“Mr. Yang, you have no idea how miserable Su Su and I are. Our household hasn’t had any income for half a year, and we owe over a hundred thousand euros in debt. That’s why I was so angry just now. I’m sure you can understand,” Jiang Youchang began to vent his grievances as soon as he sat down at the dining table, explaining why his attitude had been so terrible.
It turned out that Jiang Youchang was from Taiwan Province. He originally worked in the clothing business and at his peak had a net worth of over a hundred million yuan. It was during that time that he met Li Susu, who was then a flight attendant, leading to the classic pairing of a flight attendant and a wealthy man, and he won the beauty’s heart. It was also around this time that Jiang Youchang’s business began to falter.
First, his clothing business faced continuous pressure from mainland Chinese enterprises. Jiang Youchang’s clothing factory in Taiwan Province incurred losses year after year. So, he decisively closed the factory and immigrated to the United States with all his assets, believing that with his abilities and tens of millions of US dollars in cash, he could start anew and become a tycoon.
Then, he set his sights on the burgeoning mobile phone industry, believing it to be a pillar industry of the future. Jiang Youchang spent most of his fortune to acquire a bankrupt mobile phone company. Just as he was about to make his mark, the Jiangnan Group launched the Tianzhou terminal.
Jiang Youchang’s mobile phone company naturally failed, and his tens of millions of US dollars in cash dwindled to just a few million.
However, Jiang Youchang was unwilling to accept defeat. He wanted to make a comeback. Coincidentally, the real estate market was booming at the time. Jiang Youchang invested all his remaining cash in real estate, and then the financial crisis hit.
This time, Jiang Youchang lost so much that he didn’t even have a million US dollars left. Both of these setbacks were, to some extent, related to our Boss Huang.
After suffering two consecutive blows in the United States, Jiang Youchang felt that perhaps the US was not suitable for him. Moreover, he had friends in France, so he took his wife to Europe. This time, Jiang Youchang intended to return to his old profession, the clothing business.
After all, his remaining capital was only enough to engage in low-cost ventures like the clothing business.
But Jiang Youchang also understood that competing with Chinese enterprises in the mid-to-low-end market was impossible, given their significantly lower costs. Jiang Youchang then set his sights on the high-end clothing market.
The problem was that the current high-end clothing market was far beyond what Jiang Youchang’s remaining few hundred thousand US dollars could support.
However, Jiang Youchang did not plan to develop his own high-end fashion brand. Instead, he intended to produce imitation products, commonly known as A-grades.
If one were to ask which high-luxury and light-luxury brand clothing sells best in Europe today, it would undoubtedly be Liushang Qu Shucaiwei Shi and its sub-brand Caiwei.
The former, after nearly ten years of development, had become an undisputed top luxury brand. However, in terms of brand heritage, it still lagged behind other century-old brands.
But the issue was that European traditional clothing was truly ugly, and top luxury brands had to adhere to tradition to some extent. So, no matter how these top luxury brands boasted about their clothing’s tradition, fabric quality, craftsmanship, or how every gold thread was in perfect proportion, etc.
Simplicity was just simplicity. Compared to traditional Hanfu, they were simply ugly.
Furthermore, with the constant push from the super benefactor, the Jiangnan Group, and their endless promotional tactics, they completely overshadowed other top brands, becoming the world’s leading luxury brand.
Of course, since Liushang Qu Shucaiwei Shi’s total annual output was less than 300 pieces, its clothing could only be seen on super socialites, aristocratic ladies, or the wives of super-rich individuals. Even middle-class individuals with a net worth of over a hundred million had no access or qualification to purchase Liushang Qu Shucaiwei Shi’s clothes.
The more this was the case, the higher the prestige of Liushang Qu Shucaiwei Shi became. Ordinary and middle-class people naturally turned their attention to Caiwei.
After all, they were from the same lineage, and Caiwei’s new season collections essentially featured the previous season’s designs from Liushang Qu Shucaiwei Shi with some details and configurations reduced.
Crucially, the prices were much more affordable. A normal French person could buy a piece after half a year of not eating or drinking.
This explained Caiwei’s massive sales in Europe. According to their published data, in the French market alone, Caiwei’s annual sales exceeded 100,000 pieces, and even then, they were hard to come by.
After all, even as a lower-tier light luxury brand, Caiwei still had its own prestige. The quantity of each clothing set released in each country was fixed. Once sold out, they were gone, with absolutely no restocks.
Therefore, many people were still in a state of being unable to buy even with money, while more were longing for Caiwei but were short on cash.
Jiang Youchang’s business acumen was indeed sharp. He immediately identified this super selling point. However, with Jiang Youchang’s financial situation, he was not qualified to be a Caiwei dealer. The minimum requirement for Caiwei dealers was to pay a deposit of two million euros to open a Caiwei store, and Jiang Youchang did not have that much money.
