"What! It's already nine o'clock, and you're not even open!" The film crew arrived at the Shoemakers' Guild in Florence early the next morning, intending to review some documents and engage in friendly communication, only to be blocked by the tightly shut doors.
Later, they learned from a nearby resident that the Shoemakers' Guild usually opened around 10 AM, and sometimes it was normal for them to open even later in the afternoon. This left the film crew perplexed; their plan to consult the guild's list to investigate the masters was going to be delayed by several more hours.
Well, this wasn't Rich's doing; it was simply that the Shoemakers' Guild in Italy opened so late.
"Damn it, what is all this! We haven't had one smooth experience on this trip!" Liu Xiang couldn't help but start cursing. Wang Dafu didn't stop him, as he himself felt like cursing. What was all this nonsense!
"Oh, Mr. Wang, Miss Li, Uncle Liu, you're all here!" Suddenly, a clear and pleasant voice said in standard English. The group looked down and recognized the person: the cute and beautiful blonde girl, Vivian.
They had met Vivian on the train the previous day. The train had been stuck at the station for 8 hours, and no one was allowed to disembark. Just as they were feeling incredibly bored, the young girl named Vivian suddenly appeared beside them and started chatting with them.
This girl seemed very interested in China and asked many questions about it. This was naturally something the three members of the film crew were most adept at, so they chatted very happily, even forgetting the waiting time on the train.
By the time they realized it, the train was already nearing Florence.
After that, they parted ways, and no one expected to meet again at the entrance of the guild.
"Vivian, why are you here?" Li Sisi asked curiously.
"I was just wandering around the streets and saw you!" Vivian smiled.
"Are you still upset with your parents and haven't reconciled with them?" Li Sisi asked with concern. They had asked Vivian about her background on the train yesterday. After all, a girl around fifteen or sixteen, who was so beautiful and cute, chatting alone with strangers without anyone asking or caring about her was inherently unusual.
Then Vivian told them that she had fallen out with her parents and had decided to run away from home and travel to Italy alone.
In the impression of Chinese people, Westerners are inherently more independent, self-reliant, and bold. Therefore, they didn't suspect Vivian's explanation. Moreover, they were not Vivian's relatives or locals, so they couldn't do anything about Vivian's safety. They could only tell her to be careful and warn her about some dangers in society.
"No, once I have fun in Italy, I'll go back and reconcile with them!" Vivian said nonchalantly. "By the way, Miss Li, what are you waiting for here?"
"It's about the interview. I didn't expect it to open only at 10:00 AM!" Li Sisi sighed.
"Oh! I came from the back street. I saw that there were many lists posted on the wall on the back street. I wonder if there's the list you're looking for!" Vivian tilted her head.
"Is that so!" The group's eyes lit up, and they hurried to the back street. They found a notice board behind the guild, and indeed, a long list of names was posted there. It was a list called "Latest Supplement and Revision Register of Florence Shoemakers' Guild Members in 2003," which listed all the members of the Florence Shoemakers' Guild, totaling over 900 people, completely covering the notice board.
It turned out that the guild had just completed the supplement of members for 2002 and, according to regulations, publicly announced the results of the supplement.
"Quick, look for those 8 names!" Wang Dafu said excitedly. After so much bad luck, they finally encountered something fortunate.
"I found it! I found Piero's name! It's here, guild number 25412, address in Capon Village!" Liu Xiang was the first to make a discovery. He found the name of the first master in the middle of a page, along with his address.
Then, one after another, the names of all 8 masters were found, distributed across 5 different printed pages. It seemed that Jiangnan Group hadn't lied at least on this point; their 8 masters were indeed members of the Shoemakers' Guild!
Of course, this did not prove that Jiangnan Group was not fabricating. After all, they claimed to have 8 masters, but what was registered here were only guild members. Therefore, it was impossible to determine if these 8 people were masters. What if they were just ordinary shoemakers?
Moreover, what if Jiangnan Group had merely borrowed the names of these 8 people and had no connection with them at all?
What's more, Wang Dafu soon discovered a new point of suspicion: "Strange, the addresses of these 8 masters are all in Capon Village. How can they all be together?"
"Yes! They are all from the same village!"
