Chapter 19

Sang Ran had no idea about Su Ya’s activities.
Because she didn’t have enough money, she had directly taken Grandpa Sang to the hospital, the same familiar ward, though the roommate was different this time.
"Stay here for a couple of days," Sang Ran said as she arranged Grandpa Sang’s belongings under the bed. "Your health still needs proper rest and recuperation. Just relax, I’m not short on money now. Have you forgotten the things you gave me before? I sold them for a lot of money."
The old man’s overall health wasn’t great, but his legs were the weakest. He really should have stayed longer.
Grandpa Sang had a gentle and compliant nature throughout his life, he listened to others. As a child, he obeyed his parents; after getting married, he listened to his wife; and when his son grew up, he followed his son’s lead.
He rarely made his own decisions. The only time he had ever lost his temper was when his son went too far, and he simply couldn’t bear to see such a good girl suffer.
Grandpa Sang didn’t want to go to the hospital, but he couldn’t argue with his granddaughter.
Now, with Sang Ran insisting, he obediently didn’t resist. At this point, saying more would only add to his granddaughter’s troubles.
"Grandpa understands, Sang Ran. Don’t worry, Grandpa will take care of himself. You go attend to your own matters, the hospital conditions are excellent, no need to worry." Grandpa Sang nodded eagerly.
Sang Ran smiled, chatted with her grandfather for a while longer, and then headed back.
She had just returned by train, and nothing was settled yet.

At the Zhu residence.
Zhu Chang’an’s three brothers hadn’t left yet. Because of the incident at Sang Ran’s home, they were worried she might be overwhelmed and had stayed behind to help.
When they saw Sang Ran return, Zhu Chang’an immediately went to greet her: "Is Grandpa settled in?"
"He’s settled. We’ll bring him three meals a day, and the nurses at the hospital will keep an eye on him," Sang Ran replied lightly. "No need to worry too much."
Zhang Cuixia listened, then tugged at her daughter-in-law’s sleeve. "I have nothing to do at home anyway, so I’ll bring meals to your grandfather. You focus on your work, finish handling all that stock first, alright?"
So much money was tied up in these goods!
If she ended up losing it all, she wouldn’t even know where to cry.
Seeing that Zhang Cuixia was willing to help, Sang Ran quickly thanked her and then discussed the shop issue with Zhu Chang’an and the others.
The fair-skinned young man came from a well-off family and seemed to have plenty of connections. As soon as shops were mentioned, he raised his hand. "I have an uncle who’s short on money and wants to sell his shop. It’s in a great location, but the price isn’t cheap."
He knew Sang Ran was currently strapped for cash.
Sang Ran nodded gratefully. "Money isn’t a big issue. If it’s convenient, I’d like to see it tomorrow."
"No problem," the young man replied.
In fact, besides this one, there were two other shops Zhang Cuixia had offered to check out.
But Sang Ran still needed to inspect them in person herself.
After discussing their next steps, Zhang Cuixia cooked a meal for everyone. Once they’d eaten, they all went back to rest.
Forty-plus hours on a train, even in a sleeper car, was exhausting.
The next day, Sang Ran went with Zhu Chang’an to look at the shops.
They viewed four in total. Sang Ran settled on the fair-skinned young man’s uncle’s shop. However, since she didn’t have the money on hand, she couldn’t pay immediately. Fortunately, someone acted as a guarantor, allowing her to owe the amount and pay in installments.
Of course, the installment period was only one month.
The shop was located on a bustling street. Though it was just a town, it happened to be the busiest street with the highest foot traffic. While not the absolute best location, it was still excellent. The shop had two floors, one for resting and the other for storing goods.
The day after finalizing the shop, Sang Ran moved all her inventory in. The place was clean and empty, so it didn’t exactly dazzle customers at first glance. But time was tight, and with her previous reputation, she wasn’t too concerned about that.
Sang Ran racked her brains for a name for the clothing store but couldn’t come up with anything clever. In the end, she settled on something straightforward and had a sign made: "Liangyan Clothing Store."
On its grand opening day, all items were sold at a 20% discount.
They had promoted this for three days beforehand, and word spread quickly among the locals. Even before the official opening, many people came by to check it out. Seeing Sang Ran dressed so stylishly only made them more eager.
In the 1980s, there were already more fashionable clothes available in the city center than what Sang Ran offered.
But this was just a town, and most of the customers were from nearby villages with limited exposure. Plus, Sang Ran had a good eye for style, and when they heard about the 20% discount, equivalent to saving two yuan for every ten spent, it felt like a huge deal.
So, on opening day, a long queue formed outside Sang Ran’s clothing store.
"This dress is lovely! Young lady, can you give me a bigger discount?" A woman with permed hair held a red dress tightly, her thin hand stroking the smooth fabric. "Ah, I didn’t have such a beautiful dress when I got married. I simply have to buy this one."
Sang Ran smiled wryly. "The wholesale price was already high, and then there’s the cost of the shopfront, not to mention I traveled all the way to Shenzhen to get these. Auntie, please don’t make it hard for me. This price is much cheaper than what you’d find in the city, isn’t it?"
In the city, clothes of the same quality would cost over ten yuan.
"That's true." The aunt gritted her teeth and said, "Alright, I'll take it!"
Some aunties reluctantly expressed their dissatisfaction: "This dress is so thin, it can only be worn in the summer. It's too expensive for what it is, can you lower the price a bit?"
Sang Ran remained calm and composed. "But if you buy it, you can wear it again next summer too. The craftsmanship is excellent, and the style is timeless, it won't go out of fashion for at least a few years. Plus, it really brings out the fairness of your skin. You won't regret buying it!"
Hearing this, the aunt thought, "Well, that's true." The fabric was indeed good, soft to the touch and cool to wear in the summer. She nodded and said, "Alright, alright, I'll take it. You're quite the salesperson, young lady."
"Me too, I want one as well!"
Sang Ran waved her hand lightly. "No rush, no rush, line up, everyone! There's enough for all!"

