Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 369 Learn to Let Go

Seeing Chen Hui's grim expression, the shop manager, though eager to cooperate with Cheng Yi to make Chen Hui a sucker, reluctantly said, considering the need for a long-term relationship, "However, this 'Jade Encounters the Landscape' piece is not for sale in our shop..."

The store manager's tone was full of resentment and heartache; even a fool could tell that she wasn't being sincere.

She really did her best.

That's two million four hundred thousand!

This jade mountain was made from a single piece of raw stone transported from Myanmar, and then carved by more than a dozen skilled craftsmen. Although the jade quality is not very good, its size is its greatest asset.

How many artificial mountains in the whole country are there that are carved from jadeite weighing two or three tons?

“I understand, this price is indeed beyond Mr. Chen’s means.” Cheng Yi smiled and said, “Wrap it up for me, I’ll pay for it myself.”

Cheng Yi does indeed quite like this "Jade View of the Landscape" piece. Artificial mountains carved from a single piece of jade are rare, and their price could increase tenfold in just two or three years.

Because China is about to enter a new era of large-scale real estate development.

Those real estate tycoons may not have much else, but they have plenty of money. They can turn a painting or calligraphy worth a few hundred yuan into something worth tens of millions, or a piece of jade worth millions into something worth hundreds of millions. Even Tibetan mastiffs, which are usually just killed for meat, have been speculated on by these uncultured real estate developers and have even been awarded the title of "King of Dogs" worth tens of millions.

2005 was the year these things went the craziest. Even an ordinary contractor in the real estate industry was chanting the slogan, "Buy, buy, buy! Circle, circle, circle! Big, big, big!"

Actually, for reborn individuals, making money is very simple; all they need to do is hoard dogs and jade.

You can buy a Tibetan Mastiff for a few hundred yuan, wait a few years, forge some kind of pedigree certificate, add some cultural gimmicks, and name these beasts Bailong and Tianlong, and then sell them for millions. Isn't that faster than speculating on real estate?
Cheng Yi's words were too much for Chen Hui to bear.

This isn't just a slap in the face, it's a relentless kick to the face.

Chen Hui deliberately feigned indifference and said, "Since I said I would pay for President Cheng's meal, how could I go back on my word?"

Chen Hui looked at the shop manager and said, "Isn't this jade mountain a non-sale item?"

"Yes or no?" The store manager was also a little confused.

She had just said it wasn't for sale. If Cheng Yi really bought it, wouldn't that be a slap in Chen Hui's face? But when she heard that Chen Hui wanted to pay, she didn't know whether to answer yes or no.

The answer is that we will insist on not selling this jade mountain.

If the answer is no, then it means that she made it up because she was worried that Chen Hui wouldn't want to pay the bill.

No matter how you answer, it doesn't feel right.

The situation immediately became awkward.

Sun Gaowen had been navigating the political and business worlds for nearly twenty years, so he had some experience in handling such matters. He chuckled and said, "Since this item is not for sale, and President Chen genuinely wants to give President Cheng a gift, why not choose something similar instead? Let's not put the store manager in a difficult position."

The store manager looked at Sun Gaowen with gratitude and said to Cheng Yi, "Mr. Cheng, why don't you pick out another one?"

Cheng Yi sighed, "Hey, this store of yours is so unpleasant to buy anything from."

Although the store manager was annoyed, he still smiled and said, "I'm so sorry for the bad shopping experience you had."

"Your reply is very Taobao-like." Cheng Yi smiled, then pointed to a lotus seven-star array carved from yellow jade and said, "I'll take that one."

The store manager looked embarrassed and said, "Mr. Cheng, I'm really sorry, that's a decorative item for warding off evil spirits in our store, not something we sell."

“That’s possible,” Chen Hui said in a deep voice.

The store manager said with a wry smile, "Mr. Chen, this really isn't it."

"Never mind." Cheng Yi picked up a palm-sized jade Pixiu from the counter and asked, "What's the price of this?"

"1800 yuan, but since you're Mr. Chen's friend, we can offer you the member price of 1300 yuan," the store manager quickly replied.

"Hmm." Cheng Yi handed over 1300 yuan in cash to the store manager, then handed the jade Pixiu to Chen Hui and said with a smile, "I won't let President Chen spend any more money. Let me give President Chen a gift instead."

"Alright, we still need to go out and shop around some more, so we'll take our leave now." After saying that, Cheng Yi left the jewelry store with Lin Qingyin.

