above the point of the knife

Chapter 241 Picking a Gift

After dinner, return to the hotel.

Simply take a shower.

go to bed.

"I'm going to visit Shibuya Saburo's house tomorrow, do you want to bring some gifts?" Bai Yulan asked.

"I definitely have to bring presents. In fact, I also have a headache. If I go to his office, I can go there empty-handed. It's the first time to visit at home, so I have to bring some gifts." Zhou Sen said.

"Then do you know what Saburo Shibuya likes?" Bai Yulan asked with her head tilted.

"I'm really not very clear about this. I'll call Xiaoye later, he should know." Zhou Sen said, "This is all a small section, even if we don't give them what they like, it doesn't matter, as long as there is no taboo."

"Well, you're right, we don't know what he likes, even if the gift is not to his liking, we can't blame us..."

Zhou Sen reached out and turned off the lamp beside the bed, turned over and pinned Bai Yulan under him.

"Don't make trouble..."

……

"Xiao Mori, there is a Ding Fengzhen in Xinjing, which is named after the old Ding Feng in our ice city. Our 'Sen' Ji was just established, and it is definitely not as famous as others. Moreover, they have been established for almost 30 years. Word of mouth, reputation, That's loud..." Waking up early in the morning, Bai Yulan was washing up, looking at Zhou Sen who had just woken up.

"That's easy, let's go check out Ding Fengzhen today." Zhou Sen said while making the bed.

Dingfeng is really an old store. Basically, you only need to ask the locals for a little bit to know where it is.

Zhou Sen called a carriage, and the group of four took the carriage to the Xinjing business district where Ding Fengzhen was located, which was also the busiest commercial street.

If "Sen" Ji wants to open a branch in Xinjing, this is undoubtedly the best choice.

But where "Sen" will eventually open, we have to investigate, choose a suitable location, and need to have a suitable house.

After walking all the way, I finally saw the signboard of "Dingfengzhen" at the intersection of Dama Road and Sima Road.

Dingfeng is really a workshop-style business model, that is, the model of a shop in the front and a workshop in the back, which is different from "Sen" Ji.

"Sen" is baked and made on the spot. Basically, it is made and sold on the same day, while "Dingfengzhen" mainly sells finished products. Of course, some are made on the spot, but the products on the day are relatively small.

For example, glutinous rice balls, moon cakes and other products cannot be made and sold on the spot, because this kind of food is basically needed for festivals, and the demand is very large, so it must be produced in advance, otherwise, there will not be enough to sell.

"Sen" Ji also makes moon cakes, but they only make fresh meat. They are made on the spot and sold on the spot. Basically, they are sold out within one night.

Mooncakes only account for a small portion.

The core of Dingfeng Zhen is "truth", paying attention to workmanship and ingredients, meticulous and not sloppy.

Dingfeng's real boss is surnamed Wang, and now it is passed on to his son-in-law. Under the high-handed Japanese rule and exploitation, the business is naturally not as good as before.

People depend on food, and the Puppet Manchukuo implemented a food monopoly system under the puppet rule of the Japanese. Naturally, it was very difficult for companies engaged in food processing and sales. If the rationing system comes out in the future, it will become more and more more difficult.

Without raw materials, delicious pastries cannot be produced.

In fact, there are "Sen" records of such predicaments, but he has a way to get the raw materials, and for those who have not been able to join forces with the Japanese and puppets, it will not work.

Moreover, the food supply will become more and more scarce in the future, with more monks and less porridge, it will become more and more difficult.

There are fewer and fewer types of pastries in Dingfeng, and the quantity and quality are not as good as before.

Not only Dingfengzhen, but the quality of all pastry shops on the market is declining, and the common people know what's going on.

"Dingfeng's real mung bean cake, I've eaten it before, it doesn't taste like this..." Zhou Sen paid for a few pieces of mung bean cake, Bai Yulan reached out to take a piece and tasted it, her brows frowned, the taste was better than she used to Have eaten much worse.

The real Dingfeng guy who weighed them heard it, and it was an embarrassment.

"Sister Lan, this ice Polygonum flower is pretty good. It's made of honey, without sugar, sweet but not greasy, delicious!" Ah Xiang said.

"This young lady has good eyesight, and she can tell at a glance that our ice polygonum flowers are honey candied hearts." The two men hurriedly flattered.

"Do you have glutinous rice balls with sesame filling? We want to buy some and cook them for supper." Zhou Sen asked.

"Yes, yes, sir, how much do you want?"

"It doesn't need to be too much, just weigh us two catties." Zhou Sen ordered.

"Okay, just wait a moment."

"Well, bring us some Shaqima, this is your shop's signboard, it doesn't matter if you have more." Bai Yulan added afterward.

Zhou Sen and the others picked out some deep-fried cakes and old-fashioned chicken cakes. These are Dingfeng’s signature pastries.

These can only be used as casual snacks, but if you want to eat them as a staple food, it will really get boring, and the glutinous rice balls are no exception.

