Tycoon: From Rags to Riches

Chapter 132: Chapter 126: Outstanding Performance

Just as the sales associate was about to state the price, Gu Heng raised a hand, cutting her off.

"There’s no need to discuss the price."

Gu Heng instructed her calmly.

"Of course."

The associate agreed. Then, she looked at Jiang Ruan and suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

Gu Heng forbidding her from mentioning the price had essentially rendered half her skills useless.

Her allotment sales pitches, her understanding of the allotment system, her techniques for navigating it—all of it was instantly useless. She had no idea what to say.

Du Yujie noticed his employee’s awkwardness and quickly said, "You can go. Next."

Hearing this, the associate gave Jiang Ruan a respectful nod before quickly standing up to let the next associate present her bag.

And so it went, one sales associate after another.

Without having to move an inch, Jiang Ruan had a parade of limited-edition Hermes bags presented right before her, allowing her to inspect and choose at her leisure.

If word got out about the kind of treatment she was receiving inside an Hermes boutique, few people would probably believe it.

The entire presentation process took about twenty minutes.

"See anything you like?"

Gu Heng set down his tea and asked Jiang Ruan.

"Yes..."

Jiang Ruan pursed her lips, replying in a small voice.

After the word left her lips, she felt a strange sense of shame.

’To think that just over two months ago, she had been so stubborn, a woman of iron will. Now, under the barrage of Gu Heng’s sugar-coated bullets, that will was on the verge of being corroded away entirely.’

’Her boundaries were just getting lower and lower.’

’Last night, she had been his happy little rider. Compared to that, accepting a material gift from him seemed rather trivial.’

"Which one?"

A deep amusement filled Gu Heng’s eyes, and his voice softened considerably. This was the first time Jiang Ruan had experienced this side of him.

’In the past, that tone was reserved exclusively for his girlfriends.’

"That white one."

Jiang Ruan pointed at one of the sales associates.

The associate Jiang Ruan had indicated immediately stepped forward from the group and knelt before her again.

"This is the one?"

Gu Heng asked for confirmation.

"This is the one."

Jiang Ruan nodded, unable to hide the adoration in her eyes.

"Manager Du, I’m taking this bag today. Is that a problem?"

Gu Heng looked up at Du Yujie.

"No problem."

"No problem at all."

Du Yujie didn’t hesitate in the slightest.

He had already screened the bags long before they were brought into the VIP room.

The bags pre-ordered by major clients he couldn’t afford to offend were off-limits, of course. But the ones presented today were either unallocated or reserved by less important customers.

If Gu Heng happened to pick an unclaimed one, that would be ideal.

If, by chance, Gu Heng chose one that was already reserved, Du Yujie would just have to make up an excuse, tell the original customer they’d have to wait, and placate them with some empty promises.

"Manager Du, please," Gu Heng prompted. "I know how Hermes works. To get this bag, what’s the required allotment?"

Buying an allotment to get a bag was an ironclad rule at Hermes.

Even a super-VIP like An Yiqing, who spent over ten million annually, still had to purchase an allotment according to the rules to get a bag from Hermes.

The only difference was that she likely only needed a very small allotment, and her acquisition was always 100% guaranteed; there was no chance of failure.

If that was the case for An Yiqing, Gu Heng didn’t think he had more clout than her, so naturally, he would also play by the rules.

"Chairman Gu, the limited-edition bag Miss Jiang has chosen is a Birkin 30 in Glacier White crocodile skin. The official retail price is 480,000."

"Because you are an honored guest personally recommended by President Yan, I can offer you the lowest possible allotment standard. You will only need to purchase an allotment of 350,000, and you can make this handbag yours."

Du Yujie explained with a slight bow to Gu Heng, his words exceptionally polite.

As Du Yujie finished speaking, Jiang Ruan stared at the bag so close to her, her expression slightly dazed.

’Her previous understanding of Hermes was simply that their bags were expensive—very expensive. She never imagined they could be *this* expensive.’

’The 480,000 price tag wasn’t even enough; you still had to spend another 350,000 on other goods just to be allowed to buy it!’

’How is that any different from outright robbery?!’

