Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 65: The Art of Giving Gifts

"That girl’s constitution is a bit unlucky, always bringing fortune to others but not to herself. What happened next?" Jiang Yuan listened in shock, realizing that in comparison, his own constitution wasn’t so bad after all.

Zhang Zhiqiang sighed, "Then, the young girl was so heartbroken and disillusioned that she hastily married someone her family introduced. Half a month after the wedding, a distant aunt from the husband’s side suddenly came forward—a childless, elderly lady with no other relatives. As she was passing away, she remembered the cute child she once held, and directly wrote a will leaving her two buildings in Yangcheng and tens of millions in assets to her husband."

"Pfft!" Jiang Yuan almost spat out his tea, "She wasn’t kicked out in a divorce, was she?"

"Not at all, the in-laws are wise and sensible. Ever since the kids got married, everything has been going smoothly. For years, the family had never encountered unexpected wealth, but as soon as the new daughter-in-law entered, they struck it rich. It’s a double delight and a major joyous occasion! They say, a fortunate person doesn’t step through a door without blessings. If they were to divorce and kick out the lucky cat, who knows how they’d lose money."

He clicked his tongue enviously, "That young girl is living happily now; the wealth destined for her is unstoppable!"

Jiang Yuan envied her immensely.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t cut out for that. For so many years, he hadn’t even won a "try again" bottle cap prize.

Having set the plan to go to work early in the morning, he left the tea house and went to the stationery store to buy paper-folding materials.

The Paperman and Paper Horse Skill is currently the easiest to level up and the most practical. Once he levels it up high enough, he can fold a batch of paper oxen and horses in the game, and with sheer quantity, fight a minor boss.

Wilderness is full of dangers. As long as he can level up the Paperman and Paper Horse Skill, entering the Wilderness World wouldn’t mean Jiang Yuan gripping a Teleportation Talisman every time, wishing to escape. Instead, he’d become more like Jiang Yuan·Niu Goluo, who can summon a herd of paper cows and horses to test the waters!

After using up a pack of paper to level the Paperman and Paper Horse Skill to Level Three, he gathered the increasingly refined finished products together and burned them, planning to go out for a walk and have dinner.

As soon as he picked up his phone, a message came in from Chuci on WeChat, saying he had to stay overnight out of town and couldn’t visit personally. To thank Jiang Yuan for his assistance last night, he asked Yang Hongye to bring back a gift and requested Jiang Yuan to accept it.

"Rich people always have so many rules; give a red envelope in the morning and a thank-you gift in the afternoon." Jiang Yuan didn’t think much of it, went downstairs to have a bowl of noodles and bought a few skewers before heading upstairs, just in time to meet Yang Hongye returning from work.

She wrinkled her nose slightly, "Why is there a burnt smell in the room?"

"Oh, I tidied up and burned two pages of paper." Jiang Yuan replied perfunctorily.

The other knew it wasn’t a kitchen fire and didn’t inquire further. Swiftly, she kicked off her high heels, pulled out a small red envelope from her purse, and handed it over, "What did you do to help Chuci yesterday? He took leave and didn’t work these days, and this afternoon, even had our boss deliver the thank-you gift. Even I got a share; he said thanks to me introducing him to you, I’ve gained some benefit too!"

A palm-sized red envelope couldn’t hold anything valuable. He squeezed it, and it felt hard like a card. When he opened it, he was bewildered, "A beauty card? What’s the use of this to me? You have it."

Yang Hongye twitched the corner of her mouth with a look as if he were an idiot, "Don’t you understand social etiquette? Someone like Chuci, a rich second-generation, wouldn’t give something useless to fool people. Let me teach you how to use it. Take this card to this beauty salon and have the cashier process a card return. See the number ’10’ at the upper right corner? This card allows you to collect a hundred thousand cash!"

Jiang Yuan: !!!

A hundred thousand?! Damn!

