Zhu Da woke up earlier than dawn and vanished into the kitchen, poking around with some gadget.

Fang Yanmeng, Xia Huiren, and Li Tier were grinding soybeans for tofu when Zhang Xiaoya entered the storage room. She found our manual stone mill amusing and insisted on helping us until she collapsed from exhaustion within minutes.

"Zhao Qian," she panted, wiping sweat off her brow, "you need to upgrade this system. Human labor alone won't scale up production."

I chuckled at Li Tier's direction as Zhang Xiaoya slumped against the wall. "Village Chief, didn't you notice our missing spokesperson? What do you think of my classmate?"

Li Tier scratched his beard thoughtfully. "Miss Zhang is a beautiful girl - perfect for promoting our tofu. But she raises a valid point," he added pragmatically, "you mentioned wanting to supply supermarkets once we get permits, and we'll need more than human muscle power by then."

I leaned toward Li Tier conspiratorially. "Our secret weapon is the handmade process. Let's buy donkeys and stone mills first - hire more workers for grinding while maintaining artisan quality. Once our brand takes off, we can install sterile production lines and expand product range."

Fang Yanmeng dragged us all to shop after breakfast, but Zhang Xiaoya insisted on returning home. Instead of selling tofu as usual, I accompanied her to visit her father.

On the bus ride, she coughed softly through the crowded cabin. "Sorry about the mess," I said awkwardly, recalling Zhu Da's culinary disaster - mistaking salt for sugar in porridge.

Zhang Xiaoya laughed. "It's fine! At least it beats my home life of just TV and naps... I've gained five pounds recently."

She was a statuesque figure who dared wear form-fitting cheongsams, drawing admiring glances from every man on board. For once, I didn't mind the heat rising to my cheeks at being her classmate.

"Fat?" I snorted. "You're setting impossible standards for other women."

She narrowed her eyes playfully. "Really? Then why are all these men staring openly?"

Her question turned serious. "Zhao Qian, can you tell me which girl yesterday was your actual girlfriend?"

"Suzhou is my girlfriend," I replied quickly.

"And the others?"

I scratched my head embarrassedly. Fang Yanmeng's flirtations still made me blush despite our... encounters in Taohua Village.

"Xiaorou has a husband - remember Tan Tian from yesterday's performance with us?"

Zhang Xiaoya exhaled sharply. "Oh."

The bus hummed along, but I noticed her shoulders tensing at the next stop. Three rough-looking youths were crowding behind her seat, grinding hips and arms against her silk fabric like predators marking territory.

I stepped between them, glaring fiercely as they tried to corner me. One sneered mockingly about "girlfriends" while another brandished a switchblade - only for it to snap under my fist's impact before the bus jolted at our stop.

Zhang Xiaoya grabbed my hand tightly on the platform. "Don't provoke them," she warned as we hurried away, "they're part of the Brotherhood gang."

"I'll deal with them eventually," I said firmly.

Her eyes softened unexpectedly. "You've changed so much since school days..."

Later at home, I insisted buying a gift for her father outside Jiajiale supermarket when my phone buzzed again - Hua Qingqing's excited voice informing me about the 99.99% pure miracle substance in our samples.

"Come immediately," she demanded, but Zhang Xiaoya was already selecting groceries nearby. "Later this afternoon then," I said reluctantly, noting her relieved expression.

Just as we reached the checkout counter, another call came - an old classmate requesting ten pounds of tofu. The absurdity of people wanting to send money my way suddenly struck me like a premonition of fortune.