Chang Mei took another look and saw several luggage-sized boxes placed beside Su Ziceng.
"A guest of the Subi Auction House? Does Qing Chang know about this?" Those boxes didn’t look heavy, and nothing seemed to be missing from the house. Chang Mei couldn’t figure out what was going on from Su Ziceng’s expression, so she decided to watch and wait to see how Su Ziceng would react.
"I don’t need his approval to sell these things," Su Ziceng opened a sealed cardboard box, from which she pulled out a bottle of "Royal Salute" and three varieties of Black Spade K wine.
Seeing the recognizable wines, which even Su Ziceng knew, Chang Mei, with her experience, identified them instantly. The last box contained a dress. The wines were certainly fine, but the dress?
"Angel’s Broken Wings, a one-off piece by the mysterious designer New," Su Ziceng held the dress up against her, a creation tailored for her. She had only recently learned about New, also known as Sister Mu. She loved the dress, but right now, it was the most suitable item she had for auction.
"This dress," Chang Mei observed Su Ziceng’s somewhat pale cheeks, her fingers holding the dress turned red from the cold. The redness against the bright rose red of the dress formed a striking contrast, adding an intimidating beauty to Su Ziceng.
Any normal woman, upon obtaining a one-off piece from a designer like New, would treasure it for a lifetime, yet Su Ziceng intended to auction it off.
The rose gold embroidery on the dress was still so delicate; as Su Ziceng’s fingers brushed over it, a sense of reluctant parting welled up inside her. Behind her, there were still dozens of employees at the Wine Shop; this was not a time for whimsy.
"These items are all excellent for auction; they should fetch a sizeable sum. According to the rules, the auction house takes a ten percent commission fee," Chang Mei agreed pleasantly, but secretly she took advantage of Su Ziceng. According to the usual rules, only works of art had a ten percent commission; other items typically carried a five percent fee on millions.
Seeing Su Ziceng agree without hesitation, Chang Mei sneered inwardly; Su Ziceng was still Su Ziceng, still so thoughtless.
"Also, these are just part of my auction items. There will be more delivered shortly," that was what she truly intended to auction. A few bottles of wine and the dress would be enough to pay off her debts, but she needed some working capital. Since Shang Yin said her wine could sell for a good price, she decided to take his word for it this time.
After a while, Zhou Dagen came along with a truckload of wine. Seeing nearly a hundred boxes of wine being unloaded, Chang Mei found it hard to smile.
"This isn’t a wholesale market. You didn’t mention having so much wine before. It’s Subi’s first auction, and the items selected for auction are all carefully chosen. The quality of your wine is quite good, but the quantity is too much, not suitable for auction at the Subi Auction House," Chang Mei argued, calling in the Appraiser from the auction house who confirmed that most of the wine was priced between a thousand and two thousand, unfit for direct presentation.
"Don’t worry, I’ll only leave ten boxes here; I have my own uses for the rest," Su Ziceng said, counting the boxes with Zhou Dagen before hopping onto the truck and driving off in a cloud of dust.
"What game is she playing now?" Chang Mei was so disturbed by this turn of events that she lost the mood to organize the auction. Looking at those dozens of boxes sealed with tape, all marked with the Wine Shop’s name.
"The Wine Shop, Su Ziceng actually started running a wine business, and she gave it such a peculiar name," when Chang Mei returned home and informed Chang Chi of the news, she couldn’t resist scoffing.
"You’re in the mood to laugh," Chang Mei gave her a piercing look, silencing her instantly, "I shouldn’t have let you go to Daquan University; look at yourself now."
In the past six months, it wasn’t just Su Ziceng who had changed significantly; Chang Chi was also very different from before. Previously, Chang Chi was decisive and had her own ideas. Now, since entering Daquan University, she grew out her hair and started to wear heavy makeup like the other girls these days.
"When it’s about Su Ziceng, you wouldn’t say a thing. But when it comes to me, you become overly critical," Chang Chi was in a good mood today, but Chang Mei’s scolding fired her up. "Hang Yishao also asked me what Su Ziceng has been up to lately, and as soon as you come back, you start talking about what Su Ziceng is doing, isn’t that annoying?"