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

Chapter 288 The "sticky candy" that can't be shaken off

Lin Ke'er was flipping through the design drawings while nonchalantly interrupting, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, I think he's quite interesting. He's still alive and kicking after such a huge loss. Have you noticed that this guy is the typical 'willing to roll over even if he dies' type?"

Ah Liu gritted his teeth and said, "He's so aggressive, what should we do? Our customers all think he's cheap, and several big orders that we had originally agreed on are no longer happening!"

"Don't be impatient." Su Hanze leaned back in his chair, rubbing his brows, and thought for a moment. "He is waging a price war, and we can't follow him. But since he wants to fight, let's change our thinking and let him fight until he dies."

Lin Ke'er became interested and raised her eyebrows: "How did you get so excited? Tell me about it."

Su Hanze looked up, a smile on his face: "He is good at price wars, no problem, then we will let him fight to his heart's content. But this time, we want to turn his price war into a bottomless pit. Ah Liu, contact a few jade suppliers and tell them that we want to 'promote' Lu Wancheng and ask them to give him some 'special care'."

Ah Liu was stunned for a moment: "Special care? You mean...?"

Su Hanze smiled meaningfully: "The goods will be supplied as usual, but the price will be raised. Doesn't this guy want to sell it cheaply? Then let him double his cost and see how long he can last."

Lin Ke'er slapped her thigh and almost laughed out loud: "Gao! This is such a mean trick! You are trying to squeeze him out of the market!"

"In the business world, there is no such thing as losing or not losing. It's all about who can survive." Su Hanze lit a cigarette and said calmly, "But we can't make this too obvious. Let the supplier raise the price a little bit first to test it out. Go slowly and don't scare him."

Ah Liu immediately took action and took a few brothers to go door to door to find suppliers to discuss "cooperation". These suppliers were a little hesitant at first, but when they heard the conditions offered by Su Hanze, they immediately understood. After all, raising prices is a good thing for them to make money without losing money. Who doesn't want to make more money?
At the same time, Lu Wancheng's "Common People's Jade" sales point was indeed very popular. Many small stall owners in Sham Shui Po even lined up to buy goods. There was a huge crowd in front of his stall, as if the entire Hong Kong Island was attracted by the "Everyone's Jade Dream" advertisement.

"Brother Lu, this is a great idea!" The tall and thin man handed over a cup of tea with excitement, "It's only been a few days and our goods are almost sold out. We're making more money than before!"

"Of course!" Lv Wancheng crossed his legs proudly, took a sip from his teacup, "What do you call this? This is called a market strategy! Some people are always trying to position themselves at the high end, but they don't understand what ordinary people want. As long as my products are cheap enough, their high-end stuff will just be gathering dust!"

However, his good days did not last long. A few days later, he received a new quotation from a supplier, and when he saw the price on it, his teacup fell directly to the ground.

"Price increase? Why the sudden price increase?" He grabbed the phone and yelled at the supplier, "Are you crazy? The price has almost doubled. How can you let me sell it?"

The supplier on the other end of the phone said calmly, "Boss Lu, this is not our problem. The price of raw materials has increased recently. Besides, your business is so booming, this cost is nothing to you, right?"

"What a piss!" Lu Wancheng stamped his feet in anger. "You are taking advantage of the situation! If you continue like this, I will move to another place!"

"You can change it at will." The supplier said lazily, "Anyway, everyone's prices are similar now. If you have other channels, you are welcome to try them."

After hanging up the phone, Lv Wancheng's face turned pale. He immediately called his men together to discuss countermeasures, but the tall and thin man handed him a new shipping list as soon as he came in: "Brother Lu, it seems that there are more problems. I just asked several other suppliers, and they all raised their prices. Our purchase cost... is even higher."

Lu Wancheng grabbed the list and took a look at it, and almost fainted on the spot. He suppressed his anger and said through gritted teeth: "Okay, very good! They want to force me to death! Then I will fight them! Keep selling, the price won't go up, we will lose to the end!"

The tall and thin man was stunned: "Brother Lu, calm down! Our cash flow is not sufficient now. If we continue to lose money like this..."

"Shut up!" Lu Wancheng yelled, his eyes full of ruthlessness. "As long as I can suppress Su Hanze, what does it matter if I lose a little? When he goes bankrupt, this market will be mine!"

Meanwhile, Ah Liu returned to the office with the supplier's quotation, grinning from ear to ear: "Boss, this is a brilliant move! That guy surnamed Lu is now selling cheap goods while bearing double the cost. If he doesn't go bankrupt, I'll have my admiration for him!"

