Era: I was a farmer at the foot of Yaoling Mountain

"Assistant Yang, you need to keep a close eye on this information recently. You can communicate more with General Manager Hu and Manager Zhang. Report any unusual situations to me promptly, is that alright?"

Fang Wei assigned Yang Feng a task and then sent him away.

It's nothing new for foreign companies to try and seize the domestic edible oil market. Before this, some domestic edible oil companies had already been acquired by foreign companies.

Back then, these foreign companies were very low-key, but now they don't even bother to pretend anymore.

However, market fluctuations have not yet affected the oil mill, and Fang Wei plans to wait and see.

The next day.

Hu Linwei and Zhang Chu came to see Fang Wei together, clearly indicating that the fluctuations in the edible oil market had alerted them.

Fang Wei led Yang Feng, Hu Linwei, and Zhang Chu to a small conference room, where they sat down for a meeting to discuss countermeasures.

"President Hu, Manager Zhang, you don't need to overreact. This war has been brewing for two years, and it's only natural that it's erupting now."

Seeing that Hu Linwei and Zhang Chu seemed a little nervous, Fang Wei smiled and said something.

He wasn't actually worried about the company's edible oil products, since the company followed a different path and had essentially integrated the entire industry chain. From planting to deep processing, it was minimally affected by market fluctuations.

Moreover, Yaoling brand cooking oil has become deeply rooted in people's hearts, especially tea oil and rapeseed oil, which have performed quite well in the market.

The price change was not enough to cause a major upheaval.

"Secretary, you mustn't take this lightly. The significant price reductions by foreign brands of cooking oil have had a real impact on our prices."

Now I don't know whether I should follow their lead and lower the price, or stay put. I'm in a dilemma; it seems like neither option is right.

Zhang Chu then complained a couple of times, and it was clear that he was a little flustered.

Hu Linwei nodded, agreeing with the other party's statement: "Yes, this is not a good matter. We just expanded the planting area of ​​oil crops, and these foreign companies have pulled this stunt."

"Don't rush, let's observe for a while longer."

Fang Wei shook his head, not in a hurry to join the price war.

Aside from tea oil made from wild camellia seeds, Yaoling brand cooking oils are not priced high. The recent price reductions from foreign companies will not have a significant impact on the company's cooking oil business.

It would be better to let all sorts of strange and unsavory characters perform first, and then adapt accordingly.

Yang Feng didn't speak; he was busy taking meeting minutes and also thinking about how he would respond if it were his turn.

After the meeting ended, Hu Linwei and Zhang Chu left in a hurry.

Fang Wei had just returned to his office when he received a call from Wang Lin: "Secretary Fang, do you have time at noon? General Manager Liang Wenhui called me; he wants to talk to you about something."

"Okay, let's have lunch together then, see you at the usual place."

Fang Wei could guess Liang Wenhui's intentions, but he still had to give Wang Lin face, so he got up and established the county town.

“Secretary Fang, General Manager Liang’s call had only one point in mind: it’s difficult for domestic edible oil companies to resist the onslaught of foreign capital on their own. The best way is for everyone to unite.”

The two met in a private room, and after the food and drinks were served, Wang Lin conveyed Liang Wenhui's message.

It seems that Liang Wenhui has felt immense pressure and intends to form an alliance to jointly resist the pressure from foreign companies.

Fang Wei, however, was not optimistic about this so-called alliance. It was a hollow thing, and it was difficult to guarantee that everyone would be of one mind. Most similar alliances ended in failure, and the alliance relationship was very fragile.

“Secretary Wang, I have no intention of forming alliances with anyone, because such alliances are meaningless.”

Fang Wei took a bite of food and answered slowly.

Given his relationship with Wang Lin, there was no need for beating around the bush; he could just speak directly.

"I guess you feel the same way, but since I've been asked to do this, I have to ask you in person. Come on, let's not talk about those things anymore, let's have a drink."

Because he had to go to work in the afternoon, Wang Lin only ordered a bottle of red wine and not white wine.

He didn't plan to get too involved in Liang Wenhui's affairs. He would just tell Fang Wei's attitude later, and he couldn't care less about anything else.

After the meal, Fang Wei returned to the office.

He had anticipated the fluctuations in the edible oil market, so he wasn't too concerned. His immediate priority was to increase the yield of oilseed crops and reduce costs.

He was very clear about the three key strategies of capital: first, to seize the market with ultra-low prices, and a large number of small enterprises collapsed in the process.

Then industry concentration increased significantly, and capital began to raise prices, thus achieving a relative monopoly of resources.

This tactic has proven effective time and again. Take the edible oil industry for example: small businesses do not have their own planting bases, while medium and large enterprises, although they have their own raw material sources, do not have a cost advantage.

However, this is not a problem for Yaoling Agriculture and the oil mill. To date, the oil mill has achieved self-sufficiency in raw material supply, and all oil crops are grown by Yaoling Agriculture.

