"It's you." Qiao Lu recognized this person. They were the diligent young couple who used to sell clothes on Baiyun Street.

What a pity. I heard from Haizhou that the couple’s store was closed because they sold foreign garbage, and now I don’t know where they are working.

"What a coincidence." Qiao Lu nodded slightly and smiled, "How are you doing recently? Where are you doing business?"

Fanning herself with her hands, the woman smiled awkwardly despite her sweaty forehead: "I'm not sure yet. I'm resting at home. I'll find a crowded place to set up the stall when the hype has died down."

This is how I lived before I went to Baiyun Street. Now I’m back to this kind of life again... I can only say that if you don’t seek death, you won’t die.

After all, they were not very familiar with each other, so they just exchanged pleasantries. Qiao Lu smiled and said, "Well, I wish you good luck."

The woman pursed her lips bitterly, and when she saw Qiao Lu getting on the bicycle and about to go with her husband, she hurriedly stopped him.

"Comrade Xu!"

The family of three turned their heads in unison: "What's wrong?"

The woman seemed to be experiencing a conflict in her mind. Finally, she sighed and lowered her eyelids in shame: "I'm so sorry. Actually, the matter of the pirated manufacturers was discussed privately by a few of us. Meng Guoan said that you can't take all the benefits, so we other merchants united to keep the secret, so..."

Then he sighed again: "Anyway, I'm not working in Baiyun Street anymore. Telling you this will make me feel better."

Ever since their store was closed, the couple has been sinking into deep self-blame.

They thought that this was not retribution, right? They used to be diligent and honest, and nothing happened to them. But after they started selling pirated clothes from Xu Haizhou's family and isolated them with the public, hardships came one after another... They didn't even believe it was metaphysics.

Xu Haizhou actually guessed that he was isolated by other merchants, but he did not guess that this was Meng Guoan's idea.

"You mean... no matter how I asked you before, you refused to tell me, it was all because of Meng Guoan?" Xu Haizhou asked again to confirm.

"I guess so. He was the one who proposed it and we all agreed."

To put it simply, Meng Guoan was the first to discover the pirated manufacturers and introduced them to various companies except Xu Haizhou.

The pink-eye patients united to block the news and refused to tell anyone no matter who they asked.

But he didn't expect that in the end the villain would suffer the consequences of his own actions. Instead of striking down Xu Haizhou, he lost the family he had been feeding.

What do you call this? Evildoers will be punished by God.

"Then... Comrade, can you tell us the address of the pirated manufacturer?" Qiao Lu asked.

Without any hesitation, the woman said, "Okay."

After saying goodbye to the woman, Xu Haizhou took his wife and son back home: "Let's eat first, and then we'll go find the factory."

"Okay, I'll do it right away."

Xu Haizhou followed him into the kitchen: "I'll help you."

The pirated manufacturer was not a state-owned unit but a small private factory that opened in January this year. It was located in a residential building complex on the southern edge of the city. If no one told you, you would never have discovered that there was a small factory hidden in such a residential area.

The bicycle shuttled through the crowded and narrow alleys, where rows of bungalows and low houses were squeezed together with no sense of planning. Garbage and debris were also piled together, making the place a mess.

“Is this a residential area or a factory area?”

Xu Haizhou is quite familiar with this area. He had come here to learn more about it when he wanted to find a foundry.

"It used to be a residential area, but after opening up, many private owners came here to open factories because it was close to the city center. The factories were built by the owners themselves, and most of them were small workshops. I came here last year and didn't find any clothing factories, but I didn't expect to find one this year."

The first batch of factory owners who started their businesses in the 1980s were not so particular. They considered their workshops and factory buildings complete as long as they could be built. They were two or three stories high and not very large in area. They were truly "small factories."

.

After finding the exact location of the garment factory, I walked in and saw that the employees were busy at the sewing machines. A quick glance showed that there were about 30 people. The equipment was also the most common type on the market, nothing special.

