Hong Kong Film: Short mules have no future, I am in charge of Hong Kong

Chapter 285: Using Quantity to Grab the Market

Ma San smiled smugly and patted Achang on the shoulder: "You know shit! We are not robbing, we are competing reasonably. The market is so big, how can they be the only one to make money? However, Su Hanze is not a pushover, we have to be more careful."

Ah Chang nodded hurriedly, but he was a little nervous. He knew that Ma San was never afraid of offending people, but this time he had touched Su Hanze's things, so things might not be that simple. The jewelry circle in Hong Kong Island is not like the small business in Sham Shui Po. The water is very deep, and one could capsize if he is not careful.

Meanwhile, Ah Liu and a few of his brothers sneaked into Ma San's warehouse. They spent a lot of effort to find out the location of the warehouse, and they were all a little unhappy when they saw that it was filled with all kinds of jade imitations.

Ah Liu waved his hand, signaling everyone to be careful, then took out his camera and started taking pictures of the fakes.

"There are more fakes than I thought," Ah Liu whispered. "This guy even copied the samples on display exactly. He's so shameless."

"Sixth brother, how about we just smash these goods?" A brother suggested in a low voice with some excitement in his eyes.

"Smashed it?" Ah Liu glared at him. "Are you crazy? This is Sham Shui Po. If we get caught, will we be dead? Let's take some photos and go back. The boss will definitely have a way."

After half an hour of struggling, they finally quietly left the warehouse and took the photos back to Su Hanze. Su Hanze looked at the photos and sneered, "Okay, Ma San, you are really brave."

Lin Ke'er sat aside and looked through the photos. Suddenly she laughed out loud: "These fakes are really well made. If I hadn't designed them, I probably wouldn't be able to tell them apart."

"So what if they can tell?" Ah Liu said indignantly, "Once these things enter the market, how will customers be able to tell the real from the fake? Won't our brand reputation be completely ruined by them then?"

"It's true that the brand reputation cannot be destroyed, but people like Ma San survive by moving from place to place after shooting. It's meaningless to confront him head-on." Lin Ke'er shrugged, "It's better to give him a surprise and make him unable to continue playing."

"What surprise?" Ah Liu was stunned for a moment, "Ms. Lin, don't do anything rash. I heard there's someone behind this guy."

"So what if you have a backer?" Lin Ke'er disagreed. "No matter how powerful the backer is, the jewelry business still has to rely on the market. Ah Liu, contact a few media reporters and tell them that we found fakes on the market and are going to report them. Then arrange for people from a few jewelry associations to come and appraise them, so that Ma San's batch of goods can't even enter the market."

Su Hanze nodded and praised: "Ms. Lin is right, but it's not enough. Ah Liu, find a few more experts to expose the cost and materials of these fakes to me, so that everyone knows how cheap these things are. Ma San's fakes can be sold because the buyers don't understand. We will make them understand."

A few days later, several mainstream media outlets in Hong Kong simultaneously published a report about fake jadeite, detailing the sources and costs of the fakes, as well as the potential risks to consumers, and also included comments from several jewelry experts.

As soon as this report came out, it immediately caused quite a stir in Hong Kong Island. Many consumers who were interested in jadeite began to be wary, and some even took the initiative to contact Su Hanze's company to ask how to distinguish the authenticity of jadeite.

Ma San soon got wind of the situation. He was sitting in a tea restaurant in Sham Shui Po, so angry that he didn't even bother to eat his barbecued pork rice. He kept swearing at the phone, "Useless! A bunch of useless people! They can't even handle such a small matter, and the media caught them by surprise. Who the hell leaked the news?"

Ah Chang apologized carefully, "Third brother, don't be angry. This matter has become a big deal. Should we temporarily suppress the goods and wait until the storm has passed?"

"You're the one who's going to sell it!" Ma San slammed the table and stood up, shocking everyone in the tea restaurant. He pointed at Achang angrily and said, "Do you know how much this batch of goods cost? What will I eat and drink if I sell it?"

"But third brother, Su Hanze..." Before Achang could finish his words, he was interrupted by Ma San.

"What can Su Hanze do? Does he think he's the boss of Hong Kong? Who in this market doesn't touch some shady stuff? Does he really think everyone believes him?" Ma San was so angry that his face turned red. Just as he finished speaking, a phone call came in.

Ma San picked up the phone, and the voice on the other end was indifferent: "Ma San, have you read the latest news?"

