Chapter 116: I Have Come to Save You

"Who is this man? I've never seen him before!" From the third floor, Qu Wei couldn't hear exactly what the man was saying, but he clearly possessed an immense sense of authority. He didn't just command the attention of the workers; even her own security guards, who had been blocking the entrance on the first floor, had stepped aside to let him pass.

It was worth noting that these security guards were the only people in the entire factory who were actually receiving their full wages. Without them, the workers would have long since stormed the building. This was a stark contrast to the previous owner, Boss Huang, who had been completely destitute—he hadn't even paid the guards, leaving him utterly defenseless.

"I'm not sure. I haven't seen him either," her secretary whispered. The mystery didn't last long, however, as the man soon appeared before Qu Wei.

"Oh, he's actually quite clean, refreshing, and handsome!" Qu Wei couldn't help but think when Huang He stood before her.

A word of advice to my fellow men: if you aren't naturally handsome, focus on being clean and well-groomed. It will earn you plenty of positive impressions.

Returning to the matter at hand, Huang He extended his hand the moment he saw Qu Wei. "Hello, President Qu. I am Huang He of the Jiangnan Group. Please forgive my uninvited arrival; it was a bit presumptuous of me."

"You... you're Huang He?" Qu Wei’s eyes widened in shock. She stared at the man before her, never expecting the legendary Huang He to be someone so strikingly handsome.

Ever since the stories about Huang He began to circulate, Qu Wei had been obsessed with him. He even appeared in her dreams—though not in a romantic sense. She simply wanted to understand how he had led his company out of such a desperate predicament.

She had sent people to investigate, discovering that he used something called "blind boxes." It seemed simple enough, but when Qu Wei tried to replicate the strategy by packaging her own clothing into blind boxes, it was a complete disaster.

For starters, her funds were bone-dry. She could barely afford the printing costs for the packaging, let alone the train tickets to send her workers home. Back in the day, Huang He had ensured his workers’ cooperation by purchasing their round-trip tickets to their hometowns. Even if the workers didn't believe the blind boxes would sell, they viewed it as a free trip home to see their parents, with the option to return later to collect their wages. That was why they were willing to try selling the boxes.

Qu Wei hadn't known this detail. Asking her workers to head home on their own to sell her boxes was a fool's errand.

She had tried to get the locals to sell the clothing in Wenzhou, but there were thousands of garment factories in the city. Not only was there no market for clothing-based blind boxes, but Qu Wei also lacked a megaphone to broadcast a compelling hook—like the scandalous story of "running away with the brother-in-law."

After struggling with the blind boxes for a while, Qu Wei hadn't solved her problems; she had only made them worse.

This made her even more curious about the man who had soared to success through those very same boxes. She had wanted to ask him for advice on how to escape her plight but was too embarrassed to approach him. She never expected him to appear before her now.

"Could it be that Huang He is interested in me?" Qu Wei’s heart began to pound. Having started as a designer—and a brilliant one at that, with works recognized even abroad—she was naturally more romantic at heart than the average woman. Otherwise, she never would have impulsively rushed to Wenzhou to open a clothing factory, only to lose every cent of the hundreds of thousands of dollars she had earned overseas.

She instinctively cast herself into the role of a heroine in a romance drama, convinced that Huang He had fallen for her beauty and depth.

Truth be told, whether Qu Wei had "depth" was debatable, but she was certainly attractive—though nowhere near the league of Huang He’s sisters-in-law. Still, compared to women of this era who hadn't yet mastered the "three great Asian sorceries" of makeup and editing, she was quite pretty. Coupled with the sophisticated, refined aura of a professional designer, she could outshine 90% of her peers. Yet, in Huang He's eyes, she certainly hadn't reached the point where he would go out of his way to pursue her.

"Mr. Huang, may I ask what brings you to my humble abode?" Qu Wei asked, acting slightly coy.

"Humble abode?" Huang He blinked. "President Qu, do you live in this office?"

"Oh... no... well, yes. I have a rest area here, and I've been staying here for the past few days," Qu Wei stammered, realizing her slip-up.

"Haha, I understand. Half a year ago, I was just like you, trapped in my office. I spent nearly a month locked in there before I could get out. Looking back, it was such a painful time, but I miss it, too," Huang He sighed.

He truly did miss it. Compared to the frantic pace of his current life, the time he spent playing computer games in that office for over two weeks felt like a golden age.

"President Qu, to be honest, I'm here to help you," Huang He said with a smile. "I heard about your company's situation and felt a deep sense of empathy. I hope I can help you overcome this, just as I did."

"So, Mr. Huang, do you intend to teach me how to sell blind boxes?" Qu Wei asked immediately.

"Teach you to sell blind boxes?" Huang He paused, blinked, and then laughed. "I can't teach you that. I have a much more direct solution."

"What is it?"

"I'll buy your current inventory. Wouldn't that resolve your company's crisis?"

"Oh, is that all?" Qu Wei looked disappointed. "Don't you know the proverb, 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime'? If you buy some now, the stock will just pile up again later!"

"Er..." Huang He hesitated, then smiled. "The blind box model is a trade secret of my company. You and I don't have that kind of special relationship, so I have no reason to teach you, do I?"

"Well, we could establish a special relationship," Qu Wei blurted out without thinking. The moment the words left her lips, she realized what she had said. Her face turned bright red, and she waved her hands frantically. "I didn't mean it like that... never mind. If you want to buy our stock, that would certainly solve my immediate crisis. I'll take you to the warehouse right now!"

Qu Wei fled the office as if her life depended on it. Huang He gave a wry smile and followed. The group left the building at a brisk pace, heading toward the warehouse. The workers outside, seeing that Huang He was actually heading to the warehouse, grew excited and followed closely behind.

"Mr. Huang, our warehouse is divided into five zones: A, B, C, D, and E," she said, opening the doors and pointing to the five mountains of goods. "Zones A and B have the most area and the largest inventory. If you need them, Zone A is one yuan per piece, and Zone B is two yuan."

"Zone C is five yuan, Zone D is twenty, and Zone E is two hundred. These are all at cost. I'm not making a single penny off you; I just need to recoup my initial investment!" Qu Wei said with a bitter smile.