The booming business was something everyone had anticipated.
There were no other helpers in the shop, just Sang Ran and Zhu Chang'an, the married couple. It wasn't that Sang Ran didn't want the Zhu family to help, but aside from the elderly couple and the two of them, the rest of the Zhu family had their own jobs and families and couldn't spare the time to come.
Father Zhu had to take care of his grandchildren, disliked crowds, and found it inconvenient to come.
Fortunately, since it was a storefront, those with truly poor manners didn't dare to come in. Everything was chaotic yet orderly, and progress was smooth.
Zhu Chang'an was good at arithmetic and handled the cashier duties. With a bag hanging in front of his chest, he could easily collect money and slip it into the bag, he looked incredibly proud.
Sang Ran was in charge of sales. She was beautiful, had a great figure, and standing there in a pretty dress made her a living advertisement. That day, the same style of dress she wore sold out completely.
But as a result, she was run off her feet.
Seeing how well their business was doing, Zhang Cuixia came to help, though she would go back early at noon to prepare meals and bring them over, also delivering food to Sang Ran's grandfather.
This time, the clothes Sang Ran had bought for six thousand yuan had already sold one-third during the first three days of the store's opening discount. Although sales slowed down afterward, the income was still considerable. The nearly one thousand yuan worth of lipstick sold out in just two days.
Almost the entire town was swept up in a wave of fashion.
People would greet each other by asking, "Did you go to Liangyan Clothing Store to buy clothes today?"
Good business was a good thing.
Sang Ran didn't want to wait until everything was sold out before restocking, so when only one-third of the goods remained, she took Zhu Chang'an and his three brothers and set off for Shenzhen again.
They left Zhang Cuixia in charge of the store.
This trip took another ten days.
When they returned, Sang Ran and Zhu Chang'an found the store's business unusually sluggish.
The one-third of the goods left when they departed had only dwindled to a little more than half of that by the time they came back.
This situation was clearly not right.
Zhang Cuixia, who was left to mind the shop, wore a worried expression. Especially after hearing that Sang Ran had brought back a large stock of goods, she grew even more anxious: "We've got a competitor now. Their prices are lower than ours, and the clothing styles are almost identical. Everyone's going over there to buy."
Sang Ran frowned slightly but hadn't yet responded when Zhu Chang'an's face darkened, his eyes fierce as he rolled up his sleeves: "I'm going to wreck their place right now! How dare they undercut our prices?!"
Doing business was one thing, but maliciously slashing prices was just too much!
Ever since he got married, he hadn't made much of a presence, did they really think that just because the tiger hadn't shown its claws, it was dead?
How dare anyone bully his family?
Sang Ran rubbed her temples and quickly grabbed him. Seeing his reluctance, she put on a stern face: "Take one step and see what happens!"
Zhu Chang'an's dark expression faltered. He pouted, turned back dejectedly, and muttered softly, "Wife! They started it!"
Sang Ran soothingly patted his head and asked Zhang Cuixia, "Which shop is it?"
Zhang Cuixia let out a deep sigh, her expression turning strange for a moment as she lowered her voice: "The one run by Song Jianguo's newlywed wife."
Su Ya?
Sang Ran narrowed her eyes slightly.