Chapter 241 - Someone was selling Fang JunRong her Beautifying Pills? (1)
Zhang ZhiSu brought up Jiang DeXian out of the blue. "That assistant of yours seems an overkill working with you."
Fang JunRong thought about it a little and asked tentatively, "Are you talking about Jiang DeXian? What about him?" Jiang DeXian was, indeed, a very capable one and was able to complete all of his assignments quickly and perfectly. In addition to that, having him around could also save her a lot of other hassles. Afterall, she had "inadvertently" mentioned in one of the gatherings that she would not consider anyone who was less attractive than Jiang DeXian. Many with some self-awareness had stopped trying to approach her.
"He has genius instinct when it came to data and had been doing very well in the stock market as of late."
Fang JunRong didn't know much about that. For the most part, as long as they were not breaking the law, she didn't care too much what her employees did after hours. She must respect others' privacy. She didn't know that Jiang DeXian had been playing the stock market.
She smiled and said, "It'd seem that I wouldn't have to worry about his golden age after he retires."
Zhang ZhiSu's intention was to make Fang JunRong aware. Now that she had an idea, he changed the subject.
The two chatted some about international news and Fang JunRong took off after a cup of tea and returned to her office.
After flipping through the documents that had been sitting there for the past couple of days, she looked up at Jiang DeXian. He was still wearing the suit that she had bought him from the very beginning. It made him seemed taller and more handsome. Noticing that she had been looking at him, he looked up and looked into her eyes with his sparkling ones before he turned away gently. "Boss."
Fang JunRong seemed to be pondering. "You like this suit a lot? I seem to see you wearing it all the time."
Jiang DeXian looked down. "Mmm. I bought a few that looked the same. I am already used to this style."
Fang JunRong's lips twitched. What a reason, what a reason.
What was it that she wanted to talk about? She almost digressed again.
Oh, that's right, she wanted to give him a reminder. Playing the stock market can bring in quick money but one could also easily lose one's life saving if they are not being careful. He was, after all, a very important employee of hers and has had very intact work ethics. She felt that she owed him a reminder.
She cleared her throat. "I'd like you to go and get me a book. I plan to read it on the plane. Let me think... the title is My Past Success."
This was a bestseller book a year ago. The author wrote the story based on his own life's experiences. He was an investment banker for the first half of his life and earned a lot of capital serving big corporate clients. Success after success had given him a big head and once, when the data predicted a downfall of the stock market, he tried to short sell a tremendous amount but ended up losing all of his money. He turned to writing novels instead and this particular one became a best seller both domestically and internationally and he was able to rebuild his wealth from his royalties.
Jiang DeXian was taken aback a little, then said, "Okay."
There was a bookstore in the mall not too far from their company. He didn't even need to ask anyone when he walked inside the store and was able to spot the book at the most eye-catching location. Jiang DeXian ended up buying two of them.
He stayed up all night to finish the book and launched into deep thought.
The next day, when he went into work, he said to Fang JunRong, "Truth is, I do have a few houses in the city."
As such, his boss would not need to worry about his losing all of his money in the market. When push came to shove, he could always be a landlord.
Fang JunRong smiled at him and said, "Good to hear."
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Chapter 242 - Someone was selling Fang JunRong her Beautifying Pills? (2)
Once everything domestic had been arranged, Fang JunRong took off on her overseas trip. Country X was going to be her first stop. For this trip, in addition to Jiang DeXian, she was also bringing with her Yu Huaizhen, another assistant that she had hired on toward the end of the year. As for bodyguards, she was bringing with her the two that she was most familiar with, Jian Zhao and Li Hui. Li Hui was someone sent to her from up above. Jian Zhao was quite good in martial art already but Li Hui could easily take on three Jian Zhao's.
With him there, her level of security went up by a lot.
After 17 hours of total travel time with a few transfers, Fang JunRong and her group finally arrived at City V, the capital of Country X. Duchess Capet had everything arranged for them well ahead of time and the group was taken to her castle the minute they stepped off the plane. She would have planned a welcome party had she not thought that Fang JunRong would be tired from her travel.
Fang JunRong spent two days to adjust her jetlag before she had to attend the opening ceremony of her shop.
