Hu Xingfa looked at the red landline phone on his desk and couldn't help but interrupt the hostess's question:
"What did you just say? You said Liu Chen spent four point three million yuan to buy a car? That money was given by her stepfather? Are you telling the truth?"
"Yes, according to what Liu Chen's classmate expressed on Weibo, it should be like that."
Hearing this, Hu Xingfa's eyes lit up. He opened the computer host under his desk. He still knew how to use a computer. After all, young girls nowadays liked to chat on QQ and surf the internet, and he understood that.
The computer turned on, the browser opened, and in the Baidu search box, his hands hovered over the keyboard, then stopped.
"Hostess, what does 'wei' mean in Weibo, and what does 'bo' mean?"
Mi Li, who was on the other end, enthusiastically explained:
"Wei means tiny, and bo means museum. Mr. Hu, it's like this: since the last interview video with Liu Chen has had a lot of views, we hope to do a sequel and interview the father of the college entrance examination top scorer. Would that be convenient for you?"
By this time, Hu Xingfa had already typed "Weibo" correctly and clicked search. The first link that appeared was the Weibo homepage.
Entering Weibo, he typed in "Liu Chen."
Soon, Liu Chen's username appeared below, with a follower count of 130,000.
Hu Xingfa read through Liu Chen's Weibo once, then, without any further instruction, typed into the search bar— "four point three million car."
A bunch of Weibo posts with this phrase appeared. Hu Xingfa squinted, his neck involuntarily leaning forward, looking at the photos on the screen.
It was a black Mercedes-Benz SUV, with Liu Chen in the driver's seat. Although she had grown much more beautiful than he remembered his daughter, Hu Xingfa thought it was normal for her to be prettier after going to college and learning to wear makeup.
The person on the other end said a long string of words, and Mi Li, who had not received a response, couldn't help but urge him on the phone, "Mr. Hu, Mr. Hu?"
Hu Xingfa looked at the four point three million Mercedes-Benz, his lips unconsciously curled, and his eyes became distant. Hearing the voice on the landline, he came back to his senses, his pupils darting around, and said:
"I'll consider it. Hostess, please give me your phone number, I'll write it down."
The female voice on the phone had to softly repeat her phone number. As soon as he confirmed it, Hu Xingfa directly hung up the phone.
Hu Xingfa was in the dark office, his hand on the mouse, scrolling continuously with one finger, looking at the different angles of his four point three million yuan on Weibo.
He continued to look until past nine o'clock in the evening. Hu Xingfa also figured out what comments and private messages were. He clicked on Liu Chen's private messages and tried to send a message, but was prompted:
Please log in to your account to send messages.
After Hu Xingfa registered for Weibo, he skipped the miscellaneous recommendations and slowly typed with two fingers on the computer. Finally, he clicked send.
"Chenchen, it's Dad. Business is a bit tight recently, I need a million yuan for some turnover."
***
Meanwhile, Liu Chen was tracking the sales of the new "Beautiful Sausage" on her Taobao store. In just three hours, the sales of "Beautiful Sausage" had reached over a thousand. Although this only translated to a little over a hundred pieces of merchandise, its profit margin was much higher than wholesale.
Yes, to avoid disrupting the market, the price of "Beautiful Sausage" on Taobao was the same as in supermarkets in S Province: twenty yuan per pack, ten sausages per pack, but with an additional six yuan for shipping.
Despite this, many people from outside S Province who had never heard of "Beautiful Sausage" still placed orders, just twenty-something yuan to try it out.
Liu Chen's "Beautiful Sausage" currently had a stable Taobao sales volume of about six to seven hundred pieces per day. Combined with offline sales, Liu Chen glanced at the task display: 26239/30000.
With the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays, the double holidays should bring another small peak in sales. If everything went as expected, she should be able to complete the task of selling thirty thousand pieces before January 5th.
Completely focused on calculating her sales, Liu Chen didn't open her Weibo or have the habit of checking private messages. Thus, Hu Xingfa's private message was buried under a flood of new incoming messages.
Liu Chen closed her laptop after reviewing the data. Beside her, Mi Zhuzhu opened her computer, opened six pictures, and then turned the screen towards Liu Chen:
"Chenchen, take a look for me. Which of these six little dresses is suitable for me?"
Liu Chen shifted her gaze to the screen and quickly reviewed the six pictures. She shook her head.
"None of them are suitable for you. The four floor-length gowns you chose don't highlight your strengths, and the other two have necklines that are too low. If there's a segment where you have to bend over to thank people, you might easily expose yourself."
Mi Zhuzhu pouted and sighed when she heard this:
"What should I do, Chenchen? It's already the 29th, only four days left. Where am I supposed to find a suitable dress? I even went to the celebrity rental dress shop recommended by Senior Lunlun, but all the nice ones are already booked. The remaining colors are a bit old."
