Chapter 426| Chapter 427| Chapter 428
Chapter 426: Before Returning to the Capital
When the time came, the proctor distributed the test papers, and the exam officially began.
Sheng Wanyan scanned the questions. She finally understood why people in later generations always said that this year’s college entrance examination was the easiest in history. The questions really weren’t that difficult—but that was only by modern standards. For a country where universities had been suspended for a full decade, even these basic questions were an insurmountable wall for most.
Sheng Wanyan picked up her pen and began to write. She had no desire to secure the top score in the nation; being too high-profile would only invite unnecessary jealousy. So, she deliberately slowed her pace, meticulously double-checked her answers after finishing, and handed in her paper right along with everyone else when the buzzer sounded.
The moment the proctors called time, an anxious murmur rippled through the room. Why were the questions so brutal? How could time possibly fly by so fast? No matter how well or poorly anyone had performed, the proctors showed no mercy and swiftly gathered all the test papers.
Sheng Wanyan stepped out of the classroom. The morning battle was over, and Pan Yue was already waiting for her, desperate to compare answers.
“Let’s go grab some food first,” Sheng Wanyan suggested. “We can talk on the way.”
Gu Tingxiao noticed that the tip of her nose was red from the chill. He quickly pulled her gloves onto her hands. “Let’s go.”
The four of them walked toward the state-owned restaurant, Sheng Wanyan and Pan Yue murmuring back and forth to check their work. It turned out Pan Yue had gotten at least two-thirds of the answers correct. Seeing how closely her responses matched Sheng Wanyan’s, a massive wave of relief washed over her.
For lunch, Gu Tingxiao ordered a hot soup specifically to warm them up. The four of them stayed inside the restaurant until it was time to leave, as the snow was falling heavily outside and wandering the streets would be pure torture.
When the afternoon session approached, they walked back to the school. Having survived the morning hurdle, the candidates seemed less tightly wound and were finally settling into a rhythm.
Sheng Wanyan sailed through the afternoon exam. The second it ended, she urged Gu Tingxiao to head straight home. She missed her daughter terribly; being away from her for a single day felt like an eternity.
“I wonder if Yiyi took her nap today,” Sheng Wanyan murmured, worrying about the little girl’s rigid sleep habits.
“She’ll be fine,” Gu Tingxiao consoled her, though his stride lengthened noticeably. “Yiyi is over two years old now. Skipping a nap for one day won’t hurt her.”
The daily commute back and forth from the base was proving to be a grueling chore. Gu Tingxiao privately thought they should have just booked a room at a guesthouse in the city. However, Sheng Wanyan had flatly refused the idea; she couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing her child for three days straight. She preferred waking up before dawn to travel, since she could easily handle an early schedule.
When they arrived home, Father and Mother Sheng carefully avoided asking about the exam. They were terrified that bringing it up would only add to the young women’s mental burden, so they clamped their mouths shut, determined to hold their tongues until the final day.
The three-day exam passed in the blink of an eye. No matter how anyone had performed, the ordeal was finally behind them. The next step was the agonizing wait for the acceptance letters.
That night at dinner, Father and Mother Sheng could no longer contain their curiosity.
“So, how did it go? Do you feel confident?”
“Dad, I checked my answers with Wanyan,” Sheng Wanze answered on their behalf. “Most of their work matches up perfectly.”
Father Sheng nodded, a look of satisfaction crossing his face. Since the two women had yielded nearly identical answers, there shouldn’t be any major issues. “Now that it’s over, you two need to get some proper rest and relax.”
He understood the crushing weight of the college entrance examination all too well, having faced immense pressure during his own student days. Moreover, this specific exam was a monumental, historic event, so he knew his daughter and daughter-in-law must have been stretched to their limits.
“That’s right,” Mother Sheng chimed in. “Your father and I will look after the children. Just focus on unwinding during this time.”
Sheng Wanyan and Pan Yue didn’t argue. It was a rare luxury to have extra hands around the house, and they fully intended to take advantage of it. Sheng Wanyan also planned to use this downtime to wrap up her outstanding translation projects. She was going to ask the newspaper to pause her assignments temporarily so she could enjoy the Spring Festival in absolute peace. Once they purchased a house and settled down in the Capital, she would resume her freelance work.
