Ring, ring… ring, ring…
The office phone kept ringing non-stop.
The girl in charge of taking orders tilted her head, holding one phone receiver between her left ear and shoulder, another in her right hand, and yet another in her left. A fourth phone, just a short distance away, was still ringing.
A phone that was usually quiet had suddenly erupted with an endless stream of calls, leaving her flustered.
No matter which business call she finished, another would immediately take its place, countless people were calling back-to-back.
And every single one of them was asking the same question:
"How can I become a distributor for your wine?"
The young woman barely had time to catch her breath, let alone take a sip of water. It felt like she was on a battlefield.
Across the office, customer service representatives were frantically typing away on their keyboards, responding to a flood of inquiries. Some customers were asking about the ordering process, while others were eager to know about delivery times and logistics.
The once relaxed office atmosphere had suddenly turned chaotic. The surge in orders and customer demand had thrown the entire operation into overdrive. Even the warehouse had triggered a stock shortage alert.
In the two offices separated by glass partitions, Su Zhijun and Gao Jianguo were just as busy.
Regular customers were calling non-stop, eager for updates. Many were placing additional orders on the spot, while some were even pre-booking stock for next year and in significant quantities.
Everything pointed to one clear fact:
Their imported Chilean wine was selling like crazy.
Online sales, physical store distribution, wholesale partnerships every channel was experiencing an explosion in demand.
Businesspeople from across the country, especially those with a keen sense for trends, were scrambling to inquire about becoming regional agents for their brand. Some of them were major players in the industry, including companies that had previously turned them down.
Now, those same companies were chasing them down instead.
But neither Su Zhijun nor Gao Jianguo felt particularly overjoyed.
Because right now, demand far exceeded supply.
…
"Lao Su, there are too many smart people in this world—especially in business."
During the lunch break, Gao Jianguo stepped into Su Zhijun's office, sighing.
In just a matter of days, their warehouse had almost completely run out of stock.
Even the batch of goods still en route across the Pacific Ocean had already been sold out in advance.
Their only option now was to push Chilean production into overdrive and hope they could keep up.
"This wave of publicity was too successful," Su Zhijun admitted, shaking his head. "I never expected it to take off like this."
He had arranged for press releases across multiple domestic media outlets, hoping to boost their exposure.
But he never imagined it would spark such a massive reaction.
Gao Shen, Ferguson, luxury wine, the Champions League semifinals, a perfect storm of high-profile elements had combined to catapult their brand into the spotlight.
And as the hype grew, channels that had previously ignored them were now lining up to do business.
There was no doubt about it, Gao Shen's popularity in China was off the charts.
And all of this stemmed from one idea.
Thinking back, Su Zhijun couldn't help but admire Gao Shen's foresight.
When he first agreed to join Gao Shen's company, he never imagined it would grow this fast.
Especially in the past few days, in just three or four days, their order volume had surpassed two months' worth of sales.
They simply couldn't keep up with demand.
Now, both Gao Jianguo and Su Zhijun had just one word to describe Gao Shen:
Respect.
"Last night, Xiaoqing called me to discuss the situation," Su Zhijun said, motioning for Gao Jianguo to take a seat on the sofa. He poured some tea, taking a rare moment to breathe.
"She thinks the current surge in demand is a huge opportunity, but we have to stay rational and level-headed. We need to grow our distribution network carefully, without rushing."
"Our focus should be on finding long-term partners, businesses that are truly committed and capable of working with us long-term. Not those who are just looking to ride the hype and make a quick profit. It's better to go slow and steady than to rush and run into problems."
"I completely agree," Gao Jianguo nodded. "First of all, our inventory just can't support rapid expansion right now. Secondly, we don't have the manpower to handle an explosion of new orders. If we stretch ourselves too thin, we'll collapse under our own success."
"And there's one more thing," Su Zhijun added.
"I told Xiaoqing that I plan to expand our production capacity in Chile. She agreed but she also stressed one key condition."
"Quality must be guaranteed. We cannot compromise our brand, and even more importantly, we cannot damage Gao Shen's brand."
"Absolutely!" Gao Jianguo nodded emphatically. "Gao Shen's brand is worth far more than just our wine business. The last thing we want to do is hold him back or worse, create problems for him."
"I'd rather do less business and make less money if it means protecting our reputation and maintaining quality."
Because even though their company's profits were skyrocketing, at the end of the day…
Gao Shen didn't really care about the money.
Any single sponsorship deal he took was worth €5 million equivalent to 50 million yuan and oftentimes, even over €10 million or €20 million.
In the football world, top experts were the most valuable asset.
As long as Gao Shen maintained his success, everything else would naturally fall into place.
But if they weren't careful, if they failed to protect his brand then it wouldn't matter how much money they made.
"So, now that our business volume has grown, I think the company should further expand. At the same time, our operations and management in Chile both at the winery and the vineyard must keep pace."