Ma San instantly became depressed, and put on an apologetic smile: "Boss Zhao, don't worry about this little thing, I will take care of it right away."

The voice on the phone was flat: "You'd better handle it. I don't care what you do in Hong Kong Island, but don't let my name appear in any reports. Also, don't ship your goods for now. There are too many people watching you now."

After hanging up the phone, Ma San sat down on the chair and didn't say anything for a long time. He knew that he had really hit a wall this time.

At the same time, Su Hanze's jade exhibition has attracted more attention because of the fake goods controversy. More and more buyers have realized that the value of high-end jade lies not only in its quality, but also in the brand guarantee.

Su Hanze seized this opportunity and launched a limited customization service, and received a lot of orders in just a few days.

Lin Ke'er stood in the exhibition hall, looking at the crowded scene, and said to Su Hanze with a smile: "It seems that Ma San has helped us after all. This incident can be regarded as free publicity for us."

Su Hanze smiled and said calmly, "The turmoil is only temporary. Market issues are not that simple. Ma San has fallen, but there are still Ma Si and Ma Wu. We must keep a close eye on them and not let our guard down."

Lin Ke'er nodded, looked out the window, and suddenly said, "What do you think the next trouble will be?"

Su Hanze lit a cigarette, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said calmly: "Whatever it is, let's just go on. There's no turning back on this road, right?"

Although the hotel's jade exhibition seemed glorious on the surface, Su Hanze knew that behind these lively scenes, there were actually many undercurrents.

The day after the exhibition, he sat in his office, holding a cup of cold tea in his hand, but his mind was as complicated as a chess game.

There are indeed many orders for jadeite, but there are also details to deal with. Many buyers have made various requirements on delivery time and carving styles, while some potential big customers at the exhibition have always remained on the sidelines, obviously still having doubts about the prospects of the jadeite market.

When Ah Liu pushed open the door, he had a strange expression on his face, looking both excited and embarrassed: "Boss, the jadeite with the 'Blue Dragon Offering Blessings' pattern that we exhibited was cancelled."

"Refund the order?" Su Hanze frowned. "Who refunded it? Didn't they say that the piece was ordered by an old customer?"

"Yes, it was Mr. Huang from Hengtai Real Estate. He asked his secretary to come over this morning and say he didn't want it anymore." Ah Liu scratched his head, his tone a little awkward, "But he didn't say why, he just said to wait a little longer." Su Hanze put down his teacup, his eyes full of meaning, "Wait a little longer? Is he testing our bottom line, or is there someone playing tricks outside?"

"It's hard to say." Ah Liu came closer and whispered, "But I heard that he has been very close to a businessman from Shenzhen recently. That man is also in the jewelry business. He might have been lured by him."

"From Shenzhen?" Su Hanze frowned even more tightly. "What's the name of this Shenzhen guy?"

"It seems his surname is Lu, Lu Wancheng, and he has just arrived in Hong Kong Island a few days ago." Ah Liu continued, "I heard that he has set up several jewelry factories in Shenzhen, and he takes the route of bulk production and low prices. He also said that he can use semi-finished products to supply goods, saving time."

"Bulk at a low price?" Su Hanze sneered, "Boss Huang is really greedy for cheap things. If he really cooperates with such a person, he will be completely ripped off sooner or later."

"But the problem is that Mr. Huang may not think that far ahead." Ah Liu couldn't help but sigh, "Although our high-end customization is good, it takes a long time and is costly. If people are fooled a little, they might really believe it."

"So Lv Wancheng not only wants to poach Mr. Huang, but also wants to test our market." Su Hanze stood up, paced around the office with his hands behind his back, and then suddenly smiled, "Since he wants to test us, let's play along."

Ah Liu was immediately excited when he heard the tone: "Boss, what do you have to say? Should we go talk to Boss Huang directly, or should we check the background of that Lu first?"

"No hurry." Su Hanze shook his head and lit a cigarette, speaking in a relaxed tone as if he was chatting with a family. "This Lv Wancheng dared to come to Hong Kong Island, he must have some connections behind the scenes. If we take action directly, it will alert the enemy. Let him perform for a while, I want to see what tricks he can come up with."

Two days later, Ah Liu brought back news that Lu Wancheng had quietly rented a warehouse in Sham Shui Po and was preparing to ship the goods from Shenzhen and then distribute them to the market through some small and medium-sized jewelers.