Watching Cheng Yi's departing figure, Chen Hui's face turned extremely ugly.

Humiliation! This is blatant humiliation!
Cheng Yi gave him a Pixiu, isn't that a veiled criticism that he's stingy and petty?

Once Cheng Yi was completely out of sight, Chen Hui raised the Pixiu to smash it on the ground. Sun Gaowen, who was standing nearby, quickly raised his hand to stop Chen Hui. He turned to look at Cheng Yi, who was walking up the escalator, and slowly said, "Don't be impulsive. This Cheng Yi is no ordinary person. If you can avoid becoming his opponent, try your best not to."

Chen Hui said in a deep voice, "I have never been insulted like this before!"

Sun Gaowen laughed and said, "What's this little insult? Your older brother once knelt down to someone. Besides, I ignored him first, and then you ridiculed him. It's already very magnanimous that he didn't completely lose his temper. President Chen, you must remember, a dog that bites doesn't bark. If you become irritable and angry because of a mere ornament, you will never be his match."

Chen Hui, his face as calm as still water, slowly lowered the hand that had been holding up the Pixiu, and quickly regained his composure.

Yes, he was indeed a bit impulsive.

Chen Hui looked at the Pixiu in his hand and suddenly had a realization.

Looking at it another way, at least he received a gift from Cheng Yi.

But what about his older brother? Not only did he not receive any gifts, but Cheng Yi also exiled him to Southeast Asia.

Things like this become less unacceptable once there's a comparison.

He handed the Pixiu to the shopkeeper and said, "Make me a base out of gold, and I'll come back to pick it up in a few days."

"Okay." The store manager was initially on tenterhooks, but seeing that Chen Hui wasn't angry, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Hui looked at the jade mountain and said, "And this jade mountain, pack it up for me too, and then you deliver it to the entrance of Momo Group in Jingzhou City with a bang and drums, saying that it is a gift from Chen Hui, chairman of Zhonghai Wangyuan Communications Group."

"Understood." The store manager was a shrewd and capable person, and she immediately understood. "I told her that you contacted our headquarters leaders and turned this non-sale item into a sale item."

"Whatever you say is fine," Chen Hui said calmly. "Hurry up and wrap up Mr. Sun's jade."

"Okay, okay, I'll get right away." Only then did the shop manager remember that he had just been helping Sun Gaowen package the jade pendant.

Neither Chen Hui nor the store manager noticed the change in Sun Gaowen's expression.

Without the jade mountain as a comparison, Sun Gaowen thought this jade pendant was impressive enough, after all, it was worth over 700,000 yuan.

But now that he has this jade mountain worth over two million yuan as a comparison, Sun Gaowen feels that this jade pendant is no longer appealing.

Human greed is most averse to comparison; once comparison begins, this greed knows no bounds. Arriving at the second-floor clothing section, one finds almost every luxury clothing brand in the world, each with an increasingly extravagant decor.

Cheng Yi and Lin Qingyin strolled around for a while but didn't find any clothes that caught their eye.

These luxury brands have remained largely unchanged for decades, their styles hardly altering, essentially selling only a brand name and a level of comfort.

They walked halfway before seeing a large, bustling crowd ahead.

Hang Lung is a high-end shopping area, and customers here are usually quite reserved, so you rarely see people crowding together to grab discounted eggs.

Now, it's starting to resemble the phenomenon of people gathering together to grab discounted eggs.

"What are they doing?" Since being mentored by Jiang Yuxi for a while, Lin Qingyin's social anxiety has decreased, but her curiosity has increased.

"Let's go take a look." Cheng Yi smiled and went over with Lin Qingyin.

When Cheng Yi leaned closer to take a look, he almost burst out laughing.

It turned out to be Su Duo.

At this moment, Su Duo was talking to a large group of luxuriously dressed women. Her sophisticated Taiwanese accent, coupled with the occasional English phrase, had really got the rich young ladies' weakness.

The shop behind Su Duo has a sign that reads "Xizi Hanyan Luxury Store".

"Today is the opening ceremony of our Xizi Hanyan Luxury Store. I'm sure many of you are still unfamiliar with our brand," Su Duo said with a smile. "But I'm not being modest. If you come in and look at our clothes for just a few minutes, I guarantee you'll fall in love with them."

"Let's put the clothing issue aside for now. When are Rao Yuan and the others arriving?"

"Yes, we read in the newspaper that you invited Rao Yuan and the others to warm up the audience?"

"Quickly, get Rao Yuan and the others over here. I want one set of each style from your store!"

