bookrandom Chapter 515 So, guess whether he'll raise the price or not?
Chapter 515 So, guess whether he'll raise the price or not?
Although the old customers who received the money were all smiles and promised to continue supporting Li Xiangyang's purchasing station, the number of people actually delivering goods decreased significantly in the following days.
Wang Ergou sat at the entrance of the purchasing station, looking at the empty yard, his face growing increasingly grim: "Xiangyang, what's going on? We've raised prices and given away money, but today, not a single delivery person has come?"
Li Xiangyang remained calm, silently observing the villagers coming and going.
Occasionally, someone passing by would see the sign for the recycling station, stop and look around, but ultimately shake their head and walk away.
"I'm going to check out Hegou Village." Wang Ergou couldn't sit still any longer and got up to leave.
"Wait," Li Xiangyang stopped him. "What's the rush?"
"How can I not be anxious? It's been three days and we haven't received a single item! If this continues, will our purchasing station even be able to stay open?" Wang Ergou stamped his feet in frustration.
Li Xiangyang smiled faintly: "What do you think of Fatty Ma's side?"
"What do you mean, how?" Wang Ergou was taken aback.
"I mean, has he received the goods yet?"
Wang Ergou thought for a moment and shook his head: "Well... I really didn't notice. But their prices are lower than ours, so it probably won't be easy for them to buy."
“That’s right.” Li Xiangyang nodded. “Neither of us can receive the goods. Now it’s a matter of who can remain patient.”
Just then, Zhang Weiping rushed in: "Brother Xiangyang, I just got back from town and found out some news!"
"what news?"
"Fatty Ma's purchasing station didn't receive much either!" Zhang Weiping said, panting. "I specifically went to their place for a look, and the yard was deserted, even more desolate than here."
Wang Ergou's eyes lit up: "Really?"
"Really! And I also heard that Fatty Ma was furious yesterday, giving his men a thorough dressing-down," Zhang Weiping said in a low voice. "Some people say he hasn't been sleeping well these past few days."
Li Xiangyang laughed heartily: "That's right. It seems the villagers are all watching and waiting."
"What are you waiting for?" Wang Ergou was still a little confused.
“They’re waiting to see whose price is higher,” Li Xiangyang explained. “Think about it, there are two purchasing stations right now, and each one is offering a higher price than the last. Of course, the villagers are going to wait and see if the price can go up further.”
Zhang Weiping suddenly realized: "That's right! It's like two people fighting over the same thing; the people on the sidelines will definitely wait to see who bids the highest."
"Then what do we do?" Wang Ergou asked anxiously. "We can't just keep dragging this on, can we?"
Li Xiangyang stood up and walked to the door: "No need to rush, we're more patient than him. If he doesn't raise prices, everyone will lose hope and supply us. If he does raise prices, let him take as much as he wants; we'll drag it out until he's worn out."
Hearing this, Wang Ergou felt much more at ease: "So we just wait? What if we can't supply enough goods to the higher-ups by waiting for prices to go up?"
“Wait,” Li Xiangyang nodded firmly. “And we need to appear very calm, making people think we have plenty of stock. Only then, without the expectation of further price increases, will people supply us.”
“How?”
Li Xiangyang thought for a moment and said, "How about this, we'll open for business as usual tomorrow, but you and Zhang Weiping will go into the mountains, pretending to be looking for new suppliers. Remember, make sure someone sees you, preferably the villagers who are still hesitating."
"Understood!" Zhang Weiping patted his chest. "I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"
The next morning, Wang Ergou and Zhang Weiping, carrying their packs, set off into the mountains with great fanfare. When they encountered villagers along the way, they deliberately chatted loudly.
"Brother Xiangyang said that since the supply of goods here is unstable, we'll find new partners."
"Yeah, anyway, the provincial capital is pushing hard, they'll take as much as they want."
"I heard that several villages in Dongshan want to cooperate with us."
The villagers, upon hearing this, began to have their own doubts.
