549 Tiffany and 798

The jewellery was actually well-received by Chinese high-end customers. It was originally only available for purchase in Hong Kong, but then it also became available on the mainland. The most wonderful thing about the collection was that it included silver pieces that cost no more than 500 dollars.

For young people with good taste that wanted to satisfy their materialistic needs, the Tiffany silver collection, with its fine design and good quality, was the best choice.

Before the meeting on the sales statistics in Asia, the president of the Asian-Pacific Area was over the moon. One month ago, he had been to Shanghai to cut the ribbon of the headquarters along with some local associations and government officials. Now he was returning to America to try to explain those strange sales to all the board members.

It was indeed very strange.

In just one month, the sales volume in China and Hong Kong had reached an impressive 30 million dollars, which was 70% of the total sales in Asia and 18% of the total sales all over the world.

This shocked the Americans, who had spent a long time trying to expand their business in Asia. They called the president of the Asian-Pacific Area back immediately.

"The sales of customized and limited edition jewellery are increasing rapidly."

"The low-end silver collection has had a huge amount of sales. Some of the most popular classic designs have already gone out of stock."

"Average-priced jewellery has not been welcomed by the Chinese. We don't have an advantage in the middle-aged and older target groups."

"In China, silver has no value compared to gold. According to traditional consumption concepts, people believe that silver shouldn’t cost this much."

The senior Tiffany executives finally realized what problems they were facing. China was a developing, rising country with a strong consumption potential in the high-end market. Young people in that country were inclined to accept novelty.

The PR department was concerned about its line of business. "By the way, Qin Guan is our global ambassador for the men’s collection. How are the sales going?"

The president was glad to answer that question. "I’ll ask the global supplying department for help. The collection is already out of stock in China in all 16 stores!"

Everyone rubbed their hands, eager to go all out in China.

On the main street of Chang’an Avenue the traffic was terrible. The only entertainment for the drivers stuck in the traffic jam were the giant posters hanging outside the shopping malls.

Qin Guan's posters were the most distinct. Thanks to Tiffany’s large investment, his face occupied the whole building of the Wangfujing Department Store. He was wearing a black suit, his silver sleeve buttons and the card holder in his chest pocket attracting the public’s attention.

If one was interested in the jewellery set, they could drive directly into the underground parking area of the store. The women could buy one for their husbands.

The controversial Chinese actor caused a riot of a spectacular scale.

In the same old 798 warehouse, the indie film directors had acquired an untranslated copy of Qin Guan’s film.

The 21-inch TV added heat to the scorching summer night. Everyone remained silent till the end of the film.

"F*ck! That film could get an award at Cannes!"

"Is absurd black humor in the scope of indie films?"

"The cinematography was mediocre."

Two jacks of a trade could never agree. After some angry comments, everyone fell silent again.

"He is a really good actor though…" somebody murmured to himself in the quiet, lonely night.

"Yes, he saved the film."

"His face went well with the whole film."

Everyone nodded together. "I wonder why it did..."

They all fell into deep thought. Lost in their extreme pursuit of reality, they had ignored the actor’s potential. The keen foreign directors hadn't paid attention to his face though. They had focused on his nature and inner gifts instead.

"Did you watch ‘Blind Shaft’? He couldn’t have acted in that film."

"You are too narrow-minded. The dark makeup of the miners would have let the audience focus on his emotional performance. Who would care about his face?"

Everyone fell silent again.

"When will he return to China?"

"Soon, I think. During his speech at Cannes, he said that indie films would be his priority."

"Aha!"

"We are thinking of the same thing, right?"

"We can set up a trap for him together!"

"Sure! He is our brother. We have to do it!"