“Thank you, Mom, Dad. You’ve worked hard,” Sheng Wanyan said smoothly.
Mother Sheng playfully rolled her eyes at her daughter’s lack of hesitation. This girl really didn’t know how to be polite. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing.”
Father Sheng, on the other hand, accepted the childcare duties with pure joy. All he wanted was to squeeze in as much precious time with his grandchildren as possible. Yiyi would be relocating to the Capital next month, and there was no telling when they would see each other again.
Over the next few weeks, Sheng Wanyan began prepping for their big move. They decided to leave the heavy furniture behind for Gu Tingxiao to use for the time being. Once his formal military transfer to the Capital went through, they would hire a transport truck to haul everything down. However, she planned to take the sewing machine, the radio, and the guest room wardrobe and desk with her ahead of time, as they would be essential for outfitting their new home.
When Sheng Wanyan proposed this arrangement, Gu Tingxiao agreed without a second thought. “Wife, why don’t you just pack up all of it? I’ll be living here by myself anyway. A single table and a few stools are more than enough for me.”
Gu Tingxiao had no intention of cooking for himself once his family left; he would simply eat his meals at the military cafeteria. Without his wife and daughter, the apartment was nothing more than a place to lay his head.
“Alright, let’s do that,” Sheng Wanyan agreed. The furniture was of excellent quality, and she had no desire to waste money buying new pieces in the capital. She would get them settled in the Capital first, and then gradually renovate their property as the nation’s economy opened up.
With the plan locked in, Gu Tingxiao reached out to some old comrades in the city’s military transport team to arrange for the heavy goods to be driven down to the Capital. There was still a full month before their departure, so there was no need to rush.
During this final month, Sheng Wanyan set out to empty their pantry. She even slaughtered their two laying hens for dinner and cooked up the fish they had been raising, along with their remaining stash of cured bacon, wild pheasants, and rabbits.
Day after day, the rich, mouthwatering aroma of simmering meat wafted from their kitchen, carrying far across the neighborhood. The neighbors merely sniffed the air wistfully; everyone was well aware of Sheng Wanyan’s financial success. A woman pulling in over a thousand yuan a month could easily afford meat at every single meal.
Under this lavish diet, Yiyi managed to pack on a few more pounds, her cheeks becoming visibly rounder and plumper. Even Grandpa, Grandma, and Father and Mother Sheng were noticeably fattened up by Sheng Wanyan’s cooking. To ensure no food went to waste, she constantly invited the four elders over for dinner. If they tried to decline out of politeness, she simply dispatched Yiyi to summon them. In Father Sheng’s eyes, his little granddaughter’s word was an absolute imperial decree, and he would never dream of disobeying.
With her grandparents staying just across the hall, Yiyi was being thoroughly spoiled. She took to leading Maodou across the courtyard entirely on her own to visit them, completely bypassing her parents. As long as Sheng Wanyan held the front door open for her, the toddler would trot across the snow happily.
Sheng Wanyan was delighted to see her bonding so deeply with her parents. She wanted Yiyi to forge lasting memories with the four elders so that the transition to the Capital wouldn’t feel like a permanent estrangement, ensuring she would still feel an instant, warm familiarity the next time they met.
Meanwhile, word had spread through the family compound that Sheng Wanyan had attempted the college entrance examination. A few of the neighboring wives secretly wanted to visit and build a closer relationship with her. After all, everyone knew how capable she was. If she could translate entire foreign texts for a living, her command of languages must be flawless. If she could conquer tasks that difficult, passing the university entrance exam would surely be a walk in the park.
Chapter 427: Heading to the City to Find Xu Guihua
While many neighboring wives were eager to curry favor, Sheng Wanyan gave them no opportunity to get close. She was already preparing to leave the Bing City for good, so there was little point in expanding her social circle. The only neighbors she intended to stay in touch with were Aunt Xie and Yang Wanshu.
Oh, and Xu Guihua, of course.