Duchess Capet even cleared her schedule to attend the ceremony with Fang JunRong. She was a noble in Country X and had a good relationship with the people so she was quite popular in Country X. With her being there, she attracted a lot of media attention. Duchess Capet also owned a newspaper publishing company and she placed Fang JunRong's advertisement at the most eye-catching locations.
This ceremony was, doubtless, much anticipated.
As Duchess Capet had been raving about her products this entire time, there were already a lot of interest. There were layers of customers in addition to the media and the scale of the event was quite impressive.
The 200 boxes of Beautify Pills and 200 jars of Hair Growing Cream were both sold successfully, even at three times the domestic cost. As the person who set the price, Fang JunRong did not feel any guilty conscience at all. Labor cost was much higher overseas than in China. Threw on the rent on top of that, this was a very fair price. This was what she should have been selling the Beautify Pills and Hair Growing Cream at all along. The Hair Growing Cream sold even faster than the Beautify Pills. It was obvious that balding was a bigger problem outside of China than within.
They thought perhaps the first day would be the busiest day but, surprisingly, there were still people lining up on the second and third day.
Even though Fang JunRong had said that customers could purchase their items in advance online then pick up their purchases at the counter but, for some unknown reasons, the customers much prefer standing in line in person.
Fang JunRong even heard someone talking to their friend, "Her skin looked even better than it does on television. Do you think I can look like her after I use the Beautify Pills?"
"I am going to tell Jack that I won the bet! Her skin was not just effect on the screen!"
"Perhaps it is just good foundations."
Fang JunRong, "? ? ? ?"
Did she have generation gap with the younglings nowadays?
She quickly logged into an app popular overseas and looked up her own name. A few matching articles popped up.
Video clips of her and Duchess Capet from the opening ceremony had been uploaded and had a lot of views as well. Many people focused on Fang JunRong's look and expressed that her skin was flawless. It was the ideal result of skincare. Many speculated whether her skin quality was real or just effects on screen. Many had wagers going and made plans to come and check out Fang JunRong on their own.
Fang JunRong, who became the subject of people's wager decided to stop going into the shop in the next few days. After a few days of observations and seeing that the shop was doing better than she had expected, she was no longer worried.
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Chapter 243 - Someone was selling Fang JunRong her Beautifying Pills? (3)
She returned to the shop by the seventh day. This time she remembered to go in full disguise – with hat and shades. She thought about it for a little and added a scarf. She took a look at herself in the mirror. Excellent, nobody would be able to recognize her like this.
When Fang JunRong went back over, she noticed that there were even more people than before. She thought about it for a little and had it figured out. After all, the Beautify Pill was not the same as other skincare products. Other products might take a month to see any differences but Beautify Pills would bring about obvious changes to one's skin with days. Seven days were more than enough to give their customers a pleasant surprise.
As she was watching the long line quietly, she heard someone talking next to her.
"Girl, come line up here quickly! If you don't line up now, you are not going to be able to get anything today." A brown-hair girl at the end of the line said to her. The speckles on her face gave her a playful look.
Fang JunRong paused for a little and walked over to her. She asked with interest, "Are you talking to me?"
"Yeah. Are you here to buy their products? Or are you still debating over the price? This Beautify Pill is by far the best skincare product I have ever had! I have only had for a few days and could already feel it's amazing effects!
"Look. This is me from a week ago." This was a girl who'd warm up to anyone right away. She had a lot of acne on her cheeks in the picture and most of them were gone now. The smile on her was much more confident than the one in the picture.
"I was very much like you before and would only go out with scarf and mask. Looking at you now is like looking at my past self.
"You really should give this a try. I am not kidding. You can see the result after just one box. Too bad you can only buy one box at a time. I had to take a week off and stand in line every day."
This girl blew out a string of rainbow fart with her very down-to-earth words. That was enthusiasm, alright.
Fang JunRong had a very complicated look on her: Who would have thought that the day would come when someone raved about the Beautify Pills to her.
She did, however, like this enthusiastic girl a lot. Seeing how she had been waiting in line everyday and even taken time off work to do so, she was truly a real fan.
