Volume 1: Laying the Foundation Chapter 6: First-Time Plagiarism

  Nowadays, people's clothing is very interesting. Let's not talk about ordinary civilians, the most common scene is: a person with a decent figure wears a top hat (it is said that the style of Western top hats was transmitted to the West during the Northern Song Dynasty, and some people say it was during the Tang Dynasty), wearing a blue cotton gown (the standard attire for scholars), under which is a uniform trousers, and on the feet are a pair of leather shoes or a pair of old cloth shoes with thick soles. There is also another style: wearing a top hat, outside is a two-piece satin jacket with slanted collar, underneath is still uniform trousers plus leather shoes or cloth shoes. Of course, there are also people who wear Tang suits with horse riding pants, and those who wear top hats, Zhongshan suits with horse riding pants and leather shoes. In short, from the perspective of 21st-century Chinese people, it looks extremely awkward.

  Chen Xiaoqi would not dress in a way that he thought was very awkward, for the sake of his own future and destiny, at this time he could only wear a suit. He didn't count as one of those so-called bookworms, wearing a long gown would be impossible to walk, let alone opening his mouth and saying "what's all this about" or something like that, it would be exposed in no time. The scholars of this era still paid attention to names, nicknames, and courtesy names, how could he understand these subtleties? It was better to keep a low profile!

  In his eyes, those suits were naturally not very fitting. He had originally just wanted to get one set of clothes to wear for now and think about it later. But since they came to him wanting to make custom-made clothes, what was there to be polite about? According to his usual practice when getting custom-made clothes, he let the attendant holding the clothes bring over a suit and then started picking out flaws on it.

  No matter how good something is, if you sincerely want to find fault with it, you will definitely be able to find some. If there isn't any, you can just pretend it's a problem. The customer is always right. Of course, this is the idea of several decades later. Now is the time when foreigners are in charge, and a Chinese person - even one who has returned from America - if he proposes an idea that is adopted, its feasibility is simply unimaginable to arrogant French people.

  So Chen Xiaoqi expressed his opinions one by one, from the collar of the clothes, shoulder lining, inside, pockets, cuffs, placket, and even the mouth, plus style, color, fabric and so on. Whether it's right or not is not to be discussed for now, at least those two followers were stunned, their faces didn't look good.

  Dennis was different, he basically didn't plan to listen to Chen Xiaoqi's opinion, in his mind, this was absolutely unacceptable, especially since Chen had no idea that these clothes were actually designed by Dennis himself, and in front of him, he dared to pick holes in what he thought was his masterpiece, it was simply a slap in the face.

  This is truly retribution! Earlier, he was recklessly talking nonsense about the hotel's decorations, and now others are immediately speaking ill of him. It's indeed a case of "heavenly justice" being meted out in this life! Chen Xiaoqi was picking faults with him, of course, listening on one side while refuting on the other, but as he spoke, he stopped talking.

  Chen Xiaoqi suddenly felt that no one was paying attention to him, and he turned his head to find Dennis staring intently at the vest on his body. His eyes were wide open like eggs, and he kept staring fiercely as if he wanted to pull the vest off Chen's body! Chen Xiaoqi hastily asked: "Mr. Craig! Mr. Craig?!"

  Dennis was startled and exclaimed: "Ah! Oh?"

  "Mr. Craig, is there something about me that doesn't seem right? Did you hear the questions I just asked?"

  "Dennis shook his head vigorously: "No, no, no! It's too unbelievable! Absolutely unimaginable!" He seemed resolute, but the tone was clearly one of admiration!"

  "Ah!" Chen Xiaoqi felt inexplicable about his tone. Dennis had already put one hand on his back, and with two fingers, he gently pinched the fabric to bring his eyes closer, carefully observing the texture of the woven cotton threads, especially the spiral-shaped knitting corners in the middle, which was a style he had never seen before.

  He certainly hasn't seen it, this is something woven with decades later technology, now the machines are far apart in terms of fineness of fabric, dyeing and tailoring.

