Chapter 52

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When Huo Zongzhuo pulled his suitcase out of the airport, this was the scene that greeted him: a young man in a white dress shirt and black slacks, hands tucked into his pockets, leaning at an angle against a black car.

A gust of wind messed up the boy’s short, choppy hair, covering his eyes, but it couldn’t hide the bold, confident air that radiated from him.

Huo Zongzhuo walked over with a smile on his face.

Jiang Luo smiled back. As Huo Zongzhuo drew closer, he straightened up from the car and, unhurried, tossed out a teasing line. “Welcome, welcome—welcome back to Haicheng, Boss Huo, busy as ever.”

Huo Zongzhuo chuckled and stepped closer, reaching out. Jiang Luo reached out too, and the two slapped palms together naturally, like old friends. At the same time, Huo Zongzhuo released the hand pulling his suitcase and said, “Bring it in,” then, following the motion of the high-five, clasped Jiang Luo’s hand, pulled him in, and gave him a light, casual hug.

While hugging him, Huo Zongzhuo added, “Looks like business is going pretty well. You even have a car now.”

“It’s rented.”

They separated as Jiang Luo answered. Huo Zongzhuo lifted the suitcase and walked toward the trunk, asking as he put the luggage in, “Not bought?”

“Couple hundred thousand,” Jiang Luo said, pulling open the car door. “Too expensive. No way I can afford that right now.”

“All the money’s got proper uses,” he added. “How could I spend it on a car?”

Huo Zongzhuo closed the trunk. “I thought you bought it.”

Talking as they went, the two got into the car together.

Once inside, Jiang Luo started the engine and asked, “All the planes sold?”

“Yeah,” Huo Zongzhuo replied. “Pretty much wrapped up.”

“There are still a few batches of daily goods. Those will be shipped out bit by bit.”

Jiang Luo asked, “You must’ve made a lot this time, huh?”

Instead of answering, Huo Zongzhuo asked, “You like the Benz S-Class? Want me to buy one for you?”

Jiang Luo laughed. “Buy one for me? You’re really generous—opening your mouth and it’s buying someone else a car.”

Then he teased, “Guess you really did make a lot this time.”

“Quite a bit,” Huo Zongzhuo said. “I asked you to come work with me, but you wouldn’t.”

Jiang Luo snorted lightly. “You’re still on about that? How many times have we talked about this already? You still haven’t given up?”

The two chatted and laughed the whole way, just like they usually did on the phone—easy, familiar.

Huo Zongzhuo already knew Jiang Luo was no longer selling goods at the small wholesale market. On the road, he asked what Jiang Luo was doing now. They had talked just the night before, but Huo Zongzhuo hadn’t had time to ask then.

“I’ve got my trading company, right?” Jiang Luo said. “I brought Wang Chuang back to the company.”

“We’ve got a few products that are already in counters at Yong’an Department Store. I’m planning to seriously build a brand. Once we’ve got money, we’ll set up our own factory.”

Huo Zongzhuo was a little surprised. Selling goods made money much faster than building a brand. Even the big factory owners in Wencheng had little awareness of branding—and yet Jiang Luo was already thinking about it.

He felt Jiang Luo had chosen the right path and nodded. “Being able to think about building your own brand means your business mindset is already ahead of the curve.”

“That’s good. Take it step by step, steady and solid.”

Jiang Luo kept driving and glanced back at him. “You about to lecture me again?”

Huo Zongzhuo smiled. “You’re still young. I’m worried you’ll take a wrong turn, so I can’t help but remind you now and then.”

Jiang Luo said, “You like playing mom and dad to people?”

Huo Zongzhuo laughed and joked, “I might not even be able to produce a son as smart as you.”

……………………….

“Son?” Jiang Luo turned his head again. “Taking advantage of me, huh?”

“Watch the road,” Huo Zongzhuo said. “Drive properly.”

They went to the Hilton first to book rooms and drop off the luggage.

At the front desk, while paying and checking in, Huo Zongzhuo asked which room Jiang Luo was staying in and specifically requested that his own room be next to Jiang Luo’s.

“Why not the presidential suite this time?” Jiang Luo teased again as they waited for the elevator. “You’re loaded—and you just made a killing selling planes.”

Huo Zongzhuo pulled his suitcase and teased back, “Slumming it with you. Experiencing the hardships of a standard room.”

Jiang Luo laughed so hard he could barely stand it.

Upstairs, Huo Zongzhuo went to put away his luggage. Jiang Luo returned to his own room to wash his hands and grab a few pieces of candy.

When he came out, peeling the wrapper off a fruit candy, he stopped at Huo Zongzhuo’s door and glanced inside. Just then, Huo Zongzhuo came out holding a bag and handed it to him.

“Hm?”

Jiang Luo had a candy in his mouth, confused, but still reached out to take the bag. He handed Huo Zongzhuo a piece of candy in return. “Want one? Fruit candy.”

Huo Zongzhuo took it and explained, “Hot pot base from Chuancheng. Brought it for you.”

As he spoke, he unwrapped the candy and popped it into his mouth.

“Oh.”

“Thanks.”

