However, Ms. Huang’s personality could be summed up in one word: difficult. 

Lu Nan knew that if she suddenly said she wanted to buy her a tablet, Ms. Huang definitely wouldn’t accept it and would 100% turn around and accuse Lu Nan of spending money recklessly. 

Better to act first and explain later. Say it’s a gift for Women’s Day? I’ll just have it shipped directly to Hailin City. 

It wasn’t that a tablet made work significantly easier, but the thing was lightweight, portable, had long battery life—definitely more suitable for Ms. Huang to carry around on business trips. She could use it to take product photos or pictures of business cards, and everything could be backed up to the cloud. Once back at the office, she could sync with the desktop and organize things neatly—far more efficient than jotting everything down with a notebook and pen on the spot. 

Lu Nan made a mental note of it, then continued following Ms. Huang around the market. 

The weather was quite nice today—sunny, but still chilly. The passageway between two market buildings was shaded, and a cold breeze blew through now and then. Lu Nan pulled her coat collar tighter around her neck. Ms. Huang snorted, “I don’t understand you young girls. All about fashion, no concern for warmth. Still showing ankles in the middle of winter… you’ll suffer for it when you’re older!” As she spoke, she took the silk scarf from around her neck and handed it to Lu Nan. 

“You’ll suffer for it when you’re older” —a phrase that seemed to come up often among Ms. Huang’s generation. Later, Lu Nan would realize that while some of what they said was exaggerated, some of it… was quite true. 

The scarf didn’t really match Lu Nan’s coat in style or color, but she still accepted it and loosely draped it around her neck. 

By the end of the afternoon, Ms. Huang had covered half of the toy and gift wholesale district. Her notebook was bulging with orders for business cards. Around 5 p.m., stalls began to close one after another. 

Ms. Huang stuffed her notebook into her bag and said, “Let’s go eat.” 

… 

The dinner spot was chosen by Lu Nan, and she also ordered the food. They had one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and a soup between them—this time, even Ms. Huang skipped the rice because the portions were generous and they couldn’t finish everything. 

The meat dish was a local specialty: minced pork and diced tofu wrapped in sheets of homemade tofu skin, shaped into small triangular packets, about the size of half a palm. They were steamed until the tofu skin turned golden and translucent; a light bite would easily tear it open. The filling inside was a showcase of southern Chinese flavors —fresh and retaining the original taste of the ingredients. Lu Nan couldn’t resist eating two in a row. 

In the spirit of not wasting food, Lu Nan and Ms. Huang finished all six tofu triangles, polished off the vegetables, and drank most of the salted pork and bamboo shoot soup. 

Clearly, Ms. Huang was quite satisfied with her daughter’s appetite that night. 

When it came time to pay, Ms. Huang didn’t even give Lu Nan a chance to reach for the bill. 

Fine. 
Lu Nan didn’t mind. 

After dinner, with nothing else to do, Lu Nan definitely didn’t want to go back to the hotel early and watch TV with Ms. Huang—who knows, she might suddenly start one of her “educational” talks. 

From years of experience battling wits with Ms. Huang, Lu Nan had learned one thing: never let her get too idle. As the saying goes, “If it’s raining and you have nothing better to do, you beat your shoes (or kids) for fun.” With Ms. Huang, it was, “If there’s nothing to do, she’ll find something to nitpick.” 

So Lu Nan suggested, “Mom, why don’t we go stroll around the night market?” 

Ms. Huang wasn’t keen at first, but Lu Nan quickly added, “I heard night markets are really profitable. A lot of manufacturers and wholesalers from Wucheng set up stalls there at night too. They even leave business cards on the tables. Small wholesale buyers go to night markets to source products, not just the professional streets. Plus, everything sold at night markets tends to be the current bestsellers. Maybe we’ll find some new or interesting products. Isn’t Xu Chengzhi also hoping for more unique items?” 

What Lu Nan said made sense, so Ms. Huang nodded. “Alright, let’s take a look.” 

Wucheng’s night market was quite famous, and Lu Nan skillfully drove them to the largest one in town. 

From the street, they could see a sea of people bustling inside. 

Ms. Huang clicked her tongue in surprise: “The night market’s this big? Ten years ago, when I came here with… your father, the city center was still pretty run-down, and the night market was nothing like this.” 

She spoke calmly about her past with Lu Nan’s father. 

Lu Nan glanced at her quietly, then explained, “Of course it’s different now. It’s been so many years. Wucheng’s economy is based on small goods, and the local government planned the markets much better. This entire street is night market space. It’s open to cars during the day, but in the evening they block it off for vendors. I heard the booth rental fees aren’t cheap either.” 

“If people are still willing to pay, even if it’s expensive, that means there’s money to be made,” Ms. Huang observed, her logic spot-on. 

The night market had everything for sale. Besides clothes, shoes, accessories, and beauty products, there were also bedding items, green plants, handicrafts, and, most surprisingly, even small animals for sale. 

Lu Nan couldn’t help but stop to look a few times. 

Ms. Huang quickly warned her, “Don’t get carried away. You can’t even support yourself properly yet, don’t think about taking care of these.” 

Lu Nan smiled, “I’m just looking.” 

She knew very well—her life and work were both unstable at the moment, and she truly wasn’t in a position to care for a pet. 

Besides, these were living beings. Once you take one in, you are responsible for its whole life. 

The words “whole life” and “responsibility” carried a lot of weight. 

