Chapter 168: Little Zhuge (2)

Bai Zimu’s academic performance had always been top-notch. Seeing him return, the homeroom teacher even specially came over to ask if he needed make-up classes.

Naturally, Bai Zimu didn’t need them, but Lei Dongchuan signed up.

Lei Dongchuan didn’t want to stay back alone after school for make-up classes and was a bit unhappy, but Bai Zimu coaxed him back with a single sentence.

Bai Zimu said: “Brother, once you learn it, you can come home and teach me.”

Lei Dongchuan thought about it seriously, and said:

“That’s true. Then you go back and rest first, you didn’t feel unwell today, right?”

“Mn.”

“Then there’s no need to take medicine for now. You wait for me at home, I’ll go back to cook after the make-up class ends.”

Bai Zimu let out a laugh: “No need, Brother you forgot, Mother Lei is at home today.”

Only then did Lei Dongchuan remember, nodding and letting him go.

Bai Zimu had planned many things to do in his heart, and didn’t waste time at school either, walking out of the school gate carrying his schoolbag.

Not far from the school gate parked a small sedan with an auspicious license plate. Bai Zimu recognized it as the car from Dongchang Garment Factory. He walked over, bent down, and knocked lightly on the window. He then saw the window roll down, revealing a face somewhat similar to his own; sitting in the car was none other than Dong Yuxiu.

Dong Yuxiu specifically came to pick up her son. Hurrying with all her might, her work in the capital was finally completed on Wednesday. Without even having time to go anywhere, she traveled the long distance back to Dongchang and came to the school first to pick him up.

She had Bai Zimu sit side-by-side with her in the back row, and raised her hand to lightly touch his face. Her eyes couldn’t see very clearly these years, so she had become accustomed to “looking” while touching, to perceive the presence of her only relative by her side. When her hand touched Bai Zimu’s cheek, she said with some heartache:

“You’ve lost weight again. You were sick for quite a few days this time, right? Mom should have come back earlier.”

Bai Zimu rubbed gently against her palm, coaxing her:

“No, maybe I just grew taller, I’ll stand up and show you when we get off the car later. Mom, did you rest on the way? Have you eaten?”

Dong Yuxiu said: “Yes, slept for a few hours in the car. What about you, is your body feeling better?”

“Much better, I can even go to Mother Lei’s warehouse to move sacks now.”

Dong Yuxiu was amused by him, and lightly pinched his cheek.

Dong Yuxiu had left Dongchang for nearly half a month, and didn’t know the recent happenings. Bai Zimu only reported the good news and not the bad, merely mentioning that the Lei family planned to open a hypermarket in the city and was already selecting a site.

“It’s just a bit of a pity, that Boss He has a good eye and is quite rich, picking a good spot at a glance.”

Bai Zimu spoke calmly, not really sounding like it was much of a pity.

“I accompanied Mother Lei to look around several places this afternoon. Three or four locations were not bad, and the spot next to He Jiale Hypermarket is especially good.”

Dong Yuxiu smiled and said: “Are you going to do ‘competing with the same product’ again?”

Bai Zimu touched the tip of his nose, and said softly:

“The effect was quite good last time, so I was thinking if we could do it again.”

Last time, what Bai Zimu did was also “competing with the same product”.

But it was also somewhat different.

A year and a half ago, Dong Yuxiu’s garment factory encountered a little trouble. She personally took charge of the haute couture series of evening gowns, and because she was leading a small team, she couldn’t take care of everything at the same time.

Therefore, she handed the development of the new women’s clothing line to Jin Sui. After these years of experience, Dong Yuxiu had always been very satisfied with her, but felt she had become increasingly timid in recent years, wanting to push her out to practice her courage and do something.

But unexpectedly, Jin Sui ran to find Bai Zimu to discuss it, and the two of them quietly pulled off a big move.

Under Bai Zimu’s instruction, Jin Sui released the seasonal women’s clothing under two brands, setting up stores in the same sections at the same time, concurrently running advertising campaigns, and even openly and covertly starting a “competition” between the two.

Both being women’s clothing, the fight could be described as extremely fierce.

If one side released a new style, the other definitely wouldn’t give way and would follow with a new style; if one side had a good service attitude, the other would also think of every possible way to improve their own service and after-sales.

