“I've heard of this place, I think it's a Michelin two-star restaurant, but no one around seems to have been there. How did you know about it?” Qin Xian Chen, who was driving, asked curiously.
“I just found it online. I haven't been to any of these places anyway, so I thought I'd give it a try. I heard it specializes in local cuisine. Where do you guys usually eat?” Wang Tie Niu adjusted his seat a bit and leaned back comfortably, asking.
“We usually eat at the school cafeteria. Sometimes we go out with the girls in my dorm, but we don't have a lot of living expenses as students, so we wouldn't go to expensive places.”
“How much allowance does your sister give you every month?”
“5000 yuan.”
“That's not bad.” Wang Tie Niu replied, swallowing the words “I only had 600 yuan a month when I was in college” back down his throat, almost blurting out something foolish.
“It's not bad. Most of the girls in my dorm get around the same amount. One of them gets 8000 yuan. The three of us are all around 5-6 thousand.” Qin Xian Chen said, but then she pouted, “That's how it is in Shanghai. My sister and I have lived here since we were kids, and money always feels like it's not enough.”
Seeing Wang Tie Niu listening intently, Qin Xian Chen continued, “My sister and I don't really wear makeup, so we don't spend much on that. But skincare products aren't cheap. And then there's buying clothes, going out with my friends, daily expenses… basically every month is spent to the last penny, and I have to rely on my sister at the end of the month.” She stuck out her tongue sheepishly after saying that.
“You have extra money for gas, haha.” Wang Tie Niu chuckled, then deliberately looked her up and down, “But you have great taste in clothes. You look good in everything.” He gave Qin Xian Chen a thumbs up.
“This girl is naturally beautiful. I look good in anything.” Qin Xian Chen smiled smugly, “My sister is the truly beautiful one. She has a great figure. You're lucky.”
“Hehe, I know, I know. I'll definitely treat both of you well!” Wang Tie Niu said with a double meaning.
Just as Qin Xian Chen was about to say something else, they reached their destination.
The Yong Fu Hui was originally the British Consulate, later used as a consulate for the Soviet Union, Vietnam, and others. Its beautiful environment is a natural advantage. The main building is a Spanish-style structure built in the 1930s.
After taking a quick look around, Wang Tie Niu, who couldn't appreciate this style of decoration, quickly lost interest and went upstairs to their table.
“Just order whatever you want.” Wang Tie Niu handed the menu to Qin Xian Chen.
“You want me to order… Alright.” Qin Xian Chen tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and lowered her head to start ordering.
“I don't have any food allergies. Just order whatever you want. I can eat a lot, so don't worry about wasting anything.” Wang Tie Niu reassured her.
“These stir-fried shrimp with oil are quite good.” Wang Tie Niu commented as he ate, “But the portion is too small.” He called a waiter over and ordered another portion.
“This is good too, but it's too small.” After trying a bite of the grass-head circles, Wang Tie Niu praised, turning back to the waiter, “Give me five more of these.”
“You can really eat. You're…” Qin Xian Chen originally wanted to say “pig,” but she thought it was rude and held back.
“If you don't want it now, you can just wait until it comes out later,” Wang Tie Niu finished off the grass-head circles in two or three bites.
“Grass-head” is a local Shanghainese term. Its actual name is alfalfa, and grass-head circles are essentially pig intestines and alfalfa.
The other dishes didn't have anything special about them, but Wang Tie Niu, adhering to the principle of not wasting food, ate them all.
“This is so expensive.” Wang Tie Niu didn't hide the bill from her, looking at the 5800 yuan on the menu, Qin Xian Chen was speechless.
“Speaking of which, girls don't take pictures of their food anymore? I thought you were going to post it on your Moments first.” Wang Tie Niu said casually.
“I forgot! Aaaaah, now I can't make my dorm mates jealous with the good food!” Qin Xian Chen said miserably, standing still for a moment.
“We'll continue eating this afternoon. You can take pictures then.” Wang Tie Niu winked at her.
“No, no. If I keep eating like this, I'm going to gain weight.” The beautiful little head shook back and forth.
Looking at her slender, graceful figure, Wang Tie Niu didn't understand why she was afraid of gaining weight. He could only say that being afraid of getting fat is a woman's common ailment.
“How about you accompany me to go shopping to digest?” Wang Tie Niu invited again.
“Yes! I love shopping. Where are we going?” Qin Xian Chen asked.
“Which is the most upscale shopping mall in Shanghai?” Wang Tie Niu didn't look at the map and asked her directly.
“There are a few that are all about the same. IFS, the IFC, Heng Long Plaza, the Taikoo Hui, the ITC in Xujiahui… My sister and I rarely go to these places. The stuff inside is too expensive. We only buy things occasionally.” Qin Xian Chen thought for a moment before answering.
“Then let's go to the one you want to go to the most.” Wang Tie Niu let her decide.
“Let's go to Heng Long Plaza. It's close to here. The Capatisserie there has really good desserts.” Qin Xian Chen checked the navigation and said.