Mrs. Huang kept looking at her daughter, and only felt reassured when she was sure that Lu Nan really had no intention of buying a little white rabbit or a yellow puppy. 

Lu Nan sighed, “Mom, that’s a Golden Retriever puppy.” What little yellow dog… 

“What’s the difference? It’s small and it’s yellow—isn’t it a little yellow dog? Golden retriever, huh.” Ms. Huang scoffed. 

“I remember you used to love this stuff when you were little. Your grandparents once asked someone for a little yellow dog to guard the house. It was only a few months old when they got it, and you secretly brought it onto your bed to sleep with you.” 

Lu Nan laughed as she remembered, “And you came to pick me up and said you were going to spank me, didn’t you?” 

Mrs. Huang widened her eyes: “I was just trying to scare you. I didn’t actually hit you. Who told you to be so clueless about cleanliness back then? Didn’t you end up getting bitten by fleas?” 

It was true—in all these years, Ms. Huang had only ever threatened punishment verbally. 

Still, Lu Nan decided to be honest with her: “I know now you were just trying to scare me, but when I was little, I didn’t understand. Didn’t I end up crying because of it?” 

Ms. Huang was amused. “Oh, so you mean you’re trying to settle old scores with me now?” 

When it came to bringing up the past, both mother and daughter had excellent memories—it would be hard to say who would win. 

Seeing her mother like this, Lu Nan suddenly laughed: What am I even doing? 

After Lu Nan laughed, the atmosphere between the two lightened considerably. 

Nearby, a street artist offering quick sketches called out to them, trying to attract customers: “Young lady, you’re so pretty. When you smile, it’s like a flower blooming. Come and have a portrait done—it’ll only take ten minutes.” 

Ms. Huang asked about the price. The artist said it was fifty yuan. 

After some bargaining, Ms. Huang successfully negotiated it down to twenty yuan. She turned to her daughter and said, “Get one done.” 

At these kinds of stalls, once someone sits down, crowds often gather to watch. After thinking for a moment, Lu Nan simply paid forty yuan. “Two portraits.” 

Since they were mother and daughter, of course they would be observed together. 

About ten minutes later, Lu Nan held two finished portraits in her hand when she suddenly felt someone link arms with her. 

Ms. Huang looked around awkwardly—at the sky, at the ground, at the crowd—avoiding Lu Nan’s gaze, while mumbling, “Too many people. If we hold on to each other, we won’t get separated.” 

Lu Nan lowered her head and smiled. 

They continued walking. In the main walkway of the night market, several booths offered nail and tattoo services. Young men and women with dyed hair sat around the stalls. 

The air smelled strongly of nail polish, and the buzzing sound of tattoo machines could be heard. Unable to help herself, Ms. Huang said, “Let me tell you, you should never get a tattoo. It’ll make you look like a delinquent girl, and people will get the wrong impression of you.” 

Lu Nan didn’t argue. She just quietly said, “I’m also a bit concerned about the hygiene and sanitation of the tools here.” 

Ms. Huang, thinking her daughter agreed with her, nodded in satisfaction and moved on. 

Around nine or ten o’clock, Lu Nan drove them to the hotel following Ms. Huang’s directions. Ms. Huang had arrived that morning and had already checked into a standard room. 

She even remembered to get an invoice for Lu Nan. “Here, didn’t you say you needed a receipt for reimbursement?” 

The next morning, sticking to the “since we’re already here” principle, Lu Nan made a stop at Xianwang Wholesale Department, checked on the week’s shipping situation, and during that time received a call that was unexpected yet made perfect sense. 

After having lunch with Ms. Huang, Lu Nan grabbed a coffee and then drove back to downtown Hua’an. 

… 

On Saturday afternoon, before the weekly meeting, small groups of people at the Hua’an office were chatting. Almost everyone knew that Manager Lu and Huang Dafang had hit a wall with Mingjiu Shijia the day before. 

In the city office, there were no secrets. 

In fact, this was just the reality of business development: casting a wide net, grinding away patiently, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing. Many city managers might not recruit a new distributor even after one or two years—but as long as they maintained existing distributors, they wouldn’t be out of work. 

If every recruitment effort were as easy as the recent success in the circulation channel, where Manager Lu simply drew a map and managed to recruit two distributors in one go, then the Hua’an sales team would really need to check if Manager Lu had a “golden touch.” 

Li Bin patted Huang Dafang on the shoulder. “Old Huang, don’t be discouraged, just keep trying.” 

Huang Dafang looked confused. “I’m not discouraged.” 

“Didn’t they say Mingjiu Shijia wasn’t interested?” 

“That’s not true.” Although after Manager Lu left yesterday, Huang Dafang did see competitors meeting with Mr. Hong, he firmly believed that since Mr. Hong chose to meet with them first, he must have a stronger interest in Yuan Chuan Liquor—Manager Lu had said so herself! 

Just then, Lu Nan walked in. “Is everyone here? Let’s start the meeting.” 

She went to the front of the meeting room, leaned on the table with both hands, and smiled. “Oh, before we begin, I have an announcement. Tonight, Mr. Hong from Mingjiu Shijia is hosting a dinner. I’ve already asked Zheng Jing to collect two bottles of the 20-year Classic liquor and two bottles of the 9-year Special Reserve from the backup stock. After the meeting, Supervisor Huang and Hu Yueqing, please stay behind—you’ll be coming with me tonight.” 

Huang Dafang was first surprised, then gave Li Bin a triumphant look: See? It’s not over!