Because these two new brands didn’t use the DC banner and were newly emerged names, most customers coming to buy clothes thought they were two entirely new brands, not knowing they came from the same large factory, and would also compare the two. But because the two clothing lines covered a wide range, their sales volume actually both increased, vaguely showing signs of becoming more popular the more they competed.

Dong Yuxiu remembered that after she finished her work on the haute couture gowns and finally freed up time to take a look, she unexpectedly acquired two new brands under her banner.

When Dong Yuxiu asked about it back then, Jin Sui even covered for Bai Zimu. She didn’t know if this matter could succeed, so she took all the responsibility onto herself:

“Sister Yuxiu, I thought of doing this myself, don’t blame Zimu.”

When Dong Yuxiu asked Bai Zimu, the answer she got was completely opposite.

Bai Zimu said: “Of course I thought of it. Mom, let me show you the business plan.”

Bai Zimu took the business plan, spread it out there, and analyzed the pros and cons while explaining the contents inside, speaking very clearly:

“I read the risk sharing and management rules of the Gemini Electrical Appliance Factory, and according to this model, I came back and set up two separate brands within the Dongchang Garment Factory’s women’s clothing line. Hmm, maybe they can be considered as second-tier brands? That’s roughly the idea. Their prices are similar, and the target age groups are slightly different. If they take off, we will further subdivide them later…”

Dong Yuxiu listened in a daze, taking quite a while to react before asking:

“Zimu, where did you see these?”

Bai Zimu said: “When I went to Qindao City with my brother during summer vacation, Father Lei showed them to me.”

After thinking for a while, he added, “Father Lei taught me a lot.”

After calm analysis, Dong Yuxiu decided to help them promote these two brands.

Nowadays, the annual cash flow of her haute couture gowns alone amounted to millions of yuan, so she didn’t really mind the losses of the new products developed by Jin Sui and the others. After a company grew large, failing a few projects a year was also a common occurrence.

Even if there were losses, she was willing to fork out the money to pay this tuition fee for her son. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Her little friend had grown up, and always needed a first practical experience in life.

Bai Zimu handled things steadily. After experiencing the initial “competition” and over time, the two brands also gradually revealed some differences, with more detailed divisions made for the target age groups. One brand named “Neverland (Dreamland)” had many styles, closely followed trends, and had more affordable prices, targeting young women aged 15-26; while the other brand named “Jingji” featured styles that were mostly casual and elegant, suitable for daily commuting, and possessed its own attitude, targeting urban women aged 25 and above, with slightly higher prices.

These two women’s clothing brands could now be considered explosively popular, being the most commonly seen in shopping malls, and were always opened adjacent to each other.

……

When Dong Yuxiu thought about it now, she still felt exceptionally lucky.

Her little friend was smart enough. In Jin Sui’s words, he could calculate and predict, and would never suffer a loss.

Dong Yuxiu thought for a moment, and asked him:

“Zimu, this time Baichuan Supermarket is not the same as us back then, He family’s hypermarket won’t follow your instructions.”

Bai Zimu gave a soft laugh, leaned close to her ear, and whispered a sentence.

Dong Yuxiu was slightly surprised, turning her head to look at him:

“Did he really pay an extra 1.8 million? How did you calculate that?”

Bai Zimu said: “I inquired and found out the city doesn’t accept checks for this bidding. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Dongchang only has a few banks in total, so having someone keep an eye out would reveal how much of his family fortune he planned to take out.”

Dong Yuxiu laughed in spite of herself:

“You, aren’t you afraid that Boss He will hold a grudge against you?”

This time it was Bai Zimu’s turn to be surprised. He looked at Dong Yuxiu and said doubtfully:

“Isn’t it a competition? To hold a grudge when losing, then he really can’t afford to lose.”

Dong Yuxiu looked at him, said nothing, and just smiled while helping him tidy his hair.

The little friend in her family was only in his teens and was still protected very well. If he didn’t know, she as a mother, was willing to protect him well for a lifetime, so he wouldn’t need to know those things.

After Dong Yuxiu returned home, she made a phone call and had people from the garment factory bring over two seasonal clothing catalogs, taking them to the neighboring Lei family for Mother Lei to choose from.

She had promised back then that as long as Baichuan Supermarket needed it, Dongchang Garment Factory would open its doors wide for arbitrary selection of all clothing.

