"Meiyou? Pure desire style? Of course I've heard of it, it's been really hot lately, someone mentioned it today too."
Zheng Yun praised it endlessly:
"Our factory's accountant wore a Meiyou dress, and it looked great!"
"Don't even mention young people liking it, even someone my age likes it. The design is thoughtful; with a small cardigan draped over, nothing is exposed!"
"I wonder who designed it, truly a genius."
"This pure desire style will definitely sell out. Sis, let me tell you, earning tens of millions this summer is an understatement for him!"
"To create the pure desire style, Meiyou's boss must be a business prodigy! Truly impressive!"
...
Listening to Zheng Yun's incessant praise for Meiyou's Boss Wang, like a fangirl, Zheng Rou couldn't help but say:
"Xiao Yun, did you read the newspaper on the 3rd? Don't you think Meiyou's Boss Wang, the student Wang who got into a 985 university through a loophole, looks a lot like Wang Yi?"
"???"
Zheng Yun was stunned, completely flustered:
"Sis, what kind of joke are you making?"
"How much of a genius is Meiyou's Boss Wang? To be able to design the pure desire style, he is definitely a favored child of heaven, a business elite!"
"What is Wang Yi that kid? Does he even deserve to be compared with Meiyou's Boss Wang?"
Zheng Rou rolled her eyes:
"Sister, you should read the report first."
"Alright, I'll take a look!"
Zheng Yun, disbelieving, decisively fetched the newspaper from the 3rd.
Their factory subscribed to newspapers year-round; anyone who wanted to read them would go get one.
After reading it, Zheng Yun's expression became very dramatic:
"A second-tier university student who slipped into a Beijing 985! Meiyou's founder is actually a high school senior?"
"And a Beihang dream! Also surnamed Wang! How is everything exactly like Wang Yi?"
"Could it be that Meiyou's Boss Wang is really that rascal Wang Yi?"
"This... this... how is this possible?"
Zheng Yun couldn't hold back, filled with existential doubt!
The business genius Boss Wang whom she admired so much, turned out to be the annoying brat Wang Yi whom she detested?
Are you kidding me?!
Zheng Yun's mouth twitched; she couldn't accept this reality!
Too shocking!
Too incredible!
Too cruel!
Unconvinced, she quickly dialed Zheng Rou's number:
"Sis, could it be that Meiyou's Boss Wang is really Wang Yi?"
Zheng Rou sighed:
"I can only tell you that Wang Yi also has a Beihang dream, and also got into a Beijing 985 university from a second-tier university. Wang Yi also started a business in the clothing industry during the summer."
"He was busy with work a while ago, didn't see Lin Shu for over ten days, which was exactly when Meiyou e-commerce launched."
"And I saw Meiyou's pure desire style dresses in Lin Shu's wardrobe. Hmm, I imagine they were there before the e-commerce launched!"
Zheng Yun was in a daze, completely flustered:
"So many coincidences, it's confirmed! Meiyou's Boss Wang is Wang Yi! Otherwise, it wouldn't be such a coincidence!"
For a moment, Zheng Yun's expression was extremely complicated:
"But where did this brat get such great capability? Sigh!"
Recalling earlier, Wang Yi had said that it wouldn't take many years for him to surpass the Lin family's hundreds of millions in wealth.
Originally, Zheng Yun had scoffed, thinking he didn't know his place, but now it seemed very promising!
Originally, Zheng Yun still thought Wang Yi was just an ordinary person, completely unworthy of Lin Shu, a favored child of heaven.
But now, it seemed he was completely worthy!
The richer people are, the more they understand how difficult it is to start from scratch.
And the more they understand that once you rise, your future is truly limitless!
Like the Lin family and the Zheng family, a strong alliance can grow assets from a few hundred million to several hundred million, or even a billion.
But to achieve tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions, that's as hard as climbing to heaven.
But for someone like Wang Yi, if Meiyou truly grows big, there's complete hope of reaching tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions.
"Sis, Xiao Shu's taste is much better than mine. Wang Yi is much stronger than Shaocong! Sigh!"
After speaking, Zheng Yun hung up the phone and squatted on the ground, lost in thought.
She just felt that she was ridiculously, incredibly wrong.
Her entire life, her judgment of men had never been good, arguably worse than being blind!
"Wang Yi, Wang Yi, no wonder you were so confident, daring to confront me when you had nothing, and every word you said stung, turns out you really had the ability!"
