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墨書 Inktalez
Elder Zhang eagerly awaited the arrival of his beloved Grandson, Sheng Qingxi. He had come alone; his father, mother, and older brother had arrived earlier to help the Zhang Family entertain guests. Upon entering, Sheng Qingxi did not take the time to greet his father but immediately called over two tall helpers to assist him in bringing in his belongings.
"Xi, why did you arrive so late?" Lady Zhang asked, her face lighting up with joy at the sight of her Grandson. Although Elder Zhang complained, his tone sounded more like a playful pout than actual annoyance.
"It's all because of this troublesome item!" Sheng Qingxi replied cheerfully as he paid his respects to the elderly lady and bowed to the other older gentlemen present.
"This must be a birthday gift for your grandmother, right? What is such a large item?" Old Wang asked curiously.
Lady Zhang quickly instructed someone to unwrap the outer packaging while complaining, "Why did you spend so much money on this? A gift this big must have cost a fortune!"
"I didn't spend much! And it's definitely worth every penny! You'll see once you look at it!" Sheng Qingxi realized he had made a good deal; just the folding screen meant for his grandmother was worth the total amount he had paid, not to mention there was another set of screens and three decorative pieces.
"What exactly is it? Hurry up and reveal it!" Elder Zhang urged impatiently, prompting the helpers to speed up the unwrapping process. Soon, the full view of the folding screen appeared before everyone.
"A folding screen? And it's double-sided embroidery! Not bad; your grandmother will surely love this gift!" Elder Zhang said with satisfaction as all the older gentlemen and ladies were captivated by the exquisite screen.
"Yes, this gift is truly what I wanted most!" Lady Zhang smiled. She had already left her seat and approached the screen, running her fingers over its beautiful patterns with deep emotion. Coming from a prestigious family, she had once owned a similar folding screen in her home, but it had been destroyed in wartime. She never expected her Grandson to remember her regret all these years. "What a good child!"
With nostalgia, Lady Zhang's eyes began to redden.
"Grandma, today is your special day; you can't cry!" Sheng Qingxi said, surprised that his gift had brought tears to her eyes. He quickly tried to charm her into laughter.
"Hey, I've never seen this stitching technique before; it's actually a lost art. Xi, which master embroidered this screen?" Old Jiang's wife was a renowned expert in Su Embroidery and a national treasure. Unlike others, she focused on the stitching techniques and color density of the embroidered handkerchiefs. The elderly lady was astonished by the incredible level of detail in this embroidered handkerchief; its quality surpassed her own work. She was thrilled!
"Uh—" Sheng Qingxi stepped back in fright at her intense gaze. "I bought it online; it wasn't made by any master."
"Impossible! It must be by a master!" Mrs. Tian insisted. "There are indeed masters among common folk; that's a truth. Xi, can you help me contact the seller? I want to meet the master who embroidered this!"
"Um... alright, I'll contact them as soon as I get home," Sheng Qingxi quickly replied. He hadn't expected gentle and refined Grandma Tian to have such a passionate side.
"Good, good!" Mrs. Tian was half satisfied. "By the way, do you still have this Embroidered Handkerchief? Please give it to Grandma Tian; I'll study it slowly when I get home!"
Faced with the elderly woman's eager gaze, Sheng Qingxi dared not refuse: "I still have a set of folding screens and three ornaments."
"I'll take them all. Old Jiang, hurry up and write a check!"
"Wait a minute!" Old Wang shouted. "Old Tian, everyone should get a share. I really like that Embroidered Handkerchief too; can you give me one? I won't fight you for the folding screens; I just want one ornament!"
"I want one ornament too!"
"I…"
Under the pressure of the crowd, Mrs. Tian finally agreed to give up the other three ornaments. The elderly people who didn't get the Embroidered Handkerchief complained that Sheng Qingxi should have bought more, and he wiped his sweat as he hurried to find his Uncle for paper and a pen to write down Bai Tang's Online Store address to share with the elderly. They might not be able to go online, but they all had children and grandchildren who could help them make purchases.
Sheng Qingxi loaded the other set of folding screens and ornaments into the back of his car, planning to take them home to give one ornament each to his parents, older brother, and sister's family, while keeping the folding screen in his own room. Unexpectedly, they were all taken by the elders. He couldn't complain about it either—what a crying shame!
"Xi, how much is it?" Old Jiang pulled out his checkbook.
"No need for that, Grandpa Jiang; consider it a gift from me to you all. Don't pay me," Sheng Qingxi waved his hands repeatedly.
"How can that be? As elders, we can't just take your things!" Old Jiang frowned. "Even though your Grandpa Jiang's family isn't as wealthy as yours, we can still come up with hundreds of thousands."
"Grandpa Jiang, it's really not that much!" Sheng Qingxi looked helplessly at his own grandfather.
"Old Jiang, what do you need money for? This is something Xi is giving you out of respect; just accept it. Quickly put away your checkbook; don't embarrass yourself by holding onto it," Elder Zhang said, even though his words were not very pleasant. Fortunately, everyone knew Elder Zhang had a sharp tongue and wouldn't hold it against him.
Old Jiang rolled his eyes and put away his checkbook. "Xi, at least tell me how much the folding screen costs!"
"The folding screen is 1.2 million, and the ornaments are 500 thousand each," Sheng Qingxi replied.
The elderly people collectively gasped, "So cheap?"
"Hey, you didn't miss a zero, did you?" Old Wang asked.
"No! That's the price—two sets of screens and three ornaments for a total of three million nine hundred thousand. Because I'm the first customer, the boss even gave me a discount of one hundred thousand!"
"Oh, is this boss a spendthrift or just ignorant of the market prices for wood and embroidery? The wood used for the screens is Yew Rosewood, and the wood for the ornaments is Agarwood. Just the wood alone exceeds the price of the finished products, not to mention the exquisite embroidery inside! Really, really..." Old Wang couldn't find the words to describe the boss who sold such items, and they were right; Bai Tang truly didn't know the market prices for wood and embroidery. These items came too easily to her, and she even felt like she had made a profit!
Sheng Qingxi scratched his head, also feeling that he had taken advantage of Bai Tang, and decided to contact the boss online to give her a heads-up.
Next, the birthday banquet officially began. Sheng Qingxi gave up his seat next to the birthday star and the old man to Uncle and his uncle, retreating to sit beside his parents.
"You've found some good stuff. Tomorrow I'll transfer some money to your account; help me order two screens and ten ornaments," Zhang Jingyu whispered in her son's ear.
"Mom, why do you need so many ornaments?"
"Of course to give as gifts!" Zhang Jingyu rolled her eyes at her son. "The screens don't need to be modular; just get that kind with a large embroidered picture!"
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