Shanghai in the Republican Era

Chapter 61 Exquisite Attire: The Struggle of the Republic of China – Commerce and Love, Goods Burnin

Splendid Attire: Lin Fangfei's Journey of Struggle in the Republican Era

The legendary business and love journey of a poor but academically gifted girl in Republican-era Shanghai.

The workers' angry faces and suspicious eyes bound me tightly like ropes, making it almost impossible for me to breathe. Standing in the crowd, I felt so small and helpless. My lips trembled slightly, wanting to say something to comfort them, but my throat felt like it was choked by something. I was wearing a light blue cotton cheongsam, which usually gave me a sense of comfort and security, but now it felt like a heavy shackle.

Gu Zixuan stood beside me, his brows furrowed, his eyes revealing both determination and worry. He stepped forward and raised his voice, saying, "Everyone, calm down and listen to me." He was wearing a dark gray suit today, and even his sharp lines seemed to be bent slightly by the workers' anger.

The workers quieted down a bit, but still looked at us with suspicion. The worker representative said, "Young Master Gu, we don't want to cause trouble, but we all have families to support. If the textile factory is really going to close down, we need to make plans as soon as possible."

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, and then said, "Don't worry, everyone, the textile factory won't go bankrupt. We've just resolved a series of crises, and now is the time to expand vigorously."

An elderly worker stepped forward, his face etched with the wrinkles of time, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. "Ms. Lin, we know you're a good person, but we've heard many unpleasant rumors. They say our orders have all disappeared and our funds have dried up. How can we not worry?"

Looking at the old worker, I felt a pang of guilt. I knew these rumors were spread by our competitors, their aim to disrupt our textile factory. I bit my lip and said, "Don't believe those rumors. We have indeed encountered some difficulties, but we have overcome them one by one. We still have many orders in production, and our funds are sufficient."

To prove my point, I turned to Gu Zixuan and said, "Zixuan, show everyone our order records and financial statements."

Gu Zixuan nodded, then hurriedly went into his office. A moment later, he came out with a stack of documents. He handed the documents to the worker representative and said, "This is our order record. Everyone can see that these are all real orders, and we have many new orders under negotiation. This is our financial statement; we have ample funds to pay everyone's wages and expand production."

The worker representative took the document and examined it carefully. Other workers crowded around, craning their necks to see what it was all about. After a while, the worker representative looked up, the anger and suspicion on his face gradually fading. "Miss Lin, Mr. Gu, it seems we misunderstood you. We were also frightened by those rumors."

I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled slightly. "It's alright, everyone's concerns are understandable. We will work as quickly as possible to improve the textile factory so that everyone can live a better life."

Just as the workers were calming down, a young worker suddenly ran over, panting, and said, "Miss Lin, Mr. Gu, something terrible has happened! Our warehouse is on fire!"

The news struck me like a bolt from the blue; my heart sank. Gu Zixuan and I exchanged a glance, then ran towards the warehouse. Su Yao followed behind us, her face filled with worry.

When we arrived at the warehouse, the fire was already raging. Flames licked at the warehouse walls, and thick smoke billowed into the sky. The workers were trying their best to put out the fire, but the flames were too intense, and their efforts seemed to be having little effect.

My heart was filled with anxiety as I watched the goods about to be burned, tears welling up in my eyes. "What can we do? If all these goods are destroyed, our textile factory will be in real danger."

Gu Zixuan held my hand tightly and said, "Fangfei, don't panic. Let's organize the workers to evacuate first and ensure everyone's safety. Then we'll figure out a way to put out the fire."

I nodded and joined Gu Zixuan in organizing the workers' evacuation. During the evacuation, I noticed a suspicious person loitering near the warehouse. He was wearing black clothes and a hat, completely obscuring his face.

A thought struck me; I found this person very suspicious. I said to Gu Zixuan, "Zixuan, look at that person. He's very suspicious. I think he might have started this fire."

Gu Zixuan looked in the direction I was pointing and then said, "You organize the evacuation here, I'll go take a look."

Gu Zixuan walked towards the man, while I continued organizing the workers' evacuation. Once all the workers were safely evacuated, I turned to look at Gu Zixuan. I saw him wrestling with the suspicious man.

I rushed over to help, but just as I was about to reach them, the suspicious man suddenly pulled out a dagger and stabbed at Gu Zixuan.

"Zixuan, watch out!" I shouted, my heart filled with fear.

Gu Zixuan dodged the dagger to the side, then kicked it away from the man's hand. He then subdued the man and asked, "Why did you set the fire? Who ordered you to?"

The man sneered and said, "You offended the wrong people, and this is what happens to you."

Just as we were about to press him further, a group of people suddenly rushed over. Leading them was a man in a fancy suit, followed by several thugs.

"Let him go," the man said.

Gu Zixuan looked at him and said, "Who are you? Why are you stopping us from finding out the truth?"

The man smiled and said, "Who I am is not important. What's important is that you'd better not meddle in other people's business. This fire is just a warning. If you still don't know what's good for you, next time it won't be just a simple fire."

I said angrily, "You are despicable for using such methods against us."

