"What's wrong, Fangfang?" Li Chuanli asked, noticing Zhang Fangfang's unusual expression.
Zhang Fangfang was stunned.
"Fang Fang," Li Chuanli called again.
Zhang Fangfang stared blankly at Li Chuanli, who asked in confusion, "What's wrong? What happened?"
"The children's clothing for the 'Fengqing' brand has been shipped out of the factory," Zhang Fangfang said.
Li Chuanli laughed when he heard this: "Oh, I thought it was something serious. It's just leaving the factory, so what? We already knew about this, didn't we? What's the big deal? Besides, the clothes we sell are all Feng Qing's style! We still make money."
Zhang Fangfang still looked grim and said, "Fengqing's children's clothing is cheaper than ours."
"Lower prices than us? A price war?" Li Chuanli was even more delighted: "That's so low-level? We'll compete with them! We'll make a profit!"
“No,” Zhang Fangfang said.
"What is that?" Li Chuanli asked.
Zhang Fangfang stared straight at Li Chuanli and said, "Feng Qing's price is right from the start; we can't beat him."
Seeing Zhang Fangfang's serious expression, Li Chuanli suddenly realized the gravity of the situation and asked, "Fangfang, what do you mean?"
Zhang Fangfang casually grabbed a set of children's clothes and said, "This set costs four yuan during the spring."
"Four yuan? How is that possible? Our costs are more than four yuan!" Li Chuanli shouted.
Zhang Fangfang looked at Li Chuanli and said, "But, even if we sell the greens for four yuan, we can still make a profit."
"What do you mean? Why are they making a profit even though they sell it for four yuan?" Li Chuanli asked.
Zhang Fangfang looked at Li Chuanli, who looked like a leaf that had been hit by frost, and had lost all his energy: "Because in addition to Fengqing Garment Factory, Fengqing Textile Factory, Fengqing Button Factory, and Fengqing Transportation Factory, all the processes of making a garment are provided by them. Our needles, threads, fabrics, transportation are all second-hand or third-hand, and even the buttons are bought from Fengqing."
Li Chuanli was taken aback: "You mean?"
Zhang Fangfang said, "Our costs are far higher than those of the spring festival. The spring festival set makes a profit at four yuan, but we lose money at four yuan a set, and we lose a lot of money."
Li Chuanli began to panic upon hearing this. He hadn't understood before, but now he was gradually starting to grasp the meaning. It meant that Feng Qing's children's clothing had been produced and was not only identical to theirs in style and fabric, but they had also figured out the prices of their clothes. Leveraging Feng Qing's own advantages, they used a low-profit, high-volume strategy to set the price at their cost price in one go.
This so-called cost price is the cost price for him and Zhang Fangfang, not Feng Qing's cost price, because Feng Qing would still make a profit at this price.
In other words, Fengqing is overwhelmingly superior to them. Firstly, given the same price, anyone would choose Fengqing, especially since Fengqing's price is lower.
Secondly, given Feng Qing's brand appeal, this price is absolutely irresistible to the still immature him and Zhang Fangfang. Let alone competing with Feng Qing on price, even if they were at the same price, they would still be losing money. How much would they lose? Labor costs, needle and thread costs, transportation costs, and so on.
Thinking about this, Li Chuanli's face began to darken. He looked at Zhang Fangfang and asked, "What do we do? Feng Qing's clothes have all been delivered to the customer."
“Mm,” Zhang Fangfang replied.
"So, Feng Qing's clothes will be ready in two or three days? The reason we haven't heard from Feng Qing is that Wen Qing deliberately made me produce more clothes and buy more fabric so that we would lose even more money?!" Li Chuanli shouted excitedly.
Zhang Fangfang's face turned deathly pale instantly. Wen Qing, Wen Qing, Wen Qing did it on purpose! He deliberately tried to trick her! He deliberately wanted her to lose everything!
"What to do? What to do?" Li Chuanli was terrified. Zhang Fangfang was the backbone of the clothing business, and he was just running errands and putting on airs. Now, not only are the clothes not selling, but the workers' wages need to be paid, the group needs money to be established, and the factory rent needs to be paid. He was just waiting for this batch of children's clothes to be shipped out so that everything would be fine, but he didn't expect to run into this mess.
