After a few pleasantries, Mrs. Susan brought Ruan Mianmian to a blond and blue-eyed man wearing a smoky gray suit.
"My dear, this is the Ruan I mentioned to you. The hairpin on my head is the one she gave me?" She turned her head half a circle and showed the red sandalwood hairpin lying across her bun, motioning her husband to look at it.
Compared to Mrs. Susan's enthusiasm, her husband seems much more stable.
He extended his hand in a very businesslike manner and said in a formal and distant manner, "Hello, I'm Alan Adams. Nice to meet you."
Qin Zheng held his outstretched hand and put away the casualness he had shown to Madam Susan, "Hello, I'm Qin Zheng."
As they are both men and superiors in their respective fields, Qin Zheng naturally saw through Alan Adams' attitude.
He didn't mind. Because if it were him, he would also be on guard if an unfamiliar person got close to his wife. This was normal.
Qin Zheng's fluent English and sophisticated pronunciation shocked Alan Adams.
I originally thought he was just a nobody in China, who somehow got to know his wife. He wanted to achieve some purpose through this relationship. Unexpectedly, it turned out not to be the case.
In China today, no small person can speak English so fluently. It's either because of family connections or political connections that he can get.
No matter which one it is, it should not be underestimated.
Since coming to China, this was the first time he met someone who could speak English like a native speaker. He hadn't heard such authentic English for a long time. Even his Chinese colleagues' English pronunciation was mixed with some Chinese accents.
Ruan Mianmian also spoke at the right time, "Hello, Mr. Adams, I am Ruan Mianmian."
In recent days, when she was alone at night, Ruan Mianmian was intensively studying her spoken English. It was because of her hard work that her accent changed in just a few days. She had corrected her previous Chinese English accent.
Although it sounds like he is still not as good as Qin Zheng, he is much better than most Chinese people.
"Thank you for coming to my wife's birthday party." Alan Adams turned his attention away from Qin Zheng.
He looked at Ruan Mianmian. Although they had just met for the first time and he still had some doubts about her, he still had to be polite. Allen Adams had always done a good job in this regard.
"We should thank Madam Susan for the invitation." Ruan Mianmian didn't care about Alan Adams' attitude and handed over the gift she had prepared.
Mrs. Susan's eyes were full of anticipation. This antique box was something she would like at first glance. She even liked the box, so she was even more looking forward to what was inside. "Ruan, can I open it and take a look now?!"
Different from the reserved and introverted Chinese people, in the eyes of foreigners, opening a gift in front of the gift giver is a very normal thing.
Perhaps because this place is China, Mrs. Susan asked one more question.
"Of course." Ruan Mianmian didn't think her gift was not good enough. She also knew that this was their cultural tradition.
"Thank you, Ruan." Mrs. Susan opened the wooden box with lotus flowers and lotus leaves carved on it that Ruan Mianmian had given her with the help of her husband.
"Ruan, what is this?" Mrs. Susan took the bronze mirror out of the box.
The bronze mirror with auspicious animal and grape patterns lay quietly in Mrs. Susan's hand. At that moment, it seemed as if time had stopped.
"This is so beautiful!" Mrs. Susan was attracted by the pattern on the back of the bronze mirror. She had never seen anything like it before.
"This is called a bronze mirror. It is a mirror made of bronze and was used by ancient Chinese women when they were dressing up. The pattern on the back is called auspicious beasts and grapes. Auspicious beasts represent good luck in Chinese culture, while grapes represent many children and good fortune. These are the best expectations of Chinese people for life." Ruan Mianmian explained very carefully. She knew that Mrs. Susan liked to hear these.
"Moreover, this mirror has two other meanings in China."
Mrs. Susan immediately became interested and asked, "What are the two meanings?"
"In ancient times, many Chinese people would place mirrors and vases in the main hall of their homes, which symbolizes peace. This is a state of life that Chinese people pursue and like. I believe that Mrs. Susan's home is not short of vases, so I chose to give you a bronze mirror."
Mrs. Susan really liked this explanation, and she looked at her husband standing beside her. They both liked Chinese culture, otherwise they would not be together, let alone come to China together.
Sure enough, after listening to it, Alan Adams also showed the first smile that Ruan Mianmian had ever seen to this mirror that didn't look shiny.
"What about the other meaning?" Lady Susan instinctively felt that she would like this meaning better.
"I wonder if Mrs. Susan has ever heard of this saying: A woman dresses up to please herself." Ruan Mianmian said the last sentence in Chinese, and spoke it very slowly.
Mrs. Susan took a long time to react, but still shook her head. She didn't understand.
It felt like she had heard every word, but when they were put together, she had no idea what they meant.
Ruan Mianmian quickly explained, "This sentence means that women should dress up to make themselves happy. This mirror is a tool needed for dressing up. I hope Mrs. Susan will always be beautiful, but not for others, but for herself."
Qin Zheng, who had been standing next to her, almost couldn't hold back his expression after hearing Ruan Mianmian's explanation.
Is this what this sentence means?!
But if you think about it carefully, there seems to be nothing wrong with saying this.
"Wow, it's really great! I love the idea!" Mrs. Susan was very happy. She liked the gift very much. After hearing these stories, she liked it even more.
"Is this an antique?" She felt that something so beautifully crafted and full of meaning must be an antique.
"No, it's not an antique." Ruan Mianmian shook her head. "This is a replica made exactly like an antique. Antiques are only suitable to be in museums so that everyone can see their beauty."
"Only replicas like this can be owned and played with privately. However, such well-made replicas are rare. Except for the lack of time accumulation, they are no worse than antiques in other aspects. In fact, they are better."
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