As soon as the news spread, there was a lot of discussion in the jewelry circle of Hong Kong Island. Some people said that Lu Wancheng's goods were cheap and suitable for small stall owners, while others worried that this batch of goods would disrupt the market price and affect the image of high-end jadeite.

At the same time, Lin Ke'er also got wind of the situation. She came into the office with a file bag full of design drawings and said, "Boss Su, have you heard? The bulk goods from Shenzhen have already started to circulate in Sham Shui Po. What are you going to do?"

"What do you think I should do?" Su Hanze leaned lazily in his chair and looked up at her.

"Of course we have to strike first!" Lin Ke'er sat down unceremoniously and threw the file bag on the table. "If these low-end products occupy the market, the aesthetic standards of customers will be lowered, and then our customized route will be more difficult to do."

"You have a point." Su Hanze nodded. "However, low-end products can occupy the market because of market demand. If we really want to suppress these things, we can't do it alone."

Lin Ke'er was so angry that she glared: "So you're just going to stand by and watch those junk ruin the jade market in Hong Kong Island?"

"Who said I stood by and watched?" Su Hanze stood up and walked to the window to look at the street scene outside. "It is true that low-end goods flow into the market, but we have to let customers know what is behind the cheap goods. Ah Liu, go find a few stall owners who cooperate with us and let them get Lv Wancheng's goods, but not to really sell them. Instead, open them on the spot for inspection."

"Open them and inspect them?" Ah Liu blinked. "Boss, this is a great idea! There must be something wrong with the workmanship of these bulk goods. Once we open them, it will be exposed."

"Exposing the workmanship is one thing, but the key is to let consumers know that the cheap price is actually low quality, or even fake."

Su Hanze turned around with a smile on his face, "But it's not enough to just unpack the goods. Contact a few more media reporters and let them see for themselves what these goods look like."

Ah Liu nodded and ran out. Lin Ke'er sat on the chair and looked at Su Hanze. She suddenly laughed, "Boss Su, you are setting up the stage and waiting for others to make a fool of themselves."

"The business world is a stage for drama." Su Hanze said calmly, "Since he wants to sing, we will give him a stage."

A few days later, a jewelry market in Sham Shui Po suddenly became lively. Several stall owners gathered around a pile of newly arrived jade jewelry and unpacked and inspected the goods one by one in front of customers.

Some jades have a shiny surface, but make a harsh, crisp sound when knocked, which shows that they are obviously mixed with inferior materials; some necklaces have delicate carvings on the surface, but upon closer inspection, it is found that they are not made of jade, but dyed glass.

The onlookers were talking about the incident a lot, and many of them took out cameras and recorders to record these "amazing discoveries."

"How dare you sell this kind of stuff? You are such a rip-off!" A middle-aged woman stamped her feet in anger. "If it hadn't been dismantled on the spot, I would have almost bought it back!"

"This is not jade, it's clearly waste material." Another young man sneered and took a few photos. "Look carefully, cheap goods are not good, who will dare to buy this kind of thing in the future?"

These scenes were quickly captured by media reporters and appeared on the front pages of several mainstream newspapers that evening.

The report not only exposed the quality problems of bulk goods, but also mentioned the source of these goods and the operating model behind them.

For a time, Lu Wancheng's name became a laughing stock in the entire jewelry circle, and after seeing the news, Boss Huang had to reconsider his cooperation with Su Hanze.

But the matter is not over yet. Just when Su Hanze thought the situation was temporarily stable, Ah Liu rushed in, looking nervous: "Boss, it's bad, Lv Wancheng didn't leave, and he's preparing to fight back. He said he wanted to lower the price of bulk goods and use quantity to grab the market."

After hearing this, Su Hanze's smile gradually faded. He lit a cigarette, took a deep breath and said slowly, "It seems that he really won't cry until he sees the coffin."

In a small bar in Sham Shui Po, under the dim lights, Lu Wancheng was sitting in a booth in the corner with a glass of almost empty whiskey in front of him.

He looked at the newspaper on the table. The report on the quality problems of his "low-end goods" was extremely sarcastic and even his name was mentioned.

His face was filled with anger and frustration, as if he had just swallowed a mouthful of bitter and astringent medicine. A tall and thin man next to him cautiously advised: "Brother Lu, how about we keep a low profile? We are unlucky this time. Let's retreat for a while and come back after the storm has passed?"

(End of this chapter)