“Let's go.” Wang Tie Niu led the way towards the parking lot, “Don't desserts make you gain weight?” He couldn't help but silently complain.
Located at 1266 Nanjing West Road North in Jing'an District, the Heng Long Plaza, built in 2001, was the tallest building in West Shanghai at the time. According to the China Shopping Center Grading Standards, it was rated as a national five-star shopping center in 2019.
As they drove into the underground parking lot, Wang Tie Niu noticed that his DBX, worth over 3 million yuan, wasn't particularly impressive. He could only say that it was relatively ordinary. As he searched for a parking space, he saw almost all the recognizable super luxury brands. But if he parked his Bugatti here, it would definitely stand out from the crowd, after all, it is a hypercar.
“I should schedule a meeting with He Xuejie tomorrow to talk about the Bugatti thing.” Wang Tie Niu made a note on his phone memo to avoid forgetting.
After parking the car, they arrived at the mall's lobby. “This place is really bustling.” Wang Tie Niu exclaimed, It was his first time coming to such an upscale mall. From the first floor to the fourth floor, there were top brands from all over the world. He recognized some of them, but many he had never heard of.
“Let's start from here.” Wang Tie Niu chose a direction and started walking.
“Niu Niu, is there anything you want to buy?” Qin Xian Chen walked lively beside him. It's in a woman's nature to love shopping.
“Yes, good luck. I found it right away.” Wang Tie Niu glanced at the VanCleefArpels sign and walked in.
Van Cleef & Arpels is a French luxury brand owned by the Richemont Group. Van Cleef & Arpels mainly deals in jewelry, watches, perfumes, and other products.
“Hello, welcome to Van Cleef & Arpels.” The saleslady smiled warmly.
“What are you going to buy? Is it for your sister? You have good taste. The jewelry here is all very beautiful.” Qin Xian Chen admired the pieces on the counter, her eyes filled with delight.
“It's too hard to choose. I'll bring her here to choose next time.” Wang Tie Niu pretended to look at the jewelry for a while and inconspicuously moved to the watch counter.
“This one is beautiful. Can I see it?” Wang Tie Niu pointed to a watch.
“Of course.” The saleslady, wearing black velvet gloves, gently took out a watch.
“What are you looking at?” Qin Xian Chen leaned over, “Wow, this is beautiful! Is this a watch?” She exclaimed.
“Yes. This is our Van Cleef & Arpels Poetic Complication VCARN9V100. It's one of our most popular models. The hour hand is on the left side of the dial, indicating the time for the lady. The minute hand is on the right side, indicating the time for the gentleman. The lady is holding an umbrella, the gentleman is holding a rose, and they each move forward one space every hour. When midnight arrives, they meet. And then they go back to their original positions.” The saleslady explained.
“It looks good. Can she try it on to see how it looks?” Wang Tie Niu pointed to Qin Xian Chen.
“Sure, but since we haven't sold it yet, we can't buckle the strap. You can just hold the leather strap and see how it looks.” The saleslady continued.
“Okay, let her try it.” Wang Tie Niu nodded.
Under the saleslady's expectant gaze, Qin Xian Chen shyly extended her slender arm, which shimmered with an alluring glow under the light.
“It looks really good.” Wang Tie Niu praised.
“It does look good.” Qin Xian Chen also thought it looked good. She couldn't help but lean over and look at the price: ¥885,000.
“This is too expensive!” Qin Xian Chen was startled.
“So cheap. Do you have the VCARO8U200?” Wang Tie Niu frowned.
“So arrogant. He thinks an 880,000 yuan watch is too cheap. Is that even human talk?” Both Qin Xian Chen and the saleslady silently marveled at Wang Tie Niu's outrageous wealth.
“Sir, here's the one you want.” Another saleslady on the side came over holding the watch Wang Tie Niu wanted.
“This is too flashy, too eye-catching.” The new watch had a gold and white strap, the dial was completely set with diamonds, the dial theme was changed from a nighttime rendezvous to an autumn rendezvous, filled with orange, white gold, and other colors. Qin Xian Chen was startled when she tried it on.
“Okay, this is it. Let's do it.” Wang Tie Niu nodded in satisfaction, his decisive nature delighted both salesladies. They couldn't have imagined that this unassuming young man was actually a hidden tycoon.
“How much is this watch?” Qin Xian Chen curiously leaned over to watch Wang Tie Niu pay.
“2.74 million.” Wang Tie Niu casually scanned the payment code, as if he were buying a bottle of water for 2 yuan.
“What kind of rich person is this? He just bought a car for 3.86 million and now he's spent another 2.74 million. That's already 6.6 million spent.” Qin Xian Chen felt dizzy after calculating in her head.
“Sir, would you like us to package it for you?” The saleslady asked, holding the watch.
“No need. Put it on.” Wang Tie Niu gently placed Qin Xian Chen's arm on the counter.
“Ah? Niu… Niu Niu… You… You bought this for… for me?” Qin Xian Chen was stunned.