Chapter 34: Meeting Oneself
Chapter 34: Meeting Oneself
People dressed up clothes made men look better.
That saying sounded plain, but it told a true truth.
Setting aside brand value and quality, top products like Hermès definitely beat cheap ones in design, cut, and material.
In some ways, being expensive made sense, though whether it truly justified the price depended on personal opinion.
Gao Jing knew little about luxury brands or fashion.
But the expensive outfit he’d bought purely by intuition perfectly highlighted his impressive physique.
It lifted his overall appearance score to a solid eight.
His aura gave an extra boost too!
So when Gao Jing walked into the neighboring LV store with long strides, carrying two Hermès bags, the saleswoman’s eyes sparkled like stars.
Her voice and smiles overflowed with gentleness; her service was faultlessly attentive.
Gao Jing wasted no words, unleashing his money power once more.
One outfit clearly wasn’t enough.
Most LV trousers didn’t grab his fancy—they seemed too flashy.
He picked a pair of black-blue straight-leg jeans cut from premium Japanese selvedge denim.
Trying it on felt good; the price was 6,600 yuan.
Next, he added a white pure-cotton DNA shirt priced at 6,250 yuan.
No shoe styles caught his eye; he figured his Hermès calfskin sneakers would match the outfit just fine.
So he skipped buying shoes.
Then Gao Jing got a classic Taigæ-damier-embossed black pocket wallet in LV’s signature Taiga leather.
Priced at 3,250 yuan.
He also picked up a black Kasai handbag made of Epi leather for 13,300 yuan.
That totaled his LV spending to 29,400 yuan.
Truth was, ever since receiving marathon prize money, he’d paid off pending loans like Huabei and Jiebei and splurged on new gear.
It all added up to over two hundred thousand spent so far.
His remaining account balance sat below 200,000 yuan.
But right now, striding across Hermès and LV stores, Gao Jing radiated the confidence of someone with twenty million to burn.
Buy whatever he pleased!
His cash pile might be thin, but tucked safely inside his Copper Anchor Storage Space lay over sixty cubic feet of priceless, premium Red Sandalwood lumber.
Even at a bare-minimum estimate, it easily hit thirty or forty million in value.
And the Bronze Anchor itself? An outright national treasure!
This was the core of Gao Jing’s unshakeable poise.
As he paid at the register, the LV attendant’s sugary soft voice whispered in his ear.
Richly mellow.
But Gao Jing felt an unnerving cool inside.
Owning a whole Great World meant barring sudden death, he would inevitably grow into a colossal tycoon.
He once thought it’d take ages to ease into the wealthy lifestyle.
Yet now he knew he’d underestimated his readiness.
In that instant, his spirit seemed to detach from his body, floating above to stare keenly downward…examining himself.
Was this man really still the old Gao Jing?
An iconic thinker once remarked: one’s lifetime journeys through seeing the world, meeting all souls…and recognizing oneself.
Seeing the world came easy. Meeting souls happened simply. Seeing oneself…you often dodged it instead.
Then you lost yourself endlessly.
But tonight, Gao Jing had met himself and found unwavering resolve, steady logic, patient calm.
“Sir? Sir?”
The attendant’s caring voice snapped Gao Jing from his thoughts.
He turned. “Hmm?”
Under his direct gaze, her world-tempered confidence rushed wildly against her ribs.
She scrambled a smile. “You may choose a complimentary gift now.”
Light dawned. “Ah.”
LV offered no discounts either, just one free accessory at full payment—cufflinks, key pouches, Lighters, small tokens like those.
Gao Jing grabbed an all-aluminum business card case with mechanical push-buttons.
Truth be told, Lighters intrigued him more, but the card holder felt useful right now.
Next time.
Leaving LV weighed down with new paper bags, he headed toward the escalators.
From the mall speakers drifted a floating, cheerful tune.
Change my approach; shake off old worries, feel happy, leap sunnier horizons…
Every step taken means lessons gained; hesitate not, pick wisely my voyage…
Gao Jing picked up speed amid the melody.
Same youth today filled yesterday’s frame; shifted not one memory layer.
Time itself tests me—still my center stands imposingly sturdy!
Still this gentleman’s gaze, warmly recalling each opening scene…
On MixC’s first floor, at Huawei Flagship Store, Gao Jing settled on the latest Mate 30 RS Porsche Design.
