CHAPTER 837: CHAPTER 836: BLACK XIAO JUN AND WHITE SHANSHAN

When Lin Nianhe entered the black market, there were still two guards at the entrance.

"Buying or selling?"

They lowered their voices, like exchanging secret codes.

Lin Nianhe said, "I’m looking for the Sister-in-law."

"Huh?"

"Or Fourth Brother."

"Huh?"

The two subordinates stared at her dumbfounded, neither of them moving.

Lin Nianhe pulled out a dime, "Or you can just pretend I’m here to buy something?"

"That won’t do," the one on the left shook his head decisively, "you already said you’re looking for the Sister-in-law. What if you have some bad intentions?"

Lin Nianhe: "..."

She was very curious now, wondering if the gatekeepers had to be overly honest.

Otherwise, it was impossible to explain why these two were surprisingly like Wu Genmao and Cao Shijian.

She regretted now, wishing she’d just said she was there to buy something earlier.

While she was regretting, a joyful "Sister Hehe" rang out. She looked down to see Bai Xiaojun running over like a little soot ball.

It was unclear which coal pile Bai Xiaojun had rolled in, but his entire body was dirty from head to toe.

Yet he was oblivious, waving his little hands and lunging towards Lin Nianhe.

Lin Nianhe was wearing a white dress today, and seeing this, her pupils contracted. She decisively reached out to stop Bai Xiaojun by his forehead.

The little guy waved his hands, giggling as he tried to get closer to Lin Nianhe.

Lin Nianhe decisively turned to the gatekeeper, "Big Brother, please, call Fourth Brother quickly!"

Bai Xiaojun had grown chubbier in the past six months, and she didn’t think she could hold on much longer.

The subordinates, seeing Bai Xiaojun so close to Lin Nianhe, finally confirmed she wasn’t there to cause trouble and immediately ran inside to find Zhou Laosi.

In no time, Zhou Laosi came out.

He was surprised to see Lin Nianhe at first, then he stepped forward, grabbed the back of Bai Xiaojun’s collar, and lifted him up.

Bai Xiaojun kicked his little legs a couple of times, then turned to Zhou Laosi and grinned, "Fourth Uncle!"

"You little rascal, went climbing coal mountains again?" Zhou Laosi laughed and scolded, giving him a smack on the butt and said to the subordinate beside him, "Xiaowu, take Xiaojun to get washed up, and then send him home."

"Alright, Fourth Brother." Xiaowu took Bai Xiaojun and led him away to wash his hands.

Bai Xiaojun turned his head back, looking at Lin Nianhe with eager eyes, "Sister Hehe, don’t leave, wait for me, I’ll bring you something tasty later!"

Lin Nianhe immediately thought of all the strange things this kid had stuffed into Zheng Shan’s mouth countless times, and almost fainted.

"No need to be so polite," she said with a strained smile.

Bai Xiaojun wouldn’t listen and kept insisting she wait for him.

After he left, Zhou Laosi smiled at Lin Nianhe and said, "Sister, what brings you here?"

"I came to the provincial city for some business," Lin Nianhe said, "and Shanshan has a competition, I promised her I’d come watch."

"Then come on in," Zhou Laosi said, "Shanshan just got back from class, and Sister-in-law is giving her a bath."

"Alright."

Lin Nianhe followed Zhou Laosi into the black market, and upon seeing inside, she couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

Before, the market mainly dealt with food.

But now, there were many novel things here.

Outside were clothes and shoes, Zhou Laosi pointed to a row of small rooms and told Lin Nianhe that inside were household appliances and cameras.

Lin Nianhe asked softly, "Is the business with Xiangjiang still going well?"

"Mr. Shen takes good care of us," Zhou Laosi said, "I’m dealing with Ah Sheng, he’s a good guy."

"That’s good, are the goods selling well?"

"Very well, over there they don’t need tickets for clothes and shoes, there’s plenty available and they look nice," Zhou Laosi said, "as long as we can keep our supply, we can make money."

Lin Nianhe nodded, feeling relieved.

Household appliances were just extras, perhaps only selling a few units a month, but the daily necessities were selling in large quantities.

As they spoke, Zhou Laosi led Lin Nianhe to the small courtyard where Zheng Lirong lived.

He didn’t go in, and called out loudly, "Sister-in-law, Sister Lin is here."

"Eh?"

Zheng Lirong’s voice came out.

Soon, she came running out.

Seeing that it was really Lin Nianhe, she immediately broke into a smile, "Sister, why didn’t you say anything about coming? I could have picked you up."

Lin Nianhe smiled and said, "I got in yesterday with Uncle Team Leader, so I didn’t let you know in advance. Where’s Shanshan?"

"Just finished bathing, getting dressed now." Zheng Lirong pulled Lin Nianhe inside, turning back to Zhou Laosi, "Laosi, go prepare some food."

"Oh, Sister, no need, I came with Brother Yuncheng, he’s waiting for me at the bookstore, I can’t stay too long today."

"Then... alright, tomorrow, Sister will treat you both to a meal at the restaurant." Zheng Lirong thought of Su Yuncheng’s status, and didn’t insist further.

Zhou Laosi said, "Then I’ll go get a watermelon, they’ve been chilling in the well since morning, it’s perfect to eat now."

"Sure, you take care of it."

Zheng Lirong took Lin Nianhe inside, almost bumping into Zheng Shan who was running out.

Zheng Shan had grown taller and a bit chubbier, her hair that she’d cut short earlier had grown a bit but was still a short style. She wore a red dress, which made her skin look even fairer, and she looked particularly pretty.

She saw Lin Nianhe and smiled, her smile especially bright.

"Hug."

The little girl opened her arms towards Lin Nianhe.

Lin Nianhe put down the small suitcase she was carrying, squatted, and hugged her, giving her a kiss and asking, "Did you miss me?"

"I missed you!"

Zheng Shan’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Lin Nianhe and nodded vigorously.

Lin Nianhe pinched her little cheek, patted the suitcase beside her, and said, "I went to Xiangjiang recently and bought you many gifts, shall we look at them together?"

"Okay!"

Zheng Shan still wasn’t very talkative, but she had noticeably more smiles on her face.

She snuggled next to Lin Nianhe, looking at the gifts together.

Lin Nianhe wasn’t sure about Zheng Shan and Bai Xiaojun’s current heights, so she didn’t buy them clothes. The suitcase was full of toys, colorful stationery, and a stack of vibrant postcards.

"Sister, when is Shanshan’s competition?" Lin Nianhe asked while going through the items with Zheng Shan.

"You arrived just in time," Zheng Lirong said with a smile, "the first few rounds are over, tomorrow is the semi-final."

Zheng Lirong looked at Zheng Shan, eyes tinged with worry.

Zheng Shan was holding an exquisite doll, carefully stroking its long eyelashes.

Lin Nianhe asked softly, "Is something wrong?"

Zheng Lirong silently sighed and said, "Shanshan’s coach suggested she enter the competition, and I didn’t think too much of it, just thought it would be good for her to gain some experience... But during the competition, when she reached the third round, the provincial team’s head coach noticed her and said he wanted her as an official team member, to pursue a professional path."

Zheng Lirong frowned, paused momentarily, and said, "Sports are tough, and besides... it’s not easy to become a champion. I mean no offense, but a university enrolls tens of thousands each year, but there’s only one champion!"

Lin Nianhe resonated with this, nodded, then looked at Zheng Shan, "What does Shanshan think?"