’If it weren’t for Gu Heng, she wouldn’t just be unable to own such a bag; even getting a close look at one would have been a lifelong pipe dream.’

Upon hearing the allotment proposal from Du Yujie, Gu Heng, for once, didn’t agree immediately. Instead, he cast a questioning glance toward Wang Yan.

’Before, it was because he knew the market; he felt the prices were reasonable and didn’t haggle.’

’But the world of luxury goods wasn’t his area of expertise. So, before making a decision, it was only natural to consult someone who knew what they were talking about.’

’Even if he was incredibly wealthy, and even if Father Tongzi was covering all his expenses for this Zhonghai trip, it didn’t mean he wanted to be a sucker.’

’Money that needed to be spent, or money he *wanted* to spend—he’d spend it without a second thought.’

’But money that was a waste? Not a single penny.’

’He could throw money around like it was nothing, spending a fortune just because he felt like it, but the one thing he wouldn’t do was let someone play him for a fool.’

"It’s a good deal."

"That allotment requirement is really low."

"Normally, for a limited-edition Birkin like this—especially in a prime color like Glacier White and a prime material like crocodile—let’s not even talk about how regular customers can’t get their hands on one at all."

"Even established Hermes clients would have to buy an allotment of at least one, maybe even two times the bag’s price to successfully acquire one."

Wang Yan, seeing Gu Heng’s questioning look, immediately replied in a low voice.

"Oh..."

"Then I know where things stand."

Gu Heng nodded slightly, feeling he had a good grasp of the situation now.

"Manager Du, we’ll go with your allotment proposal then."

Gu Heng said to Du Yujie, then turned his head to Jiang Ruan. "I’ll have a couple of associates take you shopping in a bit. You can pick out the items for the 350,000 allotment. I’m too lazy to browse."

"Okay."

Jiang Ruan said, then hesitated slightly before adding in a small voice, "Thank you."

Hearing Jiang Ruan’s thanks, Gu Heng’s lips curved into a slight smile. "If you really want to thank me," he replied calmly, "then you should just ’work’ a little harder."

Jiang Ruan knew perfectly well what he meant by "work" and "harder."

As Gu Heng made yet another dirty joke in public as if no one else was there, she felt a deep sense of shame, but also a strange thrill. After all, they were the only two people in the entire room who understood the hidden meaning behind his words.

"Alright, alright, alright!"

"I swear, you’ll be the death of me, you little brat!"

Just as Gu Heng was encouraging his "outstanding employee," Jiang Ruan, Wang Yan suddenly scratched his head with a wry smile. "Pick whichever bag you like. I’ll put it on my tab. Just stop looking at me with those pathetic puppy-dog eyes!"

"Yay!"

"You’re the best, big brother!"

Wang Wan Ning, who had been staring at Wang Yan with a pitiful expression for the longest time, instantly leaped up from the sofa in delight. Her face was now wreathed in a sweet, joyful smile, with not a trace of her former pitiable look.

Wang Wan Ning stood up from the sofa, walked straight over to one of the sales associates, and gestured for her to come forward. Then, she expertly shot a knowing glance at Du Yujie.

"Miss Wang, President Yan, this bag is a rare limited edition from our Birkin line. The material is Cargo canvas with Swift calfskin, in navy blue with silver hardware. The retail price is 300,000, and it requires a 200,000 allotment."

Du Yujie instantly understood the look Wang Wan Ning had given him and smilingly provided the introduction and quote for the siblings.

"Wrap it up."

"Take it away, take it away."

"You can go out with Miss Jiang later and help me pick out the items for that 200,000 allotment."

Wang Yan added, a bit grumpily, "And remember to get me something practical. Don’t come back with a pile of weird junk, you hear me?"

"Got it!"

"Mission accepted!"

Wang Wan Ning said with a grin, then looked over at Jiang Ruan, who was seated next to Gu Heng. "Miss Jiang, shall we go?"

The two women’s eyes met, and for a moment, a subtle glint passed between them.

"Okay."

Jiang Ruan stood up from the sofa. Then, escorted by several sales associates, she and Wang Wan Ning walked out of the VIP room...

P.S. The business trip is over and I’m on my way back. Updates will return to normal tomorrow!

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