By the afternoon, sure enough, some people couldn't sit still any longer.
Old Tian from Hegou Village ran breathlessly to the purchasing station: "Boss Li, Boss Li! Are you still buying our village's mountain produce?"
Li Xiangyang was leisurely repairing the scale beam in the yard when he heard the shout and looked up: "Uncle Tian, what's the rush?"
"I heard you're going to another village to collect goods?" Old Tian asked nervously.
“It’s not that we’re going to other villages,” Li Xiangyang put down his work. “Other villages approached us to cooperate. There’s no way around it; when a business grows big, someone always wants a piece of the pie.”
Old Tian panicked: "What about our Hegou Village? Didn't we sign a contract?"
“The contract is of course valid,” Li Xiangyang smiled. “But the contract also stipulates that if your supply volume does not meet the requirements, we have the right to find other sources of goods.”
"The supply volume doesn't meet the requirements?" Old Tian was bewildered. "What requirements?"
Li Xiangyang took out the contract and pointed to one of the clauses: "Look, it says here that the monthly supply volume must not be less than 200 jin, otherwise Party A has the right to adjust the procurement strategy."
Upon closer inspection, Lao Tian found such a clause. He had been so focused on the price that he hadn't paid attention to these detailed terms.
"Well...we haven't really had many deliveries to our village these past few days," Old Tian said somewhat guiltily. "Mainly because..."
"What is it mainly?" Li Xiangyang didn't expose him, but just asked casually.
"Mainly...mainly everyone is busy packing up their mountain produce, wanting to gather enough to send over together," Old Tian said, forcing a smile.
"Really?" Li Xiangyang gave him a meaningful look. "Then you'd better hurry. I heard the price at that purchasing station in town has dropped again."
"It's gone down again?" Old Tian was taken aback.
“Yeah, I saw the notice when I passed by yesterday. It's 30% lower than here,” Li Xiangyang shook his head. “Looks like they can't hold on much longer either.”
Old Tian's heart tightened. If Fatty Ma's purchasing station lowered its prices, the villagers would definitely still come to Li Xiangyang to sell their goods.
But if they miss the opportunity and Li Xiangyang really goes to other villages to cooperate, then Hegou Village will suffer a huge loss.
"Mr. Li, how about this?" Old Tian said hurriedly, "I'll go back and mobilize the villagers to deliver the goods, guaranteeing the quantity stipulated in the contract."
“There’s no need to be in such a hurry,” Li Xiangyang said, feigning magnanimity. “We value long-term cooperation in business; we won’t turn against each other because of temporary fluctuations. However…”
"But what?"
"However, if the supply still doesn't meet the requirements next month, then we really will have to consider other options."
Old Tian nodded repeatedly: "Understood, understood! I'll go back and organize it right away!"
Watching Lao Tian's hurried departure, Li Xiangyang couldn't help but feel secretly smug. That's how people are; give them a little pressure, and they'll come back on their own.
Sure enough, that afternoon, three horse-drawn carts arrived in Hegou Village, loaded with mountain goods.
"Boss Li, our goods have arrived!" the villagers greeted him warmly.
Li Xiangyang came out to inspect and nodded: "Not bad, the quality is as good as ever. Settle according to the contract price."
With Hegou Village taking the lead, the other villages that had signed contracts couldn't sit still any longer. The next day, goods from Xigou Village and Dongshan Village also arrived one after another.
Looking at the mountain of goods, Wang Ergou was overjoyed: "Xiangyang, your move was brilliant! You secured the supply without firing a single shot."
"This isn't over yet. The best is yet to come," Li Xiangyang said with a smile.
"What good show?"
"Think about it, now that our supply has been restored, what about Fatty Ma's side?"
Wang Ergou thought for a moment, then his eyes gradually lit up: "They probably won't be able to receive any more goods over there!"
"So, do you think he'll raise the price? If he does, won't it be higher than ours? Any higher and we'll be losing money while still making a name for ourselves."