"If Cheng Zhiwen refuses to stop doing things that harm the country and its people, I will have no choice but to kill him! I will definitely kill him!"

Shen Qing said bitterly.

Jiang Shen said urgently, "Boss Shen, Mr. Cheng isn't the kind of person you think he is..."

Shen Qing shouted, her eyes red, "I heard it with my own ears on the ship to London! And you're still defending him!"

Jiang Shen immediately fell silent.

There are some things he can't say.

Shen Qing returned to Shanghai soon after.

After searching for several days, she found another villa a few hundred meters away from Nanjing Road.

Although it doesn't have as much foot traffic as the previous villa, it's still close to Nanjing Road and can share some of the Nanjing Road's customer traffic.

The villa owner is French. He has finished working in Shanghai and is preparing to take his family back to France to settle down.

He believes he will never return to Shanghai, so he wants to sell the villa directly.

The price wasn't low, but nobody was interested.

Shen Qing was in a dilemma.

Buying a villa with a large sum of money at once could affect cash flow.

If you don't buy here, there are no other vacant villas near Nanjing Road.

Without a villa, relying solely on a small shop, it would be difficult for the Gao family to sell their silk.

She decided to take a gamble.

Money spent can be earned back, but if you miss out on this villa, all marketing plans will have to be scrapped and redone.

Let her take this gamble; if she wins, she can earn even more money.

Shen Qing gritted her teeth and used most of her savings to buy the villa.

Then, the design and decoration began in earnest.

Although the previous owner of the villa was French, he loved Chinese culture. The villa's exterior was French in style, but the interior mostly incorporated Chinese elements.

That's fine too. The Chinese style goes better with Jiangnan silk, so Shen Qing didn't change the layout and decoration of the villa's interior. He only planned to make some simple display shelves, windows and exhibition stands.

"Make all four sides into wardrobe-style display shelves, no need for cabinet doors, and hang the finished clothes here later," Shen Qing said to the designer, pointing to the four walls of the second-floor living room.

The designer is taking notes.

She walked to the center of the living room and continued gesturing: "Here, I want to make a low cabinet that's about half a person's height, rectangular in shape, with a completely transparent glass lid and a red velvet lining inside."

The designer noted as he took notes, "The transparent glass needs to be imported, which is quite expensive."

"Price doesn't matter, the clearer the better."

"Okay, Mr. Shen."

The group went up to the third floor.

Looking at the blueprints, the designer asked curiously, "What's the purpose of that rectangular cabinet on the second floor?"

Shen Qing said calmly, "I haven't decided yet."

She had already planned everything out, but she didn't want the designer to know now.

We arrived at the third floor.

The third floor was originally intended for children, with only two bedrooms and a bathroom. The remaining area was entirely dedicated to common areas, including a very large living room and terrace.

Shen Qing thought for a moment and instructed the designer: "There's no need to change the structural design here. Just add some furniture, like on the second floor."

She pushed open the balcony door and went outside.

I was surprised to find that the view here was exceptionally good, with a view of the Huangpu River and the Customs House in the distance.

Shen Qing gazed at the scene for a moment, then turned to the designer and said, "I'd like to make some upholstered sofas here, along with small round tables and parasols."

"Okay, Mr. Shen."

Shen Qing returned to the living room and pointed to several spots near the window: "Sofas and round tables should also be placed in these places."

The buffet table is placed in the center of the living room.

The designer recorded them one by one.

A few days later, the design drawings were sent to the factory for Shen Qing to review.

Shen Qing offered a few suggestions for revision, but was satisfied with the rest.

The villa was finally finished during the first ten days of summer.

Shen Qing personally returned to Jiangzhou and selected dozens of bolts of fashionable fabrics from the warehouse that met the tastes of Shanghai's elites and foreigners, and transported them to Shanghai.

She spent a lot of money to hire two skilled tailors to work in the store, working overtime to turn her designs into ready-made garments and put them on the shelves.

A silk slip dress with a cinched waist and low neckline, featuring delicately sewn sexy lace at the chest, paired with a long-sleeved cover-up.

The color scheme uses a nude pink that closely matches the skin tone, softly covering the body and showcasing exquisite curves and a beautiful sheen.

Even Shen Qing, a woman, was deeply moved by the story.

This is a common style of silk pajama set in modern times, but it is not commonly seen here.

Most of them still wore Qing-style pajamas with diagonal plackets and frog buttons, along with long trousers.

Shen Qing believed that this sexy style would soon sweep through Shanghai, and that socialite wives would go crazy for it.

Shen Qing then made several similar nightgown sets and slip dresses using silks of different patterns.

They also offer conservative open-front pajamas, and these are even couple's sets, with matching men's and women's versions in the same pattern.

Silk scarves, handkerchiefs, and bedding made of silk are displayed one by one in the shop windows on the first floor and in the living room on the second floor.

At that time, leather shoes, bags, and perfumes imported from France also arrived in Shanghai smoothly.

The long cabinet in the center of the second-floor living room finally came in handy, displaying handbags, perfumes, and jewelry.

Everything is ready, just waiting for the opening.

On the opening day, a stage was set up in the garden, and an opera troupe was invited to perform folk songs for three days and three nights, attracting many guests.

Some customers just looked around and left, some bought silk on the first floor, and some were attracted by the ready-made clothes displayed in the window and went up to the second floor to find out more.

The ladies were amazed by these novel styles they had never seen before, tried them all on, and eventually paid for quite a few products.

Some people were curious about what was on the third floor and whether there were even more wonderful products, so Shen Qing invited the three ladies who spent the most money to go up to the third floor.

The other wives saw this and wanted to go up too, so they spent more money to buy products, just to go up and find out what it was all about.

When we got there, we found there were no products, and we were initially a little disappointed.

Shen Qing invited everyone to take their seats and had cakes and coffee brought out, including some items not available on the second floor.

Perfume from France, lingerie sets, and even more sensual pajamas.

The ladies enjoyed coffee and cake while chatting with friends and browsing products.

Emotional value outweighs everything else.

As a result, Shen Qing's silk shop quickly became famous in Shanghai.

Many people came from far and wide, including the wives and concubines of prominent figures in the foreign concessions.

Besides buying large quantities of silk products from here, they also enjoy having coffee and cakes on the third floor and chatting with friends.

The third floor has become a place for these people to meet and socialize.

When Shen Qing occasionally went up to social events, he would hear all sorts of news that he couldn't hear outside.

For example, a naval fleet will be established at the end of the year, there are recent signs of a civil uprising on a certain island, and the funds for the renovation of Qingyi Garden were diverted from the military budget...

Shen Qing recalled the Beiyang Fleet in history, which misappropriated military funds to repair the Summer Palace, and this coincided with what these ladies had said.

Come to think of it, these are all socialite women. Their men are involved in politics, business, and even the Qing court. They know things that ordinary people don't, and then they tell them to these women, who then exchange information with each other...

That evening, after the ladies had all gone home, Shen Qing sat alone on the third-floor terrace, gazing at the distant sunset, lost in thought.

Now that the retail model that uses service as a selling point has been successful, the next step is to try to sell the Gao family's silk in bulk.

Only with stable and guaranteed order volume can you earn more silver.

Retail methods, whether selling services or designs, are too laborious and slow to generate income.

At present, only the Qing court has the financial resources to purchase silk in large quantities...

Someone went up the stairs, the sound of leather shoes on the wooden steps was confident and unhurried.

Shen Qing was lost in thought and didn't notice that someone else had also come to the terrace.