Chapter 382: Unexpected Business Calls

Meeting Room.

The ‘Ran Bing 001’ topic was wrapped up, so Jiang Yuze and Sun Lingfeng headed out first.

In the meeting room, only Xu Chen and Nie Fei remained.

Nie Fei spoke up:

“Two things I need to mention…”

“From Jiaduobao, Vice President Gong Ming wants to come by for a visit and get acquainted…”

Kunlunshan Mineral Water has officially hit the shelves and is being promoted.

Chen Xinyi told me privately that the market feedback over the past couple of days has been excellent, all thanks to the buzz from Xie Bingran’s Asian Games win.

Apparently, some tough channels that were hard to get into agreed to stock it once they heard Xie Bingran was endorsing it.”

“Gong Ming’s visit is probably to meet you.

Most likely, he’ll thank you in person—after all, from the naming to the brand strategy and the endorser, it was all your work.

He might also want to discuss future collaborations…”

Xu Chen joked:

“Ever since Fei Jie left, I haven’t been keen on those projects anymore.

That Vice President Gong Ming didn’t even show up for something as crucial as the endorser material shoot.

He just handed it all off to a young woman like Chen Xinyi…

That’s a bit too carefree, don’t you think?”

Nie Fei smiled:

“Back when the group pushed for Xie Bingran as the endorser, there were some opposing voices.

Gong Ming was on the opposing side; he thought we should go with a film star or a famous singer…”

“It’s just a difference in professional judgment, not that he had any personal grudge or ill intent.”

Xu Chen: “Alright, if he’s coming to visit, I’ll see him.

As for future collaborations, we’ll see…”

Now that my time and energy are limited, East Morning Star Advertising will only take on bigger projects.

After Kunlunshan Mineral Water launched, there aren’t many major deals left on the advertising and branding side…”

Nie Fei nodded:

“I’ll confirm Gong Ming’s visit; it’s probably this week.”

She glanced at her phone and continued:

“There’s another visit that’s quite interesting.”

Xu Chen: “Interesting?”

Nie Fei said with a smile:

“For the ‘Ran Bing 001’ design, besides the British ‘Pearl Cat’, we also approached Chen Youjian Studio in Hong Kong…”

Back then, they were pretty arrogant—demanded five million in design fees, no haggling, and no changes allowed.”

Xu Chen: “I remember that.”

Nie Fei: “Now they’re reaching out again.

They want to visit and see if they can collaborate with ‘Ran Bing’ moving forward…”

Xu Chen looked exasperated: “I’m not about to foolishly shell out five million.”

Nie Fei: “Since they’re coming to us, the power to negotiate and choose is in our hands.

I did a bit of digging…”

These past couple of days, the buzz around Bing Ge at the Asian Games has been huge, and Chen Youjian Studio noticed.

That’s why they recalled that ‘Ran Bing Sports’ had talked about collaboration before.

Plus, ‘Ran Bing 001’ materials are starting to roll out; they’ve seen them for sure.

In design circles, it’s easy to find out that ‘Pearl Cat’ handled it, and they can see how outstanding the ‘Ran Bing 001’ design is.

So, they’re probably eyeing this project now.

From what I heard, the business director who turned down ‘Ran Bing’ back then got fired internally.”

Xu Chen shook his head helplessly:

“At first, they looked down on ‘Ran Bing Sports’, but now that Bing Ge won at the Asian Games, they’re suddenly eager to connect…”

He chuckled happily:

“Bing Ge’s the real deal—making others feel like they’re reaching above their station!”

Nie Fei: “I suggest we meet them; it won’t cost us anything.

Chen Youjian Studio is still a top-tier design team across Greater China.

Also, we need to plan out ‘Ran Bing Sports’ product lines; I haven’t discussed this with you yet.

Relying on just the ‘Ran Bing 001’ line won’t sustain the company long-term.

Expanding new lines might involve checking possibilities with Chen Youjian Studio.

Meanwhile, ‘Pearl Cat’ might raise prices for future work.

Having another option is good backup…”

Of course, in the long run, ‘Ran Bing Sports’ will need its own chief designer and team.

But that’s not urgent yet.”

Xu Chen nodded with a smile:

“Sounds good! Let’s set up a meeting!”

Nie Fei: “Alright, I’ll arrange it and let you know.”

These two unsolicited visits left Xu Chen amused and a bit bewildered.

In a way, it was Xie Bingran’s Asian Games victory that made them realize the strength and potential of ‘East Morning Star Advertising’ or ‘Ran Bing Sports’.

In this world, the rule of ‘winners take all’ still holds true.

