Wang Qiqi and Shi Man’s trip to France this time was extremely frugal, as they worried about whether they could recoup their costs from the business they conducted. They stayed in a youth hostel and ate only the most basic food. The only upside, of course, was that the two of them managed to explore around Paris quite thoroughly.

Shi Man sat by the roadside, sipping her coffee and watching the handsome men and beautiful women walk by. “This trip has certainly been rather relaxing—sipping coffee, enjoying the scenery, and taking tons of beautiful photos. But the problem is…” The thought of where they were staying immediately made Shi Man feel the sharp contrast. Last time, although they didn't visit many places... they ate well and lived well, but this time...

“In any case, with that much money tied up, we can’t expect to both eat and live well and see so many places, especially since the former costs more. We still hope to at least recoup our initial investment.” Wang Qiqi knew that the hopes of making a profit on this sourcing trip were slim; simply breaking even would be an achievement. However, it was fine; what Julina said was right—this time, even if they lost money, they needed to establish their reputation. “Alright, let’s find a place to get online and see how many orders Lina has sent us.”

“Hoping for lots of orders,” Shi Man murmured, feeling that after traveling so far and enduring so much hardship, it couldn't possibly end up being a loss this time.

The two knew that hope was beautiful, but reality was harsh. Wang Qiqi was just entertaining a pipe dream. “If there are many orders, perhaps we won't have to make fewer trips to France in the future.” Another benefit was that she wouldn't have to deal with Li Qian’s attitude; she could cultivate her own channels.

When Wang Qiqi opened her email, she found about seven or eight messages, all from Julina. “So many orders,” Shi Man whispered from beside her. “Could it be that Nana sent so many just to cheer us up? Judging by the emails, it looks like there’s a lot of business to be done, right?” That was definitely her trying to console herself.

Wang Qiqi considered that possibility, but the core issue remained: “If there’s business, one email would have been plenty. If there’s no business, what good does sending a hundred emails do?”

Though Wang Qiqi held little hope for these emails, she still fished out a pen from her bag, preparing to jot down what was needed. The first three or four emails indeed required very few items. “The overall trend is that the quantity of required items is steadily decreasing.”

Meanwhile, Yang Man had stopped staring at the computer screen and was instead observing the handsome men and beautiful women nearby.

When Wang Qiqi opened the second-to-last email, she expected to see only two or three lines of text, but when the interface loaded, Wang Qiqi gasped, “Ah, ah.” She truly didn't know what to say.

Hearing Wang Qiqi’s sharp intake of breath, Shi Man asked, “Is Nana asking if you’re having fun or if you’ve eaten anything good? Tell her we’re here to suffer this time.”

“See for yourself, Manman, we’ve struck gold this time.” Wang Qiqi was so excited that if they weren't in a public place, she would have jumped up and kissed Shi Man a few times to express the depth of her emotion.

Struck gold? Upon hearing this, Shi Man forgot all about the handsome men and beautiful women around her. Could anyone there be as attractive as the sight of money?

When Shi Man looked at the screen, she was stunned. It was a full twenty lines of content—though that wasn't the main point. The main point was that everything listed was high-priced and luxurious. “Ten percent! We’re earning so much this time. We shouldn't have been so thrifty; we should have been eating and living well.” Shi Man then looked at the date the email was sent and fell silent—it had been sent yesterday.

Wang Qiqi gently pushed Shi Man’s hand away from the screen. “Don’t delay me from writing things down.”

Writing things down? Shi Man suddenly thought Wang Qiqi was being dense. “Can’t you just download the content from the computer and print it out somewhere that has a printer?” That would save so much time.

Wang Qiqi pointed at the laptop. “The computer is mine; I just borrowed the network cable. Do you think any computer here has a Chinese operating system?” Without the correct system, how could the content possibly display properly? Wouldn’t it turn into garbled text?

Shi Man conceded the point. “With this much content, maybe we should look for stores of these brands today, place the orders with them, and tomorrow we can just pick up the goods and leave. That way, if some places don’t have everything, we won’t have to run around to multiple locations.”

Hearing this, Wang Qiqi became annoyed. “Why didn’t you say that earlier? Look how much I’ve already written!” The list didn't specify brands; she had written them down one by one. According to Shi Man’s idea, all the work she had done so far would be for nothing. “Besides, what I’ve written is in Chinese. Do you think there are Chinese-speaking sales assistants around?” This wasn't the future, where shrewd merchants had discovered the immense purchasing power of the Chinese and specifically hired Mandarin-speaking staff to cater to the wealthy patrons from the East.

Shi Man fell silent. She realized that in just this short while, both of her suggestions had been refuted. Her expression turned sour.

