Chapter Summaries

Song Ning prepared exhibitors for strict consumer scrutiny and helped launch Rong City's first Small Commodity Expo, where Yu Zhengyang's imported tape recorders sold rapidly. Director Zhang arrived with plans to deliver more goods, and Song Ning began discussing the price of Red Star Electronics Factory's products.

• Song Ning informed Director Zhang about the exposition's quality agreement, prompting him to order a full inspection of Red Star Electronics Factory's three thousand machines.
• Rong City's first Small Commodity Expo opened on July 22, and overwhelming crowds forced Director Li to request more police reinforcements.
• Yu Zhengyang and his crew drew customers to their booth with music, demonstrations, and Song Ning's sixty-eight-yuan price for imported tape recorders.
• The booth sold through most of its stock before noon, and Director Zhang arrived to arrange a truckload of Red Star Electronics Factory goods.
• Song Ning asked Director Zhang to suggest prices for his factory's products so the exhibition would not harm future sales.

Song Ning helped the Red Star Electronics Factory promote its products at the trade fair with theatrical mascots and a memorable slogan, drawing a huge crowd and selling nearly all of its stock. Director Zhang returned to the factory determined to expand production, convinced the publicity could change its future.

• Director Zhang agreed to price Red Star's tape recorder and radio at thirty-eight yuan and sent a thousand units to Song Ning's booth.
• Song Ning arranged for Red Star staff to help at the booth and directed them to hang banners and distribute flyers.
• Song Ning unveiled full-scale cardboard models of Red Star's products and had two workers wear them to attract customers.
• The costumed workers shouted Red Star's slogan, drawing a crowd and newspaper reporters to the booth, while Song Ning and Yu Zhengyang helped serve customers.
• By closing time, only a little over a hundred of the thousand Red Star units remained, and Song Ning told Yu Zhengyang to prepare more sales teams for the next day.
• Director Zhang arranged to deliver more stock and called for an emergency factory meeting to increase production, explaining that Song Ning's promotion could change the factory's fate.

Song Ning celebrated the exhibition’s successful sales with Gu Zheng, Yu Zhengyang, and Jiang Chengshi, then encountered Lu Changqing and Lin Xiaoming at dinner. After Gu Zheng drove her back, Zhou Yuanhang appeared at the guesthouse and asked to speak with her before leaving for Shanghai City, while Gu Zheng watched coldly.

• Yu Zhengyang handed Song Ning the exhibition proceeds, and Gu Zheng helped carry the cash before they deposited fifty thousand yuan and kept the rest as working capital.
• Song Ning treated Gu Zheng, Yu Zhengyang, and Jiang Chengshi to dinner, where they ran into Lu Changqing and Lin Xiaoming.
• Gu Zheng saw Song Ning and Lu Changqing interact cordially and wondered whether Song Ning had agreed to Zhou Yuanhang’s matchmaking proposal.
• Yu Zhengyang warned Song Ning not to associate much with Lu Changqing, then left the car before Gu Zheng drove Song Ning back.
• Gu Zheng planned to ask Song Ning about Zhou Yuanhang but found her asleep in the car and waited quietly at the guesthouse.
• Zhou Yuanhang woke Song Ning and asked to speak with her before returning to Shanghai City the next day, while Gu Zheng sat beside her with a cold expression.

Gu Zheng mistakenly believed Song Ning had agreed to become Zhou Yuanhang’s girlfriend and, overwhelmed by jealousy, drove her to a river to confront her. Song Ning explained nothing about the case or romance had happened, but Gu Zheng was left heartbroken by his belief that she had chosen someone else.

• Gu Zheng watched Song Ning speak with Zhou Yuanhang and mistook her agreement to keep him informed about his father’s health for romantic consent.
• After Zhou Yuanhang gave Song Ning his contact details and left, Gu Zheng bundled her into his car and drove to a river.
• Gu Zheng asked Song Ning whether she had agreed to Zhou Yuanhang’s request, and she confirmed that she had.
• Song Ning explained that Zhou Yuanhang had asked her to update him about his father’s condition and contact him when she visited Shanghai City.
• Gu Zheng wrongly concluded that Song Ning had become Zhou Yuanhang’s girlfriend and lamented that he had missed his chance again.

