Ye Jinyan died alone at the age of sixty-eight, his consciousness returning to the height of summer in 1995, during the vacation between his second and third years of high school. The old ceiling fan rattled in the textile factory family compound, and the laughter of the Wang sisters next door rang in his ears.
In his previous life, he had struggled for decades and amassed a fortune, only to grow old alone. Given another chance, he clutched his 300 yuan in New Year’s money and joined Wang Xiuqin, who was unemployed and down on her luck, to start with a sweet soup stall at the night market. He earned his first fortune, and the fragrant sweetness of bubble tea spread through the old night market, quietly changing the fates of those around him.
During his senior year, transfer student Zhou Han arrived with an impressive family background and talent. As they competed for grades and came to admire each other, an ambiguous bond took shape between rivals who were also friends. At university in the provincial capital, he met Su Qingyan, who had connections in government; the capable He Zhiqiu; the tech-savvy Xu Jing; and Lu Min, a big sister in the underworld. Together, they ventured into tea drinks, clothing, foreign trade, and technology.
Twelve women each had their own talents and held sway in their own fields. There were no melodramatic rivalries, only mutual support. Wang Xiuqin held down the fort, Su Qingyan opened doors through her policy connections, and Zhou Han managed financial risks... Riding the wave of the 1990s, they began by selling milk tea from a street stall and gradually built a business empire spanning every industry, finally making up for the loneliness that had defined his previous life.
