TPW – Chapter 117

The New Year arrived—out with the old, in with the new, fresh peach wood charms replacing the old ones.

This year was the quietest and warmest Spring Festival since Qiao Lu transmigrated to Lian.

On New Year’s Eve, the couple worked together to cook the reunion dinner—three meat dishes and four vegetarian ones. Whatever they couldn’t finish was sealed up and placed on the balcony to freeze; it was still cold outside.

Once dinner was ready, with the sound of firecrackers crackling constantly outside the window, the family of four sat around the dining table and turned on the TV to watch the Spring Festival Gala.

Though there weren’t many people, the presence of one little baby made the atmosphere feel even warmer than in previous years.

After eating most of the meal, Qiao An carried his little sister over to the sofa, closer to the TV, to watch the show.

But he couldn’t sit still and just watch—he kept teasing and playing with his sister.

Thankfully, Qiaoqiao giggled cheerfully in response. Ever since she learned to say “gege” (older brother), she hadn’t stopped saying it all day long.

She called for her brother when eating, when bathing, even while nursing…

“Brother again? When are you going to start calling us Daddy and Mama?”

After dinner, Xu Haizhou cleaned up and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Qiao Lu rubbed her full belly and walked over to the sofa to sit beside the two little ones. She scooped one up in each arm and smothered them with kisses.

Soft and fragrant—so comforting.

The little one blinked her big eyes. At five months old, she could already eat some solid food. Today, her father had made her a small bowl of rice porridge. She ate it one spoonful at a time, smacking her lips, nodding and shaking her head as if to say, “Daddy’s porridge is delicious!”

Then, without warning, she suddenly chirped: “Mama!”

Her sweet little baby voice was as clear as a bell. It came out so suddenly that Qiao Lu was stunned and overjoyed.

She put down the bowl, cupped her baby’s face, and said with a trembling voice, “Baby, what did you just say? Say it again?”

“Brother~” The baby tilted her head, smiling playfully like she was joking.

Qiao Lu held her forehead helplessly and poked her on the forehead: “Wrong! It’s Mama.”

“Yes, Qiaoqiao, you have to say Mama. It’s Mama,” Qiao An chimed in, correcting her with a serious expression, looking every bit like a little grown-up big brother.

Qiaoqiao blinked her pretty eyes, then opened her mouth and cheerfully said, “Brother~ Mama!”

“Hey—that’s it! That’s right! It’s Mama! You little rascal, teasing your mama?”

“Brother~ Mama~ Mama~” She started chanting it endlessly, like she was addicted.

“Qiaoqiao, can you just say ‘Mama’ on its own?” Qiao Lu tempted her by lightly tapping the rim of the rice bowl.

The little one, drooling with craving, reached out and tapped the bowl. “Mama? Mama!”

“There we go! That’s it!” Qiao Lu cradled her face and gave her tons of kisses, overjoyed. “My sweet baby~ Mama loves you so much. How can you be this cute?”

“I love my sister too,” Qiao An leaned over and gave his sister a kiss on the cheek.

The little one giggled and drooled again.

That night, the firecrackers went on endlessly. No one could fall asleep. Qiaoqiao was also wide awake, rolling back and forth on Mama and Daddy’s big bed.

Qiao An was there too. Because it was so noisy outside, Mama and Daddy made an exception and let him stay in their room for a little longer before going to sleep.

Now that Qiaoqiao could say “Brother” and “Mama,” no matter how they tried to coax her, she just wouldn’t say “Daddy.” It made the poor father feel so left out.

“When are you going to say Daddy, huh? Qiaoqiao, call me Daddy. Daddy.”

“Mama~” Qiaoqiao stared at his handsome face and blurted out “Mama” without hesitation.

Qiao Lu couldn’t stop laughing on the side. She patted the baby’s bottom. “You’re the only one who can humble your dad like this.”

Xu Haizhou shot her a pitiful look. “You mother and daughter are clearly out to get me.”

Qiao Lu chuckled, hugged his waist, and rested her chin on his shoulder—it was warm there. “Who else would we bully if not you? Not only do we bully you, but you also have to willingly let us.”

