Chapter 129 Making an Impact

Chapter 129: The Launch

From last year to this, the young actress who had taken the nation by storm was seen in beautiful clothes, walking past a fountain. With her hands behind her back, she twirled gracefully like a butterfly, then approached the camera, smiling sweetly, and declared: "For clothes, choose Shengfei!"

Fang Linjun’s commercial had recently become a sensation.

Almost every time the television was switched on, no matter the program or channel, there was Fang Linjun’s sweet face, delivering that simple yet catchy line: "For clothes, choose Shengfei!"

What was Shengfei? Everyone was asking.

The reception phones at Haicheng’s Shengfei Factory were ringing off the hook, jingling incessantly. Several female employees wished they could work 24/7, answering calls every second, constantly picking up the receiver to say, "Hello, Shengfei Apparel."

The Shengfei Factory was also swamped with unprecedented crowds. Both the side and main entrances were packed, all with people coming to purchase wholesale clothing.

It was the same at Shenzhen’s Shengfei Factory. Just two days after the commercial aired, word spread that the clothing factory was in a particular industrial zone. An endless stream of people and vehicles rushed over to buy clothes.

You Junyu, in Wuhan, couldn't reach Jiang Luo's mobile phone, so he called Wang Chuang instead. On the other end of the line, he was utterly shocked: "I’ve only been back in Wuhan selling clothes for a few days, and he’s already running ads nationwide?!"

"Now a bunch of people here in Wuhan are calling me, all knowing I have Shengfei clothes. Where am I supposed to get more? You guys need to ship them to me!"

Wang Chuang wiped sweat from his brow: "No clothes, they’re all gone. All three factories are sold out."

"The sewing machines are practically smoking from overwork."

"No way!"

You Junyu was puzzled: "With just three factories, he dares to advertise nationwide? Can he even meet that kind of demand?"

"What is he thinking?"

Wang Chuang wiped the sweat from his busy brow again: "Ask him yourself. He’s in Wuhan now."

"He’s in Wuhan?"

You Junyu was surprised and confused: "What does he actually want to do?"

What did he want to do?

Simple—at least, the logic and thought process were straightforward to Jiang Luo: put Shengfei on the map and go national.

Normally, to sell nationwide, one would first have to distribute goods across the country, then run ads to build the brand, and finally sell the clothes everywhere while ensuring a steady supply.

But Jiang Luo found that too slow. He took the reverse approach: first, he ran ads to build the brand, then he distributed the goods and figured out how to produce the clothes.

His first stop was Wuhan, where You Junyu was.

Once in Wuhan, Jiang Luo immediately contacted the largest local clothing factories and also reached out to local textile suppliers. He sat down with them to discuss cooperation.

The negotiation process wasn’t complicated: "I have the Shengfei brand and ready-to-use design drafts. You supply the fabric and produce the clothes, acting as contract manufacturers for Shengfei."

Normally, such cooperation would require extensive negotiation.

The fabric needed to be discussed, the price negotiated, the order quantity agreed upon, and even creating samples would take time. There were all sorts of miscellaneous details, sometimes even involving personal connections.

After all, the domestic business environment wasn’t very flexible yet, and market sensitivity was low. Many private factories had previously been state-owned, with rigid management structures. The bosses and leadership still held onto the old collectivist mindset.

In short, cooperation wouldn’t move that quickly.

But now, the "For clothes, choose Shengfei!" ad was a hit. Not only adults, but even children who had seen the commercial knew about Shengfei. When Jiang Luo arrived with a Shengfei cooperation proposal, everyone already knew the brand, so negotiations moved much faster.

On his first day in Wuhan, Jiang Luo met with people to discuss cooperation, signed a letter of intent that same day, and by that evening, fabric samples and clothing samples had been sent to several local textile mills and clothing factories.

On the second day, fabric began arriving at the clothing factories, and Shengfei designs started appearing under the sewing machines in the production workshops. That same day, several sample garments were completed, and Jiang Luo personally visited the clothing factory.

It’s no exaggeration to say that on the third day, clothes with Shengfei tags appeared on the market in Wuhan.

When You Junyu met Jiang Luo in a private room at a restaurant, he was utterly impressed: "You’re incredible."

"I was still thinking about shipping clothes from the factory to sell here."

"But you’ve already built the brand and found factories in Wuhan to produce clothes and meet demand."

"No wonder you managed to build three factories in just a year."

Jiang Luo wasn’t there for small talk. He had squeezed out time from his busy schedule, and after this meal, he had to rush to the next city.

When You Junyu praised him, Jiang Luo couldn’t care less whether Young Master You’s words were sincere or just flattery. He focused on his meal.

You Junyu said leisurely, "Working with factories, dealing with fabric and production—must cost a lot of money, right?"

Jiang Luo continued eating, glanced up, and said, "Spending money first to stock up, then selling—that’s your way of doing business, not mine."

"What do you mean?"

You Junyu was genuinely puzzled: "You came to Wuhan to work with factories—surely you must have spent something? At the very least, you’d have to pay a deposit or upfront payment, right?"

Jiang Luo picked up more food: "What upfront payment?"

"With a nationally aired commercial, a widely recognized brand, and a nationally popular actress like Fang Linjun endorsing me on TV, I can find clothing factories willing to cooperate with me without spending a single cent."

It could be done like that?

You Junyu was surprised: "You really didn’t pay anything?"

