Some happy, some sad.
Wang Yi was full of vigor, waiting for the movie to become a huge hit and make a big splash.
Hu Zixuan, however, lay in his hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, growing angrier the more he thought about it.
Those agents and big bosses were just at high-end clubs a few days ago, drinking Maotai he provided and touching young women he arranged!
They drank and chatted happily, making solemn vows!
They patted their chests, promising to be agents for Hallyu Tribe, grow bigger and stronger together, and defeat Meiyou!
But as soon as they saw Meiyou trending on hot search, they immediately turned hostile!
Not only did they cancel their cooperation with Hallyu Tribe, but they also directly joined Meiyou, becoming Meiyou's city agents and franchisees!
Even the stores that had franchised with Hallyu Tribe defected one after another, becoming Meiyou exclusive stores and authorized stores!
No one could stand such a blow!
After all, Hu Zixuan had already spent thirty million; the advertisements were run, and endorsers were hired!
Even the logistics and warehousing system for several southeastern provinces had been built with significant investment!
Goods had been transported all the way from Jeju to the South!
Everything was ready, just waiting to distribute goods and make money.
But then the major clients ran off, the channels were gone, and the franchised stores defected!
All that was left were countless advertisements, broadcast continuously in streets and alleys, looking like a joke.
Yet, the stores were very few.
The newly built warehousing and logistics system was piled high with goods, with no idea who to ship them to.
But Hu Zixuan had genuinely spent the thirty million in hard cash.
Such a tragic outcome was unbearable for Hu Zixuan, no matter how calm and composed he usually was.
Overwhelmed by anger, he was admitted directly to the ICU!
After five hours of emergency treatment, he finally got out of critical condition.
He only fully recovered today, barely able to be discharged.
But unfortunately, he dared not leave the hospital.
The warehousing and logistics side had no business right now, but they still had to pay wages as usual.
All those bosses were waiting for him to be discharged so they could demand payment!
But by now, Hu Zixuan was almost completely broke; how could he possibly take out money to give them?
As a result, he was hiding in the hospital, not daring to go out.
Even after recovering, he had to continue feigning illness.
Difficult, difficult, difficult!
Too difficult!
But unfortunately, feigning illness couldn't last forever.
Everyone might endure it for three to five days.
It was already the eighth; Hu Zixuan had been faking it for a week.
Who could stand that?
So, late at night, a banging sound on the door rang out, and the boss of the logistics and warehousing company came to demand payment again.
This time, Hu Zixuan's assistant and driver couldn't stop them.
The other party rushed straight in and happened to see Hu Zixuan staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Boss Hu, you look spirited! It seems you've recovered after a week's stay, hehe."
Situ Xing, the warehousing boss, said with a forced smile.
Last month, Hu Zixuan had filled his warehouse to capacity, and the terms they discussed were very good, so he readily agreed.
However, apart from the first deposit, no further payments were made.
He had covered all expenses himself!
Hu Zixuan gave an awkward smile:
"I'm doing well, thank you for your concern, Boss Situ. Thank you."
"No need for thanks, just settle last month's warehousing fee."
Hu Zixuan sighed:
"Brother Situ, I'm indeed a bit tight on money recently. It's only the eighth; could you let me defer for a few days?"
"Defer for a few days?"
Situ Xing frowned.
If it were anyone else, Situ Xing wouldn't be in such a hurry to press; settling August's payment by mid-September would be fine.
But Hu Zixuan was about to go bankrupt.
If he didn't demand the money now, he really wouldn't get it back, so he had to be anxious.
The logistics side had the same idea.
"Boss Hu, let's skip these delaying tactics. I'm fully aware of Hallyu Tribe's situation."
Situ Xing sighed:
"Brother, I won't make things difficult for you. Settle with me at 80% of the contract price, then take away all the goods, and we'll be quits. I won't ask for full payment, nor will I demand a penalty for breach of contract! How about it?"
He thought clearly: given Hallyu Tribe's situation, being able to settle 80% would be good.
Getting all of it back was truly unrealistic.
Hu Zixuan's face darkened.
80%?
If it were just this one company, settling it would be fine.
But once he settled with Situ Xing, other warehousing companies, logistics companies, suppliers, and so on, would all demand payment.
Wouldn't that be the end of it?
He still had some money, saved as a fallback for himself, but he couldn't give it to them!
Those who are deadbeats are somewhat base; they just don't want to pay.
"Brother Situ, 80% is no problem, but I still need to wait, five days. Just five days, and I'll give it to you immediately!"
'Five days? Heh, another delaying tactic!'
Situ Xing laughed:
"I can't wait, not even for a day. My men can't make ends meet. Boss Hu, just settle with me! 70% is fine, I'm begging you!"
