RGL – Chapter 168

Su Min looked resolute.

Seeing her like this, Ke Wan quickly raised her hand in surrender. “Alright, alright, I get it. So, do you have any plans in mind?”

“I want to open a small factory.”

“A clothing customization factory?”

“Mhm.” Su Min nodded. “Now that the number of people has increased, the original place is no longer sufficient. But if I open a factory, I’ll need managers and staff. So I’m thinking of officially establishing a company.”

Hearing Su Min’s plan, Ke Wan understood—her little sister was ready to set up her own business. “Xiuse Garment Company?”

“Yes.”

But Ke Wan shook her head. “Su Min, your idea is great, but you don’t understand how difficult it’s going to be. Your clothing brand has made a name for itself, sure—but what about ongoing publicity? Fashion magazines won’t constantly promote you, so international exposure will be difficult. And though you’ve handed the sales channels over to William, if you want to enter the mainstream market, you’ll need to break into the Paris fashion scene. But you’re still in China—how will you get in touch with them? That requires people. And after the company is established, have you thought about the challenges that will follow?”

After Ke Wan’s analysis, Su Min was left a little dumbfounded. She really hadn’t thought it through that far. Back when she worked at Sanye, she had gained some experience running a clothing factory and thought it wasn’t all that complicated. She hadn’t expected Ke Wan to lay out so many complications.

But this really was different from the Sanye factory.

One sold domestically, and the other would be exporting abroad. The resources required were naturally very different.

“Sister Wan, then what should I do?”

Ke Wan thought for a moment before saying, “I have a suggestion—merge.”

“You want me to merge with another company?”

“No, the opposite—let someone else merge with yours. You can find a big company to manage your small one. That way, you can leverage their powerful resources to gain the advantages you need. Trade your brand for resources. A lot of small businesses operate like this nowadays.”

Hearing this, Su Min felt a little disappointed.

She had poured so much effort into Xiuse—she couldn’t bear the thought of letting it be merged like that. “Sister Wan, I don’t want to give up Xiuse.”

Ke Wan chuckled. “Silly girl, who said anything about giving it up? You can register the brand under the company’s name. That way, even if other fashion brands want to swallow you up in the future, it won’t be so easy. When I say affiliate with a company, I’m not asking you to go to some strangers. What I mean is, find a company you’re familiar with. Talk to them nicely, and later you can just give them some dividends every year—it’ll be extra income for them. In the meantime, you can make use of their resources and platforms to benefit Xiuse.”

If there had been a better choice, Ke Wan wouldn’t have made such a suggestion. But Su Min was still too young. No matter how capable she was, she lacked social resources. It would be all too easy for competitors to knock her down. To survive in such a cutthroat environment, she needed a strong “guardian.”

Su Min clearly understood that too.

She was trying to work in high-end fashion—naturally, it came with more challenges than a regular garment factory.

She sighed. “I don’t really know anyone in that field. I guess I’ll have to see if William can help me find someone.”

“Why bother asking William? Don’t you already know someone yourself?”

Ke Wan smiled meaningfully at her.

Su Min was momentarily stunned. “Who do I know?” She thought about it—no one in the Wu family worked in fashion, and Shu Jing and Zhang Ning hadn’t mentioned anything either.

“Li Weisi,” Ke Wan said, shaking her head and sighing. “You usually seem so sharp. Why are you getting muddled now?”

Su Min laughed and slapped her forehead. “If you hadn’t mentioned it, I really would’ve forgotten. I remember our professor once said that Li Weisi does have businesses in fashion—and quite a few, actually. I almost forgot.”

Then she looked a little unsure. “But I don’t know Mr. Li Weisi that well. I’m not sure if he’d be willing to help.”

Ke Wan laughed. “Now you realize it’s not that easy, huh? Just a minute ago you were insisting you didn’t need our help.”

Su Min quickly said, “No, no, I really don’t need you to help me—just give me his contact info, and I’ll get in touch with him myself later.” This time, she wanted to earn her success with her own abilities.

Ke Wan didn’t tease her anymore. She simply gave her Li Weisi’s contact details and address.

As Su Min was about to leave, Ke Wan couldn’t help but remind her, “Su Min, it’s true that Li Weisi and Wu Zhe are on good terms. But you have to understand—businessmen only care about profit. So keep your guard up. And Li Weisi isn’t as gentle and harmless as you think. Don’t let him manipulate you too easily.”

