Chapter 665: Selling a Concept First
Deng Sisi was unwilling to give up and continued, "Uncle Xiao, I heard that you are very knowledgeable about art. I have also been learning oil painting recently. I wonder if I can have a chance to ask you for advice?"
There was a hint of flattery in her tone, but her eyes glanced at me intentionally or unintentionally, as if she was showing off her "talent".
I couldn't help but stroke my forehead. Ignorance is really fearless. As an art student, I don't even dare to ask my future father-in-law about art. But she was so familiar when we met for the first time. Who gave her the courage?
But how did she know that Xiao Zhengning was interested in art? I only happened to hear Xiao Shiqiu mention that his father liked art, but I definitely never mentioned this to my family.
My dad was a little displeased when he heard Deng Sisi's words. Just as he was about to speak, Xiao Shiqiu answered her first: "Miss Deng, my father is here today to discuss Mengmeng and my marriage. I'm afraid he doesn't have time to discuss art with you. Besides—" He paused, his eyes lightly sweeping over Deng Sisi, "Art is something that relies on talent and accumulation. It's not something you can just learn for a few days and show off. As a beginner, you should focus on the basics first."
Deng Sisi joined the art club after entering college, but her foundation was too poor, so she signed up for a sketching class. I mentioned this to Xiao Shiqiu when we were chatting.
Deng Sisi didn't expect him to know, and her face turned ugly in an instant. She opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but Xiao Shiqiu had already turned around and took my hand, his tone doting, as if he had changed into a different person: "Mengmeng, I came in a hurry last time, today you have to take out all your old paintings for me to appreciate."
"Okay~" I looked at him with curved eyes. He was really good at stepping on one and praising another. This guy really had no bottom line in order to make me happy.
Following him into the house, I caught a glimpse of Deng Sisi standing there, her face turning pale and blue, her fingers tightly clenched around the corner of her clothes, obviously choked by Xiao Shiqiu's words.
I feel secretly happy in my heart. You can be seen everywhere, how can I not choke you to death?
Xiao Zhengning seemed oblivious to this scene, but Xiao Shiru glanced at Deng Sisi with a half-smile and whispered to me, "Your cousin is quite interesting."
After entering the room, the six of us plus Xiao Zhengning's personal assistant sat in a circle around the coffee table. Deng Sisi stood awkwardly at the side, not knowing where to sit.
In fact, the long sofa in the middle could seat four people, and the sofas on both sides could seat two people on each side, but Xiao Zhengning was sitting in the middle of the sofa, with his daughter and assistant on both sides. It was impossible for Deng Sisi to sit with them.
Mrs. He also came out to join in the fun, but she still had a strong sense of boundaries. She quietly moved a stool and sat in the corner of the living room. She was also kind enough to prepare one for Deng Sisi and quietly asked her to sit over there.
Deng Sisi's face turned green, but it was not a good idea for her to just stand there. She wanted to hear what we had to say and was reluctant to go upstairs, so she had to sit with Mrs. He in a wronged manner.
Ten bodyguards from the Xiao family filed in, each holding an exquisite gift box, which they placed neatly in the center of the living room. Each gift box had a gold-plated seal of the Xiao family in seal script on top. For a wealthy family, even the gift boxes were custom-made.
I leaned over to Xiao Shiqiu's ear and whispered, "Your family is quite wasteful of manpower. It's okay if one person can just carry a box, but why does he have to carry a piece of paper by himself?"
He also imitated me whispering in my ear: "Originally, four cars were enough, but my dad said four wasn't a good number before we set off, so he added two cars at the last minute. More cars means more people, and more people mean more work, so the work we have is a bit diluted."
Xiao Zhengning's personal assistant took a gold-stamped gift list from a bodyguard and handed it to my father with both hands. His tone was respectful but not servile. "Mr. Xia, this is the betrothal gift list prepared by the Xiao family. Please take a look."
My dad took the gift list, his smile almost overflowing, and quickly asked everyone to sit down: "You are so polite, my in-laws. Please take a seat, please take a seat!" As he spoke, he couldn't wait to open the gift list. His eyes widened instantly, and his voice trembled: "This...this is too expensive!"
Seeing my dad's naive look, I couldn't help but move over to take a look. Well, after taking a look, I felt that I was actually quite naive too.
The gift list included a porcelain vase, a Burmese jade Guanyin, a South Sea gold bead necklace, a snuff bottle used by an unknown emperor, and the deed to a penthouse duplex in downtown City A. I don't know how much these are worth, but judging by my dad's expression, any one of them should be enough to last a lifetime.
Xiao Zhengning sat in the main seat, his expression nonchalant, as if these were just ordinary items. He picked up the teacup, blew gently on the tea foam, and said calmly, "Don't be polite, in-laws. Since Mengmeng is marrying into our Xiao family, we will naturally not treat her unfairly. The house title deed is already in Mengmeng's name. These are all gifts for the child."
My mother sat nearby. Although she maintained a calm and composed expression, a hint of surprise flickered in her eyes. She said calmly, "Mr. Xiao is too extravagant. If this is the case, the dowry we prepare for our child will be too shabby."
Xiao Shiru smiled slightly and took over the conversation: "Aunt in law, you're joking. No matter how much dowry your family prepares for Mengmeng, it's the intention of you as parents. Similarly, the betrothal gift my family prepares for her is also my family's intention. It doesn't matter how much it is. We'll be family from now on, so there's no need to compare, right?"
As she spoke, she looked at Xiao Shiqiu and me tenderly, with a hint of teasing in her tone, "My brother loves Mengmeng like the apple of his eye. He won't agree if I give him less."
Xiao Shiqiu held my hand, his lips curled up slightly: "Since she is marrying me, of course I want to ensure that she has a worry-free life. I want to give her the best things in the world."
Hearing his son say this, Xiao Zhengning's calm expression finally broke. He sighed and said with a smile, "I don't know about other things, but you must have plundered a lot of good things from me to please your wife."
Xiao Shiru comforted him: "Dad, stop complaining. Xiaoqiu gave the bottle that grandpa liked most to his wife."
I whispered to him, "What bottle?"
"This is a Ming Chenghua blue and white plum vase. My grandfather has collected it as a treasure for decades. I traded it with him for his great-grandson." He said seriously.
"So you sold the child before he even started living? Do you think he's a pre-sale property? You started selling it before there was even a chance of success." I was shocked at his shamelessness. He could actually deceive the elderly in this way.
"Off-plan properties? That's not quite right. Off-plan properties can only be sold if the investment reaches 25% or more. We call this a concept stock. Let's sell the concept first."
He seemed very professional when he was making excuses.
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