Living like a widow? My rough neighbor is coaxing me to have a baby every night.

Chapter 214 Hong Kong Style Hair Ties Sell Like Hotcakes, But Then I Met a Jerk

A middle-aged man in a blue work uniform walked over, holding a notebook in his hand.

Xiao Lan looked up and saw it was a security officer from the department store.

"Comrade, we are doing legitimate business."

Xiao Lan took out the red booklet from her pocket and handed it over. "This is the business license issued by the Industry and Commerce Bureau. Please take a look."

The clerk reached out and took it, glanced at it twice, and then looked at the hair ties on the ground.

Just as he lowered his head, Xiao Lan flicked her wrist, and two crumpled one-yuan bills were already tucked into the notebook.

The clerk's fingers rubbed against the edge of the notebook, and the two bills slid into his palm.

"Okay, as long as there's a license."

The officer handed the notebook back to Xiao Lan, saying, "But you have to follow the rules. You can't block the door or argue with anyone. If anyone complains, I'll have to kick you out."

"Don't worry, we'll follow the rules." Xiao Lan smiled, her eyes crinkling.

The officer nodded, turned, and left.

Li Xianglian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She watched the clerk walk away and whispered, "Sister Lan, we haven't even opened for business yet, how come..."

"Shhh."

Xiao Lan lowered her voice, continuing to fiddle with her hair tie, "This is called 'greasing the palms.' You think we just took this place for nothing? The entrance to the department store is prime real estate. Without some 'tribute,' they can kick us out with a single word."

"But……"

"There's no 'but' about it."

Xiao Lan glanced at her. "Your Qin Rushan runs a transport business, hasn't he ever encountered people demanding tolls? That's how the world is. If you want to make money, you have to learn how to spend it first. Two yuan for a stable stall, it's worth it."

Li Xianglian pursed her lips and said nothing more.

She remembered that Qin Rushan always prepared several packs of cigarettes before each trip, saying that he would need them on the road.

Before long, people began to come out of the department store.

Most of them were well-dressed women, carrying large and small bags.

Xiao Lan reacted quickly and immediately started shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Look at this! The latest Hong Kong and Taiwan style hair ties! A rare find that you can't even buy in department stores!"

That shout immediately attracted the attention of many people.

Several young women curiously gathered around.

"What's this? It's so pretty!" A girl in a floral dress squatted down and picked up a pink hair tie.

"Hey girl, this is called a scrunchie, it's the most popular style in the provincial capital right now."

Xiao Lan immediately got into character, "Look at the workmanship, the material—it's all made from scraps of Dacron fabric. Wearing this, you'll look like a modern woman straight out of a magazine!"

"How much is one?"

"Not expensive, only 50 cents."

"Five cents?" The girl hesitated for a moment. "That's a bit expensive."

"Expensive? Go to the department store and see, those imported hair ties, aren't they all over a dollar? Ours are handmade, one-of-a-kind designs, only 50 cents for something beautiful, worth it!"

Xiao Lan has a silver tongue; she can talk the dead back to life.

The girl was persuaded and took out 50 cents to buy one.

Once the first sale was made, subsequent business went much more smoothly.

In less than half an hour, a large section of the black velvet cloth in front of Li Xianglian and Xiao Lan was empty.

Just then, a girl in a pale yellow dress pulled her companion through the crowd.

"Hey, it's them!"

The girl pointed at Xiao Lan, her voice brimming with excitement, "They were the ones setting up stalls outside the movie theater last night! I was too late and missed out, but I finally caught them today!"

Xiao Lan looked up and laughed, "Oh, isn't this the one from last night? You've come to the right place today! We've made several new designs, guaranteed to be even better than yesterday's!"

The girl squatted down and picked up a sequined hair tie, admiring it with obvious delight.

The girl in the white shirt next to her also squatted down and carefully examined the hair ties.

"Xu Man, look at this, isn't it super stylish?" The girl in the pale yellow dress slipped a hair tie onto her companion's wrist.

The girl named Xu Man took the hair tie, examining it closely in her hands. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes: "It's really nice. The workmanship and color scheme are no worse than what I saw in the provincial capital. And the lace trim is quite thoughtful."

When Li Xianglian heard the words "provincial capital", her heart skipped a beat.

Girls who can go to the provincial capital are all from wealthy families.

"You have a great eye, young lady!" Xiao Lan immediately chimed in. "We learned our craft from the provincial capital, and we use only the best materials. If you like them, pick out a few; if you buy three today, I'll give you a two-cent discount!"

Xu Man smiled and took out her wallet from her small handbag: "Okay, I'll take this blue one and that red one."

"Me too! I want the one with beads!" The girl in the pale yellow dress didn't hesitate and immediately took out her money.

The two bought four hair ties in one go, and their decisiveness tempted several women around them who were still hesitating.

"Me too!"

"Give me a red one!"

As her business grew more and more successful, Li Xianglian had so much change in her hand that she could hardly count it all.

Just then, a high-pitched female voice came from not far away.

"Wow, why are there so many people in front of this department store? Let's go check it out!"

Li Xianglian subconsciously looked up.

Upon seeing this, he froze completely.

On the outskirts of the crowd, a woman wearing a light blue maternity dress was walking slowly towards them, arm in arm with a man.

The woman was quite heavily pregnant and walked with some difficulty, but her face was full of a happy smile.

The man she was holding hands with was wearing a crisp white shirt and had his hair slicked back.

It's Zhao Gang.

And then there's his mistress, Wang Lili.

Li Xianglian almost dropped the money in her hand.

She never expected to run into these two people in this place, in this way.

Xiao Lan was busy greeting guests and didn't notice Li Xianglian's unusual behavior.

Wang Lili, heavily pregnant, was carefully helped by Zhao Gang to the edge of the crowd.

"What's this for? Why are there so many people here?" Wang Lili stood on tiptoe to peek inside.

"It looks like they sell hair ties," Zhao Gang replied casually, his eyes scanning the crowd as if afraid of running into someone he knew.

Since his divorce from Li Xianglian, he has lived in constant fear and anxiety.

Although he barely passed Wang Jianguo's test, he knew in his heart that he was destined to be a live-in son-in-law in the Wang family.

"I'd like to see it too."

Wang Lili tugged at Zhao Gang's sleeve playfully, "Look at my body now, I can't fit into any of my old clothes anymore, and I can't style my hair properly. If I had a pretty hair tie, at least I would look more presentable."

Although Zhao Gang was impatient, he had to put on a considerate face: "Okay, okay, buy it if you want, don't tire yourself out."

The two squeezed into the crowd.

Wang Lili's eyes lit up immediately when she saw the pink hair tie with lace trim: "Wow, this is beautiful! It matches my dress perfectly!"

She reached out to take it.

Just then, Li Xianglian, who was squatting on the ground collecting money, raised her head.

Eyes facing each other.