Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

Upon realizing that the two men knew each other, one of them released his grip on Zhou Qingwan's bicycle handlebars.

The other man, however, arrogantly retorted, "It's late at night, cold, and the roads are slippery. We're just kindly offering to take the young girl home!"

Xu Bei only spoke coldly after shielding Zhou Qingwan, who was pushing the cart, behind him, "Good intentions my ass! This is my sister, get out of here right now!"

Looking at Xu Bei, who was a little taller than the two of them and whose broad shoulders were like a wall protecting her, Zhou Qingwan felt a surge of gratitude and a touch of emotion welling up in her heart.

The same man, his neck stiff, pointed at Xu Bei with a resentful snort and said, "Kid, who the hell are you trying to fool! I heard the girl call your name!"

Xu Bei stopped talking nonsense, grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it hard, while simultaneously kicking him in the back of the knee.

The man screamed and fell forward, crashing onto the snow with a loud thud and a cry of pain.

The other boy instinctively took a step back. "You...you dare to lay a hand on me?"

"What wouldn't I dare to do! I'll say it again, get out of here!" Xu Bei's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority.

Knowing that if he didn't act rashly, he would be the next one to get beaten up, and that his opponent was clearly skilled, he couldn't win even if he fought two against one, he was so scared that he quickly helped his companion up and ran away as fast as he could, without even daring to utter a harsh word.

Xu Bei withdrew his gaze, turned around to look at Zhou Qingwan, and softened his voice, "Don't be afraid, it's alright now."

Zhou Qingwan was very grateful and quickly said, "Thank you so much, Brother Xu. If I hadn't run into you, I don't know how I would have gotten away."

Your aunt helped me find the jade pendant before, and I haven't had a chance to thank her yet, and now you're doing it again...

Xu Bei interrupted Zhou Qingwan with a smile, "You're welcome. It was nothing, my mom didn't even think about it. Come on, where do you live? I'll take you home."

Although Zhou Qingwan was a little embarrassed to trouble Xu Bei, she had just been robbed and didn't dare to refuse even though they were not far apart. "Thank you, but I'll have to take up a little of your time, Brother Xu. My home is in the alley up ahead, near Dahao."

Xu Bei knew that the area consisted of newly built red brick houses by the Beishan Forestry Bureau. Considering Zhou Qingwan's background, he could guess that her aunt and uncle must have had good jobs to be able to get assigned there so quickly.

He waved his hand again and laughed, "It's nothing, it's quite close. I just came out for a stroll after dinner, nothing much."

When Zhou Qingwan saw that the other person was pulling a sled, she knew that something must have happened and that he was just saying that so that she wouldn't feel bad. So she continued to push the sled and didn't ride it.

After Xu Bei got the sled back on, she couldn't contain her curiosity and said, "By the way, Brother Xu, I remember Xiao Mei mentioning that you don't seem to live around here."

Xu Bei could be frank with his two good friends about the specific reasons, but he certainly wouldn't tell the truth to the girl he wasn't familiar with: "My family has temporarily moved to this area."

Zhou Qingwan is a person with a strong sense of boundaries. She guessed a lot as soon as she heard it and nodded quickly, "No wonder I was so lucky to meet you."

Although Xu Bei had developed feelings for the pretty girl, it wasn't appropriate to pursue her under the current circumstances.

Therefore, they all displayed gentlemanly manners, escorting the person to their doorstep without saying a word.

He glanced through the open gate at the beautiful red brick house with brightly lit windows, a stark contrast to his own and rented low-rise dwellings. "Alright, come on in, I'm leaving."

Zhou Qingwan expressed her gratitude again, "Brother Xu, thank you so much for bringing me back. It's cold and the roads are slippery, so please be careful on your way back."

"Okay, no need to be polite, don't worry." Xu Bei smiled and waved, then turned around and pulled the sled away with a flourish.

Zhou Qingwan didn't rush to push her bicycle into the yard. Instead, she waited until she watched that tall and upright figure walk away before she moved...

When Xu Bei returned home with dozens of wooden stools, Xu Li had already finished eating and left the table.

Zhu Wenliang was drinking with Dahei and Song Guodong, and all three of them were flushed and red-faced to varying degrees, and they started calling each other brothers.

Xu Bei naturally wouldn't tell anyone about taking Zhou Qingwan home. He washed his hands, took off his shoes, climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and joined the fray.

They drank until after 7 p.m. before everyone dispersed.

However, Xu Li did not leave, but chose to sleep here tonight.

Only Zhu Wenliang and Dahei carried more than ten stools with them.

Seeing her daughter and son's friends making sales every day, Zhao Fengying began to feel anxious.

"Son, why don't you let Mom ride your bicycle tomorrow? I'll go check with the old neighbors. Maybe someone who wants to buy a stool will come to our house in the next day or two. We don't know."

Xu Bei didn't want his mother to return to the area where they lived at this time.

It's estimated that most of the neighbors living nearby already know about the parents' divorce, and when they meet, they'll inevitably try to reconcile them or say some unnecessary things.

Furthermore, encountering Xu Dashan and his wife Xu Dahong again could easily provoke a lot of anger.

"Mom, why are you in such a hurry? If someone wants to buy a stool, so what if they've been to our house? They can only buy it from us."

"What if you go back and run into my dad and his family? Won't you say something?"

Xu Li and Xu Juan, who were cleaning the kang (a heated brick bed) and preparing to lay out the bedding, immediately spoke up.

"Yes, Mom, my brother is right. It's not like we're in a few days' trouble to buy them. Besides us, we can't buy chairs anywhere else."

"Mom, if you really want to go, take me with you. That way, if someone tries to start a fight, you won't be all alone."

Zhao Fengying understood that her children had a point, but it was still quite upsetting that she couldn't do a job that was easy to earn money because of some people and things.

"I can't keep hiding like this, can I? I'll have to face it sooner or later. If I run into it, I'll just run into it. I'll just ask when I'm going to get the referral letter for the divorce. They can't just leave me hanging like this every day."

Xu Bei still didn't want his mother to be verbally or physically harmed when he wasn't around, and a perfect idea suddenly popped into his mind.

"Mom, I don't think selling stools is a long-term solution. Your social circle is too narrow, and you only have a limited number of old neighbors nearby. Once everyone who can buy them has bought them, there won't be any more sales."

As for the tables being too expensive and difficult to sell, if they can't be sold in eight or ten days, it's better to think of other ways to make money as soon as possible.

"The New Year is almost here. What do you think about letting Mom open a shop selling hair clips, scarves, hair ties, socks, underwear, and the like? I can get the goods from the provincial capital."

Zhao Fengying was initially disheartened, because what her son said was indeed true. But then her eyes lit up again, and she asked with trepidation, "Open a shop? Can I do it?"