“Where’s my dress???”  

Early the next morning, Zhou Qiqi let out a thunderous roar as she stood in front of the empty clothesline in the backyard, ready to change and head out.  

She had seen that red dress swaying on the line just last night—how could it be gone today?  

That was her only new piece of clothing!  

Shen Huaichuan sneezed and said nonchalantly, “The wind was strong last night. It might have blown away.”  

As he spoke, he stuffed ten ten-yuan bills into Zhou Qiqi’s hand. “It’s fine. If it’s gone, just buy another one.”  

“Was… the wind strong?”  

Zhou Qiqi stared at the pink underwear still hanging undisturbed on the clothesline nearby, her pink lips pursed in thought.  

Just as she was pondering, a car horn sounded outside the courtyard—Qin Shi had arrived to pick them up.  

“Whatever, I wasn’t planning to wear that today anyway.”  

She hated keeping people waiting, so she didn’t have time to dwell on it. Rushing back inside, she downed half a glass of goat’s milk, slung a canvas bag over her shoulder, grabbed Zhouzhou, and hopped into the car.  

Once seated, she thanked Qin Shi first.  

“Shi, thanks for the trouble!”  

It was Sunday—he could’ve been resting at the military base, but instead, he had to chauffeur her around.  

Qin Shi grinned, revealing a pair of canine teeth.  

“Don’t say that, sis! There’s nothing to do at the base anyway. I’d much rather tag along with you into the city for some fun!”  

“That’s good to hear!”  

Zhou Qiqi’s worries eased, and she settled back into her seat.  

But then she noticed Zhouzhou seemed to be trembling, her gaze fixed on the direction of their courtyard.  

She quickly asked, “Zhouzhou, what’s wrong?”  

Zhouzhou couldn’t speak, but her big eyes held a trace of fear. She just shook her head, her small fists clutching the hem of her clothes.  

Zhou Qiqi saw she was still holding her backpack and took a look inside—it was packed with a change of clothes, a toothbrush, and other essentials.  

“We’re just going into the city for fun. Why did you bring all this?”  

Zhouzhou jerked her head up, her eyes filled with disbelief.  

“Did Shen Huaichuan not tell you?”  

Zhouzhou:  

(；＞人＜) (＞人＜；)  

“That guy’s really careless…”  

Qiqi pouted, exasperated.  

“Your uncle doesn’t have time to take you today, so you’re coming with me to shop. You’ll be my little assistant and help carry my bags.”  

Zhouzhou understood—this meant no acupuncture today. Her tension immediately eased, and she nodded slightly.  

So Zhouzhou doesn’t like acupuncture either!  

Zhou Qiqi filed that away mentally and didn’t press further. Instead, she fished a fruit candy from her pocket and handed it to her.  

“Aunt Hu Chunxiao gave this to me. I don’t like it, and it’d be a shame to throw it away.”  

Soon, the three of them arrived in the city and headed straight for the clothing wholesale market near the train station.  

In 1982, the reforms and opening-up policy had just begun, and the commercial environment was still in its infancy—far from developed.  

As a mid-sized city in the north, G City had only this one clothing wholesale market, attracting buyers from surrounding towns.  

But it wasn’t particularly large, with just seventeen or eighteen stalls in total.  

Today happened to be Sunday, and the place was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people stocking up, bustling with activity.  

Zhou Qiqi led Zhouzhou through a few stalls and noticed the clothes on display were disappointingly monotonous.  

The tops were all variations of batwing sleeves or pointy-collared, waist-cinching dacron blouses.  

The pants were uniformly Hong Kong-style bell-bottoms, either blue or black.  

The skirts were mostly floral sundresses with puff sleeves and square necklines—all looking identical.  

After quietly observing for a while, she noticed that about 80% of the buyers were picking out batwing-sleeve blouses and bell-bottoms.  

These two styles were the height of fashion at the time. Walking down the street, eight out of ten people were wearing this combo—it was practically the uniform.  

Once she had a good grasp of the trends, Zhou Qiqi started sizing up the stalls.  

After some comparison, she finally zeroed in on the two busiest stalls—coincidentally, they were right across from each other.  

Choosing a wholesale stall was like picking a restaurant: always go where the crowd is.  