Xu Guihua had written to her immediately after the college entrance examination concluded. She reported that she had done exceptionally well, and that many of the exam questions hadn’t posed a challenge at all. It was all thanks to Sheng Wanyan’s earlier advice to transcribe the high school textbooks. Because Xu Guihua had copied the text word for word, the sample questions were practically burned into her memory, allowing her to sail through the actual test with ease.
She might not have considered herself naturally brilliant, but her memory was far from poor. She firmly believed that if a person looked at the same material every single day, it was impossible not to retain it.
Unable to contain her joy, Xu Guihua had written to share her excitement even before the official acceptance letters were sent out. In her reply, Sheng Wanyan had mentioned her upcoming relocation to the Capital, which prompted Xu Guihua to clarify her own plans. She intended to apply to a local city university to study finance, as her home, husband, and children were all rooted in the Bing City. Once she graduated and received a state job assignment, her parents would be able to pull a few strings to ensure she remained stationed locally.
However, this choice presented a logistical hurdle for their business partnership. After careful deliberation, Sheng Wanyan decided it was best to travel into the city and discuss her strategic blueprint with Xu Guihua face-to-face. Since their operation would still be based out of the Bing City, Xu Guihua needed to become her primary, trusted lieutenant on the ground.
True to her decisive nature, Sheng Wanyan immediately fired off a telegram to Xu Guihua, letting her know she would arrive in two days. With Father and Mother Sheng currently holding down the fort and managing Yiyi’s childcare, she gave her family a quick heads-up and set off for the city. Gu Tingxiao couldn’t accompany her, as he was buried under an avalanche of administrative duties that needed to be finalized before his extended leave commenced.
Equipped with Xu Guihua’s home address, Sheng Wanyan realized traveling alone would actually be much more flexible. She slipped out of the compound before daybreak. While she had told Gu Tingxiao she would take the regional bus, she actually waited until she was clear of any watchful eyes, pulled her electric scooter from her spatial dimension, and sped down the dark roads.
By the time the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon, she had already reached the city outskirts. From there, she returned the scooter to her space and boarded a public bus to travel into the downtown commercial district.
Anticipating a rough ride, Sheng Wanyan had pre-packed a small stash of fresh plums and oranges to help keep motion sickness at bay. Since it was still early, the passenger compartment wasn’t heavily crowded when she boarded and found an empty seat by the window.
However, the air inside the vehicle was incredibly pungent—a foul, sour cocktail of sweat, stale heat, and the unmistakable odor of chicken and duck droppings from passengers transporting livestock. Fortunately, she had the foresight to keep her citrus fruits handy. Inhaling the clean scent of the orange peels provided a welcome shield against the nauseating atmosphere.
As the bus rumbled onward, the interior grew increasingly stuffy. Sheng Wanyan leaned against the window pane and began peeling an orange. The middle-aged woman seated next to her watched intently, her eyes filled with envy as she saw the young woman enjoying such premium fruit.
Sheng Wanyan ate quickly, then cradled the fragrant peels in her palms, lifting them to her nose to breathe in the scent. The woman beside her swallowed hard, unable to look away. What a spendthrift this girl is, she thought privately. Willing to waste money on precious fruit like oranges just for a casual bus ride.
Studying Sheng Wanyan’s youthful, striking features, the older woman assumed she was an unmarried young lady and began wondering about her background. She resolved to strike up a conversation; perhaps she could match this beautiful girl with her own son. Her son held a respectable position in a municipal government department, and a stunning girl like this would make an excellent daughter-in-law.
“Young lady, are you heading into the downtown district to do some shopping?” the woman asked, her mind already spinning with matchmaking schemes.
Sheng Wanyan wasn’t fond of making small talk with strangers, so she simply offered a polite smile and a brief nod.
“I knew it,” the woman continued pleasantly. “A beautiful young girl traveling into the city at this hour must be looking for some entertainment.”
“Ma’am, I’m not a young girl anymore,” Sheng Wanyan replied with an amused smile. “I’m already a mother.”
At twenty-four, Sheng Wanyan found it quite funny that strangers routinely mistook her for an eighteen-year-old. Still, it was a flattering compliment that always put her in a good mood.
