What the hell? Jiang Xiaoman, did you forget to bring your brain with you today?
What surprised him even more was that after listening to Jiang Xiaoman's complaints, Zhang Jiahui was silent for a while on the other end of the phone, and then actually asked him to answer the phone!
Jiang Xiaoman was also completely confused.
However, he soon found out why.
"I do have a list of Langshan embroiderers that I haven't yet unearthed, but I can help Xiaoman, why should I help you?"
On the other end of the phone, Zhang Jiahui's tone was not at all as gentle as when she spoke to Jiang Xiaoman. She herself had suffered enough from her own mother and younger brother, and she never had any expectations for so-called blood ties.
When Jiang Xiaoman called her just now, she did indeed hold back a trick.
The excavation of intangible cultural heritage is an ongoing and continuous task. Zhang Jiahui even set up a studio specifically for this purpose. In addition to Chen Sao and others, in the past two years she has successively discovered some older aunts and grandmothers who have learned Tu embroidery, as well as some young girls who learned some basic skills from their elders when they were young, but whose skills are not very refined.
However, these people haven't touched an embroidery needle in a long time. Although they haven't forgotten their skills, they will definitely need to undergo intensive training before they can start taking on jobs again.
Zhang Jiahui was not in a hurry to use these resources.
The cultural and creative industry is not about mass-produced goods; it's about scarcity. By appropriately controlling production volume, you can actually sell them for a better price.
Originally, she planned to explore the local resources in batches so that after the newcomers took up their posts, veterans like Sister Chen could be transferred to the "master craftsman" position, recruiting apprentices to train, one generation after another, so that the Langshan embroidery would not be lost.
She and Jiang Xiaoman have a good relationship. If Jiang Xiaoman told her today that she was going to do this business, she would definitely be able to find a group of experienced people for him without hesitation.
But what a coincidence that the person who came to demand her today was the child born to the woman who abandoned Jiang Xiaoman?
This is practically jumping on Mr. Zhang's sore spot!
If it weren't for Jiang Xiaoman herself calling, Zhang Jiahui wouldn't have bothered to give a perfunctory answer and would have hung up on the spot.
However, now that things were out in the open, Zhang Jiahui didn't bother with formalities with this brat and directly questioned him over the phone—
"Your parents sent you to Langshan to ask your brother for help. What benefits are they planning to give him?"
"Hey! You woman..." Jin Chengjie was furious.
Those rural TV dramas are all lies, aren't they?
Rural people are not easily fooled!
Before leaving, his father did tell him to bring Jiang Xiaoman into the business, and that once the project was up and running, he could give him some shares and dividends, which could be considered as compensation from his mother to Jiang Xiaoman.
But this is meant to be saved to "bestow favors" upon her mother!
The Jin family will certainly give Jiang Xiaoman the reward he deserves, but only on the condition that the feud between him and Yan Susu be resolved.
"Sorry, this is a family matter," Jin Chengjie said angrily.
"Then I can only apologize. I don't like to involve too many relatives in business. Even brothers have to keep clear accounts with me. If you want to get my resources through Xiaoman, you must show your sincerity!"
Jiang Xiaoman was surprised that Zhang Jiahui had considered things so thoroughly for him. Looking at the furious Jin Chengjie, he couldn't help but smile.
He hadn't really thought about these things. He just thought that Jinyan Group was willing to help Langshan explore its intangible cultural heritage, which would provide more job opportunities for the people of Langshan in the future. This was a good thing. He wasn't short of money now, and he never thought about having any business dealings with his birth mother's family.
Actually, if someone else had been talking to him about this, Jiang Xiaoman, being so shrewd, would definitely have gotten involved. Otherwise, why would she let him work for nothing?
But since the Jin family and Yan Susu were involved, Jiang Xiaoman really wanted to stay far away from this family, preferably not even be related to them anymore.
Jin Chengjie was worried that his appearance would steal his mother away.
He was also worried that Yan Susu would take advantage of their blood relationship to steal his biological son away.
Even without him, Yan Susu still has her son, Jin Chengjie.
But Jiang Youliang only had one son.
He himself didn't want to benefit from the Jin family's influence at all, but it was obvious that none of the people around him were pushovers.
But he knew that Zhang Jiahui's words, meant to put Jin Chengjie down, were actually meant to protect him. He couldn't stand up for someone who was kind to him, otherwise who would dare to be kind to him next time?
Faced with Jin Chengjie's outburst, Jiang Xiaoman smiled slightly, channeling her inner scheming woman, and said something particularly infuriating—
"I can't persuade Sister Zhang either! You don't know, because I've never had a mother or any brothers or sisters since I was little, all the older brothers and sisters in the village treat me like their own younger brother, afraid that I'll suffer any losses, cough~"
Jin Chengjie: "..."
I'm so angry!
He originally came to show off to Jiang Xiaoman, but now he's the one being shown off to instead.
He can't compete with his father's connections, he can't compete with his mother's connections, and now even his older siblings are trying to crush him, right?
Yes! He admitted that his half-siblings in the Jin family were indeed fighting like roosters.
Jiang Xiaoman's older brother and sister were afraid that he would suffer a loss.
Jin Chengjie's older siblings were afraid that he wouldn't die quickly enough!
Jin Chengjie really wanted to just walk away.
What Langshan embroidery? I don't care for that!
However, when he came, he had already boasted to his father that he must make some achievements this time so that when he joined the company in his senior year, his starting point would be different from others.
Moreover, the company's high-end product line is a territory that the mother and son are determined to conquer.
Thinking of how his older brothers and sisters were furious when they heard that the old man had parachuted him into the high-end product line, Jin Chengjie tried hard to suppress his surging anger and decided to talk to Zhang Jiahui again.
