Chapter 97
Anyone could see that these two items were definitely wide open.
"How are things, brother-in-law?"
Yan Ren asked jokingly.
Gu Jinshui put down the plate, full of praise, "Grandma Yan, your old friend didn't rip you off; both of these are genuine. The Blue-and-White Porcelain Plate on the left is from the Qianlong period; the porcelain is delicate, and the blue color is not at all frivolous. Especially look at the luster—it's so naturally perfect. It's just a pity that it's damaged in one spot. This Eight Immortals Celebrating Longevity plate is also a fine piece, from the official kiln during the Shunzhi period, but unfortunately, it has a large crack, and a piece is missing here."
As everyone listened to his speech, their hearts pounded with each word.
When I hear praise, I feel secretly happy; when I hear criticism, my heart aches.
Yan Chengzhi was initially worried that Gu Jinshui would cause trouble, but he didn't expect Gu Jinshui to be so cooperative.
He couldn't help but say smugly to Grandma Yan, "Grandma, listen to this! I didn't lie to you, did I? They were only willing to pay three hundred for these two plates because of your grandson."
"Wait, how much did you say you'd charge?"
Gu Jinshui looked at Yan Chengzhi in surprise and asked.
Without a second thought, Yan Chengzhi said, "Three hundred yuan, what's wrong?"
Gu Jinshui stared at him for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter and said to Grandma Yan, "Grandma Yan, to tell you the truth, if you're willing to pay for these two plates, that person will only give you three thousand yuan, otherwise don't give them to him!"
Three thousand yuan?!
Grandma Yan was taken aback; she was shocked by the amount.
Although the old lady wasn't short of money and received a monthly pension, it only amounted to seventy or eighty yuan a month. This sudden three thousand yuan was money she had saved up over several years!
Liu Yulan's face darkened, and her lips twitched. "Yin Xing's brother, don't talk nonsense. This cold stuff is so bad, it's good enough that someone is willing to take it. Three thousand yuan is extortion!"
Yan Chengzhi chimed in, "Yeah, don't you dare cause trouble. If you're so capable, then come up with three thousand yuan and buy the stuff yourself."
He curled his lip and said disdainfully, "Some people are useless at helping out, but they're good at spouting nonsense. You think three thousand yuan is ghost money?"
Gu Jinshui laughed and said, "If Grandma Yan is willing to pay, I'm really willing to pay three thousand yuan to buy it!"
Gu Jinshui took out five hundred yuan from his pocket and counted it in front of everyone. "I'm going out on short notice and don't have much money on me. Is this five hundred yuan a deposit?"
The moment the five hundred-yuan bills were presented, the room fell silent.
The Yan Family is relatively poor. Although the Old Master and woman live in a detached house now, it will all be returned to the government in the future. Most of the money the old couple saved up throughout their lives was spent on Yan Ren's wedding.
Although the Yan's Father's relationships with women were a bit complicated, he was absolutely incorruptible.
Therefore, it's rare to see people like them spending 500 yuan on something, like buying groceries.
"Xiao Gu, this won't do. You're trying to make me happy, and I appreciate it."
Grandma Yan was an honest person, and she was too embarrassed to accept the money. She blushed and quickly pushed it back.
Gu Jinshui, "You really overestimate me. I keep personal relationships separate from business. These two items of yours are truly valuable. You might not understand and think that items with minor damage or major dents are worthless, but that's not the case at all. Whether something is valuable or not depends on whether it's a good item or not."
Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, Gu Jinshui thought for a moment and gave an example, "Take a beautiful woman for example. She may have been injured and have some scars on her hands and feet, but she is still a beautiful woman, and she will still have plenty of suitors. The antique business is similar. As long as it is a good item, a genuine piece, it doesn't matter if it has some flaws."
Grandma Yan understood now, and she clapped her hands happily, saying, "So, these two things are quite valuable?"
"It's extremely valuable, I'm telling you from the bottom of my heart,"
Gu Jinshui, "If you're not short of money, you can keep this. The antique market is constantly changing prices. Something that's worth three thousand today might be worth six thousand tomorrow, and in a few years, it might not even be worth a few thousand anymore; it could be worth hundreds of thousands."