Hu Zixuan, already vexed, lost even more patience:
"Situ Xing, I'll be frank with you. No money, but I have plenty of clothes. How about I use the clothes in the warehouse to offset the debt for you? Calculated at 50% of the selling price, no, 40%, you're sure to make a profit!"
"Pfft!"
Situ Xing was instantly furious:
"I've heard of properties being used to offset debts in the real estate industry, but never clothes being used to offset debts in the garment industry. What kind of joke are you playing?"
"Do you think I'm a nouveau riche and easy to fool?"
Hu Zixuan: "..."
"Your Hallyu Tribe's shoddy clothes, at 40% off for me? They wouldn't sell even at 40% off!"
Hu Zixuan: "..."
Situ Xing was extremely angry:
"Moreover, I run a warehouse, not a store. If you give me so many clothes, how am I supposed to sell them? If it were Meiyou's 'pure desire' style dresses, with good sales, I might consider it. But your Hallyu Tribe's clothes are trash; nobody wants them, and they simply can't be sold!"
Hu Zixuan: "..."
"Pay back the money, quickly pay back the money!"
Facing Situ Xing's urging, Hu Zixuan took a deep breath, closed his eyes, adopting the posture of a dead pig not afraid of boiling water.
"You..."
Situ Xing was extremely angry.
The debtor holds power over the creditor.
What could he do?
At this moment, the door opened again.
A boss wearing a big gold chain, carrying a carton of milk and a fruit basket, walked in smilingly:
"Boss Hu, are you feeling better? Boss Situ is here too."
Hu Zixuan remained with his eyes closed.
Situ Xing waved his hand:
"Boss Wei, this guy is finished; he doesn't plan on paying back the money. You bought this fruit basket and milk for nothing!"
Wei Wuji's face darkened, and he directly threw the fruit basket and milk on the ground:
"You, surnamed Hu, my men traveled day and night to help you transport goods from Jeju to Minnan. Are you not going to settle the logistics fees with me? Are you even human?"
Hu Zixuan's face grew even uglier: "..."
His entire face immediately flushed red, then began to rise and fall, as if about to have an attack.
Seeing this, Situ Xing and Wei Wuji's expressions changed drastically:
"Oh no, he couldn't have gotten sick from anger again, could he? Is he going into the ICU again?"
"No, let's go quickly. If something happens to him due to anger, we might both be held responsible."
"Right, not getting the money back is a small matter; if he dies from anger, that's big trouble. Let's go, let's go."
"Boss Hu, don't get excited. We'll come back another day!"
With that, the two turned and ran, fearing being implicated.
There was no choice; a debtor is not just a master, but potentially an ancestor!
"Boss, are you okay?"
Hu Zixuan's assistant and driver quickly rushed in.
"Nurse!"
"Doctor!"
Hu Zixuan waved his hand and let out a long breath:
"I'm fine, it's okay now that they're gone. Phew, it almost suffocated me!"
Driver: "..."
Assistant: "..."
So, his flushed face was all intentionally suppressed!
Awesome!
Hu Zixuan looked at the fruit basket on the floor:
"Come, that apple looks good, peel one for me!"
Driver: "..."
Assistant: "..."
The two exchanged glances, collectively speechless.
They could only say their boss was awesome!
The driver quickly picked up the fruit basket and went to wash an apple.
Hu Zixuan, meanwhile, sighed and looked at his assistant:
"The southeastern market is finished; these thirty million have also gone down the drain."
The assistant nodded:
"Meiyou's offensive is too fierce; we can't withstand it. Basically, all the agents and franchisees we negotiated with in the southeastern region have defected! Boss, are we completely finished?"
Hu Zixuan waved his hand:
"It's fine, we still have a fallback plan."
"You mean Manager Zhang?"
Hu Zixuan nodded:
"Luckily, Chuanfang was resourceful. Seeing that she couldn't beat Meiyou in the southwestern market, she directly gave up and took the money to develop the northeastern market. The northeastern market gets cold early, so Meiyou's 'pure desire' style dresses won't sell there. Chuanfang has probably taken over that market."
"Next, we'll shift our autumn wear to be sold in the northeastern region, and we can still get through this. As long as we hold out until winter, when Meiyou cools down, we win! It's all up to Chuanfang now!"
The assistant nodded:
"Yes, thanks to Manager Zhang, our last hope has been preserved!"
With this in mind, Hu Zixuan called Zhang Chuanfang again:
"Chuanfang, the southeastern market is also ruined. The future of Hallyu Tribe now depends on your northeastern market."
