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

Chapter 289: Selling goods below cost is not as good as begging!
"Digging a hole is too tiring, so let him jump in by himself." Su Hanze stood up, walked to the window and looked at the street scene outside, with a meaningful smile on his face, "But this time, we have to let him jump a little deeper."

Ah Liu was confused: "How can it be deeper?"

Su Hanze patted his shoulder and whispered, "Contact a few shell companies in the mainland and have them pretend to be suppliers of the mine and take the initiative to talk to Lv Wancheng about cooperation. The price should be low and the conditions should be attractive, but there must be a few fatal loopholes."

"Loophole?" Ah Liu blinked. "Boss, are you saying that we should let him sign a crappy contract?"

"Almost." Su Hanze nodded. "This contract looks good, but it actually has a lot of traps. If he dares to sign it, he will definitely suffer in the end."

"Great!" Ah Liu immediately smiled like a cat that had stolen some fish. "Let him dig a hole for himself this time, and see how he can jump around!"

At the same time, in the temporary camp at the Myanmar mine, Lv Wancheng was sitting on a bamboo chair with a sad face, holding a nearly burned cigar in his hand.

He had just been tricked by Zhao Laosi. Not only did he fail to negotiate for the goods, but he was also extorted a huge sum of "friend money". Now the entire team was in a deadlock.

The tall and thin man squatted beside them chewing sugar cane, muttering, "Brother Lu, Myanmar is really not a place for us. Let's go back to Hong Kong Island. If we keep wasting time like this, we'll almost run out of money for the trip."

"Go back to Hong Kong Island?" Lu Wancheng glared at him fiercely. "Do you think I can turn things around if I go back? Who in Hong Kong Island still believes in me now? If I don't get cheap goods from here, I will continue to be suppressed by those suppliers!"

The tall and thin man shrank his neck and whispered, "But Zhao Laosi won't give in..."

"Just because Zhao Laosi won't give in doesn't mean other mines won't give in!" Lu Wancheng gritted his teeth, "Let's wait a little longer, we'll always find an opportunity."

Just then, a middle-aged man in a cheap suit and a shrewd smile came over.

He was holding a briefcase in his hand and said in a warm tone, "Excuse me, is this Mr. Lu? My name is Li Cheng, and I'm a representative of a jade export company in the mainland. I heard that you are looking for a source of jade, and we may have a chance to cooperate."

When Lu Wancheng heard this, his eyes lit up. He looked at Li Cheng warily and asked, "How did you know I was looking for goods?"

"That's not hard to guess." Li Cheng smiled sincerely, "You are a famous jade merchant in Hong Kong Island. You came to Myanmar to get goods. Our company specializes in export business and we are expanding our customer resources recently. I heard that you encountered some troubles here, so I wanted to see if I could help."

"Can I help you?" Lu Wancheng lowered his voice, "Do you really have the goods?"

"Of course." Li Cheng opened his briefcase, took out a few photos and handed them over. "These are all new products from our mine. The quality is absolutely fine. The key is that our price is 30% lower than the market price. If Boss Lu is interested, we can sign a contract on the spot."

Lv Wancheng looked at the photos, a trace of greed flashed in his eyes. He turned to look at the tall and thin man and whispered, "30% difference, this deal can be done!"

The tall and thin man frowned and said, "Brother Lu, this person came at the right time. Let's be careful. It might be a trap."

"A trap?" Lv Wancheng snorted coldly, "Even if it's a trap, I have to go in and take a look! Aren't those people in Hong Kong relying on resources to suppress me? This time I got a bargain, let's see how they can still laugh at me!"

A few days later, Lv Wancheng signed the supply contract provided by the "shell company". He thought he had finally found a way to turn things around, but he didn't realize that the "tyrannical clauses" hidden in the contract had quietly planted a time bomb.

Meanwhile, Su Hanze from Hong Kong Island was leisurely sitting in a teahouse, sipping a pot of Tieguanyin tea. Next to him sat Lin Keer and Ah Liu, the three of them were discussing their next plan around a piece of draft paper.

"Boss, he signed such a bad contract this time. I guess he will have to come back crying and beg the mine in a few days, right?" Ah Liu laughed while eating melon seeds.

"No rush, let him jump around for two more days." Su Hanze smiled and looked out the window. "This time, we won't do anything. We'll just wait for him to get out of this situation."