Zheng Yun was filled with emotion, even a little jealous of Lin Shu:
"Xiao Shu, why do you get to meet such a good man? While I only get to meet an ungrateful wretch? Sigh!"
Then she thought about her husband who used her money to buy a house and a car for his mistress, and her son who liked older men...
Zheng Yun just felt that life had no hope.
The August sky was still very hot, but Zheng Yun only felt endless sorrow.
That afternoon, Wang Yi was shopping with Lin Shu when he suddenly received a call from Song Sining:
"Boss, a Jeju TV reporter is here, saying they want to interview us. What do you think..."
"TV reporter? Because of the commercial espionage incident?"
Wang Yi quickly had a guess; it seemed the news had leaked!
But it didn't matter; for Meiyou to grow big, it needed traffic the most, and TV traffic was extremely valuable!
"It's fine, Manager Song, you go ahead and accept the interview. Just say that we indeed encountered commercial espionage, suffering losses of tens of millions, and then seize the opportunity to fiercely criticize those brands that are blindly copying Meiyou's pure desire style – criticize them to death!"
"Understood, Boss!"
Song Sining took a deep breath, understanding Wang Yi's plan.
The goal was to use this opportunity to blow the matter up, report it, broadcast it on TV, and ideally make it go viral across the entire internet!
To completely establish Meiyou's pure desire style's reputation, and then seize the opportunity to launch another wave!
To let everyone know that Meiyou is the originator of the pure desire style, and all other brands are imitations blindly copying!
So, Song Sining received the interview, first explaining the entire process, then emphasizing that Meiyou was the originator of the pure desire style, and all others were imitations blindly copying.
Finally, she fiercely criticized:
"Only trash brands that lack innovation and only know how to market will blindly copy our Meiyou. Truly major brands have their own design language and brand positioning, they wouldn't stoop to thievery!"
Finally, the TV reporter asked:
"Do you think it was a commercial spy from a competitor who came to steal Meiyou's business secrets?"
Song Sining nodded:
"Competitors are rivals, it must be so."
The reporter then asked:
"Then, Manager Song, which company do you think did this?"
Song Sining thought for a moment:
"That's easy to say, just look at which brand launches dresses copying Meiyou's pure desire style; they might be the mastermind!"
"Of course, this commercial espionage might not be the first time, and there might be more than one such trash brand!"
At 7 PM, this news was broadcast on Jeju TV, immediately causing a huge sensation.
Now many people knew that Meiyou was the originator of the pure desire style, and knew about the commercial espionage incident.
They all supported Meiyou and condemned the shamelessness of commercial espionage.
For a time, Meiyou's reputation soared again.
Many people who didn't read newspapers now knew about Meiyou, knew about the pure desire style, and all rushed to download the Meiyou APP.
Upon seeing it, they immediately couldn't look away, and all placed orders to buy.
As a result, Meiyou's previously slow-growing revenue began to soar rapidly again!
That speed was even more frightening than celebrity promotions buying their own traffic.
In 2011, many, many people still watched TV and news.
But several clothing brands in the city were depressed.
Jinyi Apparel.
"Boss, this is bad, the Meiyou incident has blown up and is on the news!"
"What did the news say?"
Liu Jinyi said without changing her expression, though her heart was filled with apprehension.
"Meiyou had a commercial spy, stealing secrets. Meiyou's Manager Song even publicly stated that anyone who launches the pure desire style could be the mastermind behind the commercial espionage!"
"They also said that Meiyou is the originator of the pure desire style, and others who blindly follow are trashy imitations."
"What?!"
Liu Jinyi's face changed dramatically:
"What a brilliant open strategy, this is forcing us not to follow suit!"
The usually steady Liu Jinyi also had a headache.
Jinyi Apparel was also considered a small clothing brand.
Although not as big as Handu Yishe, it was quite famous.
After reading the newspaper on the morning of the 3rd, Liu Jinyi learned about the pure desire style and realized its explosive popularity.
She immediately arranged for people to blindly copy, make slight modifications, and produce them overnight.
Now, fifty thousand pieces had already been produced, and they were preparing for a strong launch to make a big profit.
Now, things had escalated, everyone knew Meiyou was the originator of the pure desire style, and everyone knew about the commercial espionage incident!
"So what do we do? Should we still launch the batch of pure desire style items we've already copied?"
Liu Jinyi sighed:
"Alas! Launching the pure desire style at this critical juncture would essentially be saying that we, Jinyi Apparel, are the masterminds behind the commercial espionage?"