"What should we do? What should we do, Fangfang? We've already bought so much fabric, and the factory is piled high with clothes. The clothes and fabric are stacked up like a mountain. Where are we going to sell them? We haven't even finished paying for the fabric yet!" Li Chuanli said anxiously.
Fabric? Just bought fabric? You haven't paid the full amount yet?
Upon hearing this, Zhang Fangfang's expression changed instantly, and he immediately ran out of the room.
"Fang Fang, Fang Fang, where are you going?" Li Chuanli called from behind.
Zhang Fangfang ran to the factory with a livid face. The factory was bustling with activity. Dozens of sewing machines were humming non-stop. The workers were either cutting fabric, operating the sewing machines, or packing clothes. They were working hard to produce children's clothing.
Zhang Fangfang looked at the fabric that had been stacked into bolts just two days ago, now reduced to scraps of cloth, and her breath caught in her throat, her body going limp.
"Fangfang, Fangfang." Li Chuanli immediately helped her up: "Fangfang, what's wrong?"
Zhang Fangfang grabbed Li Chuanli's collar angrily and said, "Make them stop! Make them stop! Stop doing it! Stop doing it!"
Li Chuanli summoned the factory manager, and all the sewing machines stopped instantly. The factory workers all looked at Zhang Fangfang and Li Chuanli.
The person in charge asked, "Mr. Zhang, Mr. Li, why did you suddenly stop? Weren't we in a hurry to get these children's clothes?"
"Half a day off!" Li Chuanli said without thinking, his mind a jumble of thoughts.
"Half a day off?" the person in charge asked, puzzled.
"Yes, everyone hurry up and leave!" Li Chuanli said unhappily.
The factory workers inexplicably packed up their belongings and left the factory.
The news quickly reached Feng Qing, and was about to reach Wen Qing as well.
At this moment, Wen Qing was feeding Heng Heng fish soup. The milky white fish soup, topped with a few tender green scallion leaves, smelled exceptionally fragrant.
Hengheng wasn't full, so Wenqing ladled out another half bowl, tore off some bread crumbs, soaked them in the fish soup, and fed them to Hengheng spoonful by spoonful.
After Hengheng finished eating, he started talking. He lay on Wen Qing's lap and said in a childish voice, "Mommy, Daddy..." The little guy was asking where his daddy was.
Only Wen Qing and Ji Yanjun could accurately get the information from his little mouth. Wen Qing replied, "Dad went to drive."
Hengheng went on and on, rambling on and on.
Wen Qing replied, "I'll be back soon."
Hengheng fluttered her long eyelashes, just like Ji Yanjun's, and asked, "Uncle, where is Uncle?"
"Did you call me?" Wen Liang, who had just returned from outside, chimed in.
"Uncle! Uncle!" Hengheng shouted excitedly.
Wen Liang leaned over and kissed Hengheng's chubby cheek, then turned to Wen Qing and said, "Sister, there's been some movement from Zhang Fangfang's side."
"What's that noise?" Wen Qing asked.
“When the people in her factory were working, Zhang Fangfang and Li Chuanli stopped them halfway through, saying they were going to have a half-day off.”
"Have you called our customers?" Wen Qing asked.
Wen Liang laughed: "Sister, you're amazing. Just as you predicted, Zhang Fangfang called them one by one."
Wen Qing nodded.
At this moment, Yao Shiling walked over and said, "Give me the bowl."
“Okay.” Wen Qing handed the bowl to Yao Shiling and said, “Mom, Hengheng’s hair is long. In a couple of days, take Hengheng to the county town and get him a haircut.”
"Isn't there a barber right at the village entrance? Why do we have to go all the way to the county town?" Yao Shiling said with a smile.
Wen Qing laughed: "Last time I saw the barber's hands shaking while shaving people's heads. Hengheng is not well-behaved, so if the razor hurts Hengheng, Yanjun will be unhappy." Ji Yanjun really loves Hengheng very much.