He took in the faint fragrance from her cheek and gave a soft laugh. Turning his head, he gave her a kiss on the lips. “Yes, willingly.”

The next morning, Xu Haizhou was woken up by his daughter’s chubby little hands patting his face. She was muttering something.

“Daddy~ Baba~ Dada~”

“Hmm? Qiaoqiao?” Xu Haizhou slowly came to, his cheeks red from the repeated slaps. He touched them—slightly sore.

How long had this little one been slapping him?

Sighing, he pulled her into his arms. Qiaoqiao grabbed his finger and babbled, “Mama, Dada~”

“Do you need to poop?” he asked as he checked her diaper. It was thick, so he couldn’t tell and would need to check in the bathroom.

“Daddy~” She sounded like she was calling him, clear as could be.

Xu Haizhou thought hard and pinched her cheek. “Are you saying ‘poop’ or ‘Daddy’?”

He held Qiaoqiao upright. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her little feet bouncing on his thigh with surprising strength.

Then she leaned in and bit his cheek, planting a slobbery kiss. “Daddy~ Daddy~”

Xu Haizhou froze for a second, then was overjoyed. He shook her little arms. “Say it again?!”

“Daddy, Daddy?” It wasn’t perfectly clear, but it was definitely “Daddy!”

“Qiaoqiao, you’re amazing! Daddy loves you!” Getting such a surprise first thing in the morning made all his sleepiness disappear.

“Daddy, Daddy~ Dada dada~”

And now she was addicted again…

The second day of the Lunar New Year is usually the most relaxing and leisurely time of the year, but at Xu Haizhou’s home, the entire family—young and old—was out and about. From his 29-year-old father down to a five-month-old baby, everyone was opening up shop and getting to work making money!

There was no other choice—if you wanted to be admired in public, you had to suffer in private.

The Spring Festival period was the most vibrant time in the entire consumer market. If you took time off to relax during this prime window, well, you were just handing that money over to someone else.

Today’s hard work was so they could enjoy more comfortable holidays in the future.

Busy? Of course they were!

They even brought in a large number of employees. Since they offered double pay during the Spring Festival, those willing to stay could stay, and those who wanted to go home could do so. The factory manager also handed out 10 yuan red envelopes to every worker—what a thoughtful gesture.

With double wages during the holiday, two-thirds of the employees chose to stay at the factory.

Not that they were working around the clock—at least they could head home after getting off work at six to spend the New Year with their families.

On the second day of the New Year, Qiao Lu brought An’an and Qiao Qiao to the new store. Qiao Qiao sat in her stroller playing with her toys and occasionally wanted to crawl around a bit.

An’an was in charge of watching over his sister and only needed to come report to Qiao Lu if anything happened.

Qiao Lu, meanwhile, was busy receiving customers, doing the accounting, and keeping track of which clothes were running low so she could immediately dispatch a driver to restock.

It was exhausting—so busy she barely touched the ground all day. To make matters worse, Xu Haizhou was tied up with factory matters, leaving all the pressure squarely on her shoulders.

Fortunately, the two little ones were incredibly well-behaved. They didn’t cry or make a fuss and quietly played in a storefront with a display window.

Since the items there were more expensive, few customers ventured in, giving the two kids plenty of space to play.

The floor was spotless. Qiao Qiao crawled on the ground wearing fingerless mittens made by Qiao Lu to keep her palms from getting cold on the chilly floor.

Qiao An now had the air of a big brother. He stood in front of Qiao Qiao, encouraging her to crawl faster. When she got tired and plopped down on her butt, he would cheer her on: “Come on, Qiao Qiao! Try standing up, take a few steps. If you can’t, I’ll help you. Let’s walk together.”

And just like that, the two little ones entertained themselves happily.

“An’an, Qiao Qiao, come get something to eat. Dinner’s still an hour away. Are you hungry?”

Qiao An picked his sister up and set her safely on the carpet, making sure nothing around her could fall over. Then he pattered over with light footsteps, took a date paste roll, and chomped into it: “Mom, I’m a little hungry. But can my sister eat this?”

