Chapter 704
Clothing as the Tool
Zheng Gaoyang did Xu Bo'an a great favor today, so Xu Bo'an had to exchange a few pleasantries in return.
Zheng Gaoyang waved his hand with a smile, summoned a waiter, and immediately arranged a new private room for Shi Changliang and his group.
The humble and cautious mutual flattery between Xu Bo'an and Zheng Gaoyang goes without saying.
On the other hand, Qin Shuyu and Shi Changliang's dinner was somewhat awkward.
Especially when Shi Changliang appeared, he was momentarily at a loss for words.
"I'm... I'm sorry, this whole thing ruined your mood," Shi Changliang stammered.
Qin Shuyu smiled and shook her head, saying, "No, it's all Chen Zhengqian's fault. What does it have to do with us? It's just a pity about that steak. But I can cook too. How about next time? Next time you come to my house, I'll cook you a meal. Tell me what you like to eat first."
Qin Shuyu changed the subject in just a few words.
Upon hearing this, Shi Changliang's eyes lit up, and he immediately followed Qin Shuyu's train of thought, beginning to talk with great interest about the next meal.
Qin Shuyu nodded in response from time to time, while gazing at Shi Changliang with affectionate smiles, seemingly having completely forgotten the impact of the mess she had just made.
In fact, such a disgusting thing cannot be forgotten so easily.
But how can we not change the subject now? After all, the more we talk about this, the more disgusting it becomes, and the more it affects our mood. What's the point of going on a date then?
Shi Changliang is not good at socializing, but Qin Shuyu knows how to maintain appropriate boundaries. She understands which things can be mentioned, which things can be joked about, and which things should never be said.
This matter seems simple, but if not handled properly, it can easily affect one's mood and the relationship between the two people, or even the feelings between them.
Some things are fine as a joke; we can laugh it off and lighten the mood.
However, if you keep bringing it up, it will only make people feel dissatisfied or even resentful. She certainly wouldn't do something so foolish.
It's like when you're having dinner with someone and you suddenly see a bug. If you don't make a fuss, but quietly pick it up and throw it aside, that's fine.
Even if the appearance of these insects makes you feel a little disgusted, it's only disgusting to yourself. Everyone else eats and drinks happily as usual, and the pleasant meal proceeds as planned. Your request can still be discussed.
As for the bug, if you want to pursue the matter, then talk to the shop owner about it. If they don't take it seriously or even deny it, you can simply stop coming to this place in the future; there's no need to dwell on it.
However, if you don't choose to downplay the matter but instead make a big fuss, argue your case, and defend your rights on the spot, there's nothing wrong with that, but it will also make everyone present aware of the incident. That would disgust everyone, and the banquet would be impossible to continue. And you can forget about resolving your dinner invitation issue in the process.
The same principle applies when it comes to taking your boyfriend or girlfriend out to dinner. Do you want a sweet date or a disgusting memory?
Therefore, this is also a standard for being a decent person!
If Xu Bo'an weren't here, he would definitely sigh inwardly, thinking that Shi Changliang is now completely trapped by Qin Shuyu.
But this is good, it can be considered a complement to each other!
It's difficult for two people with exactly the same personality to stay together.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Zheng Gaoyang, Xu Bo'an handed Zheng Gaoyang his business card and told him to remember to look for him when he arrived in the provincial capital, as he wanted to thank Xu Bo'an properly.
After talking with Zheng Gaoyang, Xu Bo'an returned to the private room where Shi Changliang and the others were. After having lunch with Shi Changliang and Qin Shuyu, they left the private room together.
When they arrived at the lobby to pay the bill, the waiter told them that the owner had already waived the bill. Xu Bo'an knew that this must have been arranged by Zheng Gaoyang, so he did not refuse and the group left the restaurant together.
After saying goodbye to Shi Changliang and Qin Shuyu, Xu Bo'an drove towards his residence, the Central Villa. After arriving home and taking a nap at noon, a phone rang.
