In July, He Zhendong and Yang Xiaoxia made a surprise visit to Beijing City.

It was just the two of them, without their child.

Xue Yue was delighted to see them. "What made you think of coming all the way to Beijing City to see us?"

Yang Xiaoxia linked her arm through Xue Yue’s, still fond of leaning on her shoulder just like in the old days.

"We didn’t come all this way just to see you," she said. "Zhen Dong is thinking about opening a store, but neither of us has any experience. We knew you had a clothing store in Beijing City, so we came to take a look and hopefully learn a thing or two."

Xue Yue raised an eyebrow. "Well, look at you, Zhen Dong. Not bad at all. You’re already planning to open your own store."

He Zhendong smiled. "It’s been okay. I took Third Brother’s advice and bought a vehicle to sell things from street to street. The profits were decent, and now that I have some capital, I’m thinking of giving a storefront a try."

He Lang nodded. "If you have the capital, opening a store is definitely the way to go. You won’t have to worry about being chased off by anyone, and a fixed location means you’ll get regular customers. Come on, let’s take you to our shop first."

The group headed to the clothing store.

As soon as they walked in, Yang Xiaoxia and He Zhendong were marveling at the store’s decor.

"Zhen Dong, what are you guys doing here?"

"Uncle Zhen Dong, you’re here!"

Shitou and Little Chen ran over when they saw them.

He Zhendong gave Shitou and Little Chen friendly punches on the chest.

"I came to see you guys. Look at how comfortable you are, selling clothes in such a fancy place. Not like me, out in the elements every day."

Shitou roared with laughter.

"Well, aren’t we just riding on Third Brother’s coattails? By the way, I got married. You guys probably don’t know yet, do you?"

He Zhendong’s eyes widened. "For real? I’ve been so busy this year I haven’t even had a chance to go back home. When did you get married? Why didn’t you tell your brother? Even if we were too busy to come, we would’ve sent you a wedding gift!"

Shitou immediately held out his hand. "It’s not too late to give it now. Don’t be stingy—the more the better!"

He Zhendong slapped Shitou’s palm. "Get out of here! Why do I have such a hard time believing you? How about you bring your wife over so I can see for myself?"

Shitou grinned and called out to a blushing Yang Wenxiu, who was standing to the side. "Axiu, come over here! This is my good buddy, He Zhendong, and this is his wife, Yang Xiaoxia. And this is my wife, Yang Wenxiu."

Yang Wenxiu walked over to Shitou. "Hello. I’m Yang Wenxiu."

He Zhendong’s jaw dropped in surprise. He looked from Yang Wenxiu to Shitou. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You lucky dog. You come out here with Third Brother, and now you’ve even got a wife."

Shitou laughed heartily. "I was bound to make something of myself sooner or later. What’s all the fuss about?"

Yang Xiaoxia looked at Yang Wenxiu and said, "You know, you two really do have that married-couple look. And you have the same surname as me, Yang. Maybe we were part of the same family centuries ago." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Yang Wenxiu smiled and nodded.

Meanwhile, He Zhendong said he would give them a wedding gift, but only if Shitou treated them to a meal.

"Of course! Let’s go. This afternoon, Jumanlou Restaurant. I’ll treat you to some of Beijing City’s local specialties," Shitou declared with a grand wave of his hand.

He Zhendong slung an arm around Shitou’s shoulder and sighed. "You’ve really made it. Listening to you talk... Third Brother, has this guy gotten a big head since coming out here?"

Shitou snorted. "Do I even need to get a big head? Following Third Brother, it’s hard not to feel like you’re on top of the world. You haven’t heard, have you? Third Brother is working on something huge again. Once that thing is built and opens for business... forget a big head, the sky’s the limit."

He Zhendong looked at He Lang in astonishment. "For real? Third Brother, what huge project have you been quietly working on now?"

He Lang chuckled. "It’s still a long way off. Let’s talk about it once it’s actually open. For now, let’s go eat."

Seeing that He Lang was reluctant to talk, He Zhendong quickly pulled Shitou aside to secretly ask him what was going on.

With their arms around each other’s shoulders and their heads close together, the two of them whispered all the way to the restaurant.

Yang Xiaoxia found this amusing and asked Xue Yue, "Is what Shitou said true? Has your He Lang started another huge project? It’s not another big clothing store, is it?"

Xue Yue smiled and nodded. "Something like that. Didn’t you hear what he said just now? It’s still a long way off. Right now, it’s just a plot of land. The grand opening is ages away."

Yang Xiaoxia sighed. "You really can’t compare people. One wrong step can set you back for good. Your He Lang is a natural at this business. Other people couldn’t catch up to him even if they ran themselves ragged."

Xue Yue sighed. "No one’s a natural at anything. He works incredibly hard, running all over the place every day. In the last two months, he’s worn out several pairs of shoes. He’s so busy he doesn’t even have time to eat, and he still has to take care of things at home. It breaks my heart to see it."

Yang Xiaoxia nodded in understanding. "That’s true. A person only has so much energy."

"By the way, you guys didn’t go back for the New Year. I heard your younger brother came here to find you and your older brother? Where is he?"

Xue Yue said, "He’s staying with my older brother, but he’s working on the construction site with He Lang. He didn’t want to go back, so I let him stay."

Yang Xiaoxia looked at Xue Yue. "After how his mother treated you and your brother, you really don’t resent him at all?"

Xue Yue smiled. "If you hadn’t brought it up, I would have almost forgotten all that. But his mother is his mother, and he is himself. The kid doesn’t have a bad bone in his body. And no matter what, he’s still my brother."

"That’s true. Blood is thicker than water."

The three childhood friends were reunited, jumping from one topic to another while Xue Yue and the others just watched.

It had been a long time since they had seen the men so happy.

"Xiao Xia, you’re graduating this year, right?" Xue Yue asked.

Yang Xiaoxia nodded. "That’s right. My major makes it easy to find a placement—I’d be a teacher at a school. But I still haven’t decided whether to go back home or stay in the provincial capital."

Xue Yue asked her, "What’s the situation?"

Yang Xiaoxia rested her chin in her hand, looking worried. "Staying in the provincial capital is definitely better than going back to our town. But if Zhen Dong opens a store, we’ll both be busy, and there’ll be no one to look after our child."

"So where is Zhen Dong planning to open his clothing store?"

"He said it’s up to me. If I stay in the provincial capital, he’ll open it there. If I go back, he’ll open it in our town."

"Zhen Dong is so considerate of you, leaving the decision entirely in your hands. But... and this is just my opinion... I think it would be better for you to stay in the provincial capital. There are more people, so the prospects for a clothing store are better. You’d also have more room for career growth. And if your child goes to school in the capital later, the educational resources are better. If you get too busy, you could ask his aunt to come help, or hire a nanny. Any of those options would be better than going back."

"Exactly. A big city is definitely better than a small town," Yang Wenxiu chimed in.

Yang Xiaoxia scratched her head. "You both have a point. I’ll talk it over with Zhen Dong again when we get back."

In truth, Yang Xiaoxia had another concern: her parents. As an only child, she had made it clear when she got married that she and Zhen Dong would be the ones to care for her parents in their old age. Now her parents were getting older, and if she and Zhen Dong settled down in the provincial capital, looking after them would be inconvenient.