After signing the contract with the "shell company", Lv Wancheng was full of excitement, with a look on his face that said "I've turned over a new leaf". He took out the little working capital he had left, arranged for people to go and transport the goods overnight, and prepared to return to Hong Kong Island to do something big. He vowed to the tall and thin man: "Not only will I turn over a new leaf this time, I will also make that Su guy kneel down and beg me to sell him the goods!"

The tall and thin man held a glass of cheap beer and forced a smile: "Brother Lu, you are really safe this time. It's just...should we find someone to look at the contract again, in case there are any problems--"

"What a bullshit!" Lv Wancheng slapped the table. "I've been doing business for so many years, what kind of contracts have I not seen? How dare a small company like this come to cheat me? Don't worry, we'll win once we get the goods!"

But he never expected that before he could even warm up to his "victory", an "emergency notice" on the freight ship would throw him into an icy cave.

The goods had just left Myanmar and the ship had just reached the Thai border when Lv Wancheng received a call from an unfamiliar person: "Boss Lv, there is a small problem with your goods. You need to go to the port in person to deal with it."

"Port?" Lv Wancheng was stunned for a moment. "What's the problem?"

The person on the other end of the phone said calmly, "Thailand has a new policy on jade exports. We checked your manifest and found that the declaration materials involved are incomplete. You need to pay the relevant taxes and fees before we can release it."

"Taxes? Isn't it just a routine inspection? You guys handle it directly, and I'll make up for any difference!" Lu Wancheng didn't care. He was betting all his money this time, so he had to get the goods back even if it cost a little more.

The other party was silent for a moment, then said a number that almost made him bleed: "Taxes plus fines, a total of 150,000 US dollars."

"150,000?!" Lu Wancheng almost smashed his phone. "You are robbing me! This little bit of stuff is only worth a few hundred thousand, and you still fined me 150,000?!"

The other party remained calm: "Boss Lu, the contract you signed clearly states that you are responsible for the export procedures of the goods. We only provide transportation services. If you feel that this is unreasonable, you can talk to a lawyer."

"Fuck you lawyer!" Lv Wancheng was so angry that his face turned red and he hung up the phone. He grabbed the thin tall man by the collar and yelled, "Look! This is your fucking 'stability'! It's so stable that I'm going bankrupt!"

The tall and thin man waved his hands in fear: "Brother Lu, I didn't expect them to play such a shady game! How about we gather some money first, redeem the goods quickly, and then slowly make up for it after we sell the goods?"

"Gather money?" Lv Wancheng stamped his feet in anger. "I'm almost pawning my belt, how can I get any money? Go contact the people from that shell company and ask them to give me an explanation! Otherwise, I'll call the police!"

The tall and thin man frowned: "But...but we signed the contract ourselves..." "So what if we signed it? The contract didn't say that the fine would be so high!" Lu Wancheng sat down on the chair with a sullen face, "Go! If we don't get it done, we'll really die!"

At the same time, Su Hanze in Hong Kong Island was leisurely brewing a pot of tea, holding the day's newspaper in his hand, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

Ah Liu pushed the door open and said in an excited tone, "Boss, that guy surnamed Lu is in trouble! I heard his goods are stuck at the Thai port, and he has to pay a large amount of tax before they can be released!"

Su Hanze put down his teacup and raised his eyebrows: "Oh? This is faster than I expected. Where is he? Has he returned to Hong Kong Island?"

"No! I heard that he is in Thailand now, probably trying to redeem the goods. But looking at his current posture, I'm afraid he has almost run out of money for the return trip." Ah Liu grinned, "Even if he doesn't die this time, he will be skinned alive!"

"Don't underestimate him." Su Hanze shook his head. "This man's greatest ability is his endurance. As long as he still has a breath left, he will definitely not give up easily."

Lin Ke'er leaned on the sofa, hugged a pillow and said lazily: "Boss, why are you so cautious? He is almost bankrupt now, what waves can he make?"

"Even if the waves can't come out, the muddy water will still be stirred up." Su Hanze leaned back in his chair and said calmly, "He will definitely find a way to plug this hole, and the easiest way to plug the hole is to drag others into the water."

Ah Liu scratched his head. "Drag others into this? Who else can he drag? The vendors in Hong Kong Island are almost hiding in Kowloon to avoid him."

"If he can't attract stall owners, he will find ways to attract customers." Su Hanze narrowed his eyes. "A Liu, keep an eye on our big customers and see if he has contacted any of them. Also, find out his movements in Thailand. I want to know what he's going to do next."

"I understand!" Liu nodded and ran out.

A few days later, Lv Wancheng took action. He found a few local Thai investors and offered them a "low-cost jade empire" and even provided them with so-called "market data".

