"Your real task is to forge this longbow for me," he said.
After hearing Li Zhicheng's words, Lin Qian was undoubtedly excited. But even though she was excited, she was still rational. She did not completely surrender to the man she admired and his ambition.
"But …" she said, "are you sure it's now?"
Under the bright light, Li Zhicheng looked at her from a very close distance with his deep and dark eyes.
"Yes. Any questions? "
His low voice brushed against her ear.
Lin Qian's ear suddenly felt itchy.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold." She turned her head and met his deep gaze. "Although New Bori has indeed taken over a large portion of our original market, Vinda has just gained a foothold and just finished a direct confrontation with SMQ. To immediately go against the industry giant New Bori, isn't it a little … a little …" too arrogant? Arrogant?
Impatient? Yes, that was the word.
"Aren't you a little impatient?" she said in a roundabout way.
Her words were reasonable. Although Li Zhicheng is a genius, I also think that you need to keep a low profile and bide your time.
He looked at her and was quiet for a few seconds.
"You think I'm a man who likes to fight?"
Lin Qian said, "… You're not?"
They sat very close to each other. His arm was on the sofa behind her. He lowered his head, and she slightly raised her head to look at him. They were obviously discussing a serious business competition, but every inch of their bodies and every breath was tinged with ambiguity.
"No." He suddenly bent his head and kissed her on the cheek, then left.
Lin Qian's heart was thumping hard …
After the kiss, although he had moved his lips away, he was still quietly staring at her with his dark and clear eyes. Lin Qian turned her face to avoid his gaze, but the cheek that was attacked by him was still burning.
Didn't my brother say that he wouldn't act rashly in the short term?
Did I misunderstand Lin Mochen's words? After all, he was a mature man. Could it be that the "rashly" he was referring to a higher level of intimate contact?
At this moment, she heard his voice again, as if the kiss was natural and didn't need to be explained. He said, "You're wrong about one thing. Vinda was not a worry-free brand. The likes of SMQ might not be able to create a competing sub-brand. But New Bori can. "
Stunned, Lin Qian looked up at him.
Although his voice was low, at that moment, every word was as heavy as a thousand pounds, falling on her heart.
"At the latest, in the second half of the year, they will be able to launch a brand that has nothing to do with New Bori. With zero or even negative profits, we'll snipe and ban Vinda. "
Lin Qian was shocked. Yes, New Bori was backed by the Zhu's Consortium, which spanned across many fields such as real estate, finance, and industrial manufacturing. They were looking at the big picture. Even if they suffered a huge loss on this brand, they could still block Aida and occupy this new market. In the long run, they would still make money, so why not? Others might not have the guts, means, and strength to do so, but New Bori and the sly and arrogant Ning Weikai might very well do so.
"So before that, we …" Li Zhicheng whispered, "kill them first."
A new marketing department had been set up in Aida's most popular subsidiary.
This seemingly quiet news spread like wildfire after the Spring Festival. It reached Chen Zheng's ears and was also sent to Ning Weikai.
To this, Chen Zheng only responded with a cold smile.
Confrontation and life and death were the unchanging rules of this market. Li Zhicheng might have set up a trap for him to jump into. However, the market would not rely on temporary tricks to compete for the long and short of the long and short. What he relied on was real fighting.
That was what SMQ had been best at for many years.
It was said that Xue Mingtao had recently brought his men to meetings, shop inspections, and even sent people to keep an eye on them. It seemed that he was ready to fight with SMQ.
Very well, let's wait and see.
At that moment, Chen Zheng didn't realize that he had already naturally regarded people at Xue Mingtao's level as his direct opponent. He also didn't realize that Li Zhicheng and Lin Qian didn't regard him as an opponent anymore.
But in New Bori's CEO office, it was a different scene.
His assistant Yuan Jun pushed a report in front of him. "Recently, SMQ and Aida have been fighting fiercely. Aida has even set up a special department for this. This is the department's functions and personnel list. "
Ning Weikai flipped through the report and smiled. "Yuan Jun, you said that we are preparing for a new brand to attack Vinda. Does that soldier who pretends to be a pig to eat a tiger think of this?"
