Chapter 390: The War Begins!

On January 16, Li Yi woke up early in the morning.

After waking up the still-sleepy Jiang Longcheng, the two of them went to the cotton mill’s staff cafeteria for a quick bite.

Since they had worked late the previous day and had even more important matters to attend to today, Jiang Longcheng hadn’t gone home to sleep but had stayed at the factory guesthouse instead.

After breakfast, the two headed straight for the factory headquarters!

Today was the launch day for their clothing line. Whether it was Li Yi, Jiang Longcheng, or the other staff and managers at the cotton mill, everyone was paying close attention to this event.

Although on the surface, this clothing business was Li Yi’s venture and had little to do with the cotton mill,

However, the factory’s staff and management all knew that the success or failure of Li Yi’s clothing business was directly tied to the factory’s very survival.

This was mainly because Li Yi currently owed the mill over 200,000 yuan in unpaid goods (originally 300,000 yuan), as well as more than half a month’s wages to several hundred workers in the production workshop.

It could be said that the mill is currently relying on this money to stay afloat, while the workers are counting on their wages to get through the New Year.

If Li Yi fails to recoup his investment, the mill won’t receive payment, and the workers won’t get their wages—and then, from top to bottom, life will become very difficult for everyone.

They are like grasshoppers on the same string—when one prospers, they all prosper; when one suffers, they all suffer.

Therefore, everyone is hoping that Li Yi’s clothing business will get off to a flying start!

The reason they were heading to the factory office first, rather than going straight to the store, was mainly because there was a batch of important materials to pick up—flyers.

Just yesterday, Li Yi had specially designed a flyer, planning to print it out and have someone hand it out at the mall entrance.

He was well aware of the promotional power of flyers these days. In an era where TV commercials have vanished and newspaper ads are scarce, the impact of a well-designed flyer is beyond imagination.

However, after finalizing the design and looking for a place to print them, he was frustrated to discover that not a single advertising agency in the entire city could handle such a job.

Furthermore, most local print shops were unable to produce the full-color flyers Li Yi required.

Fortunately, Jiang Longcheng called his second older brother, Jiang Longyin, and learned that the district’s Publicity Department had recently acquired a new batch of equipment capable of printing color materials.

Jiang Longyin then contacted the head of the Publicity Department and arranged to borrow the advanced color printer for the cotton mill’s use, finally resolving the flyer issue.

Upon arriving at the factory office, the two headed straight to the Publicity Section’s office.

When they arrived, they found the office door wide open, and could hear the hum of machinery.

Upon entering, they saw two young women sorting through the printed leaflets, while the printer beside them continued to spew out freshly printed sheets.

Hearing footsteps, the two women immediately looked up.

When they saw it was Jiang Longcheng and Li Yi, one of the women immediately put down what she was doing and walked over.

“Director, you’re here?”

Li Yi looked at the young woman’s exhausted expression and the obvious bloodshot eyes, and asked in surprise, “You haven’t been sleeping all night, have you?”

“Well, we only have one machine here, and since you ordered such a large quantity, we had no choice but to print through the night!”

“You’ve worked so hard. Thank you!”

As he spoke, Li Yi felt a deep sense of gratitude.

To think that these two young women hadn’t gone home all night, staying up to tend to this cold, lifeless machine—what a display of dedication.

Although he knew that their all-night shift was merely a requirement from their superiors and not necessarily voluntary.

But even so, Li Yi was still grateful for their efforts, and at the same time, he felt the weight of his responsibility.

A small clothing store now carried not only his dreams but also the future of every employee at the cotton mill.

Right now, thousands of people, including him, were working hard on this; if it failed, the consequences would be dire.

Hearing Li Yi’s words, the two young women both flashed shy smiles. The slightly older one hurriedly said, “You’re too kind, sir. It’s our duty!”

“So how many copies have you printed so far?” Li Yi asked again.

“We’ve printed over five thousand so far, and the remaining five thousand should be ready by noon today!”

“Alright, then we’ll take these printed copies with us first!” Li Yi said.

“Sure, we’ll help you carry them!”

“No need. Let us men handle the heavy lifting!”

After saying that, Li Yi and Jiang Longcheng loaded all the bundles of flyers—more than ten of them—onto the car.

Once in the car, Li Yi turned to Jiang Longcheng and said, “Third Brother, when we pay salaries at the end of the month, give these two ladies a 10-yuan bonus each—it’s on me!”

“Alright, it’s your money, so you call the shots!”

Jiang Longcheng then started the car and drove straight to the Dong’an Market branch near the district government.

By the time the two arrived at the Dong’an Market store, Xu Taofang and the others were already there, making final preparations before the grand opening.

The store’s sign was already up, with the two large characters “Feixue” at the top standing out prominently!

That’s right—Feixue was the brand Li Yi had created, named after Jiang Xue!

Although it was not yet eight o’clock, the store was already open, and a banner hung at the entrance.

As Li Yi had requested, a red carpet over ten meters long had been laid out in front of the door, giving the scene a festive and grand atmosphere.

Li Yi briefly inspected the store to ensure everything was in order. After confirming there were no issues, he left a few bundles of flyers behind and then headed to the flagship store at Wangfujing Mall with Jiang Longcheng.

That was where today’s main event was taking place!

…….

By the time Li Yi and Jiang Longcheng arrived at the Wangfujing Department Store, it was exactly 9:00 a.m.

After parking their car, they found the area outside the mall already packed with people waiting to shop.

Everyone was just waiting for the mall to open!

Queuing up to wait for a mall to open was indeed rare after the turn of the millennium, but it was very common at the moment.

On the one hand, with the Lunar New Year approaching, there were simply more people coming to buy holiday supplies.

On top of that, goods were still relatively scarce in those days, and many people preferred to shop early, fearing that if they arrived late, they would only get what others had left behind.

So, even before the mall opened, the area outside was already packed with people waiting to get in.

Upon seeing this, Li Yi immediately told Jiang Longcheng to wait in the car while he entered the mall through the staff entrance.

Meanwhile, inside the mall, the Flying Snow clothing store had been completely transformed!

Not only were the doors wide open, but all the staff were on duty as well.

As the star of today’s grand opening, Li Yi has high hopes for this store.

After all, from the location selection to the interior design, right down to the specific opening plan, Li Yi had personally overseen every detail.

Li Yi is well aware that this store is crucial to the success of Feixue Apparel.

After all, this store will serve as Feixue Apparel’s showcase to the public; the brand’s ability to build recognition depends entirely on it.

An Hong had just finished a motivational meeting with the sales associates when she saw Li Yi walk in and immediately went to greet him.

“Sis, how are the preparations coming along?”

Since An Hong was only temporarily filling in as store manager, Li Yi didn’t address her by her title but continued to call her “sister-in-law.”

“Everything’s ready!”

“Alright, the flyers are already printed and in the car outside!”

Li Yi continued, “Sis, while there are quite a few people outside waiting for the store to open, quickly gather a few of the female staff and come with me to the mall entrance to hand out the flyers!”

“Okay!”

After that, An Hong called out four young women and had them follow Li Yi outside to hand out the flyers.

And as the young women followed Li Yi toward the entrance, the battle waged by Li Yi and Feixue Apparel began with just a few flyers!