Chapter 347: High-Rise Encounters

Noon at Lujiazui’s Jinmao Tower.

Xu Chen parked the car in the underground garage and then took the elevator with Wu Feifei to the first floor.

They waited briefly in the lobby before spotting Nie Fei walking in from afar.

Nie Fei carried her usual air of a professional powerhouse—subtle makeup, red lips, and platinum earrings.

Wu Feifei spotted her from a distance and rushed over with a bright smile, calling out ‘Fei Jie’ while linking arms with her.

Since meeting in Osaka, they’d spent a few days together and quickly become close.

Wu Feifei was outgoing and generous, making friends easily.

Xu Chen approached with a smile too.

“Fei Jie!”

“Little President Xu!”

The two exchanged smiles, counting that as their greeting.

Nie Fei turned to Wu Feifei: “You really came for the internship!”

Wu Feifei: “Of course! I’ve already worked on two projects with Xu Chen!”

She beamed with pride.

……

On the 56th floor, in the buffet restaurant.

Sun Aimi and Gu Xinxi sat by the window and jumped up when they saw Xu Chen and the others enter.

Nie Fei, as a future company leader, got warm welcomes from the two young women, who called her ‘Fei Jie’.

Seeing Xu Chen, they still called him ‘Boss’.

Xu Chen said, “Go grab some food!”

Wu Feifei lit up: “I saw they have big hairy crabs! Let’s get some!”

With that, she dragged Nie Fei toward the buffet line.

……

Xu Chen stood by the window, gazing down from the 56th floor at the Lujiazui skyline, the Huangpu River, and the Bund across the way.

A sense of superiority washed over him.

These top hotels claimed the best spots and views, appealing to the wealthy’s desire to feel above it all.

……

The four women each grabbed a glass of white wine, while Xu Chen, who had to drive, settled for soda water.

They clinked glasses cheerfully, welcoming Fei Jie’s official join.

Wu Feifei knew her food; the whole plate of big hairy crabs she brought were males.

As the saying goes, ‘females in the ninth month, males in the tenth’—meaning eat female crabs in the ninth lunar month and males in the tenth.

Right now, it was prime time for male crabs, when they’re at their fattiest.

The young women savored the jelly-like, delicious crab roe, their eyes sparkling with joy.

Xu Chen found it amusing.

He wondered if they even knew what part of the male crab that roe came from.

……

After a couple of rounds, they moved on to desserts, and the young women dove in with delight.

Xu Chen and Nie Fei sat by the window, each with a drink, and took a moment to discuss business.

“Ran Bing 001’s” design firm—Nie Fei had already gotten quotes and initial feedback.

The Chen Youjian Studio in Hong Kong quoted too high at five million Hong Kong dollars and wouldn’t budge on price.

Xu Chen was speechless.

With the current exchange rate, that was basically five million yuan.

“Ran Bing Sports” cash flow couldn’t handle that yet.

Nie Fei continued:

“The Pearl Cat Studio in England quoted much more reasonably.

Initially, it was around three to four million yuan…

But after a couple more talks, they’re eager to expand into Greater China, so they want this job as a showcase.”

Xu Chen: “How low can we go?”

Nie Fei: “My target is one to two million; that’d be a great deal for us.

But it might be tough.”

Xu Chen thought for a moment: “Two to three million works for me.”

Nie Fei smiled: “Little President Xu, you’re so generous!”

Xu Chen: “I’ll line up a couple more ad projects to cover the cost.

Fei Jie, don’t hold back on spending. Our goal for ‘Ran Bing Sports’ is to lead the industry.”

Nie Fei didn’t say more; she just smiled and clinked glasses with Xu Chen.

“As for the team, I’ve got a few leads.

First, for the product expert, there’s a perfect candidate who won’t tap into our hiring budget.”

Xu Chen: “Oh?”

Nie Fei: “That factory your dad invested in, Lifeng Footwear…

They have a young ‘vice president’—the owner’s nephew. He’s been handling production there for years.

