Although Hou Xiaolian had her doubts, it was only one yuan, so she let it go.
The embroidery workshop has been really busy lately, so busy that Hou Xiaolian has also been rushing to finish the orders. Ji Xia has never been one to worry about, so she put the matter aside.
Besides the six new recruits, the embroidery workshop has six new employees who, despite being beginners, all have strong learning abilities.
Hou Xiaolian instructed each person to embroider only one pattern, and in just two or three days, the girls improved both their speed and quality.
This is understandable. They embroider the same pattern every day, and they embroider simple designs that don't require splitting the thread. Whether it's tracing the pattern or embroidering, they become proficient in just a few days. Some of the more capable ones don't even need to trace the pattern; they can start embroidering as soon as they get started.
More than two hundred orders were shipped out in chronological order of customers' wedding dates, and more than half of them were completed in about half a month.
Half a month later, Chen Jing sent dozens of sets of Xiu kimonos, as well as other formal dresses and cheongsams, to Zhongqing Clothing.
Store manager Wang Xiumei hurriedly had someone receive and count the goods. She then pulled Chen Jing aside and told him some bad news: a new high-end fashion store had opened on Xiushui Street, which also made wedding dresses, cheongsams, wedding gowns, and even kimonos.
Hearing that the newly opened upscale fashion boutique also makes wedding dresses, Chen Jing raised an eyebrow: "A newly opened upscale fashion boutique? When did it open? Have you been there?"
Wang Xiumei looked like she hadn't had enough: "I heard it opened the day before yesterday. I didn't see it with my own eyes, but a customer came and told me."
"What did the customer say? What did she say?"
Wang Xiumei looked very frustrated and said in a low voice, "That customer has come several times and wants to book a kimono, but all the kimono bookings for this year are full. We recommended a cheongsam to her, but she didn't want to."
“Yesterday she brought a kimono to show off to me, saying that we don’t have any here, and she can just go buy one elsewhere.”
Wang Xiumei felt extremely distressed. In addition to their base salary, the sales staff's commissions were linked to their sales performance.
If the factory can produce more goods and sales double or triple, their commissions will increase two or three times.
Now, a large number of customers are being lost due to lack of stock, which is extremely distressing for the sales staff.
"Boss, we've got a lot of customers asking us if we can make pre-orders. Why don't we hire a few more people? If we hire more people, we can make more show kimonos."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jing couldn't help but smile wryly, then casually pointed to the pattern on the mannequin next to him: "Tell me, out of the eight people in the store, how many of them know how to do something like this?"
All eight sales clerks, including Wang Xiumei, were handpicked by Ji Xia and Chen Jing.
They are eloquent, but their hands are not very good at any work, let alone embroidery.
"The workshop has hired six more people, but they are all novices who have just started learning, so they haven't been able to catch up yet."
"However, a few more will come from Suzhou and Hangzhou after the New Year. I heard that their families used to do this kind of work. Things will be better next year."
"Let's resume taking orders today, with delivery after the New Year. We'll maintain a standard of 200 sets per month. Also, we'll have new models launching after the New Year."
Chen Jing explained the situation to the store manager, and Wang Xiumei comforted her gently, which made her feel a little better.
Just as she was about to follow up on receiving the goods, she suddenly turned around and said, "Boss, I heard that the Xiu Kimono in that shop on Xiushui Street is the same as ours. Do you want to go and take a look?"
"The same as ours?"
Chen Jing frowned, responded, and turned to leave the store.
Not long after Zhongqing Fashion opened, it led the wedding trend in Beijing. Ji Xia and Chen Jing both knew that it wouldn't be long before other shops would follow suit.
However, since the kimono was Ji Xia's original design, it would be going too far to use her design in other stores as well.
Actually, this wasn't Ji Xia's original idea, but in this era, no one else had designed it yet, and she beat her to it.
Especially after hiring several truly capable embroidery workers in the workshop, Ji Xia's designs became increasingly exquisite and beautiful, surpassing even the exquisite kimonos of her previous life.
That's for sure. Now it's all hand embroidery. For some patterns, like dragons and phoenixes, the silk threads are even split into smaller pieces, making it more lifelike than computer embroidery in later generations.
Showing off kimonos is the biggest selling point of Zhongqing Fashion, and now that it's being copied, it's not as simple as just following a trend.
He walked out of the store with a sullen face, and was just about to call a taxi when he heard someone calling him from across the street.
Chen Jing looked up and saw Jiang Yizhi waving at him in a Jeep, so he walked over.
The four reached an agreement, and Chen Jing became more casual with the three brothers.
He opened the car door and got in, then casually fastened his seatbelt: "Let's go to Xiushui Street. I'll take you to see a new shop."
Jiang Yizhi's eyes widened in surprise: "A new store, Brother Jing, you opened another new store? How come we didn't know? You kept it a secret so well..."
Chen Jing interrupted him with a stern face: "It wasn't me. I heard that someone opened a shop selling wedding dresses, and the styles are the same as what we sell."
"What? Same as the original? Plagiarism? That's outrageous!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yizhi immediately realized the seriousness of the matter. Damn it, they were just thinking about expanding their business and making money together, and they hadn't even found a suitable place for the new factory yet, and someone had already opened a shop.
The two angrily drove to Xiushui Street and, sure enough, saw the busiest shops on the street.
The two looked across the street and saw bright shop windows with a row of plastic mannequins standing beside them, dressed in gorgeous wedding gowns, kimonos, cheongsams, strapless dresses, and princess ball gowns. At first glance, even the interior decorations were similar.
If Chen Jing hadn't been there, staring gloomily at the newly opened Zhongai Yisheng high-end fashion store, Jiang Yizhi would have suspected that the store was owned by Chen Jing.
He patted Chen Jing on the shoulder: "What are you looking at? Let's go down and make a scene for them, let's see if they have any shame left?"
Jiang Yizhi opened the car door, tightened the scarf around her neck, and was about to get out of the car when Chen Jing grabbed her arm.
Chen Jing shook his head: "No need to go down. Making a scene won't do any good. These are just ordinary shop assistants. It's pointless to cause trouble for them."
Are we just going to stand by and watch?
"Of course not. First, we need to find out who owns this shop. We also need to find evidence to prove that their clothes copied our products. Neither of us can show up."
Chen Jing was indeed clear-headed; despite his anger, his mind immediately cleared when it came to taking action.
Jiang Yizhi agreed with his words, slammed the door shut, and reached into his pocket to take out a pack of cigarettes.
He handed Chen Jing a cigarette, and after a long pause, Chen Jing said, "I'll go find some friends and ask them to buy us a few sets of clothes as evidence."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jing couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle: "One set costs two or three hundred yuan. Wouldn't buying several sets just be letting them make money for nothing? Just buy one that's the closest to the original. For the others, bring a camera and let them take pictures, take as many as possible as evidence."
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