Chapter 257: The End of the Price War

Yuan Xue left, and Li Dong did not see her off.

On the morning she left, a flurry of snowflakes fell from the sky, marking Dongping's first snowfall of the year!

Whether it was a farewell or a birthday celebration, the snow fell heavier and heavier.

By the next day, Dongping had turned into a world of sparkling ice and snow.

On the afternoon of the 8th, Li Dong received a call from Hu Wanlin, signaling that the time had come.

Feng Bin did not live to see his fiftieth birthday. The 9th was his fiftieth birthday, but he was still four hours short of reaching that milestone.

Li Dong's car was parked on the street opposite the Feng residence.

Sitting in the car, Li Dong observed through the window with cold detachment.

He watched as the police stormed in, saw Feng Bin being led away with a hunched back, saw Feng Jinsong standing foolishly at the door, clueless, and heard the mournful wails from inside the house...

Everything seemed to fade away, and Feng Bin, who had been famous in Dongping, had fallen!

Mr. Feng, who once dominated both the black and white sides of Dongping, had collapsed so abruptly. The reason behind his downfall was simply an outburst from his son, an act of revenge.

The power of capital alone is insufficient to dominate. However, when capital accumulates to a certain extent, it can easily manipulate power.

A promise from Li Dong and a strategic decision by Hu Wanlin, and Feng Bin had come and gone like a fleeting wave—coming fiercely and leaving quietly.

Li Dong lit a cigarette and silently recited a Buddhist scripture in his mind.

Not for Feng Bin, but for himself. Li Dong felt no guilt. Someone like Feng Bin deserved to be imprisoned. There was no need for him to feel sympathy.

Reciting the Buddhist scripture was merely for inner peace, to label his actions as just.

People in this world need to establish a camp for themselves—be it justice, neutrality, or evil. Feng Bin was evil, so Li Dong naturally considered himself just.

Whether it's self-deception or burying one's head in the sand, this is the cold, hard reality.

It was Feng Bin who fell, not Li Dong!

After taking one last look at the foolish Feng Jinsong in the snow, Li Dong silently smiled, flicked away his cigarette butt, and said, "Let's go!"

Zhou Haidong silently started the vehicle, and the Mercedes slowly drove away in the dark.

With Feng Bin gone, the Feng family no longer posed any threat to him.

With Feng Bin's departure, the Feng family was now a large piece of meat, and Dongping, even Qinyang, did not know how many hungry wolves were waiting, ready to share this large piece of meat.

Feng Jinsong could not protect the Feng family nor retain its assets.

Perhaps to be cautious, to eliminate all potential threats, someone might step in to help Li Dong deal with Feng Jinsong.

Whether Feng Jinsong dropped out of school, resorted to begging, or even vanished from the world, he and Li Dong would no longer be in the same world. Li Dong did not need to spend any more effort on him.

---

On the afternoon of the 10th, Li Dong returned to Pingchuan.

He had been away for ten days. Although they had stayed in touch by phone and there hadn't been any major issues at the company recently, Li Dong headed straight to the Global Building.

Upon entering the company, everything was running smoothly, with no signs of chaos.

Li Dong let out a slight sigh of relief and went straight to his office.

Since he had given advance notice, Liu Qi had prepared the documents and began reporting on the company's recent operations.

In other cities, the sales and profits of various stores had risen significantly due to the recent peak period. It was expected that the profits would be considerable when settled next month.

In Pingchuan, although the performance of the Longhua store had shown an upward trend, it was minimal and far less than the same time last year.

Li Dong knew the reason—mainly due to the recent price war.

Even though the Yaohai District was not in the price war zone, the price war still had a significant impact on business. Many customers requested discounts at the Longhua store or threatened to shop in the city, leading to a substantial decline in performance compared to the same period last year.

This was within Li Dong's expectations. He didn't say much, waiting until Liu Qi had almost exhausted her report before asking, "How much have the ten stores lost from opening until now?"

Liu Qi looked through the documents and after a pause said, "In December, the loss was 13 million. In January, due to further discounts, as of yesterday, the loss was 11 million, totaling 24 million!"

Li Dong took a deep breath. Over 20 million was a considerable price to pay.

Spending so much money and still only driving out Easy Home; the other two companies were still holding on. These guys were really insane.

Although he was prepared for a loss of 30 million, that was just bravado. When faced with such a large loss, it was truly painful.

However, Liu Qi soon reported some good news.

"We've learned that Carrefour and Tesco have not delivered new stock recently."

Li Dong's eyes lit up immediately.

It was the end of the year, a peak shopping period. For these two to stop delivering new stock meant they were preparing to clear out inventory.

Although both companies were not doing well, if they really wanted to continue, they would still need to deliver new stock.

But given the current situation, it seemed they no longer wanted to continue.

