Chapter 61: Assistant Work

In the rented luxury car, Audrey Hepburn and Robert Wolders in the back seat were fiddling with an ear-hook wireless headset.

This was a small self-developed scientific research product that Henry gave them while waiting for the red light.

The technology of this little thing is based on the Bluetooth transmission specification released two years ago, and the earliest commercial application will have to wait until seven years later for giants like Ericsson to have preliminary results.

Henry is making some things now, just for his own use. Anyway, the two users are not that sensitive to technology products, so the technology won't leak out.

The reason for developing this thing is because the wireless transceiver devices of this era all need to be equipped with a signal relay device, and personal use appears very bloated. That's why he developed a relatively lightweight Bluetooth headset.

Henry also spent some time on the processing of the appearance. Making this single-ear hook headset look like a fashion accessory like an earring, rather than a laboratory bare piece full of mechanical sense.

After the two put it on, Henry, who was driving, took time to turn on the bone conduction microphone on his neck and said: "Microphone test, microphone test, one, two, three. Can you two hear me?"

Ms. Hepburn exclaimed: "I can really hear the sound."

"Is it clear?"

Robert looked at the lady beside him and nodded, saying: "Very clear."

Henry, who turned off the microphone, asked again: "Then is there any obstruction to the outside sound? Will the ear with the headset not be able to hear what others are saying."

"No, I can still hear it." After Audrey replied, she asked: "Henry, where did you find this headset?"

Henry replied: "I have a friend, it's a little gadget he developed, I'm using it. —"

The 'I have a friend' series of excuses is very easy to use.

"—This way I can fulfill my duties as an assistant, and I don't have to listen to those old men talking at the banquet, and go eat happily. Anyway, I won't be the protagonist, the protagonists are you two."

"You child." Ms. Hepburn, who knew how greedy this little assistant was, was both angry and amused. So she didn't say anything.

Actually, at the beginning, Henry really didn't understand what an assistant needed to do when attending a banquet. He wasn't the host of the banquet.

An assistant knows what time it starts, what time it ends, and has a car to pick up and drop off, that should be enough, right.

In fact, at this kind of social banquet, an assistant's task can be very easy, or it can be very heavy.

Easy means not caring about anything, only paying attention to the scope Henry originally thought of.

Heavy means assisting the employer to remember the information of all attendees, the most important being names and appearances. So that the employer can be as enthusiastic as an old friend when contacting the other party, instead of not even recognizing who the other party is, needing others to introduce.

If the participant is a banquet novice, just entering the social circle, then it is understandable to ask others to introduce.

But most of the banquets Audrey Hepburn attends are in her name, fundraising banquets held for the United Nations Children's Fund.

In this case, the lady has to be like a novice, asking others to introduce everyone she meets; or she can familiarly treat everyone as an old friend, the fundraising results are quite different.

People who participate in this kind of banquet are prepared to donate generously. But this amount usually has an upper and lower limit, wanting to make people impulsively donate an amount above the upper limit is impossible.

However, as the fundraiser for the donations, Ms. Hepburn making people feel at home and willing to donate the upper limit of the amount in their hearts belongs to her job.

As for who the invited guests are, whether one can call them by name immediately, or even have an understanding of their work and their proudest achievements, these all fall within the scope of work an assistant can help with.

At the beginning, Henry didn't understand these. It was all done by Ms. Hepburn herself, and she taught him along the way.

They have to get the guest list from the banquet host, and then check off people Ms. Audrey Hepburn is more familiar with, as well as people she is completely unfamiliar with.

For the former, it might be Ms. Audrey Hepburn's old friend, or the two are familiar to a certain degree. Then there is no need for extra investigation.

But for the latter, they have to find the other party's public photos first, and connect the name with the person. Then investigate the other party's public background information, such as being the president of a certain company, the person in charge of a certain institution, etc.

If necessary, they also need to have a certain understanding of the field the other party specializes in.

Besides investigating this information, Ms. Hepburn also needs to spend time memorizing and remembering this information, so that she can perform with ease at the banquet and be as intimate as an old friend who has known everyone for a long time.

For a sixty-year-old elderly person, still memorizing the list of guests for the next day's banquet in the middle of the night, it's like slapping Henry, this assistant, in the face for not being responsible enough.

So Henry took over the work from investigation to memorization. And then at the banquet, he followed behind Ms. Hepburn, reminding her at any time.

Actually, most of the information is investigated by the banquet host and provided to participants who need it.

However, this kind of banquet is not limited to invited people, what kind of people the other party will bring, and what kind of people will come uninvited, these are all unpredictable. So they have to extend outward from the relationship network of the guest list.

In this era without the internet to search, wanting to understand a person is not something that can be done by opening a webpage and Googling. Besides flipping through news newspapers yourself, sometimes you even need to find a private detective.

Some large public relations firms will have organized business public information, not the kind that involves illegal acquisition or illegal disclosure. You can pay to obtain it from them.

If you need some more private things, then you need to spend a lot of money, and even find a detective.

In short, Henry, who took on the assistant's responsibilities, did indeed give Ms. Hepburn a lot of rest time.

But following Ms. Hepburn as an assistant has some inconveniences. Because Western banquets don't have obvious seating, most of the time, everyone walks around.

Although Henry stands behind the lady, in the position belonging to the attendant; but occasionally he will be squeezed to the side, making others think he is a companion.

Seeing strange faces at the banquet, chatting guests inevitably ask about his identity. After all, Henry's age is about the same age group as the lady's second son.

At this time, saying he is an assistant is actually a bit embarrassing for both sides. Mainly because modern banquets are not like old-fashioned aristocratic banquets, where the clothing of guests and servants is quite obvious, making it easy for people to distinguish at a glance.

Plus Robert Wolders, the life partner certified by the lady, also came.

The lady is quite keen on taking Robert to participate in this kind of social occasion, and Robert himself likes it and enjoys this sense of participation. It is completely different from Henry's attitude of wanting to hide and not wanting anyone to see him.

Henry, this little assistant, of course, couldn't continue to occupy the position beside the lady and remind her of the information of the guests face-to-face. Because the small group of three who are inseparable is too bloated at the banquet.

So he simply made a set of one-way wireless walkie-talkies, liberating his own redundant manpower. Also, as he said himself, he could have more time to eat.