After the divorce, he settled in Northwest China and became a Shennong (a legendary Chinese farmer).

Chapter 101: A Power Struggle, A Price War (Please Subscribe)

"Fellow directors, to be honest, with just four people and a few old farm machines, how many orders could they possibly take? The problem is, although they are small in scale, the prices they set have had a serious impact on us!"

Haven't you noticed? Our prices have been steadily declining, and our profit margins are decreasing. Take harvesting, for example. Previously, our price was stable at 120 yuan per mu, but now it has fallen to 90 yuan per mu, resulting in a sharp drop in profits.

A small leak can sink a great ship! Instead of passively lowering prices, we should take the initiative, lower prices to crush them, and then regain control of prices.

After Li Yong finished speaking, the directors present remained silent for a long time.

"Manager Li, what you said makes sense; being cut with a dull knife hurts the most! Tell me your specific plan..."

"7

Circumstances dictate that people are in control of their own lives, and the group eventually accepted reality.

Ma Yucheng thought for a moment and then asked the other party what their specific plan was.

"My idea is to set the harvest price at 80 yuan per mu directly. The current regular harvest price for those four guys is 100 yuan per mu, and the discounted price for old customers is 80 yuan per mu."

If we adjust the price to the right level in one go, we can completely eliminate their price advantage. Their agricultural machinery is mostly from recent purchases, and neither the loan burden nor the depreciation pressure allows them to continue lowering prices.

Li Yong spoke fluently, clearly demonstrating his understanding of Gu Tong and others' pricing standards.

Being forced to lower prices and actively engaging in a price war are two different things; he wants to get rid of this stumbling block once and for all.

Ma Yucheng whispered to a few directors and finally decided to adopt Li Yong's suggestion: "You should prepare yourself and make sure you have control of the market during the upcoming harvest season. I'll call President Tang now and propose a board meeting."

Between Tang Guoxing and Li Yong, they chose Li Yong, intending to wage a major price war and reorganize market prices.

in the afternoon.

Honghe Agricultural Machinery Service Cooperative held a council meeting. At the meeting, Ma Yucheng first criticized Tang Guoxing, demanding that the cooperative change its business strategy and use its absolute strength and price advantage to crack down on the emerging forces that have appeared this year.

This included Gu Tong's group of four.

After listening to Ma Yucheng's impassioned speech, Tang Guoxing sighed and said, "We are all native Nasu people. Have you all considered that if we take too drastic measures, we will ruin many people's livelihoods? Don't think that farmers will appreciate the price reduction, because even a fool knows that we are waging a price war to eliminate dissidents."

Ma Yucheng and the others remained unmoved. One of the directors raised his hand to interrupt Tang Guoxing's speech and said, "President Tang, let's vote."

Tang Guoxing is the chairman and general manager of Honghe. Major issues can only be decided by a vote of the board of directors, and he has no right to stop them.

But he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable saying certain things. He knew he wasn't a good person, but he didn't want to end up being abandoned by everyone.

With Honghe's current approach, it's not far from being abandoned by farmers throughout the county.

Previously, they profited excessively by raising prices, and people dared not speak out. Now they want to use their strength to eliminate small agricultural machinery operators. Do they really think others will thank Honghe?

I'm afraid Honghe's reputation will collapse instantly.

"I'm putting my words here today: if Hung Ho engages in a price war, it will ultimately shoot itself in the foot! Now, let's start voting."

Next, the vote began. With 7 votes in favor and 2 votes against, Ma Yucheng's proposal received the support of the majority of the council members.

Tang Guoxing had to carry out the council's resolution, so after the meeting, he called Li Yong to his office alone.

"As decided at the council meeting, effective immediately, our harvesting service fee will be reduced to 80 yuan per mu. Haven't you always wanted to eliminate Gu Tong and his four-person team? Now's your chance."

"President Tang, please don't misunderstand. I have no personal grudge against Gu Tong. It's just that I feel she has become a threat to our development, and we can't continue to ignore her."

Li Yong's answer was flawless, and even his tone remained largely unchanged.

Tang Guoxing, feeling disheartened, waved his hand and said, "You can leave now."

"Yes, Mr. Tang, I will resolutely implement the council's resolution."

Li Yong then left the office, making sure to close the door behind him.

Tang Guoxing's gaze gradually turned cold as he stared blankly at the door, lost in thought.

the next day.

Gu Tong got up early, first went to the sheepfold to feed the sheep, and then took his tools to the two plants of [Western Region Purple Grass].

