law’s daughter? How come we’ve never seen such a talent in the factory before?”

The man called Old Zhang was sitting in the third position on the side, around forty years old, with a solid build and a smiling face. He was Zhang Ru’s father, Deputy Factory Director Zhang from the textile factory.

When Meng Ling first approached him, he was compelled by his daughter’s face to bring together the union chairpersons from both the clothing and textile factories to finalize this event.

Now that the event was a success, he looked radiant, with a bright smile on his face. Hearing this, he laughed and said:

“This person on stage isn’t from our factory, she’s invited by my in-laws daughter to come and help out. You’re right, talents like her should definitely be recruited into the factory, but I guess she wouldn’t be willing.”

“Oh? Not willing? Does she have a good job?”

“I’m not sure if she has a good job, but these two young women are quite ambitious. They came to me saying they wanted to take over our large collective.”

“I was stunned at the time. Our large collective is just a mess, how could anyone want to take it over? What’s that all about?”

Deputy Factory Director Zhang treated this matter as a joke, but the people present took it seriously. The earlier factory director from the clothing factory briefly furrowed his brow and couldn’t help but ask more carefully.

“Old Zhang, you said someone wants to take over the large collective? Let’s talk about this after the event…”

At 11 o’clock in the morning, the event entered its final scoring stage.

At this time, a small blunder occurred, many people mistakenly cast their votes for Ji Meng.

Fortunately, it was discovered in time, and Ji Meng quickly took control to mediate.

By 11:30, the vote counting was finished, determining the top three and the best of the beauty contest.

Each factory had two representatives.

The first and second places went to the factory beauties from both factories.

The third place and the best were somewhat unexpected, as they were two individuals who usually kept a low profile in the factory.

They didn’t show much but, after dressing up today, stepped onto the stage without shyness, confidently attracting everyone’s attention.

At 12 o’clock sharp, after the factory leaders presented the awards for the fashion model beauty contest, they announced its successful conclusion.

This event was definitely a success.

Just looking at the atmosphere at the end of the event, it was clear that the departing leaders were all smiling, nodding, and praising the creativity and execution of the event.

The factory workers were even more excited, discussing how their factory suddenly had so many beautiful women.

Everyone loves beauty, and when they learned that the models were wearing clothes from the nearby small market, they rushed over to take a look, fearing they would miss their chance to look beautiful.

Therefore, the small square gradually emptied, while the small market became crowded, bustling with people.

Meng Ling’s five stalls were specially approved to occupy the street for the factory’s sales, covering more than 100 square meters, making it nearly impossible to navigate.

In the end, Zheng Wu had to come out to maintain order, making them line up to enter the factory and strictly controlling customer entry times, barely preventing the situation from getting out of hand.

They were so busy that they didn’t even have time to eat.

Ji Qinghe knew his daughter was busy, so he came to deliver food, but it was so crowded that he could hardly get in.

After finally managing to deliver the food, he realized they couldn’t find a moment to eat.

At six o’clock in the evening, the sky was completely dark, the wind picked up, and the small market gradually quieted down as the crowds dispersed.

By six-thirty, after sending off the last wave of customers, Ji Meng, Meng Ling, Zheng Wu, Zhang Ru, Aunt Lai, and the three part-time employees from the department store were all exhausted and didn’t want to say another word.

Looking around, the scene was a mess, as if they had been in a battle, with clothes hanging haphazardly everywhere.

But it was clear that the results were evident, more than half of the clothes had sold out.

Though they were worn out and couldn’t help but complain about their fatigue, Aunt Lai, Zhang Ru, and the part-time employees left first. Ji Meng and Zheng Wu stayed behind to clean up the battlefield, preparing for the next day.

Meng Ling was busy counting money.

Unexpectedly, it was a big surprise.

Out of over 4,000 garments, more than 1,800 had been sold, leaving just over 2,000.

All the winter clothes and children’s clothes that Meng Ling had accumulated were completely sold out at low prices.

Moreover, Ji Meng did not price them as low as Meng Ling had suggested before, the profits were higher than the previous sales, and they had made a good profit this time.

Suddenly, the three exhausted individuals felt a surge of energy!

The next day, Ji Meng dropped Qiuqiu off at school and then went to the market to continue working.

After the Women’s Day holiday, the event concluded, and the number of people visiting the small market gradually decreased.

However, with the previous day’s buzz still lingering and the satisfied customers spreading the word, there were still quite a few people the next day, and lines remained.

They didn’t invite part-time help anymore, so Ji Meng and Meng Ling were naturally busier.

But this level of busyness was also productive.

By the afternoon of the 18th, after ten days, there were only about 200 pieces of clothing left from the more than 4,000 on the stall.

Among these 200 pieces, over a 100 were from the clothing factory and had various minor issues, making them difficult to sell.

Their agreement with the clothing factory was to sell at least half, and now that they were almost sold out, they had completely exceeded the target.

Therefore, Meng Ling didn’t hesitate and took the more than 100 pieces to the clothing factory to settle the account.

After that, it was time for the three of them to divide the money.

They made a profit, and a substantial one at that. Having worked hard over the past few days, the three decided to treat themselves by booking a small private room at a state-run restaurant to enjoy a meal while splitting the earnings.

First, they settled the accounts for the more than 2,800 pieces from the textile factory.

They made over 5,000 yuan in profit, which meant each person received a little more than a 1,000 yuan.

