Chapter Summaries

Wang Xiaoliang learned why Li Le had been beaten and confronted the university staff who threatened his fruit stall. After Huang Xueli identified the powerful, vindictive deputy section chief Sun Wenbin as the man behind the retaliation, Wang faced the prospect of losing the stall.

• Wang Xiaoliang humiliated He Runya's ex-boyfriend at the police station, and the man ordered Li Le and two other students to write self-criticisms.
• Li Le told Wang Xiaoliang that Black Rose had asked him out, but they ended up at a bar, where he fought three men after one tried to slap her.
• Li Fengying told Wang that university staff had posted a notice demanding the fruit stall be removed within three days.
• Wang questioned the Comprehensive Governance Office and heard that the stall allegedly occupied public space and created a campus cleaning problem.
• Wang called Huang Xueli, who identified Sun Wenbin as the deputy section chief behind the threat and warned that Sun was petty and well-connected.

After the university forced Wang Xiaoliang to shut down his fruit stall, he arranged jobs for Li Le and the other two at Hongbin Little Tower. Zhou Qiang advised him to back down and ended their call with an unusually deliberate goodbye, leaving Wang Xiaoliang bewildered.

• Huang Xueli told Wang Xiaoliang that the fruit stall had to close, and he unsuccessfully tried to reach Zhou Qiang before calling Kong Xiuyun.
• Wang Xiaoliang offered to help Kong Xiuyun at her restaurant, but she declined and readily agreed to hire Li Le and the other two at Hongbin Little Tower.
• Wang Xiaoliang told Li Le to sell off the remaining fruit and report to Manager Kong in three days, then reassured him that the closure was not his fault.
• Zhou Qiang told Wang Xiaoliang to shut down the stall and avoid confronting Sun Wenbin, then said an unusually deliberate goodbye.
• Wang Xiaoliang listened to the disconnected call, puzzled by Zhou Qiang's farewell.

As Wang Xiaoliang’s fruit plan ended under Sun Wenbin’s pressure, he sold the three freezer cabinets and reflected on the lessons and mistakes behind the venture. Li Le thanked him for finding him a new job, then warned him to watch out for Sun Ting, Li Laifu’s nephew’s wife.

• Wang Xiaoliang and the Three Fast Knife Hands drove record fruit sales during the final three days of the stalls’ operation.
• Uncle Liu bought the three freezer cabinets for eighty percent of their original price, and Wang Xiaoliang watched them leave.
• Wang Xiaoliang considered what he had learned from the fruit plan and blamed his low Political Intelligence for mocking Sun Wenbin.
• Li Le told Wang Xiaoliang that his mother had praised him for arranging a new job, and Wang Xiaoliang encouraged him to work hard at Hongbin Little Tower.
• At the entrance to Ruijing Residential Community, Li Le warned Wang Xiaoliang to watch out for Sun Ting, Li Laifu’s nephew’s wife.

Wang Xiaoliang wrestled with Li Le’s warning about Sun Ting before learning that Liu Xinyu’s father was critically ill and Liu Xinyu could not attend Zhou Qiang and Li Lanxiang’s wedding. At Li Lanxiang’s home, she finally revealed that Zhou Qiang had been taken away.

• Wang Xiaoliang fretted over whether Sun Ting was secretly connected to Li Laifu, but decided he had no grounds to fire her.
• Liu Xinyu called Wang Xiaoliang to say his father had been declared critically ill, so he and Qingyu were going to Singapore and would miss Zhou Qiang’s wedding.
• Wang Xiaoliang and Wei Zijin tried to reach Zhou Qiang, then called Li Lanxiang when he did not answer.
• Wang Xiaoliang and Wei Zijin went to Zhou Qiang’s home and found Li Lanxiang distraught and unwilling to explain until Huang Xueli arrived.
• After Huang Xueli arrived, Li Lanxiang told them that Zhou Qiang had been taken away.

