The chill Huo Chenzhou had felt on his neck earlier was now replaced by a surge of heat in the room due to his anger.
“Miss Xia, if you don’t understand business, you shouldn’t speak recklessly. Is this your idea? Has your uncle approved it?”
What Huo Chenzhou wanted to ask was whether Mayor Tang had approved!
Such reckless behavior was inappropriate, especially in this setting.
A project worth tens of millions wasn’t a playground for Xia Xiaolan. If not for Mayor Tang’s consideration, Huo Chenzhou would have had someone throw her out immediately.
Being beautiful and studious were her strong points – did Xia Xiaolan think these made her invincible?
Business dealings were different from memorizing English vocabulary or taking college entrance exams.
Did being good at studying automatically mean being good at business?
“YES” would always consist of those three fixed letters.
“1+1=2” would never be wrong.
“Bring in the Wine” would always be written by Li Bai, never Du Fu.
These academic knowledge points required memorization, and whether simple or difficult, always had correct answers!
But business situations changed constantly – who could know the right answer?
Huo Chenzhou felt Xia Xiaolan understood nothing.
Even though he knew she ran some clothing store, how could such a small business compare to a project worth tens of millions?
Huo Chenzhou’s rich inner thoughts were largely transparent to Xia Xiaolan.
“Manager Huo, please don’t get too excited. Don’t you already know whether I can represent my uncle? This is just a proposal. If you don’t agree, I won’t insist. I just hope you’ll listen to my reasoning.”
Though Huo Chenzhou’s time was valuable, it surely wasn’t worth hundreds of thousands per minute.
Besides, it wasn’t just his time that was precious – Xia Xiaolan was also incredibly busy.
“Manager Huo, we’re in the same boat now, and I wouldn’t joke about this. Yuanhui will provide the 16 million budget proposal but simultaneously offer another 30 million budget proposal. The Hong Kong shareholders’ opposition to Old Ning’s proposal might not just be about opposing Dongfeng. Forgive my directness, but all four Nanhai Hotel investors are financially strong. Increasing the budget from 16 to 30 million means each company’s share would only increase by a few million… While millions are astronomical to me, they’re insignificant to Dongfeng Holdings. We’ll provide two proposals, and two plans, and won’t charge design fees for the additional proposal. Manager Huo won’t suffer any losses.”
Things couldn’t be this good – someone voluntarily doing extra work.
Unable to understand Xia Xiaolan’s strategy, Huo Chenzhou asked, “What’s your benefit? What do you want?”
“I want to modify the contract to specify one-fourth of the total budget rather than the shareholders’ 4 million. If the final budget is 30 million, Yuanhui should get 7.5 million worth of work. The percentage stays the same, but the actual amount changes with the final proposal!”
So that was it.
Huo Chenzhou almost laughed, “Yuanhui doesn’t have enough capital for that.”
Xia Xiaolan looked surprised, “Manager Huo, surely you don’t think we’d accept the same payment terms – 500,000 per phase with 2 million final payment – for a 30 million budget proposal? For 7.5 million, we’d require 900,000 after proposal approval, 900,000 at construction start… and 2.1 million final payment after inspection.”
Though Huo Chenzhou initially wanted to refuse, he reconsidered and verbally agreed – Dongfeng wouldn’t lose anything.
Xia Xiaolan was daydreaming, but Huo Chenzhou didn’t burst her bubble.
“Alright.”
It was just signing a new contract, wasting some paper and ink.
They’d still end up executing the 16 million budget proposal – Huo Chenzhou was just humoring a naive student.
This thought made him feel better.
“Have your uncle come sign the new contract.”
“Wonderful!”
Xia Xiaolan’s smile almost dazzled Huo Chenzhou.
She was truly exceptionally beautiful, probably spoiled by constant praise and unfamiliar with failure, Huo Chenzhou thought, shaking his head internally.
Xia Xiaolan didn’t care what Manager Huo thought as long as she achieved her goal.
Her thinking matched Huo Chenzhou’s – even if unsuccessful, it only cost some words. She wasn’t drawing the designs herself, and the difference between 30 million and 16 million budgets would show dramatically different results. Let Nanhai Hotel’s investors choose themselves.
The 20,000 yuan consulting fee was truly worth it.
Though the money went to Ning Yanfan, Xia Xiaolan could use the entire studio’s staff. Senior Brother Xu Yuejin’s drawings were fast and excellent – surely he could handle some extra work?
Senior Brother Xu’s hands were so precise, that his hand drawings looked like computer renderings. Xia Xiaolan couldn’t be more satisfied!
…
At Wangfujing.
A three-story building was under intense construction.
The ground floor was a showroom, aiming for understated luxury.
Of the upper two floors, the top floor was Ji Ya’s exclusive space for meeting clients and promoting her work.
The second floor was the workspace, an open design area where Ji Ya’s studio assistants all worked.
They wouldn’t produce here, at most making samples.
Ji Ya never planned to dominate the market with low prices. She wanted to differentiate herself from domestic women’s wear, which only met basic needs for warmth and coverage, far from “fashion.”
Fashion was original.
Fashion was inspiration captured in a moment by designers.
“Clothes have souls. They shouldn’t be uniform. When any design is mass-produced, it loses its spirit.”
As Ji Ya spoke, Zhen Wenxiu nodded.
Though Ji Ya’s studio wasn’t fully decorated, Zhen Wenxiu already felt its high-end nature, not from the decor, but from the foreign woman measuring her.
Foreigners in China were called “foreign guests.”
In the 1980s, or even thirty years later, some Chinese people seemed spineless, considering themselves inferior upon seeing foreigners.
Now, being “served” by Ji Ya’s American assistant gave Zhen Wenxiu spiritual satisfaction beyond the environment! If this wasn’t high-end, what was?
When Ji Ya moved her studio back to China, few were willing to come work here even at the same salary. Ji Ya had to increase wages to finally bring over another designer and the assistant now measuring Zhen Wenxiu.
Zhen Wenxiu couldn’t stop smiling, her pride was evident. Ji Ya was equally pleased. She’d raised salaries to bring two American employees precisely for this effect – foreign moons always seemed brighter than Chinese ones. Having these two made others believe in her studio’s capability.
With domestic reverence for foreigners, Ji Ya would exploit this psychology.
“Wenxiu, don’t wear those clothes you bought from that store anymore. They don’t suit your temperament. I’ll design several pieces specifically for you.”
Ji Ya needed people to advertise for her.
Her studio couldn’t distribute flyers like Xia Xiaolan’s store – that was too low-end!