When visiting someone, bringing a gift is, of course, essential.
Naturally, Su Ning didn't have to worry about such trivial matters. Sure enough, by the time she got into the car, the trunk was already packed to the brim with all sorts of gifts.
"What do we have?"
She asked casually, and immediately heard the fluent reply from Lin Sen in the passenger seat:
"For a first-time visit among high-society families in Peiping, it's customary to bring twelve or eighteen gifts, and at most thirty-six. Since the Jin family and you, Miss, are related by marriage, it wouldn't be appropriate to seem too distant. So, I took the liberty of selecting eighteen gifts..."
He paused for a moment. Seeing that Su Ning didn't seem displeased, he felt a wave of relief and went on to list the gifts.
There were precious medicinal herbs like ginseng, deer antler, and lingzhi mushrooms, as well as gold-inlaid jade brooches and jadeite bracelets for the ladies, along with imported scented powders, perfumes, and cosmetics.
These were the main items, chosen for their rarity and value.
There were also things like a box of candies from Guanshengyuan in Shanghai, traditional Beijing pastries, and foreign tin toys—items that weren't extremely expensive but were thoughtful and intimate.
Listening to him, Su Ning felt that everything was perfectly comprehensive. From the elderly to the children to the women of the household, there was a suitable gift for everyone. Even if the recipients weren't lacking in anything, they would still feel warmed by the gesture.
"You never make a mistake when you handle things..."
It felt so good. As long as you had money, you didn't need to worry about anything yourself.
Of course, you first needed a capable assistant like Lin Sen, who was both highly tactful and energetic.
Su Ning thought for a moment and looked up.
In the rearview mirror, Lin Sen had his eyes lowered, attentively waiting for her instructions. The winter sunlight streamed through the car window onto the side of his face, making him look even more modest and gentle.
He really was a delight to look at, very easy on the eyes.
Her gaze was completely undisguised—there was no need to hide anything anyway.
Lin Sen naturally felt it too.
His palms began to sweat slightly, and his heart pounded like a drum. He couldn't help but wonder if he had made a mistake or if it was something else...
"Suits and leather shoes suit you very well, but off-the-rack ones are never as good as those custom-made by a master tailor. They don't quite bring out the aura of my head steward."
The smiling female voice rang out.
Even though it was technically a "criticism," Lin Sen instantly caught the two most important words: "head steward." A wave of joy washed over his entire body. He tried hard not to look so happy, but he was powerless to stop it.
He couldn't be blamed.
Previously, with Su Ning's tacit approval, he had fought openly and secretly to become the most valued person under her command, handling many affairs.
He was practically the default steward.
But without an official title, his position felt precarious.
Someone could pop up at any time and take his place.
Not to mention, Miss Su had such large properties abroad and naturally would have had managers and assistants there.
They would be more trusted than him, and certainly more experienced.
So, whenever Lin Sen felt anxious at night, he felt like a palace maid who had been favored by the emperor—favored, yes, but without a formal title, he couldn't find peace of mind.
Now, he finally had his "title"!
He immediately spoke up: "Custom-made suits take time. After I get off work today, I'll go find a master tailor to rush an order. I absolutely won't cause you to lose face."
"No need," Su Ning's face broke into a smile. "With your meager salary, if you order two suits, you'll probably be stuck eating nothing but steamed buns for the rest of the month."
Lin Sen opened his mouth.
He wanted to say that his salary was actually quite high, and getting a custom suit from a master tailor wasn't that expensive.
But the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back down.
For someone born into wealth like Miss Su, his salary was probably a drop in the bucket, so naturally, it was considered "low."
A moment later, he was glad he hadn't spoken—
"Let's double your monthly salary first. Put all your clothing expenses on my account. Besides clothes and shoes, let me think... watches, brooches, and cufflinks are also essential."
Su Ning thought seriously.
No matter how small the mosquito's leg, it's still meat; spending a little extra was still spending.
She failed to notice that the seemingly focused driver in the front seat was getting a strange look in his eyes. He couldn't help but glance at Lin Sen, looking at him as if he were some "little demon" bewitching the monarch's heart.
Lin Sen: ...
"Isn't this... a bit too expensive?" His tone was strained, yet carried a hint of wavering.
"Just a few little trinkets, what's so expensive about that?" Su Ning didn't care at all, unaware that her attitude caused the minds of the two men in the front seat to reel even more violently.
As she spoke, she thought of another good way to spend money and said very cheerfully:
"Handling the funeral these past few days has been exhausting for Uncle and the others. Tell all the silver shops, jewelry stores, and tailor shops to send over a catalog every ten days from now on. Have them set aside any good items first and put it all on my tab."
