RGL – Chapter 184

She saw in Liao Laidi a kind of fearless drive and tireless perseverance that she herself lacked. Even after living two lifetimes, it was something she still didn’t possess. Although she had devoted herself to entrepreneurship over the years, she knew that compared to her own inherent advantages, her efforts were still far less than what others had to give.

So this time, she wanted to give it a try—to see how far she could still go in the future.

On the other hand, since she had decided to be with Xue Mian, she also had to consider the current relationship between Xiuse and the Li family. After all, Xue Mian’s mother was associated with the Lis. When the time came, she would inevitably lack confidence in front of his mother. But if she had her own business empire, independent of anyone, then no matter when or where, she could stand tall and be worthy of standing beside the person she loved.

As for Xiuse, she wasn’t going to give it up either. After all, the brand Xiuse was her creation—like a child growing slowly under her care. It was her passion. The southern market, on the other hand, was merely a tool for her to realize her personal value.

Now that she had someone like Liao Laidi—a sharp sword—it would be a real pity not to use it.

That very evening, Liao Zhaodi gave Su Min a reply.

“My sister said that although she hasn’t worked in the clothing industry before, there are many garment factories in the south. If you trust her, she can begin researching the industry immediately and get familiar with its characteristics as soon as possible. Plus, she already has some friends in the business, so it won’t take her long to get up to speed.”

Upon hearing this, Su Min was very satisfied with the news Zhaodi had brought her.

Liao Laidi was indeed a very tenacious and confident person. Someone like that—once given the opportunity—was bound to succeed.

Soon after, Su Min arranged for a detailed discussion with Liao Laidi in B City.

As someone who already had a boyfriend, Su Min took the initiative to talk to him about her career plans.

“Going to the south?” Xue Mian was a little surprised. He had thought that Su Min’s business was developing well here, and that the two of them would eventually settle down in this city.

Su Min smiled and forked a piece of watermelon, holding it to his lips. Only after he bit into it did she chuckle and say, “What are you worried about? I’m not going myself—just letting Zhaodi’s sister keep an eye on things. We’re still young. After our third year ends next year, the fourth year won’t be too busy, so I need to learn more while I can.”

When it came to school, Su Min still felt a bit envious of Xue Mian—he could graduate early.

In truth, she had already learned most of the university curriculum. The experience she had gained from working far surpassed what she learned in school. That’s why she was no longer keen on attending classes. But since skipping class wasn’t an option, she still went to the major ones on time.

Xue Mian wrapped his arm around her waist, holding some documents in one hand while smiling. “Going south is no problem—I can go too. The market down there is indeed promising. Sister Shu Jing contacted me before, saying she wanted to work with me on the southern communications market. I’m still considering it. That market is huge and highly competitive, with great prospects in the communications industry. She even said she wanted to open an electronics factory there to produce communication equipment. You know how driven she and Sister Zhang Ning are. If we work together, we could probably grab at least 30% of that market.”

Su Min didn’t doubt the feasibility of what he said. If those three worked together—Shu Jing’s capital, Xue Mian’s technical skills, and Zhang Ning’s sharp market insight—they’d be unstoppable. Plus, all three came from powerful backgrounds. They’d basically be an unbeatable team.

She looked up and asked, “So, do you want to go?”

Xue Mian looked at her, feeling a bit like a hero with no cause. His thin lips curved into a gentle smile. “Rationally, yes. Emotionally, I’m reluctant. If I take on the southern market, I won’t be able to spend as much time with you.”

Su Min’s face turned red, her heart warming. Since there weren’t many people in Xue Mian’s office at the time, she boldly leaned in and kissed him.

His eyes instantly lit up, and he quickly turned passive into active, wrapping his arms around her and deepening the kiss.

It wasn’t until quite a while later that Su Min, blushing and breathless, finally pushed him away. “Enough, this is still your office.”

“You kissed me first,” Xue Mian said righteously. Seeing the embarrassment and indignation on her face—and fearing such “benefits” might be withdrawn in the future—he quickly added, “Alright, alright, my bad.”

“Hmph.” Su Min huffed, pulling away from him. Then, remembering what he had said earlier, she turned serious. “I don’t understand much about your business, but I don’t want your work to suffer because of our relationship.”

Seeing his furrowed brows, she also frowned. “I mean it. It would stress me out.”

Xue Mian saw that she was serious and broke into a smile to comfort her. “Alright, I get it. I’ll talk to Sister Shu Jing properly. I’ll take that southern market for sure.” After all, you’re heading south too—might as well let the husband follow the wife.