Fang JunRong thought about it a little and waved to her assistant Yu Huaizhen and had her bring back a box of Beautify Pills. She could take a box from the store as well but that meant there would be one less box for those standing in line. Everybody in line was her customer and she couldn't do that to them. She had a few more cases in her room that she brought with her as gifts. One less box would not be a problem.
It took the assistant 20 minutes to go and fetch a box of Beautify Pills. By then the girl had already got her Beautify Pills and looking happy with the elegant bag in her hand.
Fang JunRong patted her on her shoulder. The girl turned around and asked, "You haven't got yours yet?"
Fang JunRong removed her shades and handed over the box of Beautify Pills to her. Her gentle voice was like breeze in the woods. "Thank you for supporting my company. Here's a box of Beautify Pills for you."
She then put her shades back on and turned and left.
The girl looked at her slender back and her pitch-black eyes that resembled the night sky and her brows so perfect that looked drawn replayed in her mind and left a lasting impression.
A very familiar feel grasped her heart.
Slowly, she turned on her phone and pulled up the video clip of Fang JunRong and Duchess Capet. Sure enough, those eyes and brows were identical. No, they looked even better than in the video! Espeically the skin that was exposed, it was so fair and smooth that it didn't even look real.
"OOOHHHH..."
She couldn't help but let out a loud and exciting cry. With her hand over her mouth, she had a look of disbelief.
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Chapter 244 - "How come I don't know that I have a niece?" (1)
Fang JunRong stayed in Country X for about two weeks and bid farewell to Duchess Capet before taking a flight over to Country Y.
With her previous experience, her presence on the internet was up there even without the help of Duchess Capet this time. The Q&A section though, was much more intense without Mathia there to help her out. Suppressing her dubious feeling and with a slight smile on her, Fang JunRong acted as though she was very familiar of being in situations like this.
"Fang, did you know that Prince Jeff is a loyal fan of yours too?"
"Was his recent hair growth really the effect of your product?"
"Rumor had it that Prince Jeff is planning on proposing to you. Is that true?"
A flood of questions came at Fang JunRong.
Fang JunRong, "? ? ? ?"
Wait. What? What was going on?
Her brain was, all of a sudden, filled with question marks but she did not let that show. She casually brought the subject back to the news conference today. No matter how many irrelevant questions were asked, she adopted the same strategy.
After her speech was over and she had descended the stage, Jiang DeXian immediately said to her, "Prince Jeff went on a variety television show recently and part of the show was to go through one's luggage without warning. He happened to be the one chosen and they found two boxes of Hair Growing Cream in his suitcase..."
That was an equivalent to an advertisement for her in front of all Country Y's audiences.
Fang JunRong was perplexed. "Where did he get them from? Did he ask someone to get them for him from China?"
No wonder there were so many media there, it was because of the prince. This prince was the fourth in line. He was just over 30 years old and already started going bald. Rumor has it that he was quite close with Duchess Capet and the royal family worried that the two of them would become a couple in the past. No matter how young Duchess Capet looked, she was still quite a bit older than the prince. The family finally felt relieved when they saw all the beautiful women surrounding the prince and he seemed to just be friends with Duchess Capet.
Fang JunRong had a strong suspicion that they became friends because they shared the same issue. That would explain how the prince came to using the Hair Growing Cream.
That being said, she felt so lucky. Things had gone extraordinarily well for her in both Country X and Country Y.
She lowered her head and did some searches. Prince Jeff's full head of hair was glamorous, especially when the media posted pictures of him from before. The contrast was deadly. When the variety show discovered the Hair Growing Cream, Prince Jeff gave a very bright smile and said, "Oh, a friend recommended this. The founder of this was a very outstanding female and I have a lot of respect for her."
Fang JunRong facepalmed herself. Should she say that the reporters in this country totally missed the point or that they had twisted the prince's words intentionally? Obviously, the prince only said that he had a lot of respect for her because of her Hair Growing Cream. Somewhat somehow, after the articles that they had published, it had turned into him being fond of her and, one thing led onto another, it turned into the prince wanting to propose marriage to her.
Whatever. One way or another, she was able to have her merchandise advertised without spending a penny. She was quite appreciative of the prince on this front.
