Chapter 513: Chapter 512: Fishing is a Skillful Task
Shen Hongzun was sowhat nervous.
No, he was very nervous.
This was his first ti attending the Spring Trade Fair, and before he left, the elder had repeatedly instructed him and listed a long list of people he absolutely must not offend, including the Lin Family.
However, he had seen so of the world, and after a brief mont of being stunned, he switched the topic with his sowhat awkward Mandarin: “Miss Lin, hello. I apologize for intruding, but may I ask where you bought your hair accessory? I would like to buy one for my sister.”
Lin Nianhe smiled.
She casually touched her own hair hoop, and then replied: “This is a product of the well-known dostic jewelry brand ‘Lan’. If you want to buy it, you should go to the Friendship Store.”
She knew that Shen Hongzun was not really there to ask about Head Flower; he hardly glanced at their accessories, so this abrupt question was likely just a change of topic.
However, this didn’t hinder Lin Nianhe’s intention to sell the Head Flower to him.
The Xiangjiang Shen Family, Lin Nianhe had read about his family in the history books of economics. They started out in the last century by integrating dockworkers and then leveraged the convenience of the docks to engage in trade, declining in the 1990s. Currently, the Shen family were the retail kings in Xiangjiang, having shops in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui.
Just as Shen Hongzun was about to make an excuse to leave, Lin Nianhe called out to him.
“Mr. Shen, if you don’t mind, would you like to have afternoon tea together?” Lin Nianhe said with a mild smile, “This is our first ti attending the Spring Trade Fair in Sui City, and we’re not familiar with the rules, if you could enlighten us, we would be very grateful.”
A lady’s invitation, especially from a beautiful lady.
How could anyone refuse!
When Shen Hongzun ca back to his senses, he was already sitting on the chair next to Lin Nianhe.
Looking at Lin Nianhe’s gentle and simple smile, Shen Hongzun’s concerns faded significantly.
The Lin Family was indeed intimidating, but he hadn’t done anything yet, at least he hadn’t had a chance to do anything, so no need to panic!
“Why did Miss Lin co?” Shen Hongzun sipped his tea.
“I was forced to co,” Lin Nianhe said helplessly with a light sigh, “Originally, the ‘Lan’ brand was reluctant to participate in the Spring Trade Fair, you know, these long-standing artists are always temperantal. It was just that their family owed Uncle Huang a favor, so they ca to the fair… But they felt the journey was too far and didn’t want to co, so Uncle Huang asked a few of us to help out.”
Having said that, Lin Nianhe sighed deeply.
Across from her, Wang Shui and Wen Lan looked at her with complex expressions.
Reluctant? Forced?
They suddenly didn’t understand the real aning of these words!
Lin Nianhe spoke with skillful intonation and expressions, easily drawing people into her trap, making them unconsciously follow her lead.
Shen Hongzun’s curiosity instantly shifted to the big-tempered “Lan” brand. He asked, “Isn’t attending the Trade Fair sothing many factories would crave? How could the ‘Lan’ brand refuse?”
“Mr. Shen doesn’t know? That makes sense, given the distance, so things you wouldn’t know.”
Lin Nianhe casually ntioned the tumultuous “history” of the “Lan” brand.
Wang Shui was certain that what Lin Nianhe was saying was word for word the sa as what she had said on the train.
She was also certain that, if nothing went wrong, she would hear this story many more tis.
Wang Shui and Wen Lan were tired of hearing it, but Shen Hongzun was hearing it for the first ti!
He was surprised, curious, admiring, and moved.
At the end of the story, he asked, “This may be presumptuous… but may I take a look at your hair accessory?”
“Of course, we are friends after all.”
Lin Nianhe quietly closed the distance between them, then took off the hair hoop and handed it to him.
“If it weren’t for the fact that I can’t give gifts to foreign guests, I’d really like to give this to your sister,” Lin Nianhe said smilingly, speaking honeyed words that cost nothing.
Shen Hongzun examined the delicate flowers on the hair hoop, unconsciously marveling, “I’ve never seen such craftsmanship before, I didn’t expect copper wire could be made into sothing so beautiful, this must be expensive, right?”
Lin Nianhe decisively shook her head, her tone light and easy: “Not expensive at all, this hair hoop is only fifteen yuan.”
Wen Lan imdiately raised her hand to cover her mouth to prevent herself from spraying tea onto Lin Nianhe’s face.
That hair hoop, from the materials to the handiwork, costs less than one and a half yuan in total!
She really dares!
Sister Lan felt that no sane person would ever think of buying such a thing.
Then she heard Shen Hongzun say, “Fifteen yuan? But it’s inlaid with jade, isn’t it? Miss Lin, could you have rembered the price wrong?”
Lin Nianhe shook her head, she glanced around to make sure no one was noticing them before speaking with a heart-to-heart expression, “Mr. Shen, this is just between us, you must not tell anyone else—”
“Actually, all the products from the ‘Lan’ brand are priced at their cost, they are here to repay a favor, not to make money… The hair hoop you’re holding is made by craftsn who underwent hundreds of hours of training, each one taking an average of six hours to hand-make. Although the jade isn’t top-grade, wearing it as a little accessory wouldn’t be disgraceful, right?”
Wang Shui: “…”
Wen Lan: “…”
Hundreds of hours of training? Indeed, the workers who make samples for export previously made nurous dostic Head Flowers.
Pure handcraft? Indeed, because their factory doesn’t have machines that can make this stuff.
Average of six hours… This is purely made up! They both watched Aunt Zhao squeeze out one in just half an hour!
Wen Lan couldn’t help but lean close to Wang Shui and whisper in a voice only they could hear, “With the building this tall, if there’s lightning, it would definitely strike here first, right?”
Wang Shui: “Being struck by lightning here has nothing to do with the height of the building, it’s mainly because Lin Nianhe is here.”
Their whispered conversation went unheard by Shen Hongzun, who was examining the hair hoop, contemplating how such accessories could sell for at least twenty yuan in his family’s store, and would surely be popular.
Lin Nianhe did not rush him, casually eating a cookie and patiently waiting for the fish to bite.
This fish was even more impatient than she had expected.
Shen Hongzun carefully set down the hair hoop and turned to ask Lin Nianhe, “Miss Lin, does the ‘Lan’ brand have any other hair accessories? May I see them?”
Lin Nianhe shook her head apologetically, “I’m afraid not, you can’t go to our floor, so you’ll just have to wait until the Spring Trade Fair starts. We’ll be in the textile exhibition area, you can co over anyti.”
Things that are too easily obtained are never cherished; building anticipation is also a craft.
Shen Hongzun sighed disappointingly, “I see, then I’ll have to wait three days.”
After a pause, Shen Hongzun suddenly asked, “Ah? Can I buy so from the Friendship Store right now? I could go ahead and get a few!”
“They do have them, but you should hurry, I heard they’re almost sold out,” Lin Nianhe kindly reminded.
Shen Hongzun couldn’t sit still any longer, he stood up saying, “Then I must excuse myself first, ladies, take your ti.”
“Busy yourself, important matters first.” Lin Nianhe stood up and even shook his hand.
After Shen Hongzun left, Wang Shui whispered, “Nianhe, aren’t all the samples in our room? The Friendship Store doesn’t have them, right?”
“Nope,” Lin Nianhe said without a shred of guilt, “But if he doesn’t run back and forth a few tis, how can he deeply understand what it ans to desire but not obtain?”
Wang Shui: “…”
Wen Lan: “Such a namby-pamby.”
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