Gu Zheng got drunk while trying to confess his feelings to Song Ning and passed out before he could finish. Song Ning took him to the Guesthouse, then left for the Exposition; after Gu Zheng woke in embarrassment, Jiang Chengshi warned Song Ning that Gu Zheng probably liked her too.

• Song Ning worried that Gu Zheng was troubled by Zhou Yuanhang, but Gu Zheng drank heavily and begged her not to agree to Zhou Yuanhang, asking for a chance to take responsibility for her.
• Gu Zheng passed out in Song Ning's arms, and Song Ning drove him to the Guesthouse with help from an attendant.
• The next morning, Song Ning asked Jiang Chengshi to claim he had found them and driven Gu Zheng back, so Gu Zheng would not learn that she could drive.
• Gu Zheng woke at the Guesthouse and remembered his failed attempt to confess, while Song Ning hurried to the Exposition venue.
• Jiang Chengshi questioned Song Ning about driving and going to the river with Gu Zheng, then told her that Gu Zheng probably had his eye on her too.

Song Ning wondered whether Gu Zheng’s unusual behavior came from guilt or responsibility after their mission. At the Exposition, she proposed displaying local brands and allowing advance orders to keep the venue lively for the provincial leaders and foreign visitors, but Director Li returned with an unresolved concern.

• Song Ning questioned whether Gu Zheng’s behavior toward her was caused by their physical contact during the mission.
• Factory Director Zhang prepared women to greet customers as the Exposition opened to a larger crowd.
• Director Li told Song Ning that provincial leaders and foreign businesspeople would visit the next day, while many vendors risked running out of stock.
• Song Ning suggested displaying well-known local brands and letting vendors take discounted advance orders.
• Director Li said the leaders had approved both ideas, then returned with an apprehensive expression and began to explain a further problem.

Song Ning helped extend Rong City's Investment Exposition, arranged preorders for Red Star Electronics Factory, and bought stock from the struggling Forward Electronics Factory. On the official opening day, the foreign delegation arrived, and Song Ning thought the provincial official leading it looked familiar.

• Director Li told Song Ning that the Exposition would be extended through July twenty-sixth, and she suggested letting vendors take preorders while selling their existing stock.
• Song Ning agreed to buy three thousand electric irons and one thousand radios from Factory Director Kong to help the Forward Electronics Factory pay its workers.
• Song Ning arranged a booth for Forward Electronics Factory beside Red Star Electronics Factory, where the vendors could sell Forward Brand products and take Red Star preorders.
• Red Star sold all but a little over three hundred of its two thousand products on July twenty-third, and Han Xiao picked Song Ning up because Gu Zheng was away on a mission.
• Rong City's first Investment Exposition officially opened on July twenty-fourth, and Song Ning placed the Forward booth at the entrance beside Red Star's preorder display.
• The foreign business delegation arrived with provincial officials, and Song Ning thought the official leading them looked familiar.

Song Ning’s sales ideas helped the factories sell out much of their stock at the Commodity Expo, while Gu Zheng explained to Commander Jiang that Song Ning could predict disasters after taking a mysterious medicine. The chapter ended with Lin Huiping asking Gu Zheng to find out whether Song Ning returned Cheng Shi’s feelings because she wanted Song Ning as her daughter-in-law.

