Initial Cooperation Reached

The next day, Shen Jianan left under Gu Yu's watchful gaze, carrying a bundle of newly made clothes on his back and cycling to the Garment Factory in town to find Bai Yun.

When Bai Yun received the gatekeeper's notice, she was somewhat surprised. By rights, he should have been rushing to finish work at home. Why did he have time to come looking for her?

With those doubts in mind, she hurried outside to welcome him in. Only after they entered her office did she ask the young man what had brought him here.

Shen Jianan smiled. "As expected of you, Sister Bai Yun. You understand me."

As he spoke, he took off his backpack, pulled out the six sets of clothes inside, laid them across her desk, and pointed to four of them.

"These are the new styles I plan to heavily promote this season. A week has already passed since I made the samples.

Because most of the workers I hired don't have sewing machines, I only managed to make twenty sets of each style.

At this rate, we might make a little money during autumn and winter, but it won't match the effort we put in. That would be rather pointless."

"Heh!"

Bai Yun laughed, then leaned back in her chair and looked at him with her chin slightly raised. "Little brother, according to the original plan, not to mention you, even I could earn two or three thousand yuan before the New Year. And you still think that's too little?"

"Mm!"

The young man nodded and curled his lips. "Who would ever think money was too little!?"

Bai Yun froze for a moment, then lifted her brows in agreement. "Then what do you plan to do? And besides..."

She pointed at the other two sets of clothes. "From the sound of it, these two aren't what we'll be focusing on. Then why did you make them?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to talk about."

The young man gestured for her to come closer, then spread out one of the outfits on the large desk and asked, "Sister Bai Yun, what do you think of this outfit?"

"Let me see."

Bai Yun stood and walked around to his side, tilting her head as she examined the outfit on the desk.

It was a short black stand-collar padded jacket with a faint sheen to the fabric. Combined with its spaced wavy stitching, it instantly gave an ordinary cotton-padded jacket a touch of individuality and flair.

The light coffee-colored wool carrot pants paired beneath it made the ensemble look even more fashionable. With both the jacket and pants being highly forgiving in fit, it was an excellent winter choice for stylish women. (The overall outfit was inspired by Wei Haiyi's styling in The Third Courtroom.)

Bai Yun nodded in satisfaction, then opened the second outfit herself and found a cool, handsome men's ensemble: a black suede flight jacket with a turn-down collar, paired with black cuffed cargo pants.

Not only was it warm, but it also concealed flaws in the wearer's figure. The two outfits stripped away gaudiness through minimalist design while retaining a sense of distance. Whether worn by men or women, they would make people's eyes light up.

Bai Yun could not bear to put them down. She reached out to touch them, clicking her tongue in admiration.

Honestly, she had seen plenty of nice clothes, but the two outfits before her gave her an entirely different feeling. They made her want to cast aside the old rules and pursue freedom and individuality.

"What are you planning to do with these two outfits?"

Bai Yun looked at Shen Jianan reluctantly. "They're so beautiful. Are we really not going to promote them?"

"Mm!"

Shen Jianan nodded and explained seriously, "Sister, this is what I'm thinking..."

He felt that although many people were willing to help him make clothes, most of them did not have sewing machines. Relying solely on hand-sewing, never mind whether the workmanship would all pass inspection, even if it did, no matter how fast someone worked, they could not make many garments in a single day.

Therefore, Shen Jianan wanted to take this opportunity to buy several more sewing machines and expand his clothing workshop, allowing people to make garments directly at his residence.

However, doing that would definitely violate national business regulations and risk being reported for profiteering. Thus, he wanted to give these two outfits to the Garment Factory as a stepping stone and cooperate with its person in charge.

In the future, Shen Jianan would design four popular clothing styles for the Garment Factory every season. In return, they would allow him to operate his clothing workshop under the Garment Factory's name.

However, his clothing workshop would be an independent brand, free to mass-produce clothing for outside sale. Neither side would interfere with the other.

"What do you think?"

Shen Jianan looked up at the thoughtful Bai Yun and smiled. "I've visited your factory so many times, and through chatting with you and the others, I've learned more or less everything about its situation.

"We produce many varieties of clothing, but whether in design or sales channels, we lag far behind other factories. At the root of it, your clothes lack distinctive features. They're all styles that garment factories across the country are making.

