Can following the rules be called rebirth?

Chapter 319, Section 317: Stock Trading

Early in the morning, Dai Ying arrived downstairs at the guesthouse.

I had breakfast with Zhou Mingyuan and He Min, joking and laughing throughout.

As the sun gradually rose higher, it shone even brighter on the tea break area of ​​the guesthouse.

The vintage-style standing clock in the corner slowly pointed to twelve o'clock.

Why didn't they wake me up?

Suddenly, the eyes of the three people on the sofa were drawn together as if by invisible threads, all turning towards the source of the sound.

A pretty face peeked out cautiously, looking languid from just waking up.

The person who arrived was yawning; it was Du Jianuo.

She had clearly gotten up late, and quite casually at that.

She, who is usually radiant in front of the camera and full of energy when dancing, is like a fluffy, lazy little animal at this moment.

She was wearing a large white shirt, the hem of which just covered her upper thighs, revealing two straight and shapely white legs.

Barefoot, toes curled up inside the flip-flops they came with.

Her hair was a little messy, with a few strands sticking up unruly. There were also faint red marks on her face from the pillow. Her eyes were hazy, like the lingering rain and mist in Jiangnan in March, still half asleep and not fully awake.

"Eh?"

When Du Jianuo saw Zhou Mingyuan's gaze, she felt as if she had found her pillar of support and breathed a sigh of relief.

But then she noticed there were guests present, and Du Jianuo blushed even more.

"Sister Dai is here?"

Good morning~~~

She then realized that she hadn't dressed up. Looking at Dai Ying, who was impeccably groomed down to the last hair, and then at He Min, who was equally meticulous, she instinctively wanted to shrink back.

"Are you awake?"

"Does your head still hurt?"

Zhou Mingyuan spoke first, breaking the brief silence.

The man waved to her and explained to everyone, "Nono drank too much last night."

"Come here quickly, everyone's waiting for you to finish their conversation."

"Uh-huh."

Du Jianuo rubbed her eyes, took a few steps, and walked over with a clattering sound.

The oversized shirt swayed back and forth as she walked.

Sometimes it accentuates a slender waist, and sometimes it reveals the allure of the inner thighs, making it both innocent and sexy.

"Nono, sit here with me. You should eat something after your hangover."

He Min reacted very quickly, standing up immediately and almost knocking over the chair behind her.

"There is freshly squeezed orange juice and warm milk."

As she spoke, she subtly adjusted her position, naturally making room for Zhou Mingyuan in the seat next to her.

"You must have been exhausted yesterday."

Dai Ying leaned back slightly, a playful look on her face.

"I'm usually so busy with live streaming, so it's New Year's Eve, I should relax a bit."

Her words sounded like she was trying to defuse the situation, but her eyes clearly betrayed a gossipy nature.

Having witnessed the enchanting scenery of the previous night, Du Jianuo's blush, which had just faded slightly, quickly returned to her neck.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's okay, it's okay, we just started talking."

Dai Ying smiled and waved her hand, her gaze lingering on Du Jianuo's shirt for a while, her smile deepening.

"This shirt is quite unique, isn't it? It looks pretty good on."

Upon hearing this, Du Jianuo's face flushed again, and her fingers tightened slightly as she held the milk cup.

She never imagined that she would encounter a well-dressed business partner as soon as she woke up.

I should have known better than to wear Zhou Mingyuan's clothes!
"Oh, right, Nono."

Dai Ying knew how to maintain appropriate boundaries. She didn't continue joking about the shirt issue, but naturally changed the subject, her tone becoming slightly more formal.

"Just now, Mr. Zhou and I finalized some details of our subsequent cooperation."

"The launch of a new brand will heavily rely on your support in terms of traffic and content, so be prepared for a tough battle."

"Okay okay."

When work was mentioned, Du Jianuo's eyes immediately changed, and she quickly joined the conversation.

On the solid wood coffee table in front of them was an open MacBook Air, its screen displaying densely packed data tables.

The sunlight outside the window was perfect, casting golden rays that bathed half of the tea break area and left a trail on the floor.

"Mr. Zhou, now that we've signed the contract and stamped it, we're truly partners in the same boat."

