Shen Yin was interviewing new fashion designers. There were three young ladies and a rather feminine young man.
Shen Yin looked at their portfolios and thought they were decent. "You have half a day to design an outfit with an early summer theme. The type of clothing is not limited."
There were a few tables upstairs where Shen Yin asked them to work on their designs. She was also sketching herself. If she could hire someone satisfactory, then she could focus solely on haute couture while leaving Li Huanhuan to handle the rest and increase publicity to raise the brand's profile. As for herself, she planned to develop another career.
"Hello, I'm the delivery person from the luxury retail store. This is the order for Mr. Xu. Please sign for it." The delivery person spoke to Li Huanhuan downstairs.
Li Huanhuan didn't dare sign for it as the brand was unattainably expensive for her. She called Shen Yin: "Boss, Mr. Xu's order has arrived."
When Shen Yin came downstairs, she called Xu Xiuhe: "The items you ordered are here."
"Please sign for them. I bought some eye cream since you said I had dark circles."
"An entire box full of just eye cream?" Shen Yin couldn't believe it.
"Ten bottles, we can use them together," Xu Xiuhe happily said, delighted his wife had called him proactively. He decided to buy more gifts to be delivered to the little house.
Li Huanhuan stifled a laugh nearby. She had seen people hoarding items, but never to this extent. This brand was notoriously difficult to purchase, requiring VIP registration. Each tiny bottle of eye cream cost 5,499 yuan. Surely the boss's husband didn't think one bottle was for a single day's use?
"That's too much. We should return some," Shen Yin suggested.
"But we can't return items after purchase. We'll use them up, or give extras away as gifts," Xu Xiuhe said.
Shen Yin was speechless. After signing, she politely thanked the delivery person.
Shen Yin opened the exquisite gift box and took out five bottles of eye cream, handing them to Li Huanhuan. "You four can each have one bottle. I think we'll have a new member join today, so the remaining bottle is for her."
When Shen Yin had come downstairs earlier, she had decided to keep the short-haired girl while passing through the second floor.
Li Huanhuan stood dazed, thinking she had misheard. But the five bottles of eye cream were right in front of her – worth over a month's salary.
Shen Yin went upstairs and approached the short-haired girl. "What's your name?"
"I'm Wang Nannan."
"Okay, you're hired. Sorry, the three of you can leave. To compensate for the time, our studio will give each of you 200 yuan." Shen Yin had already transferred the money to Li Huanhuan's account.
Not only was Li Huanhuan stunned downstairs, but it was the first time she had seen unsuccessful interviewees receive compensation. The other three were stunned too, feeling awkward after realizing they likely wouldn't be hired after seeing Wang Nannan's impressive designs.
"Wang Nannan, how long have you studied fashion design?"
"Four years in university, plus two more years of continuing education."
"Not bad. Do you know why I hired you?"
Wang Nannan shook her head.
"Your design sketches show your experience. The dress you designed was clearly well-thought-out."
Wang Nannan's dress design was indeed thoughtful. For the early summer theme, she used green as the main color with red accents. Red and green together could seem gaudy, but Shen Yin sensed an elegance in this design.
The reason was that Wang Nannan had incorporated traditional elements, using an ancient V-neck style for the collar. It was a short dress in shades of cooling green, with lotus leaf edges on the skirt and a touch of red on the sleeves – perfectly balanced. With some modifications, it could be produced.
Shen Yin assigned Wang Nannan some orders from the studio and found her an office on the second floor. Next, Shen Yin would sketch out various furniture designs from Dasheng based on her memories.
As Shen Yin went to the third floor, she didn't forget to bring the eye creams.
"Mom, here's an eye cream for you," Shen Yin said to Fang Yue, who was sitting on the sofa reading with Zhengzheng.
"Why do you have so many bottles of eye cream? Did Xiuhe buy them?" Fang Yue noticed the expensive brand up close.
"Yes, he bought ten bottles," Shen Yin said.
"But there are only five here. Where are the rest?" Fang Yue asked.
"I gave them to Chen Nuan, Huanhuan, and the others."
Fang Yue didn't know what to say. "Yin, do you know how much each bottle costs?"
Shen Yin shook her head, having no recollection from the original person's memories.
"5,499 yuan per bottle," Fang Yue said, aware of Xu Xiuhe's wealth but surprised her daughter was so casual about money.
It was indeed expensive, Shen Yin thought, but she and Xu Xiuhe couldn't use ten bottles anyway. She might as well give them as employee benefits.
"Oh, Mom, you take one too," Shen Yin offered.
Of course Fang Yue would accept a gift from her daughter and son-in-law.
"Mom, I'm not busy. Let me cook lunch while you take Zhengzheng."
Shen Yin hadn't been in the kitchen for a few days. She skillfully sliced potatoes, meat, and prepped various ingredients. The fridge had plenty of vegetables.
While in the living room, Fang Yue's mind was in the kitchen. She had never seen Shen Yin cook before. At home, she rarely cooked herself, having a maid. Occasionally she felt like cooking, but only once in a while. Here in the small house, the third floor wasn't as spacious as a villa, so having an extra person would be inconvenient.
After some time, Shen Yin had prepared steamed pork balls, shrimp with phoenix tails, stir-fried vegetables with mushrooms, and shredded potatoes.
Fang Yue looked at the dishes, surprised. "Yin, when did you learn to cook so much? Your mother didn't even know."
"I learned abroad," Shen Yin lied.
Fang Yue tasted the food and found it better than what she had eaten at fancy restaurants, feeling both proud and guilty. "Yin, you really struggled these past few years."
"Mom, let's not dwell on the past. Let's eat," Shen Yin said.
"Okay, okay, let's talk about something happier. I saw on social media that the show Zhengzheng acted in airs tonight. Is that right?" Fang Yue turned and smiled at Zhengzheng.
"Yes, Zhengzheng acted. Zhengzheng also acted yesterday," Zhengzheng happily said while eating.
"Oh? Tell Grandma what play you acted in yesterday," Fang Yue curiously leaned in to ask.