“That makes sense, let’s go to the county town then.” Yao Shiling said, taking Hengheng’s little hand, and Hengheng obediently followed Yao Shiling.
Wen Qing said, "Baby, are you just leaving like this?"
Hengheng turned around and pouted at Wen Qing, "Mom."
Wen Qing leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss: "Okay, go play now."
Hengheng then went to play with Yao Shiling.
Wen Qing then focused on talking to Wen Liang about Zhang Fangfang.
"Sister, aren't our clothes priced too low?" Wen Liang said, "Actually, we don't need to set the price like this just for Zhang Fangfang."
Wen Qing asked with a smile, "You think I set such a low price for Zhang Fangfang's sake?"
"Isn't that right?" Wen Liang asked.
Wen Qing laughed: "Her face isn't that big."
Wen Liang: "..."
Wen Qing continued, "Maybe it's because I've become a mother and understand maternal love better, so I hope all children can be well-dressed and warm. You've seen the purchasing power of the whole country in this era, it's at this level. At first, I thought that as long as Feng Qing makes a little money and doesn't lose money, I would start making children's clothing, so that Hengheng would have clothes to wear every season. As for Zhang Fangfang, she was just someone I dealt with on the side."
Incidentally?
And incidentally, it threw Zhang Fangfang's side into chaos? Wen Liang himself is quite cunning, but he found that his older sister was even more cunning.
"Will the price stay this low?" Wen Liang asked.
Wen Qing looked at Wen Liang: "Prices will rise in the future, and clothes will naturally go up in price too. However, Zhang Fangfang probably won't live to see the price increase."
"Her factory is just gone like that?" Wen Liang asked.
Wen Qing shook her head: "No, Zhang Fangfang is not one to give up easily. She will try every means to revive herself. However, no matter what method she comes up with, she will be utterly defeated. The more she struggles, the deeper she will sink."
Wen Qing spoke in a calm, even voice. Wen Liang, however, clearly sensed Wen Qing's confidence and certainty, and couldn't help but feel admiration.
At the same time, he asked in confusion, "Sister, what do we do next?"
"We need to build a strong and successful Fengqing children's clothing brand, and ensure that subsequent children's clothing offerings keep pace," Wen Qing said.
"What about Zhang Fangfang?"
Wen Qing smiled, her eyes gleaming, and said softly, "Just wait and see, she'll get herself killed." Because Zhang Fangfang was never one to stay quiet.
In the following days, Fengqing children's clothing aggressively sold in county towns, Nanzhou City, and various cities across China, offering children's clothing at different price points. The few drafts that Zhang Fangfang had misled were precisely the lowest-end children's clothing.
Meanwhile, Fengqing Children's Wear, as a leading brand of the Fengqing Group, has received praise or publicity on television, radio, New Year pictures, and calendars.
In no time, Fengqing children's clothing became the favorite of all parents. Those who didn't have money bought a cheap set, and those who had money bought a good one. In short, the "Fengqing" brand became so well-known that it became a topic of discussion for almost everyone.
Upon hearing the news, Ji Ningzhi jumped up happily and said to Ji Yousheng and Liang Wenhua, "Dad, Mom. Yesterday at school, I heard on the radio that Fengqing's children's clothing is especially beautiful and perfectly captures the innocence and cuteness of children."
"Really?" Liang Wenhua asked immediately. After asking, she quickly shut up. Ever since she went to Zhang Fangfang's factory and was dragged out of the factory by the hair by Zhang Fangfang's people, who also tore off one of her shoes, her hatred for Zhang Fangfang was far greater than that for Wen Qing. These days, Ji Yanjun, Wen Qing, and Hengheng didn't come home or answer her calls, and Ji Yousheng and Ji Ningzhi didn't pay much attention to her. She gradually realized her mistake and her arrogance had diminished considerably.
Ji Ningzhi said, "Of course it's true. You don't know how popular Fengqing children's clothing is right now. Actually, people are gradually having more money now, but they just can't find things they like. It's perfect that Fengqing children's clothing has appeared, so it's no wonder it sells so well."
"So, which is selling better, your sister-in-law's clothes or Zhang Fangfang's?" Ji Yousheng asked, glaring at Liang Wenhua after he finished speaking.