"Me too!" The young ladies around them began to voice their dissatisfaction.

Cheng Yi stood not far away watching this scene and found it quite amusing.

This feeling is like that of a parent with many children seeing their least promising child grow up.

Xi Zi Han Yan has always been the most transparent entity within the Momo Group. The entire company's monthly revenue is only a few million. Their purpose has always been to train models and make custom uniforms for the Momo Group.

Despite the growing scale of Xizi Hanyan's business, with the addition of three garment factories, the expenses for designers are also enormous. In addition, since there are no patents for clothing, other brands often imitate designs as soon as they are released for sale, resulting in revenue not keeping up.

Upon seeing that Xizi Hanyan had actually opened a flagship store in Zhonghai Henglong Plaza, Cheng Yi felt a surge of pride.

With a strong sense of design, Xizi Hanyan's design style spans more than a decade, and many of her clothing designs have been modified by Cheng Yi, ranging from sexy to gentle to innocent and alluring.

Xizi Hanyan never disappoints any girl who walks in.

"Finally, we're going to go for the high-end market." Cheng Yi said with a fatherly smile.

In 2005, Xizi Hanyan's custom-made prices were already comparable to those of overseas luxury clothing brands.

Men's clothing is inexpensive, costing only 1000 to 10000 yuan.

However, the price of women's clothing is high, starting at 6000 yuan. And don't complain about the price; at that price, you'll need to wait in line for production.

"There's a bit of traffic in Zhonghai City today. They're already on their way and will be here soon." Su Duo, who has seen it all, handled this small matter with ease. She smiled and said, "Everyone can go into the store first to take a look at our clothing styles. When Rao Yuan and the others arrive, you can meet them face to face."

"Makes sense."

"Let's go in and take a look." These rich young ladies were already a bit bored since they hadn't waited for Rao Yuan and the others. Since they had to wait anyway, they might as well go in and look at some clothes to kill time.

Before long, these dozens of wealthy young ladies entered Xizi Hanyan's flagship store.

Su Duo invited them inside. Inside the flagship store, six female sales clerks dressed in different styles of clothing immediately began introducing the clothes in their respective areas.

The styles of these six female sales clerks can be categorized into Lolita style, mature woman style, CEO style, healing style, arrogant style, and married woman style.

The flagship store's clothing layout is also divided into six main areas, covering almost all women aged 15 to 45.

After these wealthy young ladies were invited inside, Cheng Yi and Lin Qingyin, who had been standing in the corner, became much more conspicuous.

Upon seeing Cheng Yi and Lin Qingyin, Su Duo's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, "Oh my gosh~ Aren't these my boss and his wife? Are you planning a surprise inspection?"

As Su Duo spoke, she quickly ran over.

Now, she is much more honest and well-behaved when facing Cheng Yi, and is no longer as carefree as before.

After all, Cheng Yi's status in Handong Province has now surpassed that of her father.

As Momo Group grew into a behemoth, Su Duo naturally became much more disciplined.

However, she still harbored wicked intentions and kept glancing at Lin Qingyin beside her.

"You guys are really something," Cheng Yi praised. "You've planted your flag in Zhonghai City without saying a word?"

Su Duo sighed, "There's nothing we can do. Of all the branch companies in the group, we're still at the bottom. Our CEO Xi is so worried he's about to lose all his hair."

"Isn't he already bald? Is there any room for him to go any lower?" Cheng Yi joked, "Are you guys planning to go for the high-end route?"

“Yes, after all, we are purely handmade. If we don’t take the high-end route, our financial statements won’t look good.” Su Duo glanced at Cheng Yi with a helpless expression and said, “Now the group values ​​financial statements so much. Every time there is a group meeting, President Xi and I sit in the last row. We don’t want to sit in the last row anymore.”

"When did our group start assigning seating based on financial reports at meetings?" Cheng Yi asked curiously.

Su Duo said with a helpless expression, "This is called self-awareness. You have to be self-aware as a person. Our whole group is at the bottom of the class, so of course we should sit in the back row during meetings."

"You guys are really quite self-aware," Cheng Yi chuckled.

Currently, all branches of Momo Group are operating independently, only needing to submit simple work reports on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. As for the internal development plans and decisions of the branches, Cheng Yi no longer expresses any opinions.

Only by learning to let go can branch offices grow rapidly.

This is an experience Cheng Yi learned from Tencent. Strictly speaking, Tencent's good habit was also created by that red-clad cannon.

(End of this chapter)