After squatting down, he carefully began to divide the plants, separating the two purple grass plants into four, and then replanting them in the soil.

The division process may damage the rhizomes, so careful care will be needed for the next few days.

After breakfast, he drove to find Ma Dongwen and Dong Jun, intending to sign agreements with the farmers with whom he had reached an agreement.

However, when the three visited several farmers, the original agreement changed again. The farmers all gave the same answer: it was still some time before the rapeseed harvest, and they would talk about it again in a few days.

If it were just one or two people saying this, that would be one thing, but if several people are saying this, there's definitely a problem.

"Brother Dong, Lao Ma, something's not right. You two split up and go find out what's wrong. I'll go to Suktohai Village first, and we'll call each other later."

Gu Tong realized there was a problem. The companies he had just visited were all new clients, so he decided to talk to the existing clients.

Dong Jun and Ma Dongwen then went to inquire about the situation. Gu Tong drove to Suktohai Village and, accompanied by Chen Liang, entered the home of "Old Sick Horse".

"Little Gu, long time no see!"

"It's been quite a while since I've seen you. How's the alfalfa at home? It'll be harvest time soon."

"The second crop of alfalfa is growing quite well; it's already starting to flower and bud. I'll need your help to harvest it in a few days."

"Sure, sure. Since you're a long-time customer, you can enjoy a 20% discount, which means you'll be charged 80 yuan per mu."

Gu Tong exchanged a few pleasantries with the old lame horse, and the old horse had his wife bring over tea and snacks.

After everyone sat down, Chen Liang took a few sips of tea and said, "Old Liu Ma, why don't you just sign the agreement today, so they don't have to make another trip?"

"No problem, I can sign the agreement now."

Old Ma readily agreed, valuing Gu Tong and the others' responsible work attitude and superb skills.

Price is secondary; some things cannot be measured by price. If it weren't for Gu Tong and his team's excellent service last time, a heavy rain could have caused significant damage to his first crop of alfalfa.

Without further ado, Gu Tong took out the "Agricultural Machinery Service Agreement" from his bag and signed it with the other party.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief after receiving the order for harvesting 300 mu of alfalfa fields.

At least we didn't run into a wall with Lao Lima, so it seems the situation hasn't gotten to the worst yet.

The group chatted for a while longer before Gu Tong got up to say goodbye.

After leaving Old Ma's house, Chen Liang said with a smile, "Gu Tong, why don't you come over for a bit?"

Just as Gu Tong was about to speak, her phone rang in her pocket.

He quickly took out his phone to answer the call. Ma Dongwen's anxious voice came through the receiver: "Xiao Gu, I was wondering why those customers changed their minds. It turns out that Honghe has significantly reduced the harvesting service fee from 120 yuan per mu to 80 yuan per mu. This is a real, publicly quoted price, not a discount we offer to our old customers."

"Finally here? Lao Ma, don't panic. You and Brother Dong don't need to worry about the new clients yet. Go and contact the old clients right away. If you can sign a contract, call me and I'll be there in a minute."

It was bound to happen eventually; Gu Tong had anticipated Honghe's price war tactics.

Now that the shoe has dropped, he told himself not to panic and then made a choice.

That means first securing existing clients, and getting the orders you're confident about first.

"Understood! Xiao Gu, how about we lower the price too? Otherwise, it will be difficult to persuade new customers."

2

Ma Dongwen responded and also offered a suggestion.

The four-person team is currently offering new customers a harvesting price of 100 yuan per mu, while Honghe has now lowered its publicly listed price to 80 yuan per mu, putting them at a complete price disadvantage.

If we don't lower the price, we're likely to lose orders from new customers.

"Do as I say, and meet me at my place tomorrow night. We'll discuss some things then."

Gu Tong believes that the most urgent task is to retain existing customers, which is the foundation of the four-person team.

As for acquiring new customers, we can put that on hold for now; we'll find a solution eventually.

Hearing what the other party said, Ma Dongwen stopped talking, hung up the phone, and went to find Dong Jun.

Gu Tong turned to look at Chen Liang and said helplessly, "You can have your good tea next time. If you're free tomorrow night, come over to my place. I have something to discuss."

"Okay, you go ahead with your work, I'll come over tomorrow night."

Chen Liang nodded in agreement, and Gu Tong then drove away.

When he got home, he felt extremely tired and didn't want to move once he sat on the sofa.

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with his body, but he was mentally exhausted. He had originally planned to buy a few farm machines to earn some hard-earned money, but who knew he would face so many troubles.

The key to this matter is Li Yong. The other side has always regarded the four-person group as a thorn in their side and is determined to eliminate them completely.