Talking behind a friend’s back wasn’t ideal, but Ke Wan didn’t want her little sister to get taken advantage of.

Hearing her specific warning, Su Min couldn’t help but recall Li Weisi’s gentle and kind appearance. If Ke Wan hadn’t said anything, she really wouldn’t have imagined him as the shrewd businessman type.

But for someone to grow a business that big, he probably wasn’t as pure as he looked.

Su Min silently reminded herself that when she got in touch with Li Weisi, she would need to stay extremely alert.

Even though she was eager to start the company, her parents were still visiting, and she didn’t want to neglect them. Once they returned home, she wouldn’t see them for months—she couldn’t bear the thought. So she didn’t rush to contact Li Weisi.

More than a week later, Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang finally decided to go home.

Su Changrong had come here to learn about supermarket management, and he’d secretly wandered through several stores, picking up tips and tricks he planned to implement back home. Meanwhile, Sun Qiufang had visited Grandma Xue several times. Though the old woman hadn’t recognized her the first time, she clearly did on the subsequent visits, which brought her a lot of comfort.

When it was time to leave, both Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong reluctantly boarded the train. Through the window, they kept reminding Su Min to take good care of herself.

Watching the train slowly pull away, a sudden emptiness surged in Su Min’s heart.

The once cherished dream of staying by her parents’ side for a lifetime had ultimately been shattered by reality. From now on, she didn’t even know who would be the one to stay by her side for the rest of her life.

There was still over a month left before the new school term started. Su Min planned to take advantage of this time to finalize the matter she had previously discussed with Ke Wan.

This time, she didn’t intend to rely on Ke Wan or Wu Zhe’s connections anymore. After obtaining the address and contact details herself, she directly called Li Weisi.

She had expected some back-and-forth negotiation, but to her surprise, Li Weisi’s assistant replied that very afternoon, asking her to come to their office in City B the next day for a meeting.

Upon receiving the confirmation, Su Min quickly began preparations. She organized some reliable data from the store and asked Zhaodi to compile previous export garment records to take with her to present to Li Weisi.

“Su Min, do you think this will really work? I’ve heard of that company—it’s a major multinational group,”

Liao Zhaodi said while sorting documents, glancing at Su Min who was reviewing data at the table.

After hearing Su Min’s idea, she had felt it was a bit unrealistic. Not because she doubted Su Min’s abilities, but because Xiuse’s current scale likely wasn’t even enough to catch the other party’s eye.

Su Min sighed. “I don’t want to do it this way either, but opportunities like this don’t come often. If we miss this one, who knows how long it’ll be until the next? After all, we can’t keep riding the wave of the magazine feature forever. We’re just taking advantage of the momentum while it lasts.”

Liao Zhaodi found that reasoning convincing. It was like borrowing a gust of wind—though whether the wind was strong enough remained to be seen.

Although Li Weisi wouldn’t be staying in the country long, he already had an official office here.

Following the address, Su Min found the Li Group’s building and was surprised to discover it wasn’t far from Xue Mian’s company—practically in the same area.

She briefly faltered but quickly regained focus and mentally prepared herself to meet Li Weisi with full attention.

The building where Li Weisi worked was newly constructed. According to Ke Wan, it had been built by Shu Jing’s husband, Zheng Kai. Despite this, the interior decor had a very traditional aesthetic—nothing about it suggested a Western designer’s touch.

Su Min gave it a discreet once-over, then stopped looking around and obediently followed the assistant to Li Weisi’s office.

“Boss, Miss Su has arrived,” the young assistant called into the room before quickly exiting.

Only then did Su Min see Li Weisi standing behind the desk.

He was currently looking down at a document. After finishing, he looked up at her. “Sorry, I was just thinking about something. Please, come in, Miss Su.”

Su Min smiled lightly and stepped into the office.

Although Li Weisi had returned from abroad, he seemed to have a strong appreciation for Chinese culture. Even the tea he served to guests was loose-leaf traditional tea.

This gave Su Min a boost of confidence. After all, Xiuse was built on a traditional cultural foundation—it might just appeal to him.

“Mr. Li, I’m here today both to pay my respects and to seek a potential partnership opportunity.”

Li Weisi raised a hand, signaling her to stop, and smiled knowingly. “I know. Ke Wan already told me.”