Gu Jinshui only told the truth because they were friends.
Grandma Yan was overjoyed to hear how valuable it was. "That's wonderful! I'll keep it. I told you it was genuine; no one could lie to us!"
Yan Chengzhi and his family looked somewhat embarrassed.
Seeing the situation was not good, Liu Yulan quickly tried to smooth things over for her son, saying, "Mom, Chengzhi isn't lying to you; it's just that people tell him things aren't worth much."
"Yeah, I never expected that person to lie to me. I'll settle the score with him later!"
Yan Chengzhi's face showed anger, but his expression was as if he were truly wronged.
Grandma Yan didn't say much, only calmly stating, "I didn't blame Chengzhi, but sometimes, we old folks really don't need you younger generations to worry about our things. If we need anything, we'll naturally ask someone."
Yan Chengzhi's reputation was completely ruined.
Seeing his expression, Gu Yinxing felt incredibly relieved.
Whether this bastard genuinely doesn't know if the item is real or fake, or if he's trying to trick Grandma into giving him something good, we can't really say.
Anyway, after today's incident, if he dares to criticize the elders' belongings again, they'll have a reason to refuse him!
Grandma Yan carefully put the things away and even made a red envelope, insisting on giving it to Gu Jinshui.
Gu Jinshui refused several times but had no choice but to accept it.
Grandpa rarely showed such a kind expression, saying, "Your article is well written. There are too many people in this field who don't understand it. Your guidance is a great help to them."
Gu Jinshui laughed and said, "I didn't think that much about it. I was just after the hundred-plus yuan in royalties they offered."
Everyone laughed, knowing that Gu Jinshui was just joking.
He's a big boss, he can easily make several hundred yuan a day, why would he care about a little over a hundred yuan in royalties?
Coming out of the courtyard, Gu Yinxing patted Gu Jinshui on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up, "Brother, you really made us proud today."
"Don't just talk the talk, have you shown any signs?"
Gu Jinshui wasn't buying it at all. "And also, are you going to reimburse me for my travel expenses?"
"I'll reimburse you, Yin Xing will treat you to dinner." Yan Ren with a smile, "The whole family will go out to eat."
"Hey, can't you tell the difference between inside and outside?"
Gu Yinxing glared at Yan Ren.
Yan Ren said, "Wife, you're usually the one in charge, but today our brother helped me so much, so now he's the one in charge."
Gu Jinshui was amused.
It's true what they say, "One is influenced by one's company." After marrying his sister, Yan Ren's eloquence has clearly improved.
With his hands in his pockets, he said, "Fine, for what you said, I'll let you off easy today. Your sister-in-law isn't home, so we'll just have a simple meal."
"Did your sister-in-law go to oversee the business?"
Gu Yinxing asked, "Didn't you say business had decreased recently? Why are you still so busy?"
The market for those two dresses is actually quite small, since they are rather formal and suitable for formal occasions, not really appropriate for everyday wear.
Therefore, the number of orders these past few days is not as high as before.
Gu Jinshui, "No, it's just that there's some kind of exhibition in Xidan recently. I heard that anyone can do business there, so your sister-in-law and Shanhu's wife went to join in the fun."
"Oh, that trade show."
Gu Yinxing, a trendsetter, couldn't possibly be unaware of this. She said, "My colleague just bought a modular sofa set there yesterday, and it was a hundred yuan cheaper than in the store!"
Trade Fair, as the name suggests, is a venue for exhibiting and selling goods.
In the past, these kinds of exhibitions only sold one type of product, such as agricultural products, light industrial products, or clothing. But this exhibition is a diverse one, with all kinds of factories participating.
After entering the exhibition, Liang Ying and Lin Lu looked left and right, their four eyes unable to take it all in.
"Multi-speed bicycle, multi-speed bicycle, bicycle suitable for children..."
Women's blazers, women's blazers, all sizes available...
Upon hearing the word "suit jacket," Liang Ying and Lin Lu immediately went over to join in the fun.