  "Dennis sighed and said, 'Mr. Chen, where did you buy this vest? Do you know what kind of machine made it? Please tell me, this is simply amazing, how can they achieve such a level? Is American textile technology far superior to Europe's?"

  Xiao Qi was sweating profusely! After making a fuss for half the day, this vest still had such a big loophole! He thought he had already handled it cleanly enough, but didn't expect that one detail could cause unnecessary trouble! His mind racing, he immediately came up with an idea: "I'm very sorry, Mr. Craig, my clothes have always been bought by my parents in the city, you know, we live in a remote farmhouse, so I wouldn't know where they were bought from, let alone where they were produced. After my parents passed away, I haven't added any new clothes for a long time, so..."

  He seemed to be at a loss, shrugging his shoulders and spreading his hands. "So, Mr. Chen, do you know which city your parents were bought from?"

  Chen Xiaoqi suppressed a smile in his heart, and with a serious expression, he sighed helplessly: "This seems to be Chicago, I remember I set off from there, it's the largest city I've been to. You know, we're just relatively poor Chinese families, we can't go to big stores to buy clothes." In his heart, he thought: If you want to find something, go ahead and look for it, Chicago is huge, Illinois is even bigger, if you have the ability, go turn those places upside down, and while you're at it, pave the way for Americans.

  "Dennis was disappointed and shook his head, sighing: 'A company that can produce such a good machine should be very famous, but why haven't I heard of it? Is it just because I've been away from France for too long? This is simply unbelievable.'"

  "Ahem, Mr. Craig, I think we should continue with our research on the suit. Do you remember all the requirements I mentioned?"

  "Dennis shook his head and said, 'No, no, no, Mr. Chen, you're not a fashion designer, so I don't think you can come up with very professional suggestions. I insist that our design and production are excellent, and this dress will definitely look good on you.'"

  Chen Xiaoqi was indignant, thinking to himself, "How can this guy be so stubborn?" People say that the French are second only to the Koreans in terms of being self-righteous. Today, I see that it's really true. You're telling me what to do even when I'm ordering clothes from you? What kind of logic is this? Is there a tailor in the 21st century who dares to be so arrogant? Do you think you're Versace?

  A flame suddenly rose in his heart, Chen Xiaoqi didn't think much about it, turned around and took out the waistband from inside the bed, handed it to Dennis's eyes and said with a very cool tone: "Mr. Craig, I think you won't agree even if we talk more. How about this? You just need to design a set of clothes for me that can match this waistband!"

  Dennis's proud rooster-like head suddenly lowered as if it had been cut by a knife when he saw the belt, and his hands quickly went to study it from head to toe. The posture was so intense that one might have thought he was a fetishist! Fortunately, Chen Xiaoqi had just bought it not long ago, otherwise, I don't know if this French old brother could have enjoyed the sweat smell on it! This is a counterfeit CK belt.

  As a famous luxury brand, Calvin Klein is now very expensive. A genuine belt can sell for 5,000 yuan, which Chen Xiaoqi cannot afford. This fake one costs over 100 yuan! However, you have to say that our country's imitation ability is absolutely good. Except for the material not being as good as others, the shape, color, and even the position of the buckle hole are all identical!

  Chen Xiaoqi absolutely doesn't believe that a work from an internationally award-winning high-end brand can't take down a foreigner who ran to China to make a living and still thinks he's a professional, don't you think your family's design is the most perfect? Alright, I'll use the designs of your juniors to open your eyes!

  Dennis was indeed shocked. For people like him who think they are superior, you have to bring out their most familiar and strongest project to defeat their arrogant mentality, otherwise when communicating with them, they always think they are superior to you. Today's attitude of Dennis is quite good, in this era, ordinary Westerners look at Chinese people with a condescending attitude, will he tailor clothes for you personally? Dream on!

  Dennis watched with a "wow, wow, ah, ah!" sound coming out of his mouth nonstop, and if you didn't know better, you'd think he was enjoying himself. The sound pierced Chen Xiaoqi's eardrums, causing him to frown. He turned his head to look at the two followers and the tall accountant behind them, all three of whom had already become numb.

