The 4th Kyoto University Guanghua Cup Business Simulation Competition officially began on November 1st.

Jiang Xiaoli saw on the bulletin board that there were more than 70 participating groups, many of which were senior students. There were only 3 groups in total, including the freshmen.

Hu Jingxin glanced at the bulletin board. "Let's go, Xiaoli. This competition is no longer our goal."

Yan Chengcheng chuckled and reminded her, "Xin Xin, the way you're talking makes you sound like you're going to get punched."

Hu Jingxin hugged her tightly, "Then Chengcheng must protect me!"

After they laughed and joked for a while, Ren Zhiyi handed a piece of paper to Yan Chengcheng, "This is a list of clothing factories around Kyoto that I asked my family to inquire about. Take a look."

There are a total of 5 garment factories around Kyoto. Only one of them is a large state-owned garment factory, while the other four are small private garment factories.

Jiang Xiaoli glanced at the paper and said, "Since our initial order volume is small, let's prioritize asking these four small factories."

Hu Jingxin refused Jiang Xiaoli's offer to find them a driver, saying, "Xiaoli, don't worry, my dad found me a driver from his company. He's always on standby outside the school, so why not use him?"

Chang Yue praised her highly, saying, "Hu Jingxin is a good colleague who knows how to save resources for the company!"

However, the luxury car pick-up did not bring them good luck; they ran into obstacles at the garment factory for two consecutive days.

One company refused to take the order because they were dissatisfied with the workers' strict requirements, while the other company overcharged them and treated them like easy targets, leading to a bitter parting.

On the third day, Jiang Xiaoli decided to go to the garment factory with the two of them to see what was going on.

This garment factory called Meile has a small footprint and has always focused on high-end products, acting as an OEM manufacturer for several well-known brands.

Meile's factory manager was a woman in her forties. When she saw that the people who came to discuss cooperation were a few young girls, the smile on her face suddenly became a little hard to maintain.

Yan Chengcheng politely handed her a business card.

Factory Director Sun glanced at her and chuckled, "Young lady, you're so young and already the head of the production department? How many people are there in your company?"

Yan Chengcheng's smile remained unchanged. "Our company is indeed newly established, but our requirements for clothing quality are the same as those of Factory Director Sun."

Upon hearing that it was a newly established company, Director Sun lost even more interest. "You young people really know how to squander your family's money. Alright, you can talk to my deputy director."

After saying that, she left the meeting room.

The deputy factory manager's attitude improved somewhat, but he immediately mentioned that their project was scheduled for three months from now.

Jiang Xiaoli pulled the two people who were still trying to discuss cooperation away from the meeting room.

As they left the Meile Garment Factory, Jiang Xiaoli said, "Let's go to the next one!"

Yan Chengcheng was conflicted. "Xiao Li, I felt like we could talk to that deputy factory director just now, so why did he leave?"

Jiang Xiaoli grabbed her hand, "Chengcheng, we are the ones who pay the money, we are the clients. There are plenty of clothing factories. If the ones in Beijing don't work, try the ones in Hebei Province. Let these service providers continue to be arrogant."

The last small clothing store was also disappointing; the workshop hygiene was seriously substandard, and Jiang Xiaoli and the others unanimously blacklisted this factory.

On the way back to school, Hu Jingxin said worriedly, "I've been to four small garment factories, but none of them are suitable. What should I do?"

Jiang Xiaoli patted her thigh, "It's okay. At first, I just thought our quantity was relatively small, and I was afraid it would be difficult to negotiate with large factories, so I chose a small factory. I'll accompany you to see the state-owned garment factory tomorrow."

Seeing that the two of them looked a little down, Jiang Xiaoli encouraged them, "We've only just begun, it's normal to encounter some setbacks. After the initial hardship comes the sweetness, and maybe things will go very smoothly for us later."

Fortunately, both Yan Chengcheng and Hu Jingxin are very optimistic.

Soon, the two of them were giving themselves a pep talk in the car.

"Xin Xin, you can do it!"

"Chengcheng, you're the best!"

Seeing them like this, Jiang Xiaoli couldn't help but laugh out loud, "You two are really perfect for this job, you're not defeated by negative emotions at all, awesome!"

The next day, the three of them went to the No. 1 Garment Factory in Kyoto City.

The person in charge of receiving them was Deputy Director Lü of the garment factory.

"Welcome to our Kyoto No. 1 Garment Factory for a visit and inspection."

After several days of setbacks, they thought state-owned garment factories were the most difficult to deal with, but they were surprised to find that the leaders of the state-owned garment factories were very warm and hospitable.

Deputy Factory Director Lü not only received them and showed them around the production workshop, but also took them to visit the factory's fabric warehouse and other facilities.

Back in the meeting room, Deputy Factory Director Lü asked, "I wonder how large your company's order volume is? I need to calculate the factory's schedule."

Jiang Xiaoli smiled and said to Deputy Factory Director Lü, "We are a newly established clothing company, and we need to produce a variety of clothing styles, but the quantity of each piece is not very large."

After she finished speaking, she handed him the quantity and specifications of the first batch of clothing to be produced.

Unexpectedly, Deputy Factory Director Lü did not look down on their order after reviewing it. Instead, he smiled and said, "It's a newly established company, we understand. Although the quantity is not large, we can try to cooperate. We hope you will continue to choose our First Garment Factory when your business improves."

Jiang Xiaoli and the others did not expect things to go so smoothly today.

Deputy Factory Director Lü directly called someone over to discuss the specific price with Yan Chengcheng.

Even after they emerged from the Kyoto No. 1 Garment Factory with the letter of intent for cooperation, they still couldn't quite believe it.

Sitting in the car, Hu Jingxin said suspiciously, "Xiao Li, you should quickly take this letter of intent to a professional or a lawyer to ask if there are any problems. Today went too smoothly, and I have a bad feeling about it."

Jiang Xiaoli nodded, "Don't worry, leave it to me. I think it's going too smoothly."

It wasn't until she inquired with Tan Xuanyi that she learned that the No. 1 Garment Factory in Kyoto City hadn't paid its employees for three months. The factory was burdened by a debt crisis that couldn't be resolved in the long run, and apart from a few sporadic official orders, the No. 1 Garment Factory was practically at a standstill.

Jiang Xiaoli was a little worried. "Professor Tan, do you think we can get the goods smoothly if we place the order with the First Garment Factory?"

Tan Xuanyi smiled and nodded, "You can rest assured that you will not only be able to get the goods smoothly, but the production cycle and product quality will also be much better than usual."

Seeing her confusion, Tan Xuanyi continued to explain, "The workers at the First Garment Factory have a very strong sense of community. I heard that they are currently raising funds to buy the factory, so they won't tamper with the orders."

In her previous life, Jiang Xiaoli had indeed heard of state-owned factories going out of business, with workers spontaneously organizing to buy the factories and run them independently. She never expected to encounter such a situation herself this time.