The group's internal calculations can be linked, so as long as the planting cost is reduced, the production cost will definitely decrease.

With cooking oil prices fluctuating wildly, it's best not to blindly follow trends and instead adopt a wait-and-see approach.

The next day.

Fang Wei took Yang Feng to the industrial park to inspect the oil pressing plant. The expansion project of the oil pressing plant was basically completed, and it would be able to start trial production in another half month. Now the entire plant area has been integrated, with the various workshops rationally distributed, and the production scale has more than doubled.

Previously, the level of the [Oil Press] had been raised to level 16, but due to multiple renovations and expansions, it was deemed to be under reconstruction, so the level plummeted to the bottom and is currently only level 1.

Fang Wei had to spend a lot of points to upgrade again, raising the level of the oil mill to level 19.

Temporary facilities → Production facilities → Oil pressing plant

[Facility Level: (Level 19, 0/100 billion points)]

[Facility attributes: Optimized production environment, optimized processes, optimized flavor, optimized management, optimized production efficiency.]

[Working within this building grants an additional 95% to all attributes, +2 to oil production rate, and +1 to oil quality.]

Total points: 129.32 billion points

This upgrade yielded two great rewards: [Oil Yield +1] and [Quality +1].

The current additional attributes are [Oil Yield +2] and [Quality +1], which greatly promote the increase in product output and quality.

The oil mill employs advanced production technology, ensuring a flawless production process. Coupled with the high-quality oilseeds produced by Yaoling Agriculture, Fang Wei is full of confidence for the upcoming edible oil battle.

Prices will remain unchanged for now; those companies dumping low prices will soon raise them.

"Secretary, Assistant Yang, let's go to the office and have some tea."

The factory manager accompanied Fang Wei and Yang Feng on a long tour, and then invited them to his office.

The staff brought over some tea, and Fang Wei took a sip; it didn't taste very good.

"How are the sales of the cooking oil produced in the factory so far?"

Fang Wei put down his teacup and asked casually.

"Sales are doing alright, with sales volume not changing much compared to before. However, I heard that the company's sales department has received many inquiries from distributors asking why we don't lower prices."

The factory manager doesn't handle sales; sales are managed by the food company's sales department.

However, he has close ties with various departments within the company, and he can generally answer any related questions clearly.

"Yes, I'll talk to Manager Zhang and the others later. We still need to patiently explain to the customers. Price fluctuations in the short term are not necessarily a good thing, and I believe most customers can understand that."

Fang Wei nodded, still sticking to her point of view.

There's a sense of unease within food companies and oil mills right now. Everyone feels that if others are lowering prices while they remain inactive, they might be abandoned by the market.

In fact, the established market structure is not so easy to break, and stable prices are also an advantage.

Fang Wei and Yang Feng sat in the office for half an hour before getting up and leaving.

"Chairman, I still don't understand what everyone is worried about."

Yang Feng stayed by Fang Wei's side and basically didn't express any opinions these past few days.

He was learning on one hand, and observing everyone on the other.

It was clear that behind every smile, from General Manager Hu to Manager Zhang and then to Director Luo of the oil pressing plant, lay deep worries.

"They are worried that the oil mill will become an outlier and eventually be abandoned by the market. In fact, we don't need to pay attention to market fluctuations for now. Let's see. If sales are greatly affected, it's not too late to adjust prices."

"Then I understand. Sometimes it's better to stay still than to act. Blindly following the trend can expose your weaknesses."

Yang Feng pondered for a while and then shared his opinion.

Fang Wei nodded without saying anything more.

the next day.

Lin Bingkun arrived at the commune and immediately began talking about the situation at the various oilseed crop production bases.

The entire group is talking about this now, and everyone is anxious because, in the edible oil sector, oil pressing plants are definitely not among the top players.

Overall, its strength is only slightly above average.

Now that foreign giants have started a war over edible oil, everyone's concerns are not unfounded.

“Secretary, our current scale of oilseed crop cultivation can fully guarantee the production of the oil mill. Others may not know this, but I do know that we have an advantage in terms of cost.”

Lin Bingkun was not concerned about whether to participate in a price war; he was only concerned about whether Yaoling Agriculture's oilseed crop output could guarantee the production of the oil pressing plant and whether the raw material costs were reasonable.

Currently, neither of these two appears to be a problem.

"Whether the oil mill can survive depends on Yaoling Agriculture. President Lin, we must keep a close eye on the production of oil crops. This is the key to whether the oil mill can have the last laugh in the edible oil war."

Fang Wei discussed with the other party the breeding and planting of oil crops, and from any perspective, they have unparalleled advantages in China.

Hearing this, Lin Bingkun immediately felt a great sense of responsibility and decided to visit several more oilseed crop production bases. (End of Chapter)