Wang Qiqi rushed to the place Song Yao indicated and saw several large bags of loot already beside Song Yao and Yang Jing. Wang Qiqi thought to herself that these sisters-in-law were quite a pair; they certainly didn't hold back when shopping. "Hello, elder sister, hello, sister-in-law. Happy New Year to you both. May all your wishes come true, may you have good health, and may fortune roll in." After saying this, Wang Qiqi spread both her hands out towards Song Yao and Yang Jing.

Seeing Wang Qiqi's gesture, Song Yao only had one thought: Same to you, same to you. Then, she pulled an hongbao (red envelope) from her bag and placed it in Wang Qiqi's hand. "Get married sooner, don't keep your Han Tao waiting too long. Besides, your big sister here isn't keen on constantly giving you New Year's money." Honestly, they were the same generation, so why was she the one giving the lucky money?

After receiving the hongbao, Wang Qiqi didn't open it but kissed it lightly near her lips. "What can I do? I have to give Tao Tao New Year's money. As the auntie, if I don't work hard to make up for the loss, what will I do?" She was quite poor herself, actually.

Yang Jing also grinned and pulled an hongbao from her bag. Watching Song Yao's action, she finally understood why Song Yao had given her an hongbao upon seeing her, saying it was from Song Ziwen and mysteriously claiming it would definitely be needed today. She hadn't expected it to actually be put to use. "Qiqi, this is our sentiment—mine and your brother's." Yang Jing became a little shy toward the end, as she hadn't contributed a single cent to this particular envelope.

Wang Qiqi accepted the hongbao with an even brighter smile, thanking them profusely. She knew this envelope was absolutely prepared by Song Ziwen, or perhaps Song Yao had stuffed it and intended to bill Song Ziwen later after giving it away. "Sister-in-law, I hope to be an aunt next Lunar New Year. By then, I'll certainly give a big hongbao."

Wang Qiqi and Han Tao calculated their relatives and suddenly realized that although they had many relatives, the only ones among the same generation they were truly close to were Song Yao and Song Ziwen. As for the others, never mind major occasions, they would actively ignore each other even if they crossed paths on the street. That was why Wang Qiqi was so generous with Tao Tao's hongbao—there were at most two children to gift to, so there was no need to be frugal.

Although Yang Jing had become familiar with Wang Qiqi and Song Yao, hearing Wang Qiqi speak so casually made her cheeks flush immediately. "Shall we order something to eat? I'm getting a bit hungry." Yang Jing quickly changed the subject. Yang Jing was also a university student, but comparing herself to Wang Qiqi, who was also a student, she felt she hadn't been nearly as unrestrained during her own university days. Even though Yang Jing had a boyfriend back then, her words and actions were certainly not like this.

Wang Qiqi readily agreed with Yang Jing. She had rushed over as soon as Song Yao called her. "Eat, eat! I rushed over without even having breakfast." Wang Qiqi casually picked up the menu and beckoned the waiter over to order. "Yao Yao jiejie is treating today, right?" Wang Qiqi ordered dishes without any pretense of saving money, since they had a rich person footing the bill. As for Yang Jing, Wang Qiqi was sure that if she gave the menu to her, while she wouldn't exclusively order the cheapest items, she definitely wouldn't order the expensive ones.

Song Yao could only shake her head helplessly. She pointed at Wang Qiqi and said to Yang Jing, "Yang Jing, you need to open your eyes wide and watch the child ordering across from you. Don't assume she's poor; she's actually much wealthier than I am." Song Yao genuinely felt like crying. People saw her as wealthy because she owned property and a car, but compared to this girl, she was far behind. For instance, Song Yao hadn't traveled to many places, yet this girl had already been abroad.

Wang Qiqi finished ordering everything she wanted and handed the menu to Song Yao. "Sister, do you want to add anything else?"

Song Yao ordered a few dishes, then paused. "Bring us a few bottles of yogurt." Since she couldn't drink things like Coke, she didn't want Wang Qiqi and the others drinking them right in front of her. "Oh right, Qiqi, you’re spending the New Year in China this year. Will you still be here next year?"

Song Yao suddenly remembered something important. Han Tao would very likely spend his winter and summer breaks abroad. As his official girlfriend, it wouldn't be right for Wang Qiqi not to go, and she certainly had the means to do so, didn't she?

Yang Jing had been sitting quietly, maintaining her gentle demeanor while listening to Song Yao reveal that Wang Qiqi was a wealthy woman. However, when the topic suddenly shifted, she froze. She knew Wang Qiqi's boyfriend was interning in the US and that Wang Qiqi planned to study abroad later, but why would she go out now? And was a US visa that easy to obtain?

Wang Qiqi shook her head. "I must spend the New Year here domestically. Not only is Han Tao’s mother here, but my parents also expect me for the New Year's Eve dinner. Besides," Wang Qiqi said with a sly smile, "I won't miss the chance to get ya sui qian." If the winter break was longer, flying to the US after the New Year to accompany Han Tao would be a great option, but the problem was that the winter break was usually only about a month long. She really felt cursed. "For the summer break, I plan to go to the US, to spend time with Han Tao and wander around a bit while I'm there."

