A Call That Changed Her Entire Life

Chapter 1576 Stepping In New Field

Darren zoomed in the video and took a closer look. In just a matter of seconds, he realized that he was looking at one of Jacob's children!

'Did Bill really do that? Why does he keep making things worse?'

Darren thought to himself while his blood started boiling. He called Bill to give him a piece of his mind, but Bill wasn't in the best mood as well. When Bill answered the phone, he spoke in a peeved tone. “What do you want?“

Darren sneered in response, “I think you know the answer to that question. Did you really think that was a good idea?“

Hearing no response from the other end of the line, Darren continued to rant. “What's the use of going after those children? To top it all off, you even failed to catch them! This is such a big mess! Jacob will surely come back at us with all his might. And all because you stupidly went after his daughter!“

Bill was so ashamed that he couldn't give a proper answer. “Uhh... I... I was just doing it for the company,“ he replied in a meek, pitiful voice.

“For the company? So should I be thanking you for your stupidity?“ Darren mockingly asked. He was so mad that his face started to turn red. A few seconds later, he added, “Your humiliating attempt at kidnapping is all over the news. If someone finds out that the KING Group is somehow involved in all of this, how are you going to deal with it?“

Bill felt so defeated at that moment that he just chose to remain silent. Unfortunately for him, Darren assumed that he didn't care about what he was telling him at all. With an even fiercer tone than before, he asked, “Hey! Are you even listening? Why won't you answer me?“

Harlan happened to hear Darren's fit of rage. He went inside his boss' office to check up on him.

As soon as Darren saw the smile on Harlan's face, he hung up the phone and asked, “What's going on?“

“I just came here to give you our recent financial report, Mr. Xu.“ As soon as Harlan was finished speaking, he walked towards Darren and handed him the document. While all of this was happening, a pleasant thought popped up in Harlan's mind. It was about how much trouble the KING Group had been in just a few months ago. But Darren's brilliant thinking had managed to bring them back from the grave. After that, every employee in the company looked up to Darren and hoped to be as great as him someday. Harlan was no exception. As a result, he was driven to do better work, more than ever.

“All right. Just tell me how we did because I'm not in the mood to read,“ Darren casually replied, but his blood was still boiling at that time.

“For now, the group's plan of selling products at very competitive prices has been very successful. Our sales have been so high that we have the whole market in the palm of our hands. I'm very inclined to say that the KING Group has now reclaimed its former glory,“ Harlan proudly exclaimed.

“Okay, thank you for telling me that. By the way, Harlan, wipe that smug look off your face.“ Darren teasingly replied with a subtle smile on his face. This new made him feel a bit of joy in his heart, but he had known from the very start that his decisions would bring them to success.

Since his boss was in a somewhat good mood, Harlan mustered up his courage and said, “Mr. Xu, I've been meaning to tell you something. Do you want to hear about it right now?“ The desire to be as brilliant as Darren gave Harlan the courage to speak about his own ideas for the company.

“What is it?“ Darren curiously asked.

“I've been thinking, there's no doubt that the company has achieved great success in the food industry. That's great and all. But we have nowhere else to turn to in case something happens to us. That's why

I've been wondering whether you should consider other industries as well. That should—“ Harlan was interrupted before he could finish his explanation.

“Ah...yes, I've been wanting to talk to you about that,“ Darren replied while his eyes started to shine brightly from the ideas that were coming into his mind. He already had his own ideas on where to take the company next, but he still gave his assistant a chance to voice his opinion. “So what did you have in mind?“

Just with those words, Harlan felt immensely flattered. With an enthusiastic smile, he replied, “Mr. Xu, what about electrical appliances?“

Unfortunately, even if Harlan thought long and hard about his answer, he still lacked the experience to know the ins and outs of certain industries. Foreign countries were already leaps and bounds ahead in the electrical appliance industry. Moreover, with their abundance of factories, they had perfected the craft of making decent products for a cheap price. Competing with these companies would surely be fatal to the KING Group.