“What on earth did you say? You’re a mother already?” the woman squeaked, her voice rising an octave in pure shock.
“Yes, my daughter is over two years old.”
“Then… how old are you?”
“Twenty-four.”
The woman stared at her, utterly dumbfounded. My goodness, she doesn’t look a day over twenty! Her own son was twenty-four, but the grueling pressure of his bureaucratic job had aged him so severely he looked closer to thirty.
“My word! You truly can’t tell at all!” The woman immediately abandoned her matchmaking designs, deeply disappointed that such a fair-skinned, elegant girl was already spoken for.
She wasn’t the only one paying attention. The moment Sheng Wanyan had stepped onto the bus, her striking looks had drawn glances from all across the aisle, sparking silent fantasies among several eligible men who wished they could marry her. However, a few rowdy individuals in the back of the bus grew visibly restless upon hearing she was a married woman. To men of low character, a married woman seemed like a safer target—less likely to cause a public scene, and harder to verify if a boundary was crossed.
One of them leaned forward, shouting across the seats, “Hey, so what does your husband do for a living anyway?”
Sheng Wanyan locked eyes with the speaker and replied evenly, “He’s a soldier.”
The rowdy atmosphere vanished in an instant, replaced by a heavy wave of respect. She was a military wife.
“Sister, you’re truly remarkable,” the older woman murmured earnestly.
With her exceptional beauty, Sheng Wanyan could have married into any wealthy civilian family, yet she had chosen to shoulder the lonely, grueling burdens of a military spouse.
Meanwhile, the rowdy men in the back quickly averted their eyes, thoroughly intimidated. No one in their right mind possessed the courage to harass a military dependent. Provoking a military wife wasn’t a minor offense; it was a serious crime that could land a perpetrator directly before a military court.
Sheng Wanyan noted the sudden shift. The man in the corner, whose gaze had been filled with crude intent just moments ago, was currently staring out the window, desperately trying to look invisible. Satisfied that her shield had worked, Sheng Wanyan closed her eyes and rested for the remainder of the journey. She had deliberately invoked her husband’s profession to neutralize the malicious energy, knowing that in this era, citizens deeply respected the uniform and feared the severe legal consequences of crossing the armed forces.
The bus arrived at the city terminal safely. By the time Sheng Wanyan navigated her way to the downtown streets, the clock read ten in the morning.
Consulting the written address Xu Guihua had provided, Sheng Wanyan quickly realized she was entirely unfamiliar with this sector of the city. She had to stop and ask several pedestrians for directions before she finally pinned down the correct neighborhood.
Once she knew the layout, she ducked into a deserted alleyway to retrieve her gifts from her spatial storage. Turning up at someone’s home empty-handed was an absolute breach of etiquette, especially since she intended to secure Xu Guihua as her long-term business partner.
Sheng Wanyan didn’t skimp on the presentation. She pulled out two kilograms of choice pork, a kilogram of premium pastries, a bag of sunflower seeds, and a few red envelopes stuffed with cash for Xu Guihua’s children. Since the Lunar New Year was fast approaching, delivering holiday red envelopes in advance was a perfect touch. Cultivating a deep, pleasant rapport with her partner’s entire family was essential for a smooth business relationship.
Clutching her heavy bundles, Sheng Wanyan walked toward the municipal housing estate. Xu Guihua had been pacing near the front gates for hours. Despite the bitter winter cold, she kept wandering back and forth, peering down the avenue so intensely that the guards at the security booth wondered if the commander’s wife had lost her mind.
Finally catching sight of a familiar figure in the distance, Xu Guihua squinted, took a few tentative steps forward to confirm her identity, and broke into a massive run.
“Wanyan! Over here!”
Xu Guihua sprinted forward, her face lit up with a brilliant smile. After weeks of anxious waiting, her savior had finally arrived.
Chapter 428: Talking about Cooperation with Xu Guihua
“My, my, look at you! Since when is Comrade Xu Guihua so enthusiastic?”
Sheng Wanyan couldn’t help but tease her. Xu Guihua didn’t mind the ribbing at all. Laughing, she warmly ushered her guest inside.
