Fuyun Furniture has been open for many years, and the beginning of this year was its best in terms of business.
With the turn of the millennium, suddenly many people began buying houses, and the previous standards of simply laying some flooring, installing cabinets, and purchasing beds, sofas, and dining tables were no longer sufficient to satisfy the increasingly affluent citizens of Jinsong.
Gone were the days when people from the 20th century were inexperienced with the world. In the 21st century, people from the north, through channels like television and travel, absorbed a vast amount of information about development and progress, starting a new chapter in their lives that sought aesthetic beauty, pleasure, and a more comfortable lifestyle.
Because of this shift, during the first half of the year, the revenues of large furniture stores in Jinsong city rose significantly, while smaller shops selling basic furniture saw a decline in profits.
However, this change also meant that by the second half of the year, the large furniture stores began to show a clear divide in performance.
Some stores that kept up with the times, importing furniture and models from large cities in other provinces, continued to see growth in profits.
Others, satisfied with the status quo and resistant to change, could not maintain their first-half earnings and began to see a decline.
Fuyun Furniture was among those whose profits were dwindling.
Due to the increased profits in the first half of the year, the rent for the shop space was raised.
Yao Nan’s mother had initially planned to buy the shop at the end of the year after making a large profit, but with the sudden decrease in earnings during the second half, this plan was likely to fall through.
If they couldn’t purchase the shop and profits did not improve, they might not be able to keep their prime location under the Fuyun Building, facing the busiest street, by next year.
During these days, Yao Nan’s parents were already starting to worry, fearing that if the business failed, they would struggle to maintain their livelihood in the future.
“We should learn from the shop next to us, go to Qiqihar Furniture City for our stock, and have it shipped back by train.”
“Or maybe hire a truck to bring back the most popular models, and then work with the furniture factories we used to collaborate with to mass produce them.” Early on Sunday morning, before the customers arrived, Yao Nan’s mother, while dusting the furniture, discussed this plan with her husband who was moving furniture in the back.
“The cost isn’t low, and if we can’t sell them, they’ll just pile up…” Yao Nan’s father was somewhat worried.
“It’s always you worried about this and that. Isn’t there always an initial investment in business?”
“Can we do it without any risk at all?”
“Look at the shop next door, they’ve already squeezed us out. Just the other day, the furniture they just put out sold immediately, while ours that’s been sitting for months is still unsold.”
“The old styles just don’t cut it anymore, everyone wants something trendy and sophisticated now!”
“Right now, there are only two decent furniture shops on the ground floor of Fuyun Building. Haven’t you seen the new building being constructed across the street? There will definitely be more furniture shops there soon.”
“And I heard that they’ve already started planning to open a Fuyun Furniture City on the top floor. So what are you going to do, just pack up and leave, or switch professions?”
Upon hearing her husband’s words, Yao Nan’s mom exploded like a pot boiling over. She stood up straight, turned around, and began to speak in a loud and firm voice.
“I’ll buy a train ticket and go check it out in Qiqihar myself,” Yao Nan’s dad said, scratching his head and standing up to respond to his wife.
“Can you handle it? With your old-fashioned taste, you might end up buying something even worse than what we have now,” Yao Nan’s mom sighed. “We have fewer customers on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I’ll go.”
Yao Nan’s dad grunted in agreement, glanced at a set of furniture brought over from Hua Jie’s place yesterday, and said, “Let’s give a hand and move it to the front.”
“Okay.” Yao Nan’s mom responded and after searching around and not finding her woolen gloves, had to lift it barehanded.
She had been worried about getting splinters, but to her surprise, the surface was smooth, without a single splinter.
“The craftsmanship is really good,” she commented as she exerted herself. “Ouch, it’s quite heavy.”
“It’s all solid wood, seasoned by years of sun exposure and freezing, extremely sturdy, and it won’t deform with humidity or dryness,” Yao Nan’s dad said as he pushed open the front door.
“I didn’t even look when you guys brought it over yesterday, but now that I see it, it’s really well made. This whole set of carvings, I’ve never seen anything like it; it must have been made by a skilled craftsman,” Yao Nan’s mom said, setting down the dining table and looking it over from top to bottom, touching it and couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s even better than the craftsmanship in the factory.”
“This must be the result of seasoned craftsmanship.”
The two of them dusted off their hands and went back to move the wooden carved sofa.
“If business hadn’t been bad recently, and we hadn’t cut back on stock, I wouldn’t have been able to help Yao Nan’s classmate with this.”
“That kid even talked about giving me a commission, but I couldn’t accept that, especially since it’s likely it won’t sell.”
“Kids don’t understand, and the parents are out of touch, how can they ask for such a high price?
“1400 for the whole set, over a thousand if sold separately, that’s as much as a railway worker’s monthly salary.”
As Yao Nan’s mom lifted one end of the sofa, she didn’t stop talking.
“…” Yao Nan’s dad didn’t utter a word, just pushed the door open and got to work.
