A whirlwind marriage with a high-ranking official: Lights out, don't force me to take the initi

"Isn't it a coincidence? When they were showcasing their finished products in Hong Kong... some of the clothes were quite similar to the ones from your clothing company," Liu Jianguo said.

Ye Wenxi's hand tightened unconsciously around the receiver, but her tone showed no hesitation, only surprise:

"What a coincidence? There are clothes that are almost identical to my designs?"

"Yes, I think I've seen some of the details, whether in terms of form or design, in your ready-to-wear company," Liu Jianguo continued, his words tinged with consideration. "It's quite a coincidence. Perhaps there are some commonalities in clothing design."

"That's true, design ideas are indeed prone to overlap." Ye Wenxi didn't explain too much and gently changed the subject. "After all, a piece of clothing is simply based on the occasion of wearing it, while also considering comfort, materials, and so on. The resulting designs are bound to be similar."

"The reason I said this is so you won't misunderstand," Liu Jianguo's voice lowered, "is because..."

Liu Jianguo began to explain the whole story to Ye Wenxi.

The Light Industry Bureau has been holding talks with Huitong Company in the port city for the past two days to introduce foreign investment. This is the first time that Hong Kong capital has come to Harbin for cooperation, and both sides attach great importance to it.

The talks covered many issues, and although three days have passed, only a portion of the progress has been made.

During this meeting, when Huitong Apparel Company was showcasing its capabilities and product samples, it voluntarily and free of charge contributed the patterns for several garments.

This means they can license these designs, and mainland garment factories can use these styles as a reference and directly produce their products, essentially providing the designs for free.

And those design patterns just happen to be somewhat similar to some of the styles from Ye Wenxi Garment Company.

So Liu Jianguo's subtext is: It's not that I wanted to copy you, it's just that the style authorized by the Hong Kong side is the same as yours.

Ye Wenxi's fingers tightened on the telephone line for a moment, but she maintained a normal tone in her speech.

"Director Liu, of course I understand. Don't worry, there won't be any misunderstandings or ambiguities between us. This is just a normal meeting to advance things."

On the other end of the phone, Liu Jianguo hesitated for a moment, but out of consideration for Ye Wenxi, he finally asked:

"But... if we use these styles, then what about the styles you have..." He couldn't finish his sentence.

He knew Ye Wenxi's business model, which involved many exclusive designs and customizations, hence the need for a design authorization agreement.

If the Light Industry Bureau accepts the authorization from the Hong Kong capital and subcontracts it to a large factory, then Ye Wenxi's projects will basically be rendered useless.

Ye Wenxi's mind raced, and almost as soon as Liu Jianguo finished speaking, she replied:

"Thank you very much for communicating with me about this in advance, Director Liu."

"I plan to go to Harbin in the next couple of days. Could you let me see the design templates provided by the port city in person? I want to see what kind of impact they will have before making an assessment."

"Thank you so much for informing us in advance."

"Ah, it's alright, it's alright," Liu Jianguo quickly replied, "Come here, let's talk face to face."

The two exchanged a few more brief words and then hung up the phone.

Ye Wenxi put down the receiver, leaned on the desk with his arm, and his expression gradually became serious.

She never expected that this phone call, which was originally just to confirm the details of the design authorization, would unexpectedly uncover such a major matter.

Ding Jiahe walked over from the side: "Hey, I just heard you talking to Liu Jianguo on the phone. Are you leaving in the next couple of days?"

After she finished speaking, she noticed that Ye Wenxi remained silent, her brows still furrowed and her expression serious.

Ding Jiahe immediately pulled over a stool and sat down, leaning closer to ask in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Ye Wenxi sighed softly, turned around, and told Ding Jiahe what had happened on the phone.

Ding Jiahe's eyes widened: "You mean it's such a coincidence? The same one? How could they be the same?"

"It's not surprising that they're the same; sooner or later, they'll all be the same."

"Then won't we be able to continue? If they keep making such selfless contributions, how will we continue to play?" Ding Jiahe's voice unconsciously rose a little.

Ye Wenxi gestured for her to calm down, saying, "It won't go on like this forever."

"They just started working with mainland companies and were among the first batch of foreign companies to negotiate and move in. These models... can be considered a welcoming gift."

"They won't keep releasing designs to the mainland indefinitely."

Ding Jiahe asked anxiously, "How are you sure? Why won't you keep giving it to me?"

Ye Wenxi said softly, "I looked at the policy documents. Most of the foreign-invested joint ventures in the mainland are for export, not domestic sales."

She leaned back in her chair, her gaze calm: "If they continue to make such selfless contributions, the mainland will soon master their product design capabilities and directly become competitive in exports. Then what will they earn? So these tangible things are just a gesture, something to show the government."

Seeing Ye Wenxi's serious expression, Ding Jiahe couldn't help but ask, "It doesn't sound too serious, so why are you so worried?"

Ring ring ring—

The phone on Ye Wenxi's desk rang.

Ye Wenxi answered the phone. It was Section Chief Chen calling, saying that the supplier factory could prepare the goods, which would arrive gradually within a month.

Ye Wenxi thanked Section Chief Chen again.

Section Chief Chen then mentioned another matter: the background checks and verifications of the people she had previously recruited—the designer Xie Linfeng from Gangcheng, and the couple who were lecturers—had all passed.

Have them undergo a medical examination; if there are no problems, they can start working.

Section Chief Chen's phone call interrupted Ye Wenxi's worries.

She hung up the phone, turned to Ding Jiahe and told her about the two things, her tone returning to its usual calm.

"Can we pack today and go to Harbin tomorrow?"

Ding Jiahe nodded: "Sure. By the way, did you post the job openings for the new positions we talked about last time?"

Ye Wenxi: "It was just hung up today."

Ye Wenxi assigned Wang Yingxue to handle this large-scale recruitment as a key matter on her own.

In addition to the workers who renovated the dormitories and office spaces, the project also included a number of professional positions, such as: designers, senior sewing technicians, salespersons, external liaisons, financial accountants, labor relations officers, and so on.

Ye Wenxi said to Ding Jiahe, "I have decided that this large-scale recruitment will be conducted as a separate recruitment event."

"Shouldn't we leave someone here to keep an eye on things?" Ding Jiahe asked.

"Let Sister Yunxia keep an eye on things." Ye Wenxi rolled up the drawings on the table. "We're going to Harbin. We need to finalize the design authorization with the Light Industry Bureau as soon as possible, and we also need to rent the shop as soon as possible."

Seeing Ye Wenxi's urgency, Ding Jiahe smiled and asked, "I think what you're most anxious about is finding out about that company in Hong Kong, right?"

Ye Wenxi squeezed her shoulder: "Da Ding understands me best~"

After Ding Jiahe left, Ye Wenxi hunched over the table and used a notebook to organize her to-do list for the upcoming trip to Harbin.

He hadn't written anything at all, but once he started, he'd already written two pages and still wasn't finished.

Running around to the Labor Bureau to find a job at a physical store in the city, coordinating the cover design needs for this month with the Light Industry Bureau, visiting the Academy of Fine Arts, visiting physical stores, and visiting the Women's Federation with Ding Jiahe...

Ye Wenxi unconsciously ran her hands into her hair, rubbing it incessantly, her eyebrows furrowed tightly.

She sighed and looked up at Wang Yingxue, who was working nearby.

"Um...Xiaoxue..."