Chapter 48 Filth

Chapter 48: Dirty Tricks

"What? He actually started a company?"

It was the weekend, and at the Zhao family home, Zhao Mingshi had returned. The family of four was having dinner together in the dining room.

Not long ago, Zhao Shuo had asked a friend at the Industry and Commerce Bureau to look up the company Jiang Luo had registered. It was called "Shengfei Trade," and its business scope was remarkably broad. In addition to the trademarks "Shengfei" and "Seven Wonders Childhood," it also recently registered "Vilanido."

And Su Lan knew about "Vilanido"—she had just learned about it.

That’s because the daughter of one of her colleagues had come to the office wearing that brand.

The clothes were very stylish and fashionable. The women in the office all liked them, so they started talking about the brand, saying it was a new arrival at Wing On Department Store. It cost several hundred yuan apiece—not cheap, but not as expensive as Pierre Cardin either.

Was this brand made by Jiang Luo?

Su Lan was especially surprised.

Zhao Shuo, still eating, excitedly chimed in, "I specifically went to Wing On to check. Business is really good. None of the surrounding counters are doing as well as this brand."

"I even asked the salesperson inside, and she said their boss is indeed a Mr. Jiang."

Zhao Shuo continued, "With clothes costing several hundred yuan each, and based on their customer flow, their daily revenue is at least five to eight thousand, maybe even over ten thousand."

He immediately added, "No wonder Ming Ming said he saw Jiang Luo driving a Mercedes. At this rate of making money, it’s only natural for him to buy and drive a car."

Hearing this, Zhao Mingshi paused, chopsticks in hand, and silently clenched his teeth.

Zhao Guangyuan laughed heartily and said, "See, Zhao Shuo? I told you your brother is better at business than you."

Su Lan was also happy, smiling as she said, "He’s really gotten the business running smoothly now. I thought he was still hauling goods around in a truck selling everywhere, but he’s already set up a company."

"He’s truly capable, truly impressive."

Zhao Mingshi nearly ground his teeth to dust. Afraid that his parents and Zhao Shuo would notice his displeasure, he quickly forced a smile and said, "Jiang Luo is really amazing."

But in his heart, he seethed: *Seriously? A slacker like him can run a business and start a company? Without even needing Mom and Dad’s help?*

*How is that possible?*

Zhao Mingshi couldn't believe it, no matter how he thought about it.

*Someone must have helped him!*

*There’s no way he could have built this business on his own!*

Zhao Mingshi refused to believe it; he felt a complex mix of jealousy, displeasure, and even malice, his eyes dark and turbulent.

The next day at noon, Zhao Mingshi, carrying a backpack and wearing a cap pulled low, went to the building where Jiang Luo’s company was located. He rode the elevator up, walked down the hall, and arrived at the company with the sign "Shengfei Trade."

Zhao Mingshi stood at the entrance, staring at the company nameplate, his gaze beneath the brim of his cap seething with extreme resentment.

*Why?* he thought.

*How does Jiang Luo get so lucky?*

*He has parents like Zhao Guangyuan and Su Lan, and now he’s starting his own company making big money?*

*Does all the good fortune in the world have to go to Jiang Luo?*

*He used to be the golden boy!*

*He even got into Fudan University!*

Zhao Mingshi wasn't having it, especially wasn't having it. He balled his hands into tight fists at his sides.

On the way back to school, in the back seat of the car, Zhao Mingshi silently looked out the window, his thoughts churning rapidly.

...

Business at the sales counter was exceptionally good, with daily sales growing higher and higher. The workshop had also moved to a new factory and hired more workers. Everything was running like clockwork. Recently, besides designing winter wear styles, Jiang Luo began thinking about how to expand further.

He had already made plans early on when looking for a new factory site—otherwise, he wouldn’t have sought such a large space. But as Huo Zongzhuo had reminded him, he needed to be cautious and not take too big a step.

Jiang Luo had his considerations and planned to proceed step by step.

Just then, a snag arose at the factory in Tongcheng.

Jiang Luo had stayed in Haicheng these past two days instead of going to Tongcheng. He sent a truck and arranged for Xiao Lu, Zhang Ningfu’s nephew, to go to the factory in Tongcheng to ship all the fabric back.

This was a small task, and Xiao Lu didn’t need to do anything special. In theory, there shouldn't have been any problems, but something went wrong anyway.

Jiang Luo was in his company office, sitting behind his desk working on a design sketch for a winter coat, when the desk phone on the corner of his desk rang.