Li Yong is backed by Honghe Agricultural Machinery Service Cooperative. Given the size and strength of the other party, the four-person team would have no chance of winning if a price war were to break out.

Gu Tong sat on the sofa, racking his brains, trying to find a way to break the deadlock.

"What's wrong? Are you tired or something's not right?"

Just then, Gulixian suddenly walked in from outside. Seeing Gu Tong's listless appearance, she quickly asked.

Little Stone followed behind her. He didn't treat her like an outsider at all and let her in without saying a word.

"Gulixian, you're here? Please have a seat. I'm fine, I was just thinking about Honghe's sudden price reduction, I was really preoccupied with it."

Gu Tong quickly stood up, smiled at Gu Lixian, and then invited her to sit down.

He went to the kitchen to make tea and brought over some dried fruit before sitting down again.

"The news of Honghe's significant price reduction has spread. Some people speculate that they are preparing to clear out the market, while others say that Honghe has been summoned for talks several times and had no choice but to lower prices."

Gulixian took a sip of tea and then shared the information she had gathered.

She had been worried about Gu Tong ever since she heard about Honghe's significant price reduction.

The other party is really having a tough time; they haven't even finished paying off the loan for the agricultural machinery they bought, and now they're facing a price war.

"Honghe's price reduction has indeed affected us, but not as much as we imagined. We only have four people and not many agricultural machines. Can Honghe really capture the entire market?"

Gu Tong was unwilling to show weakness in front of Gu Lixian because she didn't want the other person to worry about her.

He has already come up with some ideas, and he will try to do them regardless of whether they are useful or not.

"It's good that you know what you're doing! Gu Tong, don't push yourself too hard. You have 80 acres of land and 50 sheep. Even without income from agricultural machinery services, you can still make a living."

Gulixian said gently that she also believed Gu Tong would not be defeated by reality, but she did not want to see him struggling to keep up.

Gu Tong smiled and nodded without saying anything.

His income from agricultural machinery is now the main source of his personal income, and he can't give it up so easily.

"I'll have dinner here tonight. What would you like to eat? I'll make it now."

The two then changed the subject and chatted about other things for a while before Gu Tong prepared to cook.

"Don't bother cooking, let's go eat in the countryside, it's on me."

At this point, how could Gu Lixian bear to let Gu Tong cook for himself? So she suggested that he go out to eat.

"Cooking isn't troublesome. We'll just have noodles for dinner, it'll be quick."

Gu Tong didn't want to go through that trouble, so she went to the kitchen.

Gulixian followed, and the two of them, one kneading the dough and the other cooking, quickly prepared dinner.

After dinner, Gulixian accompanied Gu Tong for a walk by the fields. The two stopped talking about Honghe and instead talked a lot about transhumance and herding.

"Gu Tong, I think you have the potential to become an internet celebrity. Your live streams and videos are very popular, and you might become a big star one day."

"I have actually thought about this. I don't know if it will become popular, but I plan to try selling my own pressed rapeseed oil online after the rapeseed is harvested."

Upon hearing Gu Lixian's words, Gu Tong couldn't help but burst into laughter, and then revealed his plans.

Gulixian's eyes lit up immediately. She thought this was feasible and might actually be a viable direction. So she had an in-depth discussion with Gu Tong and gave him a lot of ideas.

To be honest, Gu Lixian's suggestion was very inspiring to Gu Tong. The two chatted more and more and more congenially, and by the time they returned home, it was almost dark.

"Gu Tong, I have to go. Take care of yourself! If you're ever feeling down, just call me. I may not be able to help much, but at least I can be a good listener."

Gulixian reluctantly got into her car, then rolled down the window and said something very seriously.

Gu Tong felt a warmth in her heart and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I'm not that fragile. Drive slowly on the road, and text me when you get home. Bye!"

Gulixian nodded, then started the car and gradually disappeared from Gu Tong's sight.

the next day.

Dong Jun and Ma Dongwen spent the whole day running around, and Gu Tong also went to see Ilyas, Kurban, Professor Mao, and others.

Ilyas remained unchanged and agreed to hand over the rapeseed and alfalfa harvesting services in the village to the four-person team. Gu Tong also agreed to offer a discount, charging 80 yuan per mu for all the harvests.

There were no problems with Kurban's side either; the 1000 mu of alfalfa were also handed over to Gu Tong and others for harvesting.

Professor Mao and his friend's 160 mu of land were naturally harvested by Gu Tong, and that's not all; Professor Mao had new ideas as well.