Xu Guihua had learned her lesson ever since she saw Sheng Wanyan’s charming little courtyard back at the military base. The moment she and her husband relocated to the city, she had hounded Captain Fang to pull some strings and apply for a standalone courtyard home with three bedrooms and a living room.
It was the perfect size for their family of five. Now that the children were growing up, the two boys could share one bedroom, while their daughter had her own space. It gave everyone the privacy they needed, saving them from the cramped, awkward layout of a typical multi-family tube building. Xu Guihua had already calculated that when her sons were ready to marry and start their own families, they could simply construct an extra room right out in the yard.
Furthermore, now that university admissions had been reinstated, she harbored grand hopes that her children would eventually leave this freezing city behind. It would be best if they could pass the exams and go all the way to the Capital.
Besides, their family’s financial situation was improving by the day. Even if it was their daughter who passed the exams in the future, Lao Fang and she would gladly sell everything they owned to support her education.
Xu Guihua enthusiastically dragged her guest into the house, and Sheng Wanyan handed over the bundles she had brought.
“Oh, why did you bring so much?” Xu Guihua chided playfully. “You’re far too polite!”
Even as she said this, her hands moved with lightning speed, whisking the provisions straight into the kitchen. Sheng Wanyan watched her, thoroughly amused. You say I’m too polite, yet look how agile you are when it comes to pocketing the goods!
“You’re staying for lunch today,” Xu Guihua called out from the kitchen. “And don’t you dare try to argue!”
Sheng Wanyan smiled and nodded. The children were currently on winter break, which meant they were out running wild somewhere in the neighborhood.
“It’s a miracle you came to keep me company today,” Xu Guihua said, walking back into the living room. “Lao Fang was sent out on a mission a few days ago, so I haven’t had a single soul to talk to at home.”
Though she grumbled about the loneliness, the broad grin on her face never faded. This woman really was quite a character—and surprisingly good at putting on a show.
“Here, have a drink.”
Xu Guihua poured her a cup of sugar water. Sheng Wanyan took a sip and nearly choked on the intense sweetness. How many spoonfuls of sugar had she dumped in there? This was beyond enthusiastic; it was practically a hazard.
“Comrade Xu Guihua… are you perhaps trying to clone my living room?” Sheng Wanyan asked, scanning the decor. A strange, undeniable sense of familiarity washed over her.
Xu Guihua shot her a look of mock offense. “What do you mean, ‘clone’? This is called drawing inspiration!” She giggled, leaning forward. “After all, we’re going to be business partners. It’s only natural that we learn from each other.”
Sheng Wanyan raised an eyebrow in surprise. It seemed this woman had learned how to be a bit more tactful and diplomatic since moving to the city. “I can’t believe those words actually just came out of your mouth.”
Xu Guihua looked away guiltily, clearing her throat. She certainly wasn’t going to admit that she had secretly consulted her own mother for pointers on the art of conversation, knowing Sheng Wanyan was visiting. “Ahem… hey, don’t go exposing my secrets.”
Brushing the topic aside, Xu Guihua sat directly opposite her, staring at her with eager anticipation.
“This water is a bit too sweet for me,” Sheng Wanyan noted. “Could I just get some plain hot water?”
“Right away!”
Without a word of complaint, Xu Guihua snatched up the cup and hurried over to the thermos to dilute it with boiling water.
Sheng Wanyan took two soothing sips of the hot water before putting her cup down, ready to get down to business. “Comrade Xu Guihua, let me ask you directly: are you willing to pursue your studies while simultaneously running an operation here in the Bing City?”
“Stop beating around the bush and just tell me the plan!” Xu Guihua urged, practically vibrating with suspense. She had always been driven mad by Sheng Wanyan’s habit of speaking in half-sentences. But since this woman was her ultimate ticket to wealth, she had to swallow her impatience and treat her like royalty.
“Alright, then I’ll cut straight to the chase.”
The casual, teasing air vanished from Sheng Wanyan’s face, replaced by a cool, razor-sharp focus. The sudden shift radiated an aura of authority so intense that it rivaled the commanding presence of Father Sheng, the political commissar himself.