Yang Jing was stunned. She hadn't expected Wang Qiqi to imply that going to the US wasn't difficult, as if one could just buy a ticket and leave. "But isn't a US visa hard to get approved?"

Wang Qiqi admitted this point but noted that it was easier now than the post-9/11 period. Wang Qiqi hoped to travel in and out of the US over the next couple of years. With an acceptance letter from a school and prior visa records, she hoped things would be relatively easier abroad in the post-9/11 era. As for Han Tao, Wang Qiqi wasn't worried about him; as long as he had a sponsoring organization there and an acceptance letter, it would definitely be much easier for him than for her. "It’s alright, but getting the visa for France back then took a long time. In the end, it was Julina’s family that helped get it sorted." Wang Qiqi recalled that for the French visa, even though her documents were complete and she had sufficient assets in China as collateral, she was an orphan, making it difficult to travel abroad. Moreover, Han Tao’s family wasn't extremely wealthy. In short, after that visa ordeal, Wang Qiqi truly understood the difficulty of securing a visa—it really depended on the mood of the consular officer; if they were in a good mood, more people passed, but if they were in a bad mood, the scrutiny became much stricter.

The news Yang Jing shared completely floored her. Heavens, how old was Qiqi? Around twenty? How had she already been abroad? Yang Jing felt that every time she thought she had learned enough about Wang Qiqi, a new, utterly shocking piece of information would surface. France, a romantic country! Yang Jing could already feel moved just imagining herself walking hand-in-hand with Song Ziwen on a Parisian street. "You went with your boyfriend," Yang Jing stated with certainty. She figured a woman traveling abroad for the first time, to France, and with a boyfriend, must have gone with him.

Wang Qiqi nodded. "And two of my friends. But we weren't going for tourism; we were going to procure goods. Sister-in-law, oh yes, in the future, you can ask your colleagues if they need foreign cosmetics, bags, watches, or similar items. I can help with personal shopping." Wang Qiqi thought that since Yang Jing worked in a foreign enterprise, where salaries were high, there would certainly be a demand for these high-priced goods.

Song Yao had already guessed Wang Qiqi's money-grubbing gaze was fixed on Yang Jing, knowing she was definitely eyeing Yang Jing's colleagues. Alas, a money-lover was a money-lover. Song Yao truly had no idea how many ways Wang Qiqi currently had to earn money. From what she knew, there was rental income, stock trading, translation work, and this personal shopping business. Song Yao looked at Wang Qiqi’s slender frame and sincerely wondered why Wang Qiqi focused on things that ordinary people overlooked.

Yang Jing was surprised that Wang Qiqi's trip to France wasn't for sightseeing but for bringing back goods for others to buy. Yang Jing inwardly lamented that this was such a waste of money—what a wonderful opportunity to see France, yet she was still thinking about making a profit! Yang Jing had a feeling that Wang Qiqi should have studied finance; she would surely have been a capable accountant. But Wang Qiqi wasn't done with her bombshell revelations; she asked if Yang Jing knew anyone who sourced foreign brands. How could Yang Jing not know such people? At that moment, she was thinking about how quick-witted Wang Qiqi was to turn to her for business. Did this count as being a proficient salesperson? "I know people, Qiqi. You mean..." Yang Jing knew that Wang Qiqi would never help people by acting as a selfless courier. She remembered something Song Ziwen had said: Wang Qiqi was even more capitalistic than a capitalist; she absolutely needed to find a way to profit from her efforts, or she would feel miserable. But Yang Jing also knew this was due to her capability; how much was a round-trip plane ticket, and things bought abroad were cheaper anyway.

"I'll add a ten percent markup on the foreign invoice price." Wang Qiqi enjoyed talking to smart people; Yang Jing had automatically understood. "As for your benefit, Sister-in-law, we won't forget it."

Yang Jing considered that a ten percent markup wasn't expensive. She casually asked the prices of a few cosmetics and compared them to the prices Wang Qiqi quoted, then she was astonished. "The difference is huge, Qiqi. Are you going again this winter break?" Yang Jing was certain that if she shared this information, people would definitely line up to buy things from her, and a ten percent margin would be absolutely no issue.

"I’m not going out again, but Han Tao is abroad. He should be back in about ten days. Sister-in-law, you can give me the list then, and I’ll bring things back from the US. Oh, and if you have US dollars, that would be best," Wang Qiqi suddenly said. "Because we pay in foreign currency when we are abroad, but everything here is in RMB. It’s really a bit..." Wang Qiqi chuckled. Once she and Julina and the others were all overseas, currency wouldn't be an issue, but currently, it was quite a problem.

Yang Jing couldn't guarantee that. "I'll ask. Right, how do we calculate the exchange rate?" Even if the exchange rate fluctuations weren't huge, the difference could be significant if they purchased a large quantity of items.

"We'll use the bank's selling rate on the day of purchase." As for the difference between the actual exchange and the purchase date, Wang Qiqi and her group felt no pressure, as they had so many small samples and testers on hand that could be sold for cash. (To be continued.)