Chapter 83: Joining Forces

Liu Liwa laughed heartily. When a man took the “Special Effect Pill”, it really was “can’t come up with ideas”!

Zhao Jiabi still did not understand. She could not catch the hidden meaning in his words, but seeing his unrestrained grin, she knew it was definitely not something good. She looked around and suddenly pulled out a piece of paper from her sleeve, waving it in front of Liu Liwa’s eyes. Liu Liwa froze, then clearly saw it was not just a piece of paper but also had a picture of a beautiful woman on it. The woman was bare-shouldered and exposed her back, looking extremely alluring.

Wasn’t this the first season of the Photobook Series for Wen Jun? Luckily, he had instructed Qin Wan’er to slightly alter the facial close-ups, otherwise it would be like Miss Liuyun’s indecent photos getting leaked…

No wonder Wen Jun looked at him strangely earlier. He must have been accidentally discovered by the young lady, and given his extreme loyalty to the Imperial Family, facing the future Imperial Concubine, he naturally dared not say anything.

“Did you draw this?” Miss Zhao asked with a smile.

Liu Liwa nodded readily: “Planned it!”

“Was the short skirt on the girl downstairs just now also your plan?”

“A flash of inspiration.”

“Take a look at this.”

As she spoke, Miss Zhao also pulled out two pieces of paper from her wide belt and spread them out before Liu Liwa. They also had portraits, but the focus wasn’t mainly on the people. The figures were just sketched with simple lines; the real emphasis was on the clothes they wore. One was an off-shoulder, backless dress, and the other was a puffy, pleated short skirt. Liu Liwa was astonished. These were typical fashion design drawings, similar to his creative ideas, but hers were more professional, focusing more on the characteristics of the clothing, unlike his, which emphasized the features of the person. But were there fashion designers in this era?

Zhao Jiabi, seeing his stunned expression, said very proudly: “This was also my flash of inspiration and planning. Please give me some pointers, young master.”

Just a moment ago, she called him “little brother,” and now it became “young master”—this was a typical shift when someone needed a favor. No wonder when this girl came in, she looked at him a bit strangely; she had mistaken him for a designer. But this girl was really not simple; she had independently developed into an almost professional fashion designer. Though these two design drawings were drawn with a brush, making the lines a bit thick, they still clearly expressed the creativity and features. Not simple.

Liu Liwa never underestimated the wisdom and creativity of ancient working people. The great Celestial Empire’s five-thousand-year civilization was vast and profound. In terms of clothing alone, it had once been at the forefront of world fashion. Even into the twenty-first century, Tang suits were still popular. These were the crystallized wisdom of countless fashion designers from past generations. It was just that later generations grew accustomed to enjoying the fruits of others’ labor, developing laziness—importing what could be imported, imitating what could be imitated, losing creativity but giving rise to the knockoff industry, which was truly speechless.

Looking at Miss Zhao before him, her avant-garde creativity and distinctive ideas made Liu Liwa’s spirits lift. However, her designs were a bit too avant-garde, weren’t they? With these off-shoulder, backless, and thigh-revealing designs, which woman in this feudal era would dare to wear them? So Liu Liwa asked directly: “Miss, have you worn such clothes yourself?”

“I wore them at home,” the designer lady admitted freely. “Even though I can’t wear them outside, the girls here can. By then, the men who come to visit will surely like them and will certainly look for such clothes to buy and take home for their wives or concubines. As this goes back and forth, word will spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, and slowly my Clothing Boutique will become famous throughout the land. The clothes I design will become the new trend.”

Liu Liwa saw her face glowing, full of excitement, and suddenly felt a sense of deep respect for her. This girl had an open mind, bold style, harbored the great dream of becoming a fashion designer, and possessed the courage and drive to change the world. For a society to develop and civilization to progress, it most needed such brave, driven, and creative people to emerge. Having women all over the streets change into avant-garde and sexy attire—this was simply a blessing for men.

Liu Liwa liked this kind of trendsetter who dared to innovate and brought happiness to mankind. After all, it was for social progress, to keep women cool, and to please men’s eyes. Liu Liwa naturally wouldn’t be stingy with his knowledge. He took paper and brush, swiftly drew a triangle and a strap, and patiently explained: “If you want clothing reform, it should be from the inside out…”

Perhaps because he explained too thoroughly, even detailing how to wear such things and how to enhance cleavage, Miss Zhao’s face grew redder and redder. Although her clothing designs were avant-garde, they still had limits and hadn’t reached the point of completely overturning traditions. What Liu Liwa described, however, was utterly shameless. Especially watching Liu Liwa get more and more excited as he spoke, gesticulating and tracing the shape of peaks over his chest, Miss Zhao finally couldn’t take it but still maintained her last bit of composure, saying lightly: “Lecher!”

Miss Zhao cursed him lightly, as if casually calling out Liu Liwa’s childhood nickname, which also snapped him out of his daydream. Indeed, Miss Zhao was just a designer who dared to pursue fashion, loved beauty and elegance, and had some talent. But Liu Liwa had immediately thought of underwear plus bikinis and even runway shows. This was also because he had been too deeply influenced in his previous life. In every fashion show, no matter the season’s release, models always ended up exposing something. Even small market knockoff underwear store openings would hire models to show off their figures. Breakfast shop openings would roll out red carpets and invite third-rate minor celebrities to wear see-through outfits for promotion. Whether it was fashion or pornography, no one could tell!

“I don’t know what Wen Jun bought that batch of goods for, but in any case, it’s here in the Intoxication Pavilion. This is the first battle for me to make a name. Although you’re a pervert, you’re quite clever. So, starting tonight, try to get all the girls to wear these new clothes when they receive guests. If any customers like them, you can secretly contact them to help sell for my shop. At most, I’ll give you twenty percent of the profits. But remember, spring and autumn clothes start at three Silver Taels, winter clothes at five, and summer clothes at eight. The less fabric, the higher the price!”

Miss Zhao’s eyes shone with a fierce, hot light, bursting with confidence, her admiration and infatuation with herself almost fanatical. Liu Liwa was dazzled by the intense glare, but the business concept wasn’t bad—the less fabric, the higher the price. But when he thought about it carefully, wasn’t it just as he said: selling underwear made more money.

Liu Liwa felt this was indeed a money-making opportunity. Moreover, he didn’t need to invest any capital; with the wealthy and powerful Zhao Family as backup and ample supply, even if they didn’t sell, he wouldn’t lose anything. Why not go for it? Liu Liwa said with a grin: “If you’re willing to split sixty-forty with me, I can show you sales results today…”