• Song Ning’s electric iron demonstration helped Qianjin Factory sell nine hundred irons and secure more than three hundred advance orders, while Red Star Brand products sold out and took more than five hundred advance orders.
• An announcement promised free transit services to the Expo, and Gu Zheng reported to Commander Jiang that landslides had blocked the highway between Zhanglin Town and Wanggang Town after the route was closed in advance.
• Gu Zheng told Commander Jiang that Song Ning had predicted the landslides and had also warned him to protect Auntie Jiang, explaining that a medicine had seemingly given them extraordinary memory and her the ability to foresee events.
• Commander Jiang accepted that Song Ning’s warnings had protected people and told Gu Zheng to keep her ability secret from everyone else.
• Lin Huiping thanked Gu Zheng for helping Cheng Shi and asked him to find out whether Song Ning had feelings for Cheng Shi because she wanted Song Ning as her daughter-in-law.

Gu Zheng learned that the Jiang family wanted him to ask Song Ning whether she would consider Jiang Chengshi, but he decided to confess his own feelings instead. After Song Ning returned from handling business with Yu Zhengyang, Jiang Chengshi interrupted Gu Zheng's attempt to speak with her, leaving Gu Zheng to call after her.

• Lin Huiping and Commander Jiang asked Gu Zheng to find out whether Song Ning would accept Jiang Chengshi, and they were relieved to hear she had refused the Zhou family's match.
• Yu Zhengyang deposited Song Ning's money at the bank, then agreed to follow her plans and pay his workers better wages.
• Gu Zheng found Song Ning talking with Jiang Chengshi and Han Xiao after arranging for Han Xiao to drive them around for safety.
• Gu Zheng asked Song Ning for a chance to talk, but Jiang Chengshi urged her to leave with him, and she went along.
• Gu Zheng called after Song Ning, insisting he had something to explain.

Song Ning left Gu Zheng with Jiang Chengshi, who urged her not to begin a romance because she might return to her own time, then asked her to tell his elderly self about their friendship. Gu Zheng watched them together in anguish, while Jiang Chengshi returned home to find his mother questioning him about Song Ning.

• Jiang Chengshi stopped Gu Zheng from speaking to Song Ning alone, and Song Ning left with Jiang Chengshi.
• Song Ning told Jiang Chengshi that Gu Zheng was a good friend but that she did not yet like him romantically, and Jiang Chengshi warned her against starting a relationship across their time difference.
• Jiang Chengshi asked Song Ning to tell his elderly self about their friendship if she returned to her own time, and Song Ning promised she would remember.
• Gu Zheng watched Song Ning and Jiang Chengshi share a warm, emotional conversation, and Han Xiao saw how deeply Gu Zheng was hurt.
• Jiang Chengshi returned home and told Lin Huiping that he had been working as a consultant for the Exposition with Song Ning.
• Lin Huiping asked Jiang Chengshi what had happened with the Zhou family's matchmaking attempt and then asked what about him.

Jiang Chengshi promised his parents he would marry someday, then explained why Song Ning had repaid his borrowed money with extra. After the Exposition ended, Song Ning divided her profits and prepared to take Yu Zhengyang home to treat his mother before going with him to Shen City to earn more.

• Jiang Chengshi promised Lin Huiping that he would eventually marry and give her grandchildren, and she and Commander Jiang began considering wedding preparations.
• Lin Huiping and Commander Jiang discovered that their bankbook balance had doubled, and Jiang Chengshi explained that Song Ning had borrowed eight thousand yuan and repaid sixteen thousand.
• The Exposition closed on July 26, and Song Ning calculated a net profit of 212,250 yuan from the goods she sold.
• Song Ning repaid Yu, Lao Jiang, and Gu Zheng, paid her crew and other expenses, and kept roughly 158,000 yuan.
• Song Ning told Yu Zhengyang to settle his affairs, then go with her to his hometown to treat his mother before they traveled to Shen City to earn more money.

Gu Zheng learned that Song Ning had repaid his loan with extra money and watched her leave for Meishan with Jiang Chengshi. In Yu Zhengyang’s village, Song Ning examined his mother and promised treatment, then learned that Chen Yuting had already supplied her with medicine.