Zhang Chuanfang laughed:
"Old Hu, don't worry. The northeastern market is progressing smoothly. Meiyou dresses are not suitable for the Northeast, and they haven't expanded here, so we have completely taken over this market!"
"Good, very good. Fortunately, I have you. Giving up the Southwest and developing the Northeast was a masterstroke. I can't go on here; I'm surrounded by creditors every day and can only hide in the hospital to avoid debt. I will now transfer all rights of Hallyu Tribe to you; you handle everything with full authority."
"Okay, rest assured. I will lead Hallyu Tribe out of this quagmire and await your return,"
Zhang Chuanfang said sincerely.
Hu Zixuan was deeply moved:
"As a long journey tests a horse's strength, so time reveals a person's heart. In the end, you are the reliable one."
"It's all my duty."
After hanging up the phone, Hu Zixuan breathed a sigh of relief.
He immediately ordered the transfer of power to Zhang Chuanfang, allowing her to handle all matters of Hallyu Tribe with full authority.
But Zhang Chuanfang made a call to Wang Yi:
"Boss, the northeastern market has been taken over. Provincial and city agents are all settled, and we can launch Meiyou's 'pure desire' style autumn wear at any time!"
That's right, Wang Yi primarily promoted "pure desire" style summer dresses in the South, while in the early-cold northeastern region, along with online channels, he first launched "pure desire" style autumn wear!
Wang Yi even arranged for Meiyou's senior management to go and develop the northwestern and western regions!
At that time, after the movie becomes a huge hit, all offline physical stores will open for business, with southern stores selling summer dresses and northern stores selling autumn wear!
"Very good,"
Wang Yi said, very satisfied.
"How many stores can open in the northeastern region this month?"
"Over sixty exclusive stores can open this month, and there are about a hundred smaller authorized stores!"
"Very good, you've worked hard."
Wang Yi's mind was greatly at ease.
The agents in the South had been harvested, and the agents and exclusive stores in the North could also be harvested!
"Notify the northeastern regional agents and exclusive stores to remit payment and place orders as soon as possible. After the tenth, they will all open for business simultaneously."
"Okay,"
Zhang Chuanfang agreed, then changed the subject:
"Boss, Hu Zixuan has now handed over all rights of Hallyu Tribe to me..."
Wang Yi thought for a moment:
"You handle it as you see fit."
"Okay."
Zhang Chuanfang ended the call and immediately notified her trusted subordinate:
"The management rights of Hallyu Tribe have now been transferred to me. Immediately take over all accounts in the name of integrating funds and distributing goods to the northeastern market, and secretly audit the accounts!"
"Yes."
The subordinate understood that this was to finish off Boss Hu!
Once these accounts were audited, Hu Zixuan would be finished.
Most businesses cannot withstand an audit.
Once Hu Zixuan went in, Hallyu Tribe would completely fall into Zhang Chuanfang's hands.
Previously, Zhang Chuanfang was afraid that Hu Zixuan was vicious and merciless and would send her to jail, so she dared not defy him.
But now, Zhang Chuanfang only felt that Wang Yi was right.
Since she was worried about being sent in, why not strike first and send Hu Zixuan in first?
Even if they perished together in the end, she didn't care about serving two years.
As long as it meant Hu Zixuan served over a decade, everything would be worth it.
Anyway, the path for her daughter had been laid out!
Now, Wang Yi had given the Meiyou provincial agency for the entire Gusu Province to her daughter, Liu Zhixuan!
Even shipments were prioritized for Gusu Province!
She was just waiting for the upcoming opening to make a huge profit.
Zhang Chuanfang believed in Wang Yi's integrity.
With Wang Yi's support, even if she herself went in for two years, Liu Zhixuan would have smooth sailing!
After all, she knew her own daughter well.
Liu Zhixuan's abilities might not be outstanding, but she was very good at latching onto influential people.
She recognized Meiyou early on and clung tightly to Wang Yi's influence; she was even more shrewd than Zhang Chuanfang herself.
A classic "if you can't beat them, join them" case.
Precisely because Liu Zhixuan was so sensible, Wang Yi would not treat her unfairly!
The worst outcome would only be her serving two years, followed by a mother-daughter reunion!
But Hu Zixuan would definitely be sentenced, over a decade for sure!
Wang Yi smiled faintly:
"Hu Zixuan, you should also go in. Back then, you sent Zeng Zhi and others in. Now, the boomerang should hit you back!"
Throughout the entire process, Wang Yi did not directly intervene, nor did he even participate.
Just Hu Zixuan's enemies alone were enough to send him in!
What Wang Yi had to do was merely gather Hu Zixuan's enemies, provide support, and form an Avengers Alliance!
Wang Yi was not the type who would only passively counterattack after being bullied to the extreme every time.
