CHAPTER 353: 338 JI QIN GET OUT

When everyone heard this, they exclaimed, "Oh, so that’s how it is." But they didn’t have much awareness of copyright issues; as long as Zhou Yun stood there, regardless of how good Yan’s products were, they would still buy them.

The compliments in the store grew louder and louder. Tian Sangsang glanced at Ji Qin, who stood at the door, her face pale, and smiled faintly at her.

Ji Qin quickly regained her composure, returning the smile and following Tian Sangsang into a private room to discuss matters.

"Sangsang, I didn’t expect that in just a short while, you’ve opened this store. It’s truly impressive," she said, looking around.

Tian Sangsang replied, "Impressive or not, we can still collaborate."

Ji Qin, however, hesitated and showed a troubled expression. "Sangsang, winter is here, and the flower field isn’t doing well business-wise. I can’t supply you with as many flowers for now. The flower prices across various regions are rising. Believe me, I don’t want to raise the price either, but if I don’t, it’s simply unsustainable."

This was clearly using the supply chain to threaten her. Tian Sangsang deliberately put on a hurt expression and said, "This... Sister Qin, my store just opened, and I haven’t recovered much of my capital yet. Suddenly raising prices? Can’t you make a little concession? I can’t handle it. Plus, if your flower supply decreases, I definitely won’t be able to meet demand here. Look, my business is doing well enough that it might even expand to other provinces in the future."

Ji Qin was secretly delighted to hear this. That’s exactly what she wanted—to make Tian Sangsang unable to meet demand! Without her, Ji Qin, where else could Tian Sangsang find flowers? In the whole of Nanyang, only their flower field cultivated flowers. If she said a few words to the suppliers, no one would be willing to sell to Tian Sangsang.

After saying what she needed to, Tian Sangsang told Ji Qin she would think about it. Ji Qin knew this was just her saying something polite; in the end, she’d still have to come begging to her. With this thought, Ji Qin left glowing with cheer. Before leaving, she even sold Tian Sangsang a little stock.

"Sangsang," Guan Kunling called out in confusion.

"Let her enjoy herself for a few days. Don’t forget, we have Chen Ying," Tian Sangsang replied.

**

Ji Qin waited and waited, waited again, but still Tian Sangsang didn’t come to plead with her. Despite lacking a source of supply, Tian Sangsang continued selling products daily, which puzzled Ji Qin. Where was she getting her flowers?

It wasn’t until a month later, when Ji Qin saw a truck parked in front of Yi Pin Xiang Ju, and two young men and women got off, laughing and chatting with each other.

After they finished speaking, they unloaded bag after bag of goods.

Ji Qin’s intuition told her that Tian Sangsang had found a new supplier.

Ji Qin’s good mood was gone forever. Since discovering the rose moisturizing lotion could make money, she’d been longing to profit massively from it. Of the thousands of beauty products out there, she only needed to capitalize on one to strike it rich.

But when she was ready to go all-in, she discovered the formula was in Tian Sangsang’s hands, and every time she had to source inventory from her store. Being controlled by someone else—it made her incredibly irate.

At first, she thought she could take her time and wait for Tian Sangsang to eventually hand over the formula. Yet unexpectedly, Tian Sangsang opened her store so quickly, starred in a film, and her business was only getting better. Ji Qin tried using the flower supply as leverage, hoping Tian Sangsang would hand over the formula, but now Tian Sangsang had even found another supplier!

The more Ji Qin looked at Tian Sangsang, the more disgusted she felt, especially seeing her radiant smile compared to her own twenty-odd years of hardship. She had married young, only to have a husband who was violent and caused her to miscarry. After finally divorcing and starting her own business, just when she was about to succeed, Tian Sangsang had outmaneuvered her.

Ji Qin knew she shouldn’t blame Tian Sangsang, but whenever she compared herself to her, her anger skyrocketed. Why should all the good things fall to her? A handsome husband, a lovely son—more importantly, her husband adored her. Why couldn’t Ji Qin meet a man like that?

