Chapter 394 Interview

Chapter 394 Interview

Ye Xiaoxiao and Lu Hanchuan returned to the Lu family's ancestral estate together.

Lu Hanchuan hadn’t lied—it was truly a classical Chinese garden.

Since it had been renovated, it showed no signs of age.

The only thing was that the courtyard was quite large, with many plants adorning it, making it a little spooky if you lived here alone.

The interior was also immaculately clean.

Lu Hanchuan showed Ye Xiaoxiao around.

From the bedroom on the second floor, one could see the lake in the courtyard just by opening the window. Sitting on the balcony to enjoy the view was really nice.

Ye Xiaoxiao said, “Once I retire, I’ll come back here to live.”

However, she would still return to the capital in winter—at least there was central heating there.

Lu Hanchuan replied, “Sure, I’ll come back with you.”

Talking about their future made Lu Hanchuan quite happy.

...

On the other side, apart from taking the Ye family out to eat and have fun, Ye Changning made occasional visits to the company.

He had just taken over a major project before the New Year and had to stay on top of it.

By the sixth, the factory was back in operation, and as the boss, he couldn’t afford to slack off.

While at the company, Ye Changning received a request for an interview handed to him by his assistant.

“Boss, this is an interview request from the city TV station. Are you going to accept?”

Ye Changning picked it up and glanced at it. “No, what would they interview me about?”

The assistant hesitated, looking at Ye Changning.

Ye Changning asked, “What is it? Speak up.”

The assistant cleared his throat. “Boss, I think you should go. Think about the city TV station's reach—if you appear on TV, wouldn’t that be free advertising for our company?

Our new brand launching after the New Year hasn’t gotten any ad spots yet.”

After hearing this, Ye Changning thought it over and found it reasonable.

“You’re pretty sharp, kid. Alright, let’s do it.”

Ye Changning himself didn’t mind—it was only an interview, after all.

Upon hearing Ye Changning’s agreement, the assistant got to work on arrangements.

Ye Changning, meanwhile, continued reviewing documents needing his signature.

While he was working, Jiang Nan walked in.

During the New Year period, Ye Changning had given Jiang Nan the holiday off.

Since they had nowhere else to go, he gave them free rein of his villa.

He'd even set aside a room for them.

When Jiang Nan appeared, Ye Changning looked surprised. "Didn't I tell you to take time off? What are you doing here?"

"Nothing better to do," Jiang Nan replied, ever the professional.

Ye Changning, currently drowning in paperwork, said, "Wanna do my job for me?"

Jiang Nan: "Can't make heads or tails of this."

Ye Changning sighed. "It's only when you need knowledge that you regret not studying enough. I didn't even finish high school—making me read this stuff is torture.

If I'd known being a boss meant reviewing documents, I would've studied harder as a kid."

At just twenty-something, Ye Changning could still go back to school if he wanted.

With his money, he could buy his way into any college.

But studying hadn't crossed his mind yet.

He simply muscled his way through the dense contracts and reports.

Though he had a team of executives, he reviewed every file himself to make sure they weren't pulling one over on him.

Jiang Nan couldn't help—his job was being a bodyguard.

Still, he figured the rest of the staff were dead weight, collecting fat paychecks while the boss did their work.

Total waste of space, if you asked him.

What Jiang Nan didn't know: soon he'd be getting dragged into hitting the books himself.

Only then would he realize how sharp those college grads in the company really were.

Similarly, Ye Changning didn't know this interview was Xu Jianwen's brainchild.

They'd still been deciding on the next profile when Xu Jianwen returned to the office.

Sifting through files, he found Ye Changning's profile and confirmed his hunch—that was indeed Ye Changning, the up-and-coming mogul in fashion.

Ningyuan Company had cornered North China's market in just three years, with operations in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and the northwestern hinterlands.

This explosive growth spoke to the leader's vision and the guts to go all-in.

But what really hooked Xu Jianwen was how a kid from some poor village pulled this off.

A goldmine of stories waited to be uncovered—plus some burning questions of his own.

When Ye Changning agreed to the interview, Xu Jianwen immediately started prepping questions and locking down the details.

...

Hao Yanyan set a goal for herself in the new year—she was determined to build her business.

She had already contacted the big-time businessman her mother recommended.

He was quite enthusiastic about helping her with business, partly to show respect for the Hao family.

Over the years, He Qiaoxiang had built up a wide network of connections. She wasn’t rich, but she could help her daughter start a business.

The businessman agreed to lend Hao Yanyan a batch of goods for free. How well she could sell them would depend entirely on her own ability.

If the goods remained unsold, they could be returned unused without any loss.

After receiving the goods, Hao Yanyan checked out the market.

The current business environment was totally different from when she first started out.

Back then, setting up a stall outside a school could earn her a few hundred bucks.

But now, with market expansion, many coastal and imported goods were nothing special anymore, and even mall prices came way down.

If street stalls and malls offered similar prices, customers would rather shop in malls.

Plus there's the brand effect.

Hao Yanyan noticed that the best-selling women's clothing brands in malls were Butterfly, Orchid...

For men's clothing, the top sellers were Lilai, Xunbang...

However, the goods the businessman provided her were unbranded, and many styles were already outdated—malls wouldn’t give them a second look.

Fortunately, Hao Yanyan had done her research beforehand. If she had opened a store directly, she might have lost her shirt.

Curious, Hao Yanyan asked the businessman during their next meeting:

"If original factory goods don’t sell well, can we get our hands on big-brand products?"

The businessman laughed, like she was being naive.

"Many of the brands you see in malls, like Butterfly, Lilai... are all owned by the same company.

Take Ningyuan Company, for example. They already have multiple brands, and after the new year, they rolled out four or five new ones.

They also have foreign technology for products like underwear and sneakers.

These big companies not only dominate the domestic market but have also partnered internationally, expanding into global markets.

Such companies would never give their goods to small-time agents like us."

Hao Yanyan had no idea the situation was so tough.

"Ms. Hao, selling goods on a small scale like this can put food on the table, but if you want to make big money, you’ll need serious money—otherwise, there’s little hope."

The businessman himself owned a factory and knew damn well that without innovation or expanding sales channels, his factory was headed for trouble.