Chapter 209 The Wedding Rings
She decided to buy a pair of wedding rings.
There weren't many styles of gold rings available, so the two sisters discussed it for a long time before finally choosing a pair of gold rings, with "N&G" and "G&N" engraved on the inner bands respectively.
Active duty military officers are not allowed to wear jewelry; she bought it as a souvenir.
As they were paying, Zhou Anping nudged her arm: "You're so good to Fifth Brother. This gift is quite stylish! I need to save up some money to buy one for Qingshan for our first wedding anniversary. I'll even have 'Zhou Mengshi' engraved on it to piss him off!"
Nan Zhiyi poked her in the waist: "You two seem pretty close... Actually, I saw you two acting awkwardly once."
“Hey! He used to complain that I always stayed at the performing arts troupe and never went home. I told him I was busy with performances…” Zhou Anping said with a smile. “I coaxed him a bit, and now he’s volunteered to be the liaison for my troupe’s performance tours. Well, now he follows me wherever I go!”
Nan Zhiyi thought to herself, "This Meng Qingshan is really quite good; at least he can find ways to solve problems when they arise..."
She asked, "New Year's Day is coming soon, and then there's the Lunar New Year. I bet you two will be incredibly busy."
"It should be alright, the team will arrange for people to take turns resting."
Zhou Anping didn't talk much about work, only asking, "What else do you need to buy?"
"I want to go to the Friendship Store to buy a watch for Fifth Brother. His watch is a long time old."
In particular, he had already bought Nan Zhiyi a new watch, but he had never been willing to buy a new one for himself.
Zhou Anping clicked his tongue in astonishment. "Watches at the Friendship Store are very expensive, and you even need foreign exchange certificates for them? You…"
Nan Zhiyi was well-prepared when she came out, bringing a lot of money and notes with her. A few days ago, she also asked editor Lin Yuan to exchange them for enough foreign exchange certificates.
"I got someone to help me get it changed."
Zhou Anping took Nan Zhiyi's arm and said with a grin, "Come on, thanks to you today, I can go to the foreign exchange shop and broaden my horizons."
Nan Zhiyi spat at her, "Fine, I'll teach you a lesson today."
The Friendship Store is about two kilometers away from the Wangfujing Department Store. The two chatted as they walked.
Nan Zhiyi talked about how nervous she was during the math exam, saying that it was lucky she had prepared in advance, otherwise math would definitely have been very difficult for her...
Zhou Anping wasn't very good at math either, and hearing this made him even more distressed, though thankfully he didn't have to take a math exam.
She said, "As the saying goes, people will do anything when they are pushed to the limit, but I don't think that's necessarily true!"
Nan Zhiyi immediately chimed in, "That's right, no matter how much pressure you're under, you can't solve math problems!"
The two sisters burst into laughter at the same time.
"By the way, you applied to the Chinese Literature Department at Peking University? When can we expect to hear back?"
"It's not certain yet, we'll have to wait until the results are released at the end of the month."
Nan Zhiyi tucked the scarf under her chin. "I filled out three college applications: Chinese Literature at Peking University, Chinese Literature at Beijing Normal University, and finally, as a backup, a teachers' college."
“Then you’ll definitely get into your first choice,” Zhou Anping said, supporting her sister.
Nan Zhiyi didn't boast, "It's too early to talk about these things now. When you actually get into college, I'll treat you to a celebration banquet."
"Then I'll wait!"
After walking for about half an hour, the two sisters came into view of the beige building of the Friendship Store.
Zhou Anping muttered under his breath, "Zhiyi, I heard that one bottle of perfume inside is worth three months' wages for an average worker!"
A security guard in a dark blue woolen uniform stood by the door, breathing out white breath and rubbing his hands. His eyes were sharp, and he reached out to stop them: "Comrades, please show your foreign exchange certificates."
Nan Zhiyi took out a blue ticket from her handbag, and Zhou Anping immediately became respectful upon noticing the security guard's gaze.
As soon as you step into the hall, a warm breeze carrying the scent of perfume hits you.
Zhou Anping was dazzled by the dazzling array of imported goods. He leaned close to Nan Zhiyi's ear and whispered, "Wow, Dutch milk powder, Japanese semiconductors, French wine... This place is even more impressive than a foreign-themed hotel!"
Nan Zhiyi chimed in, “Yes…” but her gaze had already fallen on the watch counter.
There were more than a dozen Swiss watches lying in the glass display case. She tapped the case lightly with her fingertip: "Could you please take out this Rolex Datejust?"
The sales clerk sized up the young woman; these days, not many people can recognize the Datejust model.
She put on white gloves: "Please wait a moment."
She then carefully took out the watch and placed it on a black velvet tray. "It has an olive green dial with a bezel, a 1570 movement, and it just arrived last week. This is a new product from last year's Baselworld, a limited edition worldwide, and we're the only place in Beijing that has it."
When the velvet tray landed on the glass counter, Zhou Anping couldn't help but exclaim "Wow!"
The salesperson gently turned the watch strap with tweezers, revealing the serial number engraved on the inner wall: "With instantaneous date display, the Chancellor bracelet has undergone five polishing processes."
Nan Zhiyi took the magnifying glass and examined the dial markings carefully: "This olive green dial looks understated, but it will show a grayish-blue ripple under strong light, won't it?"
The sales clerk slapped the counter in delight: "You're a true expert! This is called a sunburst pattern; it can only be achieved using German dyes!"
Nan Zhiyi looked up and asked, "Do you have an astronomy book authentication card?"
"Yes, yes!" The sales clerk hurriedly took out a gold-plated certificate from under the counter. "This is a certification issued by the Geneva Observatory. Each watch is tested individually for 300 hours, and the timekeeping error is no more than two seconds per day! Last week, a lady came to see the watches and spent half an hour just choosing the dial color. In the end, she chose this green dial."
Zhou Anping leaned closer to the price tag and gasped: "1,200 foreign exchange certificates?! That's at least 3,000 yuan, right? This is too..."
Nan Zhiyi understood Anping's meaning, but this watch was indeed suitable for Fifth Brother. She carefully fastened the watch chain to her wrist to compare it; the weight of the 18K gold pressed heavily on her slender wrist.
She turned to Zhou Anping and whispered, "Look at the craftsmanship of this presidential chain. In another twenty years, I'm afraid we won't be able to find such exquisite beveling and polishing anymore."
Seeing that Zhou Anping was still frowning, he added with a smile, "You think it's expensive now, but when the children grow up in a few years, you'll probably find it hard to find such good things even if you have the money."
She whispered to the sales clerk, "Please wrap this up for me."
When it came time to pay, Nan Zhiyi pulled out a large stack of foreign exchange certificates. Zhou Anping stared at the stack of special banknotes and muttered under his breath, "You wouldn't even buy these for yourself, yet you're buying them for Fifth Brother... really..."
The sales clerk quickly and efficiently began packaging: "Please wait a moment, I'll pack it properly for you."
She took out a green gift box with a gold-stamped logo, carefully wiped the watch case with a soft cloth, then placed a velvet lining inside before carefully placing the watch inside. She then took out a small toolbox and showed it to Nan Zhiyi: "This is a professional tool for adjusting watch bands; the clasp fine-tuning also comes with instructions."
"Please keep the warranty card safe," the salesperson said, pointing specifically to the English terms and conditions on the card. "It offers a five-year global warranty. If there's a problem with the movement, it can be repaired at authorized dealers in Hong Kong and Singapore."
As she spoke, she wrapped the gift box neatly with kraft paper, and finally tied it with a delicate bow when she tied the ribbon.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com