Liang Wenhua dared not speak.
Ji Ningzhi said uncertainly, "They've mentioned Fengqing Group, so it must have been done by my sister-in-law, right?"
"How's Zhang Fangfang doing?" Ji Yousheng asked, feeling angry at the thought of being tricked by Zhang Fangfang for no reason.
“I really don’t know,” Ji Ningzhi said.
Not only was Ji Ningzhi unaware of Zhang Fangfang's situation, but even Zhang Fangfang's workers were unclear about her circumstances.
During the day, no one was allowed to work; everyone was switched to night shifts. Moreover, all the children's clothing piled up was to be reworked. The so-called rework wasn't really a rework; it was just adding a "Feng Qing" cloth tag to the collar of the finished garments.
"Why add strips of green cloth?" Several packing workers huddled together and discussed.
"Let's pretend it's Feng Qing's clothes and sell it."
"But Feng Qing's clothes are so cheap."
"We only use the Fengqing brand because the clothes are cheap; otherwise, we would have to be even cheaper."
"Do you know why we have to work overtime at night?" a worker whispered.
"Why, why?" several people crowded around and asked.
The man said, "Because people come to collect debts during the half-day work week! They come to collect debts for fabric, needles and thread, buttons, etc. So Boss Zhang has to make us work at night so that the debt collectors can't find us."
As soon as the man finished speaking, Li Chuanli and Zhang Fangfang walked over from outside the factory, and the group immediately fell silent.
Seeing that everyone was working diligently, Li Chuanli and Zhang Fangfang took a look around and then left.
Li Chuanli asked, "Fangfang, are we really going to forge Feng Qing's clothes and sell these piles of clothes at a low price? Four yuan a set, we're practically selling at a loss."
Zhang Fangfang retorted, "Otherwise what? What can you do? We don't even have the right to compete with her on price. If we don't add the Fengqing logo, we can't even sell a set for four yuan. It will just rot in the factory!"
Li Chuanli gritted his teeth after hearing this: "So we're just going to let Wen Qing bully us?"
Zhang Fangfang laughed: "Of course not. Since we can imitate her to make a little money, we can imitate her to make a lot of money. Doesn't she have high-end products? We'll just make high-quality imitations and sell them at low prices. After all, there are too many people who are greedy for bargains!"
"Will it work?" Li Chuanli asked.
"Of course we can. Once we've paid for all the fabric and such, and with both day and night shifts working together, how could we not give Wen Qing a strong push?" Zhang Fangfang said.
“That makes sense.” After all, the two of them made their fortune by imitation and were well-versed in this art, so they were very confident in their abilities.
Meanwhile, news from Zhang Fangfang reached Wen Qing's ears.
After Wen Qing dismissed the man, she sat in her office and continued drawing.
A moment later, Wen Liang came in.
"Sister, did you need something?" Wen Liang asked.
Wen Qing nodded: "Mm."
"What is it?"
Wen Qing said, "Did you and your brother-in-law have dinner with the police officers from Nanzhou Police Station before?"
"Yes, I've eaten. What's wrong?"
Wen Qing put down her pen and said, "I heard from your brother-in-law that there's one of them named Zhou Xu who's very enthusiastic about exposing counterfeits, right?"
"right."
Wen Qing then asked, "Can you persuade him to come?"
“If there’s a fake job available, we can definitely get him to come. He’s even my brother-in-law’s friend,” Wen Liang said with a smile.
Wen Qing said calmly, "Okay, you can contact him now. Ask him to go to Zhang Fangfang's factory tomorrow night and tell him that someone is counterfeiting the Fengqing brand and selling Fengqing brand clothing at the same or lower price, which not only deceives consumers but also damages the reputation of the Fengqing brand."
Wen Liang was taken aback: "Sister."
Wen Qing looked at Wen Liang and asked, "What's wrong?"
Wen Liang gave Wen Qing a thumbs up: "Sister, you're amazing!" She first set the price based on the cost price of Zhang Fangfang's clothing, forcing Zhang Fangfang to have no choice but to use Feng Qing's label to make high-quality imitations of Feng Qing's clothing and sell them at the price of Feng Qing's children's clothing in order to reduce her losses.
