Browsing a car dealership-time for a new car
But a brand like Porsche still held its sales staff to high professional standards, so a salesperson politely came over to greet Chi Qing. "Hello, ma'am. Welcome to Porsche. What kind of car would you like to see?"
"I don't know much about cars. Could you walk me through them?" Chi Qing really knew very little about cars. She had originally planned to search online today and narrow it down to a few options, but the unexpected public reprimand had disrupted her plans, leaving her to rush over as a complete newbie.
"Of course, ma'am. This way, please," the pretty saleswoman said, distant yet polite. Under her guidance, Chi Qing then looked at several Porsche models: the 911, the Panamera... The different models left her head spinning, and the sports cars' flashy, flamboyant looks also struck her as a little too conspicuous.
"Ma'am, over here is our SUV range. This is the Macan, one of our brand's more affordable models," the saleswoman made a point of explaining as they stopped in front of a royal-blue SUV. "Oh, okay. This one is quite nice," Chi Qing said.
After spending so long introducing the cars and seeing Chi Qing remain unhurried throughout, the saleswoman thought to herself, Another waste of effort, just as I thought. Hurry up and look. Once you've broadened your horizons, get going. Luckily, it's a weekday, so there aren't that many customers. And that mask she's wearing-she's probably afraid of feeling embarrassed.
"What's that one? It looks a lot like this one." Suddenly, Chi Qing caught sight of an SUV nearby that resembled the Macan but looked more upscale and refined. "That is our dealership's most classic luxury SUV, the Cayenne," the saleswoman said, placing particular emphasis on "luxury."
"Oh, the Cayenne. I know that one. So this is a Cayenne." Chi Qing had finally heard a model she recognized. For that familiarity, she had her company's gossipy real estate salespeople to thank. A homeowner had previously driven a Cayenne when he came to buy a property. More importantly, he was tall, handsome, and single, and everyone jokingly called him Brother Ka.
"I'll take this one, then. How much is it? Can I pick it up right away?" Chi Qing asked. At her string of questions, the pretty saleswoman was rolling her eyes sky-high on the inside. Lady, you'll 'take this one'? Do you even know how much it costs? And you want to pick it up right away! That question alone tells me you've never bought a luxury car.
Though that was what she thought, none of it showed on her face. Still smiling, the pretty saleswoman replied, "Ma'am, this model comes in different configurations, so the price depends on the options you select. It ranges from 950,000 to 2.5 million yuan, with taxes and other fees added to the on-the-road price. Our cars all have to be imported fully built from overseas, so you'll need to place an order and wait at least around six months." Her words were like a polite, roundabout way of telling Chi Qing: You clueless country bumpkin, you don't know anything. Stop wasting my time!!
But people were strange that way. If Chi Qing had no money in her pocket, she certainly would not have dared come in to begin with. Even if she had, having her ignorance exposed like this would surely have left her face burning red with shame.
But now Chi Qing had money in her pocket, and she would have even more tomorrow. That money seemed to have thickened her skin and made her mentally stronger, too. She felt neither embarrassed nor flustered. Instead, she laughed at herself. "Oh dear, it's my first time in a luxury car dealership. I really don't know a thing."
Her self-deprecating remark actually brought her closer to the pretty saleswoman, who instantly dropped some of her affected distance and said, "It's all right. I didn't know either when I first started working here. I was surprised too when I heard you had to wait six months to pick up a car."