“Just a little. Don’t give her the date roll—give her this instead, a softer piece of cake.” Qiao Lu handed him another piece of cake. “Go ahead. Feed her slowly so she doesn’t choke.”

Qiao An often helped feed his sister, gave her bottles, and was very experienced. His personality was naturally gentle and careful. Qiao Lu had full confidence in leaving Qiao Qiao with him, though she still glanced over from time to time.

“Okay, I got it!” he chirped as he ran off.

He fed her a bite of cake, then held the bottle to her lips and asked if she was thirsty.

Such a thoughtful little gentleman—truly a warm-hearted boy.

Qiao Lu kept track of the store’s daily revenue. Business boomed during the New Year. Customers who hadn’t noticed the store before its grand opening now wandered in while out for holiday shopping—they couldn’t miss it.

The foot traffic near the department store was no joke—easily double that of Baiyun Street.

These days, Qiao Lu rarely went to Baiyun Street. No matter how good business was there, this location’s profits had already surpassed it within just eleven or twelve days.

This was why people talked about commercial districts—concentrating traffic into one area so everyone could make money together. It was a win-win.

Even the saleswomen from the department store next door came over to browse after work. Sometimes, if something caught their eye, they’d buy a piece to take home. The department store clothes couldn’t hold a candle to theirs.

Ziqingting was the real deal!

The hottest trend this year? Leather jackets. Not only were they pricey, but everyone was crazy about them—they practically sold themselves!

There were lambskin and goatskin varieties, both expensive, with each jacket costing about 300 to 400 yuan!

Strangely enough, even young people with little money would save up several months’ wages just to buy one.

So Ziqingting Women’s Wear set up a dedicated leather jacket section right at the entrance of the new store. Only a fool would turn down easy profits—sometimes you had to be flexible and not stick to rigid ways of thinking!

Qiao Lu suspected that in the future, synthetic leather jackets would appear, and prices would plummet.

So before that happened, Ziqingting needed to push leather jackets hard and sell as many as possible while the trend was hot. Once the craze cooled, sales would become tough.

As for why young people were suddenly obsessed with leather jackets, Qiao Lu asked a couple, and the guy said: “There’s this recent American movie, the male lead wore a leather jacket—so cool. All the girls love it. Gotta keep up with the trend!”

So it was for attracting girls—no wonder they were willing to spend so much!

A goatskin leather jacket and a gold ring—back then, they were symbols of status and wealth, and the ultimate tools for picking up girls.

Well, now Qiao Lu understood—this was when the concept of luxury items started taking root among ordinary people.

The leather jacket boom had instantly turned them into a fashionable luxury brand for the young generation. And more explosive opportunities would come in the future—catch just one, and you could soar like a rocket.

On the fourth day of the New Year, inspiration struck Qiao Lu. She rushed to the factory and told the workers to clear a production line and work overtime to make women’s leather jackets!

She had already drawn the designs, modifying the men’s version slightly to be lighter, sleeker, more colorful and vibrant—specifically tailored for women.

Who said only men could wear them?

From the late 1980s to the early 21st century, the degree of social openness was astonishing. Even now, androgynous women were emerging—and they were quite popular. It was a fashion trend, not some fringe expression.

No time to waste—she had to get the women’s leather jackets out while the leather jacket craze was at its peak. If other stores launched first, Ziqingting would only get the scraps.

If they were the first, they could heavily promote themselves as the original.

That way, they’d be making money from both ends—and making a fortune!

On the sixth day of the New Year, the last day of holiday break for office workers, the streets were livelier than ever. Even reporters from the local newspaper came out to do a feature on Spring Festival and make the front page of the Lianan Daily.

The focus was on the festive spirit—showcasing Lianan’s vibrant and prosperous atmosphere during the holiday and the enthusiastic spirit of its people, reflecting public support for the reforms and opening-up policies.

In short, it was a politically correct article that praised the people, the Party, and the new spirit of the times.

The interview was conducted on the busiest commercial street. They started at the department store, easily finding people to interview, then moved to nearby shops and streets—until they noticed a sparkling little storefront not far from the department store.

