Confrontation at the party
Han Shaoheng's threat was not just verbal.
The day after he left, "Zhi Xiu Fang" ran into big trouble.
Early that morning, Ling Xiuqing opened the door to her shop to find it covered in filth and a nauseating stench. On the walls, vicious messages like "profiteer" and "get out of Shanghai" were scrawled in red paint.
This is undoubtedly the method of hooligans.
Soon after, more troubles followed.
Several top silk suppliers, already in talks, suddenly reneged on their contracts, preferring to pay liquidated damages rather than supply Zhixiufang with any more fabric. It was obvious that Han Shaoheng was behind this. While he was a poor manager, he had a long and entrenched presence in the textile raw materials industry, making it easy for him to disrupt a small workshop's supply chain through coercion and inducement.
Cutting off the raw materials is equivalent to cutting off the lifeblood of "Zhi Xiu Fang"!
The female workers in the studio were all terrified and panicked for a while.
Ling Xiuqing, however, remained remarkably calm. She didn't call the police, nor did she confront the suppliers. She simply quietly cleaned up the mess at the doorway, then said to the worried workers, "Don't worry. We'll deal with the enemy with our own strength. Without Suzhou silk, can we still make good clothes?"
That day, she personally took the workers to the fabric market in Shilipu.
She did not go looking for those scattered specialty fabrics, but went straight to find several strong and well-established brands specializing in Yunjin and Shujin.
These time-honored shops, proud of their integrity, simply disdained to associate with opportunistic merchants like Han Shaoheng. Drawing on the expertise accumulated in her previous life, Ling Xiuqing engaged in lively conversations with the veteran craftsmen in these shops, discussing everything from weaving techniques to the inheritance of patterns, earning them the respect of a close friend.
In the end, she not only got Yunjin and Shujin of better quality than before at a fair price, but also reached long-term exclusive supply agreements with these time-honored brands.
Han Shaoheng's attempt to cut off the source of the problem was easily resolved by her.
However, before one wave of troubles subsides, another wave of troubles arises.
Just as the raw material problem was solved, an even more vicious public opinion attack against her quietly began.
Several third-rate Shanghai tabloids began to publish groundless articles, portraying Ah Xiu as a scheming "socialite" who had risen to prominence through illicit means. They claimed she had first seduced Murong Bai of the Shenbao newspaper, using him to promote her; then she had hooked up with Jin Meiling, becoming her "exclusive lover"; and now, having opened a shop, she was also involved with numerous wealthy and prominent figures.
These articles were written vividly, and although no one was mentioned by name, every word and sentence pointed at Ah Xiu. Rumors have always been the sharpest weapon to destroy a woman's reputation.
For a time, the whole of Shanghai was discussing whether this "unknown origin" Master A Xiu was really talented or just a vixen who used crooked ways.
Even Jin Meiling called specifically, with some questioning and suspicion in her words.
Ling Xiuqing knew that this was another vicious plot by Han Shaoheng and Chuntao. If they couldn't destroy her career, they wanted to destroy her as a person.
Faced with this public opinion crisis, she didn't produce evidence to refute it like she did last time. Because the more you explain away rumors, the more people will think you're trying to cover them up.
She chose a bolder and more direct approach - to fight head-on.
Three days later, the fiftieth birthday banquet of Mrs. Zhou, president of the French Concession Chamber of Commerce, was held at the Paramount. This banquet, gathering the true elite of Shanghai, was a symbol of status and position.
That evening, Chuntao attended the ceremony arm in arm with Han Shaoheng, dressed to the nines. She wore a navy blue evening gown, expensively custom-made in France and adorned with sequins, and a massive diamond necklace. She looked like a walking Christmas tree, the image of a nouveau riche written all over her.
As soon as she entered the room, she immediately became the focus of everyone's attention and the object of the ladies' private ridicule.
"That's Mrs. Han from Han's Textiles? Tsk tsk, her taste is truly... questionable."
"I heard she was just a maid before. No wonder she can't support such clothes."
Chuntao listened to these discussions and became so angry that her face turned pale, but she didn't know how to vent her anger.
Just then, a suppressed exclamation came from the door of the ballroom.
When everyone heard the sound, they looked and saw a figure slowly walking in.
The person who came was Ah Xiu.
She was not wearing a gorgeous evening gown, but a modified black shantung silk cheongsam that she had made for herself.
The cheongsam's tailoring was incredibly close-fitting, perfectly emphasizing her increasingly slender figure after her rebirth. The texture of Xiangyunsha, under the light, shone with a discreet and restrained luster, like flowing ink.
The most amazing thing is the design of the cheongsam.
The entire cheongsam has no unnecessary decorations. Only a lifelike, soaring black dragon is embroidered from the right shoulder to the left waist, using black silk threads of varying shades.
The dragon, unlike the traditional embroidery form of bared fangs and claws, was embroidered with a freehand brushstroke, almost like an ink painting. Its body appeared and disappeared on the fragrant cloud gauze, and its scales were embellished with the finest silver thread. As she moved, the scales seemed to shimmer with light.
A silent beauty, yet filled with supreme majesty and mysterious power, instantly took everyone's breath away.
She walked in quietly, without any makeup, with a cold expression, but she seemed to have a radiant light that made all the women around her, who were dressed in jewels, pale in comparison.
The ladies who had been mocking Chuntao just now were now stunned.
As for Chuntao, the moment she saw Ah Xiu and the cheongsam she was wearing, the color on her face disappeared in an instant.
The deep-seated jealousy and inferiority gnawed at her heart once again. She could buy the most expensive clothes and jewelry with Han Shaoheng's money, but she could never possess Ah Xiu's innate talent for transforming decay into something magical, or her aloof and noble temperament.
Han Shaoheng's expression turned extremely grim. His carefully planned public opinion attack seemed so pale and ridiculous in the face of Ah Xiu's absolute, crushing aesthetic violence.
What is a "vixen"? What is a "socialite"?
At this moment, Ah Xiu was like an inviolable queen of the night who had walked out of an ink painting.
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