"When I have time, I'll pick out some things to give them."
At that time, silver shops and the like did indeed offer this kind of service to wealthy clients.
However, Su Ning's request was simply too domineering.
It meant that any good item in Peiping had to pass through her hands first.
Only when she didn't want it.
Could others buy it.
Lin Sen completely forgot his personal feelings and quickly, yet tactfully, expressed that this might cause public outrage among the powerful and wealthy, hoping Su Ning would reconsider carefully.
"I see..." Su Ning quickly understood.
Her power and prestige weren't that great yet; they didn't match such arrogant dominance.
Overstepping her bounds rashly would lead to repercussions.
"Then let's change it to sending a catalog once a month," she said, resting her chin on her hand, her tone carrying a hint of disdain:
"If they haven't bought it after such a long time, it just means they really can't afford it. They can't blame me for having money and being able to afford it, right?"
Then the one losing face would be them.
...
With that topic concluded, the car returned to silence.
Su Ning felt her hands itching. She desperately needed something rectangular, with a glass screen, that she could hold in her hand. Fine, she wanted to play on her phone.
As the saying goes, warmth and a full belly breed lustful thoughts.
For her, warmth and a full belly bred thoughts of her phone.
Back in the modern world, between slacking off at work and relaxing after hours, she could play on her phone for thirteen hours a day.
Even in the car was no exception—hehe, she didn't get carsick playing on her phone.
Su Ning felt it was such a pity. When she had a phone, she often had to leave it alone in an empty room to earn a meager living. Now that she had money and time, she had lost her beloved phone.
Wasn't this a kind of tragic romance?
Suddenly, she realized that even the oldest keypad phones wouldn't be invented for another few decades.
If she didn't complete her mission and was stuck in the Republican era...
If she managed to live until phones were invented, she would only be able to swipe the screen with trembling fingers and a head full of white hair. Maybe she'd even make it onto a trending search—
"Trendy Centenarian Grandma Can't Put Down Her Phone."
She was amused by her own imagination and once again firmed her resolve.
Even if just for the sake of a smartphone, she absolutely had to complete her mission and return to the modern world!
At that moment, Su Ning noticed light snow beginning to fall outside.
The snowflakes drifted down in a flurry, landing on the vendors' stalls and the collars and shoulders of pedestrians.
But no one paid any mind to the light snow.
The merchants continued their business, and the shoppers continued to haggle. The bustling noise remained, revealing the vibrant, everyday life of the Republican era everywhere.
The common people had their own unspoken understandings and wisdom.
Because it was crowded here, people weren't very quick to make way for the car. With Su Ning in the back, the driver didn't dare speed up rashly for fear of causing an accident.
The car slowed down.
Su Ning saw a group of people walking by outside. Among them was a woman wearing a brand-new padded jacket, with the character for "mourning" conspicuously displayed on her collar. A companion teased her:
"Aunt Zhu sure works fast! You just got your hands on that fabric, and you are already wearing the new clothes. Did you make any for your man and the kids?"
"Bah! Ever since I married into their family, I haven't had a single new piece of clothing. I fought for this fabric with my own two hands, so why shouldn't I make something for myself first?"
"As for them, they can just wait!"
This Aunt Zhu was clearly a feisty woman. She smugly tugged at the padded jacket she was wearing:
"Look at this, the fabric is so fine. If you were to buy it, it would cost at least one silver dollar a bolt! In this whole alley, besides Crippled Liu's family, no one had better luck than me."
"Yes, yes, you have great luck."
Her companion brushed it off, not wanting to let her continue showing off, and changed the subject:
"Speaking of which, we all have to thank Miss Su. If it weren't for her generosity, how would we have free clothes to wear? She even saved quite a few lives. Take that Crippled Liu, for example."
"His family was completely destitute. Their winter clothes were stuck in the pawnshop and they couldn't afford to get them back. They were on the verge of freezing to death."
"Who knew he would be so lucky to receive the most valuable fabric! Even though it had the character for mourning on it and couldn't be pawned for its original price, he sold it at a discount and still got six silver dollars for it!"
"Besides getting his winter clothes back, I even saw him buying meat the day before yesterday."
The companion's tone was so sour you could squeeze juice out of it, but it struck a chord with everyone. The group started talking over each other, criticizing Crippled Liu's extravagance—
It wasn't the New Year or a holiday, so what business did he have eating meat!
They were too engrossed in their gossiping to notice.
A car brushed past them as it sped down the street.
Sitting inside was the very Miss Su who had brought about Crippled Liu's extravagance.