Gao Jianguo nodded. "Alright. As usual, you handle the domestic side, and I'll take care of Chile."
When it came to business, Su Zhijun was sharper and had a better instinct for market trends, while Gao Jianguo was more methodical and reliable. Their division of responsibilities, one focusing on external affairs, the other on internal operations had proven to be an effective partnership.
As for personal interests? That was never a concern.
This business had been built with Gao Shen's help from the start, and their families had been close friends for years. Now, with Gao Shen and Su Qing in a relationship and both being only children there was really nothing to worry about.
It was all in the family.
Besides, when Gao Shen promised Su Zhijun a stake in the company, it was a golden opportunity. With the business booming, Su Zhijun was already more than satisfied and eager to take things to the next level.
Why would he think about anything else?
If he didn't have the vision to see this through, Gao Shen wouldn't have chosen him in the first place.
Right now, Gao Shen was a goldmine. Only a fool would do something to sabotage their own future.
"Alright," Su Zhijun decided. "Let's each prepare a plan. Once we're in Italy, we'll discuss everything with Gao Shen and Xiao Qing. If all goes well, we'll start executing as soon as we return."
He and Gao Jianguo were eager to seize the moment.
Gao Shen had already opened the door for them. If they couldn't take advantage of this opportunity, it would be a waste of his resources and their own.
Meanwhile, in Italy…
Gao Shen had no idea what was happening back home.
And Su Qing and the others weren't about to bother him with these matters.
Everyone knew Gao Shen was at a critical stage, and nothing could disrupt his focus.
That weekend, just days after returning from Manchester, Napoli traveled to face Lecce.
Once again, Gao Shen rotated his squad, fielding a completely second-string lineup.
In the 33rd minute, Callejón opened the scoring for Napoli, assisted by Parejo.
But just before halftime, Cannavaro made a costly passing error. Lecce capitalized, with midfielder Zanchetta firing a long-range strike past Napoli's defense to equalize.
In the second half, Napoli relentlessly attacked Lecce, registering 28 shots, nine on target, but they just couldn't find another goal. The match ended 1-1, a frustrating draw away from home.
However, the result did little to affect Napoli's position at the top.
Inter Milan had already come to terms with losing the title. Their morale had dropped, and it showed as they were held 2-2 by Verona.
Mourinho's side led twice but were pegged back both times, leaving the Portuguese manager furious on the sidelines.
Three days later, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome…
Coppa Italia Final – Napoli vs. Sampdoria
Walter Mazzarri stuck to his usual 3-5-2 formation, while Gao Shen deployed his best XI, setting up in a 4-3-3 attacking system.
Napoli were here to win.
And they wasted no time proving it.
4th minute – Goal!
Sánchez received a pass on the left wing, feinted past his marker, cut inside at the edge of the box, and curled a right-footed strike into the far corner.
Napoli 1-0 Sampdoria!
From then on, Napoli dominated.
17th minute – Goal!
This time, it was Di María cutting in from the right before suddenly squaring the ball to Lichtsteiner, who surged forward from full-back. His low cross into the box found Cavani, who met it with a powerful header from close range.
Napoli 2-0 Sampdoria!
Napoli were ruthless, creating chance after chance.
But in the 31st minute, Sampdoria hit back.
During a counterattack, Cassano floated a diagonal cross to the back post. Bonucci went up for the clearance but, under pressure, could only head it weakly into the center of the box.
Pazzini reacted first, directing a header into the far corner.
Napoli 2-1 Sampdoria!
Second Half – Napoli turn up the pressure.
Napoli came out firing after the break.
47th minute – Goal!
Rakitic received the ball 26 meters from goal and unleashed a rocket of a shot that flew past the keeper into the top corner.
Napoli 3-1 Sampdoria!
The match was now all but decided.
But Napoli weren't finished.
59th minute – Di María's cross from the right found Sánchez, who fired a close-range shot off the post. Cavani latched onto the rebound, but his shot was brilliantly saved by the goalkeeper.
60th minute – Vargas swung in a cross from the left, picking out Cavani at the penalty spot. The Uruguayan volleyed first-time only to see the ball crash off the crossbar.
After the hour mark, Gao Shen made substitutions, securing his side's lead while giving some players a rest.
Sampdoria, realizing they had no way back, offered little resistance.
Mazzarri tried making changes, but it was too late.
Final whistle.
Napoli 3-1 Sampdoria – Coppa Italia Champions!
Napoli had dominated the final, showcasing their superiority.
Their victory sent shockwaves across Italy.
With the Serie A title all but secured and the Champions League final approaching, Napoli fans erupted in the stands at the Stadio Olimpico, chanting:
"Treble! Treble! Treble!"
Napoli had their first trophy of 2009. Was this just the beginning?
***
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