Yuan Jun was slightly stunned.
Since the battle with Vinda, the CEO had used the phrase "soldier who pretends to be a pig to eat a tiger" to refer to Li Zhicheng, who was already famous in the industry.
"Yes," he answered.
Ning Weikai nodded. "So, how could he not have any countermeasures? He looks so calm on the surface, and he even transferred his trusted aide Lin Qian over to set up a marketing department. Heh … Is that true? He must have a backup plan. He must be plotting against me somewhere. "
Yuan Jun smiled. "It's not that easy to plot against you. But we can't let him succeed. Mr. Ning, do we need to pressure them a few more times in the market to find out the truth? "
Ning Weikai thought for a moment, but shook his head. "No need. Let's wait and see. "
He looked at the blue sky outside the window and said calmly, "Think about it. When an elephant fights with a sheep, can the elephant chase after the sheep? Who knows, it might fall into the sheep's trap. Of course, it'll wait for the sheep to run into its hooves and then stomp it to death. "
Saturday was a good day. The sun was shining, the sky was indigo, and the clouds were sparse. Early in the morning, Lin Qian was exercising in her room when her phone suddenly rang.
It was Li Zhicheng. He said concisely, "I'm downstairs."
Huh?
Lin Qian walked to the balcony with her phone in her hand. She saw Li Zhicheng leaning against his car in the shade of the trees, holding the phone and looking at her from afar.
"Come down. I'll take you to Zhang Gong. "
The weather was still very cold, and soon a thin layer of frost appeared on the car window.
Li Zhicheng was wearing the same outfit he wore in America today, but the dark gray outdoor sweater was replaced with the same gray color, which made his face look even cleaner. His hands on the steering wheel were also slender. The coldness of a soldier had weakened a bit, and he did have the temperament of a rich young master.
Many women liked to look at men's hands. Lin Qian was no exception. The color of the hands in front of her was slightly darker than his face. At first glance, they looked slender and strong. If "beautiful", "delicate", and "handsome" could be used to describe hands, then his hands were "handsome", well-proportioned, and manly. And if you looked carefully, you would find that there were actually a few shallow marks on the back of his hands. The scars were more obvious on the knuckles and the area between the thumb and index finger.
But now, his hands were no longer holding a gun or a soldier's luggage, but the empire of a company.
And … maybe in the future, he would hold her hand.
Lin Qian secretly looked at him for a while, then turned around and asked him, "You didn't … buy a lot of the same fleece in different colors, did you?"
He held the steering wheel and slowly made a steady turn, "Yes, a few."
Lin Qian was embarrassed by him.
She had indeed heard that some men would buy a dozen of the clothes they liked to save trouble. He was a clear-cut soldier, so his actions were unexpected, but reasonable.
"You don't like it?" he suddenly asked in a low voice.
These three simple words caused the little grass in her heart to flutter in the wind.
His tone was obviously asking about his girlfriend.
"No, I just think it's interesting," she answered honestly.
He looked straight ahead at the traffic, leaving only the side of his handsome face for her to see, "There has never been a woman to worry about these things for me."
Lin Qian turned her head and pretended to look at the building outside the car window.
After "slowly developing" with him, it was tantamount to condoning the growth of ambiguity.
And once ambiguity was born, it was everywhere. Every word and action was ambiguous, a look, and a hug before they really got close were also ambiguous.
But this ambiguous feeling was slightly sweet and gentle. Like a wide and bright stream, slowly seeping into her heart and drowning her little by little.
Would such an appropriate love make a man more like a man, and a woman more like a woman? More attracted to each other?
And a few days ago, the light kiss on her face, was it also because he couldn't control himself?
Li Zhicheng took Lin Qian to Spring City Street. It was the largest commercial building in Lin City, and the counter of New Bori Aida SMQ in the commercial building was also the largest and most comprehensive in the country.
Before getting out of the car, Li Zhicheng took out two hats from the car, one for himself and one for her. Lin Qian understood. After all, they were here to explore the market, so it was natural to keep a low profile. So she imitated him and pressed the brim of the hat low, then gathered her shoulder-length hair. Then she looked up at him, "Okay."