The more she compared, the angrier she became, the more unfair it all seemed. Little did she realize that while one’s background couldn’t be changed, one’s fate was in their own hands. The world was full of unfairness, but if you stopped comparing and kept a peaceful heart, there wouldn’t be so much trouble. Instead of reflecting on herself, Ji Qin placed all the blame on others, which was bound to lead to problems.

Ji Qin was now determined to go head-to-head with Tian Sangsang, openly showing her ambition and refusing to watch her actions in Tian Sangsang’s store anymore. During the days she spent selling goods, Ji Qin had also built some connections. She outright instructed people not to buy from Tian Sangsang’s store, causing her customer base to shrink somewhat.

Not only that, but suddenly the market was flooded with many new sellers hawking rose moisturizing lotion. Seeing that it was profitable, they all rushed into the industry.

But Tian Sangsang paid no mind to this. The quality of her product spoke for itself; those were nothing more than a rabble.

Ji Qin brought in two technicians from Dongzhen City and had them attempt to replicate the rose moisturizing lotion. She even handed over remaining bottles sourced from Tian Sangsang’s store for them to study.

The technicians’ eyes lit up, and after a month in isolation, they finally produced a sample. Ji Qin tried it and found it wasn’t noticeably different from Tian Sangsang’s product—it was rose moisturizing lotion.

But one of the technicians remarked, "What we made can’t compare to Yan’s formula. Hers is shockingly good; no matter how much we tweak, we can’t replicate her exact results." The issue seemed ineffable. Could the problem lie with the roses themselves?

Ji Qin shook her head. "You’ve done a great job. Let’s proceed with this version."

To Ji Qin, it was clearly identical. If Tian Sangsang could make it, her technicians certainly had no reason to fail. She had observed Tian Sangsang’s process—a mess of bottles and jars—but saw no distinguishing features. In truth, it wasn’t like that. She had simply been using Tian Sangsang’s products for so long that her skin had been well-maintained, making her initially incapable of noticing any differences.

With the product now functional, Ji Qin spared no expense in ramping up production. She manufactured a large quantity, landed a bulk order from Hong Kong, and made promises to various customers. Once these batches were sold, and she pocketed a considerable profit, she was thrilled—until people began besieging her.

"Ji Qin, your product isn’t the same as before! The rose fragrance fades too quickly!"

"That’s right! At first, there didn’t seem to be much difference, but after two days I realized this is shoddy goods! It doesn’t have that penetrating skin feel like the original!"

"The moisturizing effect is terrible! Did you cut corners? How dare you take our money for this?!"

"I can’t believe you’re this kind of person, Ji Qin! And to think we trusted you and avoided Yi Pin Xiang Ju!"

"Refund us!"

"Yeah, refund us! Pay back our money!"

"Everyone, calm down! I, Ji Qin, have always been honest and trustworthy..." Ji Qin was trembling with fear, trying to explain, but before she could finish speaking, a leaf of lettuce hit her in the face. "We’re never buying from you again!"

Not only that but on her way home, she was intercepted by people from Hong Kong.

"Ji Qin, you fraud! You sold us counterfeit goods; this is nothing like the original Yan products!"

"You’ve ruined me! Everyone rejected all the goods I sold them and demanded refunds. What are you going to do about this?!"

These people came armed with tools like axes and demanded compensation. Ji Qin had no choice but to return all the money she earned to them. Her integrity in Nanyang was completely ruined and couldn’t be salvaged. She didn’t even understand where she had gone wrong!

That day, Ji Qin stared at Tian Sangsang’s store for a long time before packing up her belongings and relocating to the neighboring Dongzhen City. As for her departure, Tian Sangsang didn’t feel much about it. After all, she hadn’t done anything—it was Ji Qin who had been recklessly flailing about.