Su Hanze didn't laugh. He stared at the report on the table, his voice cold, "Bankruptcy is only a matter of time. But don't forget, the scariest thing about this kind of person is not how much money he has lost, but how shameless he is. He still has one last trick up his sleeve."

"The last resort?" Lin Ke'er leaned over and asked with her head tilted, "You mean, what else will he do?"

"Low-priced goods are just an appearance for him." Su Hanze raised his head, his eyes sharp. "The real danger is that he might absorb the last batch of orders from the market and run away with the money. This kind of people will leave no way out in the market, and they like to use this trick the most."

Lin Ke'er slammed the table and said, "Then we have to act in advance and block his way!"

"That's right." Su Hanze nodded. "Ah Liu, contact those stall owners and tell them that there is a risk that Lu Wancheng will run away recently. Tell them not to accept his goods anymore. Also, arrange another batch of our jadeite to be packaged and distributed directly to Sham Shui Po. The price can be slightly reduced, but the quality must be guaranteed. If customers can't trust him, they have to trust us."

Ah Liu followed the order and left, but he couldn't help muttering in his heart: "Why does fighting in this market feel more complicated than killing people..."

A few days later, the situation in Sham Shui Po began to become increasingly delicate.

While Lu Wancheng gritted his teeth and continued to attract customers with low prices, he secretly bought goods on credit from suppliers in an attempt to survive this wave of cost surges. However, no matter how well he calculated, he could not escape the "smart eyes and ears" of Ah Liu.

Whenever Lv Wancheng thought that his low-price strategy worked, a large slogan "Authentic jadeite from Su Hanze channel" would suddenly appear at the stall next door. The price would even be a little higher than Lv Wancheng's. However, all the stall owners knew that the quality was completely different.

"This is unfair!" Lv Wancheng stood in his own sales booth, looking at the lively scene at the stall next door and stamping his feet in anger. "They actually dared to steal the business by charging a high price. How shameless!"

The tall and thin man reminded in a low voice: "Brother Lu, this shows that they are powerful. The cost of our goods is too high now. How about we talk to the supplier and see if we can lower the price?"

"Bargain?" Lu Wancheng rolled his eyes, wishing he could kick the tall and skinny guy away. "Everyone is targeting me now, so why would I negotiate a price? I'm telling you, this group of people wants to kill me, but I won't let them succeed!"

The tall and thin man felt very miserable, but he could only nod on the surface: "Then...what should we do? Continue to sell at a low price?"

Lu Wancheng gritted his teeth and pondered for a long time, then suddenly sneered: "Aren't they relying on the supply chain to pressure me? Well, then I will bypass these suppliers and go directly upstream! Go to Myanmar and find a mine!"

The tall and thin man almost spit out the tea in his mouth when he heard it: "Brother Lu, are you really going to Myanmar? That place is not peaceful!" "No matter how peaceful it is, it is better than being forced to death by these people!" Lu Wancheng slammed the table, "This time I will get the goods directly from the mine and completely cut off the way for these people! Let them watch me live a better life!"

Meanwhile, in Su Hanze's office, Ah Liu was reporting the latest intelligence: "Boss, that guy surnamed Lu has gone crazy. He said he wants to go to Myanmar to negotiate directly with the mine for supply. He wants to learn from you and go upstream."

Su Hanze raised his eyebrows upon hearing this, and a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "He is really a man who is not afraid of death. Not everyone can negotiate with the mines in Myanmar. If someone like him goes there, he will not find goods, but will die."

Lin Ke'er leaned back on the sofa, peeling an orange and laughing, "It's not like he'll lose his life, but I guess the people at the mine will make a fool of him. If he can really make the deal, I'll write my name backwards."

"Don't underestimate him." Su Hanze shook his head. "It's indeed difficult to negotiate with the mine, but if he can find some gray channels, it's not completely impossible. In Myanmar, money can solve most problems."

Ah Liu scratched his head: "What should we do? Let him go, or stop him in advance?"

"No need to stop him." Su Hanze said calmly, "Let him go. But we have to make some preparations before he arrives."

Lin Keer asked curiously, "What are you preparing for? Are you planning to go to Myanmar to rob a mine?"

"We won't rob the mines." Su Hanze showed a meaningful smile, "But we can give the mine owners a 'lesson' in advance, so that they know which customers to cooperate with and which customers to discourage."

"Great!" Ah Liu understood instantly and said excitedly, "Boss, are you going to open up the mines in advance so that they can guard against Lv Wancheng?"