The man glanced at me and said, "Miss Lin, this is the business world, a dog-eat-dog world. You'd better give up sooner rather than later, or you'll lose even more."

Gu Zixuan clenched his fists tightly and said, "We will not be intimidated by you. We will definitely find out who is behind this and make you pay the price."

The man sneered, then left with his men.

As we watched them walk away, our hearts were filled with anger and helplessness. This fire had caused enormous damage to our textile factory; how could we possibly get back on our feet? Just as we were pondering solutions, I received a letter from abroad.

The letter was written in a foreign language, which I couldn't understand, so I asked a translator to read it. After reading the letter, the translator turned extremely pale.

“Ms. Lin, this letter is from an international textile tycoon. He says he has his eye on the Shanghai textile market and wants to acquire our textile factory. If we don’t agree, he will use any means necessary to suppress us until we go bankrupt.”

Splendid Attire: Lin Fangfei's Journey of Struggle in the Republican Era

The legendary business and love journey of a poor but academically gifted girl in Republican-era Shanghai.

That letter from a foreign textile giant gripped my heart like an invisible hand. Every word was like a cold raindrop, mercilessly striking the nascent flame of hope within me. My hand holding the letter trembled uncontrollably, my eyes fixed on the foreign language, as if trying to find a glimmer of hope between the lines, but all I saw was oppression and threat. My face turned deathly pale, my lips trembled slightly, and my mind was a complete mess.

"How can this international textile giant be so domineering?" I muttered to myself, my voice filled with anger and helplessness. Gu Zixuan took the letter from my hand and quickly glanced through it. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his eyes showed determination and resolve, but I could still see the worry hidden deep within them.

“Fangfei, we can’t let him intimidate us. Our textile factory is our life’s work and the lifeline of many workers. We must find a way to save it.” Gu Zixuan’s voice was deep and powerful, like a beacon in the darkness.

Su Yao also came over. Today she was wearing a light purple dress, her hair was styled in an elegant updo, with a few wisps of hair falling beside her cheeks, making her look elegant and capable. Looking at the letter, she said angrily, "These foreigners always want to seize our property. We must not let them succeed."

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. "But he said he would stop at nothing to suppress us. How are we supposed to deal with that? We just went through a fire, the textile factory was badly damaged, and now we're facing such a powerful opponent." My voice was a little hoarse, and every word seemed to be squeezed out of my throat with difficulty.

Gu Zixuan pondered for a moment and said, "Let's start by understanding this international textile giant. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. I will use all my connections to find out about him, including his business model, business methods, and his distribution of influence in Shanghai."

I nodded, knowing that this was the only thing we could do at the moment. "Then I'll contact my professors and classmates at business school; they might be able to provide us with some useful information."

For the next few days, we were all busy dealing with this international textile giant. I wore a plain cotton cheongsam and wandered through the streets and alleys of Shanghai, visiting my teachers and classmates. Every time I knocked on a door, my heart was filled with anticipation and nervousness—anticipating that they would bring me useful information, and nervous about whether we could really find a solution.

My teacher is a seasoned business scholar who lives in a quiet little courtyard. When I entered the courtyard, he was reading a book. Seeing me, he put down his book and greeted me with a smile.

"Fangfei, I heard you're doing very well in the textile industry. What brings you to visit this old man today?" The teacher's voice was gentle and kind.

I told my teacher about the predicament our textile factory was facing, and his expression turned serious. "This international textile giant is not easy to deal with. He has already acquired many small textile companies internationally, and his methods are extremely ruthless. However, he also has his weaknesses. Although his company is large in scale, it relies too much on mechanized production and does not integrate traditional craftsmanship enough. Your textile factory, on the other hand, has a profound foundation in traditional Chinese textile craftsmanship, which is your advantage."

My mind raced after hearing my teacher's words. "Teacher, do you mean we can counter him by focusing on traditional crafts?"

The teacher nodded. "That's right. You can incorporate traditional Chinese embroidery, dyeing and other techniques into modern textile products to create unique products. This will not only attract domestic consumers but also make your products stand out internationally."

I thanked my teacher gratefully and returned to the textile factory with this valuable advice. Gu Zixuan also learned a lot about international textile giants.

“Fangfei, I’ve discovered that although this giant has a great international reputation, its foothold in Shanghai isn’t very stable yet. It’s just entered the Shanghai market and doesn’t fully understand the business environment and consumer preferences here. Moreover, there are some management conflicts within its company,” Gu Zixuan told me excitedly.

Just as we were preparing to formulate a response strategy based on this information, a new problem arose at the textile mill. Some of our long-term clients were suddenly snatched away by this international textile giant, who offered extremely attractive terms that our clients could not refuse.

I watched anxiously as orders slipped away, feeling like a soldier being routed on a battlefield. "We can't just sit here and wait to die; we have to take the initiative," I said through gritted teeth.

Gu Zixuan looked at me, his eyes filled with love and encouragement. "Fangfei, you're right. We can hold a large-scale fashion show to showcase our new products that incorporate traditional craftsmanship, and invite all our clients and media to attend, so they can see our strength."