Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 28 Each's Strengths

To Qin Hao's surprise, he and Stella met again in a very short time.

At the local shopping mall, Qin Hao was carrying a shopping bag containing a Swiss Army knife he had just bought.

After all, one can bring a handheld item with each entry into the dream world, and it would be a pity to waste this opportunity. Considering that it would not be difficult for him to obtain firearms in 1914, Qin Hao gave up the idea of ​​carrying firearms and instead prepared to carry a multi-functional tool to deal with various emergencies.

However, the Swiss Army knives available at the shopping mall were mostly general-purpose models, which did not quite meet Qin Hao's needs. He could only reluctantly choose one to take with him, which was barely satisfactory.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard a familiar voice.

"Is this size a bit too big? It feels so loose on me."

"How could that be, ma'am? The color of this dress suits you perfectly. Only someone with your figure could bring out the three-dimensionality of this dress!"

Qin Hao stopped and turned around to look, realizing that he had indeed heard correctly.

Stella was holding up a beige striped knit top in front of a boutique, while a sales clerk beside her was using persuasive sales pitches, practically pressing the top against her body.

To be honest, Qin Hao had known this girl for quite a few years, and in his eyes, she had always been a neat and practical person. She usually focused her energy on her work and dressed very casually.

I don't know what's wrong with this lady today, but she actually came to the shopping mall to pick out clothes herself, and it seems she even brought high heels.

However, perhaps because she had no experience in dressing up, Stella's taste was rather poor.

For example, the clothes she's looking at now are actually the kind of loose-fitting shirts that older women with fuller figures would choose, but the belt she's wearing is the kind of studded style that teenage girls would prefer. If you add in those dark red high heels, even by an ordinary person's standards, this is a disaster.

Nevertheless, Qin Hao felt he had no reason to interfere, so he prepared to leave quietly.

However, at the last moment before he looked away, he noticed that the clothes in Stella's hand looked somewhat familiar.

Thinking about the bottle of medicine from yesterday, Qin Hao turned back. Stella had been good to him, so he couldn't just watch her fall for it.

The next second, Qin Hao changed his expression and jogged into the store.

"Sorry, sorry, there was some traffic on the way. Honey, have you started picking out clothes yet?" His tone sounded like that of a shy young man eager to see his girlfriend on a date.

Stella took a few seconds to react. She turned around in surprise, her lips slightly parted.

Qin Hao stepped forward and whispered in her ear, "Don't speak yet, leave it to me."

The usually assertive girl subconsciously did as she was told and didn't say anything more.

"Hello, these clothes look really nice. Can you tell me more about them?" Qin Hao took the knitted top, his movements as natural as a boyfriend giving advice to his girlfriend.

"Yes, sir, LUMIRE is a newly established French brand. The founder is a former Dior haute couture designer, and the style is inspired by..."

The female sales assistant began her eloquent introduction, while Qin Hao smiled, looked into her eyes, and listened quietly.

"This garment was inspired by the light and shadow in Monet's masterpiece paintings... um, we have our own patent... um, water-soluble... water-soluble printing..."

For some reason, the saleswoman started to feel guilty as she spoke, her words became incoherent, and she subconsciously avoided looking into the eyes of the person opposite her.

"Alright, I understand." Qin Hao finally raised his hand to interrupt the other party.

"So, ma'am, where are the garments in your store made?" Qin Hao asked with a smile.

“We have our own factories in Braga and Istanbul, and all the clothes are shipped by special train…” “That’s enough, that’s enough,” Qin Hao stopped him again, flipping up a corner of his outer shirt to reveal a very subtle logo.

Can you tell me what this means?

“This…” The sales assistant’s expression suddenly turned very unpleasant.

"It seems you already know." Qin Hao's smile remained unchanged.
"These are products manufactured in Romania at low cost, hastily made on an assembly line by workers earning 5 euros an hour. It's not appropriate to sell them at this price, is it?" Qin Hao said, flicking the four-figure price tag on the clothes.

“This is even more outrageous,” Qin Hao said, picking up the belt with rivets. “The last time I saw this style was at a clothing wholesale market in my hometown in China. Don’t tell me they’re just similar designs, right?”

"Please wait a moment, our supervisor will be here soon." The sales assistant hurriedly ran away.

Half an hour later, Qin Hao accompanied Stella out of the store. The girl had changed into a dove-gray coat and trousers. Although the Milanese style was understated and reserved, it elevated her overall demeanor.

The key point is that this outfit was completely free. In order to cover up the fact that the store used cheaply purchased items, Qin Hao ripped them off.

"Unbelievable? How did you figure that out?" Stella finally spoke, but the way she put her hands on her hips completely ruined the image that had been propped up by her clothes.

"Do you know what my family used to do?" Qin Hao asked, turning around.

The woman recalled for a moment, "You mentioned it once, I think it was about doing cross-border business?"

"To be precise, it's the export clothing business, and it started in the 90s." Qin Hao held up the shopping bag in his hand.

“Newly established brands, because they don’t have many styles, sometimes use low-end OEM products to fill their wardrobes. Although it’s an unspoken rule in the industry, it’s a different story when it’s discussed openly. And coincidentally, I’m an expert in this area.”

"I see," the tall woman nodded, turned around and smiled, "Then, to thank you for saving me a lot of money, I'll treat you to lunch."

It must be said that Stella's generous and cheerful personality makes her very comfortable to be around, but she always lacks a bit of feminine delicacy in the details.

For example, for lunch, she chose a Mexican restaurant and ate Mexican tacos (corn tortillas with meat and vegetables, similar to Chinese hand-pulled pancakes), which are not considered high-class.
However, since Qin Hao returned in 1914, he has significantly lowered his standards for food, and he even enjoys tacos, which are quite oily and salty, quite well.

"So, what brings you to the mall?" Stella asked casually after finishing her meal.

"Let's buy a multi-purpose tool," Qin Hao said, gesturing with the package in his hand.

"I'm planning to travel and relax, and it would be very convenient to have a handy gadget with me."

Stella picked up the expensive Swiss Army knife, examined it, and a smile of triumph spread across her face.

"Qin, your taste in choosing tools seems to be about the same as my taste in choosing clothes."

Is something wrong?

"The main structure is too rigid, making it easy to break when chopping, while the connecting structures are too fragile and will probably fall apart after a short time. The additional features are flashy but impractical and take up too much space."

The woman spent about a minute belittling what Qin Hao had bought for several hundred euros, making it seem worthless.

Just as the girl was about to speak again, an unexpected voice interrupted her.

"Hand over the money!"

(End of this chapter)