"Almost." Su Hanze nodded. "Contact Zhao Laosi and tell him I want to have a cup of tea with him. Although this guy is evil, he knows how to abide by the rules. If Lv Wancheng wants to get the goods from the mine, he can't get around him."

Ah Liu immediately started to make arrangements. After Lin Ke'er peeled an orange, she looked at Su Hanze with a smile and said, "Boss, I find that you are really an expert. You can always make your opponent fall into the trap without making any noise."

Su Hanze leaned back in his chair, speaking in a relaxed tone, "In the business world, it is better to use your brain than to do it. If I can let others do it for me, why not do it?"

A few days later, Lv Wancheng, the tall and thin man, and several of his brothers flew to Yangon. They rented a shabby truck and drove all the way to a mine.

The owner of the mine was a middle-aged man with dark skin and a full beard. He sat lazily on a bamboo chair, smoking a cigar and looking at Lu Wancheng with vigilance in his eyes.

"You want the goods?" the boss asked in stiff Cantonese, "What's your sincerity?"

Lv Wancheng grinned, revealing his signature flattering smile: "Boss, we businessmen value win-win. The price I offer is definitely higher than others. As long as you are willing to supply the goods, we will be brothers in the future!"

The boss raised his eyebrows and put out his cigar on the armrest: "Brother? There are so many brothers in my mine, who are you?"

Lu Wancheng's smile froze, and he quickly took out a bag of US dollars and handed it over: "Boss, don't worry, this is just a greeting gift, there will be big business waiting for you later."

The boss took the money and threw it to his men behind him, his eyes still cold: "We can talk about money and goods. But I heard that you are from Hong Kong Island? You have to tell me, do you have any relationship with the people in Sai Wan?"

When "Xiwan" was mentioned, Lv Wancheng's face darkened instantly. He waved his hands repeatedly: "Boss, you misunderstood! The people in Xiwan are my enemies. I came here this time to bypass them and work directly with you!"

The boss stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly grinned: "Okay, let's try it."

But just when the negotiation was about to be concluded, a car engine suddenly sounded in the mine. Lv Wancheng turned his head and saw an off-road vehicle parked at the gate of the mine. A familiar figure got out of the car - it was Su Hanze's old friend Zhao Laosi.

After getting off the car, Zhao Laosi glanced at the people on the field, with a smile on his face like a knife: "Boss Lu, what a coincidence? Why are you here too?"

The smile on Lv Wancheng's face froze, and his palms were full of sweat. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out a sentence: "Boss Zhao, I'm here... to discuss some business."

"Talk about business? Talk about it on my territory?" Zhao Laosi looked at the mine owner with a fake smile, "Along, this guy is my friend, you better not cheat him by mistake."

The mine owner immediately changed his expression, laughed and patted Lu Wancheng on the shoulder: "So you are Boss Zhao's friend! Why didn't you tell me earlier? I wouldn't be polite if you told me earlier!"

“……” Lu Wancheng stood there, completely dumbfounded.

On the other side, Su Hanze, who was far away in Hong Kong Island, was drinking iced lemon tea and looking at the caller ID in his hand. He answered the phone and heard Zhao Laosi say with a smile on his face, "Boss Su, your opponent is staring blankly at me right now. How do you want to deal with him next?"

Su Hanze hung up the phone with Zhao Laosi, and the smile on his face gradually faded, and his brows slightly wrinkled. Although Zhao Laosi had intercepted Lv Wancheng, he knew very well that this guy was a "sticky candy" that could not be shaken off. Being intercepted once did not mean that he would completely give in. Maybe he could do something even bigger.

In the office, Ah Liu was lying on the sofa peeling a bag of peanuts. Seeing Su Hanze's thoughtful expression, he couldn't help but ask, "Boss, Mr. Lu has been tricked by Zhao Laosi now, so I guess he should behave himself, right? Can we take a break for a while?"

"Take a break?" Su Hanze glanced at Ah Liu, "Do you think someone like Lu Wancheng would behave himself just because he was cheated once?"

Ah Liu scratched his head and said, "What else can he do? The mine won't give him any goods, and the vendors in Hong Kong don't dare to take his goods. Isn't he doomed?"

"Dead end?" Su Hanze sneered. "How could a man like him admit defeat? The more dead end there is, the more he will try to find a way out. I want to see what tricks he plans to play next."

"Then we can't just stand there forever, right?" Ah Liu was a little unwilling, "How about we dig another hole for him?"

(End of this chapter)