The younger sister mistakenly identified her brother when visiting relatives and was kissed by the c

"clothing store?!"

Bai Zhengyuan raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his deep eyes.

"Yes! A clothing store!"

Qiao Xinxin looked intently at her older brother and analyzed clearly, "Brother, think about it. Now that the national policies have been relaxed, aren't everyone's wallets getting fatter every day? Once people have spare money, what's the first thing they do? Eat their fill! And the second thing? Dress up!"

Her voice was clear and crisp, every word precious: "Clothes make the man! Especially in a big city like ours, the demands for presentability and style will only keep rising. Who wouldn't want to wear the latest Hong Kong-style flared pants and polyester shirts? The clothing business is definitely going to be a wildly profitable industry in the future!"

This insightful analysis made Bai Zhengyuan gasp and fall into deep thought.

My sister's vision and perspective are beyond what most women can achieve, not to mention even the company commanders and platoon leaders under him who have served in the army for several years!

But upon hearing this, Bai's mother panicked, slapping her thigh and looking distressed: "Oh my goodness, Xin Xin, you're so ambitious! Selling food isn't even a sure thing yet, and you're already thinking about opening a clothing store? How much capital would that require? Just the money tied up in inventory would be enough even if we sold our whole family! With the thousand yuan we have, let alone opening a store, it probably wouldn't even cover the rent for a good location!"

Qiao Xinxin knew, of course, that a thousand yuan wasn't enough.

In this day and age, if you want to open a decent Hong Kong-style clothing store in a prime location in Beijing, you need at least three to five thousand yuan in real money; otherwise, you won't even make a splash.

But she remained calm, a charming smile playing on her lips, and reassured him confidently, "Mom, you're absolutely right! A thousand yuan really isn't enough to open a clothing store."

"That's why I call this a 'long-term plan'! You have to eat one bite at a time, and walk one step at a time. In the beginning, let's start with a food business that requires little investment but yields high profits!"

Qiao Xinxin patiently explained to her parents, "Let's set up a small stall outside the military base gate, or on a busy street, or rent the cheapest storefront. As long as our food tastes good and the portions are generous, we're guaranteed to have customers! This is called 'snowballing.' Once we've turned our small amount of money into a large sum and saved enough capital, we can then buy a bigger shop and open a clothing store!"

The mother's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and she nodded repeatedly.

Mr. Bai tapped his pipe and nodded in agreement, "Xin Xin is right! No matter what you do, you can't take too big a step, or you'll mess it up. Let's take it one step at a time, steadily!"

Bai Zhengyuan looked at his younger sister with admiration, his eyes filled with pride: "So, what do you plan to sell for this initial food business? Breakfast again?"

Qiao Xinxin smiled slyly, like a little fox who had successfully stolen some fish.

"Making breakfast is too tiring, I have to get up in the middle of the night. Let's sell—braised dishes!"

She rattled off a string of dishes with ease: "Braised chicken feet, braised pig's trotters, braised tofu, braised kelp knots, braised eggs! And a few refreshing cold dishes too! These offal and bean products are incredibly cheap at the market, the cost is extremely low. But as long as they're braised until tender and flavorful, the profit is more than double!"

At this point, she deliberately lowered her voice, leaned closer to her family members mysteriously, and began to shamelessly fabricate a story: "Besides, I didn't waste my time in that den of wolves, the Qiao family!"

"The Qiao family used to employ a kitchen helper named Aunt Wang, whose ancestors came from the imperial kitchen! She had a family heirloom recipe for braised dishes! The aroma could waft for three blocks! I usually helped out in the kitchen when I had nothing to do, and through sheer rote memorization, I managed to secretly memorize all the ingredients and cooking times for that recipe!"

She patted her head and said with great seriousness, "We'll use this secret palace recipe! It'll be unique in the entire capital, and no one else can copy it!"

The top-secret recipes for the future in this space are naturally not to be revealed.

The only option was to have the Qiao family, who lived far away in Yuncheng, fabricate a "Aunt Wang" out of thin air.

In any case, the two families will never have any contact again in this lifetime, so this huge lie is flawless!

Upon hearing that her daughter had secretly learned such a unique skill, Bai's mother's eyes lit up instantly. She slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "My goodness! Is this for real? That's wonderful! In the food business, a skill is a golden ticket! With this secret recipe, we're already halfway to success!"

Seeing that the whole family's emotions were at their peak, Qiao Xinxin quickly seized the opportunity: "Dad, Mom, Brother! You have to believe me! As long as we all work together, we'll never have a bad day! There's no time like the present, so tonight I'll go to the kitchen and show you what I've got, so you can really taste this 'secret recipe'!"

"good!"

Bai Zhengyuan was the first to cheer loudly, slamming his calloused hand on the coffee table, his resolute face full of anticipation.

Mother Bai was overjoyed, her wrinkles crinkling into smiles: "Good, good! Mom will help you, and you can taste my daughter's cooking!"

Even Bai's usually taciturn father relaxed completely on his weathered face, a kind and satisfied smile appearing on his lips.

The small living room was filled with joy and laughter. In the past ten years or so, the Bai family had never had such a warm and hopeful moment.

Amidst the laughter and merriment, Bai Zhengyuan seemed to suddenly remember something important and abruptly slapped his thigh.

"By the way, Xin Xin, speaking of the grievances you suffered at the Qiao family's house, and your arrival in the capital, I really need to prepare a generous gift to thank that kid Bai Zhou!"

"Bai Zhou?" Qiao Xinxin was taken aback. "Thank him for what?"

Bai Zhengyuan's face showed the frankness and gratitude unique to soldiers. He smiled and explained, "In the few days after you ran away from the Qiao family and took the train to the capital to seek refuge with me, I happened to be on an emergency mission overnight and was not in the camp at all."

Bai Zhengyuan felt increasingly indebted to the man as he spoke, his tone full of admiration: "And I just got back these past two days, busy handing over my work. He even specially sent one of his men, the bodyguard Xiao Zhao, to stand guard downstairs to look after you! He was worried that you, a woman, would be scared at home alone. As his older brother, I must remember this life-saving kindness deeply!"

"...??"

Hearing her older brother's heartfelt words of gratitude to Lu Baizhou, Qiao Xinxin's smile instantly froze.

Qiao Xinxin was practically screaming inside: Brother! Wake up!!

Do you really think that big devil Lu Baizhou is kind-hearted?

He sent Xiao Zhao over not to "look after her because he was worried about her safety," but clearly to treat her as an enemy agent, suspect her identity, and have someone "monitor" her every move 24 hours a day!