"But we're not, we just followed suit," the partner explained.
Liu Jinyi shook her head:
"Following suit isn't a good thing either; if we actually launch them, someone might even come to investigate us! If it gets reported, we won't be able to clear our name even if we jump into the Yellow River. Our brand, which we worked so hard to build, would also be ruined!"
"Exactly, and with this report, everyone will recognize Meiyou, and not many people will want to buy ours if we launch!" a subordinate said.
Finally, Liu Jinyi sighed:
"Immediately cease production of all pure desire style dresses."
The partner grew anxious:
"What about the fifty thousand pieces already produced?"
Liu Jinyi sighed:
"What else can we do? Let's seal them up for now, and after this wave passes, we'll see how things are."
"Alright, I guess that's all we can do; it's just a big loss!"
The partner felt a great sting; he had hoped to make a big profit by copying the pure desire style!
But before it even launched, it exploded!
Liu Jinyi smiled wryly:
"A big loss is still better than our brand being ruined! As long as the Jinyi brand isn't affected, we can always survive!"
Hanliu Tribe.
Someone rushed to the boss:
"Boss Hu, it's over, that old geezer sold me out and it's on the news!"
Hu Zixuan also saw the news, his expression grave:
"It's on the news, the police must be investigating. So, you go to the airport immediately! I'll send you off, lay low for a while."
"Boss Hu, if I run away, won't I become a fugitive? A compounded crime?"
Hu Zixuan frowned:
"What? Do you think what you did is minor? No need to run, and no consequences?"
That person nodded:
"Yeah, I just sneaked in and took some pictures, what's the big deal? As long as I surrender, at most I'll pay some money and be detained for a while."
"Heh heh. Are you an idiot?" Hu Zixuan laughed in anger:
"Look at what the news says? Losses up to tens of millions; even if the actual amount is discounted, you'll still be sentenced for many years! And fined a huge sum!"
"Ah? That serious?"
That person was dumbfounded:
"Boss Hu, that's not what you said when you hired me?"
"Stop right there, I didn't hire you. You took the photos yourself and came to sell them to me, and I flatly refused!"
Hu Zixuan quickly said.
"What do you mean? Hu, are you going back on your word?"
Hu Zixuan chuckled:
"There's no evidence, so if you say it out loud, no one will believe you. Be smart, I'll have someone take you to the airport. Leave Jeju immediately, go to Hong Kong, and then transfer to another country. This is your best outcome."
"Alright, I agree. But I want a million!"
Hu Zixuan thought for a moment:
"Okay, but for now I can only give you three hundred thousand. Once you reach Hong Kong, I'll give you the remaining seven hundred thousand!"
"Good! It's a deal. If you don't keep your word, I'll drag you down with me even if I go to jail. At that time, forget about running your Hanliu Tribe brand! Hmph!"
"Threatening me?"
Hu Zixuan's expression turned grim, then he broke into a smile:
"Look at what you're saying, I wouldn't risk my brand for a million. Leave as soon as possible, I'll have the driver take you!"
"Alright, give me the money!"
"It's ready for you."
Hu Zixuan picked up a box of money, handed it to the driver, and quickly sent him off.
"Ugh! That damned old gatekeeper, is he sick? He took the money, but still couldn't keep his mouth shut!"
Hu Zixuan sighed, feeling quite helpless.
Only three people knew about the commercial espionage: the spy, him, and the old gatekeeper.
He wouldn't say, the spy couldn't say, so it must have been the old gatekeeper who spilled the beans!
"Damn it, so old and still causing so much trouble!"
The more Hu Zixuan thought about it, the angrier he got.
If this incident hadn't been exposed, among the photos the commercial spy took, there were also two unreleased new products.
As long as their Hanliu Tribe produced them first and launched them first, Meiyou would be powerless.
They would just have to grit their teeth and bear it.
Such things are very common in the industry.
By then, their Hanliu Tribe would make a huge profit using Meiyou's new products, while Meiyou would be left with nothing.
But who would have thought, the plan was good, but an accident happened!
"It's all because of this damned commercial spy; I thought he was professional and reliable, that's why I hired him. Turns out, it would have been better to just bribe the cleaning lady at Liangcai Garment Factory, the effect would be better!"
Everyone imagines business battles to be extreme intellectual confrontations, silent contests, bloody struggles...
But Hu Zixuan knew that was all nonsense.