In fact, he didn’t intend to be a dealer. He wanted to engage in a simpler and more profitable business, which was the aforementioned A-grade production.
As mentioned earlier, many sophisticated girls longed for Caiwei but couldn’t afford it. Therefore, buying an identical A-grade piece naturally became the best solution for these girls.
However, there were very few A-grade products in the French market. After all, the French still valued their reputation and had not yet descended to the point of counterfeiting. Thus, most of the A-grade products on the market were imported from abroad, and the largest production origin… well, it was still China.
Upon understanding all this, Jiang Youchang immediately leveraged his connections in China and reached an agreement with a company specializing in Caiwei A-grade production, securing a large supply of goods.
Generally, a basic Caiwei set sold for 4,000 euros, while the ex-factory price in China was less than 400 yuan. Jiang Youchang could then sell it in France for around 400 euros, making it very simple.
Thus, for each set of clothing, Jiang Youchang could earn about 10 times the profit. For a long time, Jiang Youchang regained his wealthy persona and lifestyle, becoming rich again.
However, this behavior was illegal, and Boss Huang himself would not allow actions that harmed his interests.
As a result, a month ago, the A-grade factory in China was raided by the police. Not only did Jiang Youchang’s advance payment of over a million yuan for the order go up in smoke, but more importantly, this A-grade factory exposed Jiang Youchang. Simultaneously, European media companies began extensively reporting on the A-grade incident, labeling it as a disgrace to Europe, which led European police to launch large-scale investigations. With both sides acting, Jiang Youchang could no longer hide.
Even more fatal was that due to the underdeveloped e-commerce environment in Europe, which couldn’t directly deliver items ordered on mobile phones, the sales of these A-grade products still relied on physical stores.
Consequently, Jiang Youchang’s physical stores were also sealed, and all his personal assets were frozen. Most critically, he had actually been arrested by the police once. To secure his bail, Li Susu had to sell all valuable possessions in their home and incur tens of thousands of euros in debt to get him out of the police station.
But this was not the end. He was still on the prosecution list, and the trial was due in a month. If the judgment proceeded normally, he would face a prison sentence of at least three years and a colossal compensation of tens of millions of euros, which Jiang Youchang could not bear.
While saying this, Jiang Youchang tragically displayed his electronic ankle monitor to Yang Yunhe, calling it the most detestable invention in the world. This electronic ankle monitor constantly sent his location to the police. If he left the controlled range, he would be immediately apprehended by the police.
“Brother Yang, I’m counting on your help now. You’re a high-level executive at Jiangnan Group. Please speak to your Boss Huang and give me a chance to reform, remove me from your prosecution list. I will never forget your great kindness!” After speaking, Jiang Youchang even knelt down directly in front of Yang Yunhe. Yang Yunhe quickly tried to help him up, but he adamantly refused, clinging to Yang Yunhe’s leg, causing Li Susu, who was watching, to let out a sarcastic chuckle.
This was the first sound she had made since sitting down. Before that, she had sat there like a piece of wood, silent and motionless, clearly exhausted and defeated.
“I’m sorry, I cannot fulfill this request,” Yang Yunhe said, standing up. “Mr. Jiang, I can personally support you with some cash, but regarding the prosecution list, please forgive my inability. It is beyond my authority, and you overestimate me. Moreover, it should be Caiwei prosecuting you this time, not Jiangnan Group.”
“But Caiwei is a subsidiary of Jiangnan Group, and Boss Huang is the major shareholder of Caiwei. Since you have a photo with Boss Huang and are so close, you just need to suggest this to Boss Huang, and he will definitely consider it!” Jiang Youchang said, clinging to Yang Yunhe’s leg. “Brother Yang, you are my elder brother, please save my life this time!”
“I’m truly sorry, I really can’t,” Yang Yunhe said, looking troubled. He was already considering calling security.
At this moment, he looked at Li Susu with some reluctance. If he left now, she would likely be plunged back into misery.
This glance, however, was noticed by Jiang Youchang, who was constantly observing his expression. He immediately said without hesitation, “Brother Yang, you like my wife, don’t you!”
“What did you say?” Yang Yunhe suddenly became flustered.
“What’s the big deal? If you like my wife, it’s my honor. As long as you help me, I’ll give her to you, so you can live a happy life together!” Jiang Youchang quickly added.
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Yang Yunhe became even more flustered. He glanced at Li Susu, whose cheeks were also flushed with shock, and instinctively said, “This isn’t something that can be decided by just the two of us. Have you considered Sister’s feelings?”
“There’s no need to consider her feelings. She eats my food, uses my things, and has no status. If she leaves me, she’ll immediately become a nameless bug in France, worse than those cheap women who charge 10 euros to stand on the street. She wouldn’t dare disobey me. As long as I tell her to accompany you, I guarantee she will serve you, Brother Yang, comfortably!”