Jiang Luo picked up: "Hello, who is this?"

Xiao Lu’s anxious voice came from the other end: "Boss Jiang, the factory here short-shipped us. They said the batches of materials we ordered are all gone."

Jiang Luo heard clearly and calmly asked, "What did Director Liu over there say?"

Xiao Lu: "I didn’t see Director Liu, only the warehouse manager here."

"The manager said Director Liu isn’t at the factory today."

Jiang Luo grunted: "I see."

Xiao Lu sounded confused: "What should we do now?"

Jiang Luo: "Hang up for now. I’ll make a call to ask. Wait where you are, and I’ll call you back later."

"Okay."

Jiang Luo hung up, set the sketch aside, and dialed Director Liu at the Tongcheng factory.

The receiver beeped repeatedly, but no one answered. The call never went through.

Jiang Luo hung up and tried paging Director Liu.

As he made the call, Jiang Luo turned it over in his mind.

Hanging up, he called back Xiao Lu: "Forget it. Come back."

Xiao Lu: "Should I ask someone else in charge here?"

"No need to ask. With no materials, just come back."

Jiang Luo was very decisive.

"Oh, okay."

Xiao Lu responded.

Jiang Luo hung up the phone, picked up the design draft, and went back to what he was doing.

Meanwhile, the landline remained silent; no one called back.

Later, the phone rang, but it wasn't Director Liu. Jiang Luo carried on with his work and didn't call back to Tongcheng.

Several hours later, the landline finally rang—Director Liu was calling back.

As soon as the call connected, Director Liu on the other end repeatedly apologized, "General Manager Jiang, terribly sorry, I was tied up with something and am just now getting back to you."

He then asked, "Was there something you needed?"

Jiang Luo leaned back in his chair, smiled calmly, and said, "Nothing important, just wanted to check—why did they say there was no stock when we went to pick up the materials today?"

Director Liu feigned surprise, "No stock? That can’t be."

"Your orders were all arranged by me."

"Others might run out, but there’s definitely enough material for you, General Manager Jiang."

Full of proactive enthusiasm, he added, "Let me check with our warehouse and see what’s going on."

"Alright, thank you."

Jiang Luo didn’t say much more.

But as soon as he hung up, Jiang Luo smirked cynically, thinking to himself, *What an act.*

Soon, Director Liu called back, profusely apologetic, "General Manager Jiang, my apologies. I checked with the warehouse and the workshop. Unfortunately, the materials you requested have been in high demand lately, and we’ve been shipping out a lot."

"With so many orders, we’re running a bit low for your order."

"Really sorry about this."

Jiang Luo listened, looking completely at ease, a smirk playing on his lips. He held the receiver without saying a word.

He knew what Director Liu wanted him to say—hoping he’d ask, "So what do we do now?"

*What to do?*

*Let it rot, that’s what.*

Jiang Luo didn’t play along with Director Liu’s game. Instead, he said unhurriedly, "It’s fine, Director Liu. You’re busy, I’ll hang up."

Director Liu quickly interjected, "Hey, hey—what about the materials?"

He offered proactively, "The machines here are still running. It’s not that we have none at all—we just need to work out the allocation."

*What kind of allocation?*

Could Jiang Luo not understand?

This was a roundabout way of asking for a bribe.

Plainly speaking, it was about a kickback, about money.

Jiang Luo wasn’t surprised at all; he was used to it.

These dirty tricks in business—he didn't need to think twice to see through them.

But even in his previous life, back when he was just starting out, Jiang Luo never allowed himself to be pushed around.

A mere purchasing manager, just a director, not even the owner, trying to hold up his materials?

Sure, the materials from Tongcheng were important. The specific materials he needed weren’t available at just any factory. But so what?

Jiang Luo couldn't be bothered to argue. He gave Director Liu two words: "Get lost."

Then he hung up directly.

Director Liu, on the other end: "??!"

*Him!?*

Director Liu also hung up, furious at the insult.

He didn’t know what Jiang Luo was so cocky about, but he knew Jiang Luo needed their factory’s materials.

He had been to Juxiang Town and Wing On Department Store to see for himself.

They had moved to a bigger factory, and the clothes they produced were flying off the shelves.

In a situation like this, without materials, what would he use to make clothes? *Out of thin air?*

Director Liu knew that some of the materials Jiang Luo needed were exclusively produced by their factory in the entire Haicheng area.

Jiang Luo needed those materials, needed him.

