After writing out the receipt and paying a portion of the deposit, they agreed to pick up the goods in three days, and the three left the shop.
Chen Lishu then visited several other shops selling jeans. After careful consideration, she chose one and purchased two hundred pairs at fifty-five yuan each.
With all arrangements settled, Chen Lishu and Wang Dazhu went to Li Yuanchao’s shop.
At the stall, a young girl with a long face and big, bright eyes was watching. Seeing Li Yuanchao approach, she sweetly called out, "Brother Yuanchao."
When her gaze fell upon Chen Lishu, she instantly became guarded.
"A Jing, this is Chen Lishu, whom I mentioned to you earlier."
The girl named A Jing’s attitude did a complete 180-degree turn. With a sincere smile, she extended her hand, "Hello, hello! Brother Yuanchao mentioned you. You're a very capable young lady."
Chen Lishu returned the handshake, smiling, "You flatter me."
As they were talking, several people stopped in front of the stall. A Jing quickly greeted them and enthusiastically served the customers, selling two items of clothing in no time.
Li Yuanchao’s shop offered very new styles, and customers naturally flocked in. Chen Lishu had only stood at the shop for about ten minutes before three or four waves of customers had already come and gone.
"I think those outer coats are quite good. I'll take a hundred of each," Chen Lishu said to Li Yuanchao, pointing to the coats hanging up, including windbreakers, woolen coats, and jackets.
"Alright, I'll note it down for you. We'll arrange for production this afternoon."
Chen Lishu expressed her sincere gratitude, "Thank you so much for your help today. Otherwise, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly."
"You're too kind. Don't mention it. You're a major customer for my shop. Besides, since you've come all this way, I have to be a good host. How about it, do you have any plans for the next couple of days? I could take you to visit a famous park, or go hiking? Or perhaps see some historical sites?"
"I've already troubled you so much today. Since we have a few days to wait for the goods, we can explore on our own."
Li Yuanchao had his shop to look after, and Chen Lishu felt bad about bothering him further, so she politely declined his offer.
"Alright, I'll treat you to a proper meal before you leave," Li Yuanchao said with a smile, not insisting.
After parting ways with Li Yuanchao, seeing that it was past four in the afternoon, Chen Lishu and Wang Dazhu found a restaurant for dinner before heading back to the guesthouse to rest.
"Dazhu, is there anywhere you particularly want to go? Since we're here for the first time, we should go out and explore," Chen Lishu asked on their way back.
Wang Dazhu scratched his head and said sheepishly, "I haven't been many places. I don't even know what the sea looks like."
Chen Lishu understood that he actually wanted to see the sea. So, she smiled and said, "Then let's go see the sea tomorrow."
This time, unlike their previous visit for the trade fair, they had ample time.
After resting well at the guesthouse for the night, the two took a bus to the seaside the next day.
At this time, the concepts of "sea-view rooms" and "landscape villas" hadn't emerged yet, so the seaside hadn't been developed. Ferries and fishing boats were seen everywhere.
In the early morning, fishermen would set up stoves by the shore to cook fresh and delicious fish soup. However, the two arrived too late to catch it. There were quite a few stalls selling seafood by the shore. This kind of food tasted best when fresh, but the journey home was too long, making it impossible for Chen Lishu to bring any back for everyone to try.
The two found a small stall selling freshly cooked seafood nearby and bought some. Wang Dazhu had never eaten anything from the sea except seaweed before. Seeing the live creatures in buckets and basins, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Sister-in-law, is this a crab? What's that flat fish?"
Wang Dazhu looked at it curiously and then said to Chen Lishu, "Li Weimin, that kid, usually tells me that my dad..."
In his excitement, Wang Dazhu almost swore. Realizing himself, he grinned at Chen Lishu and said, "Li Weimin always brags to me about what he's seen. When I see him again, I'll have something to talk about."
Coming out with Chen Lishu, Wang Dazhu had broadened his horizons significantly. At the very least, he had seen the sea and eaten seafood. And that "dragon bun," which was only slightly bigger than his eyeballs, tasted really good. When bitten into, it was juicy.
Soon, what they had ordered was cooked. There was always a difference in taste between food bought at the market and cooked at home, and food caught fresh and cooked immediately. The two ate with great relish.
After eating seafood, they explored a bit more before returning to the city.
The next day, they visited a nearby park. Time flew by, and it was soon the day for delivery.
Chen Lishu and Wang Dazhu finished counting all three hundred pieces of leather clothing and jeans. After paying the remaining amount, they watched the goods being transported away and then prepared to return to the city.
Before they left, Li Yuanchao treated them to another meal. In the afternoon, Chen Lishu and Wang Dazhu checked out of the guesthouse, collected their luggage, and headed directly to the train station.
Chen Lishu didn't buy a ticket to S Province; instead, she bought a ticket to Beijing.
Since acquiring the siheyuan courtyard house, she had entrusted it to Aunt Liu from the neighborhood office. A considerable amount of time had passed, and she should go and see it.
Their train was scheduled for past eleven at night, but fortunately, they had the company's official seal to buy sleeper berths, otherwise, they would have suffered greatly.
They boarded the train and proceeded to the sleeper carriage. Upon finding their designated compartment and entering, they discovered that people were already occupying their berths.
Seeing Chen Lishu and Wang Dazhu enter, the two young people sitting on the lower berths exchanged glances and quickly got up to knock on the bunk of their companion above.
"Victory, get up. Someone's here."
The person in the bunk was fast asleep and was annoyed at being woken by his companion. "Let them come. Don't you know I haven't slept all night yesterday?"
As the man on the bunk pulled the quilt, Chen Lishu immediately saw that he was wearing shoes. Her expression darkened.
"How did you get in here? You'd better get off my berth quickly, or I'll call the conductor over to check your tickets immediately."
To avoid disturbing other passengers, Chen Lishu spoke with suppressed anger.
"I'm sorry. We couldn't get sitting tickets, and my friend found it too noisy and couldn't rest well. We were forced to resort to this. I'll have him get up right away."
The man on the lower berth apologized while tidying up his bedding and packing his belongings. The other girl continued to wake the man on the upper bunk.
"Damn it, what's all the fuss about? Just bought a sleeper ticket, acting all high and mighty, even calling the conductor. You're really pushing it," the man said, sitting up from the upper bunk with an impatient Beijing accent.
Chen Lishu also saw clearly that the other party was a young man in his twenties, wearing a gray Zhongshan suit, with a thin, long face and squinting eyes.