Jiang Luo said lightly, "Not much."

Of course, he did pay something. After all, it wasn’t like when he was cooperating with Zhang Zhiqiang in Wencheng. The amounts involved were larger now, and it was impossible to put up nothing.

But Jiang Luo really didn’t pay much.

As he said, with a daily nationally aired commercial, a catchy brand name, and a nationally popular actress endorsing him on TV, in such a situation, if he needed people or factories to cooperate, plenty would come to him voluntarily.

This was also why Jiang Luo started with advertising first—reputation and credibility could be used as "credit."

He would need to cooperate with too many factories later. If every factory required his money before producing and shipping clothes, how much capital would he have to advance?

The funds on the books of Shengfei, Hongming, and Shengfei factories weren’t enough for him to burn through like that.

So Jiang Luo had to pour money into advertising.

A single commercial cost over a million (RMB), but with that commercial, he could leverage ten or twenty times that amount in capital.

Naturally, Jiang Luo wouldn’t break it down and explain it to You Junyu. You Junyu quickly figured it out on his own.

Young Master You looked at Jiang Luo in astonishment, impressed and amazed by Jiang Luo’s business tactics.

Soon, You Junyu smiled, his eyes filled with admiration and respect. His heart raced, blood pumping faster, feeling a long-lost excitement and the thrill that came with doing business and making money.

You Junyu smiled at Jiang Luo and exclaimed, “Damn—it’s so satisfying, so impressive!”

It was as if You Junyu had rediscovered the drive and ambition he’d once possessed when traveling across the country selling small goods to make money.

He saw that same spark in Jiang Luo—and even more: through Jiang Luo, he could once again feel the excitement, thrill, and exhilaration of doing business and making money.

He felt fired up and motivated.

“Jiang Luo—Mr. Jiang.”

“Seriously.”

Not far away, You Junyu raised his glass toward Jiang Luo: “No joke—let’s be friends.”

Jiang Luo continued eating, glanced up, and said calmly, “You make friends just by shaking hands and raising a glass?”

Wait—what?

You Junyu caught the hint, set down his glass, laughed, and replied, excited and pumped: “When you return to Shenzhen, bring along your Mr. Wang—and the guy from Vegas last time. I’ll treat you all to dinner, clubbing, karaoke. We can go to Hong Kong, Macau—anywhere. Shopping, buying, playing—it’s all on me.”

Only then did Jiang Luo crack a lazy smile, picked up the water glass beside him, and raised it slightly toward You Junyu before drinking—a quiet, tacit acceptance, sealing the deal.

You Junyu barely touched his food; his mind was entirely consumed by Jiang Luo and business. Elbows on the table, he pressed on: “You’ve placed ads—you’re selling clothes nationwide. What about me?”

He’d barely begun when he was thrown off course.

Clearly, the clothing business was no longer viable—and anyway, he knew next to nothing about fashion. So what came next?

You Junyu asked Jiang Luo, “Hey—give me a suggestion. Since we’re friends, point me in the right direction.”

Jiang Luo glanced at him—and You Junyu quickly added, “One suggestion—I’ll pay you twenty thousand.”

He stated outright: “You say it first. I have cash on me—in the car—I can pay right now.”

“No need for money. Isn’t your father in the electronics components business?”

Jiang Luo continued, “With technology advancing globally, tech and electronics will only grow—expanding markets, rising demand.”

“Instead of staying here buying and selling clothes, why not pivot into the electronics industry—explore its supply chain and distribution networks?”

You Junyu listened, turning the idea over in his mind.

After finishing the meal with You Junyu, Jiang Luo took an afternoon train straight to Tianjin.

From there, Jiang Luo traveled across the country, pitching partnerships for the Shengfei brand, setting up local and regional production lines and fabric sourcing—all to distribute Shengfei clothing as widely as possible.

Across the nation—radiating outward from Shenzhen, Haicheng, Tianjin, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, and other cities—Shengfei clothing began appearing everywhere.

On TV, Fang Linjun’s slogan “For clothes, choose Shengfei!” aired daily; on streets and in clothing stores across numerous cities, Shengfei-branded apparel became a familiar sight.

At a time when branded women’s wear was available only in large-city or provincial-capital department stores, “Shengfei” became the first domestic women’s clothing brand recognized by ordinary people.

Where people once browsed markets, selecting clothes based solely on style and fabric, they now, prompted by that catchy jingle, began asking shop owners: “Do you carry Shengfei clothes?”

Or in private conversations: “Shengfei clothes are so nice—and the price is just right.”

“For clothes, choose Shengfei!”

The ad played daily, with Fang Linjun twirling beside a fountain on screen—while, in reality, Shengfei garments—piece by piece, bag by bag, batch by batch—quietly shipped from factories across the country to major cities with booming economies.

Shengfei, Hongming, Shengfei—and every garment factory partnered with them—ran production lines dedicated exclusively to Shengfei clothing.

Factories operated around the clock; sewing machines hummed ceaselessly.

In Haicheng, as the secretary drove through several major intersections in Jing’an, large billboards appeared at one corner—featuring Fang Linjun in an elegant dress, radiant and beautiful, with six characters beside her: “For clothes, choose Shengfei!”

As the car passed, Huo Zongzhuo, seated in the back seat, caught sight of the ad—and smiled, a glint of amusement flickering in his eyes.