Chapter 178: I’ll Explain to Grandma
Huo Jingyuan noticed Wen Ci’s hesitation. He put an arm around her shoulder and patted it gently. "Don’t worry," he reassured her. "I’ll explain things to Grandma."
Wen Ci sighed.
’Leaving before even spending a full day on my first visit with his family is so rude.’ "It’s fine," she said. "I’ll just make some calls to the mall owners."
’I might as well ask them how many pounds of clothes they want. If a few of the mall owners want a large quantity, I’ll contact Xu Jinghe right away.’
Her call with Wen Yaozu had ended.
Wen Ci called the operator to ask which numbers had called the house, writing each one down in her notebook.
She took the initiative to call them back, starting with Beijing’s largest shopping center, Guomao Mall. "Hello? Yes, I’m the one selling the clothes at nine yuan a pound. My brother was the one who answered your call earlier."
"Boss Wen."
"That’s me."
’Wen Ci felt a secret thrill hearing someone call her "Boss."’ "I’m in Hangzhou at the moment, and I wanted to ask how many pounds of clothes you’re planning to purchase."
The man on the other end was the director of Guomao Mall’s procurement department. He stated decisively, "As long as you can guarantee the quality, Boss Wen, we’ll take as much as you’ve got."
’To the mall, clothes at nine yuan a pound were an incredible bargain. They could easily take on a shipment worth millions.’
’As long as they were the sole distributor, they could run whatever promotions they wanted and not worry about losing money.’
"Er..."
’Wen Ci didn’t agree immediately. She knew that creating a monopoly was never a good idea, and besides, Xu Jinghe only had a finite amount of stock in his warehouse.’
’Selling everything to the owner of Guomao Mall at once would be convenient, but it would offend the other mall owners in Beijing, which would be bad for her business in the long run.’
A slight smile touched Wen Ci’s lips. "I’m sorry, but we can only sell you 10,000 pounds. If Guomao Mall corners the market, I’m the one who ultimately loses."
Wen Ci was being perfectly frank.
’As a rookie businesswoman just starting out, she had neither deep pockets nor a powerful backer. She couldn’t afford to offend those old merchants who had been operating in Beijing for decades.’
’So, she had to divide the stock among the various malls.’
’The big malls could get 10,000 pounds, and the small ones, 5,000. That way, everyone got a share, and she wouldn’t offend anyone.’
"Only 10,000 pounds?"
"Only 10,000," Wen Ci confirmed, pausing before she explained, "You know the quality of this shipment is excellent. You won’t find it at this price anywhere else. 10,000 pounds is a huge amount."
’10,000 pounds was at least four or five thousand pieces of clothing.’
’If they sold them in the mall for fifty yuan a piece, they would easily more than double their money.’
Huo Jingyuan leaned back against the sofa, his eyes burning with intensity as he watched his wife completely absorbed in her business dealings. His gaze softened, overflowing with love.
"Is Ah Ci doing business?" Grandma Liu walked over to her grandson and asked softly.
"Mhm."
Hearing this, Grandma Liu’s gaze toward Wen Ci grew even more fond. The Huo family had built its fortune on business.
’Although her eldest grandson, Huo Jingyuan, had no interest in business, his fiancée was keen on it. In the future, they could give her a part of the family enterprise to manage.’
"Grandma, let Wen Ci handle it herself. Unless it’s a critical moment, she doesn’t need help. She likes to forge her own path."
"I know."
By the landline, Wen Ci made several more calls to other malls. She informed them all of the same terms: large malls could take a maximum of 10,000 pounds, and small malls, 5,000 pounds.
Afterward, she did some mental math. This way, all the inventory in the Beijing warehouse would be sold. The deposits from the bosses, plus the cash she had on hand, would be enough to completely pay off her debt to Xu Jinghe. A bright, sunny smile blossomed on her face.
"Huo Jingyuan, I sold all the clothes!"