Xu Guihua swallowed hard, momentarily intimidated. How could a person’s demeanor change so drastically in a split second? One moment she was a stunning young woman, and the next, she looked like a high-ranking official demanding results.
“Comrade Xu Guihua, now that the college entrance examination has been officially reinstated, nationwide economic reform and opening up are just around the corner,” Sheng Wanyan stated, her voice steady. “The Bing City is thousands of miles away from the Capital, making it the perfect untapped territory to carve out our own empire. I want to partner with you to establish a dominant brand right here.”
“But… what can someone like me actually do?” Xu Guihua asked, her confidence suddenly faltering. She was just a woman with a basic high school diploma whose primary talents lay in gossiping and winning neighborhood shouting matches.
“You can do a lot more than you think.” Sheng Wanyan smiled.
It was clear Xu Guihua didn’t have a true grasp of her own strengths. Her ability to gather intelligence, parse rumors, and read people was nothing short of extraordinary. In the business world, a person with those instincts would be the first to spot a market shift or sniff out a competitor’s strategy.
“So… where do we start? What are we actually selling?” Xu Guihua asked, completely out of her depth.
Sheng Wanyan reached into her canvas bag, pulled out a thick stack of neatly organized design sketches, and slid them across the table.
“What are these?”
“Your starting material.”
Xu Guihua eagerly snatched up the papers and began flipping through them. The moment she registered the drawings, her jaw dropped in absolute shock. “Did you… did you draw these yourself?”
Sheng Wanyan nodded. They were all clothing designs she had meticulously sketched out—ranging from casual wear to formal attire. While these silhouettes would be considered classic and simple in the future, they were revolutionary for the late 1970s.
The collection featured asymmetrical skirts, elegant puff-sleeve dresses, sharp V-necks, and modern square-neck tops. There were tailored, cinched-waist skirts, slim-fitting dresses, and flowing, wide-leg trousers. She had laid them all out in vivid detail so Xu Guihua could use them as production templates.
Her vision was for Xu Guihua to open a retail boutique and a private garment workshop right here in the Bing City, launching their own independent clothing brand. They would capture the local market first, build an ironclad reputation, and then expand across the country before eventually exporting abroad. Ultimately, she intended to transform it into a high-end luxury fashion house.
“I will provide all the capital and the design blueprints,” Sheng Wanyan explained, mapping out the corporate structure. “Your responsibility will be the day-to-day management, logistics, and personnel. Your first task is to recruit a few skilled local seamstresses who can replicate these designs flawlessly.”
She leaned forward. “I will pay you fifty cents for every single piece of clothing produced. Once the workshop is up and running, we can hire ten full-time seamstresses. We’ll match the standard state factory wages, but we’ll offer a production commission on top of that to incentivize speed.”
“As for the retail side, we need to lease a physical storefront early on. Look for a spacious layout where we can build a few proper fitting rooms. The interior design should be simple, clean, and elegant. Secure a location with heavy foot traffic—somewhere close to a major university campus or a massive state factory complex.”
Xu Guihua stared at the sketches, entirely spellbound. The clothing was so breathtakingly beautiful that she could already picture stylish young women clamoring to buy them.
“We’ll source a wide array of fabrics,” Sheng Wanyan continued, her eyes bright with ambition. “White, off-white, charcoal gray, classic black, pastel pink, sky blue, apricot, rich red, and vibrant orange. We will produce all the vivid, fashionable colors that young women gravitate toward and display them prominently in the shop window. You’ll need to visit the local textile mills, inspect their color lots, select the best materials, and establish a steady supply contract.”
“We’ll offer variations for every taste. There will always be a customer for each shade. The secret to retail is helping the customer discover the perfect ensemble for her specific body type. I’ll compile a comprehensive training manual for you, detailing exactly how to style and color-match every piece in our collection.”
Xu Guihua was utterly dumbfounded. Did this mean she just had to manage the logistics on the ground, and she would eventually become a wealthy businesswoman?
“I supply the designs and the funding; you supply the manpower and the execution,” Sheng Wanyan concluded, locking eyes with her. “Comrade Xu Guihua, do you have any objections to this partnership?”