It was incredibly eye-catching!

The two reporters curiously stepped closer to admire it. The beautiful interior was breathtaking. When they went inside to ask, they realized—it was a classic case of how ordinary citizens had achieved wealth through reform and opening-up!

Interview! Immediate interview! A special feature article! This was the perfect example to highlight the country’s commitment to the people’s well-being!

At first, Qiao Lu was confused when the two reporters requested an interview, but quickly caught on and warmly welcomed them into the shop.

These days, scammers posing as journalists were rare—and besides, they had proper press credentials.

She led the two of them to the rest area of the custom clothing section and patted the crib where Qiaoqiao was placed, saying to Qiao An, “An’an, take your little sister over there to play. Mommy needs to talk to the reporter uncles.”

Qiao Lu carefully placed Qiaoqiao into the stroller. Like a little nanny, Qiao An pushed the stroller and was about to leave, but paused to ask, “Mommy, what’s a reporter uncle?”

“They’re people who write for the newspaper. Now go on, go find Sister Yingying.”

“Okay then.”

Pushing the stroller slowly, he walked away with an air of “aged wisdom and experience.” Qiaoqiao sat in the stroller and waved at her mother, trying to turn her head to look back, but her neck was too short and her movements uncoordinated—she couldn’t turn around. Qiao Lu burst into laughter.

“Are both of them your children?” The two reporters were incredulous.

“Yes.” Qiao Lu smiled slightly.

Then she was subjected to a thorough inspection from the two: she looked barely in her twenties, and yet she was already the mother of two!

“So pretty, and both children are beautiful too. You’re really blessed.” The male reporter spoke as the female reporter, who was holding the camera, had already started taking photos of the store. The decor was just too beautiful—this definitely had to be the headline for this issue!

Qiao Lu smiled modestly and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “So how will the interview go?”

The male reporter immediately straightened his posture, pen and paper ready: “Comrade, just tell us how you started your shop, why you opened it, the difficulties you encountered along the way, and how you overcame them.”

“Alright.” Storytelling was something Qiao Lu had long since mastered—this was no trouble for her.

To match the reporter’s writing speed, Qiao Lu slowed her pace and paused from time to time. Surprisingly, the interview lasted an hour and a half!

Fortunately, the store wasn’t too busy at that time, or it would’ve seriously disrupted their business.

After the interview, they exchanged some polite compliments. The male reporter then asked another question: “May I ask what your thoughts are on the country’s reforms and opening-up policies?”

What could Qiao Lu say? Of course she had to express strong support and encouragement. After all, she herself had risen with the favorable winds of reform—there was absolutely no room for criticism.

The interview finally concluded. The two reporters stood to leave, but before walking out, they couldn’t resist circling the Purple Dragonfly store several times.

Especially the female reporter—she had just taken up her post two months ago and had been too busy with work to go shopping in a long while. She had no idea such a unique and beautiful clothing store had opened near the department store!

She had seen plenty of mass-market items before, but custom designs were completely new to her—utterly stunning!

The colors, the designs, the styles—each aspect ignited her love of fashion.

The male reporter, on the other hand, was drawn to a leather jacket displayed under the window. The inner lining was soft and warm; he couldn’t stop touching it. But when he asked the price, his excitement deflated.

Qiao Lu laughed, “If you like it, I’ll give you a discount—20% off.”

“Twenty percent? That’s a pretty good deal.” The male reporter scratched his head sheepishly, hesitating. Leather jackets were all the rage now—many of his colleagues at the newspaper had bought them… but he had held off, thinking they were too expensive.

Just then, Li Hongjun came running in from Anqiao Garment Factory with a delivery, handing Qiao Lu a form.

“Sis-in-law, here’s a form that needs your signature.”

Qiao Lu took it and signed her name with a fountain pen. “The driver could’ve brought it. Why’d you come in person?”

Li Hongjun grinned a little foolishly. “Heh, I’ve got a lunch date with my girlfriend nearby, so I hitched a ride with the driver.”

Qiao Lu smiled knowingly and teased, “Seems like things are going well between you two. When’s the wedding?”