He’s an expert in supply chains, materials, and production, and has dealt with orders from Anta and Hongxing Erke…

I checked with your dad first, then talked to this ‘vice president.’ He can split his time and come help ‘Ran Bing Sports’ with product implementation.

Since Ran Bing’s orders will go through Lifeng’s factory, he’ll be fully invested.

It’s better than hiring outsiders…”

Xu Chen was genuinely pleased:

“That’s great!”

Nie Fei: “He’s reliable.

He manages production at Lifeng, so jumping into Ran Bing’s product design will cut out a lot of future headaches.

We can skip recruiting for the product expert role; he can take it on directly.

Though down the line, we might need to build a small team under him.”

Xu Chen: “No problem. Once ‘Ran Bing Sports’ starts making money, we’ll expand the team.”

Nie Fei nodded: “I’ll confirm with you first. If you’re good, I’ll team up with this ‘vice president’ on projects.

This week, we’re visiting a couple of material suppliers; he has the connections and knows the materials.”

Xu Chen: “I’m fine with it; you call the shots, Fei Jie.

What’s this ‘vice president’s’ name?”

Nie Fei: “Zhou Junjun. He’s a young guy.

Your dad met him in Fujian Province; they even shared a drink.

This week, I’ll travel with him, and next week we’ll both head back to Shanghai so you can meet.”

Xu Chen: “Sounds good!”

Nie Fei: “Once the design firm is set and Zhou Junjun’s on board, we can kick off product design right away.

If things go smoothly, start next week!”

Xu Chen: “Perfect— the sooner, the better!

For funding, just check with Fang Jun; I’ve coordinated it, and there’s money in the account.”

Nie Fei nodded and added:

“Then there’s the ‘e-commerce marketing’ position…

I reached out to friends in my network and got a batch of candidates.

I did phone interviews, and two stand out.

They’re both in Shanghai, so you can interview them this week and decide.”

Xu Chen: “Sure, I’ll meet them and learn a thing or two.

But ultimately, you decide, Fei Jie.”

Nie Fei smiled:

“No need to be so polite with me. I’ve talked to both, and I don’t have a strong preference—you pick one.”

Xu Chen: “Alright!”

Nie Fei added:

“One’s Jiang Yuze; he’s worked at eBay and Amazon, and handled Nike’s e-commerce operations.

He just left Amazon and has an offer from Alibaba in Hangcheng, but he’s not thrilled about it…”

Xu Chen felt a bit amused.

But it made sense.

In 2006, Taobao was just starting to boom.

For eBay and Amazon pros, Alibaba and Taobao still felt like knockoff local startups.

Little did they know, in a few years, Alibaba would become one of China’s top internet giants.

Nie Fei: “The other is Sun Lingfeng; he’s the opposite of Jiang Yuze. He joined Alibaba after graduating and does Taobao operations.

His family is in Shanghai, and his parents want him back, so he’s looking at jobs here…”

Xu Chen: “Great, I’ll chat with both this week.”

Nie Fei: “Okay, I’ll set it up.”

Xu Chen: “You don’t need to handle the details yourself, Fei Jie.

I’ve told Gu Xinxi to shift half her focus to ‘Ran Bing Sports’.

So for coordination, just go through her.”

Nie Fei smiled: “Thanks, Little President Xu!”

Xu Chen said seriously:

“I should be thanking you! In such a short time, you’ve pushed ‘Ran Bing Sports’ forward so much.

I never imagined we’d be this close to getting it off the ground.”

Nie Fei replied with a smile:

“With Bing Ge’s cool vibe, ‘Ran Bing Sports’ is bound to succeed.

If it doesn’t, I’d feel like I let you and your dad down.”

……

Nie Fei also updated him on her recent talks in the sports industry.

This included sales data and performance metrics for various sportswear categories.

It was all highly confidential, barrier-level info that was invaluable to ‘Ran Bing Sports’.

It would hugely help with future product planning, pricing, target audience selection, and communication strategies.