This was understandable. After all, continuously making losses, coupled with Jiangbei not being their primary focus, and with the distance making them resolute in their competition, retreat was only a matter of time.

The sooner they retreated, the less they would lose. For these two large supermarkets, giving up on Pingchuan had become a consensus.

Li Dong's face showed joy. He lightly tapped the table and said, "Have General Manager Sun come to see me."

"Okay!"

Liu Qi responded and quickly left the office.

Before long, Sun Tao entered.

Li Dong did not engage in pleasantries and asked directly, "Are Carrefour and Tesco really pulling out?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, they should be closing down early next year."

Sun Tao was both happy and conflicted. Happy because Yuanfang had won this battle, taking down three large supermarkets in one go, significantly increasing market share.

With these three large supermarkets gone, Pingchuan would only have the other three large supermarkets left.

These three were almost all single stores, whereas Yuanfang had a total of forty stores. Starting next year, Yuanfang would occupy at least 80% of the market share. The Pingchuan store, which had suffered losses this year, would likely exceed the total profits of other stores next year.

The conflict was due to Carrefour closing down.

Sun Tao had devoted his best years to Carrefour. His career began with Carrefour, starting from the most junior employee to becoming the deputy manager of the branch in Pingchuan. He had invested a lot of effort.

Now that his old employer was collapsing, though it was only one store in Pingchuan, Sun Tao still felt a pang of discomfort.

Moreover, if one took it seriously, his old employer was defeated by him, making Sun Tao feel even more complex emotions.

Li Dong, seeing this, did not say much. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Since they have decided to withdraw their investment, there's no need for the price war anymore. Issue a notice tomorrow and return to normal prices the day after."

"Isn't that a bit too soon?"

Sun Tao pointed out that returning to normal prices at this point might cause a lot of customer dissatisfaction and even lead to customers returning to the other supermarkets.

This was a downside of the price war. Customers didn't care if you were losing money. They accepted price reductions but disliked price increases, leading to inevitable dissatisfaction.

If customers returned, the other two supermarkets might stay.

Li Dong shook his head, "Since they've decided to leave, they won't change their minds overnight. Besides, they've seen our determination. I believe they will make the right choice. Returning to normal prices now is also to help them clear out their remaining stock. Once the stock is sold out, it will be time for them to close down."

These supermarkets were not small private stores. The decisions made by the headquarters were not trivial matters. They would have considered the gains and losses before making their decisions.

Even if customers returned, it shouldn't change the decisions made by the company's higher-ups.

Sun Tao thought about it and said, "Although the possibility is small, I still think it's better to wait a few days."

"Alright, let's make it the 15th. Return to normal prices on the 15th. By then, it will be less than half a month before the Spring Festival. We should make some money during this peak period."

Li Dong knew Sun Tao had a point, but he had also suffered enough losses these days.

If this continued, by the end of the year, the loss could reach 50 million.

Such a large loss was roughly equivalent to two months of no income. For Yuanfang, the pressure was immense.

Li Dong was in urgent need of money, the kind of urgent need where even mosquito legs count as meat. Even if the earnings were not high over half a month, at least a few million could be made.

Including the losses, the total would approach

 nearly 20 million, enough to buy dozens of houses in Pingchuan.

This time, Sun Tao did not oppose further. Li Dong was pained by the losses, and naturally, Sun Tao was too.

Having already lost over 20 million, and with profits and losses nearly totaling 40 million, he would have earned 4 million from a 10% share.

Missing out on 4 million in just over a month was heart-wrenching.

The two quickly reached a consensus and then discussed some potential issues with returning to normal prices before setting the topic aside.

After discussing these matters, Sun Tao said, "There's one more thing to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Qi Yunna is ill and currently in the hospital. Should I visit her, or will you?"

Li Dong frowned and asked, "Is it a cold?"

"Sort of. It's a severe cold that's developed into a fever, but fortunately, it was detected early. Her store's employees took her to the hospital. She should be fine after a few days of rest."

Li Dong helplessly said, "She really overdoes it. This is just asking for trouble!"

Last time Qi Yunna set up a stall outside the store, Li Dong was worried she wouldn't be able to handle it.

He hadn't expected her to actually fall ill. He wondered how Qi Yunna felt now.

After a moment's thought, Li Dong said, "Which hospital is she in? I'll visit her."

If it were an ordinary level 5 store manager, sending a deputy manager for a visit would be considered generous.

But Qi Yunna was different. She was a company veteran, the first city manager, and had always been in charge of the work in Fucheng. She was familiar with both Sun Tao and Li Dong.

If not for this, Sun Tao wouldn't have specifically reminded Li Dong about a store manager's situation.

With so many employees in the company, if every employee's illness was reported to Li Dong, he wouldn't be able to do his job.

Sun Tao provided the details of Qi Yunna's hospital and then left, as he was very busy at the end of the year.