…

…

Leaving the meeting room, Xu Chen went straight to where Sun Aimi was working.

He glanced at her screen and saw she was busy with the ‘Ran Bing 001’ page design.

Sun Aimi turned around, adjusted her round-framed glasses, and said timidly:

“Boss…”

Xu Chen: “Why are you looking at me like that? I don’t bite.

I need help with a draft…”

Sun Aimi smiled sweetly:

“Sure! What project?”

Xu Chen: “For Vanke; we still owe Vice President Yu a set of branding graphics for Vanke Group!”

Sun Aimi had been involved in the pitch, so she knew the project well.

She also knew that the boss hadn’t started the plan yet but had already secured the two million budget.

This project was basically a thank-you gift from Yu Liang at Vanke; they’d pay regardless of the outcome.

But Sun Aimi knew Xu Chen valued his professional reputation and wouldn’t just throw something together.

Sun Aimi:

“No problem! I’ll brainstorm some ideas and run them by you, boss.”

Xu Chen smiled:

“No need…”

I’ll handle the ideas.

I’ll put the plan together over the next couple of days; you just design it.”

Sun Aimi blinked her round eyes:

“Okay, boss…”

She still couldn’t figure out how her boss had such expertise.

Other ad agencies might brainstorm for ages and still not come up with a solid plan, but Xu Chen seemed to whip up groundbreaking ideas effortlessly.

The boss was just too versatile.

Suddenly, Sun Aimi remembered something, picked up an A4 document from her desk, and handed it over.

Xu Chen took it and saw it was a resume.

With her workload, Xu Chen had given Sun Aimi approval to hire an assistant, and he’d mentioned it several times.

“This is my junior from school; he’s been at Yang Lion Advertising for almost two years…”

Fei Jie has already interviewed him.

Boss, take a look at the resume; if it checks out, I’ll set up an interview for you to meet him.”

Xu Chen skimmed it and said with a smile:

“The resume looks fine; go ahead and schedule the interview. I’ll chat with him.”

Sun Aimi: “Okay, boss! I’ll set it up and let you know.”

Xu Chen suddenly recalled something and half-joked:

“I ran into Coach Cheng Hong in Doha, and she specifically asked about you…”

Sun Aimi paused, then smiled sweetly.

…

As Xu Chen was about to leave, Gu Xinxi called out to him:

“Boss, just a quick update on the Yichun project.

We’ve confirmed with Director Lou that the first ‘Jiaochun’ page launch will be before New Year’s Day at the end of the month.

Then we’ll follow the planned hype strategy…”

I’m still overseeing it with Jiao Tianbo; we’re locking down the resources now.”

Xu Chen: “No problem.

You handle the Yichun project, Teacher Gu; it should be smooth sailing.”

Gu Xinxi: “Got it!”

…

…

In the afternoon class, Xu Chen spotted Su Rong in the front row and remembered the Kun City trip at the end of the month…

During the break, Xu Chen pulled Su Rong aside for milk tea near Music Square.

It wasn’t random; he needed her help with something.

Su Rong knew Xu Chen well by now and happily joined him.

The weather was chilly, but holding a hot milk tea made it cozy.

Xu Chen said:

“Did you give Fei Jie your shoe size?

Around the 17th or 18th, the first batch of ‘Ran Bing 001’ should arrive.”

Su Rong took a sip of milk tea and said cheerfully:

“I already sent it to Fei Jie!”

She thought for a moment and added:

“I haven’t properly thanked you yet!

For taking me to Doha and introducing me to Bing Ge properly.”

Xu Chen: “No need to be formal!

If you want to thank me, I do have a favor to ask.”

Su Rong paused, then smiled happily: “Go ahead.”

Xu Chen: “Bing Ge’s life in the national team is all strict training; she rarely gets a break…”

Right after the Asian Games, the team gave her a few days off.

I plan to take her out for some fun.”

Su Rong: “Really? That’s great!

Bing Ge trains so hard; she deserves a rest!”

Xu Chen: “So…”

For the college’s New Year’s welcome party on the 30th, our class has to perform.

Can I get excused from it?

I’m just a prop, like a tree; it’s not essential.”

Su Rong blinked, then understood.

She thought for a second and said seriously:

“No problem! I’ll talk to the class monitor and sort it out for you…”

You go ahead and be with Bing Ge!”

Xu Chen felt a wave of gratitude:

“Thanks so much.”

Su Rong beamed: “Don’t mention it!”

Xu Chen: “When Bing Ge gets back to Shanghai, I’ll organize a small get-together and invite you!

