Chapter 60: I Am a Man Who Pursues Stability

Looking at Li Xian looking completely lifeless after finishing another bed scene, Zhang Qianjun uncharitably found it unexpectedly amusing.

He had long heard that Li Xian was homophobic, and it seemed the rumors were true.

A mischievous thought suddenly popped into Zhang Qianjun's head: in a couple of years, he should arrange for Li Xian to star in The Untamed. He wondered what it would feel like for Li Xian to play Wei Wuxian; it would definitely be very interesting.

Learning from Li Xian's assistant that he had found a girlfriend, Zhang Qianjun had the finance department advance him 100,000 yuan in salary, which was also a way to express a boss's care for his employee.

Ye Qing was a bit puzzled,

"Why did you advance him so much money?"

Zhang Qianjun looked surprised,

"Is that a lot?"

Ye Qing nodded,

"It's not a small amount. Isn't he just a college sophomore? I heard his girlfriend is also a student at the Shanghai Theatre Academy."

"Heh," Zhang Qianjun sneered,

"With a girlfriend like that, I reckon he'll end up owing the company money by the end of the year."

Ye Qing's expression instantly turned gossipy,

"You even know his girlfriend?"

Zhang Qianjun shook his head,

"I don't know her personally, just heard about her. She's the kind of girl who requires a lot of... tolerance."

Ye Qing wore a face full of question marks, failing to understand what he meant.

After dinner, the two of them hurried back to their room. It had to be said that working out had a remarkably significant effect on improving stamina for both men and women.

Having lifted weights for a while, Ye Qing's figure had noticeably gained some curve, and her thighs were much firmer, evolving from the level of delicate hand-pulled noodles to something like hearty beef noodles, which made Zhang Qianjun feel immensely gratified.

After the passion subsided, the two lay in bed chatting idly.

"Where are you going next?"

"Going home to build a factory."

A single sentence from Zhang Qianjun left Ye Qing completely baffled.

Seeing her confusion, he explained,

"I've always wanted to create a personal brand. When I go back, I plan to find a few designers, assemble a team, and set up a clothing company.

For manufacturing, I'll first find a local, quality-assured garment factory as an OEM, then hire a store manager along with a few customer service reps and warehouse managers to launch an online store first.

I'll focus on simplicity and affordability to get sales going, and then officially announce it once Fierce Battle is released."

Ye Qing was a bit skeptical,

"You're not even a traffic-driven celebrity. Can a personal brand really work?"

Zhang Qianjun chuckled and patted her backside,

"I think it can. I'm not relying on this to make a fortune anyway. If sales are decent in the future, I even plan to build my own factory and create an integrated company handling production, research, and sales.

In the manufacturing sector, the apparel industry has a very low barrier to entry. As long as you solve the sales channels and strictly control quality, you can definitely make it work."

Seeing that his mind was made up, Ye Qing didn't try to persuade him further,

"You really are strange. Other celebrities launch personal brands just to fleece fans and make money; how come you seem like you actually want to be a serious industrialist?"

Oh, absolutely, Zhang Qianjun muttered silently to himself, I'm going to make it big and strong, too.

Early the next morning, leaving a soundly sleeping Ye Qing behind, Zhang Qianjun caught the first flight back to Qiantang.

Starting a business as a wealthy person is often much easier than for an ordinary individual.

In just half a month, based on the personnel list prepared by the company's HR earlier, Zhang Qianjun and his team successively interviewed and hired several key managers.

According to the requirements of these managers, they jointly recruited the framework staff for various teams.

At the same time, relying on the connections of his Uncle Zhao, Zhang Qianjun found a stably developing, quality-guaranteed garment factory among numerous OEMs and signed relevant contracts.

With that, a clothing company that was small as a sparrow but possessed all internal organs was basically established. The Tmall flagship store was also created, waiting only for products to be listed.

Inside the conference room of Qiantang Junyi Apparel Co., Ltd.

"My requirements are very simple: comfortable, minimalist, natural, easy to match, and affordable.

Yes, you heard that right, it's just like Uniqlo, but with an extra emphasis on affordability.

The ready-made template is there; how well we actually execute it will depend on everyone's efforts.

This year is the first year of Tmall's establishment, and from what I understand, this year's Double Eleven will feature even larger-scale promotional events. I hope that in the future, these e-commerce shopping festivals every year can become growth points for our product sales.