He hadn’t taken the southern market too seriously before. In fact, his ambition wasn’t that big. The southern market was large, but he didn’t enjoy intense competition. Besides, he already had the northern market firmly in hand, and wasn’t in a rush to expand. A business that expanded too rapidly in just a few years would become deformed. So he didn’t want to waste time he could’ve spent with his girlfriend just to fight over a juicy piece of the southern pie—it simply wasn’t worth it.

But now that his girlfriend had spoken, he had to give it his all and jump into the fray to fight for that piece of meat.

So, in the following week, their chances to see each other greatly decreased.

Fortunately, Su Min was also busy with the southern plans, so she quickly adapted to this hectic lifestyle.

When Liao Laidi arrived in B City from the south, Su Min made time to sit down and have an in-depth discussion with her.

It was Su Min’s first real interaction with Liao Laidi. Though they had met briefly before, she had thought of her as someone completely different from Liao Zhaodi. But now, after talking properly, she came to a conclusion—this woman was no ordinary person. Not only was she smart and ambitious, but she was also incredibly bold and action-oriented.

According to Zhaodi, Laidi had never been involved in the clothing market before—at most, she had a few acquaintances in the field. But after speaking with her, Su Min realized that Laidi already understood many industry terms and could explain some of the operational models, which clearly showed she had done a lot of homework in a very short time.

That kind of dedication alone moved Su Min deeply.

After sharing her own ideas, Liao Laidi looked at her seriously and said, “The southern market is indeed very competitive right now, but it hasn’t reached a cutthroat stage yet. If we enter now, there’s still a decent chance. Of course, if we position ourselves like Xiuse’s current branding, I’m afraid it won’t be easy.”

She spoke this sentence very directly.

Before coming, she had already considered this, because she knew that her sister’s best friend was a very capable and creative person. She had even founded a high-end clothing brand called Xiuse, which had now gained international recognition and had almost made it to Paris Fashion Week. So, she was worried that such a talented individual wouldn’t be interested in the mid-to-low-end clothing market.

But Su Min didn’t mind her directness at all and even felt a sense of shared understanding. “You’re right, and that’s why my positioning isn’t in high-end fashion. My target is the domestic market. Given the current state of the domestic economy, the high-end clothing market isn’t that big. Instead, mid-to-low-end fashion takes up seventy to eighty percent of the market. However, I’m more inclined toward the mid-range market because its consumer base is larger and more stable, which is more conducive to the future development of the business.”

When Liao Laidi heard this, a hint of surprise flashed across her face. “So you mean, your positioning is already decided—mid-range fashion?”

Su Min nodded. “But unlike the current OEM clothing model, I want to create my own brand. The price can be mid-range, but when it comes to quality and brand creation, the standards have to be high. I’ve already come up with the name for the brand—Ai Shang.”

Both women were very satisfied with this conversation. Especially Liao Laidi. She felt that this young woman, who was a few years younger than her, was indeed as impressive as her sister had described—much more mature and far-sighted than her peers.

Of course, what surprised her the most was that Su Min was willing to give her a share of the profits.

That meant, once the clothing company was established, she would own part of it.

“My time for Ai Shang is limited, so I’ll have to rely on you to put in more effort. The southern market is huge. We won’t be greedy, but we should still take a piece of the pie,” Su Min said with a smile.

Liao Laidi was emotionally moved. “President Su, don’t worry. From now on, all my time belongs to Ai Shang.”

Because this was her second life.

After sending Liao Laidi off, Liao Zhaodi returned to the office and awkwardly looked at Su Min. “Su Min, thank you for helping my sister so much.”

Just now, seeing the smile on her second sister’s face—a smile she hadn’t seen in a long time—she knew her sister was finally starting a new chapter in her life. So she felt very grateful to Su Min for giving her this opportunity.

She had truly done so much for the two sisters.

Su Min sat on the desk, resting her chin in her palm, and smiled. “I’m not helping your sister. I’m helping myself. So you don’t need to feel any pressure. I was already interested in this market, and your sister just happened to have the skills. We’re simply partnering to enter the market.”

“But you’re giving her a share.”

“Of course. She’s contributing. How much of a share she gets depends entirely on the company’s earnings. If she works hard, I’ll earn more too. If she doesn’t, even if I take the full profit share, I won’t make much. But don’t tell your sister that—I don’t want her slacking off,” Su Min joked.

Liao Zhaodi also laughed, visibly moved. “She’ll work hard. She’ll work very hard.”

