bookrandom Chapter 559 Urgent
Chapter 559 Urgent
Unlike Ma Qingfu, Li Xiangyang was not excited; instead, he fell into deep thought. After a while, he looked up and asked, "Qingfu, who did these clients work with before?"
“This…” Ma Qingfu thought for a moment, “It seems there was one who used to be a client of Jinyuan Industrial.”
"Sure enough," Li Xiangyang nodded. "It seems their clients are starting to leave too."
Just then, the sound of a car came from outside again, but this time it wasn't a black sedan, but a white minivan.
Several people got out of the car, led by a middle-aged man wearing glasses.
"Excuse me, which one of you is Mr. Li Xiangyang, the CEO?" the bespectacled man asked politely.
"I am." Li Xiangyang stepped forward. "And you are?"
“We’re from the county’s Administration for Industry and Commerce. We received a report that you are suspected of unfair competition and we need to cooperate with the investigation.” The bespectacled man showed his identification.
Li Xiangyang sneered inwardly, but his face remained calm: "Of course I can cooperate. But I'd like to know, who reported me?"
“I can’t disclose that,” the bespectacled man said, gesturing for the people behind him to begin the inspection. “Please show me your most recent purchase contracts and financial statements.”
Without saying a word, Li Xiangyang had Ma Qingfu bring out all the documents. Several people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau examined them carefully and even took photos.
"Mr. Li, your recent purchase prices are indeed significantly higher than the market price," the bespectacled man said, pointing to a contract. "What is the basis for this pricing?"
"It's simple, higher quality, higher price," Li Xiangyang calmly replied. "We only buy premium goods, so naturally the prices are higher."
“But as far as we know, your competitors are also buying the same goods, but at a higher price,” the bespectacled man continued to press.
"That proves it even more," Li Xiangyang retorted. "If their price is higher than ours, what does that mean? It means that's the market trend. Why can't we follow the market?"
The bespectacled man was taken aback by the question, thought for a moment, and said, "But such a price war does affect market order."
"What impact has it had?" Li Xiangyang asked calmly, but with a firm tone. "Farmers get higher prices, and consumers get better quality products. Does that mean it's disrupting market order?"
The officials from the Industry and Commerce Bureau investigated for two hours but ultimately found nothing wrong and had to leave. Before leaving, the bespectacled man said meaningfully, "Mr. Li, moderate competition is beneficial to market development, but excessive competition is not good."
"Thank you for the reminder." Li Xiangyang politely saw them to the door.
As soon as the people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau left, Wang Ergou couldn't help but curse, "Those bastards, they're obviously siding with Jinyuan Industry."
“Ergou, watch your words,” Li Xiangyang stopped him. “But this also shows that the other party is desperate and has started looking for a backer.”
Ma Qingfu was somewhat worried: "Xiangyang, won't things really get complicated if this continues? What if they pull some other tricks..."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Li Xiangyang's eyes gleamed with determination. "We've done nothing wrong, what's there to be afraid of? Besides, the real contest has only just begun."
That evening, as soon as Li Xiangyang arrived home, Li Xiaoyun came to greet him.
"Xiangyang, did the people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau go to the factory today?" Li Xiaoyun asked with worry. "It's all over the village."
Li Xiangyang took off his coat and smiled easily: "It's nothing, just a routine check. We have all the necessary paperwork, what's there to be afraid of?"
Just then, Xiao Bai's barking came from the courtyard. Li Xiangyang went to the window and saw Xiao Bai barking softly towards the gate, clearly indicating that a stranger was approaching.
"Who is it? It's so late." Li Xiaoyun followed.
Soon, there was a knock on the gate. Li Xiangyang opened the gate and found it was Grandpa Zhang from the village, who looked somewhat flustered.
"Xiangyang, something bad has happened! A few city folks just came into the village asking about your family," Grandpa Zhang said in a low voice. "They were asking all sorts of questions."
Li Xiangyang frowned: "What did they ask?"
"They asked how many people were in your family, what kind of business you ran, and what your reputation was like in the village," Grandpa Zhang said, becoming increasingly angry. "I didn't think they were good people, so I didn't say much."
“Grandpa, you did the right thing.” Li Xiangyang already had a good idea of what was going on. “Are they still in the village?”
"I don't know, I just came to tell you as soon as I noticed something was wrong."
Li Xiangyang thanked Grandpa Zhang and returned to the house, his face already gloomy.
"Xiangyang, what's wrong?" Li Xiaoyun noticed the change in her husband's mood.
"Looks like they're getting desperate and resorting to underhanded tactics." Li Xiangyang paced around the room a few times. "I have to go to the county tomorrow."
The next morning, Li Xiangyang drove to the county. He didn't go directly to the factory, but went to Liu Jianjun's office first.
"Director Liu, I'd like to know, who requested the inspection by the Industry and Commerce Bureau yesterday?" Li Xiangyang asked directly.
Liu Jianjun hesitated, "This... Xiangyang, please don't pursue this further. The test results were fine anyway, weren't they?"
“Director Liu, I’m not pursuing this further; I just want to know where their bottom line is,” Li Xiangyang said calmly. “If they simply want to compete through legitimate means, I welcome that. But if they want to play dirty tricks, then don’t blame me for being impolite.”
Looking into Li Xiangyang's resolute eyes, Liu Jianjun finally sighed, "Xiangyang, I can only tell you that yesterday's inspection was indeed reported by someone. As for who it was..." He paused, "...you should know in your heart."
Li Xiangyang nodded: "I understand. Director Liu, what is the county's stance if they continue using these methods?"
"The county's principle is simple: investigate whoever breaks the law, and support whoever is in the right." Liu Jianjun had barely finished speaking when there was a knock on the office door.
"Please come in."
The person who pushed open the door was a young man, who looked to be in his early twenties. He was neatly dressed but looked flustered.
"Director Liu, I'm sorry to bother you. I'm Chen, a reporter from the county TV station. I have something I'd like to report to you."
"What's going on?" Liu Jianjun gestured for him to sit down.
Xiao Chen glanced at Li Xiangyang, somewhat hesitant.
“It’s alright, Mr. Li is one of us,” Liu Jianjun said.
"Here's the thing, someone came to our station yesterday, saying they wanted to expose a company's unfair competition practices, and even offered a considerable sum of money," Xiao Chen said in a low voice. "But after investigating, I found that things aren't that simple."
Li Xiangyang's heart skipped a beat: "What discovery?"
"The person who gave me the money claimed to be the marketing manager of Jinyuan Industrial. But when I went to their factory to verify, I found that there was no such person there," Xiao Chen said, taking out a photo. "This is that person. Do you recognize him?"
Li Xiangyang took the photo and saw that it was Zhao Mingyuan who had come with President Jin yesterday.
“I recognize him. This is the vice president of Jinyuan Industrial.” Li Xiangyang handed the photo back to Xiao Chen. “He said he’s the marketing manager?”
"Yes, and they even used fake business cards." Xiao Chen shook his head. "I felt something was wrong, so I came to report it."
Liu Jianjun's face darkened: "This is malicious slander. Xiao Chen, you did the right thing. I'll handle this."
After seeing Xiao Chen off, Liu Jianjun looked at Li Xiangyang: "Xiangyang, it seems the other party is really desperate. But don't worry, the county won't let anyone act recklessly."
Li Xiangyang stood up: "Thank you, Director Liu. However, I feel that simply playing defensively isn't enough."
"What do you want to do?"
"Since they want to play, let's play bigger." A cold glint flashed in Li Xiangyang's eyes. "I'll show them what it means to lift a rock only to drop it on your own foot."