Shanghai in the Republican Era

Chapter 74 The Rise and Fall of Fashion: Love, Dreams, Fabrics, and Designers in the Business World

Fashion in the Rise and Fall of a Poor Girl and a Rich Boy in the Business World of the Republic of China

A Journey of Love and Struggle in the Textile Industry

The anonymous letter buzzed in my ears like a devil's whisper, and my hands clenched involuntarily, crumpling the letter into tiny crumpled pieces. I looked up at Gu Zixuan with worry in my eyes. "Zixuan, who is behind this? Our textile factory has only just stabilized; are we about to fall into crisis again?"

Gu Zixuan's brows were also furrowed, his eyes filled with seriousness. He gently held my hand, trying to comfort me, "Fangfei, no matter who it is, we will not sit idly by. We have been through so much, we will definitely be able to turn this danger into safety."

Although Gu Zixuan's words reassured me somewhat, the unease still lingered in my heart. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. "We need to start with this letter and see if we can find any clues."

We began to examine the letter closely. The paper was ordinary, and the handwriting looked deliberately scraggly and unremarkable. I put the letter down, somewhat frustrated. "There's no clue here at all. What should we do?"

After a moment of contemplation, Gu Zixuan said, "We can start by investigating our competitors and those with whom we have had conflicts. Perhaps the mastermind is among them."

So we began to re-examine our competitors in the textile industry and those with whom we had past conflicts. In this process, we discovered a figure we had previously overlooked—Boss Chen.

Mr. Chen owns a small textile factory. We had competed with him at a trade fair before. We successfully secured a large order, while he lost out. Since then, he has held a grudge against us and has even spoken ill of us behind our backs.

"Zixuan, do you think it could be Boss Chen? He's always harbored resentment towards us, and he has a motive." I looked at Gu Zixuan with a hint of suspicion in my eyes.

Gu Zixuan nodded. "That's possible. Let's investigate his situation first."

After disguising ourselves, we arrived near Boss Chen's textile factory. I wore a simple cloth dress, my hair tied in a simple ponytail, looking like an ordinary female worker. Gu Zixuan, on the other hand, wore a worn-out worker's uniform and a hat that covered most of his handsome face.

We observed Mr. Chen's textile factory for several days and noticed that it seemed unusually busy lately. Furthermore, people dressed in strange clothing were frequently entering and leaving the factory; these people didn't appear to be ordinary workers or businessmen.

"Zixuan, look at those people. Their clothes are strange; they don't seem to be locals," I whispered to Gu Zixuan.

Gu Zixuan followed my gaze, his expression turning serious. "They look like Japanese henchmen. Could it be that Boss Chen is colluding with the Japanese?"

This discovery startled us. In 30s Shanghai, the Japanese influence was gradually expanding, and they frequently used various means to control Chinese businesses and markets. If Mr. Chen was indeed colluding with the Japanese, the threat we faced would be far more than just losing orders.

We decided to investigate further. One night, under cover of darkness, we secretly sneaked into Mr. Chen's textile factory. The factory was filled with a pungent chemical smell, and the roar of the machines was particularly jarring in the quiet night.

We carefully moved through the factory, searching for any possible clues. Suddenly, we heard an argument.

"Boss Chen, you can't go back on your promise. We'll help you suppress Lin Fangfei's textile factory, and you have to give us half of the profits," a broken Chinese voice said.

“I know, but what you’ve done has gone too far. If people find out that I’m colluding with you, I won’t be able to stay in Shanghai.” Mr. Chen’s voice sounded somewhat helpless.

"Hmph, it's too late to back out now. If you don't listen to us, your textile factory won't have an easy time either," the voice threatened.

Gu Zixuan and I exchanged a glance, our hearts filled with anger. It turned out that Boss Chen really was colluding with the Japanese behind the scenes to deal with us.

Just as we were about to rush out and expose them, suddenly a hand covered my mouth, and another hand held me tightly. I struggled in terror, and Gu Zixuan was also restrained by several people.

"Who are you? Let us go!" Gu Zixuan shouted angrily.

Those people led us to a dimly lit room where Boss Chen and the Japanese man were standing.

"Lin Fangfei, Gu Zixuan, you've really walked right into our trap." Boss Chen smiled smugly when he saw us.

“Boss Chen, how could you collude with the Japanese? How can you live with yourself?” I looked at him angrily.

Boss Chen sneered, "Conscience? In this dog-eat-dog world, only profit matters. You've blocked my path to wealth, so don't blame me for being impolite."

The Japanese man stepped forward, sized us up, and said, "You two are very clever, but your cleverness has backfired. You won't be leaving here alive today."

My heart was filled with fear, but I forced myself to remain calm. "If you dare to hurt us, your conspiracy will be exposed sooner or later."

The Japanese burst into laughter. "Expose us? Who would believe you? Once you're dead, your textile factories will be ours."

Just then, a commotion erupted outside. The door was then kicked open, and Su Yao stormed in with a group of police officers.

"None of you are allowed to move!" the police captain shouted.

It turned out that after Su Yao discovered we were missing, she guessed that we might be investigating Boss Chen, so she brought the police with her.

