"I’ll head to ’Youwei’ right now"? That would definitely be impossible.
After a hard time slipping out openly and without any time restrictions, she started wandering around the county town.
After the new year, many restaurants had reopened, a few of which were newly opened and she hadn’t visited yet, so she took this chance to check them out.
After walking around a few places, she unknowingly arrived at the school gate, suddenly hearing someone shouting, "Get your brined delicacies, get your brined delicacies!"
"Five cents a pack, add some meat to your meal, no cheating, no deceiving, guaranteed nutrition as well!"
They’re selling brined delicacies here too?
She took a closer look; the seller was a young woman, about her age, but petite. Her eyes, though, were bright and alert.
Xia Chuyi walked over and said, "I’ll take one!"
After saying this, she handed over five cents to her.
The young woman joyfully took the money and gave Xia Chuyi a few slices of brined meat wrapped in book paper.
The portion wasn’t much, but for five cents, it wasn’t expensive, and it was indeed a good choice for a snack.
Xia Chuyi took a bite of the meat; the taste wasn’t as good as her own, but it was cheap, and she could afford it with a little money left.
Xia Chuyi didn’t hurry back, instead observing for a while.
"Hey, student, come try some of this brined meat! Good nutrition helps with good studies!"
"Student, eat more meat to get even smoother and more beautiful skin, and silky black hair. How about buying a pack?"
Listening to the young woman creatively selling the brined meat, Xia Chuyi couldn’t help but chuckle.
After a while, when the young woman’s business was almost done—she hadn’t prepared much stock, truly running a small-scale business—
Xia Chuyi walked straight toward her.
"Hello," Xia Chuyi greeted the young woman.
The young woman was not shy at all and responded openly, "Hello, comrade! Would you like to buy another pack of brined meat?"
"No," Xia Chuyi said with a smile, "I wanted to ask if you know ’Youwei’?"
Upon hearing "Youwei," the young woman’s eyes immediately lit up: "I know! My little business, I started it after seeing how ’Youwei’ runs!"
"Oh?" Xia Chuyi was surprised, "You are familiar with ’Youwei’?"
The young woman nodded and said, "Of course! Let me tell you, ’Youwei’ is run by a student from Lingshan High School!"
"You know that too?" This time Xia Chuyi was genuinely surprised.
"Yeah!" the young woman said excitedly, "Not to hide it from you, the girl who runs that shop is my idol!"
Xia Chuyi: "Um... do you really know who the owner of ’Youwei’ is?"
Questioned thus, the young woman still smiled broadly: "Of course I know! Her name is Xia Chuyi!"
The young woman continued, "Let me tell you, Xia Chuyi is quite famous at our school! She took a year off to study the high school curriculum by herself, came back to take the test papers from last year, scoring high in all subjects, and instantly became a sensation in the whole school!"
"She is so smart, my idol!"
When did she score high in all subjects? Her math was clearly lagging.
"Hey, no one else knows, but in addition to being great at studying, my idol is also the owner of ’Youwei’!"
"Look, Xia Chuyi is young, good at studying, skilled at handcrafting, independent... I heard her family is really terrible! But in adversity, she chose not to give up and instead to keep going strong!"
"Such a person, she’s simply a role model for all of us women!" the young woman’s eyes were full of stars.