The two had just stepped out of the store, not yet having placed the sofa on the vacant space in front of the door, when someone asked:
“Boss, how much for this dining table? Hey? Is this sofa part of a set?”
Yao Nan’s mom paused for a moment, startled. Recently, the foot traffic in her shop was decent, but very few actually showed genuine interest in making a purchase.
After a few seconds, she replied:
“Ah, it’s a set, just a moment, let me check the price.”
She then hurried inside to fetch a piece of paper from yesterday that Hua Jie had given her, which listed the prices and dimensions.
Yao Nan’s dad glanced at a middle-aged couple who were asking about the prices, then silently went inside to bring out a TV cabinet and then a coffee table.
“Hey, are these all part of the same set?” The middle-aged wife, dressed in a knee-length mink coat, looked quite wealthy.
“Yes, a set,” Yao Nan’s dad pointed to the pieces of furniture placed at the entrance: “TV cabinet, folding dining table, coffee table, double sofa, all are solid wood with hand carvings.”
“This seems to be a relief carving of a cloud dragon,” said the middle-aged man in a black down jacket, walking up to the solid wood sofa and touching it.
“…” Yao Nan’s dad didn’t know much about that, just gave a simple smile.
The jacket-clad Li Fengtian bent down for a closer look and noticed the dragon pattern carved on the sofa was extremely exquisite. The dragon’s head was robust, with whiskers flowing freely, and the jade dragon coiled above the backrest, looking down over the clouds that covered the sun on the armrests, majestic and powerful, very imposing.
He, a government official, had just moved into a larger apartment this year. Normally, he left the decoration and furniture purchases to his wife, but lately, the furniture she liked, although not cheap, was either frivolously designed or the colors looked cheap.
Li Fengtian had previously visited a subordinate’s home, where the furnishings had been brought from a neighboring first-tier city, and while the prices were high, they were very subdued and sophisticated.
His new home was modestly decorated, with basic flooring; he dared not flaunt wealth.
But simple interiors needed to be complemented with furniture that could reflect his status to avoid looking shabby.
The furniture must appear high-end and stylish at first glance.
This way, when subordinates or relatives visited, it wouldn’t be an embarrassment.
But after visiting many furniture stores in the city center without finding anything appealing, either too old-fashioned or just off, he was considering whether to just buy from the neighboring first-tier city.
“How much is this?” Seeing the shop owner holding a paper coming out of the house, Li Fengtian stood up straight and asked, a hint of authority in his demeanor.
Yao Nan’s mom, with years of experience in reading people by their clothes and expressions, smiled even more attentively at Li Fengtian:
“This sofa alone is 600, and the whole set is 1,400 yuan.”
Li Fengtian turned and examined the other three pieces of furniture.
“This set of furniture is all handmade, designed by top domestic designers based on the most expensive antique furniture sold at auctions, with every carving and relief done to perfection.”
“And it’s guaranteed to be the only piece like this in the country.”
Yao Nan’s mom enthusiastically introduced the furniture, referencing the descriptions written by Hua Jie on the paper.
“A unique set for the entire country?” Mrs. Li raised an eyebrow.
“Absolutely, it was designed by our private designer, hand-carved and assembled from wood, not mass-produced in a factory.”
“Look at these details, all meticulously crafted by our top carpenters.”
“We only made this one piece, and it’s impossible to create another exactly the same.”
“Moreover, our designer is very keen on changing designs. Even if we were to make similar furniture, the reliefs and carvings or the overall design would vary.”
“Owning this set, you can genuinely claim it’s custom-made for your home, which really is a mark of prestige nowadays.”
Yao Nan’s mom’s tone was particularly persuasive, with carefully modulated emphasis.
Yao Nan’s dad, standing nearby, thought to himself that even if he explained things clearly, he could never match his wife’s expressions and intonations.
“Hmm…” Li Fengtian sat on the sofa, resting his hand on the armrest adorned with clouds obscuring the sun, imagining himself sitting there, sipping tea and chatting with his subordinates.
“And look at this dining table, it has four extendable sides; you can pull them out to form a large round table.”
“Normally, it’s perfect for a family of three, but when you have guests, you just extend it to accommodate a large gathering, enough for family reunions during the New Year.” Yao Nan’s mom eagerly demonstrated:
“This design is unprecedented even in first-tier cities, and even if they had it, it couldn’t match our craftsmanship. Look at the table, it’s also engraved, and there’s a layer of dark gold resin applied over it, you see, the dragon amidst clouds looks as if it’s alive, encapsulated in amber.”
“During meals, you can also enjoy the artistry. I dare say, not only can you not find a second piece like this in Jinsong, but even in the usual first-tier cities, it’s rare.”
While speaking, Yao Nan’s mom also admired the craftsmanship.
This was indeed a thoughtful piece. After talking about it for a while, she even began to feel that pricing the table at 560 was too low.
Oh, that young girl’s father really had skillful hands, such creative ideas.