Then came Meng Ling’s own clothes, along with Zheng Wu’s share and the amount owed to Ji Meng.

Zheng Wu’s share and debt repayment had already been agreed upon between the two of them.

As for Ji Meng’s share, Meng Ling changed the amount she had previously stated she would give her.

Meng Ling understood that while she had been busy running around and handling many matters during this event, the real backbone of the operation was Ji Meng, who had been almost completely exhausted from the effort.

Meng Ling always paid back other’s kindness a hundredfold. Originally, she planned to give a one yuan bonus for winter clothes and thirty cents for spring clothes, but she directly gave one yuan for each piece, so Ji Meng gained over 1,500 yuan.

This means that in just over ten days since Ji Meng returned to the city, after all the hustle and bustle, she earned over 3,000 yuan.

When Meng Ling counted the money for Ji Meng, she couldn’t help but glance at her repeatedly, unable to restrain herself:

“What kind of brain do you have? I’ve been back for nearly a year, accumulating a pile of debt, yet you just returned a few days ago and made more money than others can earn in several years.”

The stack of money, with ten yuan per note, was more than 3,000 yuan—a significant amount.

Ji Meng happily counted the money for quite a while. This was her first pot of gold in this era and her hope for the future. She didn’t care about Meng Ling’s sour remarks, especially since she was counting on Meng Ling to join her for the next venture. At this moment, Ji Meng’s attitude was exceptionally good, her brows were curved in delight as she replied to Meng Ling with a smile:

“Thanks to you for helping me get rich!”

^[2]“A hand that doesn’t reach out won’t bring a smile” means that if you don’t take the initiative to help, support, or connect with others, you won’t experience … Continue readingA hand that doesn’t reach out won’t bring a smile, especially since this was her own great fortune. Although Meng Ling was a bit sour in her words, she knew that without Ji Meng, she would probably still be busy escaping from her debts.

Moreover, she had earned quite a bit this time as well, so Meng Ling’s expression softened, and her attitude improved.

“I also want to thank you. If it weren’t for you, I would still be in debt.”

Upon hearing this, Ji Meng couldn’t help but laugh. She put the money into the beige tote bag she had made a few days ago, then propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand as she asked Meng Ling:

“Hmm, so, do we want to continue working together in the future?”

This wave of activities not only cleared out Meng Ling’s pile of clothes, but she also sold or gave away half of her stock of soap, socks, enamel cups, and enamel plates.

In other words, Meng Ling was now facing a situation where she had nothing left to sell at the market.

To be honest, after making a big profit, Meng Ling wasn’t very interested in just guarding a stall every day.

“What do you want to do?” Meng Ling couldn’t help but ask.

“Still the same thing. First, find a way to take over the textile factory’s large collective, and then we can discuss that batch of defective fabric later,”

Ji Meng said, her thoughts shifting. “I think our vision should be broader, we shouldn’t just focus on the textile factory’s large collective. Look at the daily chemical factory—can we negotiate with them? If we can secure a deal, we should pursue it.”

After this event, Meng Ling was completely convinced by Ji Meng.

After hearing what Ji Meng said, she thought for a moment, then picked up the orange juice in front of her and drank it in one gulp, and stood up: “Alright, it’s too late today. Tomorrow, wait for my news.”

After speaking, Meng Ling took her money bag and left.

After these days of hard work, she just wanted to go home and sleep.

As Meng Ling left, Zheng Wu, who had been silent all along, did not leave yet. He sat on the bench, his deep brown eyes fixed on Ji Meng, lost in thought.

Ji Meng glanced at him.

To be honest, she found it hard to understand Zheng Wu.

If it’s say he hates the original body, but he has been very cooperative in helping over the past few days.

If it’s say he doesn’t hate her, but he had been staring at her the whole time.

Although they were busy these past few days, she could still feel his piercing gaze.

Whatever, as long as the money is repaid now, they can talk later about whether he wants to join the collaboration.

Ji Meng thought it through and then took out three hundred yuan from her bag.

“I’m not sure how much you spent when you bought things for me back then. Take a look if it’s enough, if not, I’ll make up the difference. Once again, I apologize for what happened back then, I shouldn’t have deceived you.”

This was an apology on behalf of the original body.

Back then, Zheng Wu was still a minor and had stolen money from his family, which made one wonder what consequences he faced.

Zheng Wu’s handsome face slightly changed, he didn’t even look at the money she offered but instead looked at her with a heartbroken expression.

“Do you think this money can clear the relationship between us and get rid of me?”

“Am I that insignificant in your eyes?”

Feeling a bit of a headache, Ji Meng let out a light sigh and looked up at Zheng Wu.

Zheng Wu had a handsome and elegant appearance, his features were bright and clean, reminiscent of a modern young idol. At this moment, his clear, bright eyes reflected an unwillingness to accept her offer, and the redness around them made it feel as if she was committing a sin.

“If you have other demands, feel free to mention them. If I can do it, I’ll try my best,” Ji Meng thought for a moment and said.

Zheng Wu remained silent for a long while before parting his thin lips to say:

“I don’t want money, I want you…”

He paused for a moment, his hand resting on the table slowly tightening: “I want you to give me a chance to pursue you.”

“I know your husband has passed, and you’ve brought your daughter back. I want to be your daughter’s father, your new husband!”

—

Extra:

Su Cheng: I’m not dead yet!

Ji Meng: Come out quickly…

Su Cheng: I will soon. If you don’t hurry, I’ll send a knife to the author.