Chapter 128 Advertisement

Chapter 128 Advertisement

A few days later, after returning to Haicheng, Jiang Luo received a call from You Junyu in Wuhan, learning that You Junyu had completely sold out the three truckloads of clothing.

It turned out that You Junyu had previously been involved in buying and selling goods in Wuhan and was already acquainted with many shop owners there. He had good connections and was quite familiar with Wuhan's markets, both large and small.

This time, bringing three truckloads of clothes back to Wuhan was like getting back in his old groove, so he handled it effortlessly.

As for how exactly he sold them, You Junyu didn’t elaborate, and Jiang Luo didn’t ask. Jiang Luo only cared about one thing: "Do you want more? If you do, I’ll have the factory ship them to you."

You Junyu said, "Shenzhen is a bit far. Can you have the factories in Haicheng or Haimen ship them to me? I’ll cover the gas for the truck."

Jiang Luo replied unhurriedly, "The factories in Haimen and Haicheng can’t spare any stock. They can't meet local demand, so there’s nothing left for you. It’ll have to be from Shenzhen."

You Junyu got cocky: "Are you even capable?"

Jiang Luo retorted, "If you keep yapping, even Shenzhen won’t have stock for you. Go sell your father’s electronic parts instead."

You Junyu quickly backtracked, "Alright, alright, my mistake. I spoke without thinking. So, what should I do now?"

Jiang Luo said, "Wait a few days. The factory needs time to produce and ship the clothes. Wang Chuang will contact you then."

Jiang Luo’s return to Haicheng was mainly to deliver the autumn and winter design drafts for Vilanido to Zhang Ningfu and to review the accounts of the Shengfei and Hongming factories.

The books looked great, which put Jiang Luo at ease. Without delay, he headed straight back to Shenzhen.

Back in Shenzhen, he held a small meeting where Mo Wanzhen reported the daily output of finished garments from the Shengfei Factory and the current sales channels for the factory’s clothes in Shenzhen.

Mo Wanzhen added, "I sent sample garments to a few of my former market stall sisters, and they all loved our clothes. They’ve already placed orders with me."

Wang Chuang said, "The Shenzhen factory hasn’t been open for long. The output has only recently caught up. Most of the stock in the warehouse was taken by You Junyu this time, with a small portion sold through the channels we just mentioned in Shenzhen."

"I’m a bit confused now. Where is the clothing from the Shenzhen factory mainly supplying?"

"You Junyu is selling the clothes in Wuhan, but that probably won’t last long, right?"

Jiang Luo stated firmly, "The clothes from the Shenzhen factory are, of course, for the southern region."

"Don’t worry about Wuhan. I have other plans."

Soon after, Mo Wanzhen brought over many clothing store owners from Shenzhen.

Initially, the store owners weren’t particularly interested. With numerous factories in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and proximity to Macau and Hong Kong, there was no shortage of clothing and styles. What could just another new factory possibly offer?

But when they visited the warehouse, they were pleasantly surprised: Wow! The clothes from this factory are so stylish!

Why not stock some and test the market? Obviously!

Mo Wanzhen also shipped clothes to her former sisters in the Guangzhou wholesale market.

Bags of clothes were packed, bundled, and transported to various locations in Shenzhen, to the wholesale market in Guangzhou, and even further to Wuhan. The Shengfei Factory was getting on track.

The market responded quickly. Since the shipped goods sold well, almost immediately, factory orders began to pour in.

The good thing was that, given the scale of the Shengfei Factory, it could fully meet the demand.

The bad thing was that Jiang Luo wasn’t satisfied with just that.

Soon, advertisements for Shengfei Clothing appeared in local daily and evening newspapers in Shenzhen, where sales were strong.

Not only that, Jiang Luo also spent money printing colorful flyers like Vilanido's clothing catalogs, and hired people to distribute them one by one in several major clothing retail areas in Shenzhen. He also produced colorful booklets for distribution in the Guangzhou wholesale market.

When it came to clothes, it's simple: if it looked good and was reasonably priced, people would buy it.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long for the number of customers calling or visiting the factory directly to increase.

Many people gathered at the selection counter in the finished garment warehouse, all picking out the clothes they wanted to stock.

Where was Jiang Luo at this time?

In Haicheng.

He had just spent money and called in favors to get in touch with a currently popular young actress.

This actress, named Fang Linjun, had starred in a TV series that swept the nation last year, playing the female lead.

Jiang Luo approached her to film an advertisement for his clothing.

At that time, the domestic TV industry was underdeveloped, TV advertisements were rare, and few celebrities were hired for ads.

When Fang Linjun heard that someone wanted her to film an advertisement, her initial reaction was resistance.

She considered herself an actress—actresses acted in TV series and movies, not advertisements.

How much could one ad pay?

Jiang Luo was decisive and generous, offering a high price of 500,000 yuan for one advertisement.

Fang Linjun immediately agreed. Are you kidding? 500,000! Even hiring a high-paid Hong Kong star for a TV series or movie would cost around that much. For a single advertisement, 500,000? Who could refuse?

So, these past few days, Jiang Luo stayed in Haicheng, meeting with Fang Linjun, discussing collaboration, spending money to hastily assemble an advertisement filming team, and contacting TV stations—once again, he was swamped with work.

Zheng Bin had to call right at this time: "Jiang Zong, wanna hang out?"

Jiang Luo said he didn’t have time. Zheng Bin was initially disappointed but perked up when he heard Jiang Luo had hired Fang Linjun for an advertisement. Zheng Bin exclaimed, "Damn, Fang Linjun? The one who played the female teacher in the TV series?"

Jiang Luo said, "Want to come watch her film the ad?"