Hearing that, Su Min’s face showed a flash of surprise. “Ah, I didn’t mean anything by it—I wasn’t trying to pull strings or anything.”

“Pull strings?” Li Weisi repeated playfully, amused. “That’s a vivid way to put it. But no, you didn’t. Ke Wan merely mentioned your intentions. She didn’t ask me to do anything. And frankly, even if she had, it wouldn’t have made a difference. We’re friends, but in business, I never mix personal relationships.”

Realizing she had overreacted, Su Min pressed her lips together awkwardly. She scolded herself internally for losing composure in front of this man.

After taking a moment to organize her thoughts, she spoke calmly, “Since you already know my intentions, may I ask what you think about our potential collaboration? I understand our current scale isn’t very large, but as you’re aware, that’s only temporary. With our current reputation and technical strength, the growth potential is limitless.”

Su Min felt her statements were well-founded. Based on present conditions, Xiuse had a bright future. Seeking a partnership was a strategic move—she wanted to leverage a larger company’s resources to grow and establish a presence in the international fashion scene. The only question was whether Li Weisi would deem this minor venture worth his attention.

Perhaps hearing the cautious tone in her voice, Li Weisi offered a reassuring smile. “While business is business, you don’t need to be so tense when discussing cooperation.”

Su Min nodded without replying.

Li Weisi continued, “I’m aware of your recent success. In fact, I’ve been following your features in European and American magazines. Gaining the attention of someone like Alice is no small feat. And being liked by Western audiences shows your designs have real potential. What you currently lack is a proper channel. William can offer you a distribution path, but he can’t provide strategic resources. That’s why you came to me.”

Su Min was startled by his accurate analysis. This Li Weisi really is a seasoned negotiator—he casually acknowledged her strengths, yet with just one sentence, pointed out her key disadvantage. No matter how good her brand was, without a channel, it couldn’t grow beyond a certain point.

“What do you mean?” she asked cautiously.

Li Weisi poured her another cup of tea and did the same for himself. After sipping quietly for a moment, he finally set the cup down and smiled. “Our group does indeed have a major platform in the fashion sector. But we only take on brands with high profit potential. So, tell me—what kind of returns can your brand bring us? Or, how do you plan to grow it?”

“I’ve already mapped out a plan. If this partnership goes through, we’ll boost our marketing, and Xiuse will expand—at least enough to implement a standardized production line. We’re not only aiming for haute couture. We also plan to enter the mid-to-high-end market. Of course, both segments will carry the distinct identity of Xiuse.”

Su Min outlined her plan clearly.

Xiuse had to grow. Even in haute couture, it couldn’t stay small forever, or expansion would never happen. Like Chanel overseas, which branched into all types of fashion products.

Xiuse didn’t need to follow Chanel’s exact path, but it could take inspiration and chart a similar trajectory.

Of course, the premise was that this Mr. Li would be interested in Xiuse.

If not, going solo would likely take her decades, and even then, the outcome wasn’t certain. The market was ever-changing—who could say how long Xiuse would last?

Also, for Xiuse to grow, one designer alone wasn’t enough. She needed more talented designers. But good designers wouldn’t work for a tiny business. She had to boost her capital and resources to attract talent.

As Su Min nervously pondered how to convince Mr. Li Weisi to agree to the partnership, he suddenly stood, took a document from his desk, and handed it to her.

Su Min recognized it as the same file he had been reviewing earlier.

“Take a look. If there’s anything you disagree with, feel free to raise it.”

Su Min quickly took it and began reading carefully. The moment she saw the first few lines, her heart jolted. She looked up at him in disbelief. “Mr. Li, are you saying… this is the cooperation agreement?”

She hadn’t even said much, and he was already agreeing to collaborate?!

“As you can see, I do have a fondness for Chinese culture. My mother especially loves your designs—this partnership was her personal suggestion. Of course, she holds shares in the company, so the cooperation is conducted under the group’s name. After we partner, Xiuse will retain its brand and staff and gain access to the group’s resources. In return, 40% of the profits will go to the group. You can review the details and talk to my assistant if anything needs further discussion.”

Li Weisi spoke slowly and clearly, and Su Min heard every word. But even with that clarity, she couldn’t believe her luck.

She had actually won over this Li Weisi—his mother, no less.

Her hands trembled slightly as she held the cooperation proposal.