Chapter 777
Choosing Gifts
After Li Qingshi unwrapped the red silk cloth covering the pearl, he said to Xu Bo'an with a delighted expression, "Grandpa Mountain God, this is the little thing I wanted to give you. It's a luminous pearl that Weiwei and I found by chance under a mountain god temple on our way home."
Later, Weiwei braided a pretty rope on it. Weiwei said that if it were just a bead, it wouldn't be convenient for Grandpa Mountain God to carry, so she braided it with a pretty thin rope so that Grandpa Mountain God could wear it around his neck.
Don't let its unassuming appearance fool you; it's said to have benefits such as nighttime illumination, repelling insects, calming the nerves and aiding sleep, healing the mind and body, and clearing away negative energy. Most importantly, it can even be used to ward off evil spirits.
Although these effects might not seem to have much effect on a powerful deity like you, Grandpa Mountain God, I heard from Weiwei that this luminous pearl is very precious. She's dealt with many similar items in her business dealings, but judging from its color and smooth shape, this luminous pearl is definitely a top-grade one.
According to Weiwei, during her time in Qingyun Dao, she had heard that this luminous pearl was an extremely precious item, and that it would only be of great use if it fell into the hands of a destined person.
However, we weren't quite sure of its specific use. We thought that since you, Grandpa Mountain God, are the ruler of this land, this pearl should belong to you. Therefore, we decided to give you this luminous pearl as a wedding gift from us!
This kid now calls her "Weiwei, Weiwei" so easily, it sounds so natural to him. If nothing unexpected happens, she'll probably be a henpecked husband in the future.
Xu Bo'an looked at the object, which resembled a miniature version of the glass ball he had as a child. Although he wasn't particularly interested in it, he couldn't very well refuse such a sincere gift.
In particular, Little Stone was the first person Xu Bo'an encountered in the Bonsai World after he obtained it. It can be said that Xu Bo'an had the deepest feelings for the little people in the entire Bonsai World. If he didn't accept him, it would inevitably make Li Qingshi overthink or feel sad.
Besides, it was a gift given to me on the eve of their wedding. I couldn't very well refuse and spoil their fun at such an important moment in their life.
Thinking of this, Xu Bo'an pretended to be very pleased with the gift from Li Qingshi and said, "Little Stone, you are so thoughtful to always remember me. I will accept it without hesitation!"
After saying that, he reached into the void and took out the bead that Li Qingshi was holding, changing it to its real size.
In reality, this bead is only slightly larger than the glass beads we used to play with as children. Xu Bo'an held it in his hand and examined it closely. The bead was green overall, just as Li Qingshi had said, with a warm and smooth color and an extremely round shape. It felt cool and refreshing to the touch.
In short, whether it's good or bad, since the other party has given me a gift, how can I not return it? Moreover, most importantly, tomorrow is Li Qingshi's wedding, and as a matter of reciprocity, I should give Li Qingshi a gift as my blessing to the newlyweds.
However, the idea of giving Li Qingshi a gift was something he came up with on the spur of the moment and hadn't prepared in advance. So what should he give him? Giving a gift was a real headache for Xu Bo'an, a straight man.
Xu Bo'an thought and thought but still couldn't decide what gift to give Li Qingshi as a wedding blessing.
Suddenly he remembered that when he got married, it was common to give gold as a wedding gift. Gold has been a "hard currency" from ancient times to the present. It is not easy to oxidize or corrode and can be preserved for a long time. Even if you don't like to wear gold jewelry, it will always be a valuable item.
He regularly receives many gold beans from the pangolin. Over this period of time, Xu Bo'an has collected several bottles of gold beans from that little pangolin.
There was no shortage of gold, but those gold beads couldn't be used as ornaments. He couldn't just give the pangolin's little gold beads to Li Qingshi like that. Although gold beads were very valuable, they could not express Xu Bo'an's regard for his first believer in the bonsai world, nor could they show his generosity and authority as the mountain god to his people.
As the Mountain God, I cannot simply send a gift to celebrate the joyous occasion of my first believer's marriage in the bonsai world.
The pangolin's gold beads are of extremely high purity. Why don't you just take these gold beads to a jewelry store and exchange them for some jewelry?
Xu Bo'an checked the time; it was already past 7 p.m. Most gold shops didn't close until after 10 p.m., so he figured he could still make it if he went to buy it now.
But it's too late for the little people in the bonsai world. Even if I go out and buy it now, Li Qingshi will probably be asleep by now, so I won't be able to give him the gift today.
However, it's not too late to buy it today and deliver it tomorrow, as long as it doesn't interfere with Li Qingshi's wedding time.
Thinking of this, Xu Bo'an said to Li Qingshi, "Little Stone, tomorrow is your wedding day. Get some rest tonight and don't delay the wedding procession tomorrow! I'll be leaving now!"
Li Qingshi said, "Little Stone respectfully sees off the Mountain God!"
After a while, Li Qingshi did not hear the voice of the Mountain God again, and knew that the Mountain God had left, so he got up and went into the house.
Li Qingshi came to see the Mountain God for two reasons. First, he wanted to tell the Mountain God about this happy event and share his joy. Second, Li Qingshi was worried that Kaoshan Village was not very close to Shanyang County. If he were to go to pick up the bride tomorrow, he would have to get up before dawn. The journey was so long and he would have to make two round trips. He was afraid that if something went wrong on the way, he would not be able to handle it and would not be able to arrive on time.
After all, the timing of the wedding procession was specially chosen by someone. If the wedding procession was delayed, not only would Weiwei be gossiped about behind her back, but the two of them would also feel somewhat uneasy about it in the future.
But if the mountain god were to protect me, I would feel much more at ease.
Although Li Qingshi was unsure whether the Mountain God would protect him after he told him about this matter, the Mountain God was a deity.