After learning that Zhou Qiang had been taken by a confidential organization over a case connected to exchange students sent abroad, Wang Xiaoliang and his friends helped Li Lanxiang cancel the wedding arrangements. Wang Xiaoliang then realized Zhou Qiang’s earlier phone call had been a farewell, leaving him fearing that his friend might not return.

• Li Lanxiang confirmed that Zhou Qiang had been taken by a confidential organization, then asked Wang Xiaoliang to cancel the wedding bookings and said she would take over Zhou Qiang’s business.
• Huang Xueli told Wang Xiaoliang and Wei Zijin that Zhou Qiang had mentioned trouble involving exchange students sent abroad, and urged them to support Li Lanxiang and her unborn baby.
• Wang Xiaoliang and Wei Zijin canceled the wedding arrangements, recovered part of the costs, and sent the refunded money to Li Lanxiang.
• Wang Xiaoliang remembered Zhou Qiang’s last phone call and realized that his friend had been saying goodbye.

After Zhou Qiang disappeared, Wang Xiaoliang kept the news from Liu Xinyu and worried about the risks of it spreading. Reading the Book of Fate, he found a seventh art that exposed his greed and revealed that he had missed a duplicate sixth art, leaving him shaken by how easily the book had anticipated him.

• Wang Xiaoliang decided not to call Liu Xinyu about Zhou Qiang's disappearance and recognized Huang Xueli's importance as a source of political intelligence.
• Wang Xiaoliang worried that Sun Ting might deliberately harm the supermarket, then returned home to find Wei Zijin reassuring Zeng Haiyan that Lanxiang's canceled wedding was due to her pregnancy.
• Wang Xiaoliang read the Book of Fate's invitation to pursue greater ambitions and carefully reviewed the first thirty arts to judge whether he had mastered them.
• Wang Xiaoliang turned the page and discovered the seventh art: "To be without greed is the highest state of greed."
• Wang Xiaoliang found two entries labeled as the sixth art and realized he had overlooked the error, then understood that his desire to keep reading had made him fall into the book's trap.

Wang Xiaoliang questioned Sun Ting about her hidden connection to Li Laifu and learned that Li Laifu had tried to recruit her to sabotage the store. She denied carrying out his plan, but admitted she had concealed his attempts to report Wang Xiaoliang and tamper with the store’s stock.

• Wang Xiaoliang began copying the Book of Fate and worried about Zhou Qiang’s disappearance and Kong Xiuyun’s situation.
• Sun Ting urged Wang Xiaoliang to use his supposed connections to restore the fresh-cut fruit business, and he noticed her brief alarm when he asked who had told her he had backing.
• Wang Xiaoliang took Sun Ting to lunch and asked whether Li Laifu had sent her.
• Sun Ting admitted that Sister Fengxia had told her to conceal her relationship to Li Laifu, and that she had withheld news of Li Laifu’s reports against Wang Xiaoliang.
• Sun Ting revealed that Li Laifu had asked her to replace store goods with counterfeits and hide fake cigarettes, but she refused and later heard the plan was abandoned because Wang Xiaoliang had support from a university vice president.

After realizing that the order to stop selling fresh fruit had protected him from competitors’ envy, Wang Xiaoliang put his worries about Sun Ting aside and checked in with Kong Xiuyun about Zhou Qiang’s disappearance. At the next accounting meeting, Li Lanxiang’s mother demanded major changes to the partnership, and Li Lanxiang suggested her mother take Zhou Qiang’s place.

• Wang Xiaoliang concluded that the end of fresh fruit sales had unexpectedly helped him avoid trouble and decided Sun Ting could remain store manager.
• Wang Xiaoliang called Kong Xiuyun to ask whether she needed help after Zhou Qiang disappeared, but her calm response left him unsettled.
• Two weeks later, Wang Xiaoliang and Huang Xueli met Li Lanxiang and her mother at Li Lanxiang’s home to review the accounts.
• Li Lanxiang’s mother argued that Wang Xiaoliang and Huang Xueli owed interest on Zhou Qiang’s investment, proposed ending monthly profit distributions, and said they should share the next operating fee.
• Li Lanxiang’s mother called for revising the partnership agreement to replace Zhou Qiang’s name, and Li Lanxiang suggested putting her mother’s name in his place.