Director Liu glared at the phone and snorted: *Let’s see how long that arrogance lasts.*

*Young and impulsive.*

*When he needs the materials, he’ll come crawling to me!*

*Hmph!*

What Director Liu didn’t know was that, on the other end, Jiang Luo had paged Wang Chuang as soon as he hung up.

Wang Chuang called back, and Jiang Luo asked him, "Any progress?"

Wang Chuang: "Those batches of materials are already shipped by train. Ugh, I’m dead tired today."

Where was Wang Chuang?

In Guangzhou.

Jiang Luo had sent him there to source materials.

Wang Chuang had initially been puzzled—why travel all the way to Guangzhou to find factories and fabrics when what they needed was available in Tongcheng? Now, the answer was clear.

Jiang Luo wasn’t clairvoyant; he’d simply gained experience from doing business for so long.

Because in his previous life, he’d been squeezed this way over raw materials.

When Jiang Luo first connected with the Tongcheng factory, he’d kept a backup plan. Worried he might be squeezed again, he’d sent Wang Chuang to Guangzhou early to secure alternatives.

See? That trip wasn't for nothing.

Otherwise, without enough materials, the factory wouldn't be able to keep rushing production on the clothes.

Just before closing time that day, Jiang Luo walked over to the company entrance, tapped on Accountant Xue's desk, and said lazily, "Hold off on paying for the goods from the Tongcheng factory."

Accountant Xue looked up immediately and asked, "What's wrong?"

"With so much money in the account, and we're delaying payment?"

He blurted out, "Did they offend you?"

Jiang Luo walked out, casually slinging his suit jacket over his shoulder without looking back. "They pissed me off big time. After all, I'm a petty person."

Accountant Xue watched his retreating figure and said, "You? *Petty*?"

Then he responded, "Got it. No payment - I'll hold off."

As soon as Jiang Luo left, one of the female colleagues nearby immediately asked, "What's going on, Accountant Xue? Why are we holding back the payment? I don't get it."

"The Tongcheng factory supplies our fabric. Don't we always pay them promptly?"

Accountant Xue picked up a ledger and flipped to the Tongcheng factory's accounts. "Like I told you, they offended someone. The boss is petty."

Another colleague asked curiously, "How did they offend him? Boss Jiang has such a good temper."

Accountant Xue replied, "You'd have to ask Tongcheng about that."

He added, "His temper is good? If his tea is two minutes late, he gives me the death glare. He's cocky as hell, and no one is as cocky as he is."

The colleague laughed. "Lao Xue, you talk tough but you're soft inside. You complain, but as soon as Jiang shows up, you even worry about what he's having for lunch."

"Exactly," other colleagues chimed in, laughing.

A couple days later, the new materials from Guangzhou arrived at Haicheng's train station. Over at Tongcheng, Director Liu, who still hadn't received a call from Jiang Luo, was getting antsy.

He thought, *Business at the retail counters is so good. Doesn't Jiang Luo need materials? Is the factory not making clothes because they have enough fabric?*

When he heard that the payment for the previous batch of materials, which should have been made, still hadn't come through, Director Liu was getting more worried. His anxiety simmered.

He waited patiently for two more days, but there was still no call from Jiang Luo, and the payment for the materials remained unpaid. Director Liu knew something was up. After thinking it over and finding no good solution, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and call Jiang Luo himself.

The call connected.

"Hello, who is this?" Jiang Luo's voice and tone were as cool as ever.

"Jiang, Jiang, it's me, Liu Jiao."

Jiang Luo asked, "Who?"

Director Liu thought Jiang Luo hadn't heard him clearly. "Liu Jiao."

"Oh!"

Director Liu gave an awkward chuckle. "I was just calling to ask—"

Jiang Luo cut him off. "Don't know who you are."

Then he hung up.

*Beep—beep—beep—*

"…"

It was like talking to a brick wall. Director Liu's face fell.

*What? He doesn't need the materials anymore? He's not short?*

*He really doesn't want them!?*

*At least pay up for the last batch of materials!!*

Too proud to call Jiang Luo again, Director Liu contacted the finance department and asked them to lean on Haicheng for payment. *Fine, once the payment is settled, we'll stop doing business with Jiang Luo. It's no big deal. The factory ships goods every day—we can sell to anyone.*

But then the accountant from the finance department came over looking troubled and said, "I called. They said they have no money and told us to sue them if we want. Bring it on."

"They also said they love lawsuits—they enjoy tying up each case to dodge payment, then starting the next legal battle."

"Basically, they just love going to court."

"…………"

Director Liu felt like he'd been sucker-punched.