• Gu Zheng saw that Song Ning had repaid his loan with sixteen thousand yuan extra, but Han Xiao told him she had already left for Meishan with Jiang Chengshi.
• Song Ning and Jiang Chengshi traveled with Yu Zhengyang to his village and admired the unusual design of his house.
• Song Ning recognized Yu Qiuye as a future cafeteria manager and went to examine Yu Zhengyang’s bedridden mother.
• Song Ning said Yu Zhengyang’s mother’s lung condition could be cured over time and offered to prescribe a month of treatment.
• Yu Qiuye said Chen Yuting had bought effective medicine for her mother, and Song Ning reacted with astonishment.

Song Ning heard Yu Zhengyang explain his past relationship with Chen Yuting and learned that he had hidden himself because he believed he could not provide for her. The chapter left Song Ning realizing that Chen Yuting had sacrificed her reputation in the hope of being worthy of Yu Zhengyang.

• Yu Zhengyang told Song Ning that Chen Yuting helped his family and brought medicine for his mother after they began secretly dating.
• Yu Zhengyang said he ended their relationship and went into hiding because he thought he was too poor to make Chen Yuting happy.
• Yu Zhengyang recalled that Chen Yuting found him before leaving Rong City, gave him medicine, and said she would accept her father's arrangements but never love anyone else.
• Yu Zhengyang explained that he had people follow Song Ning to defend Chen Yuting, not to take revenge, because he feared she would be bullied or dismissed.
• Song Ning listened as Yu Zhengyang broke down, then realized Chen Yuting had been the more lovestruck one.

Song Ning encouraged Yu Zhengyang to build a stable future before visiting Chen Yuting and promised to take him and his family to Capital City. After returning to Rong City, she ran into Lu Changqing, who asked her to dinner, and she hesitated to accept his invitation for lunch the next day.

• Song Ning told Yu Zhengyang that his savings were not enough to establish a secure future with Chen Yuting and urged him to wait until he found suitable work.
• Song Ning said she and Jiang Chengshi would return to Rong City, then take Yu Zhengyang to Shen City and later bring his mother and Qiu Ye to Capital City.
• Yu Zhengyang saw Song Ning and Jiang Chengshi off at the Meishan bus station and agreed to let Song Ning stay in one of his spare rooms in Rong City.
• Jiang Chengshi insisted on accompanying Song Ning to Shen City, and they returned to Rong City that evening.
• Song Ning encountered Lu Changqing at the Military District's Guesthouse, where he asked to treat her to dinner and then invited her to lunch the next day.

Song Ning agreed to examine Old Zhang’s comrade and left the Guesthouse, but Gu Zheng drove her to the riverbank where he had confessed to her. The chapter ended with Song Ning facing a haggard, red-eyed Gu Zheng and wondering why he had brought her there.

• Lu Changqing asked Song Ning to examine Old Zhang’s comrade, and she agreed to see the patient at lunch the next day.
• Lin Huiping pressed Jiang Chengshi about his relationship with Song Ning, and he insisted Song Ning would not agree to be with anyone without his say-so.
• Song Ning checked out of the Guesthouse and declined Lu Changqing’s offer of a ride, then accepted a lift from Gu Zheng instead.
• Gu Zheng drove Song Ning to the riverbank where he had confessed to her, caught her before she hit the windshield, and stared at her with bloodshot eyes.

Gu Zheng confessed his long-held feelings to Song Ning and asked whether he still had a chance with her. Song Ning told him she had chosen no one and was not considering romance, but Gu Zheng took this as a chance to compete fairly and drove off elated.

• Gu Zheng confessed that he loved Song Ning and asked if she would give him a chance.
• Song Ning reflected that she had always seen Gu Zheng as a trusted friend and had no intention of starting a romance.
• Gu Zheng left the car and played a tune on his harmonica by the river before returning, composed but disappointed.
• Song Ning told Gu Zheng she had not accepted Zhou Yuanhang or Jiang Chengshi and was not considering romance.
• Gu Zheng rejoiced that he was still on equal footing with the others and drove Song Ning onward, while she insisted he had misunderstood.