Wang Xiaoliang, Huang Xueli, and Li Lanxiang’s family settled the supermarket’s accounts, but Li Lanxiang’s mother challenged the drop in revenue and Wang’s salary. Feeling his work and loyalty had been treated as a burden, Wang announced that he was withdrawing from the business too.

• Li Lanxiang told Wang Xiaoliang and Huang Xueli that she needed to plan for herself and her children now that Zhou Qiang was gone.
• Huang Xueli said he would leave the business, leaving Wang to face Li Lanxiang and her mother as they reviewed the accounts.
• Li Lanxiang’s mother questioned the fall in revenue and pointed out Wang’s fifteen-thousand-yuan salary, prompting Li Lanxiang to stop her and divide the profits under the existing rules.
• Huang Xueli gave up his share as interest on Zhou Qiang’s initial investment, and Wang refused his own share as well.
• Wang said he would forgo the extra three thousand yuan tied to fresh-cut fruit sales and then announced he was withdrawing from the supermarket.

Wang Xiaoliang handed Li Lanxiang control of the company seals and online banking after she and her mother questioned his management, but he pressed her to protect employee bonuses and clarify the company’s two-million-yuan reserve. The chapter left him teaching Li Lanxiang to process payroll, with Huang Xueli insisting Wang receive a fair salary.

• Li Lanxiang and her mother challenged Wang Xiaoliang’s handling of the business, and Wang offered to withdraw as a partner.
• Huang Xueli defended Wang’s importance to the supermarket, after which Li Lanxiang asked him to hand over the company seals and online banking tokens.
• Wang gave Li Lanxiang the company credentials but warned her to preserve staff bonuses and clarify how the company’s reserve would fund the contract fee and a new shop.
• Huang Xueli proposed hiring an accountant to check the books, and Li Lanxiang began learning to use the online banking system.
• When Li Lanxiang hesitated over Wang’s payroll amount, Wang suggested twelve thousand yuan, but Huang Xueli argued he should receive at least thirteen thousand five hundred.

After Li Lanxiang paid Wang Xiaoliang a sharply reduced salary, Huang Xueli took him out for drinks and explained why he had withdrawn from the business. Huang then proposed that Wang regain control of Jiangchuang and continue paying Li Lanxiang Zhou Qiang’s share.

• Li Lanxiang transferred Wang Xiaoliang 11,804.55 yuan, leaving him with less than a thousand yuan after his mortgage payment.
• Huang Xueli asked Wang Xiaoliang to drink with him, and they discussed their financial worries and grief over Zhou Qiang’s death.
• Huang Xueli explained that he had withdrawn because he did not want his school connections affected by the business and feared Li Lanxiang’s family would make the conflict worse.
• Huang Xueli advised Wang Xiaoliang to report the company seal and online banking tokens lost, obtain replacements, and run Jiangchuang himself while sending Li Lanxiang Zhou Qiang’s share each month.

Wang Xiaoliang rejected Huang Xueli’s suggestion to take control of the company funds, believing it would betray Zhou Qiang. Huang revealed that Zhou and he had tested Wang’s trustworthiness and considered him a reliable businessman, leaving the two men to mourn the end of their partnership and drink to their bond.

