Chapter 342: No Idea
Lin Shu hesitated slightly. “Little Su, although our Zhanyuan Pearl Cultivation Farm is in a competitive relationship with those other two farms… if we really do this, wouldn’t it be a bit improper?”
Su He chuckled. “Sister Lin, business is business. Now is not the time to show misplaced kindness.”
“Besides, I’m looking at this from a big-picture perspective.”
“Hypothetically speaking, if we don’t buy out their defective pearls, the moment our Baroque pearls make a name for themselves, the foreign buyers are highly likely to go to them to drive prices down.”
“It’s not that I look down on those other two, but given their conduct, they would most likely slash their prices just to snatch our orders.”
“If they do that, the loss won’t just be our farm’s profits, but the nation’s interests!”
“Because once prices are driven down, our country will lose out on a massive amount of foreign exchange.”
“Therefore, Sister Lin, for the greater good of the nation, you absolutely must do this!”
Lin Shu: “…”
To be perfectly honest, competing peers were bitter enemies. She would love nothing more than to stick it to those two farms, but it simply wouldn’t sound very pleasant and might draw severe criticism.
However, hearing Su He frame it this way completely dispelled her reservations, because she was now standing firmly on the moral high ground.
Weighing the pros and cons, she said, “Little Su, you’re right. We still have to look at the bigger picture. I’m sure those two farms will understand.”
Director Tian and Director Feng, who hadn’t uttered a sound the entire time: “…”
No wonder Su He and this Lin Shu hit it off so perfectly. They really are birds of a feather!
Lin Shu continued, “But Little He, don’t take it the wrong way, can these Baroque pearls really secure foreign trade orders?”
“You said it yourself—the Baroque artistic style has already declined. Will the foreign buyers actually buy into it?”
“If they don’t sell, how are we going to deal with all those defective items we bought?”
Su He smiled faintly. “Sister Lin, you mentioned earlier that the selling price for defective pearls is roughly $30 per kilogram, and a kilogram holds around 300 to 600 pearls.”
“A Baroque pearl that meets the criteria can be sold for at least $2 apiece, and those with excellent appearance can even go for dozens of dollars.”
“Even if you can only pick out thirty minimum-grade qualified Baroque pearls from a single kilogram, the profit margin will still double.”
“If even a single high-quality one appears, it will instantly recoup the cost of that whole kilogram. Sister Lin, doing business is a gamble. It all depends on whether you have the guts to place your bet!”
Massive wealth can stir any heart, and Lin Shu gritted her teeth. “Then let’s take the gamble! I’ll head over to the other two farms right now to discuss purchasing their defective stock.”
Su He stopped her. “Sister Lin, it won’t work if you go directly like that. They will definitely put on airs and might even hoard them instead of selling. You have to employ a bit of strategy.”
“Furthermore, this wicked idea was mine after all. Therefore, our Textile Factory is willing to shoulder half the risk.”
Lin Shu didn’t catch on at first, freezing for a moment before she grasped Su He’s underlying meaning.
She wants to borrow a chicken to hatch an egg!
In other words, the Anxin County Textile Factory would shoulder half the acquisition costs, and correspondingly, they would take half the profits.
Should she agree or not?
Actually, there was no harm in agreeing. If the stock didn’t sell, at least the Anxin County Textile Factory would help absorb half the risk.
If they did sell, although the profit margin would be diluted, the export performance metrics would still belong entirely to her cultivation farm.
No matter how she calculated it, she wouldn’t lose out.
For Lin Shu to become the deputy director of the Zhanyuan Pearl Cultivation Farm in her thirties, she naturally possessed a solid store of resolve.
She nodded immediately. “Fine, it’s a deal!”
Standing off to the side like a quiet quail, Director Feng nervously spoke his very first sentence: “Uh, roughly how many defective pearls will be purchased?”
Lin Shu answered immediately, “I estimate each of them probably has an inventory of around five hundred kilograms.”
Director Feng’s face turned a bit pale. At $30 per kilogram, 500 kilograms meant $15,000, which converted to roughly 30,000 RMB.
He didn’t know if this “Baroque” stuff Little Su talked about was actually reliable. If it failed to sell, the inventory would be left completely dead in their hands.