Zhang Jiahui didn't make things difficult for him; the sins committed by the previous generation shouldn't be repaid by the next.
If it were Yan Susu who came to find Zhang Jiahui, given her righteous and indignant nature, she would definitely tear a big chunk of flesh off this woman!
No matter how harsh her mother was to her, she still raised her. But Yan Susu abandoned Xiaoman without hesitation so that she could have a better future. Just thinking about this makes Zhang Jiahui want to smash Yan Susu's serene, saintly face!
What the hell are you pretending to be, some saintly, innocent little lotus?
I really want to make it up to Xiaoman. When you married Jin Yonghua, you received such a large dowry from that old man. Couldn't you have secretly asked someone to come to Langshan to look for your son?
Zhang Jiahui is a gossip enthusiast who loves digging up old stories; she makes sure to thoroughly understand any gossip that interests her.
The gossip about Jiang Xiaoman's background has gone viral online, even trending on social media. Of course, Zhang Jiahui will investigate the relationship between Yan Susu and the Jin family.
This investigation infuriated her.
When Yan Susu married into the Jin family and was living a life of luxury, it was during the most difficult time for Jiang Xiaoman's family.
Back then, Jiang Xiaoman lived with his father in a dilapidated old house. The father and son made a living by growing potatoes and raising pigs. While other city kids around Xiaoman's age were arguing with their parents to avoid tutoring classes, Jiang Xiaoman did all sorts of dirty and tiring work to save up for tuition by digging for herbs, catching snakes, and collecting recyclables.
Back then, if Yan Susu had any conscience at all, she could have found Jiang Xiaoman and, even if mother and son couldn't recognize each other, secretly given Jiang Youliang some money to improve their lives and prevent Xiaoman's childhood from being so difficult.
Jiang Xiaoman is not stupid. If she had focused on her studies in high school, she could have gotten into a better university and wouldn't have been unemployed right after graduation.
Zhang Jia Hui blamed all of this on Yan Su Su.
However, Jin Yan is too famous in the clothing industry. Her business is not limited to clothing. She has also invested in other profitable industries. Even an independent designer like Zhang Jiahui cannot shake such a large ship.
But what she didn't expect was that before she could figure out how to get justice for Xiaoman, the Jin family actually delivered themselves to her doorstep, and it was Yan Susu's own son who came.
Isn't this Qiaoqiao's mom opening the door for Qiaoqiao? She's home already!
If we don't rip you off, who will we rip off?!
Zhang Jiahui didn't make things difficult for Jin Chengjie, but she did make one condition of him—
Want the embroiderers she has? Sure!
The new project must give Jiang Xiaoman 5% of the shares, and Jiang Xiaoman does not need to contribute capital; instead, he can contribute his talent resources.
"Mr. Zhang, are you so sure that those embroiderers will only listen to your orders? As far as I know, these people don't seem to have signed labor contracts with your studio, do they?"
Who would have thought that Jin Chengjie, this spoiled brat, actually has some brains?
Zhang Jiahui curled the corners of her mouth, reminding him with a forced smile: "There is indeed no contract, but the best embroidery masters in the entire Langshan area are all here with me. You don't really think that just because you can embroider a couple of flowers, you can make commercially viable embroidery pieces, do you?"
Want to train new talent?
Sorry, I've already monopolized all the teacher resources.
When it comes to doing business, Zhang Jiahui is really good at grasping the key points.
It doesn't matter whether the embroiderers sign the contract or not, but all the master craftsmen with decades of experience must sign it!
When Zhang Jiahui did this, she was only worried that a competitor would try to poach her. She never expected that the first person she would deal with would be Jiang Xiaoman's younger brother from the same mother.
It can only be said that Young Master Jin was unlucky, being reborn into Yan Susu's womb at the wrong time.
Jin Chengjie: "..."
Why does this sound so familiar?
Chapter 239
After the two sides agreed on the terms, Jin Chengjie did not dare to make a decision on his own and immediately called his father, Jin Yonghua.
Jin Yonghua listened carefully to the entire negotiation process and couldn't help but smile.
"Say yes! Besides, she's practically your brother's god-sister, can't you be a little more polite to her? Can't you even call her 'sister'?"
Jin Chengjie: "..."
Why is this god-sister just as annoying as his half-sisters?
A few days after the cooperation agreement was signed, Zhang Jiahui had someone contact the prospective embroiderers who had applied but were not selected in the first batch. They were sent along with two experienced teachers.
Among the group of female apprentices, there was even a distant relative!
"Brother Xiaoman, it's been so long since you've been to our village!" A mountain girl with a clear, melodious voice like a lark grabbed Jiang Xiaoman's arm.
Jin Chengjie's eyes lit up.
The girl from the mountains in front of him was a completely different type of beauty from his girlfriend, Kang Xinyue.
Kang Xinyue has a captivating figure and striking features, making her a well-known beauty with striking features among the rising stars in the Chinese entertainment industry.
The girl from the mountains in front of me had delicate and petite features, and her bright, expressive eyes seemed to speak volumes. She was also small in stature, with a clear and sweet voice. The way she circled around Jiang Xiaoman was just like a chattering little magpie.
Surprisingly, even her name is as cute as she is.
"Little titmouse, why aren't you at home picking mushrooms? What are you doing here?"
The girl in front of him was the cousin of Jiang Xiaoman's good brother Shan Yan. However, the two families were not in the same village. Shan Que's family lived in a village called Turtle Ridge. Jiang Xiaoman had visited the village once with Lang Ying and the others when he was promoting wild mushroom cultivation.
What left a deep impression was that in Turtle Ridge, women were the heads of households. The women in the village had practiced walking marriage for generations. When they reached the age of childbearing, they would hang a red cloth on the roof of their house to indicate that the girls in the family had grown up and were willing to find a man to reproduce.