Chapter 1087

Zhou Andong said, "Anyone in his position would have resentment. However, we settled in US dollars; if he had seized the opportunity and acted in time, he could have made quite a bit."

"Exactly." Li Ling laughed again. "He has resentment, but he has nowhere to vent it."

At this moment, the door was knocked again. Seeing Jian Qiu stood up. "This might be them this time."

Opening the door, two people stood outside, a man and a woman.

The man was over fifty, and his hair was already half white.

The girl was quite young, twenty-one or twenty-two, dressed in denim with a ponytail, looking very fresh and capable.

When she saw Seeing Jian Qiu, a flash of amazement crossed her eyes.

"Are you Ms. Jian and Mr. Zhou?"

The girl was holding a cloth bag embroidered with lotus flowers and mandarin ducks; it looked lifelike and very beautiful.

"Yes," Seeing Jian Qiu nodded.

"Hello!" The girl bowed slightly. "We are from the Shangyizhuang Tailor Shop."

"Please, come in." Seeing Jian Qiu let them in.

Li Ling hurriedly stood up to make room. "Please, sit."

"Thank you!"

The girl said thanks, her eyes first looking at Zhou Andong, who was sitting there. Her eyes lit up instantly, and she said, suppressing her excitement:

"Mr. Zhou, I am truly so happy to be able to meet you."

A smile appeared on Zhou Andong's face, and he shook hands with the girl. "I'm very happy to meet you too."

Although the girl was very excited, she remained quite reserved and introduced the old man beside her to Zhou Andong.

"This is our Master Qian from Shangyizhuang. He comes from a family of Suzhou embroidery masters. He had originally retired, but two years ago, my grandfather invited him out of retirement to come to the Yangcheng branch."

Zhou Andong said in surprise, "So you are the young proprietor of Shangyizhuang."

The girl's pretty face was full of smiles. "I'm just learning from Master Qian. I wanted to apprentice under him, but he wouldn't take me."

Zhou Andong thought to himself that it seemed this Shangyizhuang must be quite famous in certain circles.

He really was ignorant; he hadn't heard of it in either of his two lives.

"Master Qian, thank you for your hard work." Zhou Andong shook hands with Master Qian again.

"It's no trouble!" The master was not good with words; after saying that, he didn't speak again.

Next, the girl continued to communicate with Zhou Andong: "Mr. Zhou, you are holding a Chinese-style wedding, and your wife will be wearing ceremonial robes. Do you have any requirements?"

"My requirement is the slimming effect—the waist, hips, chest..." Zhou Andong gestured and spoke, describing the Chinese-style formal wear he had seen in his later life.

The girl took a pen and drawing paper out of her bag. With just a few strokes, she presented the effect Zhou Andong had described; this skill was absolutely no worse than An Jing's.

"Impressive!" Zhou Andong looked at the drawing and gave a thumbs up.

"Thank you for the compliment."

The girl accepted Zhou Andong's praise quite calmly. Looking at the drawing in her hand, her eyes grew brighter and brighter, and she exclaimed:

"Mr. Zhou, it's truly a pity you aren't in fashion design."

Master Qian had been silent, but at this moment, he nodded in strong agreement.

"The phoenix coronet and ceremonial robes were the attire for wealthy women getting married in ancient times, embodying luxury and status. Worn on the body, they were somewhat bulky, and from the perspective of modern people, they didn't have much aesthetic appeal.

But after Mr. Zhou's brand-new design, it can fully display the unique charm and beauty of modern Oriental women."

The girl looked at Seeing Jian Qiu and said enviously, "With Ms. Jian's figure and temperament, I believe that as long as she wears this set of formal wear, it will absolutely perfectly present the spirit and imposing manner of our Oriental women, and she will become the most beautiful bride in the world."

Zhou Andong smiled. "My formal wear will be a top scholar's robe; we can combine it with the Zhou Dynasty Hanfu. But this is just a small idea of mine; you two decide. In addition, I need a custom qipao and a Ye Zhongshan suit.

You are the professionals when it comes to qipaos, so I won't say much. As for the Ye Zhongshan suit, black fabric, also slimming, with a stand-up collar, and dark gold embroidery on the cuffs and lapels."

"Stand-up collar?" The girl didn't understand.

Zhou Andong described it, and the girl drew on the paper, modifying it back and forth. After wasting seven or eight sheets of paper, Zhou Andong clapped his hands.

"Yes, that's it."

The girl breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, let's take measurements."

Master Qian took the measurements himself while the girl recorded them. It took quite a while before they were finished.

"Because the embroidery is all done by hand, it will take about five to six months to finish. Is there enough time?"

"There is enough time." Seeing Jian Qiu nodded. "How should we pay the deposit?"

The girl waved her hand with a smile. "I trust Mr. Zhou; there's no need to pay a deposit."

Since the girl was so straightforward, Zhou Andong naturally wouldn't be coy. He left his contact number and then he and Seeing Jian Qiu saw the girl and Master Qian out the door.

Li Ling said, "Chairman, I'll be heading back now too."

"Go ahead!" Watching Li Ling leave, Zhou Andong thought for a moment. "While we have time now, let's order the jewelry."

Since it's a Chinese-style wedding, naturally one can't buy jewelry like diamond rings; everything has to be custom-made, especially the phoenix coronet—you couldn't buy one off the shelf even if you wanted to.

Seeing Jian Qiu asked, "Where to?"

"Lao Feng Xiang." Zhou Andong took Seeing Jian Qiu and left.

Lao Feng Xiang was founded in 1848, spanning the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries; it is the only jewelry brand among the nine great silver shops of the Qing Dynasty that has been passed down to this day.

Starting in the 1930s, many celebrities, such as Silas Hardoon's wife Luo Jialing, the tycoon Du Yuesheng, and others, took pride in owning its products.

At the same time, Lao Feng Xiang also ushered in the first peak period in its history. It swept through the East China region with "accurate fineness, novel styles, and fair honesty."

Of course, what Zhou Andong valued was not the brand, but Lao Feng Xiang's craftsmanship. With over a hundred years of history, continuing from the Qing Dynasty to the present, its craftsmanship must certainly have its own unique aspects.

The two left the hotel and got into a taxi. "Driver, go to Lao Feng Xiang."

The driver wasn't old, only about thirty or so, and quite chubby.

"Sit tight."

The driver said, started the car, slowly pulled onto the road, and then continued to drive slowly the whole way.

Zhou Andong looked out the car window. An old man riding a bicycle looked curiously into the car, pedaled hard with both feet, and zipped past them.

Immediately after, a young man with a backpack, who seemed to be in a hurry, appeared at the side of the car at a jog, also looked curiously into the car, and then zipped past them too.

Seeing Jian Qiu looked at the back of the driver's head, then at Zhou Andong, and blinked.

Zhou Andong scratched his head. "Driver, are you carsick?"

"Huh?" The driver said, "No carsickness."

"Then..." Zhou Andong asked, "Is there a problem with the car? If it runs too fast, will the wheels fall off?"

"The car is fine!" The driver shook his head. "I check it every day before I take it out."

"Then is it running out of gas?" Zhou Andong asked again. "Are you afraid to step on the gas?"

"There's gas." The driver patted the steering wheel. "I filled it up this morning, a full tank."

Zhou Andong was speechless. "You aren't carsick, the car has no problems, the tank is full, so why are you driving so slowly? Even the aunties walking on the side of the road are faster than you."

The driver said with a chuckle, "I'm doing it so you can sit for a little longer and feel like you're getting your money's worth."

"What does that mean?" Zhou Andong was a bit bewildered.

The driver stepped on the brake. "We're here."