"The two of you take your things back first, and Yulan and I will go for a walk alone." Zhou Sen ordered, "Of course you can go out for a walk after you put your things back, but it must be two people, not alone. "

"Yes." Ah Xiang was obviously reluctant, but she also knew that Zhou Sen and Bai Yulan had thought about the world of two, and they didn't want to bring two oil bottles.

Zhou Sen and Bai Yulan came to the largest department store in Xinjing, the Taifahe Department Store on Shangbu Dama Road.

This is a joint venture built by Chinese Yifahe and others. It is a landmark building in the commercial port area of ​​Sima Road. It has a European and American architectural style.

After entering the gate, there are many counters inside, with a variety of products, which are not far behind the Qiulin Department Store and "Tong" Ji in Bingcheng.

This Western New Year is approaching the Lunar New Year, and there are still a lot of people who come to buy things. Most of the shoppers here are Chinese.

Cosmetics counter on the first floor.

There are not only domestic rouge and water powder, but also imported ones, some from Japan, less from Europe and the United States, and some domestic brands of skin care brands. There are still many choices, but I just haven’t seen them. That kind of luxury brand.

"Xiao Mori, would you like to call and ask?"

"Yeah." Zhou Sen nodded. Department stores have public phones, so it doesn't take much to make a call.

……

"Xiaoye-kun, it's me, Zhou Sen." Zhou Sen was lucky, he dialed the phone, and the call was connected quickly.

"Oh, Zhou Senjun, what's the matter?"

"Aren't you going to Shibuya teacher's house tonight as a guest? I can't go there empty-handed, so I just want to ask you, what does Shibuya teacher usually like, as well as his wife and son?"

"Zhou Sen-jun, Chief Shibuya doesn't like gifts from others. I can't answer you." Ono said hurriedly.

"I'm not going to see Mr. Shibuya as a subordinate, but as a student. It's very impolite for a student to visit a teacher and leave empty-handed," Zhou Sen explained.

"Let me tell you now, I'm afraid you can't buy it, so you go to a store specializing in sake on Naniwa Dori and buy two bottles of Kiku Masamune. Chief Shibuya's favorite is this brand of sake. As for Madam, Madam I like silk, especially pink ones..." Ono, as Shibuya Saburo's adjutant, has worked beside him for many years, so naturally he has a clear understanding of Shibuya Saburo's family's preferences.

"Well, thank you, Ono-kun." Zhou Sen got the information he wanted, so he naturally wanted to say thank you.

……

"How is it, is there a result?"

"Go to the second floor first and pick out a piece of satin, preferably pink," Zhou Sen said.

"Oh, I'm good at this." Bai Yulan nodded. When it comes to picking silk and satin materials, as a woman, she naturally knows best, not to mention that she was in this line of work before.

Just as they were about to go to the second floor, Zhou Sen stopped and walked past a lighter counter.

"What's the matter, didn't I buy a lighter for you?"

"I'm going to buy a small gift for Xiao Ye. If someone gives me such important information, I have to express it." Zhou Sen explained, "I don't think other gifts are suitable for men except this one." .”

Bai Yulan nodded, that's true, it's not that there is no other choice for sending a man, but for those who are not too close, it's best to start with small things at the beginning and talk about it later.

A lighter is a small object, and it is very practical for a man, and every time he uses it, he can always think of him.

This is much better than spending money, but being thrown away in a corner, a gift that can't be remembered at all.

In addition to meeting the preferences of the other party, gift giving must also maximize the usefulness of the gift, otherwise, it will lose its meaning. (use relationship)

Zhou Sen picked out a lighter with matte finish, and asked the price, 38 yen, not too expensive, but not cheap either.

I paid for it and asked the salesperson to pack it in a gift box.

Accompanying Bai Yulan to the second floor, they came directly to the counter selling silk and satin. Silk and satin are relatively expensive materials, and ordinary people may not be able to own a piece of silk and satin clothes in their lifetime. Therefore, there are many customers in the silk and satin area, but few people buy.

"Sir, madam, we just arrived here with a batch of high-quality Suzhou-Hangzhou silk..." Zhou Sen and Bai Yulan walked over hand in hand, and a shopping guide came forward to greet him.

Bai Yulan has also seen it before, how could she let the shopping guide fool her, she just bought the one she liked.

One touch, where it is produced, what kind of pigment is used, and the quality is very clear. It is very difficult to buy the best silk in Xinjing in a short period of time, after all, you are not familiar with the place.

But it is still very easy to pick out the best one with the most matching color from these silks.

The silk was also wrapped in a gift box.

Now that we're here, it's not for nothing that we don't go up to the third floor to have a look. The third floor is mainly hardware products and leather goods.

These made the two of them lack of interest. If they want to buy leather goods, they might as well go back. The fur goods in Bingcheng are the best and cheapest in the Northeast.

"Let's go, let's go to dinner first, after dinner, I will accompany you for a walk, shopping..." Zhou Sen waved and led Bai Yulan, and walked out of the Taifahe Department Store with the silk gift box he just bought in one hand .

(End of this chapter)