Besides, the Mountain God has his own things to do, and even if he wanted to protect me, he might be delayed by other matters.
However, Li Qingshi felt that he needed to tell the Mountain God about this before he could feel at ease.
It must be said that Li Qingshi considers things very comprehensively.
After Xu Bo'an finished speaking with Li Qingshi, he transferred his divine sense to his secret storage room in the bonsai world, took out a jar of golden beans stored inside, and then withdrew his divine sense from the bonsai world.
After leaving, Xu Bo'an simply threw on a shirt, tidied his appearance, and drove off to the parking lot.
I went into a gold shop near Wanda Plaza.
It was around 8 p.m., and the jewelry store was empty except for the sales staff. Jewelry stores usually have very few customers at this time; they're often empty.
The sales clerks assumed that Xu Bo'an was going to use the road to get to the other side of the street, so no one came forward to serve him.
It wasn't until Xu Bo'an started looking at the products at the counter that a waiter casually walked over.
She looked Xu Bo'an up and down, and seeing his extremely ordinary clothes, she figured he was unlikely to buy anything; he was probably just browsing.
They didn't greet us very warmly.
After looking at them for a while, Xu Bo'an found that there were just too many styles of jewelry. He was dazzled and even a little dizzy. If he were to look at them one by one, how long would it take? Xu Bo'an didn't have that much patience!
He said to the nonchalant salesperson, "Hello, could you show me a few sets of those complete women's jewelry pieces from your store?"
The salesperson said, "Sir, are you sure you want to buy it? Or are you just browsing? It's getting late, and those sets of jewelry are quite valuable. We usually put them away near closing time, so it's not convenient to take them out now. If you're sure you want to buy it, we'll take them out for you. If you're not sure and are just browsing, then why don't you come back tomorrow during the day?"
Xu Bo'an was in a hurry to buy this item, so he didn't bother arguing with the saleswoman's rude words. He simply said impatiently, "I don't have time tomorrow! I only have time to look now!"
The salesperson didn't think Xu Bo'an was the kind of potential customer who could afford big-ticket items. Hearing Xu Bo'an's words, the salesperson ignored him and looked at him with disdain, saying, "Oh, I don't know if you'll buy anything, but you sound pretty arrogant. Anyone who didn't know better would think you're some big shot! I already told you it's inconvenient for us to pick up the items now; you can only see them tomorrow. If you insist on seeing them today, then I'm really sorry, you can go look elsewhere. Goodbye!"
If Xu Bo'an wasn't angry at such rudeness from a mere salesperson, then he would truly be seen as a pushover.
Xu Bo'an looked at the salesperson with a forced smile and said, "There really is no shortage of people like you anywhere. Not only are you ugly, but you think you're gold when you're selling gold in a jewelry store? With your service attitude, you're not even as good as a piece of scrap metal!"
Women can't stand being told they're ugly. The saleswoman was furious when she heard Xu Bo'an's words. She glared at Xu Bo'an and shouted, "Get out of here right now!"
Seeing that he had successfully angered the saleswoman, Xu Bo'an looked at her and smiled softly, saying unhurriedly, "I'm a customer here, why should I leave? Besides, this isn't your home, you can't just tell me to leave and I'll leave!"
The saleswoman knew in her heart that she really had no right to kick people out, but she was about to explode with anger. This feeling of being angry but helpless was unbearable.
At this moment, the store manager, who was organizing the goods inside, came out after hearing the commotion from the staff and customers outside.
When the saleswoman saw the store manager come out, she quickly went up to him and complained, "Manager, this customer is so rude! He actually said I'm not even worth a piece of scrap metal! Although the customer is king, we can't let someone insult me like this!"
The store manager had actually heard the entire conversation between the two of them. It was one of his own sales staff who spoke rudely first, which is why Xu Bo'an said what he did.
However, Xu Bo'an was just a customer, and a customer who wasn't buying anything. Of course, deep down, he was still on the side of the salesperson in his own store.
The store manager said to the salesperson, "Alright, you can go to the side for now. I'll take care of this customer!"
After saying that, he walked up to Xu Bo'an with a professional smile and said, "Sir, hello. Our staff member was a bit inconsiderate just now, and I apologize for that! Is there anything you need? If you see something you like, I can get it for you!"
Seeing that the store manager seemed normal, and knowing that he was there to buy things and not to argue with these unimportant people, Xu Bo'an ignored the previous salesperson and said to the store manager, "Oh, I'd like to look at a few complete sets of gold jewelry for weddings in your store!"
The shop manager said to Xu Bo'an, "Okay, but we just put away those sets of gold jewelry. I need to go to the storeroom inside to get them. Please wait a moment!"
Xu Bo'an nodded and said "Mm".
The salesperson who had spoken earlier saw the store manager heading back to the warehouse to get something and came over to whisper in the manager's ear, "Manager, that guy clearly won't buy anything, so there's no need to waste your time on him!"
The store manager said, "Just leave it alone for now!"
After saying that, he walked towards the warehouse inside.
It's not that the store manager's service attitude is particularly good; it's just that as the manager of a jewelry store, she has to consider the overall situation. Even if she knows the customer won't buy, she will at least show the customer the items to prevent the customer from causing trouble and affecting the store's reputation.
The main concern is that if a difficult customer reports my store, that would be bad. It wasn't easy for someone like me, who isn't very well-educated, to climb to the position of store manager.
If I get reported, not only will I lose my position as store manager, but it will also be difficult for me to find the same job in the future.
Although the shop manager, seeing Xu Bo'an's attire, also felt that he wasn't the type to afford a complete set of gold jewelry, since Xu Bo'an had asked, he, as the shop manager, had no reason not to show him the items. (End of Chapter)