Du Jianuo's addition made it easier for Dai Ying to get straight to the point.

She rested her chin on her hand, organizing her thoughts.

"To be honest, I feel half relieved."

"But the other half is still up in the air."

"I'm particularly curious about your plans for launching a new brand, especially regarding the supply chain."

"Are you planning to operate with a completely asset-light model, relying on our external partners, or do you have your own plans and strategies?"

This question is direct and gets to the heart of the matter.

It's not just about the cooperation model.

For Dai Ying, she was more concerned about Zhou Mingyuan's abilities and determination.

Is he merely trying to capitalize on the traffic for a quick in-and-out game of capital, or does he truly have the patience, capital, and courage to cultivate real industries and build a lasting brand?

Of course they are different.

Zhou Mingyuan smiled but did not answer immediately.

He slowly put the coffee cup back, leaned back, and sank completely into the sofa back, placing his hands on the edge of the armrests to meet Dai Ying's gaze.

"Sister Dai, I've thought about this question a long time ago."

The man continued.

"The supply chain is the lifeblood of a brand, especially in the apparel industry."

"I never believe that a brand that wants to grow bigger and stronger can rely entirely on the external supply chain forever. That would be like handing over its lifeline to someone else."

"But I also see many brands that, in the early stages of establishing themselves and before their business models are fully operational, blindly make heavy investments in assets and are dragged down by huge fixed costs."

"."

Dai Ying paused on the mouse, seemingly lost in thought.

"Therefore, I personally think we should proceed steadily and cautiously, step by step."

Zhou Mingyuan held up three fingers.

"First, there is our agile validation phase."

"At this stage, our core strategy is to deeply integrate and make the most of the supply chain network resources that you have cultivated in Hangzhou and even the entire Yangtze River Delta region for many years. What you showed us yesterday, as well as the huge fabric database, high-quality factory resource library, and mature QC quality control system that you mentioned, are exactly the super plug-ins we need at this stage."

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze intense.

"At this stage, what we need is speed." "By leveraging Jieyou Media's ability to generate massive traffic, combined with your flexible supply chain support for small-batch, quick-return orders, we can quickly design, quickly prototype, and quickly launch to test market response."

Dai Ying frowned and asked curiously, "President Zhou, how fast is it?"

"If it sells out, you can immediately coordinate production capacity to increase orders; if the response is lukewarm, we can immediately adjust our direction and keep the losses under control."

"This can save us at least six months of blind exploration time, as well as the cost of trial and error."

"During the verification phase, Sister Dai, your value is irreplaceable."

"Um"

Dai Ying listened very attentively, nodding slightly from time to time.

It must be said that Zhou Mingyuan has a good idea.

Many of her ideas coincided with her previous judgments, and were expressed in a more systematic way.

"Then, we should move to the stage of in-depth cooperation."

Zhou Mingyuan raised his second finger.

"A clear signal is needed to initiate this phase."

"The brand has established a firm foothold in the market, with continuously growing sales. The single-store profit model has been proven and is healthy, and annual revenue has reached a certain level."

The man set a small goal.

"Once this goal is achieved, we will begin the second step."

"At that time, I will no longer be satisfied with mere OEM cooperation."

"I will consider making strategic equity investments in one or two core contract manufacturers with whom we have the closest cooperation, and I would not rule out making controlling acquisitions if the conditions are extremely suitable."

"Acquisition?"

Dai Ying's eyes widened immediately.

"The purpose of doing this is not to take all production into our own hands; that is neither realistic nor economical."

"The goal is to gain absolute control over key production processes, stable quality control capabilities, and greater room for cost optimization."

"At the same time, during this stage, we should build a high-level pattern-making room and a small model workshop."

"Focusing on high-end customization and cutting-edge technology research and development."

"To ensure that the most representative products are presented perfectly according to our vision."

"."

Dai Ying became more and more engrossed in listening.

"Next, it comes down to brand power."

The man's gaze became distant, as if concealing a grander blueprint.

"For example, building a supply chain moat that is difficult for competitors to imitate."

"At that time, we may extend upstream and get involved in the research and development of basic fabrics, such as cooperating with top materials laboratories and universities, and investing resources to develop environmentally friendly fabrics with exclusive patents."