Oh no, the brim of the hat was so low that she couldn't see his face at all, only his chin.
Then she heard his voice from above, "Are you sure you can see the road?"
Lin Qian reached out her hand and lifted the brim of the hat to an angle. This way, she happened to see his eyes under the brim of the hat. His eyes were calm, deep, and indifferent. His whole temperament was the same as the day they first met.
Their eyes met, and Lin Qian's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
In such a calm and ordinary moment, she suddenly seemed to realize something. All this time, because of his identity and his shrewdness, she had ignored and ignored something.
But after seeing her face and her eyes under the brim of the hat, Li Zhicheng's eyes became quieter, deeper, and more pressing.
Such a short stare made Lin Qian's heart suddenly beat erratically.
"This hat was my high school hat, looks like it suits you very well," he said softly.
His tone was calm, but it made her little heart feel like it was being squeezed again.
Why did it seem like they were already so intimate when they were only wearing his old hat?
Today was the Lantern Festival, and the commercial building was carrying out the New Year rush. The whole building was full of people, and the music was also fast-paced. It was very lively.
Li Zhicheng took her straight to the top floor in the elevator. Because the elevator was also full of people, he naturally put his arm around her shoulders and protected her in his arms. And Lin Qian had to admit that it felt very comfortable. She even thought about how, ever since she had a short, farcical relationship with Ning Weikai in college, for so many years, every time she went to the mall, she would either be alone, watching the sweet couple opposite her, or with her female friends, watching the flirting couple opposite her.
At that time, she didn't feel anything. Even in the crowd, she still felt that she was standing very steadily. No matter how much people pushed and shoved her, she didn't move.
But everything had to be compared to make a conclusion. She had always been observant. At this moment, she could clearly feel that with his protection, the people around her didn't desperately push her like they used to. Someone really did push her, but he quickly reached out and gently blocked her. When the man turned around and saw that it was a couple, he naturally stopped squeezing back and even moved away a little. It seemed like he was trying his best to avoid offending someone else's woman's body.
Lin Qian thought that maybe this was a normal psychological reaction.
But this normal reaction brought about insignificant preferential treatment, but it brought women more sense of security and happiness than money, power, or anything else.
She looked sideways at his handsome side profile in the crowd.
When the elevator door opened, she was greeted by a row of bright outdoor product brands.
Lin Qian was slightly stunned. At this time, Li Zhicheng had already let go of her shoulder. They exchanged glances, and Lin Qian asked in a low voice, "Are you … going to do outdoor products?"
Li Zhicheng avoided answering, looked up and said, "Let's look first."
Lin Qian nodded and followed him to look at the stores one by one. First of all, the famous international brands. There was also a promotion today. But most of them were 20% or 10% off. At most, there were a few products that were 50% off. But it had already attracted a lot of customers.
But today, in terms of popularity, the outdoor store with the best business was New Bori's brand, "Yuantu." Speaking of which, New Bori had many admirable things to be able to achieve what it had today. In the field of outdoor products alone, it was almost the only one in the country that was doing well, sponsoring the national mountaineering team, inviting sports stars, and business celebrities to be their endorsements. Although the product prices weren't low, compared to international brands, it was already very affordable.
At this moment, their store was as crowded as a marketplace. There were several outdoor bags and shoes on sale, and almost everyone was buying them. Among the customers, there were old people, middle-aged people, young people in shirts and jeans, and mothers with children. There were all kinds of consumers. And because New Bori mainly made bags, bags were obviously the best-selling.
Li Zhicheng and Lin Qian leaned on the railing outside, looking at the hot sales in the store.
"Do you remember the magazine report I told you to read?" he asked in a low voice.
Lin Qian thought for a moment and answered, "Yes." It was after the battle with SMQ, in his office, they had read an authoritative magazine in the industry, and it had ranked the top ten bags of 2013.
The first place was a casual bag from New Bori.
The second place was still New Bori, with an outdoor bag. It was the hottest selling item in the store just now.
Although it was only a single product review, it also reflected the current market situation. New Bori covered the sky in the casual bag market, and in the outdoor bag market, it also outshined others.
"Yes." Li Zhicheng said softly, "We can kill two birds with one stone, and eliminate the two main brands of New Bori."