Li Hongjun furrowed his brows and pouted. “Wedding? Hmm… haven’t thought about that yet. We’re just dating for now. Things are good, but I just don’t feel like we’re at the marriage stage yet.”

Not quite there yet?

Qiao Lu knew better than to meddle in others’ relationships, so she nodded. “Alright, just don’t do anything reckless if you’re not planning to get married.”

For once, Li Hongjun blushed and looked away. “No, of course not, sis-in-law. We just hold hands, maybe kiss a little—nothing else.”

Pfft—he was just making it worse.

After handing over the form, he was about to leave when he suddenly noticed the two reporters in the store. “Hey, are those customers? Why do they have a camera?”

After a few years in the industry, Li Hongjun had developed sharp instincts. “Don’t tell me they’re from a rival store? Trying to take pictures of our custom designs to copy them?!”

Pfft—

Qiao Lu laughed. “I appreciate your vigilance, but no—they’re actual reporters, here for an interview.”

“Reporters? About what? Don’t tell me they’re using the interview as a cover to…”

“No,” Qiao Lu said with a chuckle, briefly explaining the situation. Only then did Li Hongjun relax, although he still eyed the reporters suspiciously.

They did seem to carry that scholarly air… not like crooks at all. Then a thought suddenly struck him—his eyes lit up with excitement.

“Damn! Sis-in-law, isn’t this the best publicity ever for our Purple Dragonfly and Anqiao brands?!”

Before Qiao Lu could respond, Li Hongjun had rushed up to the reporters, urgently asking, “Hey, comrades! Did you include our boss’s heroic deeds in the article?”

“Heroic deeds?” The reporters looked at each other, confused.

“You see, the owner of Purple Dragonfly Clothing Store is our Boss Qiao,” he said, gesturing toward Qiao Lu. “And her husband is the factory director of Anqiao Garment Factory—our supplier. The factory director is also Boss Qiao’s husband, and he once helped the police bust the most notorious human trafficking gang in Lian City! And then he…”

Blah blah blah—Li Hongjun went on to tell the reporters about how Xu Haizhou courageously rescued children and took down a trafficking base.

The male reporter’s brain was about to explode from all the note-taking. He wrote non-stop, sweat pouring from his brow—this was a huge scoop and definitely worthy of its own full spread!

“Alright, alright! I’ll go back and organize everything. Thank you all for your support!”

“Hahaha, no need to thank us.” After all, they were getting free publicity for Purple Dragonfly and Anqiao!

The reporters hurried off to get to work. As they left, Qiao Lu rubbed her head. “I must’ve been so flustered—I didn’t even realize this would be a great way to advertise our shop.”

Smart as she was, she’d had a moment of foolishness.

“Hahaha, no worries—good thing I showed up! Just wait and see how they write it up. It might really be like an ad.”

The Lian Daily was the most popular newspaper in Lian City. In an era with scarce information, newspapers were the best way to stay informed. Compared to the internet age of the 21st century, print media’s impact was even more concentrated—almost like precision marketing—reaching every citizen of Lian City.

So over the next few days, the shareholders all kept an eye on the Lian Daily.

Two days later, the latest issue of Lian Daily hit the stands. As usual, Xu Haizhou rode his bike past a street kiosk, bought a copy, and brought it back to his office to read.

As soon as he opened it—bam! The entire front page featured their Purple Dragonfly storefront.

Even in black and white, the brilliance of those two glass display rooms couldn’t be hidden.

“They really printed it? Wow, what a spread.” It was clearly an article on new social developments during the Spring Festival, but anyone who didn’t know better would think it was a Purple Dragonfly exclusive.

Right in the middle of the page, in bold, large font, was the headline: “The Eighth Spring Festival of Reform and Opening-Up: Witnessing the Progress of the Times through the Birth and Growth of Purple Dragonfly!”

Blah blah blah—six long paragraphs followed, but all concluded with: “We are grateful for the support and encouragement of the government, which has enabled the people to enjoy a happiness once unimaginable.”

Wow. Just wow.

But even more wow-worthy content followed…