After saying that, Mi Zhuzhu leaned her head on Liu Chen's shoulder.
"Sigh, if I don't find a suitable dress, I don't even want to go. It's so annoying."
Liu Chen draped her left arm over Mi Zhuzhu's shoulder and gently patted her head to comfort her.
"Come on, let's go check my walk-in closet. Maybe there's something suitable."
Mi Zhuzhu hesitated, then leaned her head on Liu Chen's shoulder:
"But you're so much taller than me now, and thinner too. I don't think your dresses will fit me, right?"
"Not every little dress is form-fitting. Some have elastic or straps. How will you know if you don't try? It'll also help you digest your food."
"Okay, then."
So, the two boys stayed in the living room, while the three girls got up and went to Liu Chen's master bedroom. Liu Chen led the way, opening both doors of the walk-in closet, then fumbled in the dark for the switch on the wall.
With a "click," the crystal chandelier overhead in the walk-in closet lit up. The closet, filled with clothes, shoes, and bags, was revealed to Mi Zhuzhu and Sang Ling behind Liu Chen.
Mi Zhuzhu's eyes widened, staring at the walk-in closet without blinking. After a moment, she shrieked and rushed into the closet. She first opened the glass wardrobe door, and the LED lights inside turned on. Mi Zhuzhu exclaimed in amazement:
"Chenchen, ahhhhh!!! Your walk-in closet is so beautiful!! You have so many clothes! You never wear these usually!"
As Mi Zhuzhu spoke, she casually picked up a little dress. It was a pure black, H-line, slightly fitted, little black dress. Mi Zhuzhu could even imagine how beautiful her Chenchen would look wearing this little black dress.
Sang Ling also followed Mi Zhuzhu to one side of the glass wardrobe.
"This walk-in closet has a lot of details. Look at the curved edging on the cabinet doors, there's no risk of scratching. This motion-sensing light is interesting. Perhaps I could do an experiment on motion-sensing wardrobes. I feel like this idea has a high probability of being sold."
"Zhuzhu, you should focus on your dress. Your Weibo Night event should be held indoors. You could wear a suit jacket over the dress, which should be feasible."
"Sang Ling, relax. Your Weibo account is already earning a good income from advertisements. If you're interested in interior design, you could give it a try."
In the ten-square-meter walk-in closet, the three women initially changed shyly in the bathroom. After trying on more dresses, they started trying them on directly in the walk-in closet.
Although the room had underfloor heating, Mi Zhuzhu, after taking off her loose down jacket, was wearing a loose sweatshirt underneath. As she took off the sweatshirt and tried on a little dress, she stood in front of the full-length mirror and blinked.
"Huh? I think… have I lost weight?"
When Mi Zhuzhu said this, Sang Ling, who was trying on a leather jacket and jeans under Liu Chen's enthusiastic recommendation, also looked over.
"Wow, really, Mi Zhuzhu, your belly is gone! And look, your back is so slender."
Liu Chen, who had personally given Mi Zhuzhu the weight-loss pills, smiled without saying a word. After all, these were system-produced, and having such a weight-loss effect was normal.
Being pointed out by Sang Ling, Mi Zhuzhu quickly turned around, her side facing the full-length mirror. Looking at her noticeably thinner back and her waist, which was a circle smaller than before, her smile widened, revealing her gums.
"I've lost weight! I've really lost weight!"
Liu Chen walked behind Mi Zhuzhu, placed her hands on her shoulders, and smiled, nodding:
"So don't worry. Look how much you've lost, you'll definitely look better in a little dress now."
Women's enthusiasm for trying on clothes never wanes. It wasn't until twelve o'clock midnight, when Christmas arrived, that Mi Zhuzhu, with the help of Liu Chen and Sang Ling, finally chose a pure white strapless, cinched-waist, flared skirt little dress.
Mi Zhuzhu, wearing the dress, walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail. Lai Jielun, who was watching a horror movie with Ren Mo, stared when he saw Mi Zhuzhu. He quickly got up from the carpet.
"Zhuzhu, why have you lost so much weight? Are you sick?"
As he spoke, Lai Jielun anxiously held Mi Zhuzhu's hands and then gestured to her small waist. His demeanor made it seem as if Mi Zhuzhu was suffering from some serious illness, had Liu Chen not witnessed the entire process.
"I say, can you two give me, a single dog, a little respect? Mi Zhuzhu lost weight because she was worried about going to Weibo Night. Look, how about taking some photos in this outfit?"
Liu Chen, tired from changing clothes all night, was wearing a loose silk pajama set. Leaning against the doorframe, she spoke and then swiped her phone, and inexplicably clicked on private messages.