For physical stores, I only plan to open one in Qiantang for now, located in Hubin. You all look into it and give me a few options.

Let's start with a small one, around 800 square meters, and set the opening date for October 1st.

Once Hubin in77 opens in 2014, I want to relocate the store there and open a larger one. So you all need to manage the contract terms accordingly."

After Zhang Qianjun finished speaking, the room fell somewhat quiet. Xu Huaming, the newly recruited general manager of the apparel company, hesitated before voicing his doubts.

"Boss, opening an 800-square-meter space for our very first store—isn't that taking too big a step?

Just the annual rent in Hubin will cost millions. Even if we don't have many employees, with overhead expenses and such a wide variety of clothing categories, the annual operating cost will easily exceed ten million. This..."

Old Xu didn't continue, but Zhang Qianjun understood what he was worried about.

"I don't think it's a big problem. The current economic situation is great, and we must have confidence.

Besides, I will later do product placement for my personal brand in my movies, which should guarantee a certain level of sales.

Furthermore, aren't those countless Taobao stores without even a brand name still selling quite well?

Even if some use fake orders to boost rankings, once sales pick up, there will always be a certain customer retention rate. Plus, aren't we going to pay platform advertising fees?

Don't worry, I won't let you all become unemployed within a year."

After Zhang Qianjun said this, everyone present finally relaxed a bit. Although they felt that a celebrity boss doing brick-and-mortar business was a bit unreliable, their boss seemed to have a very clear logic.

Most importantly, this boss genuinely seemed wealthy. Even if they lost money, he could afford to sustain it for a few years.

After reporting the late June film shoot to the government, although there were still many matters to follow up on, Zhang Qianjun once again set foot on a journey back to Beijing.

For no other reason than tomorrow being Huang Xiaoming's movie premiere. In Zhang Qianjun's view, if you make a promise to someone, you must show up; otherwise, you should just flatly refuse.

On the plane, Chen Xiaoyu looked at her boss beside her and finally asked the question she had been concerned about all along.

"Boss, normal celebrity brands just lend their name to collect cash. I know you don't want to fleece your fans, but it looks like you're treating this as a major focus.

The profits from this pale in comparison to your movie earnings. Even if it takes off in the future, it won't be anything staggering. You don't actually want to become China's Uniqlo, do you?"

Zhang Qianjun glanced at his assistant,

"Why not?"

Chen Xiaoyu: (՞•Ꙫ•՞)ﾉ????

Zhang Qianjun spoke again,

"Why can't I be China's Uniqlo? Since you're going to dream, why not dream big?

Besides, even if we can't get that large, imagine a manufacturing boss with thousands or even tens of thousands of employees, a supply chain spanning across the Qiantang region, capable of influencing the economy of an entire area.

Even though his annual net income might not match that of a top-tier celebrity, can you say his influence is inferior to a celebrity's?

No matter how much money a celebrity earns, it's just for themselves. Much like luxury consumption failing to stimulate the broader economy, their audience is limited.

A single scandal of marital infidelity, a prostitution arrest, or even a minor controversy is enough to ruin a top-tier celebrity's career.

But have you ever heard of a renowned corporate executive whose career was destroyed because he was arrested for prostitution and jailed for half a year?

Don't look down on manufacturing. When you are tied to the livelihoods of many ordinary people, when you can provide numerous jobs and stabilize employment in a region, you possess strategic value.

And stability is the country's most pressing concern, as well as my longest-lasting pursuit."

Chen Xiaoyu blinked her eyes,

"So, boss, are you very afraid of getting caught for prostitution?"

Hearing this, Zhang Qianjun felt a flash of exasperation,

"I'm just giving an example! When have you ever seen me interested in that kind of worker?

Besides, do I have needs that require that? Isn't Reba pretty? Isn't Liu Yifei pretty? Aren't the girls at Chinese Entertainment pretty?

I'm wholeheartedly focused on my career right now; I simply don't have the time to coddle women."

Chen Xiaoyu covered her mouth with a giggle,

"Boss, how did a normal romance get twisted into something like this? You talk as if you have so much experience."

Zhang Qianjun didn't speak, but gave the answer in his heart:

That is the story of how your boss failed repeatedly in his student days, yet won without a fight after graduation.