Mrs. Brown''spanions agreed with her, saying, "How embarrassing! We should keep our distance from her so that no one sees us and thinks we''re with her!


    "She even dares to bring those pickles here!"


    After taking a deep breath, I was about to speak when a beautiful woman wearing sunsses and striking red lipstick approached the table.


    She nced at the pickles on the table and asked the front desk, "Did you just receive these pickles? Can you send some to my room at dinner? My mom has been recovering here for a while, andtely, she has found that most pickled foods are not tasty enough to go with her meals."


    The receptionist working at the front desk said, "I''m sorry, Ms. Klein, but these aren''t our pickles. They were brought from the countryside by thisdy."


    The woman turned to Mrs. Cylon in surprise. "These were brought from the countryside? That means they''re authentic and handmade, right?"


    Revealing a shy smile, Mrs. Cylon said, "Yes, they''re handmade. They were naturally fermented, with no additives other than salt and some spices."


    "Oh my, this is something precious that can''t even be purchased! Could you sell me some? My mom grew up in the countryside and craved food like this, but there''s no way I can buy this just anywhere. This must be fate. Please, sell me some, ma''am."


    Mrs. Cylon was ttered. "Oh, shucks. This isn''t anything valuable. If you want to have some, just take it."


    The woman smiled, taking Mrs. Cylon''s hand without hesitation. "Then I really must thank you, ma''am."


    With a smile, I turned to the front desk and said, "Please bring a few clean bowls and fill them for the beautifuldy."


    The front desk quickly brought some bowls, filled them with pickles per my instructions, and ced them on a tray.


    The woman wanted to pay Mrs. Cylon, but she firmly refused. In the end, the woman simply took out a pair of sunsses from her bag and handed them to her.


    "Ma''am, if you don''t ept these, I really won''t be able to take the pickles. These sunsses are brand new. I''ve never worn them. They''re perfect for shielding your eyes when you''re doing work outside. We have simr face shapes, so they''ll look


    great on you. Please ept them."


    I could tell from a single nce at the sunsses that they were Versace. That pair was easily worth 1,000 dors.


    UT


    Since Mrs. Cylon had no knowledge of luxury brands, she assumed the sunsses cost just a few tens of dors, so she epted them. Meanwhile, Mrs. Brown and hef group looked envious, as if they wanted to snatch the sunsses.


    If they''d known that a few bowls of pickles could be swapped for Versace


    sunsses, they probably would''ve brought all their pickles with them.


    After the woman left with the


    pickles, I asked the front desk to


    bring clean, sealed jars, fill them, and send them to the woman. Then, asked them to send the remaining pickles to the university via courier. By the time everything was sorted, it was alreadyte.


    Felicia decided to remain with her mom, so I returned to school alone since I couldn''t stay any longer.


    On the way back, I called my mother and told her what had happened. "Wow, son! You''ve got a girlfriend? What kind of woman is she?"


    As expected, my mom got excited right away. If it weren''t for Felicia bringing her mother here to introduce her to me, I''d nned not to tell my mother for at least another year.


    But now, I had no choice but to tell her.


    I recounted how I met Felicia, and my mother pped in delight. "That''s great! She must be a nice youngdy. I like her already. I''ve told you before. When looking for a girlfriend, don''t just focus on looks or her figure.


    "Find someone with a good personality-modest and mature, like me. She doesn''t need to be exceptional, just capable of being a good and helpful wife."


    I smiled at her remarks. "I know. She has a great personality."