"Honey, you really just gave 800 yuan to someone else? This isn't like you hired an actor who charges only 20 yuan for their performance. You actually gave a genuine 800 yuan to someone else!" Shen Yuequn's wife complained incessantly on the way back.
"What's there to complain about? This money isn't coming out of our pockets; the chairman is paying for it. We don't have to reimburse anyone!" Huang He said nonchalantly.
"But this money could have been earned by us! For example, if my brother had won these shoes, we would only need to give him 100 yuan for his trouble, and then the remaining 700 yuan would be pure profit for us!" The wife retorted with a cold huff.
"That's not appropriate..." Shen Yuequn shook his head.
"What's inappropriate about it? All the packaging was done by us. If we had handled it ourselves, only you and I would know, and Huang He wouldn't have a clue. What are you afraid of!" The wife's face grew increasingly sour as she spoke, as if 800 yuan had been cut from her.
"But this would disrupt the chairman's marketing strategy..." Shen Yuequn thought for a moment, recalling that Huang He had used the term "marketing strategy" when they spoke on the phone. "He said this money must be given to the person who genuinely consigned the items to ensure the publicity effect is achieved!"
"Nonsense. What if the person who made money decides not to say anything?" the wife said irritably. "Actually, I understand your chairman's strategy. It's all for the onlookers, to make them believe that buying blind boxes can really lead to wealth."
"So, as long as you put on a good show in front of those spectators, does it really matter who earned the 800 yuan?" The wife continued to nag her husband relentlessly.
Shen Yuequn remained silent. He too seemed to have some regrets, after all, it was 800 yuan, and why shouldn't someone close to them earn it? Why not someone in their family?
They returned home in silence, tidied up, and sat in front of the television. However, the usually interesting television programs, like the currently popular "Young Bao Qingtian," couldn't capture their attention at this moment.
The wife continued to complain, while Shen Yuequn kept pondering whether he had truly given away 800 yuan for nothing, having done something incredibly foolish.
They were both absorbed in their own thoughts, not even noticing when the drama finished and a new program began. It wasn't until after several news segments that the host said, "Heimei, do you know what's the hottest thing in our old sy city recently?"
"No, I don't. Have you discovered something new and fun?!" Heimei played along. This was a news program aired at 10 PM called "News Express." Unlike the more serious seven o'clock news, it adopted a relaxed, cheerful, and somewhat personal talk-show style, which allowed the two hosts to speak so casually.
"What's hottest recently, of course, is the wildly popular Jiangnan Leather Factory Big Blind Box bought in old sy!" the male host said with a smile, delivering the punchline.
"Blind box?" The usually silent couple's eyes widened simultaneously, their gazes fixed on the screen.
"What is a blind box?"
"That's a long story. This Jiangnan Leather Factory was originally a leather goods company in Wenzhou. However, due to poor management, it was on the verge of bankruptcy, and the workers hadn't received their wages for months..." The male host began to explain the origin of the big blind box, while also playing a video clip.
To Shen Yuequn and his wife's astonishment, the footage clearly showed them selling blind boxes. They had no idea when these reporters had filmed it, as they hadn't noticed anything at all.
Indeed, it's worth mentioning that accompanying the news footage was the classic Zhejiang Wenzhou, Zhejiang Wenzhou, the Jiangnan Leather Factory is closed... Even lines like "ran away with my sister-in-law" were all included in the background audio.
"For 10 yuan, you can get at least one wallet. That's too cheap. Is it possible this is fake?" Heimei immediately raised a doubt.
"That's right, we also had this suspicion. So, without alerting the stall owner, our reporter secretly posed as an ordinary customer, bought five blind boxes from his stall, and then handed them over to a professional leather goods testing agency for evaluation. Let's watch the interview now!" The screen then transitioned to footage of the reporter, using hidden cameras, purchasing blind boxes.
After buying five blind boxes, the reporter went to a secluded spot and, in front of the camera, began to open them.
"According to the stall owner, there will be at least one leather bag inside, and perhaps even leather shoes and a belt. Let's see if there's a leather bag inside..." As he spoke, the reporter tore open the blind box and took out a box of leather shoes.
"Oh, it seems we're quite lucky to have actually gotten shoes. This boss really didn't lie to us?" The reporter said, opening the second blind box. Inside, there weren't shoes either, but a belt.
However, the third and fourth blind boxes finally yielded two wallets. But when he saw the fifth box, a scene that shocked everyone unfolded: they actually took out a leather jacket from the blind box.
The interview footage ended there, and then the scene shifted back to the studio. Heimei excitedly exclaimed, "My heavens, if you were to buy this leather jacket from a mall, it would cost at least 1000 yuan!"
"That's right. Our reporter went to investigate with the manufacturer. A leather jacket of this style would cost at least 1500 yuan in a large department store!" the male reporter remarked.
"Then I'm certain there's something fishy going on. These leather bags, belts, shoes, and the leather jacket must all be inferior quality, flawed. There's no doubt about it!" Heimei swore emphatically.
"Well, to find out for sure, let's invite an expert to identify them with professional equipment!" With that, the screen switched again to an appraisal center, followed by a rapid montage of various appraisal processes. Finally, an expert in a white coat appeared to be interviewed.
The reporter first asked the expert if the leather goods were genuine leather. The expert stated that these leather goods did indeed contain genuine leather components, and the outer layer was indeed genuine leather. However, this genuine leather was a mixture, considered a lower-priced type of genuine leather.
The reporter then asked if the leather was durable.
The expert replied that it was certainly not as durable as high-priced genuine leather. If used frequently, it would start to show signs of wear and tear within about two to three years.
The reporter then asked if it was harmful to the human body.
The expert stated that unless the leather contained a significant amount of additives, even if these additives were not illegal, they would still be toxic if ingested!