By doing this, Zhang Fangfang provided the police officers with the most direct evidence.
"Don't tell anyone except Zhou Xu," Wen Qing said.
Wen Liang nodded: "Sister, don't worry, I know."
Wen Qing smiled and said, "Okay, I'll wait for your good news."
The next evening, Zhang Fangfang and Li Chuanli went to the factory to check on the situation as usual. After several nights of work, the children's clothes piled up like mountains were almost all labeled with Fengqing, and now they were starting to imitate Fengqing's new season's clothes.
"Chuanli, I've already contacted the client, and we can load the goods tomorrow. Although we lost money this time, we'll definitely make it back soon," Zhang Fangfang said.
"Fine, but it's too cheap for Wen Qing." Li Chuanli said through gritted teeth, completely unaware that his current factory was imitating Wen Qing's.
“There will be plenty of ways to deal with her in the future. Don’t forget she has an incredibly stupid mother-in-law,” Zhang Fangfang said.
Li Chuanli laughed and reached out to put his arm around Zhang Fangfang, but Zhang Fangfang said, "Don't put your arm around me, I'm going to the restroom."
"Okay, you go ahead, I'll go into the factory and take a look."
"Um."
The toilets are a bit far from the factory, about a five-minute walk.
Zhang Fangfang left the factory and headed towards the restroom. She had only gone halfway when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw about ten people carrying stick-like objects and walking towards the factory.
She was startled. The moment the factory door was kicked open, she saw that the dozen or so people were holding police batons, not sticks!
Police baton? Police!
Zhang Fangfang was horrified. Then she heard a loud bang from inside the factory, followed by a sharp scream.
Another loud bang followed, and then the factory fell silent.
Zhang Fangfang trembled with fear. She wanted to run away, but she couldn't help but move closer to the factory. Standing in the darkness, she heard the sounds of punches and kicks coming from inside, as well as Li Chuanli's cries of pain.
"Take them away! Take them all away!" came a deep voice from a police officer.
Zhang Fangfang's heart leaped into her throat. Why were the police here? What was their purpose? Two words instantly flashed through Zhang Fangfang's mind—"fighting counterfeits."
The government has only recently begun advocating for cracking down on counterfeit and substandard products. Products that don't harm people and lack identical labeling cannot actually be classified as counterfeit or substandard. Therefore, she and her factory, imitating the Fengqing Group, have been making money by skirting the law, and have thus remained unscathed.
But this time was different. This time, the Fengqing logo was clearly sewn onto the mountain of children's clothing she had piled up. Fengqing Group is no ordinary group. It is famous throughout the country and has received attention from county heads, mayors, and even provincial governors. Its brand is unique, fair, and legally valid.
law……
The mere thought of those two words filled Zhang Fangfang with terror. Why? Why did this happen? Had she committed a crime? Why did the police arrive at this critical moment? Why?
She suddenly thought of Wen Qing!
Wen Qing!
Yes, that's right, it's Wen Qing!
Zhang Fangfang immediately realized that it was all Wen Qing's doing. Wen Qing had driven the price down to cost, forcing her to come up with a way to imitate Feng Qing's clothing in a high-end way. Only by sewing the Feng Qing logo into the clothes and selling them at the same price as Feng Qing's clothing could she minimize her losses. This was exactly what Wen Qing was planning, so Wen Qing took the opportunity to call the police. Yes, it was Wen Qing who did it. Wen Qing did it on purpose, deliberately trying to kill her!
Zhang Fangfang felt a chill run down her spine.
"Hurry up!" a policeman shouted sternly.
Zhang Fangfang was so frightened that she covered her mouth, stood against the corner of the wall, and huddled up in a ball, trying her best to avoid being seen.
"Seal off the factory, lock all the doors! Take your clothes with you!" the police officer shouted.
Zhang Fangfang then saw two policemen roughly escorting Li Chuanli out of the factory, kicking her from time to time. She was so frightened that she didn't dare to utter a sound and slumped against the wall.
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