Chapter 155: I Lied Again
Section Chief Yu was bewildered. “Abstract art? There’s such a style of painting?”
Given how underdeveloped information exchange was at the time—especially regarding foreign things—it was no surprise Section Chief Yu had never heard of it.
Principal Chen was just as clueless, though he didn’t suspect Su He of lying. After all, Su He and Lisa had been speaking in English, which he couldn’t understand, so he had no idea whether they had actually discussed abstract art or not.
Su He nodded seriously. “That’s right. Abstract. That’s what Lisa said. You could ask the designers at the factory. They might have heard of it—maybe they even have some books on the topic.”
Section Chief Yu, seeing Su He speak with such conviction, didn’t think she was joking. He left Su He and Principal Chen waiting in the office and went to the technical department.
At the time, design principles weren’t yet a focus, so both technical and design staff fell under the same department.
It was a while before Section Chief Yu came back.
“Little Su, I asked around. That abstract school you mentioned does exist. But as you know, foreign books are restricted, so they don’t have any on hand. How about this? I’ll gather a few people to come explain the basics to you.”
Su He nodded. “That would be very helpful, thank you.”
Section Chief Yu laughed. “You got it backward! If you can help us sell that batch of printed linen, you’d be helping me out in a big way!”
Section Chief Yu immediately took Su He to the meeting room and called over several factory designers to give Su He a crash course on abstract art theory.
Su He took out her notebook and earnestly jotted everything down, asking about key figures and representative works…
Of course, this was all just a cover. After seeing that batch of defective fabric, she had already searched the exchange for abstract artwork styles she could “borrow.”
She even had lunch in the meeting room.
Section Chief Yu was touched. Little Su is really dedicated to our textile factory’s cause!
Still, Section Chief Yu wasn’t too confident. Even if they tried to dress up the defective fabric as “Impressionist,” would Lisa really go for it?
And at $1 per meter? That seemed even less likely.
It wasn’t until around 2:00 p.m. that Su He finally put away her notebook.
She thanked the designers, then took the samples and returned to the Jinxing Hotel.
Naturally, Section Chief Yu had arranged a car to take her and Principal Chen back.
The old principal had dozed off through most of the meeting—abstract art talk was like a foreign language to him.
Back at the hotel, however, he perked up.
“Little Su, what are the odds of success?”
“One hundred percent,” Su He said with a straight face.
“…I’m going back to my room,” said the principal.
Su He washed up in her room and didn’t head to dinner until it was time to bring out the samples.
She had no choice—hotel rules prohibited her from going to Lisa’s room, and vice versa. Plus, Lisa might’ve been out during the day. Dinner was the best chance to talk.
When she saw Lisa in the dining hall, they moved to the lobby and found a seat.
“Ms. Lisa, your offer is about 10% lower than the factory’s price, so they can’t accept it.”
Lisa shrugged. “In that case, forget it.”
Su He smiled. “However, I may have found a business opportunity at the factory. If you’re interested, I’d love to tell you about it.”
Lisa leaned in slightly. “What kind of opportunity?”
Su He laid out the samples on the table. “Take a look at these first.”
Lisa examined the pieces and frowned. “These seem like printing defects, right?”
Su He gave her a thumbs up. “You’ve got a sharp eye! That’s right. These fabrics were misprinted during production. They were originally intended for export to Country R, but due to the printing issues, they’ve been sitting in storage at the textile factory. But I think this is an opportunity. In China, we have a saying: ‘picking up a bargain.’ And this one is a huge bargain!”
Lisa looked confused. “Su, I don’t understand what you mean. How could defective goods be a business opportunity?”
Su He grinned. “Because rarity makes things valuable. These defects are unique. Each piece can be made into a garment unlike any other. If you market that angle, they could fetch a great price.”
Lisa blinked, then chuckled. “Su, I’ve been in the fabric business for over ten years.”
—Implying, you can’t fool me.
Su He glanced around, then lowered her voice. “That was just the version I told the factory. Take a closer look at these samples. Don’t they look familiar?”
Lisa studied them more carefully, then shook her head. “Su, what are you getting at?”
Su He pointed at one piece. “Doesn’t this pattern look a lot like Kandinsky’s Composition IV? And this one is strikingly similar to Mondrian’s Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue.
And this one…
Ms. Lisa, in some people’s eyes, these are defects. But if you repackage them, to many customers, these could be abstract masterpieces! Especially with the coarse linen texture—it has an artsy feel to begin with…”
Lisa’s eyes lit up!
Su He was right—business is about profit, and Lisa had already spotted a huge one in Su He’s pitch.
If she branded them as “Impressionist-style” fabrics, she could definitely sell them at a premium.
But Lisa quickly reined in her excitement and replied, “Su, that’s a compelling angle, but at the end of the day, they’re still defective goods. Unless the price is extremely favorable, I won’t buy them.”
Su He nodded. “Here’s what I discussed with the factory: the original price for this batch was $1.26 per meter. If you agree to buy it at $1.2 per meter, then the previous order you placed can go through at your quoted price. This batch totals 50,000 meters, which averages out to just $1 per meter.
Back in your country, you could sell it for at least $2, maybe even $3 per meter. The profit margin is enormous! The factory doesn’t understand foreign market trends—otherwise, they’d never agree to such a low price. Opportunities like this don’t come often. You’d better decide quickly.”
Su He deliberately quoted a $0.02 higher price—so Lisa would feel like she’d bargained if she counteroffered.
Lisa’s eyes flickered constantly, clearly weighing the pros and cons.
Just then, Daniel sauntered over.
“Su, what are you two talking about behind my back?”
Su He pointed at the samples. “I’m talking business with Ms. Lisa.”
Daniel glanced at the cloth and was about to say something dismissive like ‘this stuff is ugly’—but Su He coughed lightly.
Daniel instantly changed tune. “What beautiful patterns! It’s like God spilled paint from Heaven—it’s a divine masterpiece! Prettier than anything I’ve seen in a museum!”
Oh Forgive me, Lord, I lied again!