"Or, depending on business development needs, invest in the construction of a central warehousing and logistics distribution center to create an exceptional customer fulfillment experience."

"But these things..."

He looked away, refocused on Dai Ying's face, and said with a smile.

"All of these are based on the fact that the brand has already achieved great success and has a large enough scale and profit to support it."

"You have to walk one step at a time, and eat one bite at a time."

Dai Ying's heart was filled with turmoil.

Zhou Mingyuan really has a plan!

He saw the immediate efficiency, planned for medium-term control, and envisioned long-term industry influence.

This is by no means the mindset of a short-term speculator.

"President Zhou has great vision!"

Dai Ying gave a thumbs up, expressing her sincere admiration.

But as a shrewd partner, she naturally had to be concerned with the most practical issues.

"However, Mr. Zhou, let's talk behind closed doors."

"These three stages of yours sound exciting, but... they're all money-devouring beasts."

“Strategic investment or even acquisition of factories, building high-level pattern-making rooms and R&D workshops, and even future development of fabric R&D and intelligent warehousing. None of these can be accomplished on a small scale.”

"The amount of real money that needs to be invested continuously is not a small amount."

She picked up her coffee, swirled it gently, looked directly at Zhou Mingyuan, and spoke with a hint of probing.

"I know that Jieyou Media is a huge cash cow with a very strong ability to monetize traffic."

"But investment in real industries, especially in the supply chain."

"Now that I'm in the same boat as you, I need to know what's going on."

Is it really necessary to do this?

This issue touches upon core business secrets and financial strength.

But Dai Ying asked the question frankly and with a humble attitude; it was indeed a core issue that a deep partner needs to understand and consider.

In short, it boils down to three words.

Do you have money?
With money, everything is negotiable; without money, forget about buying the supply chain, you can only obediently accept the fate of being a supplier.

When Zhou Mingyuan heard the question, he did not show any signs of being offended or embarrassed.

Instead, he laughed.

He didn't answer immediately, but calmly picked up his tablet computer that was lying next to him and tapped the screen a few times.

Then, he turned the screen towards Dai Ying and slowly pushed it onto the coffee table in front of her.

“Sister Dai, you’re right. Since we’re allies who are in the same boat, there’s no need to hide anything.”

The man spread his hands.

"The cash flow from Jieyou is the lifeblood that sustains our brand's daily operations, marketing, and rapid expansion."

"But there are other reasons that support me in conceiving and daring to implement monetization strategies and in daring to invest in real industries."

He gestured towards the tablet, indicating that Dai Ying should look at it herself.

"Sister Dai, you might want to take a look at this. I also like to dabble in stocks occasionally."

Driven by intense curiosity, Dai Ying reached out and took the tablet computer closer.

The screen displays the trading software interface of a well-known securities company, clearly showing that the user is logged in, with four words clearly displayed at the top.

Asset Overview.

Focus your eyes.

The total assets are followed by a number with two decimal places.

Even for a seasoned businesswoman like her, who had been navigating the business world for years and was used to dealing with large sums of money, her breath caught in her throat, her heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, and her pupils involuntarily contracted slightly!
28
Two million seven hundred and thirty-six thousand eight hundred and fifty-two dollars and nine cents!
Not hundreds of thousands, not millions, but real cash assets approaching thirty million!
This is just from this one stock account!
"I go!"

Dai Ying suddenly looked up, her beautiful eyes wide with disbelief, her voice rising slightly in shock: "President Zhou... President Zhou! You... you raided the headquarters of some big shot? Or did you dig up some incredible inside information? This... this speed at which you're making money is terrifying!"

It's no wonder she lost her composure. Her MALA ACTIVE has been running for so long, but the total money the company has earned since its inception is far less than that figure.

The impact of Zhou Mingyuan's casually revealed trump card far exceeded her expectations.

Zhou Mingyuan looked at Dai Ying's shocked expression, but his smile remained calm and composed. He waved his hand as if the heart-pounding numbers were just an insignificant fluctuation in his account balance.

"Sister Dai, you're exaggerating. There's no inside information. It's just that I was lucky enough to be at the peak of last year's market rally, and I also made some minor judgments about policies and market trends."

(End of this chapter)