A crowded restaurant doesn’t necessarily mean the food suits your taste, but if a place is deserted, the food is definitely bad.

The same logic applied to wholesale stalls—the busiest ones might not always offer the lowest prices.  

But if you casually walked into a deserted stall, you’d be no different from a fat sheep waiting to be fleeced.  

After some deliberation, Zhou Qiqi chose the stall on the left.  

She instructed Qin Shi to wait outside with Zhouzhou while she ducked into a corner, pulled out the charcoal and matchsticks she’d prepared earlier, and quickly smudged her face to make herself look older and more experienced. Only then did she stride into the shop with deliberate calm.  

The shop owner was a tall, thin woman in her forties, sharp-eyed and clearly shrewd.  

She had just finished with a group of customers and was sitting at the counter doing accounts when she spotted Zhou Qiqi. Her eyes lit up immediately.  

With a warm smile, she greeted, “Young lady, here to stock up?”  

As she spoke, her gaze swept over Zhou Qiqi, her mind clearly working overtime.  

“Yeah, stocking up.”  

Zhou Qiqi avoided directly answering the question. Instead, she mimicked Shen Huaichuan’s usual aloof demeanor—expressionless, cold, and unapproachable—casually scanning the clothes on display.  

The shopkeeper’s heart skipped a beat. She probed further, “Where’s your shop, boss?”  

This was clearly an attempt to find out where Zhou Qiqi operated. An ordinary person might have faltered here, but Zhou Qiqi didn’t even blink.  

“Just moved to a new location,” she replied offhandedly.  

“Oh! Business must be booming! Upgraded to a bigger store?” The shopkeeper smiled, testing the waters.  

Zhou Qiqi ignored the question and said coolly, “Let me check the styles first.”  

“Of course, take your time! If anything catches your eye, just say the word—I’ll give you the best price! And if you like the goods, be sure to come back!” The shopkeeper grinned, oozing enthusiasm.  

Zhou Qiqi carefully examined the selection and picked out a basic batwing-sleeve blouse. “How much for this one?”  

“Six yuan!” The shopkeeper answered without hesitation.  

Zhou Qiqi’s brows furrowed slightly.  

Seeing her reaction, the shopkeeper quickly backpedaled. “For you, I’ll knock it down to five and a half!”  

“How many batches has this stock been through? At this price, I can’t make a profit. Forget it, I’ll check the stall across the street.” She turned to leave.  

“Wait, boss, don’t go!” The shopkeeper hurriedly called after her. “How about five yuan? My final offer!”  

Zhou Qiqi didn’t even pause, her steps as resolute as a revolutionary marching into battle.  

The shopkeeper sighed. “Fine, I’ll cut the last bit—four and a half! Lowest I can go, really! Any lower and I’m losing money!”  

Only then did Zhou Qiqi reluctantly turn back. “Four.”  

The shopkeeper hesitated, frowning, but finally nodded.  

Next, Zhou Qiqi pointed to a pair of bell-bottoms.  

The shopkeeper initially quoted seven yuan, but Zhou Qiqi repeated her bargaining tactic.  

After all, she’d downed two large glasses of goat’s milk that morning—she was brimming with energy. If the shopkeeper wanted to haggle, she was ready to go all the way!  

After some back-and-forth, Zhou Qiqi finally secured ten batwing blouses at four yuan each and ten pairs of bell-bottoms at five yuan each—ninety yuan in total.  

It wasn’t until the final count and payment that the shopkeeper realized she might have been outplayed by this young girl.  

Zhou Qiqi wiped the charcoal from her face with a handkerchief, revealing her fresh, bright features, and smiled candidly.  

“To be honest, I’m just setting up a street stall—not some big boss.”  

The shopkeeper was momentarily stunned but didn’t seem angry. After all, she’d started as a street vendor herself and knew how tough it was for young girls to make money.  

But a woman nearby—wearing amber sunglasses and sporting bright red nails—wasn’t pleased.  

She had watched the entire exchange and initially thought Zhou Qiqi was a seasoned buyer. To find out she was just another street vendor like herself, yet getting wholesale prices lower than her own first-time rate, rubbed her the wrong way.  

Crossing her arms, she sneered, “Quite the little schemer, aren’t you? So young and already playing tricks. Buying just a handful of items, yet getting the same price as us bulk buyers!”