“However, Manman, you did hit on one correct point. We can take the list to the major department stores, find the sales assistants there, order what we need, and put down a deposit. Then tomorrow, we can go directly to collect everything. Maybe if we’re lucky, we can sleep in until after ten.” Wang Qiqi thought that with such large orders, those sales assistants would surely go out of their way to offer perks, especially since Wang Qiqi spotted quite a few cosmetics on the list, opening up a new avenue for profit.

Shi Man’s expression improved slightly when she heard Wang Qiqi agree. “I am smart, aren’t I?”

Wang Qiqi nodded. “Once we handle the business, we’ll go have a proper meal.” Since the orders were so substantial, Wang Qiqi felt there was no need to suffer through cheap meals any longer. Since they were in France anyway, they should enjoy a lavish dinner—“using the company account.”

Shi Man naturally supported this suggestion unconditionally. Motivated by the prospect of a grand meal, Shi Man remained very quiet for the next little while, not only refraining from disturbing Wang Qiqi while she copied things down but even asking if she needed any help.

Wang Qiqi couldn’t help but marvel at the immense power of good food.

Wang Qiqi and Shi Man, holding two lists, dashed from one specialty boutique to another. At first, when the sales assistants saw Wang Qiqi and Shi Man enter, their greetings were certainly courteous, but that was all. When they heard the items Wang Qiqi requested, their first reaction was shock, followed immediately by the assumption that the two were causing trouble. Although they did have big spenders, those clients usually purchased items suited to their own age and style; none were like these two young women standing before them.

“We are shopping on behalf of others. Can all these items be sourced by tomorrow?” Shi Man stammered out the meaning she wanted to convey, repeating it two or three times before the other person finally understood.

The assistant hadn't expected these unassuming Oriental women to be engaged in this sort of trade. He hesitated for a moment, “Japanese?” he even asked in Japanese.

Wang Qiqi bristled. “Chinese. I’m sorry, we are not Japanese.” Although the Japanese were generous spenders now, in five or six years, people would learn there was a nationality whose spending power surpassed the Japanese.

The assistant immediately apologized profusely. Wang Qiqi guessed he must be wondering how people from that supposedly backward, red Oriental country could be so generous. After noting down everything Wang Qiqi needed, the sales assistant checked the inventory. “I’m sorry, we have most of the items, but four or five need to be transferred from another location. When do you need them?”

“Tomorrow afternoon, around one or two,” Wang Qiqi replied. Her flight was at 9-something the next evening, so they would need to head to the airport around three or four.

“That’s possible.” The sales assistant had initially worried that he might lose out on a few items, but unexpectedly, the client was flexible. These items, sold through him, would ensure a substantial bonus for the month, and he became increasingly enthusiastic toward Wang Qiqi and Shi Man.

Shi Man observed the suddenly warm assistant. “The attitude is completely different from when we first walked in.” Earlier, the smile had been stiff, but now it was dazzlingly bright.

“That’s because they’ve taken a liking to your money,” Wang Qiqi murmured quietly. Then she tried to pay a deposit to avoid any issues tomorrow when collecting the goods—in case the items disappeared, she would have nowhere to turn.

Upon hearing Wang Qiqi mention a prepayment, the sales assistant repeatedly shook his head, indicating it wasn't necessary. After all, once those transferred items arrived, even if these two customers didn’t return to buy them, he could sell them to someone else.

The subsequent visits to other boutiques followed a similar pattern to this one. While some counters with fewer items on the list weren't as effusive, the general service attitude everywhere was excellent.

Although Wang Qiqi and Shi Man hadn't paid anything that day, they placed numerous orders. As soon as the two walked out of the department store, the entire mall was abuzz with talk of two wealthy young women from the mysterious red Oriental country who had placed extensive orders. This left the boutiques that had heard about them but hadn't had them visit extremely envious. They wondered if they should seek out the two young women tomorrow. Even if this trip yielded no cooperation, they wouldn't give up, as the clients had implied they weren't visiting just once but several times a year—establishing a good relationship was crucial.

Shi Man and Wang Qiqi had no idea that their trip through the department store had established such a significant reputation. “The main tasks are mostly sorted out. And we got so many medium and small samples!” Wang Qiqi couldn't stop smiling thinking about how generously the sales assistants had given away so many trial products. She planned to give the small samples directly to clients to foster relationships, while the medium samples were pure profit; they could be sold at a slight discount off the retail price, or perhaps given as gifts to major clients. They would discuss the final plan after returning.

[Wu Chen’s Double Life] In public, she is a top student from a key university and a moderately well-known online author. In private, she is an ability-wielding strategist serving the Empire and the future daughter-in-law of the Empire’s first family. (To be continued)