"Under such circumstances, the Garment Factory has no price advantage, and its reputation cannot compare to others'. In the short term, it can survive by relying on its old foundation.

"But in a few years, if national policies change, factories like yours—old state-run factories with neither distinction nor advantages—will be the first to close down."

The young man straightened, and his tone unconsciously softened. "Sister, I know my words sound harsh, but there's no denying that you..."

"No. What you said is the truth."

Bai Yun sighed, looked up, and said seriously, "Just as you analyzed, Red Star Garment Factory truly has a worrying future. Otherwise, it would not have shut down two production lines in three years.

"If the Garment Factory could produce clothing in the styles you made, its sales would definitely double. But there is one problem. Based only on these two outfits, why should the factory director give you such a great convenience?

"I believe the clothes you design will have excellent sales prospects, but the factory director might not believe it.

"Or rather, even if he does believe you can create profits for him, how much profit will it be?

"Will those profits be enough for him to make an exception for you and take the risk of opening a workshop under the factory's name?"

"I'll persuade him."

Shen Jianan smiled confidently. "Sister, for the sake of both our wallets, take me to see the factory director!"

Bai Yun paused in surprise, then laughed and nodded. "All right."

After that, she and Shen Jianan packed up the clothes and went together to the factory director's office. They arrived quickly, and just before entering, Bai Yun smiled at Shen Jianan. "I forgot to tell you. The factory director is also surnamed Bai. His name is Bai Zhenbang, and he's my second uncle."

Then, amid the young man's shock, she pushed open the door first. Shen Jianan cursed inwardly and hurried in after her, only to see Bai Zhenbang sitting ahead, smiling at Bai Yun.

"Oh! What brings the young lady here to see me?"

"Isn't it because I have something good for you, my dear second uncle?"

Bai Yun smiled as she walked to his side, casually pulled over a chair, and sat down. Then she pointed to Shen Jianan, who stood some distance away looking slightly restrained, and introduced him.

"This is my sworn little brother, Shen Jianan. He's an educated youth sent down from Hai City and exceptionally talented.

"Before, he happened to hear me say that our Garment Factory's clothes were too ugly to sell. He took it to heart, went back and designed two outfits, saying he wanted to help our Garment Factory increase its revenue."

She said it casually, but Bai Zhenbang took it seriously and immediately asked Shen Jianan what kind of clothes they were.

After all, given his niece's personality, she would not casually bring someone she met outside into her workplace and introduce them in such a manner unless she truly valued the person and got along well with them.

"Like these."

Seeing that he was interested, Shen Jianan quickly steadied himself, took out the two outfits, and explained their design concepts and the various ways they could be styled.

Bai Zhenbang grew increasingly excited as he listened. His eyes remained fixed on the two outfits without moving at all. "Tell me your terms."

Having been the director of a state-run factory for so many years, he did not believe there was such a thing as a free lunch.

Shen Jianan raised his brows slightly, glanced at Bai Yun, who was lowering her head to suppress a laugh, then calmly told him his proposal. Bai Zhenbang frowned deeply as he listened. "Isn't that profiteering in another form?"

Yet inwardly, he was deeply shocked. The child was young, but he possessed such vision and courage. Given time, he would surely achieve something. For a moment, Bai Zhenbang even had the urge to recruit him into the factory.

However, judging by the other party's manner, he was not someone who pursued stability, so Bai Zhenbang quietly suppressed that thought.

"If my clothing workshop operates under Red Star Garment Factory's name, then it won't be?"

Shen Jianan did not panic at his words. Instead, he met his gaze calmly, a smile on his lips. "As long as you are willing, the clothing workshop will be a legal business."

"..."

Bai Zhenbang choked. No matter how they went around it, the issue had been tossed back to him. He sighed, then sat up straight. His entire aura abruptly changed, and his gaze sharpened.

"Your terms sound tempting, but if you want me to help you, the prerequisite is that your clothes can bring me high profits. If they sell only a few hundred pieces in one season, or even fewer, then..."

"Heh!"

Shen Jianan snorted and cut him off. "Director Bai, allow me to remind you that you aren't helping me. I'm offering you help when you need it most."

He smiled, then spoke seriously. "Over the past three months, the various clothes I've made have sold over one thousand sets. And that was while I was unable to split myself in two and had announced a halt in summer clothing sales.