• Wang Xiaoliang considered reporting the company’s online banking access lost and taking control of its funds, but decided the act would betray Zhou Qiang and bring trouble from Li Lanxiang.
• Wang Xiaoliang accused Huang Xueli of testing him, and Huang admitted he feared Wang might act impulsively and implicate him.
• Huang Xueli revealed that he and Zhou Qiang had tested Wang from the beginning and trusted him after he proposed risking his own money on Fresh-Cut Fruit for the company’s benefit.
• Huang explained that Wang’s restraint with the company accounts proved his character and told him to be cautious when choosing future business partners.
• Huang recalled Zhou’s judgments of Wang and Fang Dongxu, then raised a glass with Wang and said he was glad Wang was still there after Zhou’s absence.

After Li Lanxiang accepted Huang Xueli’s profit share as interest, Wang Xiaoliang feared she and her mother would take control of the supermarket. He resolved to open a store of his own, then told Wei Zijin what happened and asked whether she understood Lanxiang.

• Over drinks, Huang Xueli explained how he and Zhou Qiang built Hongbin Tower and warned Wang Xiaoliang that Li Lanxiang’s mother might take over the supermarket’s finances and meddle in management.
• Wang Xiaoliang worried that Li Lanxiang would cut his salary and profit share, then reminded himself of what he had learned and decided to open a store of his own.
• Wang Xiaoliang told Wei Zijin that Huang Xueli had left his profit share to Li Lanxiang as interest and that he had given up his own share too.
• Wei Zijin promised to support Wang Xiaoliang, who said he felt sorry for Zhou Qiang and asked whether she understood Li Lanxiang.

Wang Xiaoliang questioned Wei Zijin about Li Lanxiang and began to suspect that Li Lanxiang’s concern for Zhou Qiang concealed a ruthless, possessive nature. He advised Wei Zijin to keep their friendship separate from money, then froze when she admitted Xiaoying had called her repeatedly.

• Wang Xiaoliang asked Wei Zijin to describe Li Lanxiang, and Wei Zijin recalled how they had grown close after pretending to be a couple.
• Wei Zijin said Li Lanxiang’s body was covered in injuries from training and described her fierce protectiveness and constant video calls with Zhou Qiang.
• Wang Xiaoliang reconsidered Li Lanxiang’s past outbursts and concluded she was ruthless and possessive, viewing him as an obstacle to the supermarkets.
• Wang Xiaoliang told Wei Zijin she could remain friends with Li Lanxiang but should avoid financial entanglements or going into business with her.
• Wei Zijin told Wang Xiaoliang that Xiaoying had called her many times, and his hand went still.

Wei Zijin forgave Chen Xiaoying after reading her apology, and Wang Xiaoliang supported her decision. At the supermarket, Li Lanxiang arrived with her mother to take over the accounts, and Wang Xiaoliang agreed to reduce his salary from twelve thousand to nine thousand.

• Wei Zijin showed Wang Xiaoliang Chen Xiaoying’s long apology, which described her family’s troubles, her suicide attempt, and her plans to leave the city.
• Wei Zijin admitted she had called Chen Xiaoying back and forgiven her because Chen’s isolation reminded her of her own past.
• Wang Xiaoliang reassured Wei Zijin that he supported her forgiveness, and the couple made up affectionately.
• Wang Xiaoliang left the register expecting Zhou Qiang to return, but Li Lanxiang arrived with her mother instead.
• Li Lanxiang said her mother would oversee the supermarket accounts, and Wang Xiaoliang agreed to teach them before adjusting his salary to nine thousand.

Wang Xiaoliang tried to cut expenses while dealing with a surprise market inspection and tensions at his stores. A second inspection, involving officials from his school and two hostile acquaintances, began checking whether he had kept his commitments, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Wang Xiaoliang stopped driving his BMW regularly to save money and heard Li Fengxia complain that Li Lanxiang's mother was upsetting Xiaomei.
• Market Supervision and Administration Bureau inspectors searched Store Two and found no violations; all three stores passed their surprise inspection without trouble.
• Wang Xiaoliang returned to Store One and found a crowd gathered around a School Commercial Joint Management Group inspection.
• The group began checking Wang Xiaoliang's written commitments, while Feng Yuan and Sun Wenbin watched and Huang Xueli searched the store.
• When Wang Xiaoliang offered the attendance book as proof that the store employed impoverished students, Sun Wenbin demanded to see the payroll instead.

