That afternoon, Yi Feng called Wang Tie to his ho to discuss the dinner party for the next day.
Wang Tie took out a pack of Double Happiness cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to Yi Feng.
“Brother Feng, have one.”
Yi Feng looked at him in surprise, then took the cigarette with a smile, “You’ve learned to carry cigarettes with you now?”
Wang Tie scratched his head with a silly smile, “Hey, when you’re out and about, how can you not carry cigarettes?”
Yi Feng glanced at the Double Happiness in his hand, a brand that cost 5 yuan a pack, and shook his head with a smile, “Next ti, bring an extra pack of Furong Wang instead. We can smoke the Double Happiness ourselves.”
“I’ll give you the money later; you go buy a carton to keep in the store. Just carry it with you when you go out.”
Wang Tie laughed sheepishly, “Yes, Brother Feng, I got it.”
He took out a lighter, lit it, and first lit Yi Feng’s cigarette, then his own.
Yi Feng, while smoking, thought for a mont and then said, “Tie, let’s go buy so gifts later, five gifts.”
“Boss Ning has spoken up to help us and has been so enthusiastic; we should show our gratitude.”
“That Feng Ze, President Feng, is soone we need to win over, so we need to carefully consider what gift to give him.”
“We can’t overlook the other two distributors either; giving sothing to Feng Ze but not to them would make others think we are stingy and look down on people.”
“The secretary of President Feng should also get sothing, but it doesn’t have to be too expensive to avoid putting too much pressure on the recipient. Sothing too expensive might backfire; a delicate trinket will do.”
Wang Tie, with a cigarette in his mouth, jotted down notes in a small notebook.
“Brother Feng, you’re so thorough in your approach. So, what gifts should we buy?”
Yi Feng smoked and thought for a long ti, his mind rapidly calculating.
He recalled all the details about Feng Ze ntioned during a al with Ning Feipeng, hoping to piece together Feng Ze’s character and preferences.
Suddenly, Yi Feng rembered that Ning Feipeng was his fishing buddy, and they occasionally went wild fishing together.
A flash of insight struck him, and he already had an idea for the gift.
A suitable fishing rod would be nice.
It didn’t need to be too expensive, as a gift too luxurious for a first eting could appear too utilitarian, but it couldn’t be sothing too ordinary either; it needed to have so uniqueness.
“For Feng Ze, a fishing rod; for Boss Ning, a can of tea; for the other two bosses, the sa set of four treasures of the study; for Feng Ze’s secretary, a slightly better pen,” Yi Feng said, exhaling smoke.
Wang Tie pondered the aning behind these choices, then had an epiphany and praised, “Brother Feng, your thoughts are ticulous. I think this arrangent works!”
“What did you see?” Yi Feng asked with a smile, testing him.
“Feng Ze likes fishing, Boss Ning likes tea, the two other bosses I’m not so familiar, so giving them the sa four treasures of the study shows equal respect, and they would all appreciate a more elegant gift. As for President Feng’s secretary, a small gift will do.”
“Brother Feng, did I get it right?” Wang Tie asked like a student.
Yi Feng shook his head with a smile, “Right, but not entirely. If we consider the value of the gifts as I envisage, the fishing rod for President Feng and the tea for Boss Ning are of equal value, followed by President Feng’s female secretary, and lastly, the other two bosses.”
Wang Tie asked in surprise, “Brother Feng, why are you so concerned about that female secretary?”
Yi Feng leaned back in his chair, blew a smoke ring, glanced at Wang Tie, and said, “Do you rember what Boss Ning said? President Feng has a family, a wife, and kids.”
“The child is in junior high, and Feng Ze is nearly forty. He’s successful in his career and has a family, yet he has a beautiful secretary by his side. This is sothing you should think about.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Tie’s face showed a sudden realization.
“Could it be…”
Yi Feng raised his hand to stop him, “Even if you guess that, you shouldn’t say it or assu too much. We still need to base our judgnts on actual situations.”
“This only shows one thing, that Feng Ze trusts his secretary enough to bring her along to such a dinner.”
Wang Tie swallowed the rest of his words and nodded, “Heh, Brother Feng makes sense. I’ve learned sothing new!”
After speaking, he noted down Yi Feng’s words in his notebook.
Yi Feng finished his cigarette, extinguished it in the ashtray, and said, “Now that we’ve decided, let’s go prepare the gifts.”
“You can’t catch a wolf without spending so money.”
Wang Tie also extinguished his cigarette and quickly stood up, “Okay, Brother Feng!”
The two left the residential complex together, riding bicycles to various markets and shopping districts nearby.
Fortunately, after the surgery, besides the hospital expenses, there was a surplus of twenty thousand yuan. This amount wasn’t enough to start a business, but it was sufficient for buying gifts without being too stingy.
After running around for an afternoon, Yi Feng and Wang Tie finally purchased all the gifts.
The gift for Feng Ze was a 700 yuan fishing rod from Guangwei, a classic limited edition model with good material quality. It was a limited edition and scarce in the market; Yi Feng had to visit several markets to find the only one available.
The gift for Ning Feipeng was 600 yuan worth of Wuyi Shuixian tea, considered one of the more prestigious teas on the market, and this particular variety was sowhat niche with a unique flavor.
The gift for President Feng’s secretary was a 280 yuan gold-plated engraved pen, which looked like an art piece with both ornantal and practical value.
Finally, the gifts for the other two bosses were a set of fine stationery worth about a hundred yuan. The set included enough brushes for calligraphy, not too expensive but still elegant. Nowadays, even the newly rich want to practice calligraphy to improve their cultural taste. If not for calligraphy, displaying it at ho could also add a scholarly aroma. After all, once people have money, they should appear more refined, classy, and cultured.
The pursuit of elegance is a common trait among the wealthy, as those without money are too busy earning it to care about elegance. This also serves as a way to differentiate social classes and status.
The next day at noon, Yi Feng and Wang Tie brought the gifts to the store for careful wrapping and bought several attractive gift bags for them.
In the afternoon, they both dressed up, wearing short-sleeved shirts and trousers, and took a taxi to Lian Xiang Lou with the gifts at five o’clock.
…
In the Tianque private room of Lianxiang Restaurant, five people were already seated. The person in the main seat was a middle-aged man wearing a white shirt, slightly overweight, with slicked-back hair, sitting to the left of Ning Feipeng.
“Feng, are you worried I’d stand you up for this al? You’re here even before getting off work,” Ning Feipeng teased.
The slightly overweight man in the suit was Feng Ze, the owner of Nanqiao Comrce and Trade.
“I didn’t eat much at noon, just to save room for this al. I was hungry even before getting off work, haha!” Feng Ze joked.
“By the way, when is that young brother Yi Feng of yours arriving?”
“In front of , you’ve praised him a lot. I’m curious to et him, to see what kind of person is worth your praise.”
Ning Feipeng smiled and replied, “I just called him; he’s on his way.”
“Hehe, my Brother Yi is really sothing. I can’t prove it by just talking; you’ll know once he arrives.”
Feng Ze laughed, “You’re always keeping in suspense, really.”
At that mont, a woman sitting on his right, dressed in a light blue professional suit, wearing thin-fra glasses, with a graceful figure and an elegant deanor, lightly opened her red lips and smiled, “Hearing Boss Ning talk like this, I’m also curious now. I want to see what kind of talented and distinguished person he is.”
———-
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