Chapter 99
"Is that so? Let alone you, even we, we learned a makeup technique, did an actor's makeup today, and tomorrow someone else has copied it. There's no justice in that."
"Who says otherwise? Take us, for example. We used to go to Tiananmen to take photos for people and teach them how to pose. Before long, all our competitors started doing it and even started price wars against us."
The two photographers couldn't help but complain as well.
Upon hearing this, Sister Cai and the others realized that everyone had suffered this kind of injustice before.
For a moment, everyone felt a little better.
The makeup artist asked Liang Ying, "Ms. Liang, do you need any more help? If not, we can leave now, and you can just give us a hundred yuan."
Liang Ying said, "Why are you leaving? I need you here, but it's not just simple makeup."
She's not one to suffer in silence. If she were just following the trend, that would be one thing, but she had to come and piggyback on their customer traffic. If Liang Ying wouldn't use a hard approach, couldn't she try a softer one?
She called the makeup artists in, said a few words to them, and the makeup artists looked surprised.
"So, can you do it?" Liang Ying asked.
The makeup artist nodded. "That's no problem, we usually include styling in our makeup services. However, the pay will need to be increased."
"Of course." Liang Ying is now wealthy and doesn't care about such a small amount of money. Besides, if her method works again today, the orders she attracts will be enough to offset the expense.
It's past ten o'clock.
Lin Lianhua dragged Song Mei to the Trade Fair again. She saw many stalls with fashion shows, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.
Song Mei said with schadenfreude, "Sister-in-law, Liang Ying thinks she's so clever, but look at her now, she's just doing all the work for someone else. I doubt she'll come up with anything new today."
"I think so too." Lin Lianhua was quite envious of Liang Ying's numerous orders yesterday. She had secretly calculated that with so many orders, Liang Ying could earn several thousand yuan, while she herself only earned a few dozen yuan a month. After returning home, Lin Lianhua cursed Liang Ying several times, hoping that the bosses who placed the orders would quickly change their minds and take their money back.
The two women, sister-in-law and aunt, chatted and laughed, both waiting to see what would happen.
But when they got to Liang Ying's counter, they realized something was wrong.
The stall was surrounded by layers of people, and there were frequent shouts and commotion.
"These pants are really nice, why don't we stock up on some?"
"This woman is quite attractive when she dresses up. Look at her just now, and then look at her now, who would believe it's the same person?"
Lin Lianhua and the others hurriedly squeezed in, but the people around them were impatient, saying, "What are you pushing for!"
After finally squeezing their way up, they saw Liang Ying holding a Polaroid photo, facing the crowd. Next to her was Sister Guo, who had been skillfully made up by a makeup artist. "Look everyone," she said, "Our Body-Shaping Pants make anyone who wears them look beautiful. This lady just now looked so plain, but now when she walks out, everyone will think she's some Overseas Chinese or Taiwanese who has returned home."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Although Sister Guo was shy, she didn't speak, but clasped her hands in front of her, giving her a truly refined and gentle air.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the makeup artist had just finished applying makeup to Bai Fangfang, who had no makeup on, and styled her hair into a princess hairstyle with fluffy bangs and a small braid hanging down to her left ear. When she went inside and changed into a cashmere sweater and gym pants, many young men stared at her.
Bai Fangfang blushed and lowered her head.
"This is our Bai Fangfang. As you can see, Bai Fangfang was quite inconspicuous just now, but now, when she walks out, so many young men are staring at her. Young ladies, don't hesitate any longer, if you want to become more beautiful, hurry up and buy it!"
Liang Ying was pleasantly surprised by the results.
She secretly decided that she must give each of the makeup artists a large red envelope.
Actually, the costumes don't have that much of an effect. The real difference lies in the makeup and styling. The makeup artists usually do the makeup for the actresses, and their skills are so amazing that they can transform people into real people!
"Buy 100 items and get 8 free! Hurry and buy now!"
Lin Lu quickly called out in support.
In an instant, a crowd gathered around, shouting, "I want a hundred of them!!!"