Lin Qian was stunned. She looked into his eyes, but all she saw was a bottomless darkness.
"How do we do it?" Her voice was rising a little.
Li Zhicheng didn't answer, but signaled her to follow him. The two walked to a relatively empty corridor. This time he stopped, looked at the New Bori store not far away, and asked her, "What are the characteristics of the customers?"
Lin Qian followed his gaze and quickly answered, "Although it's very frustrating, in fact, most of the people who buy domestic brands are not real outdoor users, but ordinary people."
Li Zhicheng looked at her from the side.
Lin Qian, "… Am I wrong?"
"No," he said, "What you said is exactly what I was thinking."
Lin Qian was delighted.
It was true. Most of the real professionals and enthusiasts chose international brands. It was the same for her and Li Zhicheng. For example, New Bori's products were sold to enthusiasts with limited financial resources, but more people were ordinary people who came because of the reputation.
Maybe they would never participate in an outdoor activity in their lifetime, but having outdoor products that were better than ordinary ones, not only were they durable, but they were also fashionable and prestigious.
Li Zhicheng asked again, "Who are the customers of the casual bags?"
Lin Qian said, "… Then they are completely ordinary people."
Why did he ask these two questions?
The customer base of the two products overlapped, but what did it have to do with the longbow they wanted to make?
Slow down … Did he say two birds with one stone?
At this time, she heard Li Zhicheng whisper in her ear, "What we want to make is a longbow like this: It has high-quality basic outdoor functions, is sold at the high-end price of a casual bag, has an impeccable appearance, and must be the best in the market. The brand is registered overseas, and the target customer base is ordinary city residents. "
His simple words made Lin Qian's heart beat faster in an instant.
For a long time, the creed and practice of the luggage industry was: First categorize the products, then specialize and refine them, and then spend money to build the brand.
Outdoor bags were all about working hard in the field of professional and outdoor products. They had to improve their technological content and work hard to compete with international brands. But the results were basically unsatisfactory.
Casual bags, on the other hand, had to have a variety of styles, be beautiful, constantly innovate, and the quality was enough for daily use. The two categories were clearly separated.
Even if someone had tried to introduce outdoor functions into the casual bag, it was only a small attempt. It would never be as extreme as he said. After all, everyone thought that most people in China were just curious about outdoor brands. The market demand wasn't that high.
But Li Zhicheng dared to overturn all that.
He didn't think about "working hard to specialize and refine the products, and improving the competitiveness of the company" at all. Obviously, he didn't want to spend a lot of money to pursue brands and high-end products.
He also didn't want to follow the existing consumer habits. Even though the spending power of the city residents was increasing, not many people thought that a casual bag should have outdoor functions, right? But he basically proposed a new product type that didn't exist in the market (at least not an influential brand). Or could it be called … "City Function Bag"?
If they really wanted to promote this bag, it would be equivalent to leading the consumer's needs and exploring their potential needs, instead of chasing behind the consumer.
But this idea was very practical. As he said, if this bag was waterproof, thin, fashionable, durable, made overseas, and priced … but positioned as an urban casual bag, would people buy it? Would there be a lot of people buying it? Would it attract the customers behind the two brands of New Bori?
She couldn't imagine what the market would become by then. Their new brand, maybe no one would care about it and it would die a terrible death. Or maybe … could it become famous and become the dark horse of the whole market?
Lin Qian looked up at him, her voice was strangely hoarse, "Boss."
At this moment, like before, she called him boss and nothing else.
"Boss, this concept is very good, but it's also very risky," she said, "but do you know how difficult it is to make such a perfect bag?"
Li Zhicheng's figure was tall and straight, standing beside her, looking down at her slightly blushing face, "Yes. Difficult, harder than climbing to heaven. "
The two quietly looked at each other for a while, then he opened his mouth again, his voice light and deep, "So, are we doing it or not?"
Lin Qian felt her blood rushing to the top of her head.
"Do it!"
I won't hesitate, I won't hesitate.
The road ahead is full of obstacles, but your heart is higher than the sky.
Then what else can I say?
Lower your head and practice, raise your head and shoot an eagle.
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