Xu Bo'an picked up his phone and saw that the caller was Zhao Yuntao. Xu Bo'an answered the phone and heard Zhao Yuntao's excited voice on the other end: "Brother Xu, Brother Xu, are you free now? I have some amazing news to tell you!"
Xu Bo'an said to Zhao Yuntao, "I'm not in a hurry. Just tell me the good news. Don't be so dramatic!"
Zhao Yuntao quickly said, "Brother, we held an auction this morning, and the heavy crepe silk dress you gave me before was successfully auctioned off! Guess how much it sold for?"
When Xu Bo'an handed the clothes to Zhao Yuntao, he remembered that Zhao Yuntao had told him that although heavy crepe silk was a very precious type of silk, there was very little of it on the market in Dongjiang. The main reason was that there were many limitations to custom-made items. People who wanted to buy them might not be able to wear them, and people who wanted to wear them might not have that much money. So, if they were to be auctioned, they might not get a very high price.
Unless you find a discerning buyer whose body shape perfectly matches the garment, you might be able to get a good price, but finding such a buyer is extremely difficult.
At the time, Zhao Yuntao said that the only thing he could do was put the garment up for auction at his auction house.
At the time, Xu Bo'an heard Zhao Yuntao's words imply that it would be difficult to sell the clothes at auction, so he didn't have high hopes. He didn't expect it to be sold so quickly. After a comprehensive evaluation of the clothes, the two of them estimated that the auction price would be around 100,000 yuan, or at most 200,000 yuan.
Judging from the excitement in Zhao Yuntao's voice on the phone, the auction price of the clothes far exceeded their expectations.
Xu Bo'an was quite pleased and mustered his courage to guess, "Judging from your excitement, it must have fetched a hefty price at auction. I'd guess 500,000?"
Zhao Yuntao on the other end of the phone shook his head and said with a smile, "Brother, you're guessing too low. Guess higher!"
Xu Bo'an said, "Wow, it seems this price is really not low. Could it be 800,000?"
Zhao Yuntao on the other end of the phone shook his head, saying smugly, "Not only that, let me tell you directly, that dress sold for a full 1.3 million at auction! That's a full 220,000 higher than the dress that sold in Hong Kong back then! Isn't that shocking?" Xu Bo'an never wore designer clothes; he always wore the most ordinary niche brands, some even without any brand at all. The total price of an entire outfit, from head to toe, inside and out, was at most around 1,000. Hearing that the heavy crepe silk dress made by the Cuigu tribe could actually fetch over a million at auction, Xu Bo'an was truly shocked. Even though he had already achieved financial freedom, this price was something he had never expected, something he never even dared to dream of!
Perhaps it was because he usually didn't pay much attention to his clothes and never went to luxury brand stores, thinking that it was just a piece of clothing, yet someone could pay such a high price for it. So when he heard Zhao Yuntao's words, Xu Bo'an was quite surprised.
Xu Bo'an said in great shock, "My goodness, this is really great news, this is too unexpected for me."
Zhao Yuntao said with a grin, "I knew you'd be shocked to hear this news. Even I, who works in the auction house, am quite surprised. This dress sold for such a high price. You'll have to treat me to a good meal later."
Xu Bo'an laughed and said, "No problem! Speaking of which, didn't you say before that clothing auctions are a niche market in a small place like Jiangdong? How come someone would suddenly go to the auction and offer such a high price to buy it?"
Zhao Yuntao said, "I have to say we just happened to meet a buyer who knows his stuff. This buyer is from out of town and made his fortune in the clothing business. I'm calling you today not only to tell you the good news that this dress has been auctioned for an amazing price, but more importantly, the buyer wants to meet you and wants to ask for your contact information. Would you be willing?"
Xu Bo'an has a lot of free time now, and the fact that he's willing to spend 130,000 yuan on a piece of clothing shows that he's quite wealthy. He might even be a tycoon on par with Zhang Wenzhong and the like. He's quite happy to associate with these high-end people now, since he's starting to develop in the business world, and if he wants to make progress in business, he needs to associate with some successful people.
Now that I have this opportunity, and I don't have anything else to do this afternoon, I might as well agree.