  Dennis came back and forth, rubbing his nose several times, before finally looking up with a face full of admiration and said to Chen Xiaoqi in a sincere tone: "Mr. Chen, you really surprised me! You must be lying to me! This belt is absolutely impossible for a poor family like yours to afford! Just the design alone is worth 100, no, 1,000 francs! I bet it's a masterpiece by some French master! Where did you find it? Please tell me!"

  Chen Xiaoqi's big eyes rolled over, and his thumb pointed at himself: "I'm extremely sorry! This belt was designed and made by me personally! You can't find a second one in this world!"

  Of course, it can't be found anymore. Let's not mention whether there are other crossers like him in this world. Even if there is, how could that person coincidentally use a counterfeit CK belt?

  "Dennis shook his head like a rattle drum and said resolutely: 'This is impossible! This is simply unbelievable! This is simply unimaginable! Do you know how much profound understanding of aesthetics, romance, grandeur, elegance and fashion is contained in this belt? That's absolutely a master-level design! Without decades of deep understanding and immersion in Western clothing and culture, how could it be so precise and profound? He's at least decades ahead!"

  Chen Xiaoqi was stunned, how could this stubborn Frenchman see so much nonsense from just a waistband? It's just a waistband, does he have to make such a big deal out of it? Other companies come up with designs like this every year, and according to him, they're all going to be classics? This joke has gone too far!

  But since the cow is already out of the barn, he certainly wouldn't admit defeat so easily. Putting on a very angry face, he said: "Mr. Craig, I appreciate your praise for my work, but your doubts about my personal abilities and cultural accomplishments make me very uncomfortable. I think you're insulting a genius!"

  Dennis suddenly remembered that some words could be said in front of his own people, but saying them in front of the small number of "returnees" from overseas would be somewhat impolite. No matter how he looked down on Chinese people in his heart, he still had to save face, so he hurriedly apologized: "Oh! I was too out of line! I'm very sorry, Mr. Chen, I absolutely didn't mean to insult you, it's just that this belt gave me such a strong shock, I simply couldn't believe it was real!"

  "You don't need to doubt, this is indeed my design. Look, I even made a special mark on it!" He pointed to the "CK" letters engraved below the buckle and the CK logo cut into the end of the belt. "You see, these two letters are my mark. The 'C' represents my surname 'Chen', and the 'K' represents my English name Klein. And apart from this belt, I have many other designs, including the design on the card head. I'm planning to register my own trademark and apply for patents for them."

  Dennis's face was incredulous and speechless, shaking his head. Chen Xiaoqi sneered and casually pulled out a piece of paper, showcasing his drawing skills with a few quick strokes, rapidly sketching out seven or eight classic and popular belt designs from later generations, focusing on the buckle design, including pin buckles, flat buckles, inner buckles, and automatic buckles. Although he didn't draw the lock style and the inside view of the waistband, it was enough to leave the Frenchman staring in awe.

  After staring at the draft paper for a long time, Dennis suddenly raised his head and stared straight at Chen Xiaoqi with a serious expression: "Mr. Chen, you just said that you haven't registered a trademark or applied for a patent yet, is that right?"

  Chen Xiaoqi nodded. Dennis suddenly jumped up like his butt was on fire, laughing loudly and saying: "Haha! Too good, too great! I'm going to get rich!"

  He grasped Chen Xiaoqi's smooth shoulders tightly with both hands and said eagerly, "Mr. Chen, let's cooperate! I believe we will definitely succeed. With your design, we will surely become the leaders of fashion in Paris. Yes, I'm certain! I've never doubted my genius! Now that I finally have the chance, Mr. Chen, please promise me you'll agree!"

  Chen Xiaoqi slightly shook his arms, seemingly effortlessly prying open Craig's hairy hands. With a serious expression on his face, he said: "Mr. Craig, if I'm not mistaken, didn't you just call me a swindler?"