Chapter 241: Going to Beijing

Compared to other supermarkets, Yuanfang has a significant advantage.

As Shen Qian mentioned, Yuanfang is Li Dong's personal venture, and whatever he says goes without any hindrances.

If Li Dong says to lower prices, then it must be executed without question.

On the very next day after Li Dong made his decision, a document titled "Ten Store Discount Policy" was distributed to all the stores.

By the third day, the ten stores had put up promotional posters advertising "20% Off."

This efficiency is extraordinarily fast; before the other supermarkets even had a chance to react, the customer base, which had been dwindling, had been halved.

Although it wasn't a total exodus, the drop was significant compared to before.

Several supermarket managers found it almost unbearable—so much so that it hurt them to think about it.

Previously, when Yuanfang wasn't around, each store could earn at least a few million a month. Now, however, they were losing a few million instead!

And this was before; now Yuanfang had slashed prices even further!

With a 20% discount, when calculated with various costs, they would lose about 10%.

This means that for every 100 yuan of goods sold, Yuanfang would lose 10 yuan.

Each of Yuanfang's ten stores has a daily turnover of at least 10 million yuan, which means a daily loss of 500,000 yuan.

Of course, the effect was substantial.

Yuanfang's store was right next to them, and now Yuanfang's products were almost 10% cheaper than other supermarkets, so customers naturally didn't mind walking a few steps over to Yuanfang.

Although the more customers came, the more Yuanfang lost, the other supermarkets actually hoped Yuanfang would continue losing money.

But they had no choice but to respond: they had to lower their prices!

They couldn't avoid it. If Yuanfang continued this way, would there still be customers left?

People have a tendency to become accustomed. Once customers develop a reliance on Yuanfang, they would naturally choose Yuanfang under similar conditions in the future, making it difficult to compete.

But this price cut was too severe, and the loss-making sales were beyond the authority of the branch managers to decide.

As Shen Qian said, they needed to report to higher-ups and get approval to continue with the price cuts.

The higher-ups are first at the regional level. If the regional level cannot provide a response, it has to be reported to the headquarters.

This process was originally meant to limit the authority of branch managers, but now it has become a hindrance.

Reporting takes time, approvals take time, and creating posters and price tags also takes time. Without the top-level approval, branch managers dared not make premature arrangements.

As a result, Yuanfang gained the upper hand.

For three consecutive days, Yuanfang's customer flow increased by 50%, with daily sales reaching around 15 million yuan.

Some even specifically took a bus from other districts to buy things. The bus fare was just a few yuan, and a round trip cost only two yuan.

Yet with a 20% discount in the city, spending a thousand yuan on goods meant saving 200 yuan.

Everyone can do the math, and it also affected Yuanfang, with business in Yao Hai District dropping noticeably.

Of course, supermarkets not involved in the price war couldn't escape either. Yuanfang had nearly wiped out all competition.

...

Carrefour.

Since receiving approval from the higher-ups, the branch manager started directing subordinates to create promotional posters and adjust price tags.

The moment the promotional posters went up, the Carrefour branch manager thought that this would definitely be a decisive battle with Yuanfang.

But before he could even settle in, his subordinates reported, "Yuanfang has put out a promotional poster, announcing a 25% discount in celebration of the upcoming Christmas!"

"Pfft!"

The Carrefour branch manager almost spat out blood. How are we supposed to survive?

A 25% discount? They might as well give it away for free!

The plump manager, looking despondent, lamented, "Carrefour has traversed the globe. I've never seen anyone treat money this lightly. They really don't value money!"

Previously, Carrefour had used price pressure to deal with other small and medium-sized supermarkets, but now someone was doing the same to them.

Looking at the freshly minted document in his hand, the manager sighed, "I need to report this!"

Hearing the sound, the assistant manager shook her head. It seemed they had finally met their match. Who knows if Yuanfang would lower prices again.

Of course, this was a concern for the higher-ups and not for her to worry about.

However, the young assistant still reminded, "Manager, business has been declining recently. Daily turnover is less than 800,000 yuan. At this rate, we might really have to close down."

"800,000?"

The manager was stunned. A month ago, this store's daily turnover was close to 2 million yuan.

In just one month, how had it dropped to 40% of that?

Although pricing was a factor, Carrefour had many old customers and new ones as well. After all, their reputation was established, and Yuanfang hadn't yet managed to damage their name.

But the performance had dropped so dramatically. It was shocking.

The assistant continued, "Yes, less than 800,000. Moreover, there are fewer people coming, and those who do are very picky—complaining about high prices and poor quality. Yesterday alone, there were at least seven or eight groups causing trouble. Two checkout counters had to suspend service for over an hour, and many customers ended up going across the street."

The manager was furious, "How come I didn't know about this?"

The assistant whispered, "Didn't you go to the regional office yesterday?"

The manager froze for a moment and then erupted in anger, "Incompetent! The business was already bad, and now with this commotion, it's even worse!"

The assistant dared not respond but internally complained, "Can this be blamed on me?"