Thinking of this, Xu Bo'an said, "Since they appreciate our products and want to get to know us, we can't refuse them, can we? You can give them your contact information!"
Zhao Yuntao said, "Okay, Brother Xu, I'll contact him then."
Xu Bo'an said, "Mhm."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the two hung up the phone.
Even after hanging up the phone, Xu Bo'an was still very excited. Last time, the Cuigu tribe gave him more than twenty pieces of clothing made of this kind of heavy crepe mulberry silk. If they were all priced at this price, he would have made a profit of 20 million.
Even if the other clothes are not as stylish or colorful as the one Zhao Yuntao auctioned, and are not as expensive, the total value of these clothes must be at least tens of millions, which is a considerable income.
Especially since Xu Bo'an didn't pay any cost or take any risks with these clothes, it was a completely free and profitable deal!
Earning tens of millions so easily, wouldn't anyone be happy?
Thinking of this, Xu Bo'an was about to focus his attention on the bonsai world, thinking of rewarding the people of the Emerald Valley.
Just then, another phone rang. Xu Bo'an took out his phone and saw that it was an unfamiliar number from out of town. He instinctively thought it was a scam call and hung up without thinking.
A short while after hanging up the phone, Xu Bo'an was about to put it down when his phone chimed with a text message. He opened his phone and saw the message, realizing that the person who had called him was the same person Zhao Yuntao had mentioned earlier who wanted to buy his clothes.
I didn't expect that Zhao Yuntao would call me back so soon after I hung up the phone, which shows that he was very eager to see me.
Upon seeing this, Xu Bo'an immediately called back. The call was answered shortly afterward, and the person on the other end spoke politely, "Hello, you must be Mr. Xu! I hope I didn't disturb you!"
Only then did Xu Bo'an realize that it was a woman's voice on the other end of the phone, and the tone was quite pleasant.
Xu Bo'an said, "Oh, no offense. I saw the call was from an unknown number and thought it was a scam call, so I hung up on it instinctively. May I ask what you need me for?"
The woman on the other end of the phone said, "Mr. Xu, I'm calling to discuss something about clothes. It's not easy to explain over the phone. There's a tea shop called 'Qitang Chunxun' on Guangbei Road. Why don't we sit down there and talk? Do you have time now?"
If someone who bought his clothes at a high price wants to meet him, they most likely want to talk business. How could Xu Bo'an refuse such a business opportunity that has been offered to him? Xu Bo'an readily agreed, saying, "Sure, I happen to have time now."
The woman on the phone was delighted to hear Xu Bo'an's words and said, "That's wonderful, Mr. Xu. My name is Jiang Yueran. When you arrive, just tell me my name, and I'll be there to wait for you!"
Xu Bo'an said, "Okay."
After the two hung up the phone, Xu Bo'an changed his clothes, walked to the mirror to tidy his appearance, and then went out and drove towards the "Qitang Chunxun" that the woman had mentioned.
About twenty minutes later, Xu Bo'an arrived at his destination. After parking his car, he saw the sign for "Qitang Chunxun" and walked inside.
Although Xu Bo'an has lived in Dongjiang for many years and has been to many places, he usually frequents restaurants and doesn't go to places like this that specialize in tea tasting very often. Moreover, in a fourth- or fifth-tier city like Dongjiang, most tea tasting places don't have very large spaces.
However, once Xu Bo'an entered, he felt as if he had entered a hidden paradise. The tea shop was very spacious, and the overall decoration had an antique feel. There was also a rockery on the first floor, with a babbling brook flowing on it.
Beside them, a woman in a white fairy dress was gracefully playing the guzheng.
This feeling made Xu Bo'an feel very comfortable.
Xu Bo'an walked to the front desk, gave the waiter Jiang Yueran's name, and the waiter led Xu Bo'an upstairs. When they arrived at the door of a private room, the waiter said to Xu Bo'an, "Sir, this is it!"
After listening to the waiter's words, Xu Bo'an pushed open the door and entered the private room, where he met the woman's gaze. (End of Chapter)