12GB + 512GB, all-network 5G model, Mystic Silver Black, 12,999 yuan.
It retired his loyal old Xiaomi phone.
After transferring data via the shop’s WiFi, he sat in the opposite Starbucks.
Two desserts later—just as he finished his coffee—the new phone buzzed sharply.
Moments later, a suited man arrived at Gao Jing’s table.
He was an agent from Shenxing Car Rental Service, here to personally deliver the vehicle.
Last night, Gao Jing booked a Mercedes S350 via Shenxing’s app and selected doorstep handover.
Their assigned meet-up spot stood precisely here.
Gao Jing had bagged his Class C driver’s license the year he graduated. Sales routes pushed far and wide meant skipping driving mattered not.
Car ownership remained out of reach, but he’d operated plenty.
Work’s demand called, so long ago he’d registered as a Shenxing member.
However, in the past, he used to rent cars costing from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands yuan, and he picked them up himself at the shop.
After signing the rental contract, Gao Jing got the S350 parked in the underground garage of MixC.
This black Mercedes Benz was a 2017 model, kept in good shape and cleaned all over inside and out.
The rent wasn’t high, just 1080 yuan a day.
This price was only for the off-season.
If it was during holidays like Spring Festival, May Day, or National Day breaks, or lucky days for weddings, the rent would at least double.
The Mercedes S350 was already full of gas.
Gao Jing checked and saw no problems, then signed the vehicle handover paper.
He threw all the paper bags into the trunk and went straight on the road, driving to Beiyang City 350 kilometers away.
He took the highway all the way.
At 4 pm, Gao Jing stayed in the Beiyang Grand Hotel.
Beiyang is a county-level city with over a million people, its local economy is very strong, and its GDP is in the top 100 nationally.
It is also famous for furniture and has the biggest wood trade market in Jiangnan.
Gao Jing also knew that next to the Beiyang Wood Market, there was an old street for rosewood.
The stake size of deals was very big.
But Gao Jing was in Beiyang for the first time.
He was there to look around.
He spent one night in the business room of Beiyang Grand Hotel, and the next morning, Gao Jing drove to the wood market.
The market was packed with people, noisy and full of life.
After parking the Mercedes in the parking lot, Gao Jing asked a bit and easily found Rosewood Street.
Even though it was right next to the main market, this old street felt very different.
Many stores were open along the street, like raw material shops, furniture shops, item and decoration stores, and workrooms.
Luxury woods like huanghuali (which is agarwood), red sandalwood, padauk, sour wood, chicken wing wood, and others could be seen here.
There was a light smell of sandalwood in the air.
Outside lots of shops, old timber pieces were set out, and small groups of people stood around them.
Some watched quietly, some squatted to look closely, and some haggled with shop owners.
Some even held wood saws and cut the materials.
From time to time, sounds of surprise or sadness could be heard.
Gao Jing knew they were gambling on wood, or betting on materials.
For rosewood, the saying is “ten out of nine are hollow,” especially for small-leaf sandalwood—the hollow rate is high; it’s said less than 10% of wild small-leaf sandalwood pieces are truly solid inside!
Also, the pricier huanghuali can be hollow sometimes, and its special “ghost face” and “water ripple” patterns are big for making it valuable.
That gave it gambling worth.
Before cutting a log open, it’s tough to know what’s inside the wood.
A good outside could hide rot and useless wood inside.
Just like betting on jade stones, wood gambling is common.
Gao Jing walked back and forth on Rosewood Street once.
He went into more than ten shops, asking about current red sandalwood and small-leaf sandalwood prices.
Now, Gao Jing’s outfit of luxury brands worked.
Shop owners saw his clothes and style—they never imagined he rented a tiny place in an Urban Village.
All thought he was from a rich family and showed extra warmth.
They told him everything they knew without holding back.
Of course, some saw him as an easy target and set unfair prices.
But Gao Jing was not a fresh Little White.
Although he didn’t know much at first, after one round, he had an idea of the market in his mind.
It was sad for those shop owners—they used lots of tricks and talk but got nothing from Gao Jing.
They had feelings wasted for no gain.
Finally, Gao Jing walked into a small shop at the street end.
Note for this chapter: The BGM is an excerpt from the song “Shaonian” (“Youth”) by singer Meng Ran.