“Are you serious?”
Xiao Wang knew that Xia Xiaolan loved money, and how could someone who liked making money refuse such an occasion? Xia Xiaolan should be in her element!
Xia Xiaolan tucked away the invitation:
“Of course, I’m not! I was just being habitually modest!”
Xiao Wang had a constipated expression on his face. What could he do? He wanted to hit someone but couldn’t! Looking at how the leader was still enthusiastically pursuing Liu Fen, who knew if Xia Xiaolan and the leader might become family one day?
Therefore, he could only pity himself as a driver.
Xiao Wang felt so pitiful that when Xia Xiaolan invited him for dinner, he refused and drove away.
Xia Xiaolan placed the invitation in front of Liu Yong, who also felt somewhat nervous:
“They’re all foreign merchants, should we go—”
“That’s perfect! We can check if the Nanhai Hotel’s renovation is complete, and see if there are any suitable projects to take on. If we go, we might come back empty-handed, but if we don’t go, we definitely won’t get any windfall. Uncle, which do you choose?”
Liu Yong didn’t even need to pretend to be modest:
“Let’s go, let’s go!”
If you want to make money from others, you have to swallow your pride; otherwise, how can you compete with big companies? Liu Yong thought openly.
He wasn’t afraid to humble himself to make money. As long as it wasn’t malicious humiliation, it wasn’t a big deal. Saying nice words doesn’t cost anything, and having a few drinks isn’t an issue either. Wanting to make money with a low starting point but maintaining a high attitude? Dream on!
Liu Yong rubbed his face, “Dress nicely when you go, don’t let people look down on us.”
Xia Xiaolan nodded in agreement.
The invitation specified it was a buffet reception. Although Xia Xiaolan didn’t need to dress as formally as for a red carpet event, she also shouldn’t dress poorly to appear impoverished. Looking shabby to be different? That invitation Tang Hongen had Xiao Wang deliver would truly disgrace Mayor Tang!
Xia Xiaolan wasn’t a stubborn person; business was about harmony and bringing wealth. If she insisted on being different, that wasn’t uniqueness—it was having something wrong with her head.
The reception was the day after tomorrow evening, so Xia Xiaolan had plenty of time to sort out her attire—she planned to choose directly from Luna’s summer collection, and with proper coordination, she definitely wouldn’t embarrass herself.
Being so close to Yangcheng, Xia Xiaolan went directly to Luna’s headquarters to select clothes.
When Chen Xiliang heard she was going to attend an investment promotion reception, his eyes lit up, and he strongly recommended a formal dress to her: “Wang Mingming won’t wear it anyway, we can modify the details and make one overnight!”
The formal dress was indeed beautiful.
It hadn’t been mass-produced yet, and the sample had been sent to Hong Kong.
Xia Xiaolan was quite tempted but ultimately shook her head:
“Whether Wang Mingming wears it or not is her business. Since we’ve borrowed her fame, we must keep our word. The style we promised her must be unique.”
Xia Xiaolan chose another dress instead.
It was a cream-colored A-line dress with colorful beads sewn around the small round collar.
This was Luna’s new fall collection piece that hadn’t gone into production yet. It could be worn alone in autumn, and when it got cooler, she could add a white shirt underneath or wear it with a coat.
This style was completely identical to the designer brands seen in magazines. If a luxury brand were to produce it, the fabric would be of higher quality, and the beads on the round collar would be more luxurious.
For now, it was passable.
Chen Xiliang felt embarrassed: “If we used better beads, the production cost would be too high, but don’t worry, we still have time to resew the beads on this dress.”
The beads on the collar indeed looked cheap, but since Chen Xiliang promised to take care of it, Xia Xiaolan wasn’t worried.
“How about that investor from Shanghai, is his store ready?”
When talking about franchise store clients, Manager Chen became delighted, “He’ll start selling summer clothes in a few days. I told him to have a grand opening sale for summer clothes, which will help us move some inventory. Besides him, the department store in Jinling is also interested in our brand; they’ve signed a letter of intent. Some local businesses in Yangcheng have also contacted me… By next year, Luna will have at least a dozen stores nationwide.”
Xia Xiaolan nodded: “For this year’s winter collection, we’ll run TV advertisements to give those hesitant investors a push!”
Not advertising from the start wasn’t just about lacking funds.
From design to production, to inventory management and overall operations, a brand couldn’t master everything at once.
Since Xia Xiaolan couldn’t handle everything personally, she had to give Chen Xiliang time to adjust.
Chen Xiliang truly deserved his future status as a fashion tycoon; he had real talent in this industry. While he predicted Luna would have over a dozen stores next year, Xia Xiaolan believed that with TV advertising, the number of stores could reach 30-40.
This expectation aligned with the number of provincial capitals and municipalities in the country.
After all, it was still 1985, and next year would be ’86. No matter how well the brand operated, it couldn’t accomplish everything at once.
No one could go against the times, and China’s economic development had to progress step by step. Only by securing all the provincial capitals could they later expand to other medium and small cities!
Xia Xiaolan’s projection of 30-40 stores didn’t even include the provincial capitals in economically underdeveloped regions. Instead, in places like Beijing, Yangcheng, and Shanghai, having just one Luna store wouldn’t be enough. The women in these cities had money and were willing to spend it, having started pursuing fashion since the Reform and Opening Up began. How could they drain these women’s wallets without opening several stores?
After all, if they didn’t spend their money on Luna clothes, they would spend it at other clothing stores.
Xia Xiaolan shared her thoughts with Chen Xiliang.
Chen Xiliang had been pondering these things himself, and some concepts were vague to him, but once Xia Xiaolan broke through the mental barrier, he immediately understood:
“I was right to have you as a consultant!”
Some ideas were too novel and bold; if Chen Xiliang were making decisions alone, he would be too cautious.
But whenever he shared his ideas, Xia Xiaolan would validate them and even optimize them. Doing business this way was indescribably satisfying!
“We’ll be able to distribute dividends by the end of the year.”
Chen Xiliang promised excitedly.
Xia Xiaolan nodded with a smile.
Unlike clothing retail stores, brands need to spend a lot on promotion. If they could turn a profit in the first year, Xia Xiaolan would be happy for Zhou Cheng. Even if they hadn’t broken up yet, and even if they did break up, she still hoped Zhou Cheng would do well—their current disputes were about differences in perspective, not about Zhou Cheng cheating or wronging her. Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t go so far as to curse Zhou Cheng to become worse off.
She didn’t understand the logic of desperately trying to step on an ex after an amicable breakup.
What was the point of making an ex seem worthless? The worse they fared, the worse it reflected on one’s judgment—not something worth bragging about.
After settling her dress, Xia Xiaolan also picked out matching high heels at Yangcheng’s department store.
On July 9th, 1985, the college entrance examination concluded as scheduled.
None of Xia Xiaolan’s acquaintances were taking the exam this year; even Shao Guangrong had decided to take the adult college entrance examination in October. The investment promotion reception organized by the Pengcheng municipal government was scheduled for the evening of the day after the college entrance examination.