The 1970s: Taking the Kids to the Military District to Find Their Dad, and Making Money on the Side

[Seventies era, sweet face-slapping, hilarious money-making, unbelievable luck, military region in the far northwest, regiment commander, joining the army as a military spouse]

You want to steal my compensation money?

Go cool off in the cesspit first!

Su Xiaotao is no pushover. She takes on troublemakers, turns discarded soybeans into profit, and makes a thriving life for herself in the far-northwestern military region with nothing but her own two hands.

In the seventies, Su Xiaotao's husband supposedly “died in the line of duty.”

When her vicious mother-in-law and brother-in-law come to steal her money, Su Xiaotao sneers, swings her rolling pin with a vengeance, and sends them straight into a manure pit!

She grabs the withdrawal slip, takes her child, and climbs into a truck bound for the military region in the northwest.

She doesn't waste a moment along the way.

Other people turn up their noses at the waterlogged, sour soybeans, so she buys the whole lot for two cents a jin.

At the military base entrance, she sets up a giant iron wok, sprinkles on five-spice powder and chili flakes, and soon the savory smell of spiced soybeans is wafting for miles. The soldiers arriving for the change of station line up to pay!

Just as her hands are going numb from counting money, her husband Huo Xiao, who was supposed to have “died,” suddenly shows up alive and well, newly appointed as a regiment commander!

“Wifey, I'll hand over my entire salary from now on. I only need five yuan for pocket money!”

Looking at the bankbook he's just offered her, Su Xiaotao's eyes dart about.

She may not accept the man just yet, but she's definitely taking over the exclusive business supplying the military region!

See how this money-loving young wife, with her child and bargain husband in tow, builds a booming business in the far-northwestern Gobi Desert and makes the whole military region rich!