"That was just luck, Mr. Ng," I said, embarrassed. The guy was praising me a bit too much and I was beginning to feel uncomfortable. "And I had a lot of help."
"You're too humble!" Neil Ng chuckled and patted my shoulder. His smile widened as he stepped back. "Are you here to buy a new house?"
"Originally, but I decided not to."
"What?" Neil looked disappointed. "Are the houses here not to your liking? Do you have any preferences? I'm sure we'll be able to arrange something."
"Well…it's not so much that I have any specific preferences, but apparently I'm not welcome here."
"Huh?" Neil frowned in bewilderment. "What's that supposed to mean?"
I shrugged. "According to your staff, I'm too poor to afford a house. I'm just here to pretend to be rich and will walk away after a while. In fact, I believe one of them was about to contact security to chase me out."
"WHAT?!" Neil roared, turning on the trembling saleswomen who had backed to a corner of the showroom, clutching each other anxiously. "What the hell did you say to Mr. Shen!?"
"No…we…"
"We didn't know…sorry…"
"We didn't know he was the CEO of Shen Industries! We wouldn't have…said anything otherwise!"
"How is it our fault? He came in a cheap Toyota! And a cheap suit!"
What was wrong with my Toyota? Why was everyone so scornful of Toyota? It was a great brand. I bet if I was a regular salaryman mingling with middle-income people, they would be praising my Toyota. It was a high-end family car. This was getting ridiculous.
Why were people so obsessed with car brands? With what I wore?
"So basically, if I'm not the CEO of Shen Industries, you'll treat customers like that? Insult them for being poor and driving them out? Based on what they wear and drive?" I asked sarcastically.
"You…!" One of the saleswomen cried, looking as if she was about to slap me. Then she caught the murderous glare from Neil and she hastily pulled her hand back.
"P…please, Mr. Shen…surely you exaggerate." Another saleswoman boldly spoke up, looking at me pleadingly. "We didn't say anything near as bad as what you claimed."
"Oh, really?" To my surprise, it was the flamboyant guy with his squeeze. He swaggered toward us, his arm curled around the shoulders of his wife. "I heard everything, though."
"Eek!" the staff recoiled when he approached, their faces as pale as a ghost's. One of them even fell to her knees, her expression filled with despair.
"Hmm, what was it you said?" The guy in the branded suit pointed dramatically at the lady who was about to slap me earlier. "Weren't you asking what the security doing, and wondering how they could just let anyone in?"
"That's…that's…he looked suspicious! That's why! Who comes to this showroom wearing such shabby clothing?"
"Is my clothing shabby?" I asked, glancing down. I had the decency to at least change out of my jumpsuit and dress appropriately. I wasn't wearing a branded suit, but I was at least wearing a buttoned shirt with almost formal-looking jeans and sneakers. "Am I supposed to show up in a blazer and tie? I didn't know there was such a requirement."
"No, not at all." Neil looked me up and down, and then he glowered at the staff. "Many young people arrive in casual attire anyway. It's not like you're here for a business meeting. You can wear whatever you want, provided it's decent."
No slippers, singlet and shorts, in other words. Even I wasn't that…crude.
"There is no dress code for my showroom. I don't know what my staff are talking about."
"They were making fun of him wearing glasses and being too poor to afford lasik. I think they also called him pretentious and said he shouldn't be here."
The guy in the branded suit was driving the knife in deeper and twisting it in their guts. Good lord, I completely didn't expect that. When I first saw him, I had thought he was the kind of guy who would show off and mock me in a condescending manner for being poor. I had half-expected him and his wife to laugh at how poor I was, or something to that effect.
Whoops. I was doing the exact same thing as these foul-mouthed saleswomen – judging people by their appearances. To be fair, it wasn't so much their appearances but the character tropes. I had been reading way too many son-in-law or urban cultivation stories. I had to remind myself to separate reality from fiction.
Wait…something was weird about this whole thing. The guy and his wife didn't step in when the saleswomen were ridiculing me earlier. They only spoke up after they found out my identity as the CEO of Shen Industries. This was suspicious.
"I'm Francis Fang," the guy in the branded suit introduced himself and reached out with a hand that I accepted and shook. He hugged his wife tighter. "This is Fiona, my wife."
"Nice to meet you."
"I also do some business, but nowhere as big-scale as yours." Francis chuckled and rubbed his head. "I just own a couple of DYI stores. It's on Jian Yi Street, you're welcome to visit if you want."
