Chapter 248 Xin Qings Anchor to the Windward (2/2)
”Argh! Argh! Argh!” Zhang Mi held her head and spun herself around. ”There are yellow ones! White ones! Even blue ones! Ah! Ah! Ah!”
Monica appeared far more composed than Zhang Mi. ”This is... yours?” Monica asked, gaping at Xin Qing.
Xin Qing was very satisfied with their reactions. She nodded and grinned at them. ”Yeah!”
Zhang Mi tossed her hand bag away and charged right into the flower field. Monica reached out and held back Xin Qing, who was about to charge into the field as well. ”You want to start your own brand?”
”It's already in the works,” Xin Qing said, dragging Monica along as they both leaped into the ocean of lavender. ”Come on! You'll get it once we cross the field!”
The seemingly borderless flower field was, in fact, pretty far to tread across. It took the three of them up to half an hour to reach the other side of the field on foot.
After a tour of the factory, Monica and Zhang Mi were both smiling from ear to ear. They drove back into town and enjoyed a hearty dinner. After that, Xin Qing took out several lavender products that she had brought back from the factory during the day.
”A lot of people had discovered this place ever since two years ago. Those people are interested in producing all-natural personal care products using the lavender here. But I'd always been so busy, and I didn't want to make a profit out of Ah Cang's gift for me, so I never agreed to any of the deals they offered.”
Xin Qing uncapped a bottle of essential oil and sniffed. ”I thought of this place last year after our contract with Smith ended. So I ordered someone to have a factory set up.”
”This is good stuff!” Zhang Mi said, rubbing oil all over her body non-stop. ”Hey, guys. Just smell it. Right now I smell so good!”
Monica gave her short curls a little flip. ”This shampoo smells even better!”
”You guys have tried out the products,” Xin Qing said. ”These are all made from refined lavender. The quality is definitely in the same league as For You's.” Xin Qing was very satisfied with the anchor that she had laid to the windward.
Soon, the excitement passed and everyone started to calm down.
”But nobody has used it before and it lacks the celebrity effect. There's no publicity as well. We still have to start from the beginning!” Monica said, sounding a little worried. ”I fear nobody would acknowledge it.”
Xin Qing burst into peals of gleeful laughter. ”Who told that it hasn't been used?” Xin Qing booted up her laptop and accessed her email account.
Zhang Mi pointed her finger at the names shown on screen. ”These people... Don't tell me it's them?”
”I gave the first batch of products to them for free. As a jewelry designer, I can vouch for the trustworthiness and credibility of these people. I trust them!” Xin Qing winked. ”But here's what I didn't expect. After they used the products, they started making purchases straight from the factory, and by the end of last year, the factory had already redeemed the manufacturing costs. In fact, the factory is now self-sustaining and has recovered all its funds.”
”These are all the key players in the fashion world,” Monica said in a tone of disbelief. ”If any one of them endorses our products, we could totally kick that Smith's ass in seconds!”
”We'll discuss about that once we head back. We'll figure out the most suitable candidate. In three months, I want the whole world to know the name of the brand known as 'The You Of My Dreams'!”
Monica and Zhang Mi shared a look with each other, and then Zhang Mi chuckled. ”You came up with that name on your own?” Zhang Mi asked.
”This is Ah Cang's gift to me,” Xin Qing said. All of a sudden, Xin Qing's eyes became glassy and unfocused. It was like she was talking to herself. ”In the middle of the night, I often dreamed about the time we had both spent here. I'm still the same person as I was in my dream. I haven't changed. But the you in my dreams, when are you coming back...”
One particular day in May, while participating in a Chinese TV show, a certain world-famous model inadvertently revealed the fact that The You Of My Dreams was her skincare product of choice. That revelation had caused people to start doing internet searches on the brand. Not a few days later, a product endorsed by another celebrity from Hollywood suddenly appeared on TV; that product was precisely The You Of My Dreams!
Soon, this product, which had utilized the concept of natural lavender, filled the shelves of various high-profile beauty shops all over the globe. At almost the same time, Caesar Academy released a statement announcing the replacement of Serene with The You Of My Dreams.
More and more celebrities were endorsing the brand on TV. They posted photos of themselves on Weibo to highlight the effects of the product when used right after sunbathing. A lot of their fans had begun jumping on the bandwagon after seeing those photos on social media. The only catch was that The You Of My Dreams was a high-end brand, which meant that the its products were in a price range comparable to those of For You's.
”We've eased into the market successfully! Right now we just have to wait for the sales data for the first season. I'm guessing it will exceed our estimations!” Monica said, waving the reports excitedly. Ah Nan looked at Xin Qing in awe. ”Young Miss,” Ah Nan said, ”you've really done it beautifully this time!”
Xin Qing smiled and closed the lid of her laptop. ”You'll have to thank your Young Master for this. He's the one who gave me that piece of land.”
Meanwhile, Ying Qingcang was watching a commercial on TV. The commercial featured a beautiful model exposing her skin amidst the sunset against a backdrop of a vast lavender field. With knitted brows, Ying Qingcang fixed his gaze upon the vast ocean of flowers.
The door opened with a bang. Rong Siman burst into the room. ”Ah Cang, I can't believe that woman actually started a new brand, and its already beginning to take over the market!”
”Weren't you the one who said that she couldn't have managed it this soon?” Ying Qingcang barely lifted his head as he kept looking at the TV.
Rong Siman frowned and sat across from him. ”So what do we do now? Just watch Xin Enterprises expand their brand and monopolize our market?”
”That's your own responsibility, isn't it? Why are you asking me?” Ying Qingcang said, finally raising his head to level a cold stare at her. ”I'm looking forward to how you're going to pay the price for your own folly.”
”Ah Cang...” Rong Siman panicked. ”You can't do this to me. I was wrong to have acted on my own. But now it isn't the time to be mad at me. You can't sit around and do nothing while that woman grows her brand. It will affect our partnership with Smith. Also, over half of our revenue comes from Serene. It will have a major impact on the company if things go south.”