It was more practical to bribe a cleaner, secretly take photos to steal a competitor's ideas, and produce and launch earlier.
Or bribe the other side's security guard, secretly turn off a circuit breaker, affecting their normal production...
A few years ago, he competed with another company for an order but lost.
In the end, he brazenly arranged for someone to crash the other party's car on the day of signing.
With the signing imminent, the other boss could only leave the driver to deal with the car accident and take a taxi himself to the signing location.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he got into the taxi, he was driven in the opposite direction...
That's right, that taxi was also arranged by Hu Zixuan!
By the time the boss realized what was happening and returned to the signing location, he was already more than two hours late.
Party A tore up the contract in a fit of rage and instead signed with Hu Zixuan!
Hanliu Tribe was able to grow big entirely because of his petty machinations, scheming, and rampant plagiarism.
Whatever styles were popular in Korea, he immediately arranged for people to copy them, follow the trend, and mass-produce them.
In this way, Hanliu Tribe's annual revenue exceeded one hundred million, with profits also in the tens of millions, a truly lucrative business.
But he never expected to stumble at Meiyou.
"Meiyou Technology, pure desire style! Alright, that's quite a blow to me, Hu!"
"And Manager Song, impressive. Directly saying that whoever launches the pure desire style might be the mastermind! It made my pure desire style dresses unsellable overnight!"
"Unbelievable!"
"You guys are ruthless!"
Hu Zixuan sighed and decisively notified the factory:
"Stop production of all pure desire style dresses; all those already produced are to be sealed!"
Currently, even Jinyi Apparel, which didn't send a commercial spy, didn't dare to launch its copied products, let alone him, the culprit.
Fearing being targeted because of this!
On the other side, Wang Yi also received a call from the police:
"Boss Wang, the suspect has been identified and located at the Hanliu Tribe factory. We are setting up a perimeter for arrest."
"Hanliu Tribe?"
Wang Yi frowned slightly:
"You've worked hard. I suspect the other party will get the news and run away in advance."
"Don't worry, airports, train stations, and the like are all under surveillance too."
"Thank you, we owe it to you."
"It's all part of our duty."
After hanging up the phone, Wang Yi fell into deep thought:
"Hanliu Tribe! So it truly was a commercial spy sent by a competitor. But since you were the first to jump out, I'll have to see you off."
Wang Yi tapped on the table, deducing the next steps.
With comprehensive surveillance, the commercial spy would likely be caught.
But even if he was caught, as long as he didn't expose the company behind him, Wang Yi would have no way to deal with Hanliu Tribe!
Without concrete evidence, mere suspicion couldn't lead to a conviction.
This wouldn't do; what Wang Yi wanted to do was completely annihilate them!
He needed to find a way to directly drag Hanliu Tribe into trouble.
By then, whether they admitted it or not, they wouldn't escape suspicion.
With this thought, Wang Yi called Xiao Anqing again:
"Reporter Xiao, I don't know how the news about the TV interview this afternoon leaked."
Xiao Anqing's expression was somewhat complex:
"I know, it's probably my arch-rival who leaked it. She... never mind her. But tomorrow's front-page headline will still be there, though its impact probably won't be as great."
There's a significant difference in effect between original news and a second report.
Especially for news that Jeju TV has already exposed tonight, if Jeju Evening News reports it again tomorrow, its impact will definitely be greatly diminished!
"Unless there's a new development, but that's unrealistic."
Xiao Anqing gave a wry smile; being betrayed by one's own people felt too awful!
Wang Yi, however, smiled:
"Don't say that, there really is new information."
"Really? What news?!"
Xiao Anqing got excited.
If there were new developments, with an urgent revision, it would be another exclusive story, and Jeju Evening News would still sell well tomorrow!
Wang Yi thought for a moment; with police surveillance at the scene, Xiao Anqing wouldn't be in any danger if she went.
And by the time she arrived, the person might already be caught.
It would be best if they were caught near the Hanliu Garment Factory!
With such a report, the Hanliu Garment Factory would never be able to clear its name.
By then, with Wang Yi's further maneuvering, even if they didn't die, they'd at least be severely hurt!
With this thought, Wang Yi said with a smile:
"Anqing, the suspect has been identified, near the Hanliu Garment Factory."
"Okay, thank you, I'll rush over immediately!" Xiao Anqing was thrilled!
It truly was 'when mountains and rivers end, one doubts if there is a path; amidst willows and flowers, another village appears'!
A big exclusive story, here I come!
(End of Chapter)
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