"I did help a bit, but this is too much, isn’t it?" He wasn’t used to dealing with rich people, and to be honest, he had known Chuci for only a few days and met three times at most. Receiving 166,000 for something trivial felt a bit guilty to him.

In his hometown village, the incense lady helping to interpret incense mysteries and treat illnesses would only ask for a roasted chicken or a red envelope of a few dozen yuan.

Even the most expensive mystic-related services he’d seen only charged two to three hundred yuan, according to them, the business has a set pricing rule and shouldn’t demand more. He wondered if taking so much might bring a downfall?

"For a rich second-generation, it’s normal to be lavish." Yang Hongye beamed with her card, "I even got an introduction fee of thirty thousand. Tell me, what do you want for dinner? I’m treating!"

Jiang Yuan was still grappling with the question of the one hundred thousand yuan, and quietly asked, "Is it really appropriate for me to accept it just like that?" frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

Yang Hongye sprawled on the sofa and helped analyze, "That depends on how you see it. The essence of amicable relations between people is resource exchange. You have what they need, they can offer you help, and mutual assistance keeps relationships enduring.

This money is mentioned as a thank-you fee, indicating that you helped them yesterday, and they feel they should express gratitude.

If you don’t accept it, the signal you’re sending is that they shouldn’t seek you when needed next time; that you stop here and won’t assist further. Accept it, send a polite message, and whether you have a matter for them in the future or they need you, you can directly reach out."

"I see..." Business relies on connections with the upper circles that Chuci provides, so outright refusal indeed wouldn’t be suitable. Thus, he had to accept the beauty card and laughed, "Gift-giving and receiving have so many twists and turns, just involving a card going back and forth."

Referring to her own specialty, Yang Hongye raised an eyebrow and smiled, "This is called the art of gifting. Direct transactions are unsuitable and can easily be tracked for fund flow; handing over money directly is too conspicuous; money deposited in a card giving some commission to the beauty salon looks good both on paper and superficially.

There’s an even simpler and basic gift-giving method.

Have you seen those luxurious tea shops in bustling areas that don’t have a customer all day? For any project difficult to negotiate, visit the tea shop, spend tens or hundreds of thousands on two containers of unknown-brand tea leaves, place custom packaging on the table, and the project is secured.

The same principle applies to tobacco and alcohol shops, antique shops, clothing shops, and even used car transactions, festive mooncake vouchers, hairy crab vouchers, and so on. These seemingly insignificant shops with no visible clientele have cash flow often in the millions; after taxation, it’s legitimate income."

Jiang Yuan listened with eyes wide, having to admire the depth of gift-giving tactics.

He indeed needed more exposure to society; his understanding of competition and attracting business was still stuck at price cuts and offering rebates. The advertising company has already begun employing seduction strategies; his notion of gratitude still revolved around treating meals and gifting a few bottles of alcohol and cartons of cigarettes. Who would’ve imagined such extravagance?

Financial ease meant that night, he immediately transferred twenty thousand yuan to his parents.

In two years post-graduation, he had earned just enough to spend, sometimes struggling to make ends meet. Now experiencing sudden wealth, he delighted in the idea of giving his parents some pocket money.

"Xiao Yuan, didn’t you say the company hadn’t paid salaries yet? Why did you suddenly send me twenty thousand yuan?" His mom soon called.

Jiang Yuan responded half-truthfully, "I helped a friend a bit, and they’re having me do some fruit business. This is the money I’ve recently earned; you guys take it and spend it. Once I’m less busy, I’ll come home, so you can taste the fruits we’re selling—so delicious!"

Upon hearing her son was dabbling in a small business, his mom sighed, "Back when you were little, your dad and I both worked in town, could only leave you in our hometown. I too considered quitting to start a small business, but doing business isn’t easy!

Especially in recent years, everything has been tough, and you have to buy water when on the go. If you have money, just save it yourself, we have enough. Didn’t you say your phone is slow recently? Take the money back and buy a new phone..."

Listening to his mom’s chatter, his nose felt a bit sour, feeling homesick and thankful—having money truly is wonderful!