Zheng Bin excitedly replied, "You’re my blood brother! No! My big bro! My dad!"

Zheng Bin promptly canceled other plans and went to Jiang Luo’s location to watch Fang Linjun film the advertisement.

On a lawn with a fountain as the backdrop, Fang Linjun, wearing Shengfei’s beautiful clothes, walked forward, stopped, delivered lines, and struck various poses. Surrounding her were cameramen, directors, makeup artists, and others, including Jiang Luo and Zheng Bin.

"Cut!"

After one take, an assistant held an umbrella to shade Fang Linjun from the sun, while the makeup artist went over to do touch-ups. Jiang Luo and Zheng Bin also approached.

Jiang Luo introduced Zheng Bin to Fang Linjun, and the three of them, close in age, stood together chatting.

When Huo Zongzhuo arrived, this was the scene he witnessed: an assistant holding an umbrella, a makeup artist doing touch-ups, and under the umbrella, a young, beautiful woman in lovely clothes chatting and laughing with Jiang Luo and Zheng Bin.

Someone said something funny, and all three laughed. Zheng Bin laughed so hard he doubled over and stepped back, while the young, beautiful woman giggled and put her hand on Jiang Luo’s arm. Jiang Luo, also smiling, said something to her.

Huo Zongzhuo stood at a moderate distance, watching quietly. Though he didn't want to admit it, he had to acknowledge that Jiang Luo and the young, beautiful actress looked quite well-matched together.

Huo Zongzhuo saw they were chatting happily and decided not to interrupt.

It was Jiang Luo who seemed to sense something, turned his head, and immediately spotted Huo Zongzhuo.

Seeing Huo Zongzhuo, Jiang Luo immediately turned and went over: "You're here—why didn't you text me?"

Huo Zongzhuo said gently: "I saw you were having a good time talking."

Then he asked concernedly: "How did the shoot go here?"

Jiang Luo: "It went okay. It's just a short ad, not long, and there aren't many lines."

Then he added: "You're free today? I thought you were too busy to come."

That night, at home on Wukang Road, Jiang Luo, tired after a long day, lay on the bed next to Huo Zongzhuo. His eyes were already closed, half-asleep, listening as Huo Zongzhuo recited poetry to help him sleep.

Just as the poem was halfway through and he was about to fall asleep, Jiang Luo suddenly heard a low voice beside his ear: "That actress today—you two were getting along well. Do you like her?"

Huh?

Jiang Luo was confused and opened his eyes.

Blinking, he looked at Huo Zongzhuo: "Like who?"

Realizing who Huo Zongzhuo meant, he was amused and gave Huo Zongzhuo a playful swat, a bit exasperated: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I like her, okay?"

He patted him again, genuinely annoyed and now fully awake, shooting him a sidelong glance: "Last time it was Yu Dong, right? You asked me if I liked her too."

"Do I just like every woman I meet?"

"Just making conversation."

Huo Zongzhuo's voice was gentle, his tone casual, as if he really was just making small talk.

"You're so weird."

Jiang Luo muttered, closing his eyes again.

Huo Zongzhuo spoke again: "If you ever meet a girl you like, be sure to tell me."

"Yeah, I know!"

Jiang Luo turned over, giving Huo Zongzhuo his back.

But as soon as he turned, Jiang Luo opened his eyes, his expression and gaze showing no trace of sleepiness.

Jiang Luo was spaced out, thinking privately: How could I ever like a girl?

I clearly like you.

But these words were exactly what he couldn't say aloud.

Jiang Luo let out a quiet sigh to himself and closed his eyes as Huo Zongzhuo's arm wrapped around him from behind.

A moment later, Jiang Luo turned back, nestled against Huo Zongzhuo's chest, and said with his eyes closed: "If you ever have someone, you have to tell me too."

Huo Zongzhuo remained silent.

Jiang Luo: "Huh?"

"Okay."

Jiang Luo had pushed for an answer—not hearing one would have left him unsatisfied, but hearing it made his heart sink.

It ached so much that Jiang Luo turned over again, his back to Huo Zongzhuo.

Huo Zongzhuo draped an arm over him, but Jiang Luo, for some reason, lifted it and shoved it off.

Hmph!

After mentally huffing, Jiang Luo wondered why he was making a big deal about this. He was being weird too.

So he turned back again.

But even after turning, he still felt unhappy, so he turned once more, his back to Huo Zongzhuo.

Huo Zongzhuo, seeing him tossing and turning, leaned closer and draped his arm over him again: "What's wrong? Roasting sweet potatoes in the fire? Always tossing and turning like this."

Jiang Luo turned back and asked: "So what kind of girl do you like anyway?"

He regretted it as soon as he asked, thinking to himself, why bring this up?

He quickly backtracked: "Forget I said anything."

"Just remember to tell me if you ever like someone."

With that, he turned over again.

Now Jiang Luo was completely awake and still upset.

He thought, whoever marries Huo Zongzhuo in the future will be the luckiest person.

Just the thought made Jiang Luo instinctively jealous of that woman who didn't even exist yet.

He knew he shouldn't think these things or feel this way, but he couldn't help it.

Heaving a deep sigh, Jiang Luo turned back again, snuggling closer to the man, and closed his eyes—no one knows what the future holds, but at least for now, Huo Zongzhuo's affection was all his.

Jiang Luo thought to himself: I can't be jealous of that woman.

Huo Zongzhuo's wife would be family to him in the future.

He would hide his feelings, look out for them, be there for them, and wish them happiness.

As long as Huo Zongzhuo was happy, that was all that mattered.

As Jiang Luo was about to fall asleep, Huo Zongzhuo, holding him close, whispered in his ear: "There's no woman."

Mhm.

Jiang Luo fell asleep.