The exhibition area was packed with people, and the staff inside were still shouting, "Don't push, don't push! Those who want to place orders, come here! We have stock!" (This work is provided online by SiTu. com)
Liang Ying and Lin Lu finally managed to squeeze in for a look.
On the rack in front of her hung suits with wide shoulder pads in various colors. Liang Ying could tell at a glance that the suit jackets were poorly made.
It's not that the factory's workmanship is bad; it's just that the foreign style they copied is wrong from the start. These padded-shoulder, wide-cut suits are completely unsuitable for China women's figures and actually make them look like children wearing adult clothes.
"Do you want to place an order? We won't approve orders for less than one hundred items!"
Seeing Liang Ying staring at him, the staff member impatiently urged her on.
Liang Ying was startled, "One hundred pieces?"
"Yes, we don't make spare parts here. If you want to buy individual parts, go somewhere else."
The staff member rolled his eyes and turned to greet the customer next to him. Just as Liang Ying was wondering what was going on, the customer placed an order for 300 items without saying a word and even took out a deposit of 500 yuan.
Liang Ying's eyes fell on the order, and she was completely shocked.
She glanced at the clothes on the rack opposite her, then pulled Lin Lu outside. After they came out, they found a quieter place to talk.
Liang Ying asked Lin Lu, "Lin Lu, did you see those suits? The style and color of those suits, why are so many people buying them?"
Lin Lu runs a clothing business, sourcing goods from Guangzhou and selling them in Beijing. Hearing this, she laughed, "Sister-in-law, you don't go out to buy clothes much, so you don't know, these kinds of suits are really popular right now. And business at these Trade Fair is usually pretty good; it's very common to get orders for hundreds of pieces."
Liang Ying asked in surprise, "These people... can they really resell these things after they buy them?"
"Don't worry about them, they really do sell their clothes," Lin Lu said. "Sometimes when I buy clothes from Guangzhou, I think some of them are really ugly, but strangely enough, people actually buy them. I've figured it out now, China people are getting richer, and everyone is waving their money around wanting to buy things."
That makes some sense.
Liang Ying thought about it carefully and realized that there had been a lot of changes in the past few years. Before, when she was a self-employed individual, she was too ashamed to show her face in public and was embarrassed to say what she did when she went out. Now, self-employed individuals are making a lot of money and they are all standing tall with their heads held high.
When Liang Ying first arrived, she was worried about how to find the next batch of orders for the factory. After all, the orders for those dresses were almost complete, and she needed to promote them, since those dresses weren't suitable for everyone.
But she suddenly realized that her thinking was too narrow-minded.
Perhaps because she was used to working in a factory, she never imagined that she would be able to advertise herself!
After Liang Ying understood this point, everything became clear. She grabbed Lin Lu and said, "Lin Lu, didn't you just bring in a batch of clothes from Guangzhou recently? Could you take me to see them?"
"Okay, I'll give you whatever you like later, sister-in-law."
Lin Lu said very generously.
Liang Ying smiled, not saying that she wasn't going there for her own clothes. She and Lin Lu went straight to Lin Lu's store, which was near Xidan. Lin Lu owned the store and wasn't afraid of being evicted by the landlord.
She asked her younger sister and cousin to help out and take care of the business.
When Liang Ying and Lin Lu arrived, the two girls were greeting the guests.
Lin Lu's younger sister was holding a pair of black leggings and talking to a girl. "Girl, take these pants home and try them on. Seriously, look at the pair I'm wearing, they're exactly the same. They make my legs look so long, even though I'm only 1.6 meters tall, they make me look like I'm 1.8 meters tall."
The girl laughed. "Sister, aren't you exaggerating a bit? These pants can't possibly be that powerful!"
Lin Lu's expression remained unchanged. "That's right, it's that good. I'm not bragging, but we've sold over a hundred pairs of these pants since yesterday. There are only a few left now. Do you want some? Come back tomorrow, or they'll be sold out."
The girl was tempted upon hearing this, and after inquiring about the price, she found it was only twenty-eight. Without hesitation, she paid the money.