Jiang Luo didn’t take the hot pot base back to his room. He planned to bring it back to the dorm building at the silk factory for Bai Ting, and find time later to have hot pot at her place.

Huo Zongzhuo went back into his room, took out his pager from his bag, then came back out and closed the door. “Let’s go. I’ll check out your company.”

“Sure.”

Jiang Luo had no objections.

They got back in the car, and Jiang Luo drove Huo Zongzhuo to the company.

There wasn’t much to see, really. The place wasn’t big—just a few desks outside. It was the weekend, so no one else was around.

Inside the office, Jiang Luo pointed to two desks. “That one’s Wang Chuang’s. This one’s mine.”

Huo Zongzhuo glanced around and nodded in approval. “Not bad.”

Jiang Luo sat down behind his desk. “Can’t compare to your company.”

Huo Zongzhuo curved his lips. “I’ve been running my company for years. You’ve only just started. No need to compare—you won’t be worse than me in the future.”

There were chairs against the wall. Huo Zongzhuo dragged one over and sat down across from the desk.

After chatting a bit more about brand counters, Huo Zongzhuo asked, “Are you only doing business with Yong’an right now, just selling at their counters? Nothing else you want to do?”

“All the goods are produced in Wencheng, branded under your company, and sold at Yong’an. Is that it for now? No other plans?”

Jiang Luo leaned back in his chair. “Can’t I just lie low for a bit and make some easy, passive money?”

As he spoke, he opened a drawer, reached inside, pulled out a notebook, and tossed it in front of Huo Zongzhuo. “Here. This is what I’m getting ready to do next.”

Huo Zongzhuo picked up the notebook, flipped it open, and after one glance, paused slightly.

The next day—Monday—at Shengfei Trading, Accountant Xue and three other employees arrived at work on time.

Inside the inner office, Jiang Luo arrived first. He leaned back in a leather chair, long legs propped casually on the corner of the desk, chewing on a steamed bun. Wang Chuang came in right after.

“Damn, that smells good.”

There was air-conditioning in the inner office too.

With the AC running and the doors and windows shut, the rich smell of meat buns filled the small room.

The two hadn’t seen each other all weekend. Jiang Luo had been busy picking up Huo Zongzhuo, and he didn’t know what Wang Chuang had been up to. Seeing him now, Jiang Luo thought of Mo Wanzhen, who was currently selling at the Yong’an counter, and instinctively teased him. “Didn’t go chasing some older sister or something? How’s that ‘older sister’ doing at the counter?”

Wang Chuang immediately knew he was talking about Mo Wanzhen.

“Don’t talk nonsense! Nothing like that!”

He denied it flatly. “Chasing what older sister? I played arcade games all weekend.”

“Real promising,” Jiang Luo snorted.

He finished his bun, lowered his legs, crumpled the plastic bag, and tossed it into the trash can nearby.

Wiping his mouth and hands with a tissue, Jiang Luo beckoned to Wang Chuang. “Come here. I’ve got something to talk over with you.”

“Huh?”

Wang Chuang dragged over a chair and sat down by Jiang Luo’s desk.

Once Wang Chuang was seated, Jiang Luo leaned forward, resting his arm on the desk edge, and looked at him seriously. “I want to ask—given the company’s current situation, do you have any ideas? Anything you want to do?”

“This company isn’t just mine. It’s yours too.”

“We can’t always just do whatever I decide. Of course I need to hear what you think.”

Wang Chuang slapped the desk lightly. “Perfect timing. I was just about to talk to you.”

“Go on.”

Jiang Luo looked at him calmly, listening attentively.

Wang Chuang said, “Back when we gave up on the small market, didn’t I mention that if we weren’t doing that business anymore, and not in Haicheng, we could still go to nearby places like Jinling or Hangzhou? They’re provincial capitals, big cities—no shortage of buyers.”

“And didn’t you say we weren’t selling that stuff anymore, that we were building our own brand?”

“While I was playing arcade games this weekend, I kept thinking—why not take our brand to other malls, in other cities too?”

He looked serious. “I’ve thought it through. I think we should get our brand into malls in Jinling and Hangzhou as well.”

Mm.

Jiang Luo nodded in agreement. “That’s a good idea.”

“Right?”

Wang Chuang smiled.

Jiang Luo said, “Then let me tell you what I’m planning next.”

“Okay.”

Wang Chuang sat up, listening carefully.

“I’m planning to open another counter at Yong’an,” Jiang Luo said. “Women’s clothing under our own brand—designed by us, produced in our own factory.”

Wang Chuang was surprised. “Clothing?”

After thinking for a moment, his eyes rolled slightly, and he nodded. “That could work.”

“But if we’re doing design, won’t we need to hire tailors and stuff?”

“Design’s on me,” Jiang Luo replied. “You don’t need to worry about that.”

He went on to talk about factory location, what kinds of machines they’d need to make clothes, local hiring, and related matters.

The two discussed it for quite a while.

In the end, Jiang Luo and Wang Chuang roughly settled their next steps: Wang Chuang would go to Jinling and Hangzhou to see whether they could get their brand into local shopping malls.