After hesitating for a moment, she added, “Zhou Wu came back a few days ago to reconcile with my sister, but she didn’t agree. They’ve already gone through the formalities. I was worried she wouldn’t be able to handle it, but seeing how happy she was just now made me feel at ease.”

“A scumbag like him—better to break up sooner than later.” Su Min wasn’t surprised by the outcome. She had already guessed that Zhou Wu would come crawling back to Liao Laidi after hearing he’d left.

“But your sister… she knows about my relationship with Su Wenwen, right? I hope she doesn’t hold anything against me because of it. I don’t want any personal matters to taint our partnership.” Su Min suddenly remembered this issue. After all, some people tend to take out their anger on the innocent. Her relationship with Su Wenwen was indeed antagonistic, but to outsiders, they were relatives.

Liao Zhaodi quickly said, “My sister knows, but she definitely doesn’t hold anything against you. In fact, she didn’t even blame Su Wenwen. She said that with men like Zhou Wu, if it hadn’t been this woman, it would have been another. Men are the root of the problem.”

“Your sister really is a smart woman,” Su Min said sincerely.

Business in the South quickly began to take off.

Su Min didn’t buy new land to build a factory. Instead, she asked Liao Laidi to find a struggling small factory in the South and buy it outright, then renovate and rebuild based on what was already there.

It had to be said, setting up a factory in the South was quite convenient. Machinery could be imported from abroad, and transportation was very efficient.

As for fabric sourcing, Su Min was already very familiar with the industry, so Liao Laidi only needed to hire skilled workers for management and start building sales channels.

In order to establish the brand quickly, Su Min didn’t place the clothes in other stores for sale. Instead, she had Liao Laidi directly open brand-owned stores in major southern cities. For more remote surrounding areas, they used a franchise model.

Liao Laidi was a smart woman. With a bit of guidance from Su Min’s ideas, she quickly got the hang of it.

In just a few months, the clothing factory was already producing goods.

The first retail store in the South opened during National Day. Su Min skipped out on a trip to Hainan with Xue Mian.

But the two of them didn’t idle either—they went to the South together to assess the market.

At this time, G City in the South had already developed quite well. There were many favorable policies, which attracted a lot of investors and even foreign capital.

This time, Xue Mian also came to discuss a collaborative project. After all, to work in the communications industry, you needed more than just technology—you also needed support from other tech products. Su Min had mixed feelings about how busy she and Xue Mian had become. While fulfilling, it had indeed taken away much of their time together. But since they were still young, they were determined to fight for a few years. After they got married in the future, they could spend more time together.

So after checking into the hotel, they each went their separate ways to focus on work.

Liao Laidi had already found a suitable location and asked Su Min to personally inspect it. The site was in the city center. Su Min had never worked in the South before, so she wasn’t familiar with its development potential.

So, for this, she humbly turned to her boyfriend, Comrade Xue Mian, hoping this young elite could offer some good advice.

Even with his packed schedule, Xue Mian made time to support his girlfriend’s business and went to check out the location with her. He offered this advice: Don’t open the store inside a department store. Instead, buy a two- or three-story building near the pedestrian shopping street in the city center.

“Department stores have limitations and too many competing brands. Better to go outside and make the store bigger. You have the resources now anyway. It would be a great opportunity to try something new.”

His words sounded like they came from someone with deep pockets. Su Min couldn’t help but be tempted. “If that’s the case, I’ll make my brand’s logo huge. I want people to see my store the moment they step into the city.”

“Mm, that’s excellent,” Xue Mian nodded seriously. Watching her brimming with excitement, his eyes lit up with a smile.

It was still early, and Su Min wasn’t ready to sleep yet. So she stayed in Xue Mian’s room, discussing the next steps for opening the store. She also brought up visiting the location tomorrow. Just the thought of buying her own large storefront in a major coastal city made her feel thrilled. Without realizing it, she was truly making it.

She laughed and rolled around on the bed, then leaned over to peek at what Xue Mian was reading. The pages were full of unfamiliar characters—just a few letters she recognized. But because it was so technical, she didn’t understand a thing. “How’s it going on your end? Any leads?”

“Still negotiating. I’ve seen their products—they’re pretty good. But I’m not really inclined to collaborate by just buying their goods.”

“Then what do you want to do?” Su Min looked up at him.

Xue Mian smiled and pressed his thin lips together. “I want to open a factory here in the South, bring in their technology, and we’ll provide the capital and workforce. It’ll be a joint venture.”