"Although that is only a drop in the bucket compared to your Garment Factory's sales, you should understand that I pay very little tax and don't need to rent a storefront.

"As for the materials for making clothes, most of them are scrap fabric bundles costing six to ten yuan each. Added together, the highest cost of any one garment I make is not even five yuan.

"And what about you? I don't know about other places, but from what I've observed, the clothes your Garment Factory wholesales to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative do not sell very well.

"The root cause is that the clothes designed by your relevant departments, aside from being decent in quality, have everything backward. They're ugly as hell!"

Bai Zhenbang's heart tightened at those words, though his expression did not change. "Shen, why do you say the clothes designed by our Garment Factory have everything backward?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Shen Jianan laughed, then said, "Your clothes are well made and highly practical.

"But that is not a compliment, because apart from dresses and undershirts, the Garment Factory's clothes all have an excessive number of pockets.

"It looks as though you want buyers to stuff every possession they own into them. One glance, and all you see are ugly, oversized pockets.

"And that isn't even the most fatal issue. Your research and development department only blindly follows several major domestic factories. You never innovate on your own, and the worst part is that you can't even copy properly.

"For example, that Bragi maxi dress hanging in the Supply and Marketing Cooperative gathering dust. Whoever came up with it actually used bright red velvet to make it!?"

The young man spoke with extreme disdain. "Bragi dresses are fine on thin people, but if a woman who is slightly heavier and dark-skinned wears one, it becomes a disaster.

"What's terrifying is that you used bright red velvet for it, then added puffed sleeves, a small round collar, pleats, and everything else. That would already have been enough, but you even finished it with a shiny gold belt. Isn't that just ridiculous?

"With so many eye-catching elements crammed into one dress, how many people in the entire country do you think have unusual enough taste to buy such an expensive and impractical dress?"

When Bai Zhenbang heard him say that, he felt that it seemed to make sense. No wonder he always found the newly produced clothes in the factory somewhat strange whenever he saw them.

After thinking it over, he said, "Your analysis is very correct, but it isn't enough for me to give you the green light. How about this? Treat these two outfits as designs you're selling to me.

"If the sales of these two styles this season exceed thirty percent of the sales of our other clothing, I'll agree to let you operate under our name.

"But if they don't, I won't let you suffer a loss. I'll give you two hundred yuan for each outfit as payment for their designs. What do you think?"

"Heh! Director Bai, you really know how to make a good calculation!"

Shen Jianan sneered disdainfully, then stepped forward to begin packing up the clothes. "It's fine if you don't recognize quality. You aren't the only Garment Factory in Province D."

With that, he slung the backpack over his shoulder and turned to leave. Bai Zhenbang and the silent Bai Yun immediately panicked and hurriedly stood to stop him.

"Hey, hey! Don't leave! Aren't we still discussing this?"

"That's right! Jianan, do it for your sister's sake, all right?"

Bai Yun reached out and grabbed him, turning to glare at her uncle. Shen Jianan nodded with a cold expression, then set his backpack down and spoke in a deep voice.

"Director Bai, I don't want to haggle with you either. Let's each take a step back. If you let me operate under the factory's name now, I'll give you these two outfits for free.

"Let's set a deadline. You begin selling them in half a month. If, within one month, the sales of these two styles exceed thirty percent of the sales of your factory's best-selling clothing style.

"I'll rush to design another four winter outfits for you. But for those four styles, you must give me a two-percent commission and continue allowing me to operate under your name.

"Afterward, we'll cooperate in this manner. Every season, I'll design six outfits for you. I will no longer make or sell the styles I provide to you, and this cooperation will last for two years.

"If the one-month sales and orders for these two outfits are below thirty percent of your factory's other clothing.

"I'll pay you five hundred yuan as compensation, treating it as rent for using your Garment Factory's name for that month, and I will no longer operate under your factory's name.

"But if things work out afterward, you must return the money to me and sign a contract according to my requirements, making the clothing workshop legal. How about it? Do you dare to take the gamble?"

The young man pulled out a stack of ten-yuan notes from his pocket and slapped them onto the table. Only then did he raise his chin and look at the uncle and niece before him, awaiting their answer.

Bai Zhenbang smiled. The words "young and reckless" surfaced in his mind, but he also felt that the proposal was truly tempting.