Lin Lianhua and the other person almost pushed each other over.
The two stared in disbelief at the stall, which was now packed with people waving banknotes. Song Mei opened her mouth and exclaimed, "Are these people crazy? Are these pants really that good-looking?!"
The Trade Fair lasted only three days.
Liang Ying secured orders for over 10,000 pieces for the clothing company.
When she brought the money home, the loose change was scattered on the kang (a heated brick bed). He Chunlian came over to help count the money, and the more she counted, the more unbelievable it seemed.
She put down the money in her hand, licked her dry lips, and said, "Liang Ying, is all this money really a deposit?!"
"Mom, how could this be fake? Do you think I'd rob a bank?"
Liang Ying joked with a smile.
He Chunlian said, "This is much faster than robbing a bank, my goodness!"
She covered her forehead, leaned back against the wall, and said, "I thought Jin Shui was making money fast enough, but I didn't expect you to be even faster!"
Gu Yousi helped count the money, one yuan in one pile, one hundred yuan in another. She said slowly, "Grandma, isn't it good to have money at home?"
"Okay, of course it's good. I'm just a little shocked. Is it really possible to make money in business this fast these days?" He Chunlian shook her head. Her acting salary wasn't much; she might only get a few hundred yuan after filming a movie.
This amount of money is quite a lot compared to the average person.
But with two capable children at home, this little bit of money is just pocket money.
"It's all thanks to my smart wife; she came up with so many ideas!"
Gu Jinshui's mouth was as sweet as honey, his face full of smugness, "Look at other people's wives, can they have this ability?"
Liang Ying couldn't help but laugh, "Stop being so glib, hurry up and count the money, I still need to buy fabric tomorrow."
With so many orders, they also have a problem: they don't have enough manpower.
Liang Ying set a delivery deadline of one month; if the delivery couldn't be made within that time, there would be trouble.
Liang Ying considered that if all else failed, she could subcontract the orders or Guan Daya's garment factory for help.
Nobody wants to turn down money.
With his wife's income steadily increasing, Gu Jinshui was somewhat influenced by her success.
This morning, Gu Jinshui heard that some blue and white porcelain plates had appeared at the Jingsong Flea Market, and he immediately got the urge to buy them, so he quickly took a taxi there.
When we got there, we saw that it was also packed with people, many of whom had come to join in the fun.
Gu Jinshui then searched for the seller of blue and white porcelain plates, but there's a saying that goes, "If you plant flowers with care, they may not bloom; if you plant willows without intention, they may thrive."
He had originally intended to go for the blue and white porcelain plates, but instead he noticed several Black-Glazed Tea Bowls at a stall.
The Black-Glazed Tea Bowls shimmered with iridescent light, its gold patterns sparkling brilliantly in the sunlight, exuding a rustic and serene beauty.
The stall owner, hands in his pockets, squatted on the ground, listlessly looking around at people.
Several people were squatting around looking at the teacup, but none of them picked it up.
Some said it looked real, while others shook their heads and said nothing. In short, the implication was that anyone who believed it to be real was an idiot.
An old foreigner took a liking to the three Black-Glazed Tea Bowls, immediately became interested, squatted down, and asked, "What's the price?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Jinshui's heart leaped into his throat.
Everyone in Beijing knows that foreigners are famously wealthy and willing to spend money. If this foreigner buys these three Black-Glazed Tea Bowls, who knows how much it would cost to get them back?
But it would be even more inappropriate for me to just rush up and snatch the items from that foreigner. First, it would break the rule of first come, first served, and second, if the two of them started arguing, the stall owner would definitely raise the price. He might even discover that those teacups were counterfeit and then refuse to sell them, which would be quite a mess.
Gu Jinshui was feeling worried when he glanced around and suddenly spotted a group of people—old acquaintances, Song Jianshe and Guo Pu.
The group of people were huddled in front of an old man. On the newspaper in front of the old man were several blue and white porcelain plates, all of which were either injured or damaged.
Normally, Gu Jinshui would roll his eyes at the sight of this group, but seeing them now, Gu Jinshui felt that this might be an opportunity for him.