As a final nail to the coffin, it wasn't cheap to venture into this particular industry. The group simply could not place itself in that much of a risk. Harlan's words struck a chord in Darren's heart. Even though he was extremely experienced in that particular field, he knew that this wasn't the right time to venture into it. With a frown, he tried to make Harlan realize his mistake. “I wish we could be in the electrical appliance industry. But do we really have the money for that?“ Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Harlan was utterly speechless. Darren's words made him understand how naive he still was. The only thing he had considered was that the company had enough money to start the new venture. But he hadn't considered the fact that the KING Group would go bankrupt if they failed.

Out of curiosity, Darren turned on his computer and looked at the HT Group. He was astonished to see how many industries Jacob's company was in, including food, air-conditioning, furniture, and clothing.

'I hate to admit it, but Jacob is one heck of a businessman, ' Darren thought to himself while rolling his eyes. Ever since he and Jacob had crossed paths, he had made it his goal to take over the HT Group someday.

But he hadn't expected that the HT Group would grow to astronomical proportions in just a few years. If he continued to compete with it in another field, it would surely be another tough battle.

When everything was settled, Harlan nodded his head in agreement and thought to himself, 'I guess I still have much to learn.' That being said, another idea came to his mind when he saw an advertisement of the HT Group on the computer. All of a sudden, he asked, “How about cosmetics?“

The model in the advertisement was tall and had a beautiful face.

That was all it took for Darren to clap his hands and shout in excitement, “Brilliant! Great minds do think alike!“

In the ancient times, it had been common for Chinese women to color their cheeks using flower petals as rouge and to dye their lips red. Now, centuries later, women's love for beauty was still the same. They wouldn't hesitate to buy expensive beauty products from foreign countries since the domestic market had nothing good. If they could develop something as good, or even better, than the foreign brands for a cheaper price, wouldn't the group rise to the top and become a real “king“?

“It's decided then! Let's make our own skin-care products!“ Darren cheerfully exclaimed with a smile on his face. Right after that, he added, “Harlan, go and prepare for the board meeting tomorrow.“

Harlan couldn't help but smile from ear to ear when he heard Darren's praise. He honestly hadn't expected that his proposal would be taken seriously.

The next day, at nine o'clock in the morning, all the board of directors arrived at the conference room. Darren swaggered his way onto the stage and told everyone their newfound plans.

A member of the board wasn't too pleased with the plan so he stood up and asked, “There are so many kinds of cosmetics in the market right now. I know that because my wife has tons of them in our bathroom and bedroom. This seems too big of a task for the KING Group right now. Have you considered making lipsticks or powders first just to test the waters?“

“No,“ Darren calmly replied while he shook his head and smiled. “I'm sure everyone here knows that a few years ago, there was a certain brand of lipstick that all the women kept talking about. Even to this day, their products are still popular. I don't know a single lady who wouldn't be happy if they received the products of that particular brand as a present. But in my opinion, no matter how beautiful a lipstick looks on one's lips, nothing beats a woman's confidence when she has an impeccable face. That's why I intend to start with skincare products.“

“Skincare products?“ everyone murmured while looking at each other. All of a sudden, they began to applaud and cheer for their company's new business venture.

The board of directors gladly approved the plan that same day. And Darren's brilliance was once again in the spotlight. All the employees couldn't stop talking about how the high profits of the cosmetic industry would be good for the KING Group.

The next day, the KING Group set its plan in action. All the social media influencers who had signed a contract with them were assigned to make videos hinting that the group was in the process of making skincare products. Additionally, the PR department of the KING Group searched far and wide for a beauty blogger that best fit their agenda.

This was a brand new playing field for the KING Group but everyone seemed to know just what to do. Darren's great leadership up to this point gave them the confidence and determination needed to be

successful.

Meanwhile, Darren ordered the HR department to find new recruits to work on their new products. The salary they were offering for these positions was higher than any of their competitors. As a result, there was a river of applicants submitting their resumes.

Even though Darren was the CEO, he handpicked the recruits that stood out to him. He didn't care if the person was a top university graduate or not, he just wanted them to be knowledgeable in skincare products.