When Mr. Chen and the Japanese man saw the police, their faces turned deathly pale. They tried to escape, but it was too late.

The police took them away, and we breathed a sigh of relief.

"Su Yao, thanks to you, otherwise we would have been in danger." I looked at Su Yao gratefully.

Su Yao smiled and said, "We're friends, so of course we should help each other."

After this incident, our textile factory returned to normal. We continued our efforts to develop the factory, launching a series of new fashion samples that were well-received by the market.

Gu Zixuan and I cherish our relationship even more now. We often take walks together in the garden of the textile factory, enjoying rare moments of peace and quiet.

One day, while we were taking a walk in the garden, Gu Zixuan suddenly took out a small box from behind his back and handed it to me.

"Fangfei, this is for you," Gu Zixuan said with a smile.

Curious, I took the box, opened it, and found a beautiful necklace inside. A blue gemstone was set in the necklace, sparkling mesmerizingly in the sunlight.

"Zixuan, this is too precious, I can't accept it," I said, somewhat surprised.

Gu Zixuan gently took out the necklace and put it around my neck. "Fangfei, you are the person I love most. This necklace suits you perfectly."

I looked at him with emotion, my heart filled with happiness.

However, just when we thought everything was going in the right direction, I received another anonymous letter.

The letter read: "Do you think everything will be fine after you've resolved the issues with Boss Chen and the Japanese? The real danger is yet to come; your textile factory will face an unprecedented disaster."

Upon seeing this letter, my smile instantly froze on my face. What kind of conspiracy lies behind this?

Splendid Attire: A Poor Girl and a Rich Boy's Textile Legend in the Republican Era

The arduous journey of love and business

That anonymous letter was like a cold, venomous snake, tightly coiling around my heart. My hand holding the letter trembled uncontrollably, my eyes fixed on the words, as if trying to see through the malice hidden behind them.

Seeing me like this, Gu Zixuan quickly came over and gently put his arm around my shoulder. "Fangfei, don't be afraid. No matter what danger it is, we'll face it together." His voice was calm and firm, but I could still hear a hint of worry in it.

I looked up at his handsome face and forced a smile. "Zixuan, we've been through so much, but the troubles keep coming like the tide, one wave after another."

Gu Zixuan frowned, a resolute glint in his eyes. "This time, we must find the person behind this and solve this problem completely."

We began to re-examine everything about the textile factory. From raw material procurement to production processes, from sales channels to employee relations, we scrutinized every aspect. During the investigation, I discovered that although the textile factory had many orders recently, its cash flow was much slower than before.

After I told Gu Zixuan about the situation, his expression turned serious. "This is very abnormal, Fangfei. We need to find out which link in the chain went wrong."

We decided to start with the financial records. While carefully examining the accounts, I noticed several transactions were unclear, seemingly transferred to an unfamiliar account. My heart sank. "Zixuan, look here, the whereabouts of this money are very suspicious."

Gu Zixuan examined the accounts carefully, his expression turning grim. "It seems someone is tampering with things right under our noses."

Just as we were about to investigate this unfamiliar account further, Uncle Zhang, a long-time employee of the factory, approached me. His face was full of hesitation and worry.

"Miss Lin, there's something I'd like to tell you." Uncle Zhang lowered his head, avoiding my eyes.

"Uncle Zhang, please just say what's on your mind." I looked at him, a bad feeling creeping into my heart.

“Ms. Lin, I saw the factory accountant, Xiao Li, secretly meeting with a stranger. They were acting very suspiciously. Also, I heard them mention your name and Mr. Gu’s name,” Uncle Zhang said in a low voice.

Gu Zixuan and I exchanged a glance, our suspicions growing stronger. We decided to find the accountant, Xiao Li, and get to the bottom of things.

We found Xiao Li in the accounting office. When Xiao Li saw us come in, a hint of panic flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Xiao Li, we want to ask you something. There have been some problems with the factory's financial accounts lately. Do you know what's going on?” I stared into his eyes, trying to find the answer from his expression.

Xiao Li's face turned pale, and he stammered, "Miss Lin, I...I don't know. I did the accounting according to the normal procedures."

Gu Zixuan stepped forward and said seriously, "Xiao Li, you'd better tell the truth. We've discovered that several payments have been transferred to an unknown account. If you don't explain clearly, we'll have to hand you over to the police."

Upon hearing the word "police," Xiao Li's legs went weak, and he almost collapsed. He knelt on the ground with a thud, crying, "Miss Lin, Mr. Gu, I was forced into this situation. A mysterious person approached me and said that if I didn't do what he demanded, he would harm my family."

I frowned. "Who is that mysterious person? What did he ask you to do?"

Xiao Li wiped away her tears and said, "I've never seen his face. He always wore a hat and a mask. He asked me to transfer some of my funds to that unfamiliar account and also asked me to tamper with the accounts to cover up where the money went."

Gu Zixuan's eyes were filled with anger. "How could you be so easily threatened? Do you know how much damage your actions will cause to the textile factory?"

Xiao Li cried and said, "I know I was wrong, Mr. Gu. I was only doing it for my family's safety."