She also thought about how Yuanfang had tried to poach her for a store assistant position. Although the position wasn't as good as her current one, the salary was higher. Should she start preparing for that?

Meanwhile, similar scenes were playing out in several supermarkets.

Their price cut documents had just arrived, and Yuanfang had already cut prices again. It was really unbearable.

Not selling things meant not losing money, but maintaining such large stores meant rent, salaries, utilities—all costs that still had to be covered!

Without business, unsold goods would soon reach their expiration date, requiring disposal, which also cost money!

Unlike Yuanfang's loss-making approach to attract customers, they were losing money and losing customers.

Several supermarket managers vaguely sensed that this might turn into a serious problem!

...

Leaving aside how other supermarkets were coping, Li Dong was no longer in Pingchuan.

With the pricing strategy set, Li Dong didn't need to worry about other details.

On December 24th, Li Dong took a morning flight to Beijing.

This trip to Beijing was initiated by Qin Yuhan, who had called Li Dong for the first time, asking him to come to the city.

On the phone, Qin Yuhan sounded distressed, and despite Li Dong's questions, she wouldn't say much, just repeatedly asking him to come and be with her.

Since his girlfriend had invited him and there were no urgent matters in Pingchuan, Li Dong hurriedly made his way to Beijing.

Upon leaving the airport, Li Dong shivered.

The winter in Beijing was too cold. The harsh cold wind made Li Dong feel stiff all over.

Pingchuan is in the south, where the weather is cold but not as harsh as in the north. Moreover, the dryness of the cold made it feel like the air had no moisture, making Li Dong's lungs feel uncomfortable with every breath.

Outside the airport, Li Dong met Qin Yuhan.

Dressed in a white down jacket that wrapped her figure tightly, with a mask, hat, and earmuffs, Li Dong barely recognized her until she came up to him.

Seeing Qin Yuhan, who looked like a little teddy bear, Li Dong immediately laughed, "Didn't you say women aren't afraid of the cold? Why are you bundled up like this?"

Qin Yuhan glared at him and pouted, "Who told you women aren't afraid of the cold?"

Li Dong tilted his head and looked at a few women walking by in short skirts, saying, "Look at how they're dressed."

Qin Yuhan glanced over and saw several women in short skirts walk past. She snorted, "Others are others. If they end up with a bunch of ailments in old age, I'm not that foolish."

Li Dong laughed and stopped teasing her. Instead, he complimented, "That white down jacket is a good choice. You look even more beautiful in it than before."

"Are you saying I wasn't beautiful before?"

Li Dong's mouth twitched, and he chuckled awkwardly, "Beautiful, always beautiful."

Seeing his reaction, Qin Yuhan finally smiled. Noticing that Li Dong was shivering, she scolded, "I told you Beijing is very cold. You dressed so lightly, and now you're freezing."

She then took Li Dong's hand and stuffed it into her own pocket.

Li Dong didn't resist and held her hand, keeping it warm in the pocket.

The two walked a short distance and hailed a taxi. Qin Yuhan gave the driver a destination, and the driver drove off without further conversation.

In the car, Qin Yuhan said, "I've booked a three-star hotel for you. I hope that's okay?"

"What's there to mind? I'm fine with wherever I stay," Li Dong said with a smile.

"That's good. Four-star and five

-star hotels are too expensive. I didn't want to spend that much," Qin Yuhan said with a giggle.

Li Dong replied, "Why be stingy? Money is meant to be spent. Next time, don't be so frugal. If you run out of money, just tell me."

At the mention of money, Qin Yuhan fell silent.

Li Dong initially didn't notice, but when Qin Yuhan remained silent, he sensed something was off and softly asked, "What's wrong?"

Qin Yuhan's eyes suddenly reddened, and she choked up, "Li Dong, I'm sorry."

"What happened?"

Li Dong quickly put his arm around her and gently said, "If something's wrong, just tell me. Don't cry; your face will look bad if you cry in the winter."

"Mm."

Qin Yuhan sniffled, feeling distressed, "Li Dong, I'm so useless. I lost more than 100,000 yuan of the money you gave me."

"Lost?"

Li Dong was initially confused about what had happened. Seeing Qin Yuhan about to cry, he hurriedly comforted her, "A hundred thousand yuan is nothing. I make that in a few minutes. Your husband has plenty of money. Don't feel bad. Even if it were several million, it wouldn't matter. Don't be upset."

Qin Yuhan didn't feel anything was unusual; she just felt that Li Dong was really kind to her.

The driver in front, however, couldn't help but shift uncomfortably. Damn, young people these days boast more and more!

A person in a taxi talking about hundreds of thousands or millions, not afraid of straining their back from the wind.

Glancing at the girl in the back seat through the mirror, the driver sneered. The girl was quite pretty, but unfortunately, she had such a boyfriend. She'd probably face tough times in the future.

Li Dong didn't pay attention to the driver's thoughts. He gently patted Qin Yuhan's back, comforting the girl who had been hurt.

After all, the girl in front of him was only twenty this year.