"Hello, who are you looking for?"

A few people didn't pay attention when they walked in, but when they heard the sound, they found that there was a desk at the corner of the door, and the receptionist was sitting there to receive guests when they came.

"Hello, are you the person in charge here? We want to place an order for some clothes."

The little girl looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. She wore a pair of silver-framed glasses, had single eyelids, and was thin, but she was full of energy.

Hearing this, the girl immediately showed her standard eight teeth and smiled: "Our factory director is in the office, please follow me."

For a small factory like this, there are very few office staff. Apart from the factory manager and this young receptionist, there are probably not many people.

There is no dedicated sales department to negotiate orders. You can go directly to the office to find the factory manager. The factory manager has multiple positions and is proficient in everything...

Knock knock——

"Director, we have business."

"Oh, come on, come in and take a seat." After opening the door, a middle-aged man in a loose suit came into view.

He was drinking tea, but because the arrival of these people was sudden and he was caught off guard, he quickly put down his teacup and stood up to receive them.

"Have a seat." Then he said to the receptionist, "Qianqian, come on, make some tea and bring some stools."

"OK."

Qian Donglei was wearing a suit and tie, with his hair combed back into a shiny slicked-back styling, and looked quite gentle, but his eyes were clearly shrewd, which reminded Qiao Lu of the Hong Kong businessmen of that time, and was quite consistent with his image and dress.

The receptionist made a cup of tea for each of them, even Qiao An.

"Thank you, sister." The boy thanked sweetly.

The girl was stunned for a moment, then smiled happily and wanted to raise her hand to touch the baby's head, but he nimbly avoided her and her hand finally fell on his shoulder.

He took his hand back, but he was not embarrassed and smiled: "You're welcome."

After saying that, he closed the door and quietly retreated.

At the same time, Qian Donglei introduced himself enthusiastically: "Hello, hello, I am the director of Huimin Garment Factory. My last name is Qian. What is your last name?"

Xu Haizhou slightly curved his lips, glanced at the ceramic teacup, and went straight to the point: "Hello, my last name is Xu, I'm a clothing merchant who opened a shop on Baiyun Street. I heard that your family can supply goods, so..."

"Oh, Baiyun Street? I'm very familiar with that place. Boss Xu, are you here to pick up the goods?" Before he could finish, the factory manager smiled and looked at the three people with his eyes tilted. "I don't think I've seen you before. Is this your first time here?"

Xu Haizhou curled his lips: "I didn't know about your family before, I just heard about it today."

Qian Donglei scratched his head in confusion: "No way, many of the bosses on Baiyun Street get their clothes from my house, how come you haven't heard about it?"

Although the factory was just opened this year, many small traders come to it to purchase goods because of its affordable prices and close follow of fashion.

"We used to get the goods from the special zone," said Xu Haizhou.

Qian Donglei understood immediately and said, "Oh... Special Zone, that place is pretty good." Then he remembered something and said, "We also have goods from the Special Zone here. We can make all the popular items there. So you want to buy imitations from the Special Zone?"

Good guy, not only did he steal from their house, he also stole from the Special Administrative Region. He was like a "thief factory".

However, there is no such thing as "copyright" for clothes these days. People just follow whoever is popular, and everyone copies me and I copy you. This is the general environment.

"It's like this, we want to cooperate with your factory." Xu Haizhou said this without answering his question.

"Cooperation? It means getting goods, right?" Qian Donglei smiled, his eyes wandering repeatedly on Xu Haizhou.

This young boss looks polite and speaks in an official tone.

Xu Haizhou smiled faintly and shook his head: "Not completely."

Oh? Qian Donglei was puzzled. How could he cooperate with him if he came to his factory but didn't buy any goods?

Then Xu Haizhou looked at Qiao Lu, and in the confused eyes of the factory director, he took out some drawings.

Passed over: "Director Qian, take a look at these clothes, do they look familiar?"