Song Ning settled into a room at Yu Zhengyang's dormitory before meeting Lu Changqing for lunch, where he probed her connections and asked her to secure him a place in Unit 331. Old Zhang arrived with Tian Yong, and Song Ning set aside her irritation to examine him.

• Gu Zheng helped Song Ning move into a room at Yu Zhengyang's dormitory, then drove her to meet Lu Changqing for lunch.
• Lu Changqing told Song Ning he would look after her like an older brother and questioned her about Zhou Yuanhang and Commander Jiang's son.
• Lu Changqing asked Song Ning to get young Mr. Jiang to help him pass the senior officers' assessment for Unit 331, and Song Ning stood up in anger.
• Old Zhang arrived with Tian Yong, who walked with a limp, and asked Song Ning to examine him.
• Song Ning agreed to take Tian Yong's pulse despite suspecting Lu Changqing had used the examination as a pretext.

Song Ning examined Tian Yong’s injured leg, prescribed medicine, and left the restaurant with Gu Zheng and Jiang Chengshi. As they drove away, Gu Zheng revealed that Lu Changqing had publicly announced his broken engagement to Song Ning after spending time with Elder Zhou, suggesting he had a reason for doing so.

• Song Ning examined Tian Yong’s leg and prescribed two courses of medicine, explaining that the pain and swelling should ease enough for him to work.
• Tian Yong explained that cold exposure during disaster relief after a dam burst in Henan had injured his legs, and Song Ning realized Grandpa Song had also gone to help with that disaster.
• Song Ning refused payment, exchanged contact information with Tian Yong, and left as Lu Changqing watched from the restaurant doorway.
• Gu Zheng arrived to drive Song Ning, and Jiang Chengshi ran up to join them; Song Ning teased him that Lu Changqing had his eye on him.
• In the car, Song Ning told Jiang Chengshi that Lu Changqing had awkwardly asked about her relationship with Zhou Yuanhang and seemed to encourage them to reconcile.
• Gu Zheng said Lu Changqing had spent time with Elder Zhou at the hospital and then spread news of his broken engagement to Song Ning throughout the military district.

Song Ning settled into her new lodgings and sent Jiang Chengshi to Yu City to finish a translation, while Gu Zheng was pleased to see him leave. On her way to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, Song Ning chased a bag thief into an alley and found herself trapped with a masked man blocking her escape.

• Gu Zheng explained that Lu Changqing had ended his engagement to Song Ning to help arrange a blind date between her and Zhou Yuanhang, and Jiang Chengshi complained that others were treating Song Ning like a prize.
• Jiang Chengshi asked Song Ning to delay their trip to Shen City so he could finish translating a book, but she told him they would leave as soon as Old Yu returned and hinted that his future Grandma Jiang was in Capital City.
• Jiang Chengshi rushed off to repay his debts and catch a train to Yu City, and Gu Zheng drove him to the station, glad he would be away from Song Ning.
• Song Ning went out to buy necessities and stopped to help an older woman check an address, but a thief snatched her shoulder bag and ran.
• Song Ning chased the thief into a dead-end alley, recovered her untouched bag after he escaped over the wall, and turned to find a tall masked man blocking her way.

Song Ning was kidnapped and tied up in an abandoned room, where two men were sent to assault her, but she calmly played along while authorities were alerted. Gu Zheng learned Song Ning was involved in an alleged hooliganism incident and rushed with Han Xiao and Chief Wang to Cat-Ear Alley.

• A trained attacker and a woman abducted Song Ning in a wheelbarrow and left her bound in a mildew-filled room.
• Two women sent two vagrants into the room and told them to assault Song Ning for a promised reward.
• Song Ning recognized that the kidnapping was likely connected to Zhou Yunzhi rather than Gu Zheng's case and opened her eyes as the men approached.
• A witness reported alleged hooliganism in Cat-Ear Alley, and Chief Wang ordered officers to investigate.
• After returning from the Train Station, Gu Zheng was summoned to the district Police Station and learned Song Ning had been apprehended at the scene.