Chapter 343: Su He Directs the Scene
At that exact moment, Director Feng finished tying his shoelaces.
The trio of Su He, Director Tian, and Director Feng continued walking forward.
The middle-aged man—Deputy Director Meng of the Huicheng Pearl Cultivation Farm—had a flicker in his eyes. He began tailing the three of them from a short, ambiguous distance behind.
Su He continued to chatter away, “I heard that defective pearls can sell for 30 dollars a kilogram. A ton and a half would be a massive amount of money!”
“If only I had defective pearls, I could sell them at a premium to those buyers!”
Director Tian looked somewhat exasperated. “Little Su, aren’t you just daydreaming?! Setting aside the fact that you don’t have pearls in the first place, even if you did, it’s not like you’re the only one who has them. Couldn’t they just buy from someone else?”
Su He blinked her eyes innocently. “That’s an easy fix! I’ll go form an alliance with the other manufacturers! We’ll establish an offensive and defensive pact, hike up the prices together, and then they’ll have no choice but to play by our rules.”
…
Deputy Director Meng’s eyes lit up. Once Su He and her companions had walked far enough away, he immediately headed over to the booth of the Jiangcheng Pearl Cultivation Farm.
“Old Han, I just heard that the Zhanyuan Pearl Cultivation Farm managed to pull in an order for a ton and a half of defective pearls. There’s no way they have that much inventory on hand.”
“Why don’t we hike up our prices and sell our own defective stock to them? We can make a tidy profit.”
Deputy Director Han of the Jiangcheng Pearl Cultivation Farm looked puzzled. “You say Zhanyuan secured an order for a ton and a half of defective pearls? The Canton Fair hasn’t even started yet; where on earth would they get an order? Besides, where did you get this information?”
Deputy Director Meng didn’t hide anything and recounted the whole story.
“Old Han, those three people came to my place earlier wanting to buy standard-grade pearls, and I didn’t give them the time of day.”
“So they went over to the Zhanyuan Pearl Cultivation Farm and presumably overhead the matter by pure coincidence.”
“Even though the Canton Fair hasn’t officially opened, you know how resourceful those Japanese businessmen are. It’s highly likely they got in touch with Zhanyuan in advance.”
“If we want to know whether it’s true, it’s simple—we can just go test the waters.”
“However, we need to lock down our pricing structure first, so our stories align when the time comes.”
Deputy Director Han nodded. “What do you think is a suitable price?”
Deputy Director Meng curled his lip. “Lin Shu has given us plenty of grief in the past. Now that we finally have an opportunity to rip her off, we certainly shouldn’t stand on ceremony! The standard ex-factory price is 25 dollars per kilogram; let’s sell it to her at 30 dollars per kilogram instead.”
Deputy Director Han frowned. “They’re only selling it to the Japanese at 30 dollars a kilogram. If you add labor, shipping, and other overhead costs, wouldn’t they be losing money? Lin Shu will never agree to that!”
Deputy Director Meng gave a cold sneer. “If she doesn’t agree, she won’t be able to fulfill the order quantity, and the order might just fly out the window.”
“If she agrees, she’ll simply make a smaller profit, which is still a hundred times better than letting the order vanish. Plus, it still counts toward their export performance metrics, so she will definitely agree. Besides, our demand isn’t excessive—everyone deserves a share of the wealth!”
Deputy Director Han hesitated briefly before agreeing. Ever since Lin Shu had become the deputy director, the Zhanyuan Pearl Cultivation Farm had been building immense momentum, showing a strong tendency to eclipse them.
This time, not only could they make a handsome sum, but they could also suppress their rival, effectively killing two birds with one stone.
Deputy Director Meng and Deputy Director Han immediately tracked down Lin Shu.
Deputy Director Meng said with a fake, superficial smile, “Lin Shu, I heard you secured a ton and a half order for defective pearls from Japan? Congratulations! Even though defective goods aren’t worth much, it’s still a fine start to a flying success!”
A flash of shock crossed Lin Shu’s eyes, but it vanished in a fraction of a second.
She asked, looking thoroughly puzzled, “There’s no such thing. Who did you hear that from?”
Deputy Director Meng and Deputy Director Han exchanged a glance, becoming even more certain that the matter was genuine.
Deputy Director Meng clicked his tongue twice. “Alright, don’t worry about how we found out. Let’s get straight to business!”
“You definitely don’t have a ton and a half of inventory on hand. How about this? The two of our farms will sell our defective stock to you. What do you think?”
Lin Shu froze for a moment, remaining silent.
Seeing her reaction, Deputy Director Meng became completely convinced. He continued, “Lin Shu, let’s stop beating around the bush and lay it bare!”
“If you agree to a price of 30 dollars per kilogram, we can sell our inventory of defective pearls to you.”
“Each of our farms has five hundred kilograms of stock. Added to your own, it makes exactly a ton and a half!”
Lin Shu’s expression instantly turned rather unsightly. “30 dollars a kilogram? That’s the exact price we’re selling to the Japanese. If you add labor and shipping, wouldn’t we be taking a loss?”
Deputy Director Meng thought to himself: This Lin Shu is still too young. Isn’t this statement equivalent to admitting the existence of the order?
He said with a smile, “Lin Shu, if you don’t buy our defective items, you won’t be able to fulfill the order, and it will simply fly away.”
“You’re merely making a smaller profit, so why act as if we’re swindling you!”
“Besides, this counts toward your export performance metrics. As the saying goes, taking a loss just to make a bit of noise—you aren’t losing out!”
“We don’t have time to waste breath on you. Whether you agree or not, give us a straight answer quickly!”
Lin Shu took a deep breath. “There really is no such order. Please leave!”
Deputy Director Meng curled his lip and shot a meaningful look at Deputy Director Han, and the two took their leave.
After walking a short distance away, Deputy Director Meng sneered, “Just watch. Before half a day is out, she will have to come to us voluntarily!”
“Although there are other pearl cultivation farms in the country, only the two of us possess export qualifications, product quality control that meets the Japanese standards, and sufficient inventory. Lin Shu has no other choice.”
Sure enough, in less than an hour, Lin Shu actively approached the two of them and called for a joint negotiation.
“Our farm does indeed require about a ton of defective pearls, but it is not for export to Japan; we have other plans.”
“Although our three farms are competitors, we ought to look out for one another in critical moments. Isn’t it a bit underhanded for you to bid a sky-high price like this?”
Deputy Director Meng burst into a hearty laugh. “Lin Shu, business is business. Stop playing the emotional card! Just give us a straight answer—are you buying or not?”
Other plans? Who are you trying to fool?!
Deputy Director Han maintained the exact same rhetoric, refusing to budge on the price.
Lin Shu let out a sigh. “Fine, then let’s make it a deal. This was something you sold to us voluntarily, so don’t try to reopen old accounts in the future. Oh, by the way, we need them urgently. Can we send someone over with the funds tomorrow morning and pick up the goods at the same time?”
Deputy Director Meng and Deputy Director Han agreed completely.
Settling the deal with cash upon delivery was perfect, as it would prevent this woman Lin Shu from backing out.
Meanwhile, what Lin Shu was thinking in her heart was: The performance of these two turned out exactly as Little Su described, down to the exact price. Little Su is simply miraculous!