Just as she had expected. As opposed to being in Country X, the product that was more popular in Country Y was the Hair Growing Cream. Her original intention was to release 200 boxes a day. She brought with her 3,000 boxes and it didn't remotely look enough right now.
She still had some inventory on the Hair Growing Cream and Beautify Pills. Fang JunRong made a call and have them sent over more.
She gave her order, "Let's release 200 more boxes a day."
She thought about it some and added, "Let's change the release of Hair Growing Cream to match that of Beautify Pills. 10,000 boxes a day and 10,000 for raffling." She could not disappoint her supporters back in China.
It'd appear that baldness was a global issue and perhaps Hair Growing Cream had a better future than the Beautify Pills.
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Chapter 245 - "How come I don't know that I have a niece?" (2)
In Country Y, one could say that Fang JunRong had become famous instantly because of Hair Growing Cream. XinYun's favorite activity as of late was to take screen shots of foreign praises to show to her.
[I have never thought there would be a day when I can have such a thick head of hair. Fang is like an angel!]
[Thank you, Prince Jeff, for letting us know about this product! I will also recommend their Beautify Pills. They are equally amazing! Too bad we can only buy one box at a time.]
[I heard from my Chinese schoolmate that these two products sell for much cheaper in China. I am planning to have his friends in China help me get some.]
[This must be Chinese magic! The spell from Asia had saved us.]
Fang JunRong must admit that reading these comments made her happy. Looking back on the local news, they were all over the place.
"The Chinese woman had conquered a prince."
"What made a man regain his manly self-confidence."
These titles made Fang JunRong itching to send out lawyer letters. All she could say was these tabloids were shameless.
She could only tell herself to not read them. What one doesn't know can't hurt you. Just what was wrong with money?
Even though Beautify Pills had been shadowed by Hair Growing Cream at the beginning but money is money. As Beautify Pills gained more reputation and popularity, lines of customers would clear out the shelves every day and customers in both countries express that there were needs for more inventory.
Two hundred boxes a day was nowhere close to being enough.
As such, procurement services began to pop up. After all, it was easier to obtain Beautify Pills and Hair Growing Cream in China as more were available, not to mention that the price was only 1/3 of what they were overseas.
Per her assistant Yu Huaizhen, many of her friends who were already in the business of procurement services had added Beautify Pills to the services that they provide.
In the past, they had been buying cosmetics overseas and selling them in China. Things were very different now. Now they were making purchases domestically and selling them overseas.
As her mood suit her today, she went to check on a branch. As usual, the line was so long that it was almost wrapping around the block.
This was when Fang JunRong noticed a few individuals, with hats and facemasks, approached those in line mysteriously. She had no idea what they told the others but, quickly, those who were in line would step out of the line. Fang JunRong saw them pulling out a box of Beautify Pills from their pocket and handed over to the ones who were in line just a little while ago.
She walked straight toward them.
She happened to heard the person saying, "I have quite a few boxes of Beautify Pills here and I am only asking for 100 dollars a box. I will even give you a discount if you buy in bulk. You can also refer your friends to us. We have a lot of in stock and you can buy as many as you want. You won't need to stand in line everyday any more with no guarantee that you will even be able to get any."
"It's the exact same thing and they are much cheaper in China. Besides, we get them directly from the factory so we are able to offer them at a much more reasonable price."
Fang JunRong, too, thought it was procurement services competing with her at first but the more she heard, the odder it sounded. This was no longer procurement service; this was straight up selling knockoffs. There was no guarantee that even those in China would be able to secure any, let alone stockpiling. And getting them directly from the factory? Why wasn't her, as the founder, knew about this?
One hundred dollar in Country Y's currency was an equivalent to 700 ~ 800 yuan. That was too cheap even for China. She did not have promotions very often. And, throwing in the cost of plane tickets, the price itself was indicative of something iffy.
No customer in China would fall for this. Anyone who had been through the raffle would know how difficult it was to get their hands on Beautify Pills and Hair Growing Cream. All of the scalpers were selling them at an astronomical price. But the customers overseas were not aware of that! The only reasons that these people were able to pull off this scheme was because of the gap in the information.