It's time to let these bastards serve the country. Gu Jinshui's eyes darted around, and without even saying hello, he squeezed through.
Just as Song Jianshe, who had been jostled, was about to curse, he turned his head and saw it was him. His face immediately darkened. "What, it's you?"
"I was wondering how I ended up seeing you all here."
Gu Jinshui deliberately raised his voice, "You'd better not be following me on purpose, knowing I want to buy a blue and white porcelain plate and trying to intercept me, right?"
Their loud noise drew the attention of the foreigner next to them, who had been examining Black-Glazed Tea Bowls.
He clearly understood Chinese, and his gaze involuntarily fell on the blue and white porcelain plate on the ground, a look of doubt appearing in his eyes.
Although these porcelain plates are blue and white, they are all damaged pieces with distorted and crooked shapes, looking like later imitations. Why would this group of people argue over something so obviously fake?
Chapter 96 The Ninety-Sixth Day of Being Eavesdropped On
"Stop making baseless accusations. We were here first this time."
Song Jianshe and the others had been Gu Jinshui several times, and they were all furious whenever they saw Gu Jinshui.
Gu Jinshui, "Alright, if you don't try to take these plates from me this time, I'll trust you."
Just as Song Jianshe was about to make a sarcastic remark, he realized that these plates were all a bit too flashy; they were just there to watch the show, who would actually buy them?
Guo Pu grabbed his hand, gave him a look, then looked at Gu Jinshui with a shrewd smile, "Boss Gu, that's not right. We were here first, and we were the ones who took a liking to those plates first."
People around couldn't help but look over.
The stall owner had been in Beijing for several days, but business had been slow. Nowadays, the antique market is full of high-quality, genuine items, and ordinary people don't bother with these flawed or uncertain pieces.
But who would have thought that someone would actually start arguing about his things this morning?
The stall owner, being a bit cunning, quickly replied, "Yes, you arrived first, but you didn't say you wanted to buy anything, and the item isn't in your possession. We didn't negotiate the price; it's the highest bidder who gets it."
He gestured with his chin towards Gu Jinshui, a smile spreading across his dark, wrinkled face as he rubbed his hands together. "Brother, what price are you planning to offer for these plates?"
"Well, I have three plates and a bottle here. How about I pay eighty yuan to buy them all?"
Gu Jinshui stroked his chin and said hesitantly.
His eyes fell on the most exquisite blue-and-white vase with Three Kingdoms scenes, his gaze quite intense.
Guo Pu was very shrewd; he had been observing Gu Jinshui's expression. Seeing Gu Jinshui's appearance, he wondered to himself, "Could it be that we really misjudged them? Could these people actually be good quality?"
Without thinking twice, he quickly raised his hand and said, "We'll put up a hundred!"
"Hey, are you guys doing this on purpose?!"
Gu Jinshui's face darkened, his expression turning grim. He clenched his fists, his nostrils flaring. "I really won't buy it, and neither will you. If I do buy it, you'll all cause trouble."
"Gu Xian, isn't it because we trust your judgment?"
Guo Pu leaned back, gave Gu Jinshui a thumbs-up, and said, "You're someone important in our circle. Anything you like must be good. We can't help but benefit from your influence."
These words are so brazen, they reek of shamelessness and scoundrelism.
Gu Jinshui frowned, veins bulging on his neck. "I'll offer two hundred. You try and match it if you dare!"
"Hey, then we won't stand on ceremony, we'll offer four hundred!"
Guo Pu had been fooled by the plum vase earlier and was ridiculed quite a bit. He had been looking for an opportunity to get revenge. How could he miss such an opportunity today? He was willing to suffer a loss, even if it was several thousand yuan, as long as he could snatch something from Gu Jinshui.
Besides, this might not even be a loss for them.
The two men started bidding against each other, attracting a large crowd of onlookers.
The foreigner was also drawn to the commotion. Suspecting he might be mistaken, he quickly came over, squeezed into the crowd, and looked at the plates and vases on the ground.