The gift boxes were made of rosewood and felt heavy in hand.
Helan Rong opened his first, revealing several bronze figurines inside the soft padding. They had peculiar clothes and varied poses. Though only three or four inches tall, the carving was exquisite and the coloring rich.
Helan Rong turned to look at Helan Chang's and Lu Shuo's boxes; they contained similar bronze figurines, only slightly different in posture and attire.
Helan Rong found them novel, playing with one in his hand as he asked Shen Hechuan, "What are these?"
Shen Hechuan said, "Nothing valuable—just little trinkets I bought from foreign merchants when I was traveling along the southern coast earlier. I thought they used foreign bronze and had unique shapes that we Great Yue people had never seen, so I bought a few as souvenirs. Since I was coming to the capital and didn't know what you all liked, I simply brought these to show you something fresh."
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