She took the blueprint and flipped through it, from beginning to end, and was amazed: "We have this skirt in our factory, too, with the exact same style... and this one, which is in production right now. We just released it last week, and it's selling really well, the demand is outstripping the supply!"

The dress that was in short supply was a navy collar dress designed by Fang Youwei. Qiao Lu had altered some of the details and specially made it in blue and white or purple and white, which was enthusiastically sought after by female high school students.

It is precisely because of this lively and energetic dress that the Purple Dragonfly brand quickly became popular among high school students.

When the students started discussing dresses, the first thing that came to their mind was Purple Dragonfly. Unfortunately, the stock was insufficient, otherwise the couple would not have rushed to the factory as soon as they found out the address.

"Guess why I have the design drawings?" Qiao Lu looked at him meaningfully, with a faint smile on the corner of her lips.

Qian Donglei was stunned for a moment and was shocked, "So these clothes were designed by you?!"

I looked at her for a long time, unable to believe it. But in my disbelief, it seemed reasonable.

Qiao Lu looks like an intellectual. In addition, she is good-looking and talks in a way that people who don't know her would think she is a college student.

Of course, Qian Donglei thought so. Anyone who could draw such exquisite design drawings must be a professional.

I felt a sudden sense of admiration in my heart.

However, Qiao Lu's next sentence was: "You stole four or five of our designs, and you didn't even know which company the genuine ones were?"

Looking at Qian Donglei with a smile.

Qian Donglei's smile froze on his lips, and he awkwardly changed the subject: "So what do you want to do...?"

Are you trying to bring an army to punish me? Didn't you say you wanted to cooperate?

In fact, they never asked who the authentic product came from. They just thought it was produced by a state-owned factory and they just copied it. But they never imagined that it was designed by the boss’s wife herself!

Qiao Lu continued, "I have a lot of new designs at home that have never appeared on the market. I'd like to sell them to you, would you like to?"

Qian Donglei was flattered and excited: "Really? How much?"

Qiao Lu: "I'll sell you a drawing for 400, but I have a condition."

"Four hundred?" It's so expensive. How many pieces of clothing can you buy with four hundred yuan?

Four hundred yuan with conditions, why doesn't she go and grab it?

"Not expensive." Qiao Lu smiled. "You can go to the market and see that every new model we release is always a big seller. Based on the sales volume, I can earn back the 400 yuan in a week at most."

Prices are low these days, but clothes are expensive. As long as there are people buying them, you don't have to worry about not making a profit.

"So what are the conditions you mentioned?" Qian Donglei asked.

Qiao Lu smiled and said, "The clothes must have our family logo printed on them."

Qian Donglei was puzzled: "What's your family's logo?"

"Well, her name is Purple Dragonfly," said Qiao Lu.

After saying this, she showed him the purple dragonfly icon she had drawn.

The dragonfly's shape is outlined by simple geometry, with curved wings on both sides of an ellipse in the middle. The whole icon is in a noble, cool purple color, with a positive and negative structure. It can be said to be a very regular icon.

"That's no problem..."

The icons are beautiful, no doubt about it. Qian Donglei couldn't help but look at Qiao Lu a few more times, thinking that this female comrade is quite talented, not only can she design clothes, but she can also make icons.

Look at this lifelike dragonfly. It is a cute insect, but she made it look so noble...

"You can write your factory's name on the clothing label, but our purple dragonfly logo must be sewn on the collar or chest of the clothing."

It wasn't a big deal. Qian Donglei hesitated for a moment, then heard Qiao Lu say, "You can only cooperate with our store."

"What? How can I make money then? This won't work. This absolutely won't work." There is no way to do business like this.

Qiao Lu: "I haven't finished yet. What I mean is that for the clothes I design, you can only cooperate with us in the first two weeks after the new models come out. You can only sell them to other companies after half a month."

"We can also advertise to each other. If someone asks me where I get the goods, I will tell them I get them from you. Isn't it a win-win situation?"

