Chapter 631: Selecting Gifts
The next day, Lucas went to the Stardust Corporation office building in the morning and handled some reports and doc.u.ments before heading to the hospital with Cheyenne. Since William regained consciousness, his physical condition had improved greatly, and he was gradually recovering from the injuries he suffered because of the car accident.
In the afternoon, Lucas personally went to the kindergarten to pick Amelia up before sending her to her piano cla.s.s. Lucas looked at Amelia and the group of children about the same age, watching them pressing their soft and tender fingers against the piano keys in the cla.s.sroom.
——
Late afternoon the next day, just as Lucas was about to leave for the Coles’, he suddenly smacked his head as he recalled that he seemed to have forgotten something very important.
Since he came to attend Alexis’s birthday party, he had to prepare a birthday gift for her no matter what. Unfortunately, he had been in a rush, so it completely slipped his mind.
Moreover, he also planned to visit Edmund. Since it was his first time visiting the Coles, it wouldn’t be appropriate to show up empty-handed.
Looks like I have to go and prepare some decent gifts! Lucas decided to drive to the famous Union Street in San Francisco.
It was a famous place for luxury items in San Francisco.
Although Lucas hadn’t been here before, he had at least heard about it, and there were indeed plenty of fine antique pieces or luxury goods for sale here, though there might sometimes be counterfeits.
Cole Antiques was the most famous boutique antique store in San Francisco. But since Lucas wanted to pick out some gifts for the Coles, he couldn’t possibly buy them from Cole Antiques and then give them to Edmund and Alexis.
He parked his black Jaguar in the parking lot along the street and started window shopping. When he came across an antique store named the Heavenly Pavilion, it immediately captured his attention.
First of all, the Heavenly Pavilion had a large floor area, with the first floor being more than three times the size of other ordinary stores. It was extremely grand, and there was a plaque with the words ‘Heavenly Pavilion’ engraved on it above the entrance. The calligraphy was beautiful and probably done by a master calligrapher.
Furthermore, the entire Heavenly Pavilion itself was a luxurious, antique-style building that had a total of five floors, with carved eaves and arches. It was magnificent and full of splendor.
The fact that it could occupy such a large s.p.a.ce on Union Street, where every inch of land cost a hefty amount, proved that the owner of the store was wealthy enough and that the items sold here were definitely genuine treasures.
With this in mind, Lucas confidently strode toward the Heavenly Pavilion.
After entering, Lucas discovered that it was indeed worthy of being the largest and grandest antique store on the street. It might be an understatement to call it just an antique store. To Lucas, it was almost like an antique gallery.
In the middle of the hall, there were dozens of antique-style shelves arranged in a staggered manner. There were various antiques such as ceramics, sculptures, jade, and other ornaments displayed aptly on them.
There were also several famous paintings and calligraphy pieces hung on the walls all around him.
Lucas took a quick and casual glance at the items. He had seen lots of high-quality antiques before, and there were even plenty of antiques in his villa. He could tell at a glance that the many items in the hall on the first floor weren’t just ordinary flashy ornaments worth only a few thousand dollars.
After he entered, a few uniformed staff standing near him in the hall, who were prepared to entertain customers, planned to serve him out of habit. But they unanimously stopped in their tracks when they saw him.
As salespeople, they had long developed sharp vision and experienced judgment. They were very knowledgeable in luxury goods and designer apparel.
Lucas was dressed in extremely plain, simple, and casual clothing, none of which were designer. They a.s.sumed that he was just a pa.s.serby who came in to browse antiques casually without any intention of purchasing. Therefore, it would be a waste of their efforts to entertain him. Based on the way Lucas dressed, they were certain that he wouldn’t be able to afford anything from the Heavenly Pavilion.
They had encountered many such people before and knew that as long as they ignored them, they would naturally be conscious enough to leave out of their own accord.
Lucas planned to make some inquiries to a salesperson, but he noticed their indifferent faces. Some even secretly rolled their eyes.
At this moment, a young saleswoman walked up to Lucas with a polite smile and asked personably, “h.e.l.lo, Sir, is there anything I can help you with? We have a large variety of items in the Heavenly Pavilion. What kind of items would you like to inquire about?”
Seeing her behavior, the few salespeople standing still nearby pursed their lips in disdain.
This young man is obviously penniless. The Heavenly Pavilion is an upscale store, and even the cheapest thing here costs over five grand. Each piece probably costs several times his monthly salary.
Only that fool who can’t receive proper customers would entertain such a lowly and useless pa.s.serby.
Lucas remained composed as he observed their expressions. He then said to the saleswoman in front of him, “I’d like to get two gifts. One is a birthday gift for a young woman in her twenties, and the other is for an elderly man in his seventies. However, I don’t know what gifts to get. Please recommend some items to me!”
He glanced at the nameplate of the saleswoman and saw the name ‘Jane’.
Jane smiled and nodded, then continued to ask, “Alright, Sir, may I ask what your price range is? Do the recipients have any special preferences?”
Her att.i.tude was serious, and the questions she asked were professional, causing Lucas to have a good impression of her.
“I don’t know what special preferences they have. Just recommend some items to me. I’m expecting the value of each gift to be about a million dollars. Of course, you can recommend more expensive things if they’re more suitable. It doesn’t matter if the price is higher,” Lucas answered.
The price of both gifts would probably add up to two million dollars, which was definitely not a large sum of money to Lucas. But his relations.h.i.+p with Edmund and Alexis was worth more than that. Since they were a birthday gift and a gift for his first visit, he didn’t want to come across as miserly or overly flashy.
After hearing what Lucas said, the few salespeople standing near them began to sneer.