Su He saw right through Director Feng’s thoughts. Afraid that she might scare him half to death, she comforted him, “Director, rest easy. Even if they don’t sell at this session of the Canton Fair, I can still turn them into brooches and hair accessories to sell later. I guarantee we won’t lose our capital.”
Director Feng said dryly, “What is there for me to be uneasy about? I’ve always been perfectly at ease with how you handle matters.”
Director Tian curled his lip—she sings a sweeter tune than a songbird!
Sigh, Little Su really plays favorites!
She only ever thinks about helping the Textile Factory make money, completely ignoring me, her ultimate talent scout!
Rolling his eyes, he spoke up, “Old Feng, thirty thousand yuan is indeed quite a lot. How about this? Our Food Factory will take half—whether we lose money or make a profit, we split it fifty-fifty!”
His words immediately reminded Su He, who stated right away, “Then let’s count the Machinery Factory in for a share too. Each unit can put up ten thousand!”
Director Feng agreed without a single thought.
Because his heart truly remained lacking in confidence, so having two other units step in to share the risk was naturally an excellent thing.
Director Tian was utterly delighted in his heart!
You old blockhead!
You’re literally pushing money right out the door!
Su He continued to speak with Lin Shu, “Sister Lin, then it’s settled. We will shoulder half.”
“But the bank transfer will take time, so your farm can front the cash first. Secure the pearls from those other two farms as quickly as possible to avoid any complications from a long delay.”
“Additionally, the Canton Fair lasts for 15 days. During the initial period, do not breathe a single word about Baroque pearls, lest those other two back out of the deal.”
“It also works out perfectly to use this time to rush your factory into sorting out suitable samples and sending them over…”
The reason Su He said this was because the Zhanyuan Pearl Cultivation Farm and the other two farms weren’t located far from Guangzhou; it was only a few hours’ drive away.
Lin Shu nodded repeatedly, then asked, “Little Su, we’ve talked for ages, but you still haven’t said how we’re going to buy their defective pearls?”
The corners of Su He’s lips curled up. “We must make them come to us voluntarily. That way, even if Baroque pearls fetch a sky-high price in the future, they won’t be able to blame us.”
Lin Shu looked even more puzzled. “Make them come to us voluntarily?”
“Yes, we’ll do it like this…”
By the time Su He finished speaking, Lin Shu was left completely dumbfounded.
She had always considered herself a highly capable woman with plenty of tricks up her sleeve, otherwise she wouldn’t have attained the position of deputy director.
But looking at it now, if Little Su wanted to bury her alive, she would probably happily jump into the pit herself and feel completely indebted to her.
Director Feng looked entirely blank as well, while Director Tian was the only one wearing an expression that seemed thoroughly unfazed.
Right after, Su He began directing Lin Shu on how to act out the scene.
Credit where credit was due, Lin Shu was remarkably talented; both her demeanor and her delivery of the lines were exceptionally solid.
Once Su He felt it was perfect, she began teaching Director Feng and Director Tian.
Director Tian went without saying—his talent was absolutely stellar!
Director Feng, however, was rather lackluster.
Su He’s eyes rolled, and she simply assigned a non-speaking role to Director Feng.
Once they finished rattling on, Su He led Director Tian and Director Feng back along the original path.
As they passed by the Huicheng Pearl Cultivation Farm, Director Feng’s shoelaces happened to come undone.
As Director Feng squatted down to tie his laces, Su He began chatting with Director Tian, “Director, what do you think those Japanese buyers want with so many defective pearls anyway? I heard they want a ton and a half!”
“It seems to be for medicinal use or making skincare products. Talk about having nothing better to do! But I heard that Lin Shu mention that they don’t have that much inventory on hand, so she’s currently caught in a real tight spot!”
…
Because Su He and her group had visited the Huicheng Pearl Cultivation Farm’s booth earlier, the personnel inside the booth paid them a bit of extra attention.
Coupled with the fact that they were speaking in far from quiet voices, the people inside the booth heard every single word with absolute clarity.
The middle-aged man who had previously been cold and dismissive toward Su He spoke up, “Hey, what was that you just said about Japanese buyers and defective pearls? What’s going on there?”
Su He shot him a glance. “No idea, not clear, don’t know.”
The middle-aged man: “…”
Those words sound exactly like the ones he had used to brush her off earlier!