"This is too suspicious!" everyone suspected.
"What are you suspecting? What business do you have with the Cult Association?" a slightly aged voice asked. They turned their heads and saw an old man dressed in a suit, who, although very old, appeared very energetic, sizing them up with a wary look.
"Uh, we are reporters from China Central Television. We want to interview a few masters, but the guild doesn't seem to be open yet, so we had to confirm our identities through this list!" Wang Dafu quickly explained, at the same time identifying himself as a reporter and presenting his reporter's ID and passport as proof.
"Oh! So that's how it is!" The old man smiled. "Hello, I am Colt, the vice-president of the Shoemakers' Guild. Since you are interested in us shoemakers, you are our guests. Let's go into the guild and chat!"
"Okay, this is absolutely wonderful!" The group was once again surprised and delighted. They had not expected to meet the vice-president of the Shoemakers' Guild; this was the second fortunate thing they had encountered today.
The vice-president took a key from his pocket, smoothly opened the guild's door, and led the group upstairs to the second floor.
As they passed through the corridor on the second floor, Wang Dafu noticed that the list of guild management personnel and their corresponding photos were posted on the wall. Under the position of vice-president, there were photos of three vice-presidents, including Mr. Colt.
Conversely, there was a string of introductions written in Italian, describing the various achievements of the vice-president. Wang Dafu wanted to look closely, but studying someone's resume in front of them was too impolite. Therefore, Wang Dafu only took a few quick glances before following the vice-president into the guild's tearoom.
Afterward, the group set up their filming equipment, set up cameras, adjusted the lighting, and after some preparation, Li Sisi began her interview with the vice-president as the host.
She first explained her purpose in detail and then began to ask questions.
After listening, the vice-president nodded and said, "These 8 people are indeed members of our guild and genuine shoemakers. However, none of them are people who pursue fame and fortune, nor do they have any exceptionally brilliant works. They are 8 very simple fellows, so it's normal that you couldn't find their information."
"They are indeed all from Capon Village. As for why this company invited 8 people from the same village, I think it's quite normal. I believe this company probably just wanted to find 8 Italian shoemakers to work for them. Perhaps they were pressed for time or budget, so instead of running around Florence, they found 8 people all at once in Capon Village."
"After all, Capon Village is a famous leatherworking village in Florence. For more than 200 years, the entire village has relied on various leatherworking skills for a living. Everyone in the village is a leatherworker. It's quite normal to find 8 leather shoemakers there directly!" Colt explained.
"I see!" The group nodded. This had cleared their doubts.
"So, Mr. Colt, what is the skill level of these eight gentlemen? Can they be called masters in the industry?" Li Sisi, as a reporter, asked with a microphone.
"I can't answer that question!" Colt burst into laughter. "If I were to comment on whether someone is a master, I wouldn't be able to stay in the guild. How many people would hate me!"
"Sorry! I shouldn't have asked that!" Wang Dafu immediately apologized. Yes, as a vice-president, he couldn't make such a judgment about his peers, otherwise, his peers might end up having a physical confrontation with him in the future.
After all, 'master' is not a professional title, and there are no strict standards. It all depends on subjective judgment. Such things really cannot be spoken of carelessly.
"Since you have come, why not go to Capon Village and see those fellows for yourselves? With your cameras, you can record the facts. Wouldn't that be more credible than my few words?" Colt said with a smile. Wang Dafu quickly nodded in agreement.
However, the conversation ended there. Colt clearly lost interest in continuing the interview. After a brief chat, he used the excuse of not feeling well and needing to go home to rest, politely asked Wang Dafu and the others to leave, and then disappeared into the street with his elegant Italian stride.
"Director, I'm sorry, I asked the wrong question!" Li Sisi apologized to Wang Dafu with tears in her eyes. Because of one of her ill-considered questions, the hard-won interview opportunity was prematurely ended.
"Forget it. You are still young, after all. It's normal to ask such thoughtless questions. The incident has already happened, and it's meaningless to assign blame now. Besides, what the vice-president said is right. Going directly to Capon Village for interviews is a better option."
"Without further ado, let's go to Capon Village now to meet these masters," Wang Dafu said.