Chapter 16: Big Plate Chicken at the China World Mall
Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia
Qin Guan had just realized how he had behaved at the interview. He still preferred his old ways and believed such a process was too complex, but luckily, he had already memorized the three steps, so there was no need for him to worry.
The trainer finished the demonstration by saying, “Tasting wine is just like tasting a cup of tea. Some things can be ignored, but the right mood has to be maintained. You’re not cattle drinking water from a ditch after all.”
The trainer’s words had struck Qin Guan. Taking the material, he walked out of the meeting room in dismay.
When Qin Guan and the girls walked out, the assistant gave each of them a small note. The assembly location and meeting time were both written on it.
Qin Guan folded the note and went to see Wang Lei. When he reached Wang Lei’s office, he saw a pile of questionnaires on the table in front of his roommate. Qin Guan picked one up from the table and asked in an exaggerating tone, “You did all these this morning?”
Wang Lei hang up and answered inadvertently, “Yep! I’ll get paid depending on how many I complete. This job suits me well!”
Wang Lei wanted to make hay while the sun shined, so Qin Guan had to go back on his own. Taking a look at his watch, Qin Guan dragged Wang Lei off to have lunch with him.
At the time, the China World Mall was one big construction site. Foundations were being dug and new buildings were being constructed, dust swirling in the air all around the Mall.
The two boys believed that western-style food required complex table manners, and a buffet at a hotel was too expensive. There were very few dining choices for them.
Qin Guan knew from his past life that there was a snack street in the area. He led Wang Lei to a small alley which had not been torn down yet, and pointed at the restaurants there. Like a rich man, he said, “What do you wanna eat? Pick anything you like. It’s my treat!”
Wang Lei did not pretend to be courteous. Seeing so many restaurants there, Chongqing delicacies, Shaxian delicacies and Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles included, he pursed his lips. He knew the food there would be very cheap.
Finally, the two boys decided to eat at a Xinjiang restaurant. After they got their seats, they asked for a Big Plate Chicken, two baked Xinjiang pancakes and a bowl of Shanxi Torn Noodles.
When the Big Plate Chicken was served, the two boys found that it was worth its money. It was a huge round plate with a thick layer of snow-white Shanxi Torn Noodles covered in sauce-dipped chicken, potatoes, onions and green peppers, served with red chili and numbing Sichuan peppers. The dish really aroused their appetite.
Holding the baked Xinjiang pancakes in their hands, they started gorging themselves on the Big Plate Chicken.
When the check came, it was only 32 yuan. Qin Guan wiped his mouth and bid Wang Lei farewell before he headed back to school.
In the evening, he went to Huang Jiajia’s house for their lesson. Lest the exhibition made him late for his tutoring, he asked for a day off and told her next week’s class would be postponed.
Huang Jiajia was curious, and she asked Qin Guan why he was putting off their lesson. Qin Guan did not intend to keep his part-time job a secret, so he told her all about it.
Huang Jiajia said she fully supported her teacher in his part-time job. She said postponing the class was totally fine with her, and Qin Guan did not need to worry about her studying. Qin Guan expressed his deep gratitude for Huang Jiajia’s support.
The class ended in a friendly atmosphere, but Qin Guan did not know that as soon as he left, Huang Jiajia started giggling like a little fox who’d just stolen a chicken.
Back at his dorm, Qin Guan called Cong Nianwei and told her about his part-time job next week. He sincerely asked for a day off and apologized for not being able to see her at Tsinghua University.
Cong Nianwei did not complain on the phone, which upset Qin Guan a lot.
The next day, while Qin Guan was in class, his phone vibrated. He took a look at the number and decided to reject the call. When the class was over, he called the number back. The receptionist on the phone gave Qin Guan an address in her sweet voice and told him to try on the clothes on site.
Qin Guan wrote down the address and checked what classes he had in the afternoon. He had enough time, so he decided to go there after his classes were over.
During his afternoon class, Qin Guan kept wondering how the clothes had been made so fast. He had just had his measurements taken a day ago after all.
As soon as the class was over, Qin Guan hurried to the address he’d been given.
At 5 p.m., Qin Guan pushed open the glass door of a clothes customizing shop at Xidan. The receptionist took him to the tailoring room. He had come so late that he was the only one there.
The tailor was busy with his molds when he saw Qin Guan come in. He nodded at him, suggesting that Qin Guan to go to the fitting room and put on the suit provided by the wine trader for the exhibition.
Qin Guan took the standard, dark grey, three-piece suit and a white shirt with the label still on. He walked into the fitting room and took all his clothes off except his underpants before he put the suit on.
The suit looked good. There was no brand mark on it or on the white shirt provided by the exhibitor. The shirt looked brand new, as of it had been bought for an emergency.
Qin Guan buttoned it up and put on the suit jacket casually before he walked out of the fitting room.
The tailor was busy with his work. He pointed at a mirror without even taking a look at Qin Guan, and said, “Go to the dressing mirror and have a look. Tell me if you have any questions.”
Qin Guan went to the dressing mirror as he was told. Looking into the mirror, he was a little bemused. He had seen himself in a mirror many times, but he still felt like a star every single time. It seemed that he had just been born handsome.
This was not his own narcissism speaking. The tailor, who had been staring at him, also seemed speechless. He wanted to see how Qin Guan looked so he could do tailor some clothes for him.
The exhibitor had borrowed the suit from a renting store. It was an ordinary Givenchy, neither independently designed nor made by specially-assigned manufacturers. Still, this suit cost about 25,000 yuan.
Bateau was a middle-end brand of wine, but it enjoyed a high recognition worldwide.
The two brands were both from France, so the Givenchy dealer had agreed to lend the suit to the exhibitor for free.
The tailor thought the suit fit Qin Guan really well. He wanted to make the pant legs a little narrower so Qin Guan would look even more sexy, but considering that simplicity, freshness, decency, and toughness combined with softness were the philosophy of Givenchy, he gave up on the idea.
The tailor did not talk much about the suit. He just asked the assistant at the reception desk to cover the suit and wrapped up the fitting process.
When everyone had left the store, the tailor opened his notebook to the place where Qin Guan’s measurements were written and read it carefully. Then he picked up the phone from the table and made a call.
The call got through, and the tailor calmly said, “Hello, is that Xue Wanyi? I’m Old Liu. I’d like to recommend a model to you. No, not from a model agency. He’s a student doing a part-time job here… Let me tell you more about him…”
They spoke on the phone for over five minutes before hanging up. Old Liu tapped the notebook in his hand and smiled. “Now it’s up to you, young man.”
On the day of the exhibition, Qin Guan got up very early and for the first time in his life, he showed off shamelessly in front of the mirror.
His roommates also washed and got ready to go to the exhibition to support Qin Guan on his new job. Wang Lei would only go for a while at noon though, because he had a part-time job as well.
Qin Guan could not stop them from coming along, but he knew exactly what was on their minds. They were not going to the exhibition to support him, but to see the female staff working with him.