Chapter 118: The Birth of the Jiangnan Council [Tenth Update]

"Mr. Huang, our CEO, Ms. Qu, is a graduate of Central Saint Martins. Even at just twenty years old, she already held her own personal fashion show in the UK. Later, after a trip to Dunhuang, she became fascinated by our traditional Chinese attire. But upon returning home, she discovered that very few people in our own country even knew what our traditional clothing was anymore!"

"That is why Ms. Qu founded this company, with the ambition of making our traditional Chinese clothing popular in China once again!" Qu Wei’s young secretary said proudly, her face full of admiration; she was clearly a devoted fan of Qu Wei.

"I see!" Huang He finally understood why the company had such an eccentric name. It turned out the CEO had started the business specifically to produce Hanfu.

"Flowing Waters and Plucked Ferns"—if this were 2021, a name like that would have blown every other Hanfu brand out of the water. But in 2001...

The truth was, there was absolutely no market for Hanfu in this era. The massive amount of capital and labor required to produce it had dragged down the company's otherwise decent business in other garments, plunging this workshop—which likely had the most patriotic name in history—into such a predicament.

"If Ms. Qu had started this company twenty years from now, I have no doubt her dream would come true," Huang He sighed. "Unfortunately, today, our motherland doesn't have such a market yet. The revival of Hanfu isn't just about someone doing it; it requires the revival of both culture and the market."

"Cultural revival means re-cultivating our citizens' awareness, understanding, and love for Hanfu. Market revival means everyone must have money; after all, not many people can afford a single piece that costs over a thousand yuan."

"I know all of this! Then I'll just wait another twenty years!" Qu Wei sighed deeply, as if she had decided to give up on something. "Since Mr. Huang has said so, I surrender. There are 400,000 pieces of various garments here in total. If you are interested, take them all for 500,000. That will be enough for me to pay my workers' wages and buy a plane ticket back to the UK."

"But I will come back in twenty years, and when I do, I will definitely succeed," Qu Wei said calmly, though one could sense the strength in her words.

"Half a million for 400,000 items? Wouldn't I be making a killing?" Huang He laughed heartily. Honestly, this was a great deal. 400,000 garments meant 400,000 "fashion blind boxes," potentially generating 4 million RMB in revenue—an eightfold profit. It was almost too good to be true.

However, Huang He didn't want to do that. This was a one-off deal, and he wasn't interested in one-off deals.

"Ms. Qu, I can take all the clothes here, but not for 500,000," Huang He said with a smile.

"Mr. Huang, I'm already at such a loss, and you still want to drive the price down?" Qu Wei said indignantly. This man wasn't a hero riding a colorful cloud; he was a ruthless tycoon!

"Ah, Ms. Qu, please let me finish. I want all these clothes, but not at the 500,000 price—I’ll pay the original price you quoted earlier," Huang He said.

"The original price?" Qu Wei was stunned. She then added, "If we go by the original price, the total value of these goods is 1 million. You’d be paying double the amount. Are you really willing to do something so foolish?"

"Also, you want my Hanfu too?"

"Of course. In fact, your Hanfu is what I truly value. After all, I’ve searched the entire country, and I doubt I could find another company capable of mass-producing Hanfu like yours," Huang He nodded sincerely.

He had been uncertain about what to include as the top-tier "hidden reward" in his fashion blind boxes, but now he knew: it would be the Hanfu. Such exquisite garments were worthy of being the most prestigious hidden prizes.

"However, I have one condition," Huang He said, shifting his tone.

"What are you planning?" Qu Wei clutched her chest, looking at him warily.

"…You’ve misunderstood. You aren’t actually that attractive," Huang He rolled his eyes. "What I mean is, you cannot return to the UK, and you cannot close this company. On the contrary, I want you to keep operating it."

"It’s not that I don't want to, but as you said, my Hanfu has no market. I can’t find buyers, and I don't want to just make ordinary clothes—what would be the difference between me and any other generic garment factory?" Despite her dire situation, her tone remained proud.

"I’ll buy them!" Huang He smiled slightly, revealing his fangs. "We can sign an agreement: as long as your products meet our company's quality standards, all of our company's garment procurement needs will be sourced from your factory."

"A conservative estimate would be several million pieces of clothing per year. That should be enough to keep your factory afloat, right?"

"But in exchange, I want to acquire a 40% stake in your company through this agreement. In other words, without spending a single cent, I will gain 40% ownership based solely on this exclusive procurement contract. At the same time, Ms. Qu, you must join our Jiangnan Group and become a member of its board, fully cooperating with our strategic development needs."

"That way, our two companies will be like one family."

"What? You want a 40% stake without spending a single penny?!" Qu Wei was shocked. "Please, even a robbery isn't that brazen!"

"I told you, I am using the agreement to invest… How about this: the agreement can stipulate a minimum procurement of 5 million garments per year. If I fail to meet that requirement, I will automatically return the 40% stake to you," Huang He said.

"A minimum of 5 million pieces!" Qu Wei began to waver. If she had an order for 5 million pieces, she could guarantee stable cash flow for her company and wouldn't have to worry about the inventory not selling.

But this would tie her completely to the Jiangnan Group's chariot. If it crashed in the future, wouldn't she crash along with it?

"Within those 5 million pieces, there must be at least 1,000 Hanfu items," Qu Wei demanded.

"5,000!" Huang He waved his hand. "A 1-in-5,000 chance for a rare item is too harsh; the customers will curse us. A 1-in-1,000 chance is better. We shouldn't be too cruel to our customers!"

"Fine!" Qu Wei’s lips twitched slightly, but she agreed. That very day, she signed the contract with the Jiangnan Group, becoming the second member of the Jiangnan Board—a mysterious organization destined to exist in legend.

The first member, of course, was Boss Huang himself.