He stretched both of his hands, grinning. "It's a really big store! Maybe you'll find the parts you need in there."
"I'll check it out if I have the chance," I said noncommittedly. Just to be polite. I couldn't bluntly refuse, especially after he helped me. He might have ulterior motives, but that didn't mean I had to be rude to him.
Besides, I should always assume the best of someone until they proved me otherwise. I wasn't naïve enough to give him all my money and trust him – that wasn't politeness, that was sheer stupidity. But smiling and speaking in a friendly manner cost me nothing.
"I've to say, I'm a big fan of your machines. The shield generator…the war walker! You're an inspiration to us all!"
"Nah…like I said, I got lucky. I also received a lot of help."
"You're too humble."
While we conversed, Neil had proceeded to berate the saleswomen. He was standing in front of them, cursing them out. I couldn't make out the string of words that left his mouth in an incoherent manner, but I caught snippets here and there.
"…I didn't hire you to gossip about the customers…see what good thing you've done! Offending a CEO of a renowned company…! All you know is to talk, why didn't you do your job? Where's your sense of professionalism…?"
Normally, I would feel sorry for them, but given how they pissed me off earlier, I could only feel a sense of satisfaction watching them get put down.
"You're fired!"
Neil finished his scolding, jabbing his finger at each and every one of the saleswomen present, except the one who was serving Francis and Fiona Fang. They swallowed, staring at their boss in shock, and trembled.
"No, boss! Please give us another chance!"
"We'll change! I swear! I'll definitely reflect and change!"
"Please! I really need this job! I can't afford to be fired! I've only been working for a couple of months!"
"I've a daughter to bring up! I need the job! Please give me another chance!"
"Enough!" Neil roared. "Did you give Mr. Shen a chance? Luckily I was nearby and happened to return here to check on things! Otherwise you would have cost me a great deal! I don't believe Mr. Shen is the type to publicize this sort of thing, but what if word of this gets out? My company's image will be ruined because of your arrogance! And you want another chance!?"
The saleswomen quailed, unable to say anything. Neil shook his head and pointed out the door.
"Get out of here. Don't let me see you women again." he glanced at the only saleswoman who wasn't fired. "Lacy, help me with the termination procedures."
"Yes, Mr. Ng." Lacy lowered her head, unable to meet the eyes of her ex-colleagues. She must be thanking her lucky stars. I wasn't sure if I could judge her, but it was likely that she would have joined her colleagues in condemning and insulting me if she wasn't entertaining Francis and Fiona Fang. Or maybe she wouldn't. I would never know.
Not that I cared. Whatever happened had already happened, and there was no use thinking too much about it.
While the ex-saleswomen trudged out of the showroom, their complexions ashen from the shock and horror of losing their jobs, Neil ng turned to me with a big smile. All trace of his anger had disappeared. I couldn't help but be impressed – this must be what a professional businessman was like, having superb acting skills or simply retaining immense control over his emotions, able to switch from one façade to another in a snap.
"I apologize for that, Mr. Shen. As a sign of sincerity, I will give you a discount. I hope you will reconsider, now that I have fired the culprits responsible for humiliating you."
"Uh, yeah…"
I understood what he meant. Neil Ng had given me "a lot of face" by firing his staff – whatever that meant. I still didn't comprehend the concept of "face" in Hua Xia, but the point was that he was bittering up to me at the expense of those women. It would be rude if I simply walked away now – that would constitute "not giving him face." Whatever that meant. I supposed it meant that I would end up embarrassing him, and that wouldn't be good.
Besides, I did need a new house, so I might as well take a look.
While I continued to speak to Neil, the only saleswoman who was left returned to entertaining Francis and Fiona Fang, and the couple followed her to look at whatever house they were admiring before they came to my aid. Before they left, Francis waved to me.
"I'll see you next time, Mr. Shen. Don't forget to drop by my store!"
"Yeah. Thank you!"
I bowed and watched them leave, and then I returned my attention to Neil, who was waiting expectantly with a smile. Taking a deep breath, I nodded.
"Actually, I'm looking for a place with a large garage."
"Ah, I understand." Neil nodded thoughtfully. "You want a house where you can continue tinkering with your machines, so that you can continue your experiments at home."
"That's right." I was glad that Neil was quick to understand.
The plump, balding middle-aged man grinned and snapped his fingers. He turned around and gestured for me to follow him toward one of the replicated houses in the showroom.
"I might have just the perfect house for you…"