In fact, if they had not had insufficient funds and insufficient inventory, Qiao Lu and her husband would not have been willing to hand over the design drawings to others. It would have been most cost-effective for them to open a small workshop of their own.

The problem is that after buying a house, there is not enough money. Even if you want to start a factory, you need to accumulate savings for at least two to three years.

Although the large company has 15 fixed employees, they are all part-time workers and only have time to make a few pieces for you after get off work. Sometimes a product is very popular and the production volume cannot keep up, and you don’t know how many customers you have lost.

"No, you don't work in my business and don't understand the market. Nowadays, many people run factories. Even if I don't steal your clothes, there will always be factories that steal your styles. When they see that you are selling well, they want your goods. If I don't give them to them, won't they go to other places?"

It would be better to let him make the money together.

On this point, Xu Haizhou and his wife were very firm: "This is a hard requirement and it cannot be changed. You can ask around. In the whole of Li'an, the hottest market for selling clothes is Baiyun Street. My business is the best on Baiyun Street and the location is also the best. I suggest you take a long-term view. If you want to reject us for small orders, we respect your choice."

For Xu Haizhou, the most important thing is not the piracy, but the fact that the pirated copies are being sold at the same time as them.

This is too painful. At least give her a week or two to buffer the situation. Otherwise, the fruits of her hard work will be plucked away by others. Who would be happy about that?

Qiao Lu: "With our current revenue, even if you don't supply other companies for half a month, we won't lose money at all. Moreover, you can supply other companies after two weeks. It's not like you are forbidden to sell to other companies forever. Even if other companies start to pirate our products, it will take four or five days from the fabric to production. And if they do, they have to let the clothing merchants know that they have the products. It's useless if they can't advertise. Look, didn't we just find out about your factory now?"

"I can take a step back." Seeing that Qian Donglei was really troubled, Qiao Lu thought for a moment and said, "Except for Li'an City, you can supply goods to other provinces, cities, and counties as soon as possible, and we will not interfere."

Transportation is inconvenient these days, and clothing stores from other cities cannot affect their business, so Qiao Lu is not afraid.

"Anyway, the requirements have been given here. It's up to you whether you agree to them or not. The worst that can happen is that I have to spend more time looking for other companies to cooperate with." With just these two requirements, Qiao Lu still felt that she was at a loss. When she has money in the future, she will definitely open a small factory of her own and be self-sufficient.

Qiao Lu slowly put the drawings back. Qian Donglei followed her with reluctant eyes and swallowed his saliva.

This pile of drawings is really exquisite, especially the dresses, so beautiful and fashionable...

After considering for a while, Qian Donglei still couldn't bear to give up the order from two weeks ago.

"But even if I don't buy the drawings, I will just buy one to imitate after you make the clothes..." and I can save the four hundred dollars for the drawings!

Well, now Director Qian has lost all his shamelessness and said in front of the genuine designer that he wanted to make a pirated version of her product without even trying to hide it.

Qiao Lu's expression immediately turned unhappy: "Okay, then it looks like this cooperation can't go ahead."

This person is insincere and has no respect for the work of others. Who knows what kind of trouble may arise in the future.

If a person has bad moral character, it's useless to say anything.

So the couple left without saying a word.

"Director Qian, please take your time to think about it. If you regret it, you can come to Baiyun Street to find us. It's the first store at the entrance of the alley. But I can't guarantee that there will be a chance when you come."

After he finished speaking, Xu Haizhou held the baby in one hand and his wife in the other, and left.

Qian Donglei: “Hey, eh?”

well!

The author has something to say:

Did you guys know that I will update at 9:00 pm? No one asked in the comments section hhh, I was a little anxious today because I was stuck so I'm late. Sorry T^T

(ps: If there is no update at 18:00, it will usually be updated at 21:00. If there is no update at 21:00, it should be updated before 0:00 *^_^*)