For instance, the original plan for ‘Ran Bing 001’ was to limit it to 1,000 pairs…

In that, how many would be men’s versus women’s shoes, and how to allocate sizes—these were detailed but crucial decisions.

Nie Fei had already thought them through, done market research, and gathered reference data and metrics.

Xu Chen couldn’t help but feel impressed again; with Fei Jie on board, things were so much more solid.

Without this info, ‘Ran Bing Sports’ would be stumbling in the dark.

Now, they had a clearer path, avoiding obvious mistakes at least.

Nie Fei said:

“Want to join me for the midsole material visits?”

Xu Chen: “I can’t free up time.

You go ahead, Fei Jie, and update me when you’re back!”

She meant the upcoming trips.

A few days ago, they’d briefly discussed it over the phone. For ‘Ran Bing 001’s’ soft, bouncy midsole foam, they’d shortlisted a few suppliers.

The main two were in Yancheng up north and Jiangsu Province.

Each had EVA iterations or the latest TPU foam.

In the next few days, Nie Fei would check out several domestic material suppliers, review the materials, and discuss procurement deals.

And that Lifeng Footwear ‘vice president,’ Zhou Junjun, would tag along.

He oversaw production, so he knew materials well.

Among potential suppliers, besides these domestic ones, there was also BASF from Germany—the partner for Adidas’s popcorn midsoles in the future.

But Nie Fei had assessed that, given ‘Ran Bing Sports’ current state, landing a deal with BASF, especially exclusive or buyout terms, was unlikely.

Xu Chen agreed they could revisit that later.

For now, ‘Ran Bing Sports’ was still starting out, so they’d be at a disadvantage in negotiations.

Once ‘Ran Bing 001’ hit the market and built some buzz and sales, dealing with suppliers would get easier.

Xu Chen remembered something and said with a smile:

“Hand over your passport, Fei Jie.”

Nie Fei: “What for?”

Xu Chen: “For the Asian Games in Doha!

I’ll have Yue Jie sort your visa and travel arrangements.”

Nie Fei chuckled:

“Wonderful! Just us two?”

Xu Chen glanced at Wu Feifei:

“And Miss Wu, of course!”

Nie Fei already knew Wu Feifei’s background as the daughter of a prominent leader.

She’d learned it from Fang Jun during their Fujian trip.

As a sharp professional, Nie Fei understood the huge significance of Wu Feifei and her father to East Morning Star Co.…

She said with a smile:

“That’s perfect. I can pair up with Feifei and help you keep an eye on her!”

Xu Chen: “Thanks so much, Fei Jie!”

……

After lunch, they lingered at the table, chatting about work.

Nie Fei passed the contact info for the two ‘e-commerce marketing’ candidates to Gu Xinxi.

Gu Xinxi would reach out and schedule Xu Chen’s interviews for the week.

Xu Chen felt no pressure interviewing these e-commerce marketing folks.

In his past life, he’d worked at Tmall for years, so he knew all the e-commerce tricks inside out.

That was another path after leaving advertising, with deep experience.

Plus, in 2006, e-commerce in China was just taking off, so Xu Chen felt like he had a major edge.

……

For the Vanke ‘Rancho Santa Fe’ proposal, Xu Chen would organize the text over the next couple of days.

Sun Aimi just needed to whip up a few simple drafts; nothing too fancy, since it was just for the pitch.

But as it was for Vanke’s founder, Wang Shi, it should have some style and formality.

Wu Feifei was eager and offered to quickly gather real estate ad materials and brochures for Aimi to use as reference.

Hearing Xu Chen was working on a Vanke project surprised Nie Fei.

She already knew about the Jeep project, which had shocked her enough…

And now, through Jeep, he’d landed a Vanke real estate gig.

Nie Fei couldn’t help but remark:

“Fast consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, autos, real estate…

You handle every category—truly a jack-of-all-trades in advertising.”

Xu Chen didn’t modest up: “Oh, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for my skills.”

……

……