Shen Qing was sitting on the sofa, pondering what to do next, when she saw Cheng Zhiwen carrying a suitcase into the room. She glared at him and got up to go back to her room.

A while later, there was a knock on the door.

Cheng Zhiwen stood outside the door and asked casually, "How did it go? Did you manage to secure any orders?"

Shen Qing didn't want to talk to him and remained silent, shrinking into the bed to think of a solution.

Suddenly a name flashed through her mind.

Li Chong.

This person was Cheng Zhiwen's friend. On the ship that day, he was supposed to introduce her to Chinese traders, but she found out halfway through that Cheng Zhiwen was a traitor, and she was so angry that she left the tea party before even meeting him.

So maybe we could ask Li Chong for the address of that Chinese trader, and then go there with the samples to try our luck?

Thinking of this, Shen Qing immediately jumped off the bed and opened the door.

Cheng Zhiwen sat on the sofa with her back to her.

He took off his suit jacket and put on a white shirt and a brown silk vest.

But why does that vest look a bit chubby?

Shen Qing looked closely and realized that it was the sample she had lost.

She was so angry that she strode up to him, pushed him back, and bent down to unbutton his down vest.

While unpacking, he cursed, "So you stole my sample! You made me worry for days! Give it back to me!"

Cheng Zhiwen pressed her hand down and placed it on his chest.

He looked up at her.

They were so close, their breaths mingled, and desire swelled in their eyes.

He lowered his eyes and was about to kiss her again.

Shen Qing turned her face away, forcefully pulled her hand away, and took a few steps back.

She looked at him coldly and ordered, "Take off the samples you're wearing and give them back to me!"

He chuckled and buttoned his shirt back up: "Who said that the first sample would be mine after the success? I'm just taking what's rightfully mine."

"The one I gave you is in Jiangzhou!"

"so?"

Cheng Zhiwen smiled, spread her arms and rested them on the back of the sofa, leaning back: "Come and get it yourself."

This was another attempt to lure her into his arms.

Shen Qingcai wasn't fooled and stood still.

Anyway, it's good that we know the sample wasn't lost. We can take it back tomorrow after he changes it.

She then asked, "You know Li Chong, right?"

Upon hearing this name, Cheng Zhiwen immediately stopped smiling: "Why are you asking about Li Chong?"

"On the ship, he said he would introduce me to a Chinese trader. I'd like to ask if you can contact him."

"Li Chong has returned to Japan and cannot be contacted."

Shen Qing sighed dejectedly.

Another road has been blocked.

The pressure that had been building up in her heart for days caused her to break down for a moment. She laughed self-deprecatingly and said, "I was really too naive! A Chinese person going to British territory to do business and make money from the British?"

Cheng Zhiwen stood up and walked up to her: "We were on the ship, and there was a chance to get an order from Clark."

Speaking of Clark, Shen Qing was so angry she wanted to grind her teeth to powder: "That piece of trash Clark wants to trade opium! I would rather die than do such a business!"

She glared fiercely at Cheng Zhiwen and questioned, "You knew perfectly well that Clark would propose exchanging opium for it, and that I would certainly not agree. Why did you still act as a go-between?"

"Because Clark is backed by Europe's largest trading company."

Shen Qing sneered: "Yes! The biggest traders, but they're also the ones who import the most opium into China!"

After saying this, she was about to go back to her room.

Behind him, Cheng Zhiwen asked, "Do you know where I've been these past few days?"

Shen Qing's eyes immediately darkened: "I know! But I don't care!"

The door slammed shut.

It's late at night.

Shen Qing couldn't sleep and sat on the bed thinking.

The dim yellow light from outside was reflected in the glass of the door.

Cheng Zhiwen was also awake.

She had no time to think about why he wasn't asleep; her mind was filled with the frustration of having gained nothing from her trip to England.

The initial idea was great: to open a factory in the UK and sell the finished garments directly to Europe.

However, the two most critical issues remain unresolved.

Schmidt is still holding her back on the issue of the wire drawing machine; ready-made garments need qualifications to enter the European market.

However, this qualification requires the disclosure of the product's ingredients.

This is a closed loop with no exit.

Shen Qing felt that even if he contacted Li Chong, it would be useless, as he might also face the same qualification problem.

Chinese traders who want to do business in Europe cannot escape the qualification barriers.

Only large domestic trading companies like Clark could probably bypass the qualification barriers.

But the British government was behind the big trading companies, and they were planning to gradually erode China's influence. How could they allow a Chinese merchant to make money cleanly from Europeans?

It seems unlikely that down jackets will ever be sold in Europe.

Shen Qing calmly accepted this reality.

Since setting foot on London soil, she has been receiving setbacks every day, and has come to calmly accept the fact that down jackets are not popular in Europe.

It's okay, if we can't go to Europe, we'll just go back to China.

Merchants from Guangzhou, Fujian, and Tianjin have said they will continue to support her new materials.

She will buy a ship ticket to return to China tomorrow, disembark in Guangzhou, and meet those two businessmen.

If the order is finalized, the deposit will be enough to pay off the debt by the ninth month of the lunar calendar.

Selling down jackets in China doesn't have as many barriers as in Europe, allowing for faster market entry and access to funding.

As for the electricity needed for the wire drawing machine, they rented a place with electricity in Shanghai, transported the raw materials from Jiangzhou to Shanghai, drew the wires, spun them into inner fabric, and then sent them back to Jiangzhou for processing.

The round trip from Jiangzhou to Shanghai takes only a few hours, much easier than the journey from Shanghai to England.

Thinking of this, Shen Qing regained her confidence and had a good night's sleep.

She got up at noon the next day and immediately went to the dock to buy a ship ticket to return to China the following day.

Seeing that there was still time, I went to browse around the largest department store in London.

I bought some clothes for Su Lan and Chun Ju, and also brought gifts for the Gao family and the two merchants.

Passing by the children's clothing section, she suddenly remembered the laundry shop in the alley across from the restaurant.

Remembering the skinny little boy shivering from the cold, Shen Qing turned and walked into the children's clothing section, where she bought two cashmere jackets.

She first took the things she wanted to bring back to China to her hotel room and put them away.

Before closing the door, I saw ten down vests on the table, so I picked up the two smallest sizes and took them with me.

...

Shen Qing, carrying the bag, walked back into that dark, smelly, and damp alley.

I arrived at the entrance of the laundromat and looked inside.

The shop owners, a husband and wife, continued washing and ironing clothes in silence and numbness.

The shop was still piled high with dirty clothes and smelled nauseating.

Shen Qing walked in, knocked on the counter, and greeted the customer with a smile: "Boss!"

Upon hearing this, the man looked over with surprise. When he saw that it was her, he quickly put down what he was doing and came over to greet her.

Open the panel next to the counter and let Shen Qing in.

"Madam, you've arrived. Do you have clothes to wash?"

Shen Qing shook her head: "I came to see you. You don't have any clothes to wash."

The man smiled awkwardly, invited her to sit down, and stood aside to make tea.

Shen Qing didn't sit down. She put the two shopping bags under the counter and said, "I'm going back to China tomorrow. I went to the department store this afternoon and brought two outfits for the kids. Remember to take them out for them to wear."

The man was startled and turned to look at her: "How could I possibly accept this..."

She smiled and stepped back from behind the counter, giving him a thumbs-up: "Believe me, everything will be alright! Your descendants will never have to live like this again! Have faith!"