On the surface, it seemed like the child's demands all benefited him, but in reality, the Garment Factory stood to gain all the advantages.

Besides, the trial period was only one month. It did not seem like there would be any losses, especially when the other party had even put up five hundred yuan as "rent." So he nodded and agreed.

"All right. You dare to put up money to make a wager with me, so what do I have to fear?"

Bai Zhenbang walked to his desk with a smile, casually took out paper and a pen, quickly wrote two agreements, pressed his fingerprint onto them, and handed both to Shen Jianan.

"This is a preliminary agreement between us. In one month, if these two styles reach the sales figure you mentioned, we'll sign a new contract according to your requirements.

"And for these two styles, every set sold will earn you a commission of fifty cents. As for future cooperative styles, we'll use the two-percent commission you proposed."

"It's a deal."

Shen Jianan called out excitedly. He stepped forward to sign and press his fingerprint, then returned one copy to Bai Zhenbang. After wiping his hands clean, he took out the two outfits and the simple design sketches he had drawn, casually placing them on the desk.

"Director Bai, the drawings clearly state the design themes of both outfits, fabric choices, details that need attention in each area, dimensions, and other related information. I believe your research and development staff will understand them at a glance."

He paused, then said seriously, "Let me make this clear first. These two design drafts bear marks unique to me in places you cannot see.

"Moreover, many people saw the design process, and I also took photographs as records. I hope certain people in your factory's research and development department will not do something foolish over petty gains.

"I may only be a small educated youth, but my family protects me fiercely. If they hear in Hai City that I've been wronged, I'm afraid they'll turn the world upside down. So after you take these drawings over, you'd better make the situation clear to them first."

"Heh!"

Bai Zhenbang was angered into laughter. They had only just begun cooperating, and the boy was already giving him a warning. But on second thought, Shen Jianan was right. There were plenty of cases these days of people having their work stolen under another's name, so he nodded. "All right. I'll remember that."

"Mm!"

Shen Jianan nodded in satisfaction, then smiled with curved eyes. "Director Bai, please don't think I'm stingy or narrow-minded. I'm doing this for the future development of our cooperation with your factory."

The moment he said that, Bai Zhenbang understood what he meant. The slight discomfort in his heart vanished completely, and the smile on his face deepened.

"You're right. Let's leave it at that for now. I'll go arrange the relevant matters below immediately. You can go back and wait for good news!"

"Sure!"

The young man slung his backpack over his shoulders and smilingly bid them farewell. "Then I'll be going, Director Bai. Sister Bai Yun, you two get back to work."

Bai Zhenbang nodded. "Go on!"

"Wait."

Bai Yun stood with a smile. "I'll leave with you."

After greeting Bai Zhenbang, she left the factory director's office with Shen Jianan and brought him to her accounting office.

"I'll handle the sewing machines and this batch of clothing materials. You don't need to spend money. Within seven days, I'll deliver everything to the Production Brigade. During that time, hurry and find the workers. Don't delay our chance to get rich."

Shen Jianan looked at her eyes gleaming greedily and laughed. "Didn't you say last time that you weren't investing any more money?"

"But I also said it depended on the situation!?"

Bai Yun glared at him with an amused, irritated smile. "You've made the scale so huge. If I don't show some commitment, what if you kick me out later?"

"I won't!"

Shen Jianan shook his head with a smile. "You're my great benefactor. I would never be so ungrateful. Once this matter is settled, we should sign a contract too, so we won't argue over things later."

After saying that, he also told her that he would hire people separately to promote the clothes in other towns. Bai Yun waved it off indifferently. "You decide those things. I'll only be responsible for collecting my share of the money later."

"All right! Then I'll head back."

"Take care. I won't see you out."

Bai Yun smiled as she sat behind her desk and began the day's work, no longer paying attention to him.

Shen Jianan smiled, quietly backed out with his bundle on his back, while Bai Zhenbang had already taken the drawings and samples to the research and development department.

At the same time, the goods ordered by Gu Yu and Zhong Ning arrived smoothly in Abundant Source Town. However, the person delivering them had changed from Zheng Lingyun to He Ming, another of Jiang Heng's trusted men.

After delivering the goods, He Ming did not immediately return to the capital. Instead, he had his subordinates drive away first while he secretly went to Chaoyang Production Brigade in Xinghe Town to find Gu Yu.