New Year's Day.

After deliberation and consideration from the higher-ups, the second martial arts examination point in Great Xia Country was established in Zhonghai.

This was a significant event for Zhonghai, attracting not only many civilian and military martial artists, but also the official representatives: the mayor of Zhonghai City, the garrison commander, and the director of the Martial Arts Bureau of Great Xia Country, who came to participate in the opening ceremony.

In the main hall of the martial arts examination center.

"I heard that he is coming too." A young martial artist said with some awe. In recent years, the number of martial artists in Great Xia Country has been booming, with more than a dozen civilian martial artists in Zhonghai alone, and even more in the military.

However, even as martial artists, they are not much different from ordinary people when faced with the legendary figure, the God of Martial Arts.

"Yes, I've heard he might come, but President Chen is always busy and doesn't like mundane affairs, so he might not come if something comes up last minute," a martial artist nearby nodded and said.

"That's true, Elder Chen is rarely seen."

While they were chatting, there was a commotion at the entrance.

"He's here, he's here!"

A group of people exchanged glances, shivered with excitement, and rushed to the entrance simultaneously.

A luxury black car slowly drove up and stopped at the entrance under the security's directive, causing everyone to subconsciously hold their breath.

The car door opened, and soon a handsome, dashing young man in sportswear emerged from the car.

Many women's eyes couldn't move away, almost sticking to him.

In the animal kingdom, males feel awe and submission to more powerful males, but with the opposite sex, a strong male appears more attractive, which is also true for humans, especially if the man is so handsome...

Zhang Anlu, the director of the Martial Arts Bureau and part of one of the central ministries, quickly approached, enthusiastically extending his hand from a distance: "President Chen, it's been a tough journey."

Chen Shouyi smiled appropriately and shook hands with him: "Not at all... sorry, you are?"

The scene became slightly awkward for a moment.

"Uh!" Zhang Anlu opened his mouth but quickly recovered, maintaining a smile: "Oh, my memory, I'm Zhang Anlu from the Martial Arts Bureau."

He felt shy about calling himself the director since the God of Martial Arts in Great Xia Country didn't recognize the bureau director, clearly a lapse in his duties, making him feel very embarrassed.

Chen Shouyi also realized he had been a bit blunt but didn't mind since Zhang Anlu hadn't introduced himself first. How was he supposed to know who he was?

He then continued shaking hands with others. Although he usually stayed secluded and rarely accepted invitations to various events, there were still some matters a martial artist must support.

After shaking hands with the leaders, he also shook hands with a group of martial artists.

Each person's face was filled with excitement and thrill as they shook hands with him.

Cameras faithfully documented this moment, undoubtedly making tomorrow's front page headline of Zhonghai Daily.

The unveiling ceremony was quite grand.

Chen Shouyi, the mayor of Zhonghai City, and Zhang Anlu, director of the Martial Arts Bureau, jointly hosted the ribbon-cutting ceremony and delivered speeches. Fortunately, someone had already prepared a speech script for him, so he only needed to read it without any improvisation.

After the unveiling ceremony, Chen Shouyi returned to the car.

...

"Such ceremonies are quite boring." Chen Shouyi said while sitting in the car.

"I think it's okay." Bai Xiaoling cautiously said: "Sitting in the audience is boring, but you were on the stage."

Chen Shouyi chuckled, "That's true. Stop the car, I'll walk back. You can go, it's New Year's Day, take a good day off."

For him, the car was just for appearance, riding a bicycle was much more comfortable.

"Well... okay, thank you, President Chen." Bai Xiaoling hesitated for a moment before saying, serving a leader like Chen Shouyi, besides his good looks, the biggest advantage was never worrying about his safety.

Chen Shouyi got out of the car.

Today is New Year's Day. Even though it's wartime now, many institutions, like schools, have a day off. Both sides of the street are filled with discount ads, with bustling crowds everywhere.

Chen Shouyi passed by a tailoring shop, and on a whim, he went inside.

"Hello sir, would you like to order some clothes? We can customize the trendy clothes of the past here!" A middle-aged man, who was cutting clothes, looked up and asked politely.

The shop was filled with various sample clothes. Compared to the boring clothes outside, these looked more bright and beautiful. This era suppresses individuality, but the appreciation for beauty is universal. Now, such tailoring shops are quite abundant.

"Can you make smaller clothes?" Chen Shouyi asked after glancing around, noticing the quality of the clothing.

"How small, could you provide the specific measurements?"

"One about sixteen centimeters tall, and the other about fifteen centimeters tall," Chen Shouyi said. The Barbie Doll clothes he previously bought were now worn out and torn, especially as the fights between Xiao Red and the Little Notch became frequent, making the clothes easily torn.

The middle-aged man froze for a moment, looking confused, "Maybe I heard wrong, did you say..."

"You heard right!" Chen Shouyi said expressionlessly, "I'm making clothes for figurines. Use the best materials, and make a hundred sets of various styles, according to standard female proportions of sixteen centimeters and fifteen centimeters."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that here, you should try other tailoring shops," the tailor politely declined.

As a skilled tailor, he was never short of business, and naturally had his pride; making clothes for figurines was beneath him, something laughable if spread around.

"I can pay more!"

"Sir, it's not about the money, it's simply unfeasible," the middle-aged man still politely said, "I'm a tailor, not a toy maker."

"How about five hundred?" Chen Shouyi said, then added, "per set. If you really can't do it, I'll find someone else."

Wha... what?

"Is it really five hundred?"

The middle-aged man could no longer stay calm. Although inflation was high, labor was cheap at the time. If the client provided materials, a set of clothes would net him about a hundred yuan, which was already considered a high rate. Although the five hundred apparently included materials, how much material could a figurine use, moreover, the workload was smaller.

"Five hundred a set, one hundred sets each, can you do it?" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Yes, of course, I can," the middle-aged man said, beaming, hurriedly guaranteeing. With a substantial business like this, he could buy two apartments in Zhonghai City once completed.

Chen Shouyi pretended to reach into his pocket, pulled out two wads of money, and handed them over, saying patiently: "Here are twenty thousand as a deposit, the materials must be good, the styles diverse, and the craftsmanship fine. Additionally, prepare for all seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. No shortcuts."

"Boss, rest assured, you'll get value for every money spent; if you're not satisfied, feel free to tarnish my reputation," the middle-aged man earnestly patted his chest, making it sound loudly.

After agreeing on the delivery time with the tailor, Chen Shouyi left the shop. Suddenly sensing something, he instinctively looked into the distance, where a familiar figure quickly disappeared into the crowd.

ps: The writer's block is killing me, but I'll make it up.