Mother Lei was sitting on the sofa worrying. Upon seeing Dong Yuxiu, she became a bit happier, greeting her to sit down, and poured everything out in one breath like a bamboo tube pouring beans, before saying with difficulty:

“Yuxiu, after coming back I’ve been thinking, what Zimu said is right. Tell me, why can’t I squeeze out that surnamed He and take over his shop? I may not be as good at business as you, but am I worse than him?”

Dong Yuxiu laughed: “Sister, you are naturally more amazing than him.”

Mother Lei’s self-confidence began to recover, slowly becoming happy:

“How about I give it a try? Tell me, if our shop really opens, what name should it be called? Still called Baichuan Supermarket?”

Dong Yuxiu thought for a moment, and suggested:

“The word ‘Baichuan’ can be kept, let’s change the later part. Sister, didn’t you say you wanted to open a high-end supermarket? We can distinguish it slightly.”

She pointed at the catalog brought on the table and explained, “Look, just like the clothes in my factory, the denim series is called ‘DC’, and these two women’s clothing lines each have their own names, forming a separate series. The mid-end and high-end are distinguished, and the prices are also clear.”

Mother Lei felt it made sense, turned her head and asked Bai Zimu again:

“Zimu, what do you say our shop should be called?”

Bai Zimu thought for a moment, and said:

“Let’s call it Baichuan Hypermarket.”

“Also called Hypermarket?”

“Mother Lei, the He family has already made a name for us. Now everyone in Dongchang knows that the things in the ‘Hypermarket’ are of good quality, and they even have imported high-grade tobacco and liquor. Our family will also stock these goods in the future, so let’s just use it as well.”

Bai Zimu said with a smile.

A concept that the He family spent a huge price to establish, it would be a waste not to use it.

Mother Lei made the final decision on the spot and chose this name. A stone lifted from her heart, a smile appeared on her face as well, praising there:

“Our Zimu is still the smartest!”

Dong Yuxiu laughed: “Not at all, it’s also because his Brother Lei takes good care of him for me normally. Especially Brother Lei, going to Qindao City this time, Zimu followed him and learned a lot. Brother Lei has patience, and doesn’t find children annoying.”

“Aiyo, a child as smart as Zimu, who would find him annoying?”

Mother Lei also laughed, beckoning for Bai Zimu to come over. Patting his arm, she said, “I wish he were my family’s child. You don’t know, the third child angered me a whole lot in the car today. If there weren’t outsiders present, I definitely would have twisted his ears first. Nowadays, not only has he grown taller, but his dog-like temper is also growing with him.”

Bai Zimu sat there obediently listening.

After he grew up, he knew this was a catchphrase, and would no longer seriously argue with his family members over topics like “my brother is not a puppy”.

Bai Zimu’s adolescence was much better than his brother’s. Time favored him, not giving him the slightest scruffy period to get through. After shedding the last bit of roundness from his childhood, his palm-sized face was exquisite and beautiful, yet without any effeminacy, a boy who could be adequately described as beautiful.

Mother Lei looked at him for a while, and sighed with emotion:

“Zimu has grown up truly well. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Dongchuan can barely be looked at.”

The few people chatted for a while. Having someone to discuss with, Mother Lei slowly found her backbone. She let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Dong Yuxiu, “Fortunately you came back. Yuxiu, you don’t know, the moment you came back it was like I took a reassurance pill, and I’m not afraid to do anything anymore.”

Dong Yuxiu laughed:

“Sister, you’ve always done better than me, no need to be afraid. Our own shop, there’s no way it can lose money. Even if starting up is a bit difficult at first, as long as everyone helps each other out, we will get through it.”

“You’re right, then let’s go with this. I’ll go prepare a bit.”

The smile returned to Mother Lei’s face, and she was filled with drive again. Right now, she couldn’t wait to go take another look at the commercial building Bai Zimu had his eye on.

Bai Zimu suddenly said: “Mother Lei, we’re opening the same hypermarket as the He family, but we must also have different areas.”

“What’s different?”

Bai Zimu said with a smile: “Tomorrow, wait for me to prepare a gift, and I’ll take you to see a person.”

Mother Lei was half-believing and half-doubting, hesitating:

“Is it a very formidable person? How about I prepare some gifts.”

Bai Zimu said: “Sure, he’s older and likes drinking tea. Oh, bring an extra teacup.”