On the contrary, the moment the other party showed signs of wanting to cause trouble, even before they had a chance to act, Wang Yi would strike first and directly finish off the opponent!
Of course, Wang Yi would not directly intervene, so as not to become a target of criticism.
But leveraging opposing forces to his own advantage, that was no problem.
At the same same time, other provincial agents, city agents, and exclusive stores in the North also received ordering notifications.
They began remitting payments and placing orders one after another!
However, unlike the orders from the South, the North mostly ordered "pure desire" style autumn wear, lipsticks, and a small quantity of "pure desire" style summer dresses!
Of course, Wang Yi also encouraged them to stock more summer dresses, as they could still be sold in September.
And Meiyou guaranteed that the headquarters would buy back any unsold portion and exchange it for autumn wear at 90% of the order price!
This way, the northern provincial agents, city agents, and exclusive stores had fewer worries and also ordered some "pure desire" style summer dresses!
Meanwhile, Wang Yi was scrolling through Weibo, looking at the trending topic for "Love Is Not Blind".
It was the trending topic for today's premiere ceremony!
The movie was scheduled for release on September 9th, and the premiere ceremony would be held on September 8th.
A group of celebrities, media, and some audience members were invited to the cinema to interact with the lead actors and main creative team.
Then, creating a trending topic and getting on the news was also a form of publicity.
Du Tianhua had invited Wang Yi early on!
But there were too many media at the premiere ceremony.
As a major shareholder and the first investor, if Wang Yi went, he would have to give a speech and participate in interactions, which Wang Yi found troublesome just thinking about.
He also didn't want to make a public appearance too early, so he had Song Sining attend and give the speech on his behalf.
Wang Yi, on the other hand, spent the day with Lin Shu.
Such a minor event was better left to Song Sining.
He would personally appear and make his first screen appearance when the Xingyi phone was launched!
Even telling Huang Xinyi to attend the premiere was just an excuse to ask for leave and miss two days of military training!
Wang Yi had no intention of going himself at all!
That night, Wang Yi held Lin Shu and slept very comfortably.
But over there, Huang Xinyi was furious:
"Oh, Wang Yi, so the premiere was on the 8th after all!"
"You said you'd take me to the premiere to see big stars!"
"But you stood me up!"
"You're really something! You even dared to stand up the counselor! And I approved two days of leave for you under pressure!"
"I'm keeping a tab on this, I can't let it go!"
"If you want to ask for leave again in the future, it'll be difficult; don't even think about it!"
Huang Xinyi said angrily, feeling like Wang Yi had tricked her again.
Since tricking her into wearing that sexy "pure desire" style dress, Wang Yi hadn't paid attention to her for several days.
This made Huang Xinyi extremely angry.
"Annoying Wang Yi, you're really something!"
September 9th, morning.
Lin Shu left a key for Wang Yi and also made breakfast, then went to school.
She had an important class today that she couldn't skip.
In the evening, Wang Yi also had to return to school to continue the last five days of military training.
Eating the breakfast Lin Shu made, Wang Yi felt very comfortable.
A considerate little rich lady was truly wonderful.
After breakfast, Wang Yi opened the wardrobe, which contained many new clothes.
Sportswear, shorts, vests, suits... all were there.
They were all designer brands that Lin Shu had bought for him before he arrived.
Lin Shu had even bought his underwear.
Such a thoughtful little rich lady made Wang Yi very happy.
After breakfast, Wang Yi suddenly remembered standing up Huang Xinyi, so he sent her a text message:
"Come pick me up in a bit, we're going to the cinema!"
Huang Xinyi's slender eyebrows slightly furrowed, and she replied:
"The premiere is over, what's the point of going now? Mr. Pigeon!"
Wang Yi chuckled involuntarily: "..."
Then he replied:
"There are celebrities there."
"Wait for me, I'll be right there!"
Huang Xinyi beamed with joy and quickly left the house.
"This guy actually keeps his word. Although he stood me up for the premiere, being able to see celebrities is still pretty good."
"Ye Xiaohe, Lin Zixuan! Here I come!"
Huang Xinyi wasn't very interested in male celebrities, but she was very interested in female celebrities!
For example, Ye Xiaohe's first TV series, "Days Related to Youth," where she played Qiao Qiao, became popular due to her innocent first-love face.
This show was very popular in the early 2000s; those born in the 90s and 00s might not be familiar with it, but Huang Xinyi, born in the 80s, knew it well.
And Lin Zixuan's Ruili magazine also accompanied Huang Xinyi throughout her entire student life!
"This Wang Yi guy is still quite reliable!"
Huang Xinyi immediately drove out.
(End of this chapter)
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