Wang Xiaoliang’s supermarkets were ordered to vacate campus premises despite passing a recent inspection, and he joined the other shop owners at the Logistics Office to demand answers. The Commercial Joint Management Group leader called them to a meeting, promising an explanation in half an hour.

• Sun Wenbin inspected Wang Xiaoliang’s store, called student workers to verify their wages, and left after finding no violations.
• A Logistics Office teacher delivered Wang Xiaoliang a notice ordering fourteen campus businesses, including all three of his stores, to vacate within seven days.
• Huang Xueli told Wang Xiaoliang that Sun Wenbin was not behind the order and urged him to join the other owners at the Logistics Office.
• Wang Xiaoliang arrived as the shop owners confronted the notice-delivering teacher and demanded explanations from the school.
• The Commercial Joint Management Group leader told the owners to move to a conference room for an explanation in half an hour.

Wang Xiaoliang attended a meeting where the school’s management group confronted campus shop owners over eviction notices. After Wu Minghua was shown that his repeated violations forfeited his operating rights, he agreed to move out, while Wang Xiaoliang remained confident that his three clean stores were safe.

• Wang Xiaoliang waited with the other shop owners as the management group delayed the meeting and recorded the proceedings.
• The bespectacled official called Wu Minghua to explain why he opposed the order to vacate, and Wu argued that he had already paid fines for selling substandard products.
• Section Chief Wang showed that Wu had repeatedly violated the campus-shop pledge and that its terms allowed the school to terminate his contract and reclaim the shop.
• The official offered to refund the owners’ deposits if they moved out within seven days, and Wu Minghua agreed to leave.
• Wang Xiaoliang concluded that his three stores were safe because they had no violations or penalties.

Wang Xiaoliang challenged the university’s order to vacate his three supermarkets, arguing that they had no violations. The investigation team acknowledged his good record but confronted him with complaints and a real-name report alleging that Principal Song had improperly helped him secure the shops, leaving Wang Xiaoliang facing Huang Xueli’s angry reprimand.

• Section Chief Wang processed shop owners’ violations and explained how those ordered to leave could reclaim their deposits.
• Wang Xiaoliang argued that his three supermarkets had complied with regulations and asked why he had to vacate them.
• The bespectacled man confirmed that Wang Xiaoliang’s shops were among the best-run on campus, but said the team had received many complaints about him.
• The bespectacled man read allegations of price undercutting, obstruction, dangerous performances, and improper dealings with Principal Song from a real-name report.
• Wang Xiaoliang denounced the report as slander and demanded that its author confront him.
• Huang Xueli slammed the table and ordered Wang Xiaoliang to watch his attitude and tone.

Wang Xiaoliang was forced to give up his three stores after officials accused him of benefiting from irregular bids and having improper ties to Principal Song Yi. As he left, he challenged the officials’ accusations and turned his attention to Sun Wenbin, asking whether a teacher dating his student violated discipline.

• An official questioned Wang Xiaoliang about giving Song Yi calligraphy and receiving praise and a reward after a dorm inspection, presenting these as signs of improper ties.
• The official showed Wang Xiaoliang his signed integrity Commitment Letter and bidding records, arguing that Song Yi had awarded his company three contracts despite its lower financial bids.
• Wang Xiaoliang argued that his stores served students well, but Huang Xueli warned him to keep his temper in check, and Wang conceded defeat and agreed to vacate the stores.
• Wang Xiaoliang returned to accuse the administrators of smearing the supposedly incorruptible Song Yi, then left again as they criticized him.
• Wang Xiaoliang came back to ask where the Discipline Inspection Commission was and whether a teacher dating his student counted as a disciplinary violation, staring at Sun Wenbin.