Wu Feifei will be there too!”

Su Rong lit up: “Sounds fun!”

…

…

Thursday arrived in a flash.

The Asian Games were winding down, with the closing ceremony tomorrow.

If all went as planned, the ‘little rich lady’ would be back in the capital the day after, kicking off a series of high-profile events.

In the capital, an Asian Games champion would meet some truly elite figures—ones Xu Chen had no access to.

Thinking about it, he couldn’t help but envy the ‘little rich lady’s’ lofty life.

Xu Chen grabbed a quick lunch in the cafeteria and headed to the company.

Vice President Gong Ming from Jiaduobao was coming midday, so he’d meet him briefly.

…

Stepping into the office, Xu Chen sensed an odd atmosphere.

Everyone was clustered around Sun Lingfeng’s workstation, staring silently at the computer screen with strange expressions.

“What’s going on?”

Xu Chen asked.

Only then did Nie Fei and the others notice him.

“Come take a look.” Nie Fei said.

Xu Chen walked over to Sun Lingfeng’s computer.

Gu Xinxi and Sun Aimi quickly made space for the boss.

On the screen was the ‘Ran Bing 001’ website’s reservation backend.

Xu Chen’s face grew serious: “Is this accurate?”

Sun Lingfeng adjusted his black-framed glasses:

“I checked the data stream and manually reviewed the database…”

It’s pretty much spot-on.”

Xu Chen turned to Nie Fei and said with a smile:

“Now the pressure’s on!

Vice President Zhou’s machines are probably smoking!”

Nie Fei held an unlit cigarette and chuckled.

On the screen, ‘Ran Bing 001’ reservations had surpassed 100,000…

Jiang Yuze said:

“We’re limiting it to 1,000 pairs, and in just a few days, we’ve hit over 100,000 reservations…”

This is intense.”

He paused and added:

“When I was at Amazon, I handled an Adidas new product pre-sale that got about 100,000 reservations.

But that was Adidas with massive promo resources…”

Xu Chen laughed: “This calls for a celebration!

Drinks on me at the barbecue tonight.”

Everyone perked up.

“Thanks, boss!”

“Congrats to the boss!”

…

Nie Fei: “We need to review production and inventory carefully.

With reservations this high, I should talk to Zhou Junjun about it.”

Xu Chen thought for a moment and said:

“Yeah, let’s go over it…”

Stick to what we discussed last time.

Don’t get overconfident; keep inventory healthy.

We don’t have the vast stores like Nike or Li Ning to clear stock through channels.

And we can’t afford big price cuts…”

Nie Fei nodded: “Okay, I’ll check with Zhou Junjun.

Lifeng has handled Anta’s production and inventory before, so Zhou Junjun knows the industry well…”

I might need to trip to Lifeng by the end of the month to go over the numbers with her in person.

Also, I may need Fang Jun’s help.”

Xu Chen: “No issue; just talk to Fang Jun directly.”

He added:

“She’s coming over soon, so you can head out from Shanghai together.”

Nie Fei: “Perfect!”

…

At one in the afternoon, the group arrived at the East Morning Star Advertising office.

It was Gong Ming, Vice President of Jiaduobao Group.

With him were Chen Xinyi, who had worked with Xu Chen before, and his secretary, Yuan Ming.

Nie Fei knew Gong Ming and politely led him to the office, introducing Xu Chen.

Xu Chen stepped out of the general manager’s office, warm and courteous.

Gong Ming looked to be in his forties or fifties, with features typical of Guangdong locals.

He spoke with a thick Guangdong accent.

Seeing Xu Chen, he couldn’t hide his surprise:

“I heard Teacher Xu Chen was young, but I didn’t expect you to be this young…”

Xu Chen, used to such reactions, just smiled casually.

Nie Fei: “Let’s chat in the meeting room!”

She led them there.

“Teacher Xu Chen is so accomplished at a young age; it’s enviable…”

Gong Ming kept up the pleasantries; despite being older, he showed no disrespect.

After some small talk, Xu Chen asked about Kunlunshan Mineral Water’s sales.

Gong Ming was thrilled and had Chen Xinyi share some non-confidential sales data.

Gong Ming said with a touch of emotion:

“I’m here to meet you in person, Teacher Xu Chen, and to express our thanks.

The product name for Kunlunshan Mineral Water was your idea…”

And the endorser Xie Bingran that East Morning Star Advertising recommended has been a huge boost for channel expansion and sales.

You’ve probably heard about the issues Wang Laoshun faced.

Now that Kunlunshan Mineral Water is established, it’s a game-changer for our group!”