He vowed: "As long as you help me redeem this batch of goods, you can double your money immediately after returning to Hong Kong Island! What we want to do is not an ordinary business, but to occupy the entire Southeast Asian jewelry market!"

Several investors looked at each other, and one of the bearded men sneered and said, "Boss Lu, I heard that your business in Hong Kong Island is not going well? How do we know that we are not just trying to clean up your mess this time?"

The smile on Lv Wancheng's face froze for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure: "You're right, I did encounter some troubles before. But because of this, the opportunity this time is even greater! Think about it, if we can get the goods at the lowest cost and then seize the market, who can compete with us?"

The bearded man stroked his chin and said with a smile, "It sounds interesting. But, Boss Lu, who will bear the risk of this? If you can't open a business in the Hong Kong market, won't our money be wasted?"

"Absolutely not!" Lu Wancheng vowed, "I can sign a bet agreement! As long as our goods arrive in Hong Kong Island and we don't make any money within three months, I will personally compensate you!"

The bearded man smiled, stood up and patted Lu Wancheng on the shoulder: "Okay, then I'll trust you again. But, Boss Lu, if something goes wrong again this time... you have to remember that the water in Thailand is much deeper than that in Hong Kong Island."

Lv Wancheng nodded with a smile, but he couldn't help shuddering in his heart. He knew that this time he had put all his cards on the line, and if he failed again, he would really have no way out.

Meanwhile, Ah Liu had investigated Lv Wancheng's new move thoroughly. He returned to the office with the latest intelligence and said excitedly, "Boss, that guy has really started to solicit investment! He has negotiated with several wealthy Thai businessmen, saying that as long as the goods are redeemed, he can make a lot of money."

After listening to this, Su Hanze nodded and said thoughtfully: "He really dares to gamble, but he really has no choice."

"Then what should we do? Should we do something else?" Liu asked with a wink.

"We don't have to do anything this time." Su Hanze smiled. "All his chips are now on this batch of goods. As long as we give him a little push after returning to Hong Kong Island, he will mess up the game himself."

"How to push?" Lin Ke'er asked curiously.

"It's very simple." Su Hanze tapped the table lightly. "We informed the customers in Hong Kong Island in advance that Lv Wancheng's goods were involved in gray channels and there might be legal risks. When customers heard that there would be trouble, they would definitely stay away. His goods cannot be sold, so investors will naturally not let him go easily."

"Tsk tsk tsk, boss, this is a really ruthless move." Ah Liu gave a thumbs up, "Now he really can't escape even if he has wings!"

A few days later, Lv Wancheng's goods were finally shipped back to Hong Kong Island. He happily began to contact stall owners and customers, but found that their attitudes became extremely cold, and some even hung up his phone directly.

"Are they crazy?!" Lv Wancheng slammed the table in anger. "Such good goods, such a low price, why doesn't anyone dare to buy it?"

The tall and thin man lowered his head and whispered, "Brother Lu, I heard that... it seems that Su Hanze spread the news that there is a problem with our goods."

"It's him again!" Lu Wancheng's face turned green with anger, and he slammed his fist on the table. "Su Hanze, I will never forgive you!"

Lv Wancheng was so angry that he was about to explode, but he couldn't show weakness in front of his men. He slammed the table, and said with a fierce tone: "Damn it, does Su Hanze think he can kill me like this? Don't forget, I'm not that easy to deal with! Tall and thin, contact those customers for me and tell them that my goods have 'internal channels', which are more scarce and more valuable than the goods on the market. If they don't buy them, they won't be able to buy them in a few days!"

The tall and thin man agreed timidly, but he was wondering in his heart: "Will this trick of Brother Lu still work? The matter of the 'grey channel' has been exposed, who would dare to buy it?" But he didn't dare to refute, so he could only bite the bullet and do it.

A few hours later, the tall and thin man came back dejectedly and reported: "Brother Lu, it's not that I didn't try my best, it's just that no one answered the phone. Even the stall owners who had a good relationship with us before blocked me directly."

Lu Wancheng fiercely put out the cigarette in his hand, his face livid: "Block me? What a bunch of ungrateful bastards! How did I help them before? Why are they turning their backs on me now?"

The tall and thin man asked tentatively: "How about... we try lowering the price a bit? If that doesn't work, we can just sell the goods at a price lower than the cost price, at least we can make some money back."

"Clearing out the goods?!" Lu Wancheng slammed the table and stood up. "Are you crazy? Selling below cost, I might as well just go begging!"

(End of this chapter)