Supply Chain Accelerates into Action, Next Stop: Nanjing!

Xu Qingzhou had the students inventory the laboratory's instruments and consumables, while also giving the place a thorough cleaning.

Starting tomorrow, the laboratory would officially be handed over to Dr. Xu's team. He would lead the students in expanding research into X Fiber's properties, striving to develop a more insulating X2 Fiber before autumn.

After making the arrangements, Xu Qingzhou followed Gao Yuan and Cao Feiyu to the office. Gao Yuan took three cans of sugar-free cola from the refrigerator, handed one each to them, and opened one for himself.

"I mean, aren't you being a little too obvious?" Xu Qingzhou complained. "What you said just now was clearly an attempt to poach my students."

Gao Yuan smiled. "What do you mean, poach your students? I'm obviously planning to poach you and your students together."

Pfft—

Xu Qingzhou nearly spat out his drink. Since Gao Yuan was being so frank about it, there was little else he could say. The three discussed how to divide their responsibilities. Cao Feiyu needed to sort out the company's assets and liabilities as quickly as possible, while Xu Qingzhou would oversee research.

As for Gao Yuan, he would handle the supply chain, opening up every link from raw materials to Chemical Fiber Yarn, and then from Chemical Fiber Yarn to textile fabrics.

"Will there be any difficulties with the supply chain?" Cao Feiyu asked.

Gao Yuan shook his head. "Nothing major. Five Chinese companies rank among the world's top fifty chemical companies: Sinopec, PetroChina, Sinochem, Hengli, and Wanhua. Add the tens of thousands of private factories, joint ventures, and wholly foreign-owned factories, and we can basically find plentiful, high-quality sources for any kind of chemical raw material."

Cao Feiyu muttered, "Only five? I always thought we were incredibly powerful in the chemical industry. At the very least, I thought we'd take up half the world."

Before Gao Yuan could answer, Xu Qingzhou said, "The list is ranked by sales revenue. We may have many factories, but our products have low value. That's why the birth of X Fiber is so important. It's currently the only world-class fiber product we possess."

Gao Yuan added, "X Fiber is a chemical fiber, while the hottest and most technologically advanced materials in the world right now are actually Bio-fibers. For example, the absorbable sutures a doctor uses when you have a tooth pulled."

"In short, China's chemical and chemical fiber industries aren't actually as strong as people imagine. But ensuring the supply of raw materials won't be a problem at all. The only problem is a Special Catalyst."

"A catalyst?" Xu Qingzhou and Cao Feiyu both looked confused.

Gao Yuan said, "This catalyst is an indispensable part of X Fiber's final reaction, yet it doesn't appear in any written documents, much less in any patent specifications."

After Gao Yuan explained it, Xu Qingzhou and Cao Feiyu quickly understood. The catalyst was essentially X Fiber's secret recipe.

Without it, it wasn't that others couldn't imitate the product, but they couldn't replicate one with equal performance. No matter how much money they spent or what methods they used, the final product would still lag far behind the original in performance.

Only a tiny amount of catalyst was needed—just 1.4 grams per ton of chemical fiber raw material. As for where it came from, naturally, it was that miraculous system.

With this secret catalyst, even if certain rogue countries brazenly copied it without regard for patent rights, they would only waste huge sums of money and end up with a pile of defective products.

It had to be said that the system's anti-counterfeiting measures were truly ruthless.

Over the next few days, everyone split up and got busy.

Kunlun Factory's upstream supplier was a local company called Chaoda Chemical Fiber. Its owner, Yuan Zheng, was close with Gao Yuan's father, and they had been working together for seven or eight years.

Gao Yuan found Yuan Zheng and presented him with X Fiber's production process and the Special Catalyst.

Yuan Zheng then brought in two engineers from the factory to estimate the costs and output. In the end, they quoted Gao Yuan a price of 6,500 yuan per ton.

After thinking it over, Gao Yuan said, "Uncle Yuan, the batch I want is the melt-spun fine-filament type. Even with domestic machines, it should produce at least three to four thousand meters of yarn per minute. On German melt-spinning machines, six thousand meters per minute definitely won't be a problem."

"On top of that, there's no need for solvents or precipitants, nor any secondary recycling treatment. The process couldn't be simpler. Do you think you could lower the price a little?"

Yuan Zheng looked troubled. "The process really isn't difficult, but the key issue is that we can't determine the volume."

"How about this? For this first batch of twenty tons, we'll go with 6,500. If there really are sales and you can place orders of at least two hundred tons at a time afterward, we'll settle at 6,300."

Gao Yuan thought it over and felt that, based on current market prices, there was still plenty of room for profit.

These days, DuPont's 20D Spandex Yarn sold for 25,000 yuan per ton. X Fiber was countless times better in performance and cost just over 6,000 yuan per ton. If they sold it for 25,000 yuan too, it would probably sell like crazy!

Gao Yuan immediately signed the contract with Yuan Zheng. Private enterprises in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai were astonishingly efficient. Just five days later, the first large delivery truck arrived at Kunlun Factory's warehouse carrying the first ten tons of goods.

Everyone was excited and rushed to the warehouse to take a look.

Chemical Fiber Yarn was actually no different from rolls of cotton thread. The yarn still had to be woven into fabric on textile machines, then sold to downstream garment companies to be made into the clothes people wore every day, bed sheets spread over beds, and so on.

"The next step is weaving the Chemical Fiber Yarn into fabric, but there aren't any workers at the factory right now," Xu Qingzhou said with a frown.

Gao Yuan did not think much of it. In a casual tone, he said, "Jiangsu-Zhejiang lacks everything except factories. Our factory may have shut down, but there are still hundreds or thousands of factories around us operating day and night."

"It's only ten tons of goods. Believe it or not, even if we casually find a small factory, we can turn all this Chemical Fiber Yarn into fabric within three days. As for the weave, plain, twill, plaid—whatever we want. China's efficiency isn't just talk. There's a reason we swept through global light industry in just a few decades."

Cao Feiyu and Xu Qingzhou nodded repeatedly. The industrial park where Kunlun Factory was located really did contain hundreds of fabric companies. Gao Yuan was not lying about that.

"The real key right now isn't production, but how to sell the goods." Gao Yuan stroked his chin with his right hand. "As long as our X Fiber sells well, we can put all the idle production capacity nearby to use."

"Dr. Xu, get ready. In a couple of days, come north with me."

Xu Qingzhou said, "A business trip isn't a problem. Taking leave from the National Laboratory won't be difficult either. But why are we going north? What materials do I need to prepare?"

Gao Yuan said, "Do you remember when I told you that China's fast-fashion industry has two hidden giants?"

"How could I forget?" Xu Qingzhou said. "It left a huge impression on me. They fought their way all the way into Europe, into Zara and H&M's home turf. Those two companies are incredible!"

Gao Yuan smiled faintly. "From what I know, the fighting in fast fashion has been exceptionally brutal lately. China's two champions are locked in one-on-one battles with Europe's two established giants. They're practically beating each other's brains out."

"Maybe this is an opportunity for us. If we can supply a company on Shein's level directly, we can rapidly raise our profile and increase the company's cash flow in a short time."

Hearing Gao Yuan's words, Xu Qingzhou and Cao Feiyu's eyes both lit up. Cao Feiyu said, "That would be great. With enough orders, we can accelerate the integration of the local supply chain and build an industrial cluster."

